240 Tasting Notes
Aaaaaaaaaaand I’m sick. And on a super busy weekend, no less. I’ve got not one, not two, but three musicals to play in today. And tomorrow. Looks like I will be drinking a lot of tea in the next 48 hours. This is the first go today, a super solid, deep, tasty Tieguanyin, one of my favorites in the Oolong family.
Crisp and clear, deep, and sweet with fruity, floral overtones, this is the tea that is going to save my day.
Preparation
It’s been a while since I’ve had this one. It’s one of the few teas I make sure I always have in my personal stock, possibly one of my favorite teas in general.
Big, bold, and beautiful, full of robust taste, with hints of wet grass and a perfect balance of sweet and bitter. When I think of a simple, full flavored, bold green tea, I think of this one.
The Red Blossom website says it is " for those who prefer their tea stronger." Yes, yes it is. Just my cup of tea.
-E
Flavors: Bitter, Grass, Sweet, Wood
Preparation
The Green Tea choice at Dean’s in Pleasanton, CA.
Bottom of the barrel indeed. There is almost more dust in here than leaves. And it tastes like it. There is a good green tea base in there, I can tell, but not much more than leftovers, scraps picked out after the good leaves have been used and sold as what they are.
Not surprising, coming from Costco. Leftovers from good green tea do not a good green tea make.
Preparation
One of my favorite breakfast places in Pleasanton, CA, (Dean’s, great omelets!) offers this for a black tea.
It’s… OK. Nothing great. Fills the tea craving, offers a bit of taste, but it’s definitely bottom of the bin leaves.
Not the worst I’ve had, and I will have it again when I go back.
Preparation
Tung Ting in general is one of my favorite Oolong teas, maybe one of my favorites teas in general. This one is no exception, so big and bold and full of flavor while still light and floral.
Red Blossom mentions notes of orchids and gardenias, making this a great late winter or early spring sipper. Still cold and wet out, but life is returning. Things are turning green, it’s time to head to the garden to get it ready for Spring planting.
This Tung Ting Oolong is a great start to that day.
-E
Flavors: Floral, Gardenias, Orchid, Sweet
Preparation
One of my favorite black teas, the sweetness in this tea, with a velvety smooth base, makes this tea what it is. A super smooth, deep, not too dark black tea with floral overtones and hints of honey, caramelized sugar, and molasses.
As the Red Blossom website says: “was harvested in early April 2015 after this crop was bitten by aphids. As a result, the crop has the sweetest honey aroma we’ve ever tasted.”
That about sums it up. Beautifully sweet with hints of honey and floral overtones. Amazing.
Preparation
Christmas gift from a friend who knows I am a tea fiend. She bought this when she was in Europe, I’m assuming, since I have never heard of it,nor can I find anything on the innerwebs about this specific tea.
But yet, here it is!
By the looks of the leaves, it looks and smells like a mint tea with a green tea base and lots of flower petals, even a few branches in the mix.
I guessed and went with a mint tea steeping, 5 grams of leaves in my 32 ounce Bodum Assam, steeped at 200 degrees for 2 minutes.
Here we go:
Yup, it’s a mint tea. And a good one! Strong minty flavor right up front, layered over a green tea base, probably the standard gunpowder green, or something similar, strong enough to pop through the much stronger mint overtones.
I wish I knew what kind of flowers were involved. I do catch a glimpse of rose in the mix, so that could be one. The rest, I don’t know. They are tasty, though, they work very well at brightening up the strong mint flavor.
I was a little worried before I started that this would be overwhelming, but it’s not. It’s rather well balanced, a very good herbal tea concoction.
Good stuff.
Preparation
Such a great Pu-Erh tea here. Rich and velvety smooth. Not too overwhelming with a shorter infusion, but as the Red Blossom website says, with a longer steeping “the tea becomes richer in flavor with a distinct stone fruit aroma and remarkably smooth body.” I’ll have to remember that for next time.
Even with the shorter 2 minute steeping time, this tea is full bodied, but still on the light and subtle side. It doesn’t punch you in the face, rather it applies a deep massage all across the palate with a velvety smooth malty base and sweet, woodsy-ish overtones.
All the great prerequisites of a great, classic, solid Pu-Erh, nothing unnecessary.
Love it.
My kind of tea.
-E
Flavors: Camphor, Malt, Sweet
