1403 Tasting Notes

70

I quite enjoyed this one today. It’s fading the slightest bit, but I’ve been on a chocolate roll lately so that fluffs things up. A bit of chocolate, quite a bit of pumpkin spice, very very little of the cheesecake element coming through. That said, if you ignore the name of the tea and dispose of your expectations, this is a lovely cup.

Flavors: Chocolate, Spices

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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75

Going through a stretch of feeling poorly, so as today the temperature has decided to dive towards freezing again and as I will have to be some kind of productive this weekend, I am at home in my pyjamas drinking all the teas and eating all the things and staying warm and otherwise doing little. Hopefully, my resting is going to produce some energy to carry me through the necessary activities of the weekend. Here’s hoping.

This one is ok. I pulled it out because I had likely already reached my capacity of caffeine for the day unless I rally in the next hour or so and this one doesn’t have all that much actual tea in it. Nothing more to add aside from what I’ve already said.

Indigobloom

I hope you feel better soon!!

Evol Ving Ness

Thank you. <3

Super Starling!

I love this one, actually, and hope it returns. I’m one sachet away from a sipdown and so depressed. I hope it gave you strength! Feel better!

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GCTTB Six

I suspect that I have a sample packet of this around somewhere in the multiple places I keep tea. You know, multiple tea places to convince myself that I may not really have all that much tea. To convince myself that perhaps it might be ok to place a wee tea order when the next fab tea thing pops up. To convince myself that I don’t really have a problem.

There was enough leaf for two cups of this in the box. I am trying this tea for the first time.

Ahem, yes. So. This tea is a bit of an enigma. It’s as if my tastebuds are on a strobe light. Each sip alternates between smoke and peach and butterscotch and smoke and back around again. Occasionally, I get a mouthful that combines the flavours all at once. And then again, my tastebuds get confused. I don’t know what all that is about because I get the impression that the flavours are balanced and the tea is delicious. It is just a bit odd. I am wondering whether adding marshmallow—because who can argue with marshmallow—would buffer this a bit. Or perhaps a bit more of one particular tea base to gentle things up a bit here. I like the intensity of each of the flavours—that is to say, I don’t find that any of the flavours are too much, so I wouldn’t suggest reducing the amount added, but what can be done about the strobe light effect? Or is that a desirable thing? Or is that just me?

The next cup of this will determine how speedily I try to hunt down the packet that I most likely have. Yes, yes, Sil is going to remind me yet again to keep an excel chart.

Thank you, VariaTEA, for adding this to the box.

Flavors: Butterscotch, Peach, Smoke

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
VariaTEA

This is an apt description. I wasn’t sure I liked this at first and then found myself craving it for days. Glad you enjoyed it even if it was on the confusing side lol

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100

GCTTB6

Mmm, yeah. I started my day with this punchy tea. Malt with all capitals, but also a raisin or prune sweetness and intensity. A slight bit of dryness post-sip but a bit of honey too. I am very much enjoying this cup of goodness. It seems to be waking up cells that have been inert for a long while. Happily, I gave this one a brief steep, like two minutes. I suspect more steeping would not augur well. That said, I am adding this one to my shopping list because wow: damn fine tea.

I drank a charcoal roast oolong the other day and enjoyed it with chocolate. I am prolonging this ritual here. Chocolate and tea can be an awesome thing.

Thank you, Sil, for adding this one to the box.

Flavors: Malt, Raisins

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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GCTTB

Sipdown.

Hurray! The box arrived. The foil packet closure of this tea was broken, so I sampled this one. There was just enough left for a cup. I didn’t detect any fruit flavours, just the faintest caramel with the slightest bit of fig over a slightly astringent base. Not rating this one.

VariaTEA

Oh shoot. I didn’t even notice or I would have repackaged it. Perhaps it broke when I rolled it up to squeeze it in?

Evol Ving Ness

Not to worry, it’s gone now. The ducks more than make up for it.

Indigobloom

You don’t often see fig in a tea!

Evol Ving Ness

The various French teas seem to have fig. I haven’t come across it elsewhere.

Maddy Barone

I think David’s had a fig tea for Christmas one year. I remember thinking it was nice.

Evol Ving Ness

I can only hope that it resurfaces some day (without too much fiddling on their part).

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90

I used to like Earl Greys quite a bit. Then the thrill wore off and I found myself avoiding them. Today, however, as I was deciding what to load my travel mug with, I grabbed this one. Not because I was craving the bergamot Earl Greyness of it, but I just thought that I will need to drink it eventually, so why not start today. Wow! Really, really good. The smoke and feisty intensity really appealed to me. In fact, appealed to me so much that I immediately made myself another cup when I came home. Delicious.

Flavors: Bergamot, Smoke

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
MadHatterTeaDrunk

There are random moments when I like them still, but I avoid them often as well.

Evol Ving Ness

Today I had two more cups and enjoyed both. Going with it.

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75

Continuing to cold steep this. It really is lovely when you manage to catch the pillowy marshmallow aspects in combination with all else here. Enjoyable and refreshing as a cold steep, but not necessarily a blend that I would feel the need to restock. I say this now, but let’s see how I feel after my sip down happens and a bit of time goes by. It is delicious and it is refreshing and it is a lovely thing to have handy when thirst urges you towards something just like this.

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80
drank Teapuccino by TeaGschwendner
1403 tasting notes

During the first couple of sips, my tastebuds were confused by, to me, the conflicting flavours of caramel, coffee, ginger, and orange. It seemed too much and too distracting. Too all over the place. Perhaps I feel this way because there is the slightest bit of a relationship to my beloved Coffee Caramel and then suddenly not. A few sips in though, I am quite enjoying this. Now on the second steep and I am quite enjoying this too.

Thanks for this, Sil. I appreciate having a chance to try this.

Flavors: Caramel, Coffee, Ginger, Orange

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Sil

Happy to share since I often get to get to us places that aren’t as easy for us to order from

Evol Ving Ness

Yet another reason to adore you.

Nicole

If you Canadian Friends of Sil get a list together, I can always pick up from folks like TG at the Midwest Tea Fest in September, ship to Sil’s tea mule… If Sil is okay with it. :)

Sil

haha i’m always ok with that. I haven’t been finding much lately when i’m in chicago sadly :(

Indigobloom

Ok now this list of ingredients could be all kinds of wonderful. Or really weird.

Fjellrev

That does sound like flavour overload.

Evol Ving Ness

Thank you, Nicole, for the very kind offer. And Sil, of course—-it goes without saying. Although I said it.

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drank Chéri by Ladurée
1403 tasting notes

Really enjoyed this subtle lovely tea. Thank you for the sample, Sil.

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90
drank Butterbeer by 52teas
1403 tasting notes

This one is a winner in my books. Perfect balance of all the things. As odd as root beer tea sounds, it rocks: both in the balance of flavours and the tea supporting it all. Both the flavours and the tea itself have their place here in the sipping experience. Even the tingle on the end of the tongue happens. Don’t change a thing.

Side note—I love the word sarsaparilla in all its variations.

Flavors: Root Beer, Sarsaparilla

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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Profile

Bio

A monk sips morning tea

A monk sips morning tea,
it’s quiet,
the chrysanthemum’s flowering.

- Basho

(1644-1694)

Note to self—-you do not actually need any more tea.

My real tea obsession began in February 2015.

Not, sadly, when I had been living and working in China, though I very much enjoyed sampling a variety of teas during my travels there as well. No, no, that would have been far too sensible.

I am a reformed coffee drinker. I still enjoy a long double espresso with a good quantity or milk or cream from time to time, but for now, tea is my thing. All day.

*note—this is way out of date, so if we are doing a swap and you are checking to see what I like and dislike, mostly never mind what you find below. One of these days, I will update this. In the meantime, check what I’ve been drinking and use your own judgement. I like all the teas. Well, I am open to trying all the teas.

I tend to drink black, green, or oolong tea in the morning to early afternoon. Rooibos or
Honeybush or herbal in the evening. And perhaps some sort of sleepy-type tea in the wee hours.

This year, I’ve been discovering flavoured teas, so it may look like that is all I drink although that would provide a false impression.

Not a big fan of chocolate or mint in teas, but I will try them and, from time to time, have been pleasantly surprised. Also, usually I dislike a prominent cinnamon flavour, if untempered with other things, in teas. Again, I say usually, because there are exceptions.

Also, please note that haven’t quite gotten into the habit of updating my tea cupboard on Steepster, and it is unlikely that I will do this on any kind of regular basis.

I drink my tea black and unsweetened. If there comes a rare moment that I add something to it, I will mention it.

Finally, while I thank large and successful tea companies for tantalizing and beckoning me to the world of tea, I prefer to support independent ventures with real people, real enthusiasm and commitment, and real dreams.

Currently, I am researching monthly tea subscriptions. Perhaps it will keep me out of tea shops.

And here is Shae’s rating scale— which I am using with permission, of course— which more or less describes the way I have been rating teas. I am going to make more of an effort to stay very close to these parameters now.

Rating Scale

1-20: By far, one of the worst teas I’ve tasted. I most certainly will not finish my cup and will likely “gift” the rest to my sweet husband who almost always enjoys the teas I dislike (and vice versa).

21-40: This tea is not good but if I mix it with another tea or find another steeping method I might be able to finish it.

41-60: This one is just okay. I might drink it again if someone were to give it to me, but I probably won’t be buying more for myself.

61-75: This is a consistently good tea. It’s reliable but not necessarily special.

76-90: This one is a notch above the rest and I would gladly enjoy a cup of it any day of the week. I’ll likely be keeping this in my cupboard, but it isn’t one of my all-time favorites.

91-95: One small change and this tea would be perfect. I’ll definitely have a stash of this in my kitchen if you come over for tea.

96-100: No words can describe this tea. It’s an experience, an aha moment. Closed eyes, wide smile, encompassing warmth. Absolutely incredible. Perfect.

Location

Mostly, but not always, Toronto, Canada.

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