464 Tasting Notes
I can’t remember the last time I had a darjeeling outside of a breakfast blend, but this is the epitomy of the flavor I think of when I think “breakfast tea”: A little sweet, slightly bitter and tannic, just barely earthy, and almost fruity. No overly dry aftertaste.
I took this straight this morning because I’ve been trying to really taste my teas, but I do think this would have been improved with just a touch of honey and/or lemon. It did the trick of waking me up when I was stiff and sore this morning after my track workout last night. I didn’t want to mooooooove!
On the first sip I was surprised by a nice sweetness. I wasn’t expecting it to be such a sweet tea since I had it unsweetened. After the sweetness it melts into a dry, but not too dry flavor which makes the middle of my tongue tingle. The first few sips I actually got a buttery feel in the after-taste. That faded as I kept drinking the tea.
When I smell the liquor is when I detect the earthiness. My Dad grows string beans in his garden and this smelt EXACTLY like freshly steamed green beans pulled from the ground that day. It doesn’t really TASTE like green beans, but the sweetness I was first overpowered by is related to that smell and is definitely vegetal. This was a lovely tea to start the day with and I would have it again!
I went to Alice’s Tea Cup on the Upper East Side with a friend and ordered their “Sassa” tea which is an assam. The only other plain Assam I’ve had is Butiki’s Premiem Taiwanese Assam. This one is less buttery, but more fruity and tannic. I did not taste as many things going on in this cup although it was strong. I didn’t feel it was as smooth either. I think I can taste that they are related to each other, but I definitely like Butiki’s better. Also this one left me with an unpleasantly dry mouth.
This is really more of a strawberry tea than an earl grey. It really tastes like a delicate strawberry and when lightly steeped it balances with the bergamot and earl grey well. When oversteeped (which I sadly do too often) The blackcurrant comes out and makes the blend pretty bitter. I couldn’t taste the tea at all when it got to that state.
I had this as a sample in store this morning. It was better than I expected. The chocolate and mint were well-balanced and the rooibos base was smooth. There was no artificial aftertaste like in a lot of chocolate teas I’ve tried. Like all chocolate teas though, it just left me craving a cup of hot chocolate. :-)
I had this with lunch at my favorite cafe and it was very refreshing. It’s not the best lemon ginger tea in the world, but it’s one of the best you can get in a bag in a restaurant. It always warms me up and today was a little chilly. It’s lemon with a little bit of ginger bite too it, but not too much.
I’m glad I got this for free because of their Earth Day promotion because if I had paid money for it, I would have thought it was a really waste of my money. This tea tastes and smells like seafood soup and tastes a little like it too. It’s got a seaweed/mussel quality to it. It’s definitely not what I’m looking for in a morning tea. At least it was light and smooth?
I am rather partial to lemon teas and I really appreciated that they didn’t try to artificially sweeten the lemon in this one. The apple does so naturally and it’s a very pleasant mix of flavors. I also love the spiciness of the peppercorn and ginger. It paired perfectly with the ginger florentine cookie I was eating! :-)
I drank this in the store in the Staten Island Mall. I haven’t been there since they first opened. It is staffed by teens who don’t really know customer service…
I had this iced. It was not overly sweet like many peach teas I’ve tried. In fact it was really tart, which I was surprised by because peaches and figs are pretty sugary. (I have a fig tree in my back yard and can make myself sick on figs because I love them so much.) I guess it was the candied lemons that made it that way? I didn’t taste vanilla at all in this. I enjoyed this, but I don’t think I’d go out of my way again to get it.
