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Sipdown!

Dumped the rest of the sample in my steeper and gave it a good 5 minutes, since last time it seemed weak. This time it was stronger, and better, but a little astringent, which might be due to the steeping parameters, or possibly the coffee part of it.

On the whole, I’m glad I tried it, but it’s not a regular tea for me. It’s tasty enough, but a but finicky.

Ok, so I don’t love this tea. It’s just too thin for me. I’ll probably toss the rest into the moose tracks tea.

This is one of those teas that seems to get a lot of attention, and is especially popular in swaps. I got my sample that way.

So, I was really debating on how to brew this baby up this morning, since I know it’s a re-steep master. And so I read a lot of people doing many short steeps, increasing steep time as they went along. I also noted the power steepers…the ones that steeped for very long periods of the…so what was I going to do?

Because I was working today, I opted to kind of mix the two. I had my usual two travel mugs of tea…my kids mug and timolino. Normally when I steep in the morning, it is the same tea, and I split each steep between mugs as to minimize the weaker steep. Today though, I didn’t do it that way. Kids mug was first steep since that one cools off faster than the timolino. Also, I opted for 1-2 minutes on the first and 2-3 minuets on the second (and the time it took me to do dishes on the third when I got home). I’m quite accustomed to a dark pu erh, so it was no biggie…I just didn’t have the time to sit and steep multiple times today, but maybe on a later day I will. Also, it was effing cold out this morning, and a deeper richer brew was A-OK with me, to be perfectly honest. The fact that it is so coffee-like with a dark brew was hearty and warming.

Do I like this? Hellz yeah. I had it with milk and sugar and it was smooth, a bit sweet and chocolatey. On this third brew, there is no astringency, no fishiness, not much earthy, or sour. It’s smooth and creamy and sweet and yummy.

It’s definitely one of the better pu erh teas I have had. I have a little of the sample pouch left, so I may look into the alternate steeping, and may not use milk or sugar.

But this is a win, so thanks to CrowKettle for tossing the rest of this package my way.

Sipdown…

I, uh, decided to dump the whole packet in my timolino and cold steep all afternoon, but when I was ready to drink it, it was not steeped enough and was too weak. I knew I shoulda used a bit of hot water at the bottom first.

Oh well, this one is gone, but not forgotten. I do still like it, but I like the strawberry oolong best.

My love for this has dwindled. It’s still way better than the Coffee Cake and Red Velvet Cake teas from DAVIDs, but there is still an artificial eh taste to it…so I am dropping my rating on this one, though I do still like it, so it will still be high-ish, but not as high.

All I’m really tasting is the cherry artificial taste right now. I might see if that changes with a cold steep…which reminds me, I have a cold steep in the fridge steeping and it is probably ready by now.

Broke this out this morning. It’s the first, and probably only February Amoda tea I’ll have, because the others are too floral for me, and I have sensitivities to florals.

This is pretty tasty, but honestly, it is no better than the Sheng Pu Erh I can get locally from David’s. They’re extremely similar.

Got this earlier today from CrowKettle when we met up for matcha earlier. She just gave me the last of what was in the bag.

So, the leaves are long and silverly, with a little fuzz, but less than I’ve seen before on other silver needle teas. Does it matter how much or how little fuzz there is? I don’t think so, but maybe there is something about that I don’t know.

I have a bit of a cold so I can’t really smell the tea much, but the taste is quite smooth. I’m getting a little citrus on the back of my tongue. The rest is sort of almond and apricot. I’m not really getting wood so much, though I am getting a nice body and mouthfeel, despite how the tea looks. It seems quite pale.

It’s a very good white tea, I’m reminded I need to have more straight teas like this more often.

Maybe it’s because I used maple syrup to sweeten, and perhaps too much, but this tasted funny. I’m gonna try it again with my organic cane sugar next time and see how it goes.

Seriously love this tea.

Chocolate and coconut with delicate chai spices, simply wonderful. The base is just right, not overly astringent, smoky or strong…very mellow and balanced.

Sipdown on this one…

I’m being bad and having a third serving of caffeine tea today instead of two. Oh well, from here out it’s caffeine free tonight.

I had thought about saving this one for the summer, and cold steeping it, but I decided I’d rather do a sipdown, since I have plenty of other teas to cold steep, and by then, I expect more. So, not worried for a lack of cold steeps…

I’ve sweetened this, but it is light and nutty, and there is body for a green tea. I do like this one, but I don’t know if it is my favorite. It might be in my rotation on a seasonal basis, but I’m not sure I’d get this too regularly, since there is so much more that I like better.