119 Tasting Notes

85
drank Red Dragon Pearl by thepuriTea
119 tasting notes

This a sample from the box that LiberTEAS sent me forever ago (I always forget to thank her for all the wonderful samples she included!). I’m trying to work through all the samples that I have because quite frankly there are too many to handle and it overwhelms me sometimes. I guess that’s kind of good, though, because it just means that I have a LOT of different kinds of tea to enjoy.

This is nice. I don’t think it’s a secret that I really enjoy a good black tea (it’s my favorite tea variety). This is no exception. The little balls brew up a beautiful, dark red-brown liquid that is very delicious! It’s very bold and malty, and reminds me a lot of an Assam, though the website states that it’s from Yunnan. I don’t get a lot of the nuances that they state. The main flavor I taste (I’m on my second infusion now, boiling water for 7 minutes, and the leaves have held up the same flavor as the first) is the cocoa note. It’s more of a dark chocolate, as others have said. It’s full bodied and has a slightly sweet tang at the swallow. There’s pretty much no astringency.

I did enjoy this and I hope to try more teas from thepuriTEA soon!

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
Uniquity

That sounds good!

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80
drank Blood Orange by Fusion Teas
119 tasting notes

Hmmmm….. I’m surprised to see that I’m the first to review this……..

I got my very generous samples from Fusion Tea Room about a week ago and I haven’t gotten around to reviewing any of them yet (I apologize, I’ve been busy!). I’ve tried two others besides this that were EXCELLENT. I decided I wanted something citrusy and I knew that I had this waiting for me so I opened it up!

I meant to steep this for 7 and a half minutes (that’s how I usually brew herbals) but I forgot and so it went well over 10 minutes. I was a little nervous because this has quite a bit of hibiscus in it (though I must commend them because there’s a pretty equal ratio of orange rind to hibiscus) but surprisingly it didn’t get too tart! I’m not to sure that I like it as much hot and plain, however….. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good as it is, but I have two very distinct ideas on what I’d like to try with this tea. The first is obviously to make it iced (I think that would be AMAZING) and the second is to mix it with some black tea…. Maybe a Ruby Black? I think that would be amazing!

This is pretty good and I would like to thank Fusion Tea Room again for sending me this generous sample!

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more

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72
drank Weight To Go! by Teavana
119 tasting notes

Yet another tea from my Teavana haul. I haven’t been in a huge tea mood lately, and I don’t know why, but I blame it on stress. I’m trying to get back into the swing though!

So I’ve had this once before this. I liked it waaaay better this time. Last time I got mostly strawberry but this time I made sure to get more actual tea in there, causing it to brew to more of a tea color than the bright red I got the first time. I’m curious as to just what teas are in the base…. I see mostly green oolong but there’s also some pu-erh in the mix when you pick through it. I’d be interested in trying Teavana’s pu-erh alone, but they don’t offer it as a straight tea, which leads me to believe that they get it from another company/supplier and rebrand it.

Regardless, this is just okay. Like the other teas I’ve tried from Teavana. It tastes like strawberry and I don’t really get too much tea flavor. I’d be interested in seeing if this will actually aids in weight loss….. Interesting.

Even though the teas I’ve tried so far have all been “eh” (except the Cha Yen Thai…. I bought some full size and I LOVE it), I won’t give up hope in Teavana. Believe it or not, I’m really trying to like their teas. I’m going down to Valley Forge in April and we’re going to the King of Prussia mall (the largest mall in America….. DON’T BE FOOLED. The Mall of America has the most stores and is certainly more impressive but King of Prussia is the physically biggest mall, with the most leasable retail space) and they have a Teavana and I do plan on picking up some teas to make iced…. Their fruity blends look like they could really shine iced, and it will be that time of year!

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 5 min, 0 sec
Bonnie

Don’t worry ol chum…it’s Spring Fever you know…got a bit of the Feev and the tea thirst has bezazzled you for a short while. It will return I promise you. We will see to it. I for one am a magic Grandmother and have uttered a magic Grandmother word (it’s a bloomin secret Ian) so I am confidant that the tea urges will be back in no time at all. Cheers!

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80
drank White Ayurvedic Chai by Teavana
119 tasting notes

I don’t have too much to say on this one simply because it is so un-remarkable. It’s not BAD, but it’s not AMAZING. I don’t think it would be something I would repurchase, especially not 2 oz of it. It’s pretty sweet for a chai and, as others have said, it tastes A LOT like redhots. Which I mean, that’s okay because I like redhots, but I don’t really look for that taste in my chais.

Also, I don’t know if I’ve said this or not, but I’m not like a super huge fan of chais. They’re alright every once and a while but they aren’t my favorites, at all.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 15 sec
K S

Never really got chais either. I drink it if offered but never crave it.

Ian

I agree. I won’t shoot someone down if they offer me a cup but they aren’t teas that I generally spend TOO much money on. I remember reading some good things about this one and I thought I’d try some. I then realized that it was $11 (makes sense because it’s white tea), which is another reason I slightly regret buying this.

ashmanra

Tried this today in the store for the first time. Meh. But I am not a chai lover.

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79
drank Sencha Jade Reserve by Teavana
119 tasting notes

Sorry I’ve been rather absent the past couple of days! I have been drinking tea but I’ve been super busy and so I haven’t bothered to do backlogs because I quite honestly can’t remember how most of the teas I’ve drank have tasted.

I’ve been feeling rather under the weather today (blame it on exhaustion) and I was in the mood for something light and fresh. This is one of the teas I picked up at Teavana and I decided to brew it up.

This is nice! It’s light and fresh, and as it cools more and more the sweetness of it really starts to come out more. It’s a fresh sweetness, like spring air. Not floral but rather…… bright. If that makes any sense. I’m not too familiar with senchas but I am enjoying this one! It’s not something I’d repurchase but I will enjoy it while I have it.

(ALSO, I think I’m going to start rating teas again. I know that I only recently said I would stop but my point of view has changed a little and I’ve realized that rating teas is kind of fun! I think Steepster will be for rating teas and my actual tea review blog (which I have yet to start :P I’m trying!) will be for focusing primarily on taste)

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 0 min, 45 sec
ScottTeaMan

I like rating the teas Ian. Sometimes, it is easy to decide on a number, & sometimes I feel like, “What’s the difference if I rate this tea a 75 or a 77.” A specific rating is fun for me, and a specific number gives me something to look back on. It is a reference point, or a snapshot in time, aiding me-and reminding me (along with my review), as to why, or how much I like a tea. :))

Drunk From Tea

^——— agreeed.

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I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack. Long time no see Steepsterites! I had a lot of fun at New Englands but now I’m back and excited to start drinking tea again.

So, I have a confession to make. And I may or may not be slightly embarrassed about it………..

I blew the $70 I made babysitting and doing chores ALL on tea. ALL of it. We stopped at a mall in Nashua, New Hampshire that had a Teavana (on the way there) and I HAD to stop by. We don’t have one in Vermont and I’m deathly afraid to order online (based on all the horror stories I’ve heard here! Also, I didn’t have to pay for shipping costs this way!) so I decided to pick up some tea. Luckily, it was a very small shop and there weren’t any obnoxious people on the floor trying to sell me tea! The only complaint I had was that they pulled the routine “You should get a tin!” and I decided to decline and just get the bag (and save myself a good $30 extra dollars it would have cost to get all the tins). Anyways, I picked up 7 kinds of tea (3 on the way there, which I was SO afraid would be damaged by all the traveling they did, but luckily remained in tact, and 4 when we stopped by the second time on the way home). I got mostly flavored teas but I also got 2 straight greens because I want to try some more of Teavana’s straight varieties (you really hear about their blends more).

This is the first straight green I picked up (the second is the Sencha Jade Reserve). I like a good genmaicha and so I decided to try Teavana’s just to test it out. It smells slightly sweet and kind of… full, if that makes sense. There’s a lot of rice, and the pieces are pretty tiny, which I kind of have mixed feelings about. ALSO, I got 2 oz of every kind of tea (except Citrus Sage Lavender which I got 3 oz of) and I have two complaints:
1.) They won’t let you go less than 2 oz which is so frustrating because they measure it out right there and they’re perfectly capable of doing it. It would be nice if I could pay for what I want, and not have to buy one flat size.
2.) I don’t think their scale worked right…. It might be just me but there definitely doesn’t seem to be 2 oz of tea in the bag…..

Anyway, on to the tea. I steeped at 175 for 45 seconds in my Noble mug. The wet leaves taste really good… Like (who would have guessed? :P) toasted rice. The tea itself smells slightly vegetal with a nice sweet note mixed into it.

This is pretty nice. It has a pretty full flavor (typical of many genmaichas in my experiences at least) and yet remains rather light in the flavor side of things. The gyokuro adds a nice grassy vegetal flavor and the rice adds a nice toasty body to it that makes for a really nice contrast. This is pretty good! I’m rather impressed! I plan on increasing the steep time for 15 seconds and I think I can squeeze two more infusions out of this.

In the mean time, I’m exhausted. I got back last night from Connecticut and besides sleeping I haven’t really had a moment of rest since. The order of events are:
Thursday-Left for Connecticut at 7:30, woke up at 5:20 on Thursday and 6:45 on Friday and Saturday
Saturday-After having a grand total of 15 hours of music rehearsal in two days, I had my concert and then retreated back to the hotel (we stayed overnight while most people went home because we had my little sister and travelling again would be too much of a hassle) and went to dinner and then bed.
Sunday-Up at 7:00, left at 8:30. Stopped at Nashua for an hour and a half but other than that I was in the car the whole trip. Got home, returned our rental car, and then went to ANOTHER music rehearsal for 2 more hours. Got home at 7:30, unpacked, went to bed.
I
Feel
Dead.

But, I have to work through it and get my work done. You don’t really realize how much not having a computer for 4 days can really impact your life until you actually do it…. But regardless, it was worth it and I had a lot of fun and made a lot of new friends! Plus, I have a butt-load of reviews to read C: !

ALSO (this post is so long), I just finished reading the first Hunger Games. O. M. G. I haven’t read a better book (of that genre) since Harry Potter! It’s so good and now I’m even more bummed that I can’t go to the midnight premier this week! :(

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 0 min, 45 sec
Uniquity

Oh, The Hunger Games! I read them when I worked for an indie bookstore (well, there was only the one at the time, then the second came out while I worked there). I found the third a disappointment once I finally read it, but the first two were great! Try the Uglies series sometime if you’re into that sort of thing.

Scatterbrain

I was curious about this.

Ian

@Uniquity: Luckily I bought the second and third before I even started so I don’t have to wait! I have heard that the third is a bit of a disappointment. I’ve heard of the Uglies and I thought about checking it out at the library once or twice and I think I’ll go give it another look now! Thanks!

@Kwinter: The tea or the books? lol. They’re both very good!

Scatterbrain

Both, now that I think about it.

TeaBrat

I like this too. :)

Bonnie

Missed you!

Drunk From Tea

Ahhh dont be ashaimed of spending 70$ on tea. I seriously spend half my paycheck almost every week at DAVIDsTEA (i have a problem)! But I am starting to slow down because my cupboards are becoming too full and I am becoming quite satisfied with my collection. (also, my mom will probably take my debit away if she sees one more blue paper bag in this house) lol. Anyways, it is money well spent ^^

Invader Zim

I did the same thing, spent $70 on tea at Teavana while I was down by Baltimore this past weekend. I mostly was refilling my stashes that were getting low. I did buy a new tin, I have this thing for their washi tins with the sakura petal designs. I now have 4 of them. I almost bought a yixing pot too. But I put that on my wishlist for later! Glad you had fun and enjoyed yourself on your trip though!

Angrboda

If you enjoyed Harry Potter, I would advice you to check out the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy.

You may also enjoy the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. I did. On the other hand, that one is probably aimed slightly below your age group, so it really depends on what else you like to read. I’m a childish soul myself, so it’s possible that I’m just sufficiently old to be able to see the charm in it. How’s that for a discouraging disclaimer!

Bonnie

I got some of this at the Broomfield Teavana (I know what you mean about spending the moola! choke! 2 4oz of this cost me $25.00!!!) but this was a splurge and really good for my first Genmaicha. Can’t afford to go back there unless I win the lottery!

Ian

I know! That’s another reason I refuse to order online-imagine having to add shipping costs on top of that!

Bonnie

Yeh but you get samples and the shipping would have been free on $70. In store no samples! Some sites free shipping on $25 like Verdant and I think 52 tea’s is cheap too (I don’t like their tea though). Davids $5.00 is not to bad from Canada. I sent out a bunch of samples to people and it cost me $18.00 and I got back not even a thank you from one person, a tiny bit from another and a decent bit from the third and forth but usually not as much as I send. Not the point I know…Hope you are well…

Kittenna

Bonnie: That sucks. Much of the fun in swapping is sharing something with someone else and hearing their feedback on it! And a thanks is always appreciated too. Hopefully things go better in the future?

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I’m on my second cup of this today (I made this one as a latte with soy milk and maple syrup [my new favorite way to do it], but the first was just straight up) and it is very good!

It’s pretty spicy and very energizing! It also has a subtle sweet creaminess from the coconut that I really enjoy!

I’m in the midst of finishing up last minute homework and packing because tomorrow (at 6:50 in the morning :( I have to wake up at 5:20 because the bus is 40 minutes away from my house :( times 10!) for the All-New England Music Festival in Dayville, Connecticut for 4 days! I’m excited/stressed/upset that it’s happening when it is/anxious but hey it comes with the territory of being a musician AND a full time student!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 min, 0 sec
SimpliciTEA

Have fun!

Ninavampi

Hugs!! Positive thoughts and wishing the best possible out come with the most hugs possible!

Ninavampi

Oops… Wrong post… But still send you hugs and possitvie thoughts!

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I was in the mood for a good caffeine free dessert tea, and I am particularly fond of this one.

What I Love: The taste. Oh my goodness this is good. I definitely am going to buy a full sized version of this.
What I Don’t Love: The little floaty’s that escaped from my infuser basket and are now all over my tea :( oh well, I’ll just have to live!

All my notes from last time still stand!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 0 sec
Bonnie

You make me crack up!

Ian

I’m glad :D

Jillian

Sounds like you need a strainer with a finer mesh.

Drunk From Tea

OMG this tea sounds AMAZING! The only thing I love more than coconut is cheesecake!

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94
drank Cha Yen Thai by Teavana
119 tasting notes

FOREWARNING: I just finished writing this, and it’s VERY long. So please don’t feel like you have to suffer through it. Blame it on my hankering to avoid my homework and not writing a review for a couple of days!

Did I make this tea while I was literally on my way out the door to get to my school’s girl’s hockey championship game (they won)? Yes, I did. Did I forget about it the whole car ride and when I got there I was already late so an almost full cup sat in my car for two hours? Yes. Did I drink it two hours later anyways? Yes. Did I also unintentionally leave the tea leaves out all night? Yes. Did I ignore this fact and continue to resteep them almost 24 hours later? Yes. Did I forget that my timer went off so the tea steeped for about 15 minutes? Yes.

SO MANY BAD HABITS THAT IAN IGNORED IN ONE TEA!

Anyways, this is a tea that I received in my swap with The DJBooth. Thanks for sending this along!

This is actually really yummy! Generally, I’m not a fan of Teavana for these reasons:
1.) Their blends are like…. all blend no tea. This one actually isn’t an exception… I can hardly see any tea in all of these spices, but it is still very good.
2.) I HATE their website. I can’t stand it. I can’t pinpoint exactly why, but it has to do with the colors/design choices and the fact that it doesn’t flow.
3.) I’ve only been to their retail locations like twice (there aren’t any in Vermont) and the sales people were annoying.
4.) I’m scared to order online because of what I’ve heard from the discussion thread here….
5.) Along with their salespeople, they. know. almost. nothing. about. tea. This is not true with everyone, I’m POSITIVE about that, but the few that I’ve met in person knew nothing. They couldn’t answer my questions and they thought Teavana was all that (quote on quote: “I’ve tried a different version of this tea from a different company and I love it, so I don’t want to try this. Thank you though!” [me] “That’s impossible! Teavana makes the highest quality teas in the US. You won’t find better than this” [sales person]. In fact that tea was one of the lowest rated teas by them here on Steepster).
However, I won’t say that I’m unwilling to try their teas. Personally I don’t like the company and the environment they put off. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy some of their teas.

Anyways, on from my rant.

This tea is very good. It’s pretty bold and has almost a chai-y type flavor to it. Next time I brew this up I think I’m going to make a latte! I think that would be SO good, and it would be sort of reminiscent of Thai tea.

Pretty good! I wouldn’t repurchase it, but this is very nice. Thank you again, The DJBooth for letting me try some of this!

Oh yeah, PS: The brewing parameters are for the first steep!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 0 sec
Daniel Scott

I hate their website, too! It’s just visually/design-wise a total mess.

And I’ve seen Teavana employees on Adagio chat, and that’s exactly what they sound like. It’s a little scary/cult-like.

Ian

I’m glad I’m not the only one who hates the website!

I totally know about the cult thing! I’ve seen them comment on Youtube videos that give them bad reviews….. ALSO, I totally left this out but I hate how they never let bad reviews through. Like, if you look at ANY tea on their website, there’s next to no negative reviews. That’s so frustrating, because you can tell that they pick which ones to let through. I just want HONEST reviews, not promotion!

Tamm

I don’t think that I’ve noticed a lot of problems with looking at their site, but then again I’ve only ordered from there once! I have gotten the reaction that their teas are the “best out there” though. Which is funny coming from people who, when asked, have never sampled from other stores.
About the tea reviews on their site; I left one and it took them almost 3 months to post it. I wouldn’t trust them at all. After their newest batch of tea releases they didn’t allow reviews to be shown for weeks after the fact. I think that it was so there were no negative reviews to be found and people would splurge more on the new product.

Ian

I really don’t think a lot of them have tried teas from elsewhere… But hey, to each their own! As for the reviews, I completely understand where you’re coming from! It’s so sad though, because people buy from them so much and are blissfully unaware of all the crap that Teavana does…. Tea should be fun and personal but they make it annoying and corporate

TeaBrat

one experience I had ordering from Teavana’s website is they said they couldn’t call UPS to have a package redelivered to another address. But Rishi Tea did it and they were very pleasant about it!

Ian

They are so sassy! I haven’t ordered from them online but now I’m even more afraid to!

ashmanra

When I was in Tin Roof Teas, the young lady who helped me told me that she left Teavana because they repeatedly got on her case for not being pushy enough. She likes Tin Roof much better!

Ian

I’m sure she does! I can’t imagine how you could tell someone to be more pushy….

Tommy Toadman

that’s funny, totally unrelated to tea but more to the comments here, my hubby actually lost a job at a repo place because he was “too nice over the phone with customers” it’s crazy that sort of thing actually happens

Daniel Scott

Not surprised. I work in a fairly high-pressure sales job (one I’ve actually – cringe – seen compared to Teavana, although previous employees of the store I work for generally have liked working there, rather than carrying endless horror stories away…crucial difference, I think), and we are “allowed” to back off when people tell us to, but are otherwise expected to be pretty pushy. We get constantly berated if we’re not. It’s unfortunate, but the thing is, it DOES work, i.e. people demonstrably buy more.

Invader Zim

You’ll have to make it a latte and let me know if it actually tastes like Thai tea. I’ve been eyeballing this stuff but I’m afraid to buy it and be disappointed that it doesn’t taste like Thai tea because you can’t get samples from Teavana…I really dislike that about them.

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This is a pick me up tea as I lost an hour of sleep last night due to that stupid thing called “Daylight Savings Time.” I was horribly frustrated as I forgot to set my clock in my room an hour ahead and so I woke up thinking it was 9:30 and I would have the house to myself when it was actually 10:30 and my parents would be coming home soon from church.

Regardless, I am quite tired and I had a mate latte at a coffee shop in Burlington the other day and it was quite lovely, so I recreated it. I brewed up the mate at 195 for 5 minuets, added some maple syrup for sweetness, and topped it with some frothed soy milk. The result is an easy to make and delicious (and healthy AND a great pick me up, the perfect package :D) latte. It’s really good and I think this will be my pick me up drink of choice from now on!

I’ve come to the unfortunate realization that all of the teas on my list from yesterday won’t be able to be reviewed because I had to go to a dinner thingy last night and I stayed for much longer than expected, and I have homework to do today :( AND I have orchestra rehearsal. Meh. Regardless, I’ll try to get some of them done.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 0 sec
Scatterbrain

I’m really curious about mate as a replacement for coffee in the morning. How would you say the stimulation compares?

Ian

I think it actually compares really well! It does give me the same sort of effect as coffee does, though slightly less. Also, I don’t know if it’s just me or not, but when I have coffee I usually feel the effects much sooner than when I drink mate. I don’t know if that has anything to do with the other antioxidants and things in mate, or if it’s just how I react, but it does work pretty well. Yet again, it’s hard for me to say because everyone’s body reacts differently to caffeine, and so I might get it a lot more than you do.

I think it also depends on the mate, too. I find that lower quality ones (like the ones you get at the grocery store) don’t work as well on me as higher quality ones do. Also, I know that some mates are roasted, and that definitely affects ME. This gives me much more of a stimulation than those bottled ones by Guyaki, or whatever they’re called, do. I do like the Guyaki ones, but I find that the higher quality the mate is, the better the stimulation is.

Scatterbrain

Thanks. I’ll give it a try and hope for the best. I have a high caffeine tolerance unfortunately, I need 2-3 cups every morning just to get out up and moving.

LiberTEAS

Mate Factor has a dark roasted blend: http://www.matefactor.com/loose-yerba-mate-12-oz-bags/organic-dark-roast-yerba-mate-12-oz-loose.html That I highly recommend as an alternative to coffee. It is not only roasted yerba mate but also chicory and carob that really gives it a fuller, well-rounded flavor that is very satisfying.

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Profile

Bio

Hello!

I’m Ian and I’m a 15 year old student who lives in Vermont. I started (heavily) drinking tea in Late 2010 and have been obsessed ever since!

I tend to drink more black and herbal teas, though I do enjoy oolong, green, and white, and I’m exploring other facets of the tea world (I’m still trying with pu-erh!)

I tend to lean towards sweeter and fruity flavors in my teas, and I’m not a big fan of smoky flavored teas, or anything that’s VERY bold.

I also enjoy a cup of coffee every once and a while, though it does mess with my stomach sometimes so I don’t drink it as often as I drink tea.

In addition to tea drinking, I’m also really interested in:
Classical music (I’ve been playing clarinet for 5 years now and it’s my favorite thing to do), independent arts/music, education on environmental sustainability, reading, Fair Trade and safe-trade practices, Cognitive science, art history, and a lot more.

I’m open to swaps, but I don’t have a very wide collection. Regardless, if I review a tea and you would like a sample, feel free to message me and we can work something out! If you would like to just try something without a swap, feel free to ask too! I know that I personally don’t have a lot of teas to swap and if you’re in the same position as me just feel free to ask for a sample and I’ll send you some, no strings attached!

I run a blog on TeaTrade which you can find here: http://serendipitea.teatra.de/. The goal of my blog is to better connect tea with the arts and go beyond just the taste aspect of tea. Enjoy!

Location

Vermont

Website

http://serendipitea.teatra.de/

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