863 Tasting Notes

70
drank Sheri's Blend by 52teas
863 tasting notes

Alright – so this is my first exposure to 52teas – I was positively drooling over the coconut cheesecake blend, so I decided to order that and the Valenteas as well to try a few others I was curious about. This is one of them.
First off, this is REALLY true to taste. I get the apricots, and I get the cinnamon and I can’t believe how spot on they are.
BUT, I don’t know that I really like it, either. Maybe it’s that I don’t like rooibos? It seems like there’s an aftertaste that just kind of ruins the experience for me. Vaguely like… licorice?
I don’t know. I definitely give it a moderate rating for it’s accuracy, though; it’s just not necessarily to my tastes.

Preparation
Boiling 6 min, 0 sec

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92
drank Moroccan Mint by Teavana
863 tasting notes

I like this tea very much, but my boyfriend LOVES it – he’s enjoyed each of the other times we’ve had it and he loves the smell. It can do no wrong for him – but for me – it could definitely dry out my mouth with it’s astringency so there had to be a change in something to make it the best it could be. So, I played around with the parameters again – 3 level tsp. in 500 ml water, at 1:30 steep time.

This time when I gave him a mug and he took a sip, he looked at me and said, “It’s perfect.” He seemed surprised at the difference in flavor just by manipulating variables. I, however, used to manipulate variables for a living so I know just how much one small piece of the puzzle can have on the end result.

So, I’m bumping this rating up – I know I’m going to be ordering more of this once we go through our paltry 2 ounces. Now to figure out how to recreate this in some resteeps….

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 30 sec

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92
drank Moroccan Mint by Teavana
863 tasting notes

Decreased the steep time to reduce astringency – I though it brought the mint out more, but my boyfriend liked it better with the slightly longer steep, despite the added bitterness. I’m thinking we can come to a compromise if we add slightly more tea leaves (we did 2 tsp. to 500 ml water in our Breville) and keep with the minute and thirty seconds. Will try that and report back.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 30 sec

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92
drank Moroccan Mint by Teavana
863 tasting notes

Oh, wow. I think the only thing I’d do differently next time is steep 15-30 seconds less, because there was a slight “overcooked” astringency. Overall this was a very clean tea- the green and spearmint worked perfectly and I was able to taste both rather nicely. Yum!

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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66
drank JavaVana Mate by Teavana
863 tasting notes

So I like coffee, but I cannot stand what it seems to do to my body. Tea is much gentler to me, but I still really liked the taste of coffee…and I miss it. I tried the Javavana in effort to get the taste without all the jitters and appetite stimulating effects, etc. I will have to give it a day to see how it plays out – but the taste is spot on. I kind of can’t believe it’s tea, it tastes that much like coffee. So far, so good – I think I’ll be revisiting this one again.

UPDATE:
Well, this gets a huge bump up. It tasted like coffee but was nowhere near as havoc wreaking on me. I am working on trying to build up a “staple” cabinet, and this one is in it for sure. Can’t wait for tomorrow morning to make this again!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 6 min, 0 sec

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55
drank Strawberry Slender by Teavana
863 tasting notes

Okay I am slightly bumping this up – I tasted the strawberry more this time and, since I drank it unsweetened, got the sweetness from that rather than the sugar. The strawberry taste was quite pleasant, and not as artificial tasting as it smelled. However, I may have oversteeped, for my own tastebuds. Immediately following that sweetness was a bitterness that, while tolerable, I would rather avoid. I will try a minute or so less on the steeping for next time and report back to compare.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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100
reviewed One Touch Tea Maker by Breville
863 tasting notes

I am a casual tea drinker recently introduced to loose leaf tea. I had been using a hot water dispenser and tea ball, but wanted to have a way to enjoy multiple cups at one time. That would require the purchase of both a tea pot and tea kettle, and a lot of trial and error on my part. This machine was perfect (although expensive) for my needs- it combined both pieces of equipment and preset times for different tea types, with the ability to customize both temperature and steep time depending on preference, and program tea making to any specific time of day (as you would set a coffeemaker).
Anyway, I’m sure you know all about the features of the device. Performance wise, it works wonderfully, and is quite sturdy so far. I love being able to have a gadget dedicated to making tea – it makes the process so easy and has really upped my tea consumption. It is no small expense, however, if you are someone who a.) likes gadgetry, b.)wants to streamline their tea making equipment, and/or c.) wants the luxury of being able to program tea as you would a cup of coffee, I think it is well worth the money spent.

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50
drank Snowfields by T Salon
863 tasting notes

The tea smells amazing, both before and after it is brewed. However it tastes no different from a pure green tea. Not a bad flavor at all, as I quite like the taste of green teas – just disappointing given such an amazing aroma.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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85

This a yummy tea. It is spicy but not overwhelming. It also blended really well with the honeybush vanilla tea – and it seems like it will be very versatile with other teas as well.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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60
drank Honeybush Vanilla by Teavana
863 tasting notes

Okay – by itself this is too overpowering. But when mixed with the white ayurvedic chai, it is much better – the spices in that balance the vanilla very well. A good afternoon or evening tea

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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Profile

Bio

My tea habits:

*I am an unashamed Lipton iced-tea drinker (mass quantities, year round).
*I like hot teas but only in cold weather (and occasionally late summer nights or mornings).
*I love Japanese greens (the more seaweed-y the better) and good strong malty black teas.
*I do NOT love smoke in any form.
*Vanilla, cinnamon, or lemon anything will usually pique my interest.
*I’m working on pu-erh but it’s definitely going to take some time to grow on me.

(updated September 2015)

Location

Medford, OR

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