191 Tasting Notes
OH my goodness, this is an instant favorite as of right now. i’m on the third steeping, and this is just so earthily delicious! it’s very reminiscent of roasted barley tea (mugicha?) at this point, only better, which in my book is nummy. reminds me of cold early spring evenings in my little farmhouse in upstate new york, a gazillion years ago, and me being inside and cozy and warm drinking golden toasty tastiness….except now it is roasted kukicha, and i’m in texas, and i guess it is still really cold, and i’m still really warm in here and…
well, anyhow, i believe this one’s a keeper! a dab of honey in it is pretty good, too. yum!
Preparation
well, first steeping, following directions exactly was non-interesting. i may have been biased by the fact that the dry tea smells awful, super fake flavoring like. second steeping, i forgot about it, and it sat for about 10 minutes, and y’know what? it’s a little better. added a little honey, and it is even better! however, that doesn’t mean it is a hit or anything. i think i was expecting something more like vietnamese artichoke tea, made with actual artichoke plant parts (not “natural artichoke flavor”), which isn’t caffeine-y, so doesn’t actually have tea in it (i think). if they’d added actual artichoke bits to green tea, might have been better, possibly.
Preparation
drank this again a couple of days ago, as have plenty of it, and you know what? was a lot better. i don’t think i did much different, but perhaps i was just feeling more tolerant then. still not my absolute favorite, but was better than NON interesting. it was A LITTLE BIT interesting this time. :)
this is an awesome workhorse tea – powers you right through the afternoon on multiple cups, a different flavor personality every steep. my favorite i think is the second steeping, where there’s still some astringenty matcha-y creamy-yness, but it’s also starting to grassify. good stuff. i will keep in stock at my house, yes.
Preparation
Oh goodness, this tea is delicious! This first brew i accidentally oversteeped by a bit, but i added a little sugar, and NOM. you mustn’t mind the round, thick, full, honey- and tobacco-esque richness, or you’ll never love this tea. definitely a mouthful! i’ll update if i get in another steep today BUT i’ve spent the morning on another tea, i may have to draw the line here, since this one is REALLY making it’s presence known. YUM!
ON EDIT: nope, had to have a second cup. EVEN BETTER! i’m loving this one, it’s just so rich and creamy, full and thick. i just don’t know how to describe it. important thing to note, however, is that before i added the 1/2 tsp or so of sugar, it wasn’t near as amazing. just accept that this is one of those needs sugar teas, and you won’t go wrong. in fact, based on second brew, i’m ranking this in my tops.
Preparation
well, i tried. i mean, it’s not like it’s YUCKY or anything like that, it’s just, there. green. so….boring. it tastes light and ok, and as it cools (but before it gets too cool) it ALMOST swerves into “good but not great” territory. as it misses that target, it gives up and slumps down into a wet green pile of “meh.”
Preparation
this thing ROCKS! when my brother got me a gift set from Teavana for my birthday, i for some reason didn’t bother with it for a few months….but once i started using this wondrous strainer, i couldn’t stop with the tea! there’s no way i’d have gotten re-addicted if it weren’t for the PerfecTea, i blame it completely. LOVE IT.
oh yumminess! this particular tea is particularly floral, so much so that the scent of the tea brewing was making me anticipate a perfume-y (yucky) taste once i sipped…but no! hooray! just a thick rich oolong flavor accented with the floral notes in quite a delicate manner. just yummy.
Preparation
admittedly, this is the first oolong i’ve had since undertaking the Big Tea Experimentation of 2013, but DARN if this isn’t one of the yummiest teas i’ve ever had! Rich, chocolate-assam-redcurrant-esque depth with just the tiniest TINIEST smoky flavor, just yummy. even the smell of the tea leaves makes me happy.
Next time around, i shall try a splash of milk and/or sugar, however just plain, this is delish.
(evidently not available on their website – i was there in-person and had to actually ask for it from behind the counter. it is one of Those Special Select Teas.)
Preparation
well this is an odd bird, although i should have expected that. pu-erhs are infamous for their oddness, after all! i didn’t think to rinse the leaves, so my first infusion was 2-3 tsp of tea in 16 oz of boiling water, steeped for around 5 minutes. HOLY silage, batman! the scent hits your nose first, a rich multi-layered combination of wet soil, compost, tobacco smoke, and rotten vegetation. the first sips were incomprehensible, but once the tea had cooled a tiny bit, similar flavours roll over the tongue delightfully. after the tea had cooled a bit more (still hot, mind), the flavors all collapsed into the taste of damp sand, which was disappointing. poured out the rest of that cup, started on the second infusion. boiling water, about 5 minutes again, the brew is just as inky brown from the moment the water hits the tea – does this stuff not dilute? the aroma of the tea this time around is a little sweeter – more rotting vegetation than tobacco smoke, less peat and more compost. this is not a bad thing, mind. the flavor has calmed down a bit, it is a bit less sharp, a bit less complex; it tastes more like a tea now. this is definitely not an everyday tea for me, however i can imagine it being an amazing after-dinner drink, served in small cups, shared amongst friends, like a fine sherry.
