615 Tasting Notes
Short Sorceress was nice enough to send me enough of this to steep up a cup, and then CrowKettle awesomely put some in the package that got sent my way. Thank you both so much!
This cup is both juicy and clean, with hints of honey and apricot. It has that smooth, cooling effect (the one reminiscent of sucking on a cool wet stone while trekking through the desert) on my mouth that I really enjoy from the Shui Jin Gui Wuyi Oolong. In other ways (the fruity notes and florals) this reminds me very slightly of a Darjeeling, but it’s creamier and has more body. There’s also no astringency in my cup at all.
This is definitely going onto the inevitable post tax-season order early next year.
Preparation
Fiance and I went and saw Desolation of Smaug last night, and while the Tolkien purist in me wanted to weep, it was an excellent film in it’s own right and I’m sad I have to wait until next year for the next one. It’s a really quite long movie, and we didn’t get out of the theatre until 10:30 from our 7:30 showing. Of course this meant I was up way later than I intended (because who can come home from a movie and just sleep, I mean, really?) and up early to get some things done before next week.
I never did get around to making this one iced, (as this is my last bit of it) but I needed something solidly good but not terribly exciting on this groggy morning and this fit the bill perfectly.
Preparation
i have been surprised at how it’s possible to simultaneously be annoyed and also still love a movie like i do this one. i could go on and on, but for starters, i wanted WAY more Beorn. (can’t wait for the extended version hah)
on the yay side of my movie fun, i brought 3 timolinos holding “bilbo brew” (green), “thorin” (mauve), and “smaug” (black) fandom blends. i’d been waiting all year for that!! cheers bilbo!
Yay! I can finally review this! For the longest time, Steepster kept sending me back to the dashboard whenever I tried to log this. So woo!
This tea is fabulous. The flavors are balanced with the white base so I get both (which I really appreciate). And the fruity flavors are lovely! Apricot (and very much apricot and not peach) is in the forefront, but honeysuckle and jasmine also seep through. It’s a very bright combination of flavors, while still being mellow enough to remind me of drinking wine. I definitely get their ‘light and playful’ tag on this one though! In the aftertaste, there the apricot again and then a creamy lemony flavor.
I really like this one, but the price point is mildly offputting. Thanks so much for the chance to taste this, though, momo!
Preparation
My brain totally registered this as a white tea for some reason, so my steeping parameters for the first cup were all wrong and then some. And while the cup still tasted pretty decent (phew), it’s definitely better when done right.
Once I did this right, it’s a very nice tea. Lemony with earthy pine-like notes from the stinging nettle (which is an ingredient that is totally growing on me). I was fearing (and expecting) something more tart, and was pleased it was a more subtle cranberry tartness that didn’t make me pucker up. There’s a salty savoriness to the cup that works well, too.
Thank you so much KallieBoo!
Preparation
Backlog
This is the last backlogged tea I took notes on.
This brewed up very light golden brown. I had to double check my steeping parameters. The strawberry is an inoffensive strawberry flavor that doesn’t cross into plastic tasting (as some can). Dry it almost smelled like there was a chocolate element, but steeped, it’s very clear that’s not the case. Really light strawberry vanilla cream tea. Slightly smoother mouthfeel than a normal black, from the vanilla as well. Thanks Shelley_Lorraine!
Preparation
Backlog
The fruit flavors brewed up lighter than I remembered. So much so that I could almost write off the gentle jammy peach notes to the base itself, if I didn’t know better. The delicate floral quality is still present. As it cools the fruit becomes more prominent and I can pick out the watermelon again. There’s still no kiwi anywhere in this cup.
Preparation
Backlog
This was the last of this I had floating around, which is a little sad because I really think this is one of the better just coconut teas I’ve had. It was still buttery and creamy, and the mouthfeel falls somewhere between coconut water and light coconut milk. Drinking this also has has that little surge of juiciness that you get when you eat coconut shreds from the bag, and they almost seem to pop. I hope this finds its way back next summer.
