Popular Tasting Notes

Interesting Keemun. The package label says “fresh pine” which is definitely there, but I am not used to it in a black tea! Need to spend more time with this.

My favorite green tea so far. I love the lemon/lime notes which are strong on the nose and noticeable in the taste. The taste is mildly earthy, but not bitter or grassy.

I got to try this tea in my advent calendar this week and I can assure you that it tastes nothing like coffee. It is soooo good. I didn’t get much of the fruit taste, just a faint amount (which was perfect for me) and a creamy cakey taste. One of my new favorite teas. I steeped a perfect teaspoon with a mug.

Originally published at The Nice Drinks In Life: http://thenicedrinksinlife.blogspot.com/2013/01/organic-tamayokucha.html

Origin: China
Type: Tamayokucha
Purveyor: Two Leaves and a Bud
Preparation: One bag steeped in about eight ounces of boiling water for 3:00 (as recommended), sipped plain

Here is an interesting specimen: Chinese-grown leaves prepared in a traditional Japanese style. Tamayokucha (also known as tamaryokucha, which altered syllable one would think would alter the entire word) can be processed either via pan-firing or via steaming, and Two Leaves and a Bud made a good choice in the latter. Pan-firing brings out a more vegetal essence in the tea, and while this example certainly has some of those characteristics, it also, because of the steaming, was able to keep plenty of space for sweetness, tannins, and just plain roominess.

The color of the brewed tea is light yellow, rich, translucent, and full of character, not unlike a pigment that might be used in a stained glass window. The aroma is sweet – not honey-like, nor sugary, nor fruity, but sweet. There is also an undertone to the aroma, more of a texture than a scent, really, which gives it a sort of earthy feel, in the same way that one can feel the air in a woodland before and after a rain differently than one can feel it in other settings. (This is surely magnified many times over in pan-fired varieties.) Perhaps the best approximation – and it is only that – of this unique combination of sweetness and texture in the aroma is a steaming-hot mug of green tea ice cream.

This tamayokucha tastes delicate, light, flavorful, pure, with a touch of briskness (surprisingly), and nice tannins (which are at optimal levels). Sweetness is there but not overpowering. The fine-tuned combination of all of those factors yields a delicious brew that really tastes like green tea ought to taste; truly an excellent example of the category.

As per its dynamic character, this tea can serve equally well as a morning get-me-going potion, an object around which to unwind in the afternoon, or (for those unaffected by caffeine) something to make one cozy of an evening. Enjoy.

Tastes like a scented candle. The cardamom overpowers all other flavor, no amount of cream or sugar or additional cinnamon could save it for me. The balance seems way off with this one. Can’t taste the pumpkin at all.

This tea was quite interesting. It was earthy, and almost leathery in flavor. It reminds me a bit of barns and country living. It was definitely smooth but difficult to place taste-wise. I will need to have this one a few more times to develop my feelings on it.

The aroma and creamy taste are wonderful. My wife truly enjoys it. However, I can’t get past the astringency. I don’t find it as smooth as the Rishi EG. It’s a Ceylon based EG.

Way too strong. I only like this when I ‘dilute’ it with a bland black tea.

It was alright. Tasted like berries mostly.

a nicer pu-erh

though I like to remind everyone that even a looseleaf pu-erh benefits from a quick hot water “wash” before steeping. A wonderful trick I learned from @alaw

This tea is sweetly fruity and delicate. It’s perfect for evening, or whenever you just need to relax!

this tea is excellent as a mix to say Rooibush, 1 TBS Rooibush and 2 TBS Thistle Tea and about 24 oz boiling water, steep for about 3 minutes….

Ok—this is one of my favorite greens of all time. I was actually in the mood for a black tea tonight, and pulled this out thinking it was a black until I poured the light colored liquid into my mug. It smelled so nuttily delicious I didn’t mind a bit. It has a full enough flavor for black tea lovers, which is awesome.

What a win DT has here! No wonder it’s so popular. DT has managed to combine the two things you most want to do on a high-of-15-degrees-Fahrenheit day like today: 1) sit on a beach under a palm tree, and/or 2) snuggle up next to a fire. Pineapple, coconuts and walnuts together (with emphasis on the nuts)—who would’a guessed? It’s the perfect cuppa right now. :)