New Tasting Notes

Thanks so much for allowing me to try this old favorite again, Cameron B! I used four pearls this time, rather than the suggested three pearls, and it did seem to have a harshness/astringency to it, so I shall try it again with three pearls next time. Good stuff though! Plenty of flavor.

edited to add: In a past note from seven years ago, I was wondering how the astringency of five pearls didn’t kill me, so there’s that. ha. Should have visited my past note before steeping this up!

Aw, I never wrote a note for this one and now it is gone.  I do believe it was from Meowster long ago — thank you!  It is probably due to the age of the leaves, but I never really loved this one.  I DO typically love a Wen Shan, but this one always never matched up to the flavor of others I have loved.  Also, the leaves look like they are very tiny/chopped unlike a typical big leafed Wen Shan.  It tastes like oolong but not really distinct delicious flavors… Four steeps, and it DID almost seem like a different oolong with every cup.  An 85 rating is a decently high rating from others though!

The raspberry in this one is a little sherbet-like, which is nice, but overall a touch too bitter and metallic tasting to really be pleasant. I assume it’s the valerian since it’s in all three of the Twinings sleep teas I’ve tried and they all have a similar base profile that isn’t quite overcome by the differing flavourings. I added a spoonful of honey to my cup, but it’s not enough to change things significantly. This one I probably wouldn’t seek out again; the spiced apple is way better.

So this is a green tea with spearmint, orange blossom, and osmanthus. In practice though, it just tastes like a very mild spearmint infusion. I like spearmint, so it’s enjoyable, but missing the orange blossom and osmanthus flavors…

Herbal TTB! I mostly taste mint. It’s pretty strong and fresh, but I don’t notice any of the other ingredients – possibly just a hint of floral chamomile? Not bad cold!

I stopped by the Louisville Tea company and bought a bunch of teas. I tried Big Four Chai before purchasing, and I wish I had done the same with this tea. Its quite yummy to start with distinct cranberry and gingerbread flavors, but the finish is medicinal cherry, why?!? I’m pretty sure this is just wholesale from another company and not one of LT blends, but I am disappointed in this tea. I will experiment with time and leaf to see if I can minimize the cherry aftertaste for the rest of this small bag and wish I had just gotten more of Big Four Chai…

Another neglected sample, this one from Courtney. I’m not generally very into vanilla-flavored black teas, so that’s probably why it’s lingered this long.

It’s nice though. The Assam is flavorful but not too sharp, and the vanilla reminds me of vanilla extract, which is a good thing. It’s sweet but not overly so, with hints of creaminess and florals, and woody undertones. Pleasant, but not my thing!

Lovely tea session today with Gingerbread Man, grandpa style thermos brewed as I was in a work course for most of the day. For reference, I used the whole 7g mini in my 500ml thermos, added boiling water and left it for ~2 hours before drinking. Once close to empty I topped up with fresh boiling water.

This shou remained fairly linear throughout. There is a slightly bitter bite to the initial sip, a touch of earth, and then straight into huge molasses flavour. It becomes slightly smoother with later refills. It’s very rich, oily, and thick-tasting, making it a great comfort or cold weather tea. Whilst there is of course no ginger flavour, it is easy to think of baked goods such as gingerbread men while drinking this purely because it bears such resemblance to molasses.

I’m so glad I decided to give this one a try. If you’re on the fence when it comes to shou this could be a good introductory option.

Another cute little mini biscuit, this time a dian hong and chen pi blend. I’m honestly not a huge fan of this one, it’s not bad but it’s very earthy. I agree with Amanda, it’s giving wet forest floor vibes. Earthy and mineral with damp, decaying fallen leaves. I assume it’s the chen pi giving those notes, as I don’t generally find dian hong to taste overly earthy. Not really noticing any citrus. I like moss and petrichor notes in a fragrance, but I’m not sure I love them in a tea ha ha!

Re-reviewing this one as I finish off my sample from last year’s advent exchange. Last year I remarked that it was too lemon-y and lacked berry flavor, but the cup I’m sipping now has barely any lemon sharpness. Instead it’s more of a syrup-y elderberry cream, with just a hint of lemon. There’s something almost viscous about it, but in a pleasing way. I’m really enjoying it!

Sampling Salted Caramel Matcha this morning, made into a latte with whole milk. The caramel is smooth, creamy, and lightly salted. Sweet and comforting, but not too overpowering. A pretty perfect way to begin a cold autumn morning.

I’ll start by mentioning that S&V no longer sells this, so don’t run over to their site to find it. I managed to buy it when it was being discontinued, so I made sure to order. I’m glad I took the gamble, as I REALLY like this one. Strong marzipan on a great rooibos base. The marzipan isn’t cloying. And the occasional almond slice in the blend also lends another level of almond to the flavor (I’m assuming.) It’s a cozy blend though! A great dessert tea. I wonder why it was discontinued, as I think this is a keeper. Two solid steeps. I know there was a similar blend like this… maybe from Zen Tea back in the day.

I’m not sure if ashmanra’s done “A Kind of Tea You Buy Even When You Aren’t Out” as a monthly prompt, but this fits the category, as our Food 4 Less had a seasonal Twinings display with everything less than $3. Can’t pass that up, especially as this one gets used year-round as a nightcap.

Nothing new to say about it; everything is very understated: hints of apple, wisps of chamomile, little twinkle of cinnamon. Just leave the bag in and enjoy.

4.3g, 90 mL ZZZ

replaced my water filter yesterday which brought out more fruity mineral profile today. feeling is same as usual, present and relaxing but still able to work and do other things in the background.

Lately, I’ve realized that I really like this type of feeling that is present but still allows me to do work or whatever either during or later. I didn’t identify it earlier on, but I’ve realized speed test winning teas for me all fit this profile of being reasonably strong, but comfortable to drink. So even when I was complaining about it not being quite worth the price before, I was compelled to drink it when I have plenty of other teas around. I do wish this were cheaper, but none of the cheaper teas I own that taste fine, or even good, feel quite as nice.

Herbal TTB! The orange here is pretty juicy and nice! It’s tasty cold. Not too tart, just smooth and authentic.

Sipdown

November Sipdown Challenge Prompt – a large leaf tea*

Delicious and nutty, we have purchased this many times and hope to do so again. We power through it every time we order it. It is SO GOOD with food whether meal or sweet snack or cheese and crackers. It resteeps well and as usual, we combine the steeps. This is a favorite of Ashman’s.

Sipdown

Delicious tea with strong mango scent but when steeped you definitely taste the oolong.

Ashman asked me if the name Ripe Mango implies that one might eat an unripe mango or flavor something like an unripe one, and I had to admit that I have never purchased a mango and don’t know if I have eaten one. Perhaps there has been mango in fruit salad somewhere sometime but my older children have said they don’t like mango so I ha en’t bothered to purchase one. But I think the word Ripe in the name is just to emphasize that this is the mature fruit and therefore sweet and smooth.

Delicious, and a someday repurchase. Ashman liked it a lot.

Brewed in a 110ml sheng seasoned yixing at 205F. I cracked the ball in half with my puerh pick as I prefer leaves to open faster during the wash.

Rinsed 20s – rinse was medium-light

First few steeps are a bit strong, I kept brew times under 15s to avoid astringency, although I was not always successful – the astringency was not too intense though. Liquor color is generally yellow to gold. Flavor has a strong mocha note. The smoke is nice, not too intense but blended nicely with the sheng, which is a nice contrast to some of the over cmoked teas like fire bat and pyrolad. Flavor is more roasty than smokey. In the background is a floral-sweet sheng blend. It’s nice, not necessarily mind blowing, but it does have a unique character

Later steeps lighten up, astringency mostly gone. The roast notes mellow out quite a bit, leaving msotly the sheng notes with the brightness tuned down into a warm sweet bouquet, I’d say.

I actually really enjoyed this. I’m considering getting a cake, but at $150 for a 200g cake, I have a serious second guess about it. It is quite unique though.

My LA based friend, Joey C recommended this blend to me. Lady Grey and Harney’s Earl Grey Supreme have been my go-tos for bergamot, but Winter White is so nice. He enjoys his with orange-blossom honey. I am having “regular” honey from a local apiary in mine. I really enjoy this. It lacks that strong bitterness. Very gentle and lovely. TBH, this is my first white blend. I will be trying others.

Almond milk latte! I was hoping for lemon posset vibes with this one, and I got them…but only after adding approx 1/2tsp of sugar to sweeten things up a bit. Without I found the matcha a little too savoury and the lemon a touch too sharp. Not my favourite from B&B, but one I’m learning to work with.

It turns out that there are only 3 repeat productions in the W2T lootbag, and 9 lootbag exclusives. That definitely makes things more interesting from a sampling perspective, but many are quick to notice that the repeats are some of the vendor’s cheaper productions. Anzac, for example, is only $18 for a 200g cake. This has led many to be suspicious of the quality of the lootbag teas – surely it is a good gimmick for them to be able to unload some of their cheaper and less desirable tea.

So far, the teas I have sampled haven’t been bad. I don’t think I’ve rated any of them less than a 75, which is what I consider average. Afterclang is the next new production that I pulled out of the lootbag, mistakenly labeled with the sticker of ‘Anzac’. I was only able to notice this misprint because of the cover of Anzac containing the actual tea name, so unless the wrappers are wrong (a possibility) then this one is indeed Afterclang.

This is the first dud of the selection. I hardly could taste anything out of this sheng, and it made me wonder if I had caught COVID or something. I checked the wet leaf and noticed that the coin seemed to be pretty compressed, so I gave it another few steeps for it to open up. It took a solid six infusions to finally start delivering some flavor – lots of apricots. My mom always remarks at how sheng smells like apricots, and for the most part while I tend to disagree, I certainly agree for this specific one. However, so far this is the weakest of the teas offered in this loot bag; perhaps I will have a better session the next time when I can account for the compression in the initial steeps.