Featured & New Tasting Notes

I see on the 52 Teas site that there was apparently a rather recent reblend of this, but that’s not the one I have.

In rereading my original note on this, I mentioned that as it was no longer available I’d have to husband my supply. That was the “old” thinking, the save the best for last thinking I’m trying to get away from.

Yay for teas you really really really like! Such a pleasure to drink them, it almost makes kissing all the frogs to get to them worth it. Though I still have tea coming out of my ears, once I get that under control (if ever), I think I’m ready to settle down and standardize on some things. Which isn’t to say I won’t try new things from time to time, just that I’m no longer so much about trying ALL THE TEA.

Which is why it’s unfortunate this isn’t available all the time. It would definitely be a standard in my flavored black tea cupboard if it was. Ice cream without the calories, what’s not to like?

This has been my tea of the week. I wake up thinking about it and am excited to get to work to make a cup. It has been the perfect addition to my morning. It even received tin status this week.

Equal parts Market Spice Butter Rum + Touch Organic Keemun x (a filter you used to make Marco Polo yesterday and didn’t rinse out very well) = a Bob Ross happy accident that sort of resembles warm root beer. Eh, I took a chance :)

My stomach has been feeling bad since I started taking the oral typhoid vaccine (going to India at the end of next week). I thought a pu’erh might be nice this afternoon so I grabbed this on my way to the office. I’m still leery of my puerh collection after my apartment got sprayed for cockroaches. The smell of bug spray was everywhere. Still it’s a hard decision to throw out what amount to hundreds of dollars of tea.

This sample was in a plastic ziplock bag so at least I think it was better protected than the pu have that’s wrapped in paper. I still haven’t decided what to do! Anyway this is a good shu, I have always liked it. Chocolate and velvety. Hope it does the trick to settle my tummy a bit.

i rather enjoy this tea….to the point where i think i should pick up a bit more before it goes away, but then i can’t help but wonder if i’ll get tired of the taste, since i don’t usually love david’s teas enough to go through 100g+ Still though, i need to try this one as a latte since that’s apparently the way to do it heh

This is the best herbal I’ve ever sipped! Whoa. I was intrigued by the ingredients: apple, carrot, pumpkin, pineapple, coconut. The flavor is amazing. The main notes are coconut and pineapple. So sweet and so delicious. I make smoothies with pineapple and coconut yogurt and I could swear there isn’t a difference. So it’s like a smoothie without the calories! The most delicious, sweet herbal tea you could possibly find. I have no idea how it tastes like so much fresh pineapple. Magic? This is the only tropical herbal blend I would need in my tea collection.
Steep #1 // 2 1/2 teaspoons // just boiled // 10 minute steep

Oh man, this smells so good! The dry leaf aroma is mouthwatering mint chocolate. The brewed tea aroma is something special. I can smell chocolate and peppermint, but there’s something else. I can’t put my finger on it. Whole grain bread? Sunflower seeds?

Mmm mmmm!!! The flavor has that something extra special too. You can tell this is a high quality Verdant Tea base. The base outshines the flavorings. The first flavor is tea, followed by chocolate, followed finally by peppermint. That’s surprising in a pleasant way. Most times, teas with mint taste first and foremost like mint, with everything else coming in last place. But this is the opposite!

The base does have lovely chocolate and bread notes. Laoshan Black! Is it Laoshan Black? I think there’s a bit of that in here. This is delicious! It’s not as much like peppermint hot chocolate as I expected. Yet I think I like this more than the alternative I had imagined, which was thick and creamy. This is light and airy like a puff pastry but flavorful and satisfying like a meal.

I daresay I want more of this. Dare because my pocketbook can’t handle another purchase at the moment and my cupboard really can’t possibly handle any more tea. But this is special! This is Verdant! A Verdant 52teas collaboration is the stuff of dreams. My two favorite tea companies!!! Joining forces to make one delicious cup of yum! Alas, I’m afraid I’ll have to hold off on any additional purchases for now. But you should definitely pick up some of this while you still can!

I love this tea, I have a huge amount of it (I think more than anything else in my cupboard)… it’s the one I’m a bit surprised no one grabbed it in my free-for-all when I let go of (almost) everything. So obviously, this was meant to be, me sipping this tea, on a glorious day. (Fooled ya! No rhyme there).

This is a queued tasting note.

So, after the first day I made this as a latte I brewed it up again the day afterwards. I liked the latte, but I also felt like it didn’t taste as nice as it had the potential to be, nor did it taste like eggnog so this time I switched things up. What I ended up doing was brewing this Western style in plain hot water, and then at the end adding a few tsp. of eggnog into the liquor. The idea being that if anything was going to make this taste like eggnog it would be actual eggnog.

Making it this way was definitely an improvement: I thought all the elements I noticed with the latte (malt notes, nutmeg, a solid black base, some sweetness) still were present but because the tea wasn’t being overwhelmed and muted by all the milk and there was a little actual eggnog added in to give this that extra nudge all those flavours delivered a much better experience and the overall flavour was convincingly eggnog-like.

Definitely still need to try this one straight, though.

Another one I bought from the mystery sale a while ago. I can’t really say no to a marshmallow genmaicha… and this one has cherry! The cherry isn’t rampant here… it mildly makes itself known, but what is there is fine. I don’t know who would make cherry marshmallow treats though. Strawberry might be nice. I always want moooreee marshmallow in these marshmallow teas. I bet the new batches have way more marshmallow root! :D I’m still shocked more tea shops aren’t using marshmallow root in their blends.
Steep #1 // one teaspoon // 30 minutes after boiling // less than 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 28 min a.b. // 2 1/2 min steep

Any chocolate tea, I will try. If you read any of my reviews, you’ll see I often put this into practice… in the hopes of one day finding that “perfect” chocolate tea. I’ve come close.

This tea, sadly, isn’t it. I grabbed it immediately upon seeing the ingredients – chocolate and.. gasp.. blueberries? Really? Okay, I’m in. The staffer helping me at DAVIDs didn’t believe me when I pointed it out in both the marketing materials and on the label, and then one of her colleagues was all, “Yea, there’s blueberries in it, but it’s not my favorite. Try Hot Chocolate”. (I did, and that’s.. ohgoshdon’tgetmestartedgood).

This… this is a weird tea. I over steeped it accidentally on purpose. The first time I had it, the blueberries were lost in the brew and the whole tea fell flat. So this time I really wanted it to pop and shine, or, at least get a better idea of what this tea is all about. Plus, I had another good-sized cup of tea left.

Over steeped, it’s… ew. Artificial blueberry with a hint of chocolate weirdness. It’s.. um.. barely palatable. So yea, don’t over steep this teafrienz. Maybe just pass on it altogether?

My Amoda order has landed! Looking back at my order, I wondered why I didn’t just pick out a couple more things because I would have gotten a larger percent off but I guess at the time, I was trying to behave. But, but, for only $5-10 more I could have gotten so much more! Sigh.

The sample smells amazing. I say this a lot with spicy blends, but it’s akin to cola bottle gummy candies, even more so than Acquired Taste’s Winter Dream sencha. There is so much good stuff in this: licorice, allspice, orange peel, pink peppercorns, cinnamon, cardamom, elderberries…

I already know I overleafed because 7g fell into my basket and here I’m only steeping a standard cup. Whoops. So the liquor is looking rather dark.

The steeped tea smells like spice cake. I can taste the sweetness from the licorice root a bit, but it’s not overpowering because there isn’t a lot in the dry leaf to begin with. There is also some brown sugar in this, apparently, which contributes to the sweetness. I normally don’t like sweeteners added to teas, but it’s not bad here at all.

It’s worth trying, it’s tasty, but the sample size will suffice. But I wouldn’t have minded getting 25g either. It’s one of those teas. More wouldn’t hurt but it’s no loss either.

As you may or may not be aware, I battle with respiratory issues. Well, during Thanksgiving my niece had a scented candle burning. It was a light cinnamon something and quite pleasant. Until I got up the next morning. I had a major flare up. Fought it with lots of drugs and anti-biotics. Was feeling pretty good until yesterday. We plugged in a couple air freshener night lights, and a few hours later I could feel it clogging up the lungs. So back on the drugs. I am telling you this so as you gather with family this holiday season that you might think twice before lighting that candle or setting out that potpourri if one of your guests has a weakened system or has asthma.

Anyway, this tea – from a bag. Smells pretty inviting. I have no idea what an actual mango smells like (I’ve led such a sheltered culinary life). This reminds me of peaches but more prickly and with some tartness. If that’s mango, then nailed it. Don’t read the list of ingredients or you’ll just go eeeewwww. OK I’ll tell you – hibiscus, rosehips, and chamomile are in there as well as stevia. (All together now – eeeewwww) The however is that it works here. What I taste is that sweet fruity tartness. It is actually pretty enjoyable. My only complaint is the bitterness in the aftertaste from the stevia. On the other hand, I think it is there to complete the tartness/sweet of the fruit flavor. I would like to try it without the stevia and see for myself if it is necessary.

I think it was MissB’s tasting note(s) about this that finally made me curious enough about this blend, which I initially skipped over when trying the Winter Collection, to steal a cup worth from my Mom’s stash.

However, when I made my cuppa of this at work I was honestly a little let down. I felt that there was a noticeable oilyness to the mouthfeel and both the peppermint and chocolate notes felt a little bland/lackluster. I steeped this a pretty sizable amount of time (like eight minutes) and still, it tasted thin and watery. You can’t love ‘em all; but I’m surprised that after primarily positive reviews I didn’t mesh better with this tea.

Not a loss though; ‘cause the leaf wasn’t even mine in the first place.

This tea was bought after intense personal struggle. On one hand, I adore mint black tea blends. I’m running about like a mad woman in December, trying to grab them all, and this one had been out a while, and yet I had not tried it. The reason is coconut. I do not like coconut. Not in food, not in scents, not in tea.
But I was already ordering teas, and, well, it just sort of fell into the cart.
And I’m relieved to say that the coconut is something I can work with.
This tastes like a mild junior mint to me, and I’m really liking that. Its quite delicious! I’ll be quite glad to drink this bag.

Having some of this to counteract whatever I did to my stomach last night that resulted in the feeling of a rock sitting in it for a good 12 hours so far.

It might have been the latkes. Or maybe the brisket I had for dinner at the local place that’s the closest thing we have to a deli. It was a bit on the fatty side but I was hungry, so…

In any case, this is making things feel a little less weighty.

Sipdown!

This tea met an ignominious end: I brewed it, but something about it tasted off so I poured it down the sink.

I remember when I first had this tea that it seemed like the most miraculous thing ever. I may restock it in the future, but for now I’ll just let it be, since I have other teas out there to try, including some other Bi Luo Chuns.

The Enabler (aka my husband) saw me fondling this at an out-of-town trip to World Market and just silently put it in our cart. I love him.

My tea-newbie love affair with Republic of Tea, back when I was just a beginner, had generally cooled off, but this has stoked the fires again. Blueberry rooibos isn’t anything new to flavored tea fans, but add the caramel and vanilla and this becomes pie-sweet and velvety textured. As always, first cup with no additives; next time, milk to make it blueberry crumble with sweet cream.

Five trillion pats on the back for sipping this down without throwing it out. I discovered that the most tolerable way to drink this is to add a tablespoon to ground coffee and brew them together. The strong coffee notes cover up the overly burnt, carcinogenic notes of this Orzo “tea” (and those are some huge quotation marks there) when drinking it straight.

In my coffee mug, I’m left with a layer of roasted Orzo and a touch of caramel on top of the coffee. Still, I’m never buying any of these Orzo creatures again.

I’m OD-ing on tea a little here, but it’s because the kids are out of the house and I have nothing on the agenda until they get back. So I have a rare opportunity to play in my tea and write some notes uninterrupted.

I had the idea that this would be a good palate cleanser to transition out of some of the heavier stuff I’ve been drinking this morning, culminating in full blown chai. And also a nice transition from darker teas to lighter ones for this afternoon.

I had to remind myself that FTGFOP means Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe, or it’s joke interpretation — Far Too Good For Ordinary People. LOL

This is a never opened sample that I bought a while back. The leaves are indeed quite tippy, some of them rather silvery looking. They have an earthy smell before steeping.

Steeped, they produce a medium-light brown, clear liquor. But the smell — oh the smell! This has to be what they mean by muscatel, though I’ve never tasted muscatel to my knowledge or muscatel grapes for that matter. The aroma is so grapey, but has that pungent note that takes it up a note to winey. Pretty serious stuff.

The tea is fairly astringent, drying in the sip but smooth in the finish that leaves a fresh, leafy-ness in mouth. It grabs a little at the back of the throat, which is the only downside for me. I don’t really enjoy that sensation.

It’s medium-bodied to light-bodied, and I wonder whether it might benefit from slightly lower temperature, which I intend to try before the sample is done.

The flavor is fairly mild and has some white wine notes that give it a little tartness.

Except for the throat grab, very enjoyable.

This is good tea. If memory serves me the puerh base of this is the 2012 Huron Gold Needle. The puerh tea component of this is sweet with little in the way of bitterness. The cacao component gives a nice chocolaty taste to the puerh. They mix well. What surprised me about this is that there was a strong chocolate note from the cacao even in the tenth steep. I expected chocolate for only the first few infusions but the chocolate lasted well into the tenth steep.

I steeped this ten times in a 120ml gaiwan with 10.1g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, and 1 min.

soooooooooo many paris teas, so little time to drink them all.
I’ve contemplated offering up sample packs of various fancy french teas for people to get a chance to try them but i’m not sure if a)anyone would want them or b)how much of a pain it would be to pack them up and ship them out – esp given canada posts’s expensiveness.

This one is a damn good example of a ceylon i can get behind. :)

More bacony today in both scent and taste, less so in taste than in scent. It’s not a mouth full of ash today as it was yesterday in any case. Perhaps it’s because I used 212F water instead of 205?

Not enough improvement in either the overall experience or the smoky bacon flavor department to merit revisiting the rating, though. This is now in my sip down as fast as possible pile.

Today I am drinking a shou puerh that came with my Crimson Lotus order. It was marked only mystery tea and I have found out only a little more about it. They told me it was too pricy for them to sell. I also know it’s a small batch from old Jingmai trees. That is about it. Judging by the amount of fermentation flavor left in it I’d say it was maybe three or four years old. It had a fair amount of fermentation flavor to it but that flavor was sweet, not fishy. The fermentation taste lasted three or four steeps and then was largely gone. There were some notes of chocolate in there and it developed a fruity taste in later steeps. This is one I wish I could get more of. I have to rate this at at least a 90%. It’s that good. It was a large sample so I can drink this a couple of more times. When they said it was too pricy for them to sell I wonder just how expensive it is. At some websites I have seen 1kg bricks go for $450 so I wonder. All I can do is speculate about this tea.

I steeped this tea ten times in a 120ml gaiwan with 8.9g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, and 1 min. The tea is not weak at ten steeps. I’m sure I could get a few more out of it but I have had a lot of tea. I know when I give this tea a rating it will rerate all my previous teas reviewed under random steepings.