Featured & New Tasting Notes
This is a dry stored tea evidenced by both the taste and the leaves which peel easily in sheets from the brick sample.
Salty, peppery TCM, spicy redwood. No dank must or earthy wet soil notes. Although it’s a bit papery, that quality melds well with the light, mineral texture. Some small burps bring back the taste. A clean and easy to drink tea. This is the shou pu’er I want after a meal, rather than having a thick, creamy or oily shou as a meal in itself. It possesses a neutralizing energy and acts as a gentle digestive.
The brew can be forgotten about in the pot and still produce an easy drink with slight caramel accent.
Even without oversteeping, this is not a durable tea. But at $0.11/g, I think it’s a good deal and would recommend for the price.
Flavors: Caramel, Clean, Dry, Light, Mineral, Mulberry, Paper, Pepper, Salt, Spicy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wood, Woody, Yeast
Preparation
This is a tasty tea that I quite enjoyed. It’s similar to a British breakfast, but it’s more robust in flavor. I was told for years that Russian Caravan was actually a very smoky tea, but this one’s smoke did not punch me in the nose; it was just a nice subtle accent. I would happily drink this again, but I don’t think I need to keep it in my cabinet all the time (though if I run out of ordinary Assam, it absolutely would be a good substitute).
Flavors: Malt, Raisins
So I ordered a build-your-own sampler with a sachet of every flavored oolong that Seven sells. This is the first one I’m trying, and I’m a “save the best for last” kind of person, so I chose a flavor that I wasn’t overly excited about. (My husband thinks that’s weird, by the way… XD)
The wrapper recommended 300 ml of water, but that seemed crazy to me given the amount of leaf in the sachet. I ended up using 16 ounces because it was almost a tablespoon worth of leaves, and oolong expands so much. The resulting brew has plenty of flavor, so no regrets there. The oolong is definitely on the floral side, which is not my favorite. Strawberry is there as well, though it’s quite mellow and light. I would say it’s on the candy side of things, but it doesn’t taste terribly artificial or anything.
It’s nice, but the floral presence is a bit strong for me. Definitely looking forward to trying some of the other flavors though.
Flavors: Candy, Floral, Silky, Smooth, Strawberry, Sweet
Preparation
I do the same thing with saving the best for last! I really thought this was common? I do it with food and other things as well haha!
Who doesn’t “save the best for last”?
I save the best for last! Isn’t that how we all end up hoarding our favorite tea as well? Ha ha!
Ha ha right?! I can see in some cases it probably doesn’t make sense, like with food if you’ll be full by the time you get there ha ha. But I have heard of people who do the reverse and always eat/drink the best one first! I guess it’s my inner hoarder lmao.
I do this too with most things, including food and tea! Isn’t that why dessert comes last?
I’m also typically a save the best for last person ;)
Savers unite! :P
I think I have like two teaspoons left of ANY sort of milk oolong, so this was a welcome addition to my collection at just the right time! Thanks so much, Cameron B! If this is just a super flavored milk oolong, then I am happy with that! Sometimes I crave that custardy type of flavor. BUTTER. YES. Over the top butter, but sometimes that is what I want. I can’t really tell there is maple flavoring/sweetener here, so that means it’s the perfect amount in the blend. As it cools, I notice a bit more sweetness. I probably didn’t stir up the bag enough this time around. I will be sure to do that next time. By the fourth steep, it has slightly moved towards a more traditional milk oolong. But I love this!
Sipdown! (8 | 114)
So this is a pear and bergamot oolong, which sounds good to me in theory. But I find that the bergamot overpowers the pear, and the combination of the bergamot with the floral notes of the oolong is just a bit too perfumey/flowery for me. I do taste a bit of crisp pear in the finish, but since Lupicia does such amazing fruity oolongs, I was hoping for more of a fruit presence here.
Ah well, I should be relieved not to love this, since I assume it’ll never be available again. :P
Flavors: Bergamot, Crisp, Floral, Grassy, Green, Pear, Perfume, Silky, Smooth
Preparation
Sipdown. I’ve had it for two years. I really had about two servings left of it, but I wanted to clear come cabinet space so I gong fu’d it and poured it only about after 15 seconds, though with close to 8 grams or more of tea. Aroma is smooth, and texture is smooth with a slight astringency this way in this first steep. I’m waiting for it to cool off. Some of the flavors were muted even from the dry leaf, but the fruitier ones were more prominent in the pour. I’m glad I did a short steep with it. Age smoothened this one out a little but not too much. I’m going to come back to finish this note later, but I still wanted to note the sipdown.
I only did two more steeps for the rebrew. Had a little bit of a headache. Second steep was more chocolate leaning, but very floral and malty with astringency and some bitterness. Third had a bit of pineappleish notes, malt, astringency, tannin, and not too much. Despite using a lot of tea, it was not markedly different from lesser leaves. Less time cut back on a lot of the potential unwanted astringency and kept enough for a little bit of power.
Still good and glad to have had it. This tea really wasn’t an everyday tea though. I actually was getting a little tea drunk off of it.
It’s surprising how much I like this tea.
It is refreshing, with lots of citrus character that doesn’t seem artificial. And despite having a solid malty black tea foundation, it’s not heavy. Great both hot and cold.
Flavors: Citrus, Citrus Zest, Citrusy, Lemon, Lemon Zest, Lime, Malty
Preparation
Last, 4-grams sachet from Ronnefeldt’s Joy of Tea variety box.
I have been expecting, based of dry aroma, it would be mostly lemony. Candy lemony.
I wasn’t so off — it was indeed quite sweet, probably thanks to licorice root in; and indeed quite strong in lemon. A little of warming ginger, but not spicy nor fiery; and fresh taste of lemongrass and spearmint muted quite strongly the ginger root (technically, rhizome), so it was overall okay-ish. Maybe I have been expecting more of the ginger, or more of the lemon taste; or both… definitely not expecting other ingredients in.
Preparation
2024 Sipdown Challenge | August | A calming tea
Really enjoyed this fragrant blend! I don’t typically love bergamot, but I really enjoy it here with the complementary rose and subtle cinnamon notes. This tea actually straddles the line between two prompts: It’s both a wake-up tea and a calming tea! I find the floral elements quite soothing, so I went with that prompt.
I’m sad to run out of this one and will probably pick up another bag the next time I order from Tea Thoughts.
2024 sipdown count: 26
Flavors: Bergamot, Cinnamon, Floral, Rose
Located near the Uji River in Uji, Japan is the amazing tea shop of Baisa Nakamura. During the Global Japanese Association Master Course, we had the honor of seeing Nakamura-san use his mini-processing equipment to make tea for us. I don’t think I’ve ever called equipment cute but these chibi-sized gadgetry were amazing and cute. They also sell nitro brewed tea.
This tea is great when brewed US style in a mug but it’s even better in a kyusu.
Mug brewing: Grab your favorite mug and metal infuser. Be sure it is one that is never used by coffee if anyone else drinks coffee in the place you reside. It can ruin the tea. The amount you add depends on the mug but standard is usually about 1 tsp. More if you like it strong. You can brew anywhere from 3 to 6 minutes. This is a tea that is safe to forget about for the most part. The flavor is so nice. Full of squash and redwood notes.
Kyusu brewing: Japanese squash. Kabocha. With just a bit of roasting but also like you bit into a bit of a fresh one. I picked this one up in-store but unfortunately, I don’t see it listed online. Also a bit of chocolate but more so on the cacao side. I really enjoy the homeyness of the wet aroma. Like walking into a nice warm house on a blustery cold winter day. A slight hint of fire mixed with a squash stew on the stove.
Spring 2024: Wow! The small leaves smell wonderful and are very nice in appearance, mostly in obvious bud/leaf sets.
First steep is very light in color and fragrant. Nice and sweet and deceptively light. I like them like this! Lots of little “hairs” from the young buds in cup, and you get that nice “green chestnut” flavor. Some florals are present, perhaps along the lines of osmanthus.
Subsequent steep at three minutes is a bit more yellow and robust.
I’m not super experienced with dragonwell teas, and certainly I am not an expert on authentic ones from the Westlake area. But I imagine a tea of similar quality to this would cost much more if it came from the region. So in that sense, I guess this tea is a pretty good deal. But it is on the pricey side.
Preparation
Tried my second sachet of this one cold-steeped, in 16 ounces of water as instructed on their website. I did steep it a bit longer than they specify.
To be honest, I’m not in love with it. The lychee is lovely cold, as I would expect, but for some reason the shou mei is actually giving me red rooibos vibes. A bit woodier than it was warm, and because it’s combined with a fruity note, coming off a little medicinal. I do still taste those nice dried fruit flavors, but the rooibos note is ruining it for me.
At least now I know not to try the other flavors this way ha ha! Perhaps I’ll try a shorter cold steep though, or even iced.
Flavors: Brown Sugar, Dried Fruit, Juicy, Lychee, Medicinal, Rooibos, Sweet, Woody
Preparation
This is a very unique tea. I admit I did not buy it for its taste but more so for its interesting ability to change color kind of like the butterfly pea flower. The flat leaf is a mix of glossy and matte leaves. All uniform in their darker green color. The dry aroma is not as strong as I was hoping. It’s slightly vegetal but mainly too muted for any enjoyment of anything.
On its own the flavor is nice, peas, buttered peas, and maybe asparagus. Probably the worst-looking tea color. Almost grey. Murky. Like a storm with its tint of green. The color change is super cool. From a murky weird brown color to pink when using lemon juice. The taste is peas with lemon. Weird. Nope. My daughter also agrees. It has an interesting flavor but this one is more for science than it is for taste so I’m not sure of where to rate it… Maybe rate for taste… Sorry. If you want to see the color change check it out here! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083808627473
Sipdown
This is one of the rare occasions where I drank a tea more with milk and sugar than without. This is my kind of chai, and cardamom really is the front runner in flavor and aroma here. I can just smell it now….It stays with you, that aroma.
This was an afternoon- keep-the-munchies-at-bay chai latte this summer, especially on teaching days when I couldn’t just snack whenever I wished.
So I couldn’t resist ordering from Seven Teahouse after seeing them recommended by Kelly, and also I love Lupicia’s fruity oolongs, which is a category that Seven seems to specialize in. I got a build-your-own sachet box with one of every fruity oolong they carry, along with some flavored black teas. And then I also picked up their fruity white tea sampler, which has two sachets each of five different varieties.
This is the first one I’m trying, and it’s nice. It’s a shou mei base with lychee flavor, and the shou mei is deep and flavorful without being too woody or autumn leaf-y. Some nice dried fruit notes pop out at the end, something like apricot and maybe a bit of golden raisin. The lychee is a lovely complement, not overpowering and even not noticeable on first sip, but it makes itself apparent midway through, and adds a lovely refreshing sweet and floral top note.
Off to a good start for sure. I think I’ll try the other sachet cold-steeped, I saw that they had instructions for it on the package, and I bet lychee would be the perfect flavor for it!
Flavors: Apricot, Autumn Leaf Pile, Brown Sugar, Clean, Dried Fruit, Earthy, Floral, Hay, Honey, Honeysuckle, Juicy, Lychee, Nectar, Raisins, Smooth, Spring Water, Sweet, Syrupy
Preparation
This past week, I’ve been craving plums basically non-stop so today I’m reaching for Cinnamon Plum – one of my favourite plum flavoured tea blends. It’s arguably pretty autumnal feeling in terms of flavour profile, with the sweet and syrupy notes of jammy plums and very warming, cozy cinnamon bark – but you wouldn’t be able to tell that from this bright and lively photo set. There’s just something really satisfying about quickly flipping through all of these pouring photos and seeing the liquor of the tea in motion. Definitely hit the spot!!
Do you have a favourite plum flavoured tea or straight tea with plum notes?? This is such a tricky flavour to capture, so I’m always looking for a recommendation!!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C-IhzjZOqXv/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1iTHh1zQY4
For some reason I generally find plum-flavored teas disappointingly not plummy, but I do love Thé de l’Abbaye from Dammann.
Definitely not just you – plum flavouring is notoriously one of the hardest to get right within the tea industry. I’ll take a look at the Dammann blend, though! The other I remember liking was Kotobuki from Lupicia, but it’s been a long time since I last had it.
August Sipdown Challenge Prompt – tea with the smallest amount left
Sipdown
I had only one sachet left so I got a prompt fulfilled and a sipdown!
I have been drinking this for breakfast regularly. The black tea base is really the main thing here, and the orange flavor is the second to me with a little vanilla on its heels. I don’t think I detected much of the ginger at all and I did not find it floral.
This is a good strength for breakfast for me, landing shy of builder’s tea and yet it isn’t one of those flavored teas that make you ask, “Where’s the base?”
Quick note just to mark the sipdown. I made the last of this as a cold brew. This falls into the category of 52teas blends that I like well enough but don’t love. The strawberry flavor is almost candy-sweet and works with the hay note in the white tea. Not really getting anything cake-y though. This tastes pretty similar cold as I remember it tasting hot, just maybe a little sweeter. I wouldn’t say no to this blend but also wouldn’t go out of my way to get more.
This is turning out to be surprisingly tasty and reliable for a store brand tea! Enough rose that you get it, not enough to make it taste like perfume, just a teeny bit sweet. Moderately strong tea base underneath that stands out well, either iced or conventionally steeped.
The funniest thing about this tea was when I was trying to add it to the data base, the moderator kept changing the “no name” to unknown brand. Hahahaha!!! I finally had to add “Loblaws Brand” so they would know that “no name” was actually the name of the brand! Here in Canada, the “no name” brand all comes in plain yellow packaging and is a lot cheaper than the name brand products that are their counterparts.
This tea is just okay but I am not going to complain because it cost me a whopping 49 cents for the box.
Very weak and watery but like I said, you get what you pay for.
Flavors: Peppermint
Generic packaging was a big deal in the US in the ‘70s, but you don’t see it now at all—at least in my corner of the Midwest.
I think now it has turned into store brands (like Kirkland at Costco or even arguably a lot of the products at Trader Joe’s that are just store-branded items available elsewhere under other brand names).
@kaylee – “no name” is the store brand name. Essentially the Kirkland of a grocery store chain named Superstore. If you Google Image search “no name brand” you’ll see what Jason means. It’s very, very challenging to describe to people if they’ve never seen it before, aha. But the idea is that they save a TON of money on artwork/label design and marketing by using the uniform yellow/black and those savings can either be passed down to customers or used to improve the actual quality of the food product instead.
Yes! Exactly, @Roswell Strange!
Ah! Thanks for the added explainer for the non-Canadian, much appreciated! I also get a kick out of the fact that you have a store actually named Superstore. I loved the tv show of the same name. I assume the actual store came first, but it makes the show that much more pointed.
I’m dating myself here, but this is what I remember from when I was a kid. All black and white. It was weird. https://www.kingwood.com/msg/black-white-label-generic-products.php?p=3378599
gmathis: We had those here very briefly. Plain black and white labels that stated what was in the can or package. It wasn’t long before they started making the packaging more attractive.
@gmathis that’s very much what the Canadian no name brand looks like, but yellow instead of white! I wonder if these generic labels were their inspiration?
@gmathis- Oh wow! Yes! Like Roswell Strange said, exactly like the ones we have here except replace the white with yellow. Predominantly carried at a grocery store called “No Frills.” People in my city flock there because they are quite a bit cheaper than high-end grocery stores.
This was a little more average tasting than I had hoped. I taste the too-herbaceous coriander and other things that belong more in a health tea than a fun tea. I’m a lemongrass fan, but here it’s just too healthful seeming mixed with the peppermint and everything else. At the end of some sips, my throat catches a bit of the red pepper, which I don’t love here.
