New Tasting Notes

Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act V scene 1

Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides:
Who cover faults, at last shame them derides.
King Lear, Act I scene 1

I chose not to look up this tea’s ingredients when I pulled this teabag out of the box. I didn’t even really smell the bag itself until after it steeped. The smell surprised me quite a bit. It reminded me of Bigelow’s Constant Comment only more subtly orange. Even as a bagged version (I’m still blown away by Kusmi’s bags) it’s still complex, but I have a feeling that its complexity is muted. I get the orange, the sweetness of vanilla, and hints of almond and spices. This one also moves to the forefront of “bagged teas I’d like to have on hand.”

I was a giant “Errr…” when it came to where in Shakespeare’s cannon this tea would fit. I was pleasantly surprised at how pleasant it was. It was an honest upfront sort of tea with a bit of what Morgana calls the “French Thing.” Aha! Honesty and even a little bit of French: Cordelia from King Lear! She’s honest, doesn’t play silly games, and eventually marries the King of France before being executed. Er, she sort of sets off the whole tragedy…

But this tea isn’t a tragedy! Hooray! So perhaps Cordelia isn’t the perfect embodiment of this tea, but it’s close enough. NE

Fruity and delicious….the nuttiness of Genmaicha with a fruity side to it

A while back, the husband and I got a food dehydrator to make jerky. (The husband makes seriously awesome venison jerky.) When we first got it, we went a little dehydrator-crazy. If it was edible, we’d try to dehydrate it. Some of our experiments were more successful than others (I highly suggest dehydrated zucchini slices – they are potato-chip-level addictive.) But I knew we had gone too far when we dehydrated watermelon.

The dried watermelon bits were textured like Fruit Roll-Ups (which wasn’t bad) but the taste… it was melon and slightly sweet and very musky. I cannot adequately explain how musky it was. “Extremely” would be an understatement. It was perhaps how licking a male muskox would taste. Obviously, this was very weird to me and I found eating the dried watermelon distracting and unpleasant. After that experience, I decided to retreat back into dehydrating only jerky and zucchini and never think of the watermelon musk disaster again.

Until I drank this tea.

Robust and smooth black tea with a slight chocolate undertone to it

Delicious!!!!! Smells like an “after eight” chocolate mint treat and tastes just as good….no sweetener needed also super tasty as iced. Will get bitter if over-steeped….

cold’s trying to come back – time for another pineapple-OJ-matcha immunity & energy booster!

Subtle sweetness to it, I would steep it a bit longer next time I drink it hot….makes a great iced tea! Nice tea for bed time….

Wow. I can’t decide it if is vile or somewhat interesting. The interesting part tastes like fresh snapped peas (non-cooked)… that have been doused in cigarette ashes. Yes, I believe that is about as complex as this one gets. The green bean taste saves this from being rated lower. I am staring at the mug daring myself to drink more but my stomach says nooooooooo.

Iced – This tea makes an excellent iced tea. I’ve tried many different teas as iced tea over the last month and I had started to think that I just hated any iced tea but plain black. This tea is better than plain black. It’s yummy. I don’t get blackberry from it when it’s iced though… strangely it tastes like blueberry tea when iced. I don’t mind that at all. I think I am definitely going to order some of this one for summer.

Also, I cold brewed this forever because I just kept not getting around to straining it. We’ve had a high of 45 here this weekend, so iced tea was not on my mind. I think this cold brewed for at least a day and a half. It still tasted great.

Remedy had this available to sample when I was last there. I was amazed at just how creamsicle-y this was, as per their description. I knew I had to buy a bag and turn it into iced tea (something they recommend).

Sadly, I found it made very poor iced tea. What I loved about the sample I had was how the orange flavor far outweighed the vanilla (I have vanilla tea issues…they’re weird and typically unpleasant). A pot of this tea, hot, is absolutely perfect. I love it. However, the orange flavor is almost entirely gone (you can still smell it a bit) and what you’re drinking is a glass of iced vanilla water. Blech.

A friend of mine, maozed, got me onto yerba mate last winter when she recommended Celestial Seasoning’s Morning Thunder. I was looking for a mate with other energizing ingredients and decided to give Remedy’s a go.

This tea has everything going for it: yerba mate (love that flavor), ginseng (definitely an eye-opener), and green tea (added benefit of getting your mom to stop hassling you about adding anti-oxidants to your diet).

I didn’t get that near-instantaneous awake feeling that I do with black teas – it took a couple of cups. However, I didn’t experience a caffeine crash as I so often do. Bonus!

The overall flavor is as Remedy describes: light and grassy, not loaded with flavorings. Very enjoyable.

Lightly sweet lychee flavor…..

Eh, this tea isn’t bad. Shared a pot with maozed and I really wanted to be wow-ed by it. (Side note: one of the best things I’ve ever canned was a jar of pear-ginger preserves. Amazing.) In the end, as maozed mentioned, the pear was all in the fragrance. What you’re drinking is ginger tea. Don’t get me wrong. I’m the kind of person who will toss a finger of ginger in a pot of water and drink that. I love ginger. However, I was very much wanting a distinct pear-ginger combo.

I’m not sure why I reached for this tea this morning, but it tastes pretty good.

Yesterday afternoon, I mowed the lawn and because of the rains we’ve been having over the past week or so, there was a lot of pollen in the grass. I didn’t really notice it while mowing the lawn, but I notice it today… my throat feels like it’s swollen shut! UGH.

So maybe that is why I chose this tea today. I think when I went into the kitchen I wanted something that would be strong enough to overcome the sort of dulled feeling that rests on the back of my mouth today. I suppose if this tea doesn’t do the trick, I shall have to resort to the heavy artillery and get out some of my allergi-TEA. (Which I probably will do at some point this morning anyways, I just needed some caffeine first)

Despite the dulled sensation in my mouth, I can taste the notes of caramel and cream this morning, which is nice. I do wish that Adagio’s black tea base was not as harsh as it is, because I am also really getting the — shall I call it astringency? Tannins? Heavy starchy texture? For those of you who are familiar with Adagio’s black teas you probably get what I’m referring to, right?

Anyways, I do wish there was less of that this morning, because I am tasting it stronger than I usually do this morning. Hopefully as I make my way down the mug I will notice it less so that I can finish the cup.

I was not expecting this tea to have as much effect on me as it did. I’ve taken valerian root in the past but it’s never helped me sleep, nor has plain old chamomile tea, lavender, etc. Also, valerian has the unfortunate tendency to taste truly awful. I was wary of this tea, to say the least. What sold it was the fact that I love the flavors of all the other ingredients and the intrigue of peppercorns put it over the top.

I finally made a pot when I faced the dilemma of feeling wide awake when I had to get up early the next morning. Maybe it was all placebo effect but within 20 minutes of drinking a cup, I could barely function enough to walk from the couch to my bed. And the flavor? Amazing. Even the valerian was good. Overall, the taste is much more delicate and chamomile-ish than the pungent odor would indicate.

I had some of this this morning on a relatively pure palate (ok, I did have the rest of the LIT Keemun first, but other than that…) and I am starting to understand it better.

It hit me when I went to dispose of the spent leaves. The aroma that came from them reminded me of something, and though I can’t be very specific about it, the thought came to me: it’s that French thing.

There’s a quality about the Dammann Freres, Mariage Freres, The O Dor and Kusmi teas I’ve tried that is similar, and that for lack of a better descriptor I think of as “that French thing.” There’s something elegant about the blends, something that gives an impression of haute… something, whether it’s couture, or cuisine, or whatever. It’s the same quality one finds in fine French food, fashion, perfume. It has a sense of timelessness and at the same time, it feels old world. It has, as Doulton would say, je ne sais quoi.

The whiff I got of the leaves approached that quality. Though I think it is more “neo” than the true French thing, I am bumping it points for capturing the essence of the French thing.

Excellent green tea. It has a meyer lemon sweet scent and more of a regular lemon taste with a litte clove or spice mixed in. Well balanced and delecate flavor.

I finished off the last of this sample using a little sugar and half & half. Now, instead of it making me think of a rose tea, it’s sweeter and juicier – more fruit-like – with a light floral/rose finish. Samovar’s Russian Blend has lychee in it and with the additives, I’m finally tasting the sweet fruit taste in this that I get from that blend. I’m bumping this rating up a little because, while it’s a bit too rose for me straight, I’m really loving it all doctored up.

brief hint of juicy lemon followed by a strong ginger bite. This is definitely ginger tea with a hint of lemon, NOT lemon tea with a hint of ginger. So be warned: Must Love Ginger.

It is EXACTLY what I was hoping for , but not expecting. :-)

backlogging from saturday -

The perfect tea for a Jane Austen book discussion and tea party. Between the 5 of us we went through two pots of it!

I should probably put this tea on my shopping list, as I am running low and it’s great to have on hand. Then again, I have TWO tins of Paris, so maybe I should let one of those fill in the gap…

I don’t know what possessed me to try this with milk and agave nectar but I won’t be doing that again. I think this is a tea that you need to take your time with. I also need to remember that I don’t like drinking teas underneath ceiling fans. I don’t know why.

I think I might have steeped this a minute too long for my tastes. Either that or I got used to drinking milked Lady Grey and I was expecting that taste from the Earl. If that is true then there is only one cure for that one. Lay off the black tea for a while and go and drink the lovely green pom tea. : )