New Tasting Notes

My teapot was all ready to receive my hot water, my teaspoon of tea inside… when I knocked it over and spilled tea all over the floor (luckily, the teapot was saved). As I listened to the tiny leaves get sucked into the vacuum I thought to myself, “this better be worth it.”

And of course it is. The instructions explicitly say not to steep over 3 minutes or it will become bitter (and we know how I loathe bitter black tea), so I went with two minutes. This is pretty good with my breakfast. I still don’t love plain black tea, but my “understeeped” variety is good for me. There’s a little woodsy aftertaste as it cools down, which is always a bonus for me.

Starting my day with this one because I couldn’t decide which of my flavored teas to have. My indecisiveness made for a very satisfying cup of strong black tea with milk and honey, I’ll have to be indecisive more often.

Strong strawberry scent and flavour, very nice! It has a very strong aroma and I find I like it better when I steep it gently, with nearly boiling water for about three minutes or so.

This is a wonderful rooibos for cold winter days, or any other day, if you feel like it! Awesome spice and fruit flavour, with that peppery kick in the end which I love. Great with a bit of milk, in my opinion.

Stressful work week, capped off with the craziest day yet yesterday. Oooooh I needed some Thomas! I made a nice pot to share with my husband :) We had digestive biscuits topped with chocolate, this honeyed, malty, bready wonder tea, and an engaging film to take our minds off the mundane. Just what I needed. Thank you Thomas!

Also – fascinating. I saw this article because it was a link on Arts & Letters Daily (http://www.aldaily.com/) best website after Steepster – tied with Cute Overload ;) Anyway – here’s the article:

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2010/1007.gravois.html

Look, it’s Arunachal Pradesh! That’s where the Simple Leaf’s Dawn comes from!

best black tea i’ve ever tried hands down.
beautifully sweet aroma with every sip.

i don’t take sugar, for you out there who don’t:
somehow it reacts wonderfully with just teeny bit a natural stevia extract, bringing out a sweet, full, and rich flavor, without washing out the original aroma of the tea.

OH MY CEILING CAT WHY MUST IT BE SO HOT???

I think I’ve worked out what controls my green tea moods and my black tea moods. It’s heat. When it’s hot, green tea seems more refreshing. When it isn’t hot, it often seems to be a little boring to drink for me. When it isn’t hot, I like the strength of a good black much better. Oolongs, they’re sort of an all-round type.

It’s hot today, so I turn towards green. This one, with it’s strong jasmine flavour, probably wasn’t the best choice but it was the first tin I saw.

goes back to melting

Probably the mellowest of the Dan Congs I first tried from Tea Habitat. It is hard to make this one harsh, and the mellow delights just keep coming, infusion after infusion, tart & sweet, and a little spicy.

I start with a modest leaf to water ratio (0.5g per oz/30mL) and infuse over and over, 15-20+ times.

My first Pu-erh! I was looking forward to this one coming out of the grab bag (ok, I helped it…). I had no idea what to expect. The leaves were ugly, that’s the only description that comes to mind. I followed the directions, 3minutes with boiling water. I got the darkest tea I’ve seen, excepting the obvious brewing mistakes. It was very smooth, earthy, woodsy. Had a bit of weight to it in the mouth, almost like coffee. It is not a tea I would describe as “bright and sparkly” in the cup. I don’t know if I liked it. I didn’t dislike it…I need to do more pu-erh’s. different, definetly different.

yesterday’s grab bag special…and my first official “gunpowder” tea. I had no idea what to expect, but from the looks, I guessed green tea. I ended up a little over steeped, so tea had that sharp, astringent bite that they all get when overdone. Immediately thinned with some hot water and it was a pleasant tea to drink. I think I got what I suspected; the tea had massive green leafy vegetables taste, like spinach or kale. Not a problem, as I like greens, but not expected to be that “in your face” bold.
The tea was a greenish amber in the carafe (I have a clear pyrex carafe for tea) with little fines floating around. I did not get a smokey flavor as suggested by GM writeup. Finished a full 12 oz mug, but declined to resteep. I’d drink this again, but not one that I’ll likely go out of my way to get more of.

way too minty! cute whole little roses i have fun squashing tho… wish it was more flroal and less minty. ALso more white tea-y, i could see a few needles it looked like but also alot of green tea

I’ve been remiss in logging my teas…so going back a couple of days. This tea was a puzzle. When I opened the sample, I got a strong smell of spearmint…like Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum. I was astonished by it so much that I called over a fellow tea drinker and asked him what he smelled! “Mint”, he said, looking at the lable askance. I/We have no idea whats up with that. Brewed the tea up, water just at boiling. Lots of floral notes and a little citrus…but not what I would identify as bergamot. The florals were present when drinking the tea, and again, not what I could call “Earl Grey”. In fact, it was more like “Lady Earl Grey” from Twinnings than anything else. As it cooled, the flavors got odd. Not such that you couldn’t drink it odd, but rather the florals receded and more of a citrusy mint something was left. I could drink this again, but there are much better teas to be had and its not something to please the Bergamot! Earl Grey crowd.

I added a bit of dried mint from my garden to this cup as it was steeping. It makes an already refreshing tea a bit more refreshing – which is muchly appreciated in this hot, dry weather. It would probably make a good iced concoction as well.

Oh this is lovely! The flavor is smooth, sweet and nutty. It has a nice buttery flavor to it. I am also getting that light floral note in the finish – it’s very delicate, but very pleasant.

I just realized that I steeped this too long (should only steep for 30 seconds for the first infusion), but, it is not at all bitter. The next time I brew it I will have to try it at 30 seconds and see what comes of it. As it is, I really like it when I brew it for a minute and a half.

This will not brew sweet (and I don’t add any) as the scent would lead you to expect but it is an enjoyable cup. A dark and heavy brew that reminds me a little of coffee with just a touch of chocolate.

3rd infusion…semi-fruity and semi-floral and sweet. A bit sugar-like. Nifty!

2nd Infusion – still good! Florally-sweet and even juicy. After taste is that of chestnuts, perhaps?

1st Infusion was yummy! Sweet but still floral. Weird thing tho…the bloom…bloomed…but upsidedown! I tried to flip it gently several times and it just wouldn’t belly-up! Regardless is was a delight to my palate! 2nd Infusion coming soon!

This is a fun tea-I can taste the pineapple, banana, and coconut. Wonderful iced. Oddly with the melange of flavors, it was a mild tasting tea

Wow! This one is like a POP of grape- This has been a perfect tea for the hot summer days….

Whee, posting again! Lately I’ve been mixing and stacking a lot of teas, which makes it hard to post tasting notes, but today I wanted a straight oolong so I pulled out another TeaFrog sample.

As a person who’s not enamored of Formosa Oolongs in general, this is a really tasty one. Rich, full, roasty flavor, a slight bitterness on the back, some flowers in the aftertaste (which is pleasant and lingering). There’s some fruit in the middle, though I’d peg it as more apple than peach.

Still have to see how it re-steeps, but I’ll definitely consider getting a full tin of this, and I’d recommend it to roasted oolong fans.

ETA: Got three solid steeps, increasing the time a little for each. The third was noticeably weaker, but still good. I probably won’t try for a 4th.

1 heaping tsp, 6oz boiling water

I AM BACK — WITH A VENGEANCE, STEEPSTERITES!
(Read: my life is finally basically under control. Ish.)

Full disclosure: I abhor licorice. When I opened the tin sampler, and smelt (through my already-unable-to-smell sick nose) a punch of herbs and licorice, I felt a little nauseous and considered opening another pack. But to my pleasant surprise, this tea is delightful — almost flower nectar sweet, and very light! The coloring is very pale, and the tea is soothingly smooth, like butter. Definitely more grassy than I anticipated, but I’m thankful the licorice taste isn’t overpowering, for one.

If this is the worst tea Golden Moon has in its sampler, I’m in for a treat! Definitely could see ordering this again for myself or for my mum, who loves peppermint tea. To be honest, I’d rather just hold it in my mouth than swallow it. This leaves my mouth a little dry, but there’s no bitterness. (Now now, no dirty jokes, kids.)

It tastes more like a muscat-peach blend than mango – but the smell is just like fresh cut mango. Smooth and sweet, not a hint of bitter to it. Quite good, but more of a novelty than a daily drinker.