New Tasting Notes
I don’t know what lychee is supposed to taste like, but there is a pleasantly musky and sweet scent to this tea as it brews. Almost nutty but juicy, too, with a little bit of floral.
The taste doesn’t hit me as a fruit so much as roses. It tastes like a rose tea. A soft, pretty, gentle rose tea. So I like that but at the same time, I’m not a big rose tea gal. So while this is nice and I enjoy it, there’s no reason this is a must-have for my pantry.
Preparation
I finally got a box of this last evening. So though I typically like to brew a pot of loose leaf tea on weekend mornings, and I just got several other fun teas from Tealuxe, I was excited to start the day with this one.
So now begins the experimentation to determine how I like this brewed. I started with a 3 minute steep and I’m having it plain. The flavor is exactly what I want out of a breakfast style tea, but stronger than I expected. I’m probably going to experiment with a shorter steep next time. I will definitely be experimenting with the milk/sweetener as well.
Yay for tea related projects!
Preparation
I’m firmly convinced that PG tips can do no wrong. I tend to lean toward the strong and unleaded side, but I know that you’re watching caffeine a bit, so I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with a short steep.
Glad you finally got a box! I think I have you to thank for my now addiction to PG Tips in the am:) I’m now on my 2nd box. I do 8oz to a tea bag, add two sugar cubes and milk for a great flavor. Usually 3 to 4 minute steep, but just depends on if I loose track or not, lol. Usually I’m making 16 oz with 2 teabags to put in my big mug for the drive to work. This turns into a pinky brownish liquid, which makes no sense, but I have come to love that color because it indicates one good cuppa to get me going in the morning :) Are there Bi-Lo’s in NC? They are always putting PG Tips on sale for buy one get one free.
I am absolutely envious of the grocery stores everywhere else except where I am … PG Tips only available (rather pricey-like) at health food/specialty import store. Tazo and Republic of Tea is as exotic as it gets around here. Sigh.
@gmathis: I’m looking forward to the strong and unleaded version in the future!! I didn’t start seeing PG Tips in our groceries until somewhat recently… maybe they’re coming? If not, you can get deals on PG Tips through Amazon, even through the Subscribe and Save program (where you set it up to send you a recurring order for a discount): http://bit.ly/duEJrW There’s also a current special at Amazon: Save 25% on PG Tips when you enter code TIPSPG44 at checkout. Hope this helps! :)
@rabbysmom: Haha, I didn’t realize I was spinning off addictions! I might be late to it in the scheme of things, but I think I’m going to be right there with you. :) Awesome steeping/milk/sugar information, too. I’ll try that out next! I wonder what the pinkish color is about. It’ll be fun to see in person. There are a few Bi-Los around, but none near me. I was able to use a Harris Teeter VIC card to bring down the price a bit, though….
Enjoying a wonderful cup of this Pu’erh this morning. It’s not organic (I typically consume only organic foods and drinks), but, I haven’t found an organic Pu’erh that comes in the birds nest shape yet and I really like that special aspect of this tea (even if it has nothing to do with the flavor or quality….it still impacts the experience).
I read a few other tasting notes here and think that folks might be using too much of the tea. I use a Sorapot (newest coolest tea product I’ve purchased thanks to Steepster’s recommendation) and throw one nest in there unbroken. The first steeping is always my favorite as the color of the liquor is the beautiful rose pink (don’t over steep!). I then continue to steep another two or three mugs using the same nest (which is now broken up after the first steep) but only leave the water in the pot for about 30 seconds each time. These final steepings produce a much darker tea but it’s the perfect coffee substitute!
The tea has a nice rounded mouthfeel but it is definitely not too complex versus some of the other “rare” or “vintage” Pu’erhs I’ve tasted. If you’re looking for a first Pu’erh experience, this might be a good starting place. Just pay close attention to your steeping time of course.
Preparation
Last night I lost all track of time! I sat down for my nightly tea at 10:30pm! I didn’t want to be up all night so I chose this. Luckily I genuinely like rooibos – maybe because I also love coffee and my husband’s cigars (I think it has a faint tobacco like quality) and because of the story I’m about to tell…
I’m reminded of another night that I wanted my nightly tea very late at night – we were in California in June, staying at Deetjens in Big Sur. We came back to our cabin tired from a day of adventure, but in the mood for something sweet and our nightly tea, but it was also past 10pm, and the restaurant part of the inn was winding down for the evening.
Here is a picture to help you imagine:
http://www.deetjens.com/restaurant.htm
(third picture down, the bar room, first table – that is exactly where we were sitting!)
The hostess remembered us from another night we were there for dinner – my husband’s stomach was upset and they fixed him soup and we didn’t have dessert because of it – so she told us she was glad we were now ready for dessert and brought us pot de creme and a nice sized teapot of rooibos. How could you not like rooibos after that? :) Every time I have it the taste brings me back to that night. I keep on saying that I am going to seek out flavored rooibos and try a variety of additions, but I never do. I now realize this is why :)
Yay for tea that brings back memories. Those teas are the best =]
That is awesome. I heart Big Sur.
What a neat memory!
Lovely looking Inn. It figures that it’s not on my coast. Thanks for sharing your rooibos memory.
chrine – it’s across the country from me too :) My husband won free airfare in the continental US at his office holiday party last year, so we decided to go to Northern California. We spent 3 days in SF then over a week in Big Sur, and we drove to other points like Monterey and Carmel some of the days. We even drove to Napa one day from Big Sur (and got lost and almost wound up at the border of Nevada but that is another story for another day!).
Not as spicy as some of the chai’s that I’ve had. This is nice and mellow, especially with some creamer and milk added. It’s not a chai for when you’re craving something with a kick. It’s more of a comforting kind of blend. The cardomom is definitely the start. There were two pods in my sample pack, which is quite a lot for the amount of tea in the sample.
I would recommend this. I’m adding it to my shopping list, which is now about 50% teas from Golden Moon.
I love how peachy this tea smells, it almost makes my mouth water. There’s almost no ginger at all in the scent of either the dry or steeping tea, interestingly. The reverse is true of the taste of the tea; at first it’s like a weakish black tea flavoured with ginger root – and nothing else. But as the tea cool, the fruity flavour of the peach slowly comes back in – although it’s not as strong as the scent would suggest.
I’ve been looking for a good decaf teabag; the Mango Ceylon by RoT was made of fail but this one is actually quite decent. The ceylon base seems weak to me like I noticed with the mango, but again I’m not sure if that’s just the tea they’re using or a result of the decaffeination process.
Preparation
Yay, I found the one I’d lost! I had two, brewed one and the other escaped and rolled off into obscurity. I even thought I saw which way it went but I couldn’t find it anywhere.
I figured it would show up eventually and dealt with the loss. Now I’ve found it hiding behind some tins in the cupboard. I don’t understand this because I definitely saw it rolling away. I’m sure I saw both of them rolling away. Now I’m in a funny sort of position where the one I found was actually the one I lost and the one I lost was the one I found.
It came at a perfect time though when I just needed a quick cup, but I have to admit that I’m not really capable of paying too much attention to it beyond ‘caffeine = gooooood’ at this moment.
Okay, I’m trying this again. This time I added honey and just a tad of milk. Much, much better. I think last time I just used too much milk and the rock sugar wasn’t sweet enough to balance out the spice. I am adjusting my rating to reflect this… I’m sure glad I have this since I am running out of some of my other fave teas.
Preparation
Disclaimer I was stupid and hate vanilla pudding before steeping this tea (I know, i know… but it looked so good!) So my palette was definitely compromised by the time I sat down to enjoy this cup of tea.
The leafs of this tea, while very sweet, aren’t overbearing as much as you would think. Good size, great color, very impressed with the look of this tea.
Steeping for 3 minutes @ 175 degrees, I realized that my sweet tooth while over saturated by the pudding was in for a treat.
The aroma… a little sweet, and ends up smoothing out the grassy smell of the green.
The taste: It’s exaclty how you think it would taste… however I must admit one must be mindful of steeping time, as it easily can become bitter. A little sweet for my stomach right now… but again my disclaim proves this is my fault.
Lesson learned: What you eat can and most likely dictate how your tea tastes.
Yay!
Preparation
This oolong seem quite ‘woody’ to me. A significant portion of what’s in my sample canister would probably qualify as twigs rather than tea leaves. I wonder if Adagio decided to run the whole tea bush through the woodchipper!
Preparation
When it comes to Jasmine tea I don’t consider myself very expert. Other than Chinese restaurant teas I’m relatively new to them. After reading what others wrote here I sense that those who are into jasmine teas probably like them for various reasons. I’m not a big floral flavored tea fan. But jasmine is pretty nice in tea, if it’s light. I think that’s why I like this tea, not in a big way but it’s a nice evening tea to relax over.
I steeped it 2 minutes for my first steep and didn’t add anything else. This is not usual for me as I usually sweeten my teas. I think this one without sweetener is nice. The Jasmine flavoring doesn’t overpower the light green tea it’s based on. The tea leaf starts out in a tight ball and unfurls. it wasn’t quite unfurled all the way in 2 minutes so this clues me it’s got more steeps in it’s future. The brew is light colored and a pale mostly yellow color.
The second steep I did about 3 minutes, again no sweetener. It was just as flavorful as the first time. The leaf reveals a quality leaf that is skinny and long from fresh leaves of the plant. Again enjoyable. Obviously you Jasmine tea fans must have other sources you really enjoy for your own reasons. I’ll have to try some another time to compare. Feel free to share your faves and reasons why.
Preparation
Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag / 2.2 g
Additives: none
Water: 12 ounces boiling filtered
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Smell: mint
Flavor: tingly mint
Body: Full
Aftertaste: warm sweet mint
Liquor: medium brown
OMG overwhelming mint, too much mint for me. However we both agree the tea itself is very well done. Not that we’re gonna buy it again. Well maybe it depends how it turns out as iced tea, this could be a wonderful summer iced tea.
Post-Steep Additives: honey, lots of honey, and it was now sickeningly sweet mint
Resteep: 5 min, 16 ounces, yea still one heck of a minty brew, value for your money right here.
Preparation
Giving this one another go with the hope that, now that I know the rooibos taste in it isn’t evil, I can pick up some other things going on in the tea. So far so good – along with rooibos, I smell a twinge of cinnamon and some sweet something or other that is almost (but not quite) fruity. While the cup sits next to me to cool, I’m getting a clove-like smell. And something like cooked carrots. Don’t know why.
Sipping, I still get a lot of rooibos but I’m getting at least one other taste as well – cloves. It comes in more on the front and it’s nice. There are other spices that are obviously there but I can’t really pick out what they are. But it adds a nice fullness to the taste. As it cools I’m getting even less of a rooibos taste and more of just a spicy swirl on wood. It’s sweeter but for once with rooibos, sweetness doesn’t make me think of moldy/sour wood.
I don’t think this tea is ever going to be something that I crave (too rooibos for that) but it’s certainly one I enjoy. And since I typically detest anything with rooibos, I think it’s safe to say that those that actually like rooibos would really enjoy this one.
4g/12oz
