355 Tasting Notes
I didn’t read the description of this until after I drank it. And now I see why I thought it was just mediocre:
Rosehips AND hibiscus.
Is there a more terrifying combination in all of the land? I think not.
This was too tart and tasted like every other tropical white/green tea out there. After trying several of Teavana’s teas now, I realize that they have a big issue with subtle flavors. Maybe it’s because their teas are geared toward newbies; I don’t know. But I have yet to try a Teavana tea that isn’t screaming FRUITY (or chocolate, mostly) FLAVORRR.
Thought I finished my sample of this awhile ago, but I found a bag in my desk. This seriously does smell like Froot Loops, and if you don’t know the smell of Froot Loops well enough to identify it as such, I feel bad for you. You must’ve had a sad childhood.
Anyway, the taste is a LOT lighter. This tastes more like a basic green with a teensy weensy touch of citrus. But it’s good.
In other, related news, I’m really trying to drink more green tea. The only green tea I genuinely love is genmaicha. I don’t like veggies, so I think that’s why I dislike most green teas. Any recommendations?
Pretty much all of the green teas I’ve liked either have vegetal notes in them, or grassy notes. Do you mind grassy teas?
Have you tried a Dragonwell (Lung Ching)? I’d say that’s probably my favorite type of green tea – lightly roated with a delicate, nutty flavour. Although if the sample of Gyokuro I tried recently is any indication, it might have competition soon! :D
OMG! Citron Green! /squeals/ I love this stuff! I normally don’t like flavored green teas, but this tea rocks my socks. But, I’ve been out of CG for about six months now and I don’t really need to make an Adagio order at the moment. :(
As for recommendations. I agree with Jillian in that Dragon Well is a good one to try because of the nutty/buttery notes that it holds.
I don’t mind grassy, though I don’t love it. My love of genmaicha has taught me that I prefer green teas that do have a nutty or buttery undertone, so Dragonwell sounds like a good suggestion. I’d love to try a Gyokuro, but they’re so expensive!
Kukicha has really buttery notes for me, so you might want to check that one out. Also, some of Rishi’s greens, like Green Needles Roasted or Ancient Emerald Lily might be worth a shot.
I’m not much of a green tea drinker either (most of the greens in my cupboard are actually my husband’s), but I’m pretty fond of Lupicia’s flavored greens – their apple and grapefruit are pretty good. Not terribly veggy and not artificial fruit tasting, just good. :-)
Actually… I’m looking through my cupboard and I believe I have a tin of Teavana’s Gyokuro Imperial that isn’t being consumed, if you want to try some. It’s about a year old IIRC, so not terribly fresh (it’s in a double lidded canister, so should be alright).
I’m a fan of the Spring Cherry Green and Orange Blossom 100% White Tea, both from Republic of Tea (well, ok, I’m a fan of a lot of their flavors). They are light enough flavors so they don’t overpower the tea and make lovely cups and wonderful scents. I’d recommend those if you’re not sure about Green or White Teas. I appreciate that they tell you in the description of each tea, whether the tea can be re-steeped or is only good for one cup. I use that to gauge if I’ll be able to dial back on any of the stronger flavored teas.
It is SO RARE that I have a black tea after noon. I wonder what will happen now that I’ve crossed to this dark side – by the by, the only reason this is the case is because I accidentally had my afternoon oolong this morning thinking it was a black tea. Smart cookie, I am.
Some confusion this morning as I put together my little bags of tea for work: I picked TeaNoir’s Backwoods up as one of my morning blacks, then thought about it for a second and decided to take another tea instead. Then I remember pulling this tea out and thinking “well, I’ll take a TeaNoir oolong for the afternoon instead.”
I must’ve still been thinking Backwoods because that’s what my bag was labeled. And I pulled it out of my desk drawer all excited for maple syrupy goodness. Alas, it was not to be. I took one sip and realized my mistake.
Ultraviolet is a pretty decent tea. My main complaint with it is that it’s nearly identical in flavor to one of my favorites, Mighty Leaf’s Orchid Oolong, except that OO has coconut added, while this does not. The coconut gives OO that wonderful little edge. So this tea fails in that respect.
Last of my sample. I need to bring some genmaicha back in my life. I love the stuff, but don’t drink nearly enough. Think I’ll be replacing this with Den Tea’s Genmaicha Extra Green, though.
This is good, but not as good as that one.
Yeah…I am often scare of those two, too! LOL
Yeah…I have to very politely decline just about every single tin they open for me. I’m getting to where I’m just about ready to give this Luna Pear thing another try, possibly iced, but honestly the Teavana shopping experience for me is usually on par with going into those stores that strictly sell scented candles. You have to cull through an enormous amount of very LOUD scents just to find one that you like (though I’m notoriously afraid of ‘flavored’ tea and exceptionally picky, so that bears repeating).
I felt the same way when my parents got me a sample last holiday season, particularly with their Earl Grey Creame. The scent alone overwhelms me! However, they do make a nice little tea timer iPhone app…
yikes! i can hardly handle one or the other (rose/hibiscus) and tend to shy away from both. and i know exactly what you mean about shopping at teavana, sophistre. :P
huh… see that sounds good to me! tart and tropical plus rosehips, yum! me and my tea newbie palate…
I digress, if you must decline Youthberry then send it my way. It’s an amazing blend imho. It’s a bouquet of flavor that doesn’t at all overwhelm, but instead slowly unfolds in your mouth into a panorama of aroma’s and flavor.