623 Tasting Notes
Cold brewed because American hotels and hostels suck for the most part at providing hot water for tea. And even when they do at times it tastes like coffee water cause they use the same carafe for coffee! Argh. Anyway, this is quite enjoyable cold. Light and fragrant just like its label says. Perfect black of black tea and bergamot flavor.
If you could choose between mass produced or family owned and operated which would you choose? This tea is wild grown and plucked by a single family. As I sit here and look at neatly rolled tea leaves I can’t help but wonder what the family is like.
When I first opened the can I was hit with a sweet honey aroma. I’m not smelling it anymore but it’s on par with the honey like taste of the liquid. Along with the honey there are also some malt and slight chocolate notes. This is the type of black tea that you need to try without anything added first. While I do think it would hold up well to honey and milk or maybe some sugar I do think it’s best on it’s own. Also if brewing in a tea pot you will need a bit more leaves then normal if you like a stronger brew as it is lighter on the black tea spectrum
Holy Grapefruit Batman! Zip. POW! Smack. It’s the sour bitterness of grapefruit without the bite. To be honest I’m not a huge fan of grapefruit but I was curious as to how green tea would handle the flavor and I must say I’m impressed. All the flavors seem to get along swimmingly.
Honestly, I can’t believe I am the first one to add and review this matcha on Steepster. The umami is simply amazing. Slight marine notes with the characteristic grassy (but not overly strong) notes. If you are a fan of matcha do your taste buds a favor and try this matcha.
The small balls of tea resemble Irish Breakfast and for that reason I was very wary in steeping this one as Irish Breakfast steeps fast. Go over and it becomes bitter quickly. Thus far I’ve tried it hot and cold. But I like how it smells the most. Harhar. All joking aside I think I enjoy it most when it is cold steeped. The strawberry flavor is definitely the main attraction but the black tea helps really round it out nicely.
Apple Brandy. If it is as good as this tea is then I really want to try some. The dry and wet leaf have a light fruity smell. Not quite an apple smell but maybe cooked apple? It’s just a guess but I believe the black base used is English breakfast. Somewhat woodsy with different earthy notes popping up here and there. A unique blend with the fruity notes that come from the apples. Surprisingly I do not taste the brandy but then again alcohol is very hard to detect in tea even when brewed correctly.
A very unique oolong. They say its only oxidized till 45% but the leaves look so dark! It has woodsy and floral notes mixed together but not like the orchid notes in a lightly oxidized oolong, more like a flower growing out of a cedar tree that has leeched some of the cedar notes. The wet leaves have almost a cigarette smell to them. Not quite as gross as that smell but just not the nicest wet leaf tea smell.
My first few tastings were ok. I wasn’t as appreciative of it as I have been with other. However, after forgetting I had a cup left and letting it sit for a while I came back to discover it’s true floral flavors are to be discovered when cooled. The dry leaves have a very light, roasty aroma. Gorgeously twisted with care. The scent is so light that it’s almost non-existent, so you really have to stick your nose in the bag. The wet aroma reveals some interesting floral characteristics. The flavor, when steeped between 30 seconds to a minute, are mainly grassy with slight vegetal hints and a somewhat mineral after taste.
