353 Tasting Notes
Another great sample from Ost. :) This is a really refreshing flavoured oolong – the base tea is very green, with fresh crisp floral notes. I’m not at all suprised to see that it’s a baozhong. The peach flavouring is juicy and not too strong or artificial tasting. This is lovely, might try it cold-steeped next.
I’m so glad to have a chance to try out all these Della Terra teas. :) Thanks again to Ost for the samples! This one is fun-looking because of the sprinkles and marshmallows. I definitely get some marshmallow flavour in my cup, though the caramel is pretty subtle (I don’t think there were any caramel pieces in this scoop of tea, which may explain it). Mostly I’m just tasting the black tea base, which is actually quite nice – fairly rich and malty, so maybe it’s an assam, but minimal astringency even with a longer second steep.
This is the other one I had yesterday, and I didn’t find it to be as… flavourful? as the birthday cupcake. Maybe this tea is a bit older than the other one? Anyway, it’s not bad, you can still get some sweet cake notes and a bit of fruitiness, but I would have never identified it as pineapple upside down cake specifically. Pretty good though, especially with a bit of milk and sugar added.
Oooo! This one was a surprise, because for some reason the name made me think it was going to be an unflavoured black tea blend. Ost sent me a bunch of sachets to try, so I tossed one in a mug, poured on boiling water, came back 3min later and was like “whoa… definitly not unflavoured”. :) Then I sipped and sniffed for a while, trying to guess the flavour. I definitely got a citrus flavour, thought it was bergamot or lemon. And then I was pretty sure there was a creamy vanilla sweetness in there. But it didn’t taste like just a cream earl grey, there were some other berry/fruit notes in there as well. Now that I’ve read the description, I definitely get the “preserves” essence that they describe. The base tea is rich and sweet and complements the flavour very well. This is really yummy, I’m happy to have more sachets for later. :)
I’ve been working my way through my samples from Ost, but foolishly not logging many of them. Suffice it to say that I’ve been enjoying them. :) This is my second time trying this cookie tea from Lupicia. It has quite a rich black tea base, with notes of toasted almond and burnt sugar. Quite tasty and true to the name.
I got a lovely package of samples from Ost, and while opening it I nicked this bag with my scissors, so that made it really obvious which one I should try first. :) Actually, it worked out great because I’m in the mood for something caffeine-free since I’m about to crash out super hard.
Anyway, this is a delicious dessert tea – lemony, creamy, and yes, cakey. Sweet and comforting, definitely hits the spot tonight. So happy I’m getting a chance to try some Della Terra teas. :)
Finished up my sample from OMGsrsly. I was digging through the sample drawer looking for a tippy black tea in the hopes that the caffeine might wake me up. Still pretty sleepy, but I don’t think that’s the tea’s fault. ;) 4g in the 4oz gaiwan. I tried a variety of temps from boiling down to 80C, and didn’t play close attention to time – mostly just went by colour. Maybe I should have been paying more attention, because I think I was having trouble finding the sweet spot – sometimes understeeped and a bit bland, sometimes oversteeped and too astringent. If I got it right, there was a balance of sweet and brisk (astringent) that was pleasant. There are definitely some cocoa notes in early steeps especially, but I didn’t find this tea to be overwhelmingly chocolately. When I focus I can pick up on some floral and fruity notes, as well as a somewhat woody character which is what the cocoa seems to fade into. Not bad, but I think if I wanted something with this sort of briskness I’d just drink an assam and be done with it. :)
