4357 Tasting Notes
From CameronB! Thanks very much! The flavors are unique here, as in I don’t think I have had this particular blueberry/lemon flavoring before in another tea. It’s a bit like candy… so not really tangy fruits. The blueberry is more like a muffin sort of blueberry. Neither fruit is very distinct. The green tea base isn’t taking over at all and I didn’t even notice the rooibos. It’s an okay blend.
additional notes: Finally finishing this beloved tea, as I noticed the pecans were understandably smelling a bit funky. The flavor is still okay though! It will be missed. Maybe by the time I finish ALLLL the Butiki teas, Stacy will start making tea again?!? I have probably said this before…
2025 sipdowns: 25
A sample from Teavivre! The leaves are lovely – long and half golden. The resulting tea with just a teaspoon and a half of leaves is certainly deep and complex enough for me. It’s dark and rich, but it’s also sweet. Hints of tomato soup, but really this reminds me of Ruby 18 but deeper but also another specific tea…. had my mind on it but it slipped. Notes of black pepper like to linger. It’s a good one! Not describing it well enough! Exceeded my expectations. I think Teavivre’s teas in recent years have had lighter flavored harvests, but this is darker than I thought it would be. Love that.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 22 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep
I’m quite sad about this. This tea is ancient. I guess I ignored it in the stash,thinking it was a subpar Keemun — weaker, flavorless. BUT I had it recently and it was quite good! Perhaps it has aged well. Perhaps recent Keemun harvests have been even more disappointing than this one. Anyway, the flavor now is rich enough for me, a bit smokey. I wouldn’t say it distinctly has Keemun flavor notes, but that could also be because of time. Delicious for such an old tea that I expected nothing from. I mean… I never even wrote a note for it! But it was a nice surprise. Two delicious steeps.
Interestingly, I had a similar experience with a Georgian 1847 Rolled Black Tea today. Much better than in years past! I recently began brewing with tap water (municipal well, softened & treated) because my source of alpine spring water has dried up (bare shelf at Walmart), and wonder if that has been a factor. Has there been a recent change in your water, @tea-sipper?
No, it has been the same water source than and now. Though, years ago, who knows how it has changed…
*then
I received this from Michelle quite a while ago — thank you! Three solid steeps. Very tasty, though the first steep did have a hint of fishiness. Only a HINT. But it is a little surprising it’s there at all if this is almost twenty years old. Otherwise, quite a delicious puerh. Peeking in the infuser before tossing them, the leaves looked huge and still looked a little twisted together, so I probably could have steeped this a fourth time, even though the third steep was LONG.
I think Rich got his moneys worth outta this one!
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – April 2025 Tea #2 – A tea that is close to a sipdown
LOVE this one every time I have it. Next time this particular pouch will be a sipdown, but I have backups! It’s a classic, and I had to go over to check — Davids is still selling it. Raising the rating from 90.
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – April 2025 Tea #1 -April 4 – Qing Ming Festival: drink a Chinese tea, preferably an early spring green
TWO sipdowns today and both of them Chinese teas! Not sure why I gave this one such a low rating. I mean, it isn’t remarkable but it also isn’t bad. Also, this low rating was from eleven days ago, so you’d think I would remember the reason. I will raise the rating from 64. Maybe overleafing it helped the flavor. It sure helped to get it gone. I also finished a sample of Teavivre’s dragonwell today. Delicious.
2025 sipdowns: 22
2025 unique sipdowns:18
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – March 2025 Tea #7 -a flavored oolong
This’ll do! I don’t remember if I shared any of this with anyone… at least from this pouch. If not, I finished an entire pouch! Can’t say I’m tired of it yet. It’s a cozy tea. I probably wouldn’t call it ‘Nutty & Spice’ though. It isn’t too nutty or too spicy. More fruity?
2025 sipdowns: 20
2025 unique sipdowns:17
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – March 2025 Tea #6 -your oldest green tea
I have had a weird cough thing going on for a couple weeks, so my tastebuds are wacky, but this one is an old reliable favorite anyway. It was time to finish one of my small samples. I would buy this again just based on how good it tastes for so long. I mean… I’m sure it is leagues better fresh, but it’s also REALLY good when it’s old.
2025 sipdowns: 19
2025 unique sipdowns:17
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – March 2025 Tea #5 – a tea in a sachet
This was the sachet for the prompt. Still have a few left! These are a bit faded now, but they were never great to begin with. Somehow you were able to add these for free to your cart back in the day, so that probably means B&B didn’t think they passed quality control anyway. So don’t take my word on these. I’m sure B&B has a better blend now.
