2454 Tasting Notes
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep
Flavors: Banana, Coconut
I’ve never read Joyce but this tea is fantastic. I’m glad that S&V included a plain black tea blend because this one is amazing. The blend uses three black teas from India, Sri Lanka and Kenya. Not sure what they are specifically, but the result is perfection. I would agree with S&V’s description that this is a malty brew with a fruity aftertaste. The sweetness and depth are there. I love a strong yet sweet black tea. I can appreciate a great complex black tea. Too complex to really fully describe. Note to self: I brewed this perfectly. I’d stock up on this one!
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// 12 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // 10 minutes after boiling // 3-4 minute steep
Additional notes: Sipdown! I think this lost flavor probably by the second teaspoon I drank, but apparently I gave it an 84 the first time I had it. Definitely not the best Butiki blend (all the other blends). I don’t remember the flavor now. But I don’t mind a cup of honeybush anyway.
Oh wow, this one is GOOD. Thanks so much for sharing this one, Mastress Alita! My teaspoon was sure to have a little cucumber slice and little piece of melon included. And the flavor is perfectly balanced between the melon and the cucumber and the fresh green tea. Plenty of flavor here! I’m not usually a fan of cucumber but I love when the flavor balances other flavors. This is fantastic, couldn’t be better, and I will savor this one in summer. I wish I had tea shops like this around here and if they blended this one they are pretty darn good at it.
Flavors: Cucumber, Melon
I’m not normally a fan of cucumbers or melons but this was the sampler tea when I went for my High Tea when I was there during a vacation and I really enjoyed it (since I took some home, I actually have found I like it far more as an iced tea than warm, it reminds me of cucumber water and Japanese melon-flavored drinks). My Nancy Drewing leads me to believe this was not one of their custom blends, but was sourced to their shop from English Tea Store (so my own review is located under English Tea Store for this tea). Though they wholesale, they still offer their teas online to consumers and their prices are actually very cheap, at only around $1.50 for a 1 oz. sampler. I’ll probably be making a lot of pitchers of this one iced this summer as well.
oh cool, thanks for the detective work! I definitely appreciate knowing there is another source for it. I will have to try this iced!
Guys, I’m super excited that I won the 52Teas giveaway this month! EEEEEE. Anyway, this is one of Frank’s blends that I’m slow to write a note for. Green tea with strawberries. Sadly, this blend has hardly any flavor of anything at this point, even the green tea. Though I appreciate how many strawberries were thrown in the blend. I used two teaspoons because of this. Sadly, the flavor isn’t what I would wish. Though that probably is my fault and not the tea’s. It’s almost gone anyway. So many teas and how quickly they fade. Usually a tea doesn’t fade THIS quickly. If they would stay fresh, I’d probably stock a billion more teas anyway. It’s probably for the best.
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug// 30 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 25 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
In defense of this tea – this one is over 4 years old . . .
Sorry, I thought I mentioned this one was older? And I definitely don’t expect teas to taste perfect forever. I do have many four year old teas that still taste the same as when they were new though. Thanks again for the giveaway!
You’re very welcome! I enjoy doing the giveaway! Unfortunately, we’re quickly approaching June (already! I can’t believe it’s nearly here!!!) and I’ll have to stop it again for a while because I’ll have a lot on my plate with prepping for the Christmas box (again … already?!?) and I won’t have time to do the upkeep with the giveaway that is required.
Yes, I know that some teas are able to last – I have some teas that have lasted an astonishingly long time as well. I think it has a lot to do with how they’re stored. Back in my review days, I would keep the many teas that I received for review (both purchased and received in return for the review) in the packaging that they came in – and then I would put those packages in a very large (2 Kilo capacity) tin. I have found that some of those teas are still quite fresh – while others that I have not stored in this way – and that are quite a bit ‘newer’ – have lost a little flavor. So this could be storage – or it could be just – the tea didn’t hold up. Who knows? Only the tea leaves know and they’re not talking – at least not in a language that is readily understood! Haha!
I do hope you’ll enjoy the teas I have for this month – when you were the winner of this month, I smiled because I think that at least one of them is definitely going to be something that you appreciate.
I know, I can’t believe it is already April! I know storage is the most important thing for teas. I never had the idea of putting smaller pouches in big tins for extra freshness though! Plus the tin would help keep them cooler. The Strawberry was kept in a decent resealable pouch so I was a little surprised at the lack of flavor. I’m doing a little jig that you think I will especially appreciate one of the blends because I definitely already REALLY appreciate ALL the blends! I won’t say what I hope it is, as there are so many I would mention anyway. :D
Additional notes: I had to mix two teaspoons of this with one teaspoon of creamsicle rooibos to go for a creamsicle pu-erh and it is delicious. I made sure to put all teaspoons in a teabag instead of an infuser so all the rooibos wouldn’t escape. Somehow even the third steep still had the flavor of creamsicle and the blend is even pretty old. I love this combination!
I won a sampler pack for Teavivre’s Black Friday wheel spin, so this isn’t exactly fresh but it is still DELICIOUS. I always expect magic from Teavivre’s jasmine blend and the magic is delivered. The jasmine is always so amazing, strong and sweet. The perfect flavor for these lovely green pearls. Teavivre’s jasmine teas are always a fantastic quality, even though Teavivre has three types of jasmine dragon pearls. I probably couldn’t tell the quality apart. I know I couldn’t really tell the difference when I tried the premium pearls and the superfine pearls years ago, when the harvests were different. These pearls seem very similar to what I remember of the other two, but of course that was a while ago. Harvests can change. In this cup, so much lovely jasmine that I can’t really taste the green tea. I would only buy my jasmine tea from Teavivre. Also, this one is 20% off on Teavivre.com right now, if anyone is interested!
Steep #1 // 1 heaping teaspoon for a full mug// 28 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 25 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Harvest: 2017
Flavors: Jasmine
Additional notes: I’m trying to drink my favorite ripened pu-erhs again (mainly going in order of my favorites) and this one, according to my ratings, is my favorite. I ordered a whole brick of it before (and I definitely rarely do that.) I think I’m finding, for all the pu-erh that I rated highly, that I used a ton of leaves. So overleafing pu-erh might be what I like to do. Of course, I don’t think you can really overleaf a ripe pu-erh… to me, it just gets more delicious. I think even after cleaning my infuser, it isn’t infusing like it used to, and that plus not overleafing the pu-erh, makes the resulting flavor not as deep as I wish it was. Luckily I have a whole brick to get this right!
From my last mystery bag order! I love a good mint tea. I don’t see too many that combine the mint with white tea. I made sure to get at least one candy cane chunk in the infuser with all these huge leaves! Now, occasionally, if I sweeten a tea with anything, it will most likely be half a candy cane I throw in a mug left over from the holidays, so I’m no stranger to candy cane tea! This is perfectly delicious. The flavor of the white tea pulls through the mint, that is both minty and creamy. Not too minty. Definitely balanced like the mint of a candy cane. I’m not sure if the cream is coming from the candy cane, additional flavoring, or the white tea itself, since sometimes a white tea can have a lovely creamy quality to it. But whatever it is, I do appreciate the creamy with the mint. The second steep was only a few minutes after boiling, but it tasted great this way. A balanced blend!
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug// 28 minutes after boiling // 2 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 // few minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
