4170 Tasting Notes
Another one to thank Nicole for! There will be many more to write tasting notes for. That tea package was amazing. I’ve also been drinking a ton of teas that are on the next-to-be-sipdowns list and a few were also sipdowned in the last few days. I have so many small samples of tea, but I like the variety, and just as long as they are stored well and I remember where they are, it’s under control. This one could almost appear to be a Golden Monkey, if there was slightly more gold to the leaves. Otherwise they are black, thin, twisty with hints of gold. I only went with a teaspoon this time since Nicole’s note says this one gets tough. It turned out light enough for me. The flavor is interesting. I haven’t tried enough Jin Jun Mei yet to know where this one stands. But the flavor is tangy and fruity… it actually reminds me of my favorite flavor profile for Darjeeling. I feel like I haven’t been able to pick apart flavors enough lately. The color of the cup isn’t very dark. I think I should have went two teaspoons for this one.
Steep #1 // 1 tsp // 9 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // Just boiled // 3 min
Thanks for this one a while back, Ost! I say “a while back” a lot, even though I have an e-mail draft list for teas I haven’t written tasting notes for, so it should be easier to try new-to-me teas! A standard pu-erh here – I used 2 1/2 teaspoons to use up the sample. I like a ton of leaves in my pu-erh anyway. These leaves look quite dusty and medium sized for a pu-erh. In the picture for the tea, the leaves do look quite dusty! After the rinse, the brew is deep and dark and perfectly acceptable when you want a cup (or three) of ripened pu-erh. I can’t really give many flavor notes for this one – nothing really stands out other than the usual tasty pu-erh flavors – dusky and deep. Glad I used 2 1/2 teaspoons. The darker the pu-erh the better — I’d probably do that with black teas if they didn’t get bitter.
Steep #1 // 2 1/2 tsps. // rinse // just boiled // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 2-3 min
Steep #3 // just boiled // 3-4 min
First tasting note for this one? Now I feel rotten it took me this long to write a review. Thanks for the samples a while back, Bird Pick! I had to sip this one today because I feel terrible I haven’t reviewed it yet. Sweet yet vegetal fragrance to the dark green tightly rolled bundles. All three steeps were delicious, with the main characteristic of this oolong being very sweet. The steeps get better and better though – with the second steep having hints of peach. I think I steeped it with the best parameters possible. The third definitely wasn’t bitter or oversteeped — just gets deeper with flavor, though this one isn’t distinct enough to make it my favorite oolong. It can’t really be put in any of the vegetal, floral, butter/milk, or fruity oolong types. This is a sweet and subtle oolong, maybe for those who don’t want a strong oolong. This is delicious but there are so many good oolongs out there!
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 tsp // 10 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // ?? min a.b. // ?? min steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 2 min
I recently sipped a sample of this and loved it so much I bought 100grams during the sale. I could tell upon opening that this was a different tea from the sample, even though they were both from 2015. The rose fragrance is very prominent in this one, where it wasn’t before in taste or scent. The black tea seems different too. The leaves are larger here unless I’m remembering wrong, but the taste is definitely different though. The flavor is weaker now, like a light milky chocolate, when before the flavor was deeper and more complex – it seemed like it had elements of Keemun, Zheng Shan Ziao Zhong and sweet potatoes, which is why I liked it. I didn’t even mind that the rose was mostly missing from the sample, since the base so good. Now the rose takes over the flavor of the tea. This one seems more like the Yun Nan Dian Hong Full Leaf blend, though I can’t be sure. I’m disappointed it has changed from the 2015 sample! Lowering the rating from a 95.
Steep #1 // 2 tsps. // 10 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // few minutes after boiling // 3-4 min
Harvest: 2015
Thanks for this one The Last Dodo! This looks like an Earl Grey blend (the cornflowers must make it the “blue tea”?), but there is something tropical about it… The base pairs well with the flavors, but the flavor is not really for me. It seems almost like cherry cough syrup than anything else which is odd because there isn’t any cherry here. That’s too bad! I’ve sipped this once before without writing a tasting note and it seemed more unique and intriguing last time. Maybe I had better fruits in the teaspoon I parceled out last time. I think I saw a rosehip in this one.
Additional notes: I wanted to try this one again, as I know the parameters I used last time didn’t work. It was the wrong everything. The steeps were closer to ideal than last time, but the second cup was still a little too bitter. This is a picky steeper and cooler water/ less steep time/ less leaves work with this one. I’ll describe the flavors of the first non-bitter steep – it’s more like the flavor notes than before: light, buttery, pastries, maybe a little like jam. Definitely not chocolate to me though. This one is so touchy to steep though, so it isn’t a favorite and too light for me. Though it is a different flavor profile. One serving left, hopefully to perfect the steeps next time! It’s also interesting that one of my favorite OLDER blends of 52Teas is the Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish and the old base at least uses a nilgiri base, so that is probably where some of those butter/jam/ pastry flavors come from!
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 tsp// 12 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // few minutes after boiling // 3-4 min
Thank you Nicole! I’m not sure if I steeped these mostly gold, fuzzy twisties properly. I’ve had similar teas from YS like this one that I adored, but this one seemed to turn out a little light to my tastes. First up was a hint of tomato soup, but then it’s very light and sweet honey. Not much else in the way of flavor, even though the color of the cup looked like a milk chocolate brew, so it should have been like a medium strength black tea. I wish I could say more, but this one was too light! Only one serving left anyway.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 tsp // 12 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 min
Additional notes: I was searching through the top rooibos on Steepster for something no-caf to have. Whoa is this one still dreamy. The flavor is really lasting with this one. So full of lemon meringue type flavor. Raising the rating a little.
They might be coming back soon, but at the moment DT isn’t around. You CAN however buy the same blends here, by sending an e-mail. http://eastindiescoffeeandtea.com/teahome.php
Actually, I don’t see this particular blend on their site. It MIGHT be Rooibos/Honeybush Lemon Souffle but they always had a ton of lemon teas.
Nicole, you’ll be happy to hear that another one of the teas you sent found a good home! Thank you! I’ve sipped this before but just now writing a note. I’m not sure where the ‘gold’ in the name of this one comes from. The leaves are pretty dark – the color and shape actually remind me of a loose ripe pu-erh. They could be cousins because even while using two teaspoons of leaves, this one doesn’t get bitter like a ripe pu-erh. The color of the brew is also a deep dark red (nothing light and gold there!) The flavor is something unique to me – dark while being bright and fresh tasting (maybe fruity) but also a lot of bready notes. I usually don’t taste all of those together in the same tea, which might be what makes it unique. Not like a typical Yunnan profile to me. Nothing chocolate here. I almost couldn’t tell the difference between the two steeps so this is a great tea to have to avoid that oversteeped leaves flavor. And the steeped leaves filled up half the infuser basket!
Steep #1 // 2 tsps. // 12 minutes after boiling // 2-3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3-4 min
Flavors: Bread, Malt
Thanks for this one, Nicole! I figured this one was the Fusion blend but I LUURRVE that one. It seems like the same to me, as I know a lot of their blends are the same (so I don’t know about the “handcrafted caramel” they mention in the description). This one is a great rich pu-erh with caramel pieces and lovely spices that really enhance the pu-erh. The caramel adds some sweetness. A fantastic blend all around. It really doesn’t seem like pu-erh to me, but a really raisiny black tea. All the elements just WORK for me and it’s better than I remember every time I sip a fresh cup.
Steep #1 // 1 heaping tsp // 10 min after boiling // 2-3 min steep
Steep #2 // few min a.b. // 3 min
Steep #3 // later