4185 Tasting Notes
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #37
I knew just by the sight of these leaves that it would be a nice one. It looks like the leaves were picked in an elf forest or something! All twisty and different colors… well, tea colors, not rainbow colors. I’ve tried a couple Earl Lavenders lately, and this is my favorite. All of the elements fit together. The black tea is the perfect base, the lavender is the right strength. I just could have used more bergamot, but what is there adds a lovely brightness. This is the second tea I’ve tried from Rishi this week and I love them! I’m taking the last couple of teaspoons of this out of the teabox.
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #36
I love the name. This seemed to have other ingredients, but it really just seemed like oddly strong chamomile. Chamomile shouldn’t be this strong! The description mentions mango, but I really don’t taste it. I would love one good chamomile tea in my collection.. I guess right now it’s just Adagio’s Sherlock’s Molly Hooper. Sherlock!
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #35
Black currant and chocolate here. An odd combination, unless you think of the tart with the sweet. Sadly, there isn’t too much flavor here to notice either way. I really think that any tea that claims to be chocolate should have more than cocoa nibs.. they just aren’t chocolatey enough. Dump in that cacao!! Everything is just mild here – the black tea, the currant, the chocolate. But it might be too offensive in flavor if it wasn’t mild.
The teabox is on it’s third journey, but I still have a few tasting notes for teabox teas typed up!
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #34
This one reminds me of SHIELD for some reason… I haven’t seen the last episode of the season yet. My first Adagio with a pu-erh base! This certainly has the pu-erh flavor. It might not be a good one for pu-erh newbies since the pu-erh flavor is kind of tough… or maybe that’s the coconut? I think I’m just now realizing that aging coconut kind of tastes like pu-erh. I was getting hints of the other fruits, but I wish they would have left the coconut out. There are better pu-erhs though… this one isn’t my favorite. This one didn’t seem dark enough for me (though it was a ripened pu-erh.) I just realized this is the same tea as the Simple Loose Leaf sample I just received.
Steep #1 // just boiled // 4 min
Steep #2 // just boiled // 5 min
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #33
Wooee I have never seen tinier black tea leaves! The spices seem tiny too. One teaspoon steeped for two minutes seems really brisk, so I wouldn’t recommend longer steep times. This one could definitely be mixed with milk. I don’t usually like adding milk to my chai – the brisker the better for me. This wasn’t bad for me then, but it certainly wasn’t as delicious as the ’Kim’s homemade chai’ I tried the other day. I like the lingering flavor though.
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #32
This is another blend in the teabox with lemongrass in it. haha. I haven’t had so many lemongrass teas in my life! Luckily I like it anyway. A lovely fruity herbal. This would be ridiculous iced. It is so sweet it’s like a fruit punch. I’m not sure how they managed it. I can’t tell if it’s splenda or something. This brews up a periwinkle color, so at least there isn’t any hibiscus in it! It doesn’t seem like blueberry or pineapple though. Maybe hints of pineapple but really just sugary sweetness. This blend certainly could have been worse (hibiscus). I just love traveling teaboxes – trying a bunch of teas!
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #31
Super super sweet cinnamon here. I think I’ve had this blend before. It was called Marketspice or something. It also reminds me of Harney’s Hot Cinnamon Sunset but that stuff is supreme. This one seems like the flavor is a little off and the cinnamon is a little too sweet. Definitely doesn’t seem like orange to me, but the ‘sweet’ in the name certainly fits! Nice to try it though!
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #30
Maybe this would help with the mild headache I’ve had for three days. Elderberries remind me of The Walking Dead now… and poor Hershel! It’s tough to tell from the description what should be in this blend, but it looks like mostly lemongrass. There should be green tea here, I think, but I only see like two green tea leaves in my teaspoon. The flavor tastes like something that should be giving allergies, though I’m not sure what that is. It almost tastes like pine or dill and I should be sneezing. But it sure tastes like a cup that should be fighting sicknesses.
I’ve been picking teas for the teabox – I’m using the ‘my highest rating’ function on my Steepster cupboard to make sure I’m adding some good ones.
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #29
Additional notes: I always like to try Laoshan Black when I find it in a teabox, Maybe it’s a pure magic harvest. The leaves of this one look different than I remember: blacker, shinier, twistier. It also seems to tastes slightly better than I remember: sweeter, deeper, unless every time I drink this, I like it better.
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #28
It seems there a bunch of lovely ingredients here, but then the hibiscus takes over, even though I only see a couple small pieces in the infuser. Darn hibiscus. Otherwise there is a bit of mint. Like Veronica mentions, it’s toothpaste not like a herbal mint. Hibiscus and toothpaste? Ick. It could have been worse though. I’m always happy to try teas, and the teaboxes are great for doing that! I’ve been having awesome luck so far. Maybe I just know which teas to steep up, or maybe when it comes to tea, I like most of them!
