4170 Tasting Notes

94

Another blend from MissB! thank you so much! Two TARDIS blends! I’ll try the other one next week. I never really had a chance to get into Doctor Who… (probably because it would double my show watching time) but these blends sure sound amazing. Both blends seem to be Earl Grey with some sort of berry. This one has blueberry. The Cara McGee blend has blackberry. This blend does have some white tea in it.

Steep #1 // 20 mins after boiling // 2 min
The steep color is very light – doesn’t even seem like black tea! But the fragrance is amazing – definitely sweet and blueberry. The taste is great.. sweet blueberry along the lines of David’s Blueberry Jam or 52Teas Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish. There is a sweetness I would say is supposed to be the caramel/cream. I definitely wouldn’t say this is a bergamot tea though… it’s missing here. The base is perfect for these flavors. It’s very delicious.

Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 min
Here are some spices I missed the first time! I’m getting cinnamon this time around. It’s interesting! I really like this one, as I usually like Adagio’s blends.

TeaLady441

That’s an interesting combo. I think I prefer the black Tardis tea(in theory bc I haven’t tried this) only bc it’s much easier to steep black tea over white.

I didn’t realize you pools have success resteeping Adagio blends. I’d just assumed they were one time only!

tea-sipper

It’s very rare that I don’t resteep actually (usually herbals)..or if I don’t like a tea. They usually taste the same to me!

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87

Another one from MissB! thanks again! Another one I was dying to try! If I try ALL the teas, then I know what I like, right? I accidently added the whole sample to my infuser.. it looked like around one teaspoon to me, but ended up being closer to two teaspoons. Whoops! (Just boiled // 3 min) Isn’t bad anyway… though I have no idea what makes this more than a typical chai… it tastes like the usual – nice black tea and nice spices. It actually seems HOT spicy somehow, maybe the black pepper? It has that chai raisiny flavor that some of them have. The second cup was just as nice. This is a really nice chai as a plain chai, but as ‘crème brulee’ it fails.

Using almost teaspoons only made it a tiny bit astringent, but I needed that this morning anyway. I will actually have access to SEVEN of the Tournament of Books books this year (themorningnews.org)! Usually I’m only able to read one-two books in time for the ToB so I have some speed reading to do!

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96

Additional notes: Yes, I’m having this delicious tea so soon again after the first time. The rest of my sample package had closer to one teaspoon of leaves, rather than the two teaspoons I used last time and it just isn’t the same. You need those two teaspoons to get the chocolate notes. One teaspoon won’t happen again!

ETA: The second steep hotter/longer was actually quite chocolate anyway!

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73

Thank you for this one in that awesome package I’m gradually, slowly trying teas from, Dexter3657! I had actually always wanted to try some teas from New Mexico TC. Always willing to try more coconut teas as well! The dry blend just has a few strands of coconut in a teaspoon, so I’m not sure if there is added flavor to the leaves. But this is nice! The black base has a medium body with perfect astringency and a grassy/hay flavor. The coconut is subtle but definitely present and lingering. This is a tad less tasty than 52Teas Coconut Cream Pie though. It tasted especially nice with some pecan pie I made the other day. The second steep kind of lost anything coconut about it… it must have all went to the first cup.
One teaspoon, just boiled, 3-4 min.

Courtney

I have this one on my shopping list, but I’m not sure anything will be better than S&V’s Coconut Black. :)

tea-sipper

I haven’t tried that one yet!

Courtney

So tasty! I can send some if you’d like – I have a bit of an abundance. :)

tea-sipper

Oh, that isn’t necessary if it’s your favorite, but I really appreciate the offer! :D

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75
drank Green Walnut by Fusion Teas
4170 tasting notes

The ingredients list on this one kind of sounded like Della Terra’s blend… and I LOVE this sort of thing, so I was willing to try Fusion’s. If I’m remembering by taste, this is NOT the same blend. Looking at my tasting note for the DTT, I am in love with that one. This blend is okay, just not as tasty. I described that one as almost too sweet. This one isn’t really sweet. There is definite walnut presence here.. kind of reminiscent of that horrid David’s Snowbunny or should I say playdoh tea… but these walnuts are much better… it seems they could certainly turn into those walnuts though, with age. The green tea is alright, but not my favorite. There isn’t really much else going on, unless I didn’t get enough variety in my scoop of tea. It’s interesting this blend has almonds while the DTT has hazelnut and pecans. But the Fusion is more true to its name: walnut. DTT’s blend is more coconut and sweet. I’d go with the DTT though, no matter how much I usually love Fusion’s blends.

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47

Thank you so much MissB! But this one is not for me. The leaves look like black tea to me. I don’t see any other ingredients. The black tea is on the lighter side and the flavor seems weird to me. It’s like licorice or something, but this isn’t supposed to be licorice at all. No caramel apple for me, that I can see. I don’t even think I’ll resteep this one (rare for me!) Ah well, I can’t love everything.

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88
drank Vanilla Mint by Golden Moon Tea
4170 tasting notes

A one shot sample from Rachel’s sale a while back… in these wasteful one serving giant metallic packaging. Anyway, this is like Zen’s Vanilla Mint pu-erh but I like the pu-erh base with the mint and vanilla rather than the gunpowder and black tea. (And I love the gritty bits of vanilla in the Zen.) Though this is good too! I waited a half hour to brew the first cup because of the gunpowder, thus making the black tea lighter. But I love the vanilla mint combo. Plenty of mint and sweet creamy vanilla, just not as much vanilla as the Zen. The second cup was steeped just after boiling and didn’t seem to bitterize the gunpowder, but the black tea didn’t seem to be stronger either. I wouldn’t mind buying this one if Zen’s blend was no longer available!

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63
drank Jasmine Globes by Harney & Sons
4170 tasting notes

These are from Nicole’s package a while back. thanks so much! I’ve never had big old globes before. I must have waited too long for the water to cool (35 minutes). After a 3 min steep, this is barely any different than plain water.. the globe hasn’t unraveled at all. There are hints of sweet jasmine though, so it isn’t entirely plain water. I’ll see how the second steep is with hotter water….
… Just boiled water didn’t make the tea bitter somehow. But there still wasn’t much flavor either. It seems like most of the globe is tied together with string and then the outer leaves open like a flower. This would be a nice jasmine option if you prefer subtlety, but I happen to love more flavor with my jasmine teas.

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94

I needed to try this asap when I started seeing MissB’s tasting notes saying she loved it so much she was drinking it every day! Basically, I wanted to see if I loved it too, hopefully to make up for the fact that she sent me some before she tried it herself. So I especially thank you for sending this one, MissB!

Both steeps of this ARE amazing! (Just boiled, one teaspoon, 4-5 minutes.) It’s the best sort of pu-erh. Deep, dark, flavorful, sweet, dusky. It’s perfect, really. The toffee (tiny chips) are just an added bonus to add to the sweetness of the pu-erh. I just love the deep earthiness with the sweetness. Exactly as I was wishing/hoping this tea was! I could sip this one every day too… so I hope you don’t regret sending some of this over, MissB! :D

Edited to add: hmm… apparently I have no idea what I’m talking about, since I don’t actually SEE any tasting notes from MissB for this tea!

Edited again: Ah, I was just reading tasting notes and it’s Tea Desire’s Caramel Pu-erh that MissB loves so much. Now I don’t feel so bad about buying some of this one. :D

MissB

Heh. I had a real problem with most of the Darlene’s blends, so I just shared this one until it was gone. I’ve heard mixed reviews on it, so I’m thrilled to hear that this is great for you! :) I can definitely send you some of the Tea Desire blend to compare too, if I forgot to already.

Yvonne

Oh my, this sounds just stunning. Toffee in teas is wonderful!

tea-sipper

Ah, I don’t want you to send another package so soon after the other one, MissB! And I also don’t want you sending your favorite teas!

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85

Finally trying this sample from my order a while back. It sounded interesting and especially unique for a Darjeeling. And it is! It seems like this is where that flavor that was missing from the new batch of Hattialli Assam has gone to! I used a bit more than a teaspoon of leaves to even out the rest of my sample for next time.

Steep #1 // 20 minutes after boiling // 4 min
Accidently went for 4 minutes when I was going for 3. But from the fragrance I can tell this one will be divine. It has that lovely plumy/fruity flavor… that elusive flavor from the Hattialli. Sadly, it does have a bit of astringency that is odd since I don’t really find that in Darjeelings. It can be tamed though! With a level teaspoon and a shorter steep time. I don’t really get the chocolate flavor that is mentioned by Butiki. Other than the astringency, it doesn’t taste like a black tea.. but I just wish the plum could be separated and leave the bitter behind… which does get worse as the cup cools. But this is definitely a unique Darjeeling.

Steep #2 // a few minutes after boiling // 3 min
This cup had much less of the magic/plum but also much less of the astringency. I think if I hadn’t oversteeped the first cup, the second would have been much better. It wasn’t bad though! Much more like a typical non-special Darjeeling!

Butiki Teas

Just a heads up since you mentioned it in this post, we just got in a batch of Hattialli Golden Paw, which is very very similar to our Hattialli Golden Lion.

tea-sipper

Good to know! I don’t dare ask for a sample..

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Bio

Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.

Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandala
verdanttea.com

Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas

My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.

Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!

I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.

My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors

My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again

I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)

Happy sipping!

Location

USA

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