377 Tasting Notes
Just another manic Monday. I wish it were Sunday…Yep back to work. I’m bringing something to work with me everyday because I need to thin the cupboard. Let’s face it if I’m going to campaign for new tea for gifts…or for post Christmas sales ;) I have to drink what I have first. I have to be honest say there’s not much difference between this and the Xi Gui Ancient Tree Raw Pu-erh Cake 2013. That’s not a bad thing either I have yet to meet a pu-erh I didn’t like. I like it. A little grassy, a little bit like raw almonds. A pretty good brew.
So the first time I ever tried green pu-erh I said never again. I thought it was bitter and tasted like a latex glove. Then I realized it was operator error because I brewed it too long. I’m huge fan of pu-erh. It is my favorite type of tea to drink. So with that said I have a new perspective on the greens. I was pretty excited about trying this one. I’ve experienced buttery on a green, but the first brew was buttery. It’s pretty much a straight up green. There’s not really any hidden nuances that come out due to it being a pu-erh. It’s pretty good but as far as pu-erh goes there’s not much that can touch black pu-erh. It’s good though.
Well it’s an interesting day here in Cleveland. All the news networks are covering the story of the Ebola passenger. My facebook news feed is swarmed with it….my thinking is until symptoms start don’t worry about it and give in to the panic. However I’m pumping in a little more green tea and maybe I’ll load up on table spoons of garlic to boost the immune system. Please understand that I am not downplaying the severity of the virus but at the same time I don’t think the panic is worth it. I figure load up on the good stuff (foods with antibiotic properties) and everything will be alright. One of my favorite quotes: Worry is like a rocking chair…gives you something to do but doesn’t get you very far. Oh yeah the tea. Just a really good green tea. I’ve really started to take a liking to greens thanks to Teavivre. I really just have to keep drinking tea daily. I feel better than when I just have coffee drinking tea.
So much to my glee if found that we have the Bigelow sampler in the break room at work. I saw this tea and said I know I like that black so the green should be pretty good too. I only drank about half of it….but not because it was bad. I got the crazy idea to make quinoa with it for lunch. So I let it sit in the quinoa for about half and hour, but the tails we not starting to poke out. So I put it in the microwave to finish cooking. Like steel cut oats I have found that quinoa is not best cooked in the microwave. The tea itself is pretty good. It’s one I could easily drink on a daily basis. It not bad for a quinoa base either. The only thing I found is that I tasted the “green tea funk”. That flavor that is reminds me of plastic, mylar, or latex. In my experience that comes from steeping it too long. However, this just leads to the need to try more quinoa in tea. Let the experiment begin!
Happy Birthday to me …..Happy Birthday to me….well it was yesterday, but when you work 6 day work weeks celebration has to wait. I’m finally getting to relax and Veggietales with the kids. Just a great quality Oolong. As we’re watching my seven year old asks if she can have a hippopotamus for Christmas.
Stopped by Teavana after having dinner in the food court. I saw the new chais and sweet gotta try a cup. Caramel is one of those vices for my sweet tooth. I went in with high hopes a was majorly disappointed. It just seems with all of their new chais they want to make sure you don’t just get cinnamon, but feel the “cinnamon thunder”. I love chai flavor, but there’s got to be a happy balance. I tasted absolutely no caramel in this tea. It reminded more of a caffeine free Samurai Chai. Good but not great the recent chai offerings from Teavana taste more like drinking a fire ball than chai. Darn sweet tooth.
I thought the same thing as John…Pu-erh at Walmart….Awesome. I open up the box make a cup while on the air….and not so awesome. It’s pretty weak from the quality of tea to the quality of flavor. For about 3 bucks it’s not bad but I like a good full bodied tea and if it’s chai then I think there should be more balance of Cinnamon, cardamon, and ginger. This one’s just meh for me.
I feel that maybe I am late to the party reviewing this one, but it’s the 4th of July and I actually have the day off. I just finished roasting some Sumatra Mandheling coffee beans and the wife and little man are both napping so it’s tea time. As far as flavor goes I don’t notice any difference between Monkey picked and non Monkey picked Ti Guan Yin. Not to say it’s bad because I have yet to meet a Ti Guan Yin that I didn’t like. There’s maybe a little more pronounced flavor. The somewhat roasted, hint of honey, hint of flower, I think a little like olive oil flavor. I am a happy camper right now.
Holy crap it’s been a long week! Serenity Now! Working normal air shifts, The Alive Festival, my daughters dance recital, and 2 weddings. Some people hit the drink…I hit the tea. The dry leaf is “fuzzy”. That’s the best way to describe it. Very similar aroma with greens like Lung Ching. The liquor is the normal pale yellow. Light grassy flavor, with maybe a little bit of roasty in there. I’m not disappointed with this tea…but then again I have yet to be disappointing with any tea that I have had from Teavivre. Another great offering.
