38 Tasting Notes
Great herbal blend. The hints of licorice linger on the palette long after you’ve taken a sip. The rooibos does have that warm-tingly feeling that makes it a great pre-bedtime blend. Unlike most herbals, this blend is not an “In your face” kind of deal. The flavors meld well together and don’t overpower each other.
Preparation
Alright. After a little bit of advice from Takgoti, I decided to steep this stuff much longer. After about 5 minutes, the depth and character of this tea is much more accessible. The smooth and lingering sweet profile is definitely there now.
Preparation
My first true pu-erh experience. So far I’m fairly satisfied. I just received a small tin of this along with Samovar’s small Yixing clay pot. Right off the bat, the smell is out of this world. Very earthy and sweet. However, I’m a bit concerned that I brewed this pu-erh incorrectly. I can’t seem to get much of a taste out of this so far. I’ve been through about 6-7 resteeps and I only get a miniscule amount of taste/mouthfeel and just a tiny bit of sweetness. I used about a tablespoon of leaves with boiling water each time, including the quick rinse at the beginning. Steep for about 30-45 seconds each time, about 60 seconds on the last steep. Any recommendations on how to nail down the preparation on this? Maybe I’m just used to the full on flavors of their black/oolong blends. Or am I missing something?
Preparation
This tea has been sitting around in my collection for awhile now in it’s airtight bag from Ito En. I decided to open some of it up this morning and try it out. The leaves are beautiful, consistent, and very floral. They brew up a nice light yellow liquor that is mildly sweet and interestingly, less floral than I had expected. The other silver needle I have on hand, Octavia, is definitely more floral/earthy than this. No complaints here…
Preparation
Nothing particularly special about this Lapsang. For me, it lacks the small nuances that other high quality LS’s have to offer. This LS is straight up smoke with just a hint of sweetness as it cools. I tend to get a more robust flavor profile from other LS’s that provide a multitude of flavors and scents. This tea definitely lacks that quality. So overall I would rate this tea just so-so.
Preparation
Finally got the brewing down on this blend. Glad I did! I got in touch with some of the Samovar people and got the inside scoop on how they prepare it in house. They typically use 1 1/2 tablespoons of tea with 14 ounces of water at 170 F for about 3 minutes. A lot different than the boiling water, 1-2 minute, small amount of tea routine I found on their store. The result was an extremely rich and creamy full-bodied brew that I had heard about. Great stuff.
