37
drank Cucumber White by Tazo
2037 tasting notes

Well, there’s good news, and there’s bad news. Which do you want first? (Say the good news. You should always get good news first. Much better that way, no risk of the news giver dropping dead before they have the chance to give you the good news.)

The good news? I knew you’d ask for the good news first, it’s the sensible thing to do.

Here it is. I have almost reached the end of this tea. That is excellent, excellent news. I very stupidly bought a case of it through Amazon back when I thought I liked it figuring I’d save money that way. That’s 6 boxes of tea bags, and I’ve been suffering through the last four boxes trying to rediscover what I thought I liked about this originally.

Ok, the bad news? The bad news is that I never did rediscover what I thought I liked about this originally. Frankly, it has been a steady downhill ride. Every now and then there’s a glimmer. Like this evening, when I had some that had cooled and was actually approximating an iced version, to wash down one of those Amy’s frozen roasted vegetable pizzas with no cheese (back in the saddle on the diet and exercise as of today, I hope). That wasn’t bad, for a few swallows. But probably because with food, it’s disguised enough so that that Om-pickle memory doesn’t penetrate, so the flavor of the cucumber is relatively pristine.

I think I figured out what is causing the pickle memory. I think it’s the lime. The sourness of the lime.

In any case, I am now hard pressed to let this stay at a rating of 51 (down from the original of 63).

Dan

You have much more patience than I have. I could never struggle through 6 boxes of tea I didn’t care for.

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Dan

You have much more patience than I have. I could never struggle through 6 boxes of tea I didn’t care for.

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I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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