658 Tasting Notes
This is a strange but not unpleasant tea. I can’t decide how I feel about it. First, I think it has way too much going on. The citrus is really strong and I get a strange, hard-to-identify aftertaste that I think must be the nondescript sea minerals. It leaves a bit of a weird feeling in my mouth, and I think the stevia must contribute to that. I love to bake with stevia, but don’t like it anywhere near my tea. And I didn’t know how to steep this. 5-7 minutes in boiling water was recommended but it’s a white-and-green blend. I let it go about 5 minutes but in cooler water. It doesn’t seem to have come out bitter. I’m drinking the last of my mug cooled off, and I think I prefer it this way.
I love this. It’s one of my favourite jasmine teas. It’s so rich that I actually find it less cloying than most jasmines/florals.
But I’ve done a bad thing. I’ve been asked to substitute at a new branch office that’s pretty poorly equipped. I feel like I’ve been locked in an abandoned house (it’s not in the greatest shape, and is being renovated). Because I wanted to brighten the experience for myself, and because it’s located only steps away from a DavidsTea, I caved and bought the cute polka-dot Perfect Mug and the green mini Bodum kettle I’ve been eyeing for months. Ugh. I did not need to spend that money, but the kettle is so adorable! It makes just a mug of hot water. And, combined with my nerdy timer gadget also from DT, I have a cute tea-making station that keeps me occupied and happy while the office is incredibly slow.
I just had this cold from the store to keep me hydrated at work. It’s one I hadn’t tried before, and it’s actually quite nice. Very refreshing, and very light. Light (almost hard to detect) Oolong taste, light on the jasmine and light on even the citrus. It’s flavourful but not overwhelming and the citron part is sweeter than it is tart.
I had this to-go as an iced tea of the day today, as well as a day last week. It’s very, very rooibosy this way. Or perhaps I’m just noticing it more these days. I like where this tea is going with the other flavours but the rooibos is overbearing and not my favourite at the moment.
I realized that I’d failed to make iced tea on this, a disgustingly hot day (tomorrow is supposed to be the hottest since 1948!). So I put a teaspoon of this in my glass bottle full of cold water and stuck it in the freezer for about half an hour before I had to leave. By the time I made it to work, I needed it. This is so refreshing. Only a slight bitterness. Really nice and sweet and flavourful. Here’s hoping it’ll help keep me productive because I’m really struggling to read/study in this weather!
I pined for the “tea of the month”-type deal from Stratford Tea Leaves for months and dropped enough clear hints that the boyfriend was lovely enough to buy it for me for my birthday. I had to wait another month before it finally arrived (ugh postal strike!), but here it is!
I waited till I had time to enjoy the first two teas to get down to it, and I’m starting with this one.
The dry leaf smelled delightfully buttery and sweet. The first infusion was really strikingly bright-green from the clearly fresh matcha. It was rich and a little bitter (I think my water was too hot). The second and third infusions are a light, sweet, slightly astringent sencha.
