658 Tasting Notes
Back from London, with a few teas in hand. I’ve been so looking forward to trying my purchases after a lot of bagged hotel tea all week. Postcard Teas was delightful. I limited myself to one black, one green, and one herbal though it was pretty heart-breaking to do so.
So, I’ve settled in with a big mug of this to help me recover (after sleeping on-and-off for the past 14 hours) from the transatlantic flights and long days on my feet scurrying around palaces, museums, and tea shops. I didn’t know quite where to start with this so I went with a quick steep of 2.5 minutes at something like 95 degrees. The leaves were beautifully big and twisty.
Excellent choice. This came out not surprisingly light, but surprisingly full-bodied. It’s gently earthy but also has a really lovely sweetness mentioned in the description. There’s absolutely no bitterness to be found, but a fair amount of astringency that makes it a good wake-up tea.
I had a bit of a weird time figuring out what this tea was. I have several teas in little sample tins in a ziplock bag that kicks around in my purse for me to drink at work/my parents/school. I was trying to figure out what flavoured sencha this could be as it picked up scents from some other teas.
Anyway, once I steeped this it was clear; it’s the delicious sencha ashikubo. When I’m at work I actually leave the leaves at the bottom of my cup and sip away. I could get a few more infusions out of them if I saved them but this is so much less fussy at work, and it seems to take a long time to get bitter or lose any of its loveliness. I think I actually prefer this one steeped good and long.
Oh yum.
I got three little pouches from Yogic Chai. I feel like I should have started with the original, but this one has been beckoning to me for months.
It is a tasty chai. I did it on the stovetop in the milk/water mixture suggested and the one I typically use for chais. So good! Creamy, roasty, nicely spiced and well-balanced.
Despite this being a Christmas tea, I’ve been thinking it would probably make a great iced tea.
It does. This is lovely. Sweet and just a touch tart to keep it nice and fresh-tasting.
Did you cold brew this one overnight?
Yep! I had a few sips only an hour or two after I started it last night and it was good but it’s now been sitting about 12 hours and is delicious.
Ooooh yay! Will definitely need to try this method, then. Greens are too fussy for me to do hot.
Ah London. :) I hope you had a wonderful trip! Shame the Brahma tea museum (or something) doesn’t exist anymore. It wasn’t very large but it was an interesting visit, I though.
My (english) boyfriend is making me even more of an anglophile than I was before I met him despite the fact that he isn’t really a very patriotic-minded person himself. I have a lot of good memories of London and England in general now. :)
I did have a wonderful trip, thanks! Such an incredible city. I’ve been three times now and still feel I’ve barely made a dent in all the things I want to see there.
I found the Brahma museum website right before I left and was so excited until I eventually realized it had been closed. I would’ve liked to see it.
When I went I didn’t really learn anything I didn’t know a little about before, but it was more the idea of actually being able to see some of these things.
I’ve been three times as well, although one was just a daytrip, and you’re right, you’re not likely to ever finish seeing sights and famous places. :) We did do the British Museum last time we were there, though. It took half a day and that was WITH an itinerary of the objects they had said was a good representation of what they had. That place is enormous.