Popular Tasting Notes
I have to admit that I was skeptical of this tea since it is A) a green tea, and B) it has jasmine in it. Turns out my skeptisisms were unwarrented.
I brewed me up a large cuppa this golden/green colored drink merely so I could cross it off of my ‘possible teas’ list. As you can see by my opening statement it turns out that is in fact a possible drinker. I can’t say I’m in love with it, but given that I haven’t liked many greens or any of the jasmines I’ve tried it’s still fairing well enough.
First thing that came to mind on the first sip was buttery, real buttery. After that I found myself questioning what was different about the green flavor. Partly it was the addition of the jasmine, though that was pretty tame, yet there was something else difficult to nail down. It’s a kind of malty green hay thing that, again, is difficult to nail down.
There were some sweet notes present as well, but I didn’t get any of the fruity or honey I read others may have found. I steeped this one a few times and found that the distinctly different notes that jumped out in the first cup had all mellowed and melted into a harmony of flavors.
Even though greens aren’t typically my thing I must still comment on the qaulity that Teavivre delivers. The pearls were beautiful and unfurled into delicate slender leaves. Even though it was AZZ that sent me this sample I must add Angel to my gratitude for the opportunity to experience this tea. Azz you were very gracious to send me so many samples to learn from, and Angel you have made it possible for many people to experience your teas and to taste and see what it is that you offer. Thank you both.
tunes-Gactic,albums-From The Corner To The Block/Carnivale Electicos.
Standing on the Rim
When I ordered my brick of Pu’er, I made sure to buy a .7 oz packet for sampling right away.
I’m so new at storing larger cakes and bricks of PU that I never would have had patience to wait before diving in with my Pu’er knife like an impatient tea Zorro.
Having purchased a large brick is a leap of faith. Is this tea going to be one of those special Pu’er’s that will grow richer in time and dazzle me with exceptional flavor?
I’ve waited to read the notes from Verdant on taste until after I had tried my sample.
I used my fat, white 4oz Gaiwan and 4 grams leaf. I always use Spring Water.
The liquor was an intensely rich Auburn Brown color through all 5 infusions.
The infusions were quirky (like me).
I began with 20 seconds on the first infusion which was fine (the first infusion is usually light), but the second steeping was very strong.
I cut back the time to 10 seconds on the 3rd infusion (which is the same as an ‘instant’ steep for me since I’m a bit slow) and that was most successful!
Keep the infusions at 5-10 seconds, not longer, for best results.
Even though I went from light to heavy and back to light strength, the flavor never went weird. (No hidden boxing glove came out on that second strong steeping and popped me in the nose with a bitter left hook.)
Had I drained the energy and flavor from the tea? The oversteeping could have diluted the Pu’er.
Thankfully, the third infusion was very good, and from that point on the shorter 10 second steep times produced smooth, juicy and flavorful tastings.
All along I tasted soft, sweet ginger with a bite on the front of my tongue that lingered long after drinking the tea.
Some might say there’s a cedar wood flavor but I tasted redwood. That redwood taste is warm and sunny with a tang to it and has more body than cedar.
There was a creamy, light saltiness on the last steeping.
When I drink tea I stand on the rim of the memories in my mind. It’s like looking over the edge of a canyon at pictures far below… with signs such as these:
The Grand Canyon, Santorini, Golden Gate Bridge, Rome, Peru, Alaska, Redwood Forests, Monterey Bay.
Under these signs and pictures are sub headings such as:
Golden Gate Park, The Aurora Borialis and Hiking in the Andes. Places I’ve been and things I’ve done…like my own mental NETFLIX.
When I begin to drink a tea, I stand on that rim waiting for the tea to take me to the place it wants to go and the tea always takes me to a good memory, never a bad one.
Today, I thought about the Redwoods. Inside the Redwoods main heading was a subtitle: Santa’s Village (Scotts Valley, CA.)
This place doesn’t exist anymore, but when I was young it was a magical place tucked into the forest with real Raindeer and a Santa House with Santa Claus. The sweet smell of the enormous redwood trees and the fresh baked Gingerbread scent coming from Mrs. Claus’s pastry shoppe sounds like a strange thought to pair up with a fine Pu’er.
But wait… Redwood, ginger, earthy forest…it wasn’t that far removed from the taste of the tea!
You don’t get to choose what the journey will be. The tea does the picking.
Over the rim I gooooo and I look forward to more leaps!
I love the redwoods Bonnie, one of my favorite places to be, especially around Humboldt. Thanks for sharing your tea thoughts and memories!
Loving this review! Now, when will I be able to watch The Adventures of Zorro Bonnie and the Pu on my NETFLIX Canada?
‘Z’ zip, zig, zag! Pu’er Zorro! By the time I’m done with my Pu’er knife, it will look like Swiss Cheese. I think my technique is early Scots Coal Miner, chip…chip…chip. I can only get better with practice.
Fantastic…Simply fantastic!!!
I’m not really sure what possessed me to buy an entire tin of a white tea. But i did. I think i was carried away with that whole FAUCHON! at winners! stupidly cheap prices! GO! so now i have a huge tin of this. And i don’t really like white teas…
but this tea? I like it! so ha! I couldn’t drink this everyday but it’s certainly a tasty tea. Creamy vanilla delicious tea with a splash of “wake up! it’s lemon!” :) Yep…i will enjoy this, though it may take me the whole year to drink it.
I had this tin in my hand when I was buying fauchon and then put it back for the same reason. I don’t drink much white tea. I regret not getting it to even try it, but oh well
If it’s white tea, what is the quality of the leaves? Whole or mostly broken?
more whole than broken? :)
I may have to swap you for some :) this sounds perfect for my 4am early morning shifts :)
i’m open to that. I like new teas…just won’t be organised to be doing a swap until January but poke me then for sure!
(tuscanteal – offer is open to you as well if you just want to be able to try it)
…and uh peter too if that’s what you were after when inquiring about the leaves lol
The leaves, the leaves, look at the leaves. (Little Britain :-) I was just curious. Not my cup at all.
haha :)
Awesome! Ha ha I’m in the same boat! January is perfect! Yay I can’t wait!
You can also toss a bit in my box :)
terri – this is one of the teas that will all be part of the christmas BBB Box from me haha
(i said whatever to that whole non flavoured because it’s spiffy christmas holiday time!)
(Hey, we can do whatever we want…it’s our box, right?)
Today is such a busy day. We are attempting to add 4 new teas, 2 restocks, 4 teawares, our Autumn Comfort Sampler, and posting our 2nd Annual Custom Blend Contest & Plain Tea Contest.
I just added this tea online, so I thought I would relax with some. I love this tea. It came out even better than I could have ever imagined. The maltiness of the Glenburn Silver Needles really adds to the champagne flavor and there is definitely a bubbly sensation. The sweet and tangy champagne flavor seems to come and go but with each sip the rose and cream become even stronger. The silver needle also provides a nice heavy mouthfeel adding to the cream sensation as well as its natural buttery-ness. Every time I drink this tea it is gone before I know it. Initially this tea was planned as a black tea but once I tasted the Glenburn Silver Needle I knew it was meant to be.
(I am so adding this to my order!)
Oh man, gotta try this one :D
teawares, teawares..la la la
also…rose. icky. BOOOO HISSS! (i kid)
Anna & Stephanie-Glad this sounds interesting! :)
Sil-I think people that don’t love floral will also really enjoy this one. As for the teawares, both of the artists I had lined up to commission pieces completely flaked. I was super disappointed. So, we probably won’t be getting around to look for new local artists until winter-ish.
This sounds delicious! I love a good rose tea and really enjoy your cream flavor, so I must try this one!
Wow, this sounds amazing just in its name. I will have to put this on my list of must haves.
stacy….yeaaaah…you say that. you might be the only person who can convince me that it might be true..
also, bummer on the artists but the new things up are quite nice :)
Alysha-Excellent! :)
Rachel-That’s great!
Sil-We shall see. There are sill a few more teawares to go up but we will add those in the next few weeks. I was just really excited about this one artists. She had the most amazing use of colors and we had everything worked out then she just completely dropped off. Oh well, I guess it wasn’t meant to be.
Aaaand this goes in the cart. Rose AND creaminess, with a non-black tea base? Sold. Can you let us know when you’ve finished adding everything so I can place just one bigger order rather than several small ones?
Kaylee-Fantastic! Well, for the time being we are adding 3 more teas today. The next one will be Pumpkin Milkshake then Glenburn Silver Needle and Glenburn Estate Green. We do have other teas in the works but they probably won’t be posted for weeks.
added to shopping list….
I have a little money in my playpal account, so I’ll start thinking of an order, including a little of this rose tea, because unlike my bobsy twin Sil, I DO enjoy a rose tea from time to time.
Ali Bee & Terri-Good to hear this is interesting to you guys! :)
Terri – neener neener :P it’s not like i’m not working my way through all of stacy’s teas anyway! even the icky ones i don’t like because my tastebuds won’t let me
LOL :D
I have to order!
This sounds great so good.
Texas has been in a drought for quite a while now. It has been dry and sad. A few years ago, Texas caught on fire. I wish really hard for rain all the time.
This afternoon on my way home from work, I stopped at my local herb shop for some additional dried elderberries because of Northern Sweet Tea (ask Brenden). The shop is in a small stone house in a neighborhood and is a magical little place. In addition to herbs, they have tea and teaware. I got my elderberries and a darling little tea mug with infuser in a delicious green.
Just as I walked out of the shop it began to rain slowly at first but with great fat drops that increased in speed and decreased in size. I stood on the sidewalk and let the rain pour down on me for about 10 minutes. I’ve missed it so much.
As soon as I got home, I washed my new mug and brewed 2 teaspoons of this dainty looking little tea in 12 ounces of 180 degree water for 1.5 minutes. Now, I’m not a huge fan of green tea. It has to be right. I was not surprised to find that this tea is very, very right.
TeaFairy called it a lullaby and I agree. It would send you off to sweet dream land. But I can also imagine this iced on a brutally hot August day in Texas when it’s 109 and I’m in need of sweet cool salvation. The combination of sweet clean green tea with wildcrafted pine needles and a delicate jasmine is perfectly balanced. None of the ingredients overpower the others. Too often jasmine tea takes up your whole mouth-space with JASMINE – not this, it’s sweet and tastes like pure floral rain after a long dry spell. ADORE!
Brenden sent this tea as a sample a while back. I’ve been ignoring it in favor of all the other delicious tea I have. The other night I read a note on it by TheTeaFairy. It reminded me I needed to try it. Another new WPTC addiction.
And here’s the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N1DdwrsdTo (heh :)
Flavors: Jasmine, Pine
Preparation
Love that you just stood in the rain…I do that to. I’m really glad you got some.
And this tea is fantastic…
I love the rain – and we got big thunder too – it was AWESOME!
I’m in PA and we had huge thunderstorm for more than 2 hrs. I’m sure it’s flooded in some areas. At some moments it felt like it was right above my house. And electricity went off several times.
Every time I want to order this blend its out of stock. I want to place a big order by Fall cause some blends just meant for it.
I love those kinds of storms boychik – the big bangs right on top of you :) I’ve missed those. I will be ordering some of this as well.
@boychik, there’s 4 ounces in right now from the July pine harvest :)
Very tempting…
@MzPriss, I miss those southern thunderstorms! They are few and far between here north of the wall (GoT reference). Also, this tea is perfectly balanced? Totally shocked (need sarcasm font!)
I try to reduce the balance on some teas just for the fun of it ;)
@Brenden – I woke up and had Northern Sweet Tea first thing. It’s a glass-licker.
Lol, totally glass-licker. Can’t wait for my elderberries :-)
I can’t wait until your WP box gets there either!
:) Don’t you love it?!
Yes I do! And I was going to link to your recipe on my blog – but, ahem, it isn’t up on your site yet.
Me too, can’t wait!!!! Have you tried the you know what???
No. I’m totally waiting for you.
Haha! You are so cute :-)
What I AM going to do today though is make 2 quarts of the Northern Sweet Tea. It was amazing o wake up to. I want some all weekend.
I’m out of maple syrup :’(
:O oh no!
Fedexing you a few litres now. No one should ever be without maple syrup, ever!!! :-(
You guys crack me up. :)
Speaking of crack – this Ailaoshan Black is pretty crack-y
I want to try it!
Sarsonator, join the party :-)
Yep, Ailaoshan made a junkie out of me….
@Sarsonator – check your PM missy
PM checked!
And now I’m looking around my house to figure out what I can sell in order to feed my tea habit…
i sold the kids and then the grand-kids for tea money and now….anybody need a cat?
that was dual-purpose mrmopar – now you have room for more cakes
Ode to Butiki tea:
As a free sample it came,
From Stacy, that was her name
Black Ceylon mixed well with some spices,
Those flavors go straight to my senses.
Plump Pumpkin-Cream sweetness,
Renders so much “yumness”!
Clouds of cinnamon, nutmeg,
More, Oh! More, please, I beg!
What, why, is this not a Chaï?
Oh well, then I’m mystified.
Such as, it brings comfort,
Pure bliss moment, too short!
So please honey, stand up,
Just pour me one more cup !
The end. I get it, not Baudelaire material… but still an honest effort from TheTeaFairy.
Bottom line: me like this tea!
if Stacy made a pumpkin chai what would I order from David’s Tea? as I have no doubt hers would be better :D
Yes, it probably would!
Because? She used no artificial flavorings… Nada! Nothing! Nunca! Nill! Rien!Whooptee do!
This sounds fantastic.
Spot on, Bonnie!
Mélissa, I strongly recommend you to add this one on your next tea shopping spree:-)
Haha, awesome
Oh I just bought it. You convinced me :)
Love it! both the tea and the poem!
Great poem!
Funny poem!
That poem made me smile :)
That was fun, thanks poeple for your encouragement in my so called «poetry»!
@Mélissa: glad you caved in!
I am exhausted and the day is only half over considering I got up at a reasonable time today. However I know I will have my second wind around midnight so I have a ways to go.
So I began my day with this tea by accident. I had ordered two yixing pots from Mandala and one was called Black Pearl. Instead of that I got this but I am not unhappy about it. I almost ordered this with my yixings and other offerings but took it out of my cart to stay under my budget. You see the black pearl tea in the 4 ounce quantity is almost the exact same price as the yixing pot! Needless to say I wrote Garret and said I would keep this tea and get the second yixing soon. So happy accident. The best kind!
The first thing I thought when I saw the tea was “wow those are some big balls”. Okay if you are done laughing – they really are large when compared to say gunpowder green or jasmine pearls etc. So I now have a very immature and yet affectionate name for this tea.
I had two steeps this morning then ran errands, went to our tiny local Asian shop, grabbed some Pad Thai noodles, some siriacha sauce, ube ice cream, and white rabbit candy. No really knock out teas there but its not like I need more tea.
Then I came home, seasoned my yixing pot which is now soaking, and am having my third steep.
The tea is awesome. Toasty, chocolate notes seem to be what really grab me. I also enjoy the malty notes and the grain notes as others have mentioned. It has more than endured three steeps and I project can go at least 2 if not 3 or so more.
I stepped 4 pearls in my Kali Tea cup with infuser (8 ounces).
First steep 1 min, then 2 min on steep two, steep three I was distracted by several things, my daughter’s soup I was making, neighbors dog loose, a fire truck showing up down the road at another neighbors, (hope she is okay), etc and so on.
This steep got a good 10 minutes or more and it is SO rich SO yummy yet it is not astringent, nor bitter! WOW!
Perhaps I won’t be able to get those other steeps since I totally over steeped this one yet on smelling the leaves they still seem to have far more to offer! The leaves now have a lovely vegetal aroma to them! The following steeps will be interesting indeed!
More to come if I remember to note more.
Preparation
This is a great tea! Happy you got your order.
Yeah I agree Garret is awesome and I am sure he will kick himself for the error but it was an honest mistake. This tea is so worth having. :)
uggghhhhhhh!!!!! I cant believe that happened!!! I saw black pearl and I immediately thought of the black tea. I apologize! But… I am so glad you enjoyed the tea!!! I bought these black pearls during the last couple trips to China and I love love love love them!!!
Oh yes I do enjoy them and will prize them as well! They are lovely. :) Don’t worry about it Garret – I was confused at first where the other Yixing was and then saw the tea and realized the confusion lol kind of funny really.
What tea are you seasoning the pot with/for?
Seasoning for Shu – will do Sheng in the other yixing when i get it.
I used Bu Lang Gong Ting from Mandala to start the process.
Azzrian – are these like the Fengqing Black Pearls from Teavivre? Also – I love white rabbit candies!!! I can eat a whole bag (probably) in one sitting, but I haven’t had them in a while. Perhaps when I’m visiting my parents in a couple weeks I can convince them to get some :D
I don’t know I don’t think I even have those – if I do I have not tapped into them yet. Unless I did and forgot about it. I really don’t think I have tried these yet.
Shu Puerh seasons so nice and easily and you don’t really need to work about pot material as long as it’s an fixing pot rather than a terra cotta mimic (shape and size is still important, though). I didn’t realize how lucky I got with my first Sheng pot, though, until I tried seasoning three more pots for gifts and found a lot of issues depending on material. Wound up keeping one and only use it for tea that’s 20+ years old since it’s a great pot but doesn’t work well at all for younger tea.
Gah, stupid autocorrect. work=worry, fixing=yixing
LOL yeah I knew what ya meant but yes auto correct can be a pain sometimes!
How many pots do you have?
Currently just 9 yixing pots since I season and give some away as gifts and am down to my personal use ones (I just sold two other personal use ones, which I won’t list here). 100mL Zi Ni Squat Modified Shi Piao for loose, small leaf Shu Puerh; 220mL Zi Ni Shi Piao for larger leaf and compressed Shu Puerh; 220mL Duan Ni Rounded Shi Piao for young Sheng Puerh; 110mL Zhu Ni pearl-shaped pot for traditional style Tieguanyin; 180mL Zi Ni Rong Tian for Fenghuang Dancongs; 180mL aged coarse Zhu Ni Rong Tian for Da Hong Pao; 180mL “Black Zhu Ni” (I think it’s just very dark Zi Ni, really) Rong Tian for roasty Wuyi Yancha, Shui Xian, and Rou Gui; 110mL thin-walled Zhu Ni Rong Tian for non-roasty Gaoshan Oolongs; 150mL Qing Hui Ni Shi Piao for 20+ year old Sheng Puerh (paired with matching cups).
Well you are WAY WAY ahead of me LOL I am still a youngin when it comes to yixing but learning all I can :)
I only have two right now – for wuyi oolongs and for sheng, but I need one more at least for shu. I am not quite as advanced at Thomas, here. :D
I just have the one still lol getting one more from mandala on payday for shu and maybe another for oolong but I think THINK I will stop there. Then again I have said that about teas before too :)
Ultimately it’s best to just have ‘em for the teas you enjoy by yourself on a very frequent basis. I’m kinda bummed how little I use my Gaoshan pots (just sold one for the roastier Gaoshans that I drink more frequently). I also wish I used my aged puerh pot more, but that’s an issue of supply rather than demand ;p
I definitely recommend matching the shape to the tea, though. Rounder with a higher lid clearance for teas that will expand or (more importantly) have a greater amount of light aromatics to retain; more squat and larger volume for allowing settling and opening of compressed teas while retaining temperature.
@Amy: So says the person with more than 10x the reviews on here, hahaha.
Now that is some sound advice! I never thought about shape before! Thank you!
Ok. It’s 2:30am.
Do I want more tea? Pfff, of course I do.
I want Bi Luo Chun Yunnan Black. I can have it if I want to. I still have a little bit left and I’m expecting more soon.
Cause ya know…I’m kind of addicted to a certain tea co. that makes delicious tea.
(That’s his fault, the Tea Whiz of the Woods).
So it all started the day I bought WP BLCYB. I like this type of tea, I have supplies from other brands.
So now, BLC from WP, why should I make YOU my BLC of choice, the one and only, the absolute best I’m now going to keep in stock and make me say farewell to the others?
I’m already addicted to several other little friends of yours. Ailaoshan Black, Golden Orchid, Port, and now Elderwood… You should know that technicaly , I don’t really need you…
…But, but… I WANT you!!! You taste so good, damn it!
I see myself writing the following, and I quote «This is like having candy».
Uh??? But, I don’t like candies all that much…so what does it mean?
It means that this tea is MUCH better than candy…that’s all.
There. That was my review.
If you really want to know how it tastes like, see previous notes ;-)
3:40 am here. I was hoarding my last little bit of this. But I have more coming, so I"m having this as middle of the night tea as well in solidarity. It’s sooo good
I haven’t yet placed an order with or tried many of Brendan’s teas….I really need to not order tea after the house things we need to replace… You are making it had to resist!
Are you sure you girls aren’t musicians?? Hahaha
Hard to believe, but I actually went to bed before midnight for once!
Sil, I was thinking of ordering samples, & sharing them with you :)
I gotta have something to put in your next box!
Not musciains (well I’M not anyway) we just don’t sleep much. @Sil – WP is pretty excellent and once you get started – it’s a slippery slippery slope…
Terri – I’m pretty sure you have about 300 teas that you could put in the box LOL We overspent by picking up the couch and chair this month so i’ve got to be good and try to save money until we get back. I was thinking of trying to not buy any tea in July…which in a way is the suck because it’s my birthday month lol
MzPriss, your 3:40 was already 4:40 here, I was getting my beauty rest, at last…otherwise, I would have been your tea-body of the night (or early morning?)
Sil…ORDER!!!!!! JUST DO IT, DO IT, DO IT!!! :-)
I’m a musician wannabe, I know it’s in my genes, but it’s been hiding for a loooong time…doest that count Terri?
I agree MzPriss….SLIPPERY!!! I keep falling :-)We’re falling together. It’s hard to mind it though when we get to drink such great tea
I swear, I don’t pay these two! :-P
MzPriss, you’re right, I was never this happy to spend my money :-) plus it’s making me decide on stuff in my stash I realize I just don’t want anymore…why have that if I can have this???
Haha! That last comment of mine does sound like an infomercial…sorry about that!
AND NO, WE DON’T GET PAID TO HAVE THIS AWESOME TEA EVERYDAY AND TRY TO TELL THE WORLD ABOUT IT !!!!
haha Brendon – the few that i’ve had from you via swaps have been nice. Now i just have to wait for a sale or something so that i can take money from my “clothes fund” to place an order lol
Brenden – maybe you should start paying them commission, hehehe
They’ve sold me on several teas so far!!!
Sil, if you can’t order in July I’ll just send you an extra awesome birthday present box. You’ll be drooling over it, looking around suspiciously, & whispering, “My precious…”
You should pay them! lol
Awesome good tea, i want some now :)
WHAT THETEAFAIRY SAID!
@Sil – I would send a birthday box to Canada…
And also, like TTF – I find myself getting rid of tea that I don’t LOVE as much as the things I LOVE
A sale? Hmm…well, Sil, you might find it useful to know that I offer the 15% off coupon code “sip-inspiration” to all first-time customers :)
Hello Steepsterites!
Long time, no see.
I haven’t been around here for… 8 months or so, judging by the date stamp of my last post. So why the absence? Well, to be entirely frank with you, forum wank. At the time when I stopped coming here there had been a number of petty little arguments and other rounds of controversy on the board, one following the other. I got fed up and lost interest. This period of time was significant because anything going further than a heated discussion has been very rare on this site indeed.
So time for a break and a break I’ve had. I’ve enjoyed it, but it seems my tea-interest has changed in the meantime. I’m not sure I’d say it has waned, but definitely changed. I still prefer a decent quality leaf and I still brew it loose in the pot, but I’m buying much less, keeping less in the house, and have also come to appreciate the simple convenience of the bag now and then. GASP SHOCK HORROR!!! I know, Steepsterites. But really, once you no longer feel the need to analyse and consider every sip, but would rather just have something warm and satisfying to drink, you tend to start leaning more towards convenience. Don’t worry, I haven’t sunk so low as reverting to Lipton’s Yellow Label or anything of that ilk. I primarily have herbal teas in bags, with the very occasional exception if it’s a decent brand and an interesting sounding flavour. Such as that Nutcracker Sweet from Celestial Seasonings that I remember many people around here being very fond off around Christmas. I’ve even started drinking way more coffee than before, due to this fantastic espresso pot for the hob that we bought in January and Husband buying a coffee grinder, so we can have coffee with ultra-freshly ground coffee. It’s fab!
I can’t really promise that I’ll come back to regularly visiting the site. Maybe I’ll have a peek in now and then. Interestingly, I seem to have gained a lot of new followers while I’ve been dormant. Not sure how that works, but then again, I’m here now so, hi! waves
So why am I back now? Well, Steepsterites, Husband and I have spent a lovely week in a rented summer house in the South of Denmark. Understand that this area of the country is culturally very much coffee country. This was reflected in the summer house which had not one but two coffee makers and a sufficient amount of coffee cups to serve twenty people. At least!
For tea drinkers? Bit of a waste-land, and the forced creativity that followed was what made me think of you lot.
The house had no kettle. Not an electric one, not one for the hob. No kettle whatsoever. Okay, we had a sauce pan.
The house had no teapot. None. Hm. There’s a ceramic bowl with a handle and a small spout.
The house had no mugs. Loads of coffee cups, though…. The lack of mugs was for me the most dire. Coffee cups are fine for coffee, but for tea they’re rather small. Local charity shop to the rescue, where we bought two mugs and donated them to the summer house when we went home.
So, Steepsterites. Go to your kitchen. Cuddle your kettle! Pet your pots! Hug your mug! These things are pure luxury!
…
Now, this tea I’m drinking. My long break from this site has caused me to lose some of the tasting routine that I had built up before. I can probably still taste more nuances than someone who has never tried analysing a tea flavour, but some things are no longer as clearly different from each other as they once were.
As a consequence, when I drink this tea, the first thing that comes to mind is simply ‘this is very nice’. And then I try and think about some details and I feel a bit lost. There’s a familiar note here, how did I usually describe that? Another note there, is it more grainy or malty? I think I’d describe this as a fairly malty and somewhat grainy tea. It has a good body and a long aftertaste, and now I just sound like I’m trying to write a wine label. I’m so not used to this.
In the end, though, it’s a highly satisfying Taiwanese tea, and with a name like this, how can you not love it?
…
So, what’s new with you lot?
welcome back! I feel you on not needing/wanting to analyse everything. I think i can finally get to a place where i have my favourites and occasionally i’ll branch out. :) no tea bags for me though…unless i’m travelling haha. Hope your summer has been awesome!
Thanks! Yes, I think that’s where I am as well. I’ll make an order when we’ve actually run out of breakfast-type teas or flavoured ones in general or that sort of thing. Not ‘ooh I’ve got nothing nut-flavoured, must order seven different ones stat!’ I’m down to a breakfast type/Asssam, two or three flavoureds, an EG and some Keemun plus a few odds and ends. And I’m fine with that. :)
Welcome back ;)
Thanks. :)
Sometimes bagged black teas really do the comforting trick. I like drinking Red Rose Earl Grey during the colder months. /whistles not sheepishly
Yes, it’s just so uncomplicated. And these days, to be honest, if you pay attention you can actually get a decent quality teabag. It’ll never be as high quality as loose, obviously, but it doesn’t have to be floor sweepings either. I look mostly for flavoured in bagged form. There was a place in town where they had a good selection of Clipper, but alas they don’t seem to have as many as they used to. Sadly they’re no longer carrying the assam with vanilla that I’ve got a box or two of at my parents’ house.
Pickwick in Denmark was one of my first tea loves.
Eh, Pickwick is sort of on par with Lipton in my opinion. I’d rather go for Twinings, really. Or Clipper, if I can get it. Unfortunately the selection of either is limited.
Yes, but everyone starts somewhere.
This is true. I have actually always preferred Pickwick to Lipton, even way before getting into tea at all. Couldn’t tell you why.
Welcome home. You have been missed. I don’t get on here nearly as often as I should either. Circumstances preclude large (or any) tea purchases and I rarely write more than once about the same tea. Anyway, good to see you here again and I hope you pop in more often now.
Thank you. :) Oh, did you know, by the way, that little tea cafe in Århus where we met up has closed? They only have their (unreasonably expensive) webshop now.
Noooooooooooooo!!!!! Won’t somebody think of the children??!!!!!
That’s a real shame. I liked it there. The world needs more quality tea shops.
When they wrote about it in their newsletter it sounded like they were planning to reopen on a different address, but didn’t have one yet. That’s a good while ago now, though. I suspect the location by the river was just far too expensive for them.
I can imagine their market is not large enough to cover the cost of such a location, even with their tea parties. It’s a shame that they have not opened somewhere else though.
I still get their newsletter, so I’m sure I’d have heard if they had.
I’ll have to check next time I go to Aarhus, although that is not likely to be for a while now: I need to start saving for the big Viking conference in Reykjavik in 2018. It will take me three years to save up enough! :)
Welcome back! I have been bad about coming here and recording my notes, too…though I try to avoid the discussion unless it is a thread that someone mentions to me, such as Butiki Teas Custom contest, or something. Other than that, I can skip the petty drama there and just focus on what I like here…drinking tea, and sharing my thoughts with those who are interested in what’s in my mug at the moment. :)
Thanks. :) I know, staying out of there is what I probably should do, but I have hard time doing that. I get curious, you see, so sometimes it’s better to just completely remove the temptation rather than go and look at something which I know will most likely irritate me.
I think if I do end up using the site regularly again, it’ll be in a far more relaxed and occasional sort of way than it was before. I’m not really interested in going back to the sort of obsessiveness where I couldn’t bring myself to try a new tea if I wasn’t in the mood to write about it. I still, 8 months later, have to sometimes remind myself that I’m actually allowed to drink my own tea and don’t owe anything to anybody in relation to it.
I’ve been off here for much longer, but it caught my eye today, so I came and saw your post. I feel like I can’t read comments anywhere on the internet any more, soooo much hate and useless comments, which is sad because I used to learn a lot from the comments, they were relevant and informative! I didn’t know about the fighting here, it’s a shame really. We just love tea and want to share our love with other like-minded people. “It’s a tea thing, you wouldn’t understand.” No need for anger or hateful comments creating all sorts of drama. By the way, I have always loved your tea reviews! :-)
Also, although I may be a little bit of a tea/food snob, I feel like if there is a bagged tea that has a great taste that puts a smile on your face or the scent is relaxing, then go for it! Just like every once in a while, I love a double cheeseburger from McDonalds. Sometimes you just want it down and dirty! haha
Yes, it’s a bit like that. I sometimes catch myself looking at comments on news-articles and it’s generally pretty headdesk-worthy. There are some really peculiar people out there! I know I shouldn’t scroll down that far when reading the news, but sometimes I just can’t stop myself. What happened on the boards, though, I think were all pretty much isolated instances that just happened to happen almost at the same time. It seems to be all back to normal now.
As for the snob thing, I think it’s sort of a learning development. In the beginning, I knew nothing and just wanted to try as many different things as possible. Then I learned a little and became ultra-picky about a lot of things. Now I’ve learned a good deal more and am more comfortable in my choices, more familiar with my preferences and have relaxed a lot on a lot of things. It’s all a journey towards zen. :p
Exactly! :-)
Welcome back! I completely relate to your post. I still sometimes feel paralyzed to try a new tea if I don’t have time to write about it. But then I remember that’s why I have so much stale tea in my cupboard because I don’t often have time to devote to this site the way I used to. I’m slowly trying to change my ways and just enjoy drinking tea. Life is too short.
Yes, I’m trying very hard not to fall back into that particular trap. It was only a few weeks after I’d stopped coming here that I noticed my tea drinking habits were changing, falling back to a much more relaxed level, although I still had a few problems making myself drink the stuff I hadn’t tried before. A little while after that I had rather a substantial clear out of old teas. A couple of months of Steepster-break made it much easier to look at each objectively and decide if I was ever going to drink it, if I was going to enjoy it if I did drink it or if I should just toss it now. Afterwards, I could move things together from four drawers into two. It felt amazing! And to be honest, I only ever really look in one of them.
In another Universe a long time ago, this was to me, one of the finest tea’s ever. Really.
I was new to loose leaf tea and waited impatiently for my packages of flavored tea’s from Canada to arrive. Oh, they were so yummy good!
Oh Canada, Chocolate Orange Puerh, and Read My Lips! Slurp!
As the months passed, I tasted tea’s from Teavivre, then Butiki and Verdant, and so many other tea companies that opened my mind to the realization that the Tea ‘World’ wasn’t FLAT like a tea bag, but FULL of FLAVOR without being chemically ‘flavored’. My ‘World’ was set free, expanded and became ROUND!
I had a little bit of Read My Lips left in a tin and went back to taste it. What would I think?
Remembering my first love of the peppermint scent, I smiled. It was still as I remembered…almost like candy canes in the snow. Cool, with a chocolaty smell that is a vision of peppermint bark frosted with dark chocolate. Oh I hope my daughter makes some of this candy this year!
I took a sip of tea and the memory was ‘Oh yes, I am back at the beginning of my tea journey’, but the taste was…‘Oh dear, I don’t think I can finish this sour, over-flavored artificially spiked tea!"
Where was the tea? “Yoo Hoo, tea? Where are you?”, I wanted to yell into my cup.
Memories are often like this.
My first trip to Disneyland in 1955 at age 7, and later in High School were completely different experiences. Had Disneyland SHRUNK?
Of course not. I had changed.
Looking back, I had a great time with this tea.
I can’t say BLECH…I have to say…HUM.
Could also be that the tea has aged?
where was the tea ? I laughed reading this…this is exactly what I think each time I had a DT …yelling where are you ? …it never answered me !
I am still at the beginning of mt tea journey and drink mostly flavored teas but I have to recognize there are flavours and flavours…and some brands respect the tea base and some not always.unfortunately.
Don’t know I-bloom, don’t think it’s old enough and it wasn’t contaminated by other tea’s etc. either (I’m really careful because I’m very taste sensitive…smells too…the fibromyalgia heightens both). It just doesn’t taste as good to me. Too flavored and the aftertaste becomes SOUR!
I’ve noticed I’ve felt this way about jasmine flavored things. In the beginning of my tea journey I loved them a lot, but now I feel like they almost overpower the tea :(
darn, I was hoping that we could salvage David’s. So sad too bad!
Well Davids has less flavored tea’s and natural tea’s and unflavored tea’s too!
I never had their unflavoured ones but need to try, absolutely.
Read My Lips is a staple for me right now but it serves more as an over-glorified, powerful hot chocolate mix than anything else. I can see where you would get “sour” too. I wish David’s Tea would embrace subtlety and “tea-ness” but I guess that’s not what they’re about.
Your comments about disney cracked me up! Growing up in San Diego, we made the pilgrimage to disney every year (sometimes more, sometimes less…carosel of progress & pirates of the Caribean were always my fav rides). So jump ahead 30 years in the future when me and my kids went to FLorida to visit my folks. We went to Disney, and I was so excited…and it was SO lame. The rides WERE shorter, and my kids were bored. Bummer.
I remember going into Space Mountain and laughing till I cried because the planets looked like giant cookies.
space mountain!! that was my fave ride when I went! the big drop into the darkness, omg that was amazing.
and the cookie planets :P
well if it had to be an unplanned thing, it ought to be a butiki tea. go go 2000th tasting note! woot woot! Still loving this tea a bunch, if only because i really like how smooth it is, while still being one for late nights. Not that caffeine has much affect on me, but friends like having delicious teas at night, and this is one i have NO issues sharing with them. :) thanks stacy! and thank you steepster folks for being awesome!
OMG! 2000?! WHAAAAAAT??? You go, girl!!!!
200! Woo!
Charoma-yeah and the worse part is that I don’t always remember to log all the tea I drink…and my “cups” of tea are usually 12-16oz lol
2000 ~ Now that shows commitment! Congratulations :D
2000! Wow! Congrats Sil!
Yeah!! You Rock!
So. Much. Tea. :P
Kittenna..least mine’s IN me :p
Congrats on 2,000! :)
Woah. Congrats!
2,000 …!?! That’s awesome.
lol thanks everyone.. i drink too much..
Haha. The geek in me sorta wants to take those 2000 notes and analyze them. What percentage of them are black teas? Or teas from Butiki? Etc. That’s a lot of data just sitting there…
Lol
Yep…. broke my tea buying ban for this and a couple other new ones from DT yesterday (although they were sold out of Pom Tango…. noooooo!)
I have been dying to try this one ever since it was released. Coconutty? Thai? YES!
And it doesn’t disappoint! I will admit that I think I overleafed, and am getting some bitterness as a result, but oh the flavours in here are divine! This has gotta be amazing iced, and possibly with some milk and sweetener. I can taste delicious lemongrass (it works really well here), enough coconut, and kind of a yogurt creaminess. This is really good, minus the overleafing bitterness. I hate that I’m kind of falling in love with this! I think I have enough for another 2 cups or so, so I should be able to make up my mind before then.
The only downside? This is supposedly a white tea blend… I didn’t check the price when I bought my sample, but it’s therefore probably way overpriced. But if I do love it, I will still buy it… sigh…!
ETA: Ginger! There we go! I knew there was something else in there but couldn’t come up with it myself. That explains the pepperiness and the fruitiness. Yum.
ETA again: Oops, neglected the steeping time on the second cup, however it’s pretty tasty. Not as good though; much more lemon (lemongrass?) than anything else. My roommate and I were contemplating making Coco Lemon Thai-infused meringues if we could figure out how to… just sounds like a yummy combo (probably because this tea is reminiscent of lemon meringue pie/coconut cream pie, as someone mentioned).
Preparation
Might have to try this one!
If you like the ingredients, I would highly suggest it, as I think it’s very well-blended.
It is delicious iced! And also wonderful blended with Cocomint Cream.
I don’t think I have any Cocomint Cream left. Sigh.
I could probably send you some, if you want. I have over 100g.
I will keep that in mind! Sounds like my mom still has the sample I left her over Christmas, so I may steal it back when I visit in a month. :D
I do love this tea, and I do like it with milk. One of two teas I take with milk.
Nice, good to know! No curdling? (Perhaps lemongrass doesn’t do that, anyway.)
Not that I had, and I was toying with trying it with coconut milk.
Sounds delicious!
I keep forgetting this is a herbal and that’s half of why i picked up 4oz of this…because i love it and it’s missing the tea! :) I had a giant mug of this to make up for neglecting it while taking a wonderful bath tonight. While this IS similar in profile to vanilla citrus spice in some ways, it’s also got a bit of a kick to it that makes it different enough to make me happy and tasty enough to satisfy me..or something like that. Maybe the woozle ate my thought.
I’m determined to get my hands on this one one day.
Good luck :)
Verdant is determined to get your order, Yvonne. :D
Hey Yvonne – you can log into Verdant’s website and sign up to their loyalty program. If you keep at it long enough you can earn a $10 coupon. It’s well worth it, and for us Canadians, it makes a Verdant order much easier to justify. Also, at $40 they have free shipping to Canada.
Ahhhh thank you so much Cavo! ♥
And Verdant will eventually get my order, they can count on that!
They upped it to $49! I just placed an order last week.
They did up it, I also ordered. :$ I’m excited to get my first Verdant order.. I think my only complaint is that I see all you folks trying amazing teas from them that I’d love to try, however many are sold out or unavailable. Boo.
Yeah. I hear you MissB! I’m sitting on my coupon!
That sucks about the shipping, but I guess it makes sense. $50 is more the standard.
I’ll have to get some more of this on my next Verdant order
What?! That really sucks. I had $40 to do an order with them, $50 is pushing it. I’ll have to check what’s in stock Monday, and maybe get CrowKettle some stuff too.
I was a little thrown too OMGsrsly. It doesn’t seem like a lot but I also had $40 planned and I wasn’t keen to spend that extra bit.
Just popping into say that tea while taking a bath sounds like a vacation in your bathroom. Perfect!
missb – is there anything in my cupboard that they don’t carry anymore that you want to try? if so, let me know.
KEYCHANGE! where you been! :)
Taking a tea bath, obviously. A very LONG bath. With several cups of tea consumed
hahahaha
This morning was a busy one…I was under a lot of stress and had to run around for several hours.
When I got home, the only thing in my mind was…TEA!
If you’re like me, you try to match the right tea for the right moment. Sometimes it takes me forever to decide. Not today. I wanted comfort, and I knew exactly that good old Earl would take care of me.
I say “Good old Earl” but thats not accurate. This Earl is the next generation.
Yes people, TNG Earl!
What makes it so special? Well, first let’s talk about the base tea found in earl grey teas in general. There isn’t much to talk about, right? What I’ve noticed is no one seems to really care…cause…bergamot. What I mean is, if you’re like me, when you need a bergamot fix, you’re not looking for some fancy black tea…you only care for the bergamot cause you know it pretty much overwhelms any kind of base anyways. So why bother right? That’s the impression I get from what’s available on the market. We get some generic black tea and what makes or breaks it is the quality of the bergamot. What I want is an earl grey that will provide a good balance of the bergamot flavor. I don’t want that overly parfumy and soapy taste they sometimes have. Luckily, I found a few brands that made me very happy over the years and just stuck to them.
When I saw Earl Gold, I said…really Brenden? You’re gonna “waste” some snaily yums on bergamot?
And then I tasted it…and said…damn it Brenden, must you succeed at everything?
Apparently, the answer to that is yes!! He truly is a master blender.
I already love Golden Snail a great deal on its own. But I was so sure everything I love about it would vanish under the oppressive bergamot. Turns out they both complement each other perfectly!
Malt, caramel, chocolate and bread? Please meet citrus and candied orange peel.
A very bright, sweet and warming cup of tea with a big kick.
It is suggested to drink it gonfu so I did try. Surprisingly, the bergamot oil doesn’t rinse off on first steep, it actually stays present through the whole session.
But I must admit, my personal brewing preference for earl grey tea will remain mug style. I just want a huge big fat mug of it and hold it and slurp it slowly while I read a good book. That’s what this tea is to me…a hugger :-)
I’m so happy I’ve got four ounces in the cupboard. It will definitely be one of my favorite comfort teas of the winter!
P.S. When you get this tea at home (cause I know you will, you MUST) please don’t skip the “inhaling protocol”. Beleive me, your nostrils will thank you.
Flavors: Bread, Caramel, Chocolate, Citrus, Malt, Orange
I have some waiting in the cupboard. I can’t wait to set some time aside and enjoy it. It smells amazing!
Just do eeeeeet!!!! ;-)
Can’t wait to see what you think of it!
Earl Grey is one of the few favorite flavored teas of mine. I’m pretty excited to try it.
This sounds amazing. My goodness, I want some EG now!! This one:D
This sounds like one I might have to break my “No more damn Earl Grey” rule for :D
I have that same NMDEG policy Skulleigh, but this one does sound like it’s worth trying.
@missLena, I promise, it’s amazingly good!!
@Skulleigh and @TeaExplorer, lol I have that rule too!!! But this one was worth breaking all the rules for :-)
Your review is forcing me to try Earl Gold again. Most I’ve tried are bergamot overkill, like you mentioned in your review. I love bergamot, but I love black tea more, so can’t wait to try this.
Meant to say Earl Grey . . .
As I put an ounce in my cart I heard “Make it so!” in my head in that well-know voice :)
@pixel : I feel it’s probably the most balanced earl I’ve had and the only one that truly lets the black tea shine :-)
@TeaExplorer: Haha, what are you talking about, that was MY voice ;-)
Thanks Tea Fairy. I will definitely include this on my next WP order!
@TheTeaFairy: Huh. That’s not how I pictured you :-þ
@TeaExplorer: Hahaha! Laughing hard here!! I don’t have the voice of Captain Picard, that’s true, but I AM the voice of tea enabling :D
MAKE IT SO!!
@TheTeaFairy: You are not only the voice, you’re the poster child :D
And I appreciate that greatly!
Lol, had to Google the meaning of “poster child” (I’m French and some English expressions must looked up at times!) So after finding out what it means, I fully endorse the title, thank you! :D
Thank goodness for Google! Your English is so good that I forget it’s not your native language :)
Squeeeeeeees! How much do we LOVE the Earl of Gold?!!!? This review makes my smiley face ENGAGE! Love it!
@mzPriss, We LOVE it!! lol ENGAGE is right, here’s that voice again @TeaExplorer!
This is a sencha sample I got from Harney and Sons so I thought I’d check it out this morning since I’m in the mood for a green tea again. I got the loose leaf sample and not the teabag version.
This was steeped via regular infuser mug method for about 90 seconds, I find the flavors of sencha are more enjoyable for me if I keep the steeps short and then they can be steeped 2-3 times.
A very vegetal steeped leaf that smells like spinach is what I encountered in this cup. The spinachy flavor continues in the tea, which is light and sweet but also has a tad bit of bitterness in the finish, and yes, seaweed in particular a bit of wakame.
I much prefer the Ichiban sencha from Harney over this one but it is also 3x as expensive!
This is a good choice for an everyday green if you don’t mind a bit of bitterness, I am sensitive to it due to my acid reflux issues. I personally prefer the milder Japanese greens like gyokuro and fukamushi senchas… but I will certainly finish off the sample that I have. :)
Preparation
Wellllll, Ichiban Sencha does mean “The Best Sencha.” ;)
It certainly is good! :)
THIS IS A GOOD EVERYDAY SENCHA! [oops…….why am I shouting?].
My favorite everyday sencha is still Sencha Chiran form Lupicia. :)
HHmmm now I have to look that up :=))
That’s more ’spensive, Lucy. Is it worth the price ^^??
Acid reflux is like heartburn except that its stomach being released into the throat right?
@Scott – to me it is because it’s sweeter and mild
@Missy – yes. It doesn’t bother me all the time fortunately
err stomach acid^
A good resteeper??
Lucky Dog…….Lupicia is so close yo you.
you should be able to get at least 2 good steeps out of it. I’ll send you some if you want to try it. :)
do you ever have problems with honeybush? I find that I can drink rooibos all day long but my first cup of honeybush generally cause lava to rise up my throat.
Missy, I have not had problems with honeybush, peppermint and chocolate both bother me tho’
I love Jalepenos, but they usually cause probs for me, and sometime chocolate. :-|
Very interesting. Thanks for answering. That was a personal question. :D
I’ll have to watch for the chocolate so far it doesn’t seem to bother me but that may just be my love of chocolate blocking that part of the experience out.
@Missy, Acid reflux and heartburn are two different things, so I wouldn’t be too concerned. I have acid reflux, and I really only get it when I drink a giant glass of water before bedtime (or eat chocolates or mints before bed). Then I’ll wake up with what feels like strep throat because acid crawled up my esophagus while I was sleeping and burned my throat. Sleeping on an incline helps acid reflux, but it wouldn’t do anything for heartburn.
If you’re looking for a nice bridge between this Sencha and the Ichiban, I’d recommend you try the Kagoshima Sencha. It’s quite tasty.
Dear Harney & Sons The Store, thank you for the suggestion. I am a regualar customer so I will try that the next time I order something. :)
2016 harvest, sealed sample packet from Leafhopper!
Dry leaf is pungent! chestnut, cacao, an impression of cherry pie filling. The look of it reminds me of Laoshan green. I’ve had this as mini-bowl tea 1g:100mL and teapot 2g:190mL, 3/4min. Prefer the bowl.
Let’s see… lemony, roasted chestnut, pan-fried green beans for sure, steamed escarole, gentle floral-powdered sugar high note, underlying umami. Vegetal, salty-nutty-brothy-sweet ending brisk and tart with a light bitterness on the swallow. Aftertaste is at first metallic, turning into a salted citrus rind tingle then apricot to a subtle impression of violet and lavender.
It’s not extremely vegetal or too robust, has a range of flavors that are well rounded. Pretty dang good for 5 years old.
Flavors: Apricot, Astringent, Bitter, Broth, Cacao, Cherry, Chestnut, Citrus Zest, Escarole, Floral, Green Beans, Lavender, Lemon, Metallic, Nutty, Powdered Sugar, Salty, Sweet, Tart, Umami, Vegetal, Violet
I initially read this ‘turning into a salted citrus rind tingle…’ as ‘turning into a salted circus ring tingle,’ and said to myself-Damn! derk has really outdone herself with this tea note!!! Needless to say, I was most disappointed upon re-reading. Ah! The joys of dyslexia.
Hehe. Now I feel compelled to come up with an absolutely batty note.
Oh, I don’t think you make notes up. It was fun to take a break from scrubbing the floors, drink seltzer and try to imagine if you were tasting peanuts, sawdust, cotton candy, grease paint, tiger dander, high wire sweat, clown wig fibres or a combination of all of those.
and the pungency of hungover carnies.
There’s nothing like the pungency of hungover carnies. I love the way the combined scents of cheap cigarettes, sweat, body odor, horse manure, deep fried twinkies, malt liquor, unwashed clothing, crystal meth, and bottom shelf vodka just roll off of them as they emerge from their carnival trailers into the July heat. It’s magical.
That was a real LOL I did there.
I think one of my aunt’s was a local carnie for a minute.
I am thinking how tastes salted citrus rinds; never had it!. And all others comments me laugh; much needed!
eastkyteaguy-That was an absolutely stunning and spot on sensory picture!
Derk, I almost didn’t include those green tea samples because they were so old. Glad you’re getting something out of them.
Eastkyteaguy, your comment made me laugh!
Tasting note and comments on a roll here. I think my Laoshan is about five years old by now…
I was just thinking this tea sounds like its own buffet.
Yeh, Leafhopper, I was surprised. No worries, I try anything that lands in my cupboard through the kindness of others :)
Now that you mention it, I really do have circus in my DNA! My great aunt and uncle weren’t performers, but were on kitchen and setup crew, traveling on a real circus train. Wish I knew more. I was an afterthought, a decade behind elder siblings, and by then, I guess it was just assumed everyone had already heard all the good family stories.
Moral to you young’uns: WRITE THIS STUFF DOWN. IN A BOOK. WITH REAL PAGES. THAT WILL NOT BECOME OBSOLETE TECHNOLOGY.
That is awesome, gmathis (but not awesome they skipped the stories with you.)
(rocking chair creaking) Pull up a chair, honey, and I’ll tell you about how Grandpa won the money for Grandma’s wedding china in a craps game in the attic of their unfinished house and hauled it back from the train in the buckboard…
:D I had to look up buckboard.
I don’t think there were any circus folk in my family but there are definitely some stories I wish I knew more about. Certain family members were considered embarrassments for things nobody would bat an eye at now and asking anything about them would get you a “don’t shake the family tree, a bunch of nuts will fall out.”
Figured I throw a link here in this old note.
South of Tampa, FL, is a carnival museum that’s well worth a visit.
Love it. Maybe my big brother knows the name of the circus company we’re connected to…
Oh look! Steepster is behaving :-)
Let’s post a review!!
This was one of very few teas I hadn’t tried yet from WP.
I was curious, cause although Keemun are sometimes not my favourite teas to drink when too heavy on the smoke, the taste profile of Pine Peak seemed very different.
Well I agree: definitely not your usual full bodied keemun.
It’s much lighter, and I had to steep longer (for my tastes) and add a bit more leaves to achieve a satisfying cup. Once I did that, it was super tasty.
No trace of smoke or strong earthy notes here.
This is the fruit and grain keemun type. I get raisins and barley mostly. It is sweet and a little malty.
There is some kind of light pine taste to it, a little woodsy especially as it cools down.
I see myself drinking this on a regular basis, as a very nice everyday cup.
It’s raining this afternoon, took out my happy ladybug teapot, girly tea time!
“Peak” of the session:Steepster isn’t behaving anymore :(. I had to fish for this review by going to the “discover” tab
Wow, I didn’t know that you hadn’t tried this. I love this one, possibly the most of any of their teas! Unsung hero. ;)
Oh! But steepster IS back again!! Thanks for “fishing” me out though mj :-)
Cameron, I agree, it is kind of an unsung hero ;-)
That teapot is adorable!
Love this tea. I double recommended amount of leaves.
Teapot is adorable !
This is my comfort tea :-)
Is sounds so good.
It is Lariel
Thank you mrmopar for this sample Pu-erh tea!
Fall is in the air. Soon (real soon) the tree branches will begin turning color in a way that I never experienced living in Northern California (only sunny or rainy seasons there).
When the wind flutters the golden leaves of the Aspens you can almost hear them sing. And the radiance at this altitude is amazing!
We have funny shaped clouds. (I remember seeing clouds like this flying over the Andes long ago on my way to Peru) Strange shaped discs like the ‘flying saucers’ people seem to see now and then glimmering in the sunlight. I like them. http://youtu.be/vnyqLc8m41A
This is a youtube sample of clouds and here is a photo I took at Tahoe (I think it looks like a monster…it lasted all day without moving!) http://flic.kr/p/cVLomU
If I were telling tall tales I would make up a story about Angels skipping stones in the sky.
I was drinking this Pu-erh today, and at one point in the sipping, there was a flavor that reminded me of sprouts from the days when sprouts were all the rage in salads and whole grain sandwiches. Organic green bushy bundles like moss. I like watching moss on rocks in a stream…watching water pass over it…pulling at the fronds like wisps of hair.
Pu-erh is especially comforting in the Fall and Winter months. The organic smell and feel of it makes me wish I could be at the tea farm surrounded with lots of bark and furry scent.
I steeped this Pu-er 30 seconds each steep and the liquor was honey brown only on the first steep, then became dark coffee brown on later steepings.
Oh do I love to push my nose into the Gaiwan and smell the wet leaves! (It makes me happy!)
First the leaves were like steaming warm toast! Later, the wet leaves were sourdough baked bread and last an almost cocoa baked bread.
I’ve never likened a tea to drinking wet hot towels but…hum…this is what came to mind. The flavor was barely savory and later on a lightbulb went off in my head and I said, “Alfalfa sprouts!” (Which is where all the previous blubberings came from about moss and all).
The second steeping was pure satin, very smooth and sweet. I couldn’t figure out what the fruity flavor was and sat for a time sipping and rolling the tea around in my mouth.
Burgundy black cherry with a peppery finish. That’s what I got.
My last steeping was smooth, sweet with a dryness on the top of my tongue which wasn’t present previously.
The flavor of the tea was like an unsalted water cracker. Really.
No earthiness at this point. Just a bit savory.
There’s rain in the forecast.
Cooking with tea is fun! Here’s what I did with this Pu-erh…
For dinner I made a 5 Spice chicken with some of this Pu-erh and Tamari Soy Sauce (I sprinkled a little extra ginger and Ponzu on also… and baked it in the oven slowly for an hour. Meanwhile…I made some curried veggies. I steamed rice with chicken broth and a little Pu-erh, added a few smoked peppercorns and a little butter. All three dishes were perfect.
Sweet Spicy Chicken, Curried hot Veggies, Creamy, Buttery Rice (not sticky)just perfectly fluffy and rich.
Another lovely Pu from mrmopar…thank you!
i love tamari ponzu and ginger. i just did black bean chicken yesterday to go with my smooth as jade mengai pu-erh! you got to send me your 5 spice recipe for this! glad you are enjoying the tea will send you some more soon!
Uh, I just made it up. I’ll have to remember exactly what I did.
“Angels skipping stones in the sky.” What a potent, charming vision Bonnie!
ha! i just create also when i cook i have a cupboard with as many spices as i have teas( well almost). i am notorious for just creating some thing out of the blue.i really want to try a tea smoked chicken on the grill soon.
I have tons of herbs and spices too. My town has two spice shops (Savory Spice Shop…look it up…was on Food Network)
is fabulous and the other is Town Spice Shop. Back in San Jose,CA there were NO spice shops, just grocery stores.
Alex, you know what I mean because you’ve seen the flat pebble clouds we have at this altitude. Like when you skip stones across a pond.
Lovely images (with your words) and the photo reminds me of a much more elegant version of the dog dragon from The Neverending Story!
Ahhh, Peru :) A couple of years back, I went on a trip with my family to Peru! What did you see? We started with the Amazon, it was amazing! I remember the boat ride… And the abrupt transition to the muddy brown water that is the Amazon!( some would say mineral rich instead of muddy) Lol and the open rafter lodgings complete with single beds covered by mosquito netting, which was a bit intimidating. Also the misfortune of scratching some part of my body that had deet on it, and proceeding to rub my eyes…that was a very uncomfortable half hour or so :(
Seeing a baby anaconda “kept” as a pet, along with a baby sloth! Omg I love sloths! They are so ugly, they are cute in a weird sort of way! I got to hold it too, so funny how it’s arms and feet would move around in slow motion! I used to chase lizards and snakes as a kid, and was lucky to spot a poison dart frog at night, to the surprise of our guide! It was a blast.
From there we went to Machu Pichu, which is absolutely stunning! The altitude took some getting used to, but it was worth it. To be honest, I had a harder time in Cusco, which I believe is around 10 or 11k in elevation, as opposed to the 7k or so of MP. Lol and yes, I know what guinea pig tastes like…My sister wouldnt have any part of that though, reminded her of a pet guinea pig she had when she was younger!
How were your travels? What did you see, where did you go? Oh, and my best friend, who used to live down the street from me, lives in Tahoe! Such a beautiful place!
Ok ive officially been awake too long and am beginning to ramble :) Time for some sleep! Thank you for your always very descriptive tasting note, Bonnie :)
What a nice review! fall is also setting in here, the days are still hot, but the nights are cooler…I also live at high altitude in the Laurentians and our color fest is about to begin! But I’ve never seen funny clouds like yours…they do look like flying saucers:-)
HyBr1d I was at my Aunt and Uncle’s home at Christmas (Summertime there) outside of Lima years ago. They were Linguists and lived for most of their lives in Lima and the jungle beginning around 1940 (my Uncle is 92 and writing his memoirs). My girl cousins and I went to Huaraz in the State of Ancash were American tourists don’t usually go. 15,000 up by bus in 1 day, and mountain peaks above us! The men would walk past me “Ay Dios Mio!” and look me up and down at 5’9" imagining how much work I could do planting potato and alfalfa for the cooey (which I also ate). (Cooey is guinea pig). I had many great adventures involving guns and tanks and robbers and curfews and bombs at my Uncles office and things like that. I was there a month. Ah, Peru.
Glad you had a wonderful time!!!
That’s very interesting! Yes, I know a bit about Lima, it was where we started and ended our Peruvian trip :) I think that we were in Lima for about 3 or 4 days total…not exactly sure. I remember the mall that overlooks the pacific, while it may be a bit touristy, it was fun! Good for your Aunt and Uncle :) they have some amazing longevity, and I’m am sure are very interesting people to stay with! I had a great time, and hope to go back to the amazon at some point in my life! After Peru, we went to Ecuador. From there, we went to the Galapagos islands for about a week. That was much more fun for my mom and sister, I had fun too, but there is just something about the rainforest that makes me feel content… Keep up the great stories!
Thanks and keep traveling. I hope I can travel with my granddaughters. My next small jaunt is an hour away to the Highland games in Estes Park at 7000ft it’s the biggest in the U.S. and I was able to get my condo for a night. Should be fun to hear the Tattoo of pipers ring through the Rocky Mountains!
For those who don’t know me, I have a very deep cynical streak (the title of my first CD was ‘Cynical Serenity’). I also have trust issues, especially when it comes to ‘guru’ types. So, having said that, when I hear people referred to as ‘Master’ this, or whatever, I’m always a little suspicious. Also, when companies give all these amazing descriptions & make things sound so unbelievably good, I secretly roll my eyes with doubt. Even Verdant. Sometimes it just seems a little over the top.
Having said that, where Verdant is concerned, I am almost always impressed, & today is no exception. I don’t know why I should still be skeptical, except that it is just my nature, I guess.
So…I’ve been enjoying this Shu all afternoon, steeped in a Gaiwan, steep after steep. Everything about this tea speaks of quality & craftmanship. From the awesome banana-leaf wrapper, (or whatever it’s made of, your damn right I’ll be buying a brick!), & the dark beauty of the leaf itself, to the bright clean flavor that is fruity, creamy, & slightly tart, this is a lovely Shu! I’m not done with it yet, & next time I’ll use the Xingyang workshop parameters.
Master Han is the Jedi Master of Tea. Thank you David & Lily, for all that you do for us crazy tea drinkers! I love you guys!
Ha ha. I’m a total secret eye roller. Sometimes not so secret. This tea has one of my most favorite tea descriptions ever, especially this part “The musty and aged quality of this tea is so refined that it moves away from earthy and more towards the satisfying smell of old libraries.” Someday when I finally develop a taste for puerh, maybe that will sound appetizing. Not so much yet :-). But I am sipping on special dark right now. Finally found one I don’t want to just dump down the drain. Ha ha.
ah, subtlety is lost on me… i don’t do it in secret, i’ve been known to say ‘prove it’. not rudely, just candidly.
this puerh i would love to try….. august, august, august.
My favorite “old library” shu is xingyang golden leaf ’98. I love that tea, & it just happens to be one of the reserve teas this month too!
Oh lucky! (for both this and the Xiangyang). I need to hold off for financial reasons. I hear you on the skeptical. My mom is often mentioning workshops to me by “one of the great spiritual teachers/leaders of our time” or something similar. And though I may be inclined to what they are giving a workshop about: ancestors, journey work etc, my mom’s phrasing turns me off.
Autumn, I figured out a long time ago that the answers always come from within. Nobody in the world can intercede for me, or do anything to help me connect to the Universe (God, or whatever). If I sit down & ask for guidance, I will receive it. There are a lot of things that nobody can know…the Pope, the Dalai Lama, etc. I’m not saying they may not have some answers, but those same answers are available to me (or you) when we take the time to be quiet & alone, maybe journal a little, & breathe! Nobody can guide my spiritual experience except me!
You said exactly something that has been on my mind about Verdant. They go so far out there with their over the top selling hype, I find it a real turn off. It makes me want to boycott them because it seems so manipulative. That being said, their teas are generally wonderful. But I can’t help feeling cynical when I try their teas which almost takes some of the joy out of the experience. I hope they read these comments, though I might send them a note as well.
mine arrived along with a sheng and a hand picked laoshan in my tea of the month shipment…
on a separate note and playing the part of devil’s advocate: culturally there are chinese tea masters, and in the north america there are tea mastery courses… verdant (in my opinion) creates brilliant products. who does it hurt really if they refer to their tea engineer as master han? why assume it’s a manipulation and not a sign of respect.
i can’t say either way which would be true, and in my experience the middle road is often the most accurate. i suppose i like to err on the side the cup of tea half full.
All in all, in spite of my skepticism, I’ve loved almost every tea I got from them, LOL. I guess that really says it all, right?
terri, you are a lovely person.
Why thank you, James!
Just noticed this thread, bit of a late response here, but I’ll throw in my two cents…
I’m also a bit skeptical of anything/anyone with the title of “master”, but it recently occurred to me that it’s a traditional form of respect in the Chinese culture to call an experienced elder “lao shi”, which basically means “teacher” and I suppose could also be translated to “master”. Considering that Verdant’s relationship with their tea sourcers is one of friendship and respect, I can understand why they would refer to them as “Master so and so”.
I also have some slight issues with Verdant’s fancy descriptions, but after listening to some of the conversations David has with the tea farmers, I’m certain of Verdant’s genuineness. Up until then, I had a slight concern in the back of my mind that some of Verdant’s claims of friendships with tea farmers and sourcers were exaggerated, but his fluency in Mandarin is impressive— I almost couldn’t tell he had an accent (my family is from China so I hear Mandarin and a few other regional dialects being spoken fairly frequently).
Cool, Ag! Thanks for chiming in!
The truth is, I love almost every tea I get from Verdant, & I do feel that they are very genuine in all they share. I also really enjoy the info they share, & the personal way that they deal with the growers, & those of us who purchase the tea.
I’m skipping the queue with this one because THE TIME HAS COME! I have opened the tin. I have sniffled it. Happy birthday to me! (I thought that would be an auspicious day to try it, don’t you?)
I should make some preliminary introductions to this one and tell why it’s so extremely special to me that I had to have it, shipping fees be damned. This tin right here was the very thing that made me order from JW at all. Everything else that I got to taste from the company was purely coincidental and taking advantage of the fact that I would be paying shipping charges anyway. I’ve been looking at the unopened tin of it for weeks now, simply just enjoying that fact that I had it. Petting it now and then and enjoying looking forward to it while waiting for the right time to taste it for the first time.
As you all know (or ought to know at this point!) I’m partial to a Chinese black, and if it comes from Fujian, it simply cannot go wrong. Fujian is my most favouritest tea growing area in the world and has been for a number of years now. My very very favourite tea is Tan Yang. It is the benchmark of fabulousness to which all other black teas must measure up. Another favourite type is Keemun, usually grown in Anhui. Life-giving and delivering a solid cup of tea every single time.
What we now have here in this tin is both a Keemun and a Tan Yang, and it is not a blend. It was grown near the Tan Yang village in Fujian, but the bushes are the Keemun variety transplanted there from Anhui. The very idea of this awesome on an epic scale!
The leaf smells both Keemun-y and Fujian-y. It has the Fujian cocoa note and the Keemun-y grain. Mind you Fujian usually also has a lot of grain in it, but I tend to find it more prominent in Keemuns. There’s something else in here that reminds me vaguely of some kind of tart berry or something. Perhaps one which has been dried. Like dried cranberry, I think, but not nearly as sweet as those are. If I take a little leaf in my hand and breathe on it before sniffing, I get a strong note that reminds me of when Husband makes beer, just at the point where he puts the hops in.
Okay that it, I can’t wait for Husband to start cooking breakfast (full English, yay!). I need to make a pot of this NOW!
After steeping it doesn’t smell so beer-y, but rather more like freshly baked rye bread. Courtney understands this note fully. I suspect Marzipan does as well. It’s grain-y and dark and also somewhat sweet. There is some of the Fujian cocoa notes there as well, but they are under the grain and so I have to really look for them.
I’ve started sipping way too soon. It’s far too hot still and I can barely taste anything. I did, however, pick up the fact that it’s a strong tea we’ve got here. It even seems to have a rather smoky note to it, which ♥♥♥♥♥
I can sip a bit more now. It’s quite cocoa-y with grainy notes underneath and a fairly large amount of smoke and then finally quite sweet on the swallow. I can definitely see the characteristics of both types in this. It’s like the best qualities of one combined with the best qualities of the other. It’s hard for me to even come up with anything to write at this point.
Oh yes.
Mind = blown.
kisses tin
I have a funny rugbrød story! My husband misses it terribly, so I decided to make some for his birthday. I contacted one of his sisters, who is trained as a cook, and she sent her recipe. I started converting it to English and non metric, and found that the ingredients were just CRAZY – ten pounds of rye flour for example. So, I broke down and asked Karsten for help.
I had converted it correctly but it was a recipe that made many many loaves. We cut it down and I started making the bread.
It was still huge. But what I wasn’t used to is that it doesn’t really rise at all. The mass that you have is pretty much the mass that you bake. Most of our bread wishes until it’s double so I was pretty worried about the malty, slightly sour enormous mass of dough I had. It turned out fine and he loved it. Reading this it isn’t as funny as I remembered. Now the story where I tried to find hjortetaksalt and thought I was going to get arrested…..that was funny.
Wishes= rises. I can’t edit my comments?
Then you are intimately familiar with the way it smells just as it comes out. :) My mother would bake some for Christmas but during the rest of the year it’s just store-bought. :)
I miss leverpostej and Anthon Berg the most. :(
Happy birthday, indeed!
I know how you feel. We can’t get baked beans here for scratch. Heinz is the only proper brand, but it’s hard to find. We’ve tried a number of other ones that are available but they all range from meh to nearly-if-you-squint, so… :/
Thank you, teataku. :)
Yes, Happy birthday to you! Excellent review!
Thank you (on both counts)
American/Danish birthday song. Happy fødselsdagen to you, hurra hurra hurra! I dag er Angrboda’s fødselsdag, tillykky med birthday to you! ♥ ♥ ♥
Darn it, tillykkE
Gosh, Danglish! O.o
Happy birthday!! I’ve been looking forward to reading your review on this – I’m glad it skipped the queue for your special day!
Thank you. :) I was looking forward to writing about it. :p
I’ve had three (Western-style) steeps on these leaves so far and am wondering if a fourth is worth the bother. The third steep was a bit on the thin side.
Maybe best not to do a fourth then; it could just be disappointing. Three steeps is great though! :)
Although…for experimentation sake, it wouldn’t hurt to try the fourth steep just to see how it turns out. :)
Happy birthday! Lovely when a tea becomes an instant favourite!
Happy Birthday! This makes me want to bust out my sample of this. Maybe for breakfast tomorrow.
sorry we’re late to wish you a happy birthday, but we’re in China for this year’s harvest. Anyways, better late than never so: Happy Birthday! (and thank you for taking time to write such a nice review.) Cheers!
There’s a list of tea’s that I could be satisfied with having and be happy with them for the rest of my life. (There are just over 15 I’ve been tinkering with.)
Laoshan Black would be in my top 5. It’s a staple in my diet.
Have you looked at the Verdant website alchemy blends?
Three have Laoshan Black in them. This is one of the reasons this tea is a staple in my cupboard…BLENDABILITY!
My local tea shop has herbs and spices at reasonable prices ranging from $1-$2 an ounce (and Eric always makes sure I have the freshest).
I received my new Laoshan Black in the mail yesterday on the way to tea, and thought I’d buy some of these interesting additions for adding to tea. I’ve been mixing elderberries, ginger, chysanthemum, fennel, jasmine, burduck root, cassia to pu’er on occasion, whipping up tasty brews to satisfy my creative nature (this seems to work best with milder pu-er).
A big pinch of Laoshan Black added into Ginger Sage Winter Spa Blend is delicious (one of my favorites)!
My cocoa hull pu’er (called choco pu) with a pinch of Laoshan Black is amazingly rich.
This morning, I made a big pot of tea which I drank Naked. Laoshan Black and nothing added to it!.
It was an especially sensual tea drinking experience! (The guttural tea noises you can make when nobody is around!) A-hum!
You know what I’m talking about…come on, don’t pretend you don’t!
How could I have forgotten the cocoa goodness? Had it been so long since my last cup of Laoshan Black tea?
The new batch has to be even richer and creamier than before.
DD (David Duckler) is up to something, I know he is! That grainy texture mentioned by many people in earlier reviews was missing.
Maybe it was just Me? (Hope not!) But this was richer and creamier than I remembered.
No, this isn’t a hyped review of a tea. This isn’t an undeserved review.
It is as good as hundreds of people say. Even…Better!
hmmmmm maybe i’ll have to pick up some of the new batch heh. Of course that means i need to drink the rest of what i have left down….
my sentiments exactly, Sil!
I’ve seen so many swoon over this tea, drawn to its natural and distinct chocolate/carob/nutty undertones that paint its unique character….the tea has clearly sown itself into the spectral star of the flavor profiles that distinctly outline various regions and this has certainly added the region to the map in a unique and wonderful way
This is SO GOOD as a cold brew. So. Good.
I need more.
i just ordered some! they’ve got a bonkers sale on!!!
w00t! Always good to find a reasonable priced herbal to cold brew it up.
Yeah, I’m buying 100g. Most of my cold brew standbys have strawberries and oranges, and I’m avoiding those for a few weeks. :)
free shipping at expedited too!!! yay!!!!!
i’m grabbing some japanese tea: some hojicha among others =0) SO EXCITING!!!
I’m getting 100g this and 50g almond marzipan rooibos. Haha. $11, and they ship for free. Yeah!
cough….. i might not have been as conservative. lol. but still, budget watching always. and i do need to cut my caffeine down, so i grabbed 3 herbals and this was one of them!
I have Too Many Teas, James. Too Many.
215 ish isn’t thy bad :)
Sil, I haven’t tracked how many I have. I think it’s closer to 250/260…
i don’t even have 100…. and i try very hard to sipdown or i have a hard time looking at my wife, lol. my tastes change a fair bit too… and if they change then i hand off to fellow students who are more poor than me, lol.
Damnit, James, now I’ve been surfing their site. Those are some killer deals!
=0)))
I have SO MANY SAMPLES. People are so generous, and it takes 3-4 cups to drink the whole thing down.
okay, maybe that’s cheating on my part? i do not count swap samples among my supply. mostly because i wouldn’t share them, lol. nope.
Yeah, I have about 100 samples. Still going through them, trying them, tossing some in a (new) box for my brother. Oh Sil, he LOVES the Wild Purple Buds Puerh from Butiki.
Samples don’t count? I don’t have to count samples?
What’s this sale I’ve been hearing about?
http://zentealife.com/ , Dexter… End of season sale.
MYSELF i do not count samples. i have a huge mug i use (16 oz) so a sample is often only 1 cup. i only list if i’m going to share, otherwise it makes me look like a jerk. OMGsrsly…. such a temptress, lmao, and to dexter who’s been drinking. not nice! =0D
I’m learning from the best cough James and MissB cough. I add them because I like the random tea generator. :) It helps me make up my mind!
I was kidding, I CANNOT buy more tea. I bought a bunch from Zen during the BF extravaganza. Those are still in the box amongst several other boxes in a pile that I haven’t really even looked at yet. (Still I’m wondering why I didn’t buy any of this blueberry in that order…..?)
rules are rules dexter, i have 200g coming. i can ship some off np.
Heh. Dexter, I just sent you a HUGE box of tea – you too JustJames! I also add all of my samples/swaps into my stash, for the same reason as OMGsrlsy. Love the random tea generator!
Also, fellow Vancouverites, did you see this? http://zentealife.com/tea-quiz
no fair!!!
oh…. and i do not use the tea generator. i am a stick in the mud. =0P
Huh. I hadn’t seen that. Oh well! I’ve tried almost everything now. :)
MissB – that box is the reason I’m not allowed to buy more tea. I really need to find cupboard space for it and all my other BF orders that are still just lying around. Hmmmm buy new house?
I was just gonna sit with this tea , enjoy it and be happy.
But it has put a spell on me and I feel compelled to write another review.
Ever since I’ve been using my Vanilla Dream yixing pot, this tea keeps getting better and better. Having this gives me the same warming feeling a good quality sheng does. Yes, it’s as rewarding. Any sceptical tea purists in the house? Well let me tell you how much you are missing on if you’re a non believer. This tea is a “whoa” inducer, goes straight to your senses.
This blend is innovative and completely unique. It almost creates a new flavour that doesn’t exist, making it almost impossible to describe. Sweet, savoury, salty, spicy, but not quite umami. The vanilla bean renders a rich and heavy mouthfeel. To make things even more complex, a fresh eucalyptus finish emerges at the end of the sip…mix that with the minerals of the clay pot, and you get a taste that lingers in the mouth forever, just like any good oolong or sheng pu’erh would. Complexity at its best…
Although I don’t drink much heavy liquor, I would compare Port to a fine aged whisky…something you can’t put a price on cause every time you drink it, you feel lucky you got the chance to experience such a gem.
The vanilla yixing makes all those Vanilla Dreams teas so much better and they are already amazing to start with. I’m not having vanilla this morning (yet) I’m having an excellent post-Dark Beauty cup of Jabberwocky
Great review! It made me think of this song haha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwXai-sgM-s
The Jabber really “wocks” missy, as I like to say :-)
Lol, Mj, good call and thanks, and I always loooved that song!! Have you ever heard the Nina Simone’s version?
O. M. G.
Nina Simone is just amazing! I love her so!!!!!!!
That’s right sarsy, Nina simone is a queen and I worship her…
Just one more reason that you’re so awesome… The list keeps growing…
I will have port one of these days. Brenden recommended I not go for port just yet, and thought I’d like cocoa amore better (LOVE IT!) although I did decide to go with jabberwocky this morning when I was debating between the two.
Sars, I love that one.
There’s an amazing remix with Nina’s vocals and an upbeat track. It’s amazeballs. I couldn’t find it on the YouTube. :(
OMGeeee! Found it!!!
http://val.fm/feeling-good-joe-claussell-remix-nina-simone-mp3/
I’d never heard of Nina Simone before today. Thanks for introducing me, ladies :)
No picture today!
Cheri, I think I understand why Brenden told you to start with some other VD tea. It’s so different from any other tea I have ever tried, it kind of surprised me the first time I had it.
And yo, cocoa amore!!!
The remix is awesome Sarsy, thanks for sharing!
Mj, So happy this made you discover Nina!Sinnerman is the most popular remix I think…it played in movies and commercials, maybe you’ve heard it without even knowing it was her voice…
Lol, Christeana, I thought I’d give you a break of my pics. But I drank some amazing tea this morning and will review with pics later :-)
Thank you Laurent, Sophie, and everyone else at Nina’s Paris for making my mother and I feel so welcome and at home!!
Before I talk about the tea, I would just like to say that I had yet another amazing experience at Nina’s Paris offices. I was made three different cups of tea (Pour Maman, The Sur La Lune, and this one) and I walked out with a whole box of delicious teas. I mean, when I walked in i had 91 and now I am back up to 115 and I cannot be happier because Nina’s teas are AMAZING!!
Many of you know I am neither a cacao fan nor a lover of chocolate mint so this is one of the last teas I would have ever asked to try. However, before I even knew what was happening, a mug of this was placed in front of me and since they went to the trouble of making it, I figured I should at least have a sip. I am glad I did because this was actually a really good tea. The cacao gave it a nice, smooth chocolate flavor, and the mint was mellow but refreshing. I was actually shocked at how enjoyable it was and ended up guzzling it down quite quickly.
Wow… What all did you get?
Try ALL the teas!!! :)
Haha. I think after I try everything I got today, I will have sampled almost all the teas Nina has to offer :P.
And Morgana, I got so many: Eve, Cancer, Taurus, The Sur La Lune, Pour Maman, Demain, Miz, Marie-Antoinette, Mon Secret, Ma Passion, Pisces, Aquarius, Magicienne, Darjeeling, Tigre Blanc, The de Noel, and so many more. Plus lots, and LOTS of Japon of course :P
Yay, good haul! I’m glad you had such an awesome experience.
Taurus! I’m so curious about that one. :) Looking forward to all your notes!
OMGsrsly, I have 100g of it so I can always send you a sample :)
That’s only 17… what are the other 7? LOL
We could do that. I already have a couple set aside for you. :) Sil and MissB are the hard ones to shop for!
Haha. Sorry. I also got Darjeeling, Balade a Shanghai, Versailles Rose, Rouge, 4 Fruits Rouges, The de Vendome, Under the Mango Tree (which is a tea they sell in Japan), Scorpio, Earl Grey, Je T’aime, Virgo, and Jasmin
I think that is everything. Oh, and they gave me a cup and saucer as a birthday present and since my mom doesn’t drink tea, she got some jelly and some of their beautiful soaps.
That sounds wonderful. Looking forward to reading your notes about them.
And OMGsrsly, they definitely are because they basically either own or have already tried every tea on Earth (though I don’t think either have had many Cornelia Bean teas so perhaps we should place an order so we have what to send them :P).
Awesome idea! :D I totally have a list. I should send it to you. FB OK?
Yeah. FB works.
This sounds like a wonderful time! And so many teas :O I wish Nina’s Paris had a proper website where one can order online :(
Kat_Maria, being in the states, Amazon isn’t a horrible option or you can email them directly as they have amazing customer service. However, I wish they had a site too as it is so awesome to just shop online.
Sounds like a great experience! Who would think a tea shop to make you custom samples to try… For free!?!? Now that’s service!
VT – did you buy this one or just drink it there?
This sounds amazing! I wish there were shops like that around where I live
@Suziqzer – They are an amazing company. I have dealt with such excellent customer service before.
@Sil – This was one I had there and I have a one cup sample if you want to try it. I enjoyed the cup I had but I just don’t reach for Mint Chocolate (except for Butiki’s Peppermint Patty) enough to warrant buying it.
i was going to ask how you saw it compared against stacy’s herbal mint chocolate heh
I think Peppermint Patty is on a whole other level when it comes to Mint Chocolate teas. In fact, I just stocked up on it which is another reason I did not get more of this one.
I would say this had more of a cacao sort of dark chocolate flavor whereas the Butiki is more milk chocolate to me. Also, the mint is stronger (though not harsh or overpowering like in some teas I have tried) in this as I find the marshmallow leaf tones down the mint a lot in Peppermint Patty.
hmmmmm on the list it goes to try haha
I will send you the sample they gave me. It is only enough for one cup which means an easy sipdown :)
Sounds like one I might have to try. I’ll have to look for it on Amazon when I have some gift cards to spend there :)
Teavivre is AWESOME! This tea is my soul soother.