Popular Tasting Notes
Houston is having an atypically long stint of gloom.
I decided to try to brighten it with some of this bright green tea.
The cup has a very thick mouth feel today. Maybe I did a better job preparing it than I did the last time. But the problem with truly fantastic shaded green teas which are steeped correctly is that they’re mild by definition. They’re subtle. There shouldn’t be anything in the cup that leaps out and grabs you by the nose.
Which, while it makes for a very soothing cup of tea, does make it very difficult to get all that excited about any one particular cup.
We have another Japanese green in the house that Liz got while she was in Tokyo, much less high end, and yes, I can taste the difference between the two. But unless I was having a very special meal that required the pairing or I was hosting a very formal gathering, I’m hard pressed to come up with a justification for spending the money on this kind of tea when the “pay back” is so much less obvious than it is in other categories of tea (where the pay off can be enormous in some cases).
Preparation
The Lupicia sales guy was trying to sell me on their “Yame” which is more expensive than this one I believe. I loved the gyokuro I had from Arbor tea. definitely worth the extra $ imo
Another New Year resolution is for me to drink more Japanese greens. I love a good sencha….Jim it sounds like you prefer a fuller green.
Amy….how much was the Yame, do you remember?
Mostly what I prefer is being able to taste what I pay for, and this particular tea, at least at Tokyo prices, goes beyond that point.
I’m not suggesting that just any shaded Japanese green will taste like this one does. There are certainly low end, cheap teas out there. And yes, it is worth spending more to avoid those.
But this one in particular was so much more expensive that it goes beyond the point of simply avoiding bad tea and gets into a price range where I expect something exceptional, and, at least so far, this isn’t exceptional. It is very good. Just not exceptional.
Scott – I don’t remember exactly but it’s on Lupicia’s website
Jim- I see your point. Perhaps this isn’t such a good gyokuro?
I’ve had others as well, from TeaG and other places and it seems, to me at least, that there is this tipping point where the rate at which the price is going up from grade of tea to grade of tea becomes very steep while the difference in what ends up in the cup from grade to grade becomes very shallow.
Maybe in this particular case, it was a matter of expectations. I’ve had many people insist that you can only get truly good tea in Japan. That the teas which are exported from Japan to other places, even the very expensive ones, just aren’t that good compared to even the most humble cup in a noodle shop in Osaka. Well, Liz went over there and brought two or three teas back, including this one, and they simply didn’t live up to those kinds of claims. Maybe I just need to get past that set of expectations and then come back to this tea with a clear mind.
where did you read that from, the Japanese tourism board? ;-)
I think it may be both. Possibly some of the best (or even most of) are kept for the Japanese market. I think it has to do with freshness too. Even the best grades, even vacuum packed, that are exported quite possibly can’t be as fresh as teas harvested & cupped in Japan.
Not read. People, face to face, have made the argument and insisted on it. Not all of them were even Japanese people, oddly enough.
sorry to be a skeptic, I work in the field of marketing… :) I’ve never been to Japan so I would not know.
I was always skeptical of the claim. But there’s always a part of you that wants to believe that if you go there, and spend enough, some magical doorway into “real tea” will open. It is disappointing to learn that’s probably not the case. I have to say probably because we may simply, even at this price point, have not spent enough money to open the door. Although I doubt it.
My friend went to China & had a really good Oolong tea, & brought some home. We sampled it and it was really good, but she said it wasn’t quite as good as the tea she had while in China (the same tea). Preparation has alot to do with it too.
While true, I think what is really going on has much more to do with cultural elitism coupled with the fact that we’re simply far more likely to enjoy a cup of carefully prepared tea while on a once-in-a-lifetime trip than we are with preparing the exact same leaves at home — no matter how expert we are in tea preparation. People from tea cultivating regions want to be able to insist that tea is best had right there at the source and that Americans buying tea out of shops far from that source simply can’t experience tea the way you can right there next to the bushes. Which, on one level is quite true. But on another level gets less and less true all the time. Mechanisms for tea storage, shipment and distribution are improving all the time. I have had tea that was at most mere days older than if I had been drinking a cup prepared by the master gardener himself. But on another level, this idea that the best can only be had right at the source simply isn’t true. Ultra premium products routinely fetch higher prices on the export market than they do domestically. So it is actually more likely that the best of any one given thing is sold abroad rather than at home. Look at the US fishing industry. The best tuna catches never even touch US soil. Those fish go directly from US owned boats to Japanese owned airplanes — despite a huge domestic market for ultra premium grade seafood. The mark-up is simply better selling it on export. So there’s very little reason to believe that, aside from what might be kept as genuinely priceless (for example the original big red robe bushes) and not sold retail anywhere, one cannot buy “the best” anywhere except on a local market level.
But we’re way, way off the point, here. In the world of pu-erh, you can buy very modest product and it is perfectly drinkable. You can spend a bit more, and you notice the equivalent increase in price. And the more you spend, the better the tea gets right along with that price. Yes, the closer you get to “the top” the more and more important matters of storage, shipment and eventual preparation become to truly unlock all the potential of the leaves. But the potential is there to begin with. Similarly, Darjeeling teas occupy an enormous spectrum of quality and price and in most cases the correlation and contrast is obvious.
All I’m suggesting here is that with shaded green teas, that correlation and contrast is far less obvious as one gets closer and closer to “the top”. Down near the bottom of the spectrum, the contrast is obvious. But as one moves up, the subsequent improvements become harder and harder to discern.
A very narrow, modest assertion.
Good points all around. I think the tea experience in a foreign country heightens expectations, and in some way the brain heightens the experience. I mean I’d rather drink a quality Japanese green tea in Japan, experiencing a tea in its’ homeland, but for me it is not likely. That plays a part too. I haven’t had too many shade grown teas, but I see your point. At what point are we willing to pay that extra money, when the payoff isn’t there?!
I think you just need to figure out what kind of tea you really love and are willing to spend more money on. The rest of the time an average product is certainly fine. For me personally, I like pu-erhs but I don’t feel the expensive ones are worth the price. I’ll take the gyokuro. ;-)
I agree about the Darjeelings too. I haven’t paid $40+ 1/4 lb for any Darjeeling, but at $25-$30, there is a significant increase in quality, over a $15 per 1/4 lb of tea.
You mean like Mei Li? :)) Amy, Sencha Fukamushi’s can be a great experience. Much lighter than many Senchas out there.
I think this goes way beyond tea. Our culture has trained us to believe that things are expensive because they are better. A Calvin Klein tee shirt costs five times as much as a tee shirt from Target because it says Calvin Klein on it — but we don’t think that way, we think that designer names somehow equate to actual garment quality (which may have been true in decades and centuries past, but certainly isn’t true anymore). Way “pay for the name” as they say. Oddly, in that case, we pay extra to do free advertising on behalf of the designer.
We go to restaurants and pay $50 a plate for dishes that have 20 ingredients in them most of which are simply the latest “buzz” foods — despite the fact that science tells us all but the highly trained can only taste at most 6 things at a time. We’re paying for the experience of eating buzz foods off a fancy plate when a more modestly prepared version of the dish for less money might actually be “better food”.
The build quality on Mercedes Benz is actually worse than the build quality on a Hyundai right now but we still pay two or three times as much for that fancy German badge on the hood.
My philosophy is always “be willing to pay for what you can appreciate”. If you can tell the difference sufficiently to justify the cost, go for it.
For my palate, the distinction in pu-erhs is profound while the distinction in shaded greens is not. But, at that point, we’re discussing taste, not anything objective.
Bottom line for me is this:
I’m willing to pay more for tea than designer clothes, coffee, an expensive wine, etc.; and I have the receipts to prove it! :))
I have never bought into the expensive is better philosophy. But sadly that seems to be the way of the world and the world of tea snobs… nice chatting with you both. :)
Sometimes you get what you pay for. For the most part though, I agree Amy. I refuse to wear shirts with names on them…….unless they’re stained with tea! :))
Catch ya both later………….
Sometimes you get what you pay for; but, for the most part, I agree Amy. I refuse to buy clothes with names on them…….unless they’re stained with tea! :)) Catch ya later…….
WWWHHHAAA…..I think I’m seeing double.
How much does this gyo cost? I get the impression that gyo only gets any good (or really begins to be more remarkable) at the $50/gram price range.
So… just had a conversation with the wife. As it turns out, the problem here all along has been her sense of what “expensive” tea is. She drinks mostly roiboos and flavored teas.
Via the USA distribution, you can get Pine Breeze for $20/50grams. Which is, frankly, very cheap.
I’ve had TeaG’s gyokuro which is $55 for 100grams.
There is no way I would ever pay $50 per gram for a tea. I don’t care if it has gold, sex and God mixed into it, nothing is worth that much money. At that point you’re paying $100-200 per pot of tea!
If one has to go that high to experience “truly great Japanese tea” then they’re welcome to it. I’m more than happy to spend 1/10th that price for aged pu-erh and be more than blown away by what I get.
there’s no way would I ever spend that much money on a flippin’ tea – just sayin’
It is nice to know that my tea snobbery has bounds.
I wasn’t sure if Shinobi cha was serious. WOW! I couldn’t stop laughing at your comments Jim…….it just struck me as hilarious! It’s totally absurd to pay $50 /gram for any tea. Just my opinion of course. :))
$200 for a pot of tea…HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Oops! I meant $.50/gram, haha! Looks like Pine Beeze and TeaG’s gyos are about that range… and if you just didn’t love them at that asking price… well that’s fine; tea is after all, not a necessity and so drink what you enjoy.
Ah. Yes. That makes a lot more sense.
And yes, that has been the point all along. There is a tipping point where what you are paying for may not actually have increased value to the individual.
uMMM….YEAH…tea IS a necessity!:))
Thank you Stacy for this Tea!
This is the first review of one of Stacy’s new tea’s.
About a month or so ago, I was chatting (PM) with Stacy and told her that I thought Butiki should/could create a Pineapple Oolong Tea. I noticed that many people on Steepster enjoy pineapple but seemed to have a hard time finding that taste in a tea that they really liked. I tried to buy a highly reguarded pineapple tea myself but it was always unavailable. I pushed poor Stacy a little, she thought it over, did her amazing flavor magic, and here is the result…Flowery Pineapple Oolong!
I was waiting for the Post all this morning…where’s that Butiki Box?!
Watered the plants, cleaned house…and finally…the Post arrived!
Ripping open the package, then beginning the brewing of my pot of tea was one fluid movement. (There should be a program called ‘Dancing with your Tea’ because I would win!) I had fresh spring water in my electric kettle…so swoop, heat, pour water in the teapot…done.
It was a long 4 minute steeping! ‘bing’
The liquor was pale yellow and steaming with the scent of orchids and tropical fruit.
I took a sip…and Oh Stacy! The flavor was the softest pillow of pineapple resting on a bed of sweet fragrant white orchids. The tip of my tongue tasted some pineapple tang. That tangy taste was from the perfect blending of natural pineapple bits and Oolong tea leaves.
This was super juicy and super creamy…even…yes… an exotic experience that transported me to a cool Island Beach lined with Palm Trees. Relaxing! Ahhhh! (Where is that Old Spice commercial guy?)
There was a little temptation that I gave in to.
Reaching into the steeping basket…I picked out a piece of pineapple and chewed on that one piece slowly… while sipping my tea. It was almost sinful…(but not)… it tasted so good!
I added sweetening, and my cup came alive with pineapple goodness. (Stacy suggests raw brown sugar crystals).
You could almost make this a cocktail worthy of Rum and a decorative umbrella! Chilled this tea doesn’t get bitter! OH…the possibilities are endless!!!
Another little thing I do with melon or acidic fruit tea’s (like pineapple) is place some sea salt in the palm of my hand (just a little), taste the salt…then drink some tea. The flavor of the fruit POPS.
My 2 cents worth:
It’s important to let tea companies know what we, the consumers, are interested in drinking. They often listen. Butiki is one of the companies that is customer oriented and listens to us. There are others that do the same. Hooray for them!!!!
Great job creating a fabulous tea again Stacy! Stupendous!
http://youtu.be/-MRMqsP9Kb0 The Pineapple Song
This sounds soooo good! What a stand-out company of Butiki to be so involved with customer feedback.
I was planning out a white tea with pineapple but you really convinced me to go with a pineapple oolong and I am so glad I did! It wouldn’t have had the wonderful delicate orchid notes or the butteryness. I love Wen Shan Bao Zhong and it just made such a lovely base. Thank you so much for the recommendation Bonnie! Those freeze-dried pineapple pieces are so yummy. They certainly are difficult not to eat. Great music video too. Now I’m in a very tropical mood.
Oh my goodness! This sounds so delicious!!
Oh MY MY MY this does sound SO good!
I am going to need this tea… drinks tea as fast as possible
Also, bahahaha, Dancing with your Tea! Love it! Did you watch that video on Teavivre’s site where that guy dances with a teapot with an incredibly long spout, and makes a big show of pouring it? I can’t recall who posted it (other than Teavivre), was it you? Or Azzrian?
It was quite beautiful/amazing! I wonder if I can find it for you…
Not me I have not seen it but going to watch it now lol
Well, here you go girls…so eye candy! Tropical http://youtu.be/3R2cnxz27LI Old Spice!
WOW! I watched the video…and…ouch if you miss…you are seriously burned! WOW!
Mmmmm, Old Spice guy ;) A couple girls I know actually met him. Soooo jealous.
When I met my ex-husband he was that good looking. I’d rather nice than cute any day! Blech on mean people!!! (that guy is…well…he has a nice personality!!!) ;)
Oh yes, me too. Old Spice guy seems really nice :D It seems my ex kind of fell into the other category though… :(
Agreed :D I’m still suffering from a broken heart, so it would probably do me some good :P
(To avoid confusion, the ex I am referring to here is not the one from Northern Ireland. :P)
Dancing with your tea competition… That sounds amazing!!! I actually stopped and thought about it for a few minutes… hahaha…
This is a sample from the wonderful Dexter3657.
Oh, this is a good one.
I keep Bailin Gungfu from Teavivre in stock at all time, I drink it often and it’s easy to compare the two for me without having to do a side by side. Teavivre is more chocolaty and this one more caramely.
It’s grainy and bready with very sweet notes. It’s almost a dulce leche kind of caramel, it lingers in the mouth. I made a strong infusion and there’s no astringency whatsoever, very smooth.
How do I know I really, really enjoyed a cup? In no time, it’s empty, so I run out of words for a proper description cause it’s all gone.
Thank you Dexter3657 for allowing me taste such a wonderful tea :-)
dulce de leche, just had Haagen-Dazs last night. Guilty…
I should try this one. I like Teavivre Bailin Gong Fu, but it’s not my favorite. The only black from my Norbu order that I’ve tried is Ye Sheng Hong Cha – I didn’t really like it… This one sounds more my style. LOL pretty sad when I’m reading your reviews to decide which of MY teas to try….
Boychik, don’t temps me…I’m not a dessert freak, but ice cream is a big weakness…Haagen Dazs rocks…chocolate cherry…mmmmmm!!!!!
Lol, Dexter, try to remember that before placing your next order (look at me giving you advices!)
They also make green tea, but i cannot find it in the supermarket . Pineapple coconut was very good. i only eat 2-3 tsp. just to taste
http://www.haagendazs.us/Products/?utm_campaign=Google|Branded|Exact&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_content=haagendazs+portfolio&utm_termhaagen+dazs+green+tea
Btw, have you tried Shang Bai Lin?
Balanced but exploded cupboard = NO MORE ORDERS ;))
Dexter, i say it to myself every day,when i open my eyes. Like mantra, no more orders
Boychik, stop trying to corrupt me with both ice cream and tea!!!!
:-) :-):-) (haven’t tried shang bai lin)
Oh Dexter, Dexter, if only things were that simple…
Boychik – I’ve been saying it for six months now, doesn’t seem to be working for me. I wish you all the best, and if you figure out a way to actually stop ordering, please let me know.
Fairy – LOL it really should be that simple. Just don’t order, but it just doesn’t seem to happen. Paypal is just WAY too easy….
Lol, think about your Paypal annual statement…SHOCKER!!!!!
I’m in denial about my annual Paypal statement…. it couldn’t possibly have been correct. What’s really scary is that I didn’t really start ordering online/Paypal until about April last year – I will have four more months on this year’s…… I’m not even going to look at it.
I think I’m in more trouble because I have puerh addiction. I see tuocha and bricks and cakes in my dreams. It’s serious, no joke. I need help.
You can do group orders. Cheaper and less tea to consume.
At least, if stored properly, those puerh cakes will get better with age!
You are right Steph, time to build a pumidor
My husband has a special fridge for beer, only seems fair ;)
The Ben & Jerry’s limited edition cotton candy ice cream is really good.
dexter – i have a few from norbu you can steal some of :)
Thanks Sil but I have an entire Norbu order here that I haven’t tried yet. :)) I have TOO MUCH TEA!!!!
I’ve flip-flopped over whether I was ever going to try David’s straight teas. I mean, I’ve always intended to, but I can never quite get my mouth to name any of the classics, when it has the option to say something like Bamboozled. As much as I admire my fellow Steepsterites who can actually taste and describe all the aspects of a straight tea, I do not have such distinguished taste.
Me likes me sprinkles
In all honesty, for me, the true appeal of Davids Tea has always been their jazzy flavors with the quirky little names. It’s just too difficult for me to ask for something classic when I can try something called Kiwi’s Big Adventure, Big Apple, or Cookie Dough. Every time I plan a trip to DT, I tell myself that I’m going to try at least one of their straight teas just to see what it’s like. But once I get in the store, I lose all focus and before I know it I’ve ordered a counter full of fun flavors and I eventually leave with nary a straight tea in sight. Seriously, sometimes I have the attention span of…
…
…whoops! Sorry, got distracted…
..Where was I? Oh yes! So Davids Tea had a $1 deal for their single serving packets of straight teas. It was as if that deal was catered to make me finally bite the bullet and give ‘em a go. I think I bought about 4-5 different types, and this is the first one I’ve tried so far. Just as I suspected, I get far more steeps out of this tea than I would out of my fun teas. And it really does taste delicious, it’s fresh and traditional. It tastes like fancy, you know, if fancy had a taste.
If I can manage to maintain focus for long enough during a future trip to David’s Tea, in the sea of jazzy fun-time teas, I would definitely repurchase this one. It’s tasty, it’s classic, and it’s a great option for my guests who are overwhelmed by the crazy flavors in my tea cupboard and ask “don’t you have any normal tea”. I’m sure they mean the commonplace bagged stuff, but if I serve this to them, I’m sure no one will complain.
I too have way more fun, flavoured teas than straight. I really have to make more of an effort to try straight tea because sometimes I feel like a bit of dummy on Steepster. I just can’t tease out all the flavours that other people seem to be able to.
I wanted to tell you something…OH LOOK! A butterfly! …so, yeah where was I? lol I love people who do that, it’s so amusing!
Don’t worry. I began with only flavored tea, started with a really good couple of straight tea’s and it took time to understand the flavor profiles. If you had a Laoshan Black tea, you could taste the Chocolate for instance it’s obvious but it’s not flavored. An oolong might taste floral and sweet but it’s all natural too. A genmaicha would taste like toasted rice or popcorn, a savory flavor…all natural.
@MissMylin – glad to hear that I’m not the only one
@Invader Zim – hahaha! That’s me 100% I’m like the dog from the animated film called “Up”…SQUIRREL!
@Bonnie – good to see that’s where other steepsters have started. I have a few oolongs from the straight tea special, so I will bear in mind what you said about them when I drink them. I used to drink Genmaicha all the time – your taste description is spot on. I will have to try a Laoshan Black – sounds delicious. Thanks for the tips
I love that movie! My master is good at smart. lol I find animated movies to be better than most other movies these days.
So true, I can’t wait to see Despicable me 2
Glad you liked this one. I’ll have to bre wmy sampler and compare it to the other Darjeeling I bought from DT. And PHEW…. I was worried I was the only one who had trouble describing the straight/classic teas.
There’s a despicable me2? Ohhhh yeah!
SQUIRREL!
I think Despicable Me 2 is set to come out July 2013 – those little minions cracked me up
Wouldn’t it be awesome if we all live close enough that we could all get together, drink tea and watch Despicable Me 2!
Best tasting note ever! I know exactly what you mean re: sophisticated palate. It’s one of the reasons I’m trying to wean myself off sweetening everything, so I can taste a straight-up tea and actually taste it. But boy do I love my dessert teas. =)
@Invader Zim – That would be fantastic. Or as Agnes might say “It’s so awesome I’m gonna die!” lol! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82utG7Q3G_k
@Nik – hahaha! Thanks Nik, I must have been feeling inspired that day. Dessert teas are amazing. I just received my very first order of 52teas a couple of days ago, and I think I found yet another favorite tea company.
I’ve got my first 52t order, too! [squee]
It’s so fluffy! lol I love it!
I’ve really overdone the eating. BINGE! So good though. The last thing I ate last night was two pieces of cake that I made…
I baked a yellow layer cake in a springform pan and let it cool. Then I made a simple syrup, and infused some Earl of Anxi tea (with the frankincense in it but use any tea you want) in the syrup. I poked holes in the top of the cake and spooned the syrup on letting it soak in. (Put cake in freezer) Later, split the cake in layers and frost with whipped cream on the layers and top. Good!
This morning, I don’t want to eat anything at all!!! No rich food, no bread, cake, pie…nothing! I’m DONE! FULL!
The choice of tea was easy. Janet (the owner of sTEAp Shoppe) and I had chatted about the tasting we had all participated in some weeks ago, and continued tea discussions back and forth. She sent a sample of her Updated Orange Spice Cake tea for me to try.
This sounded like the right tea for this morning.
I have to be honest. The initial tea’s that I tasted from sTEAp Shoppe were too bland for me. I was not expecting this tea to be leaps and bounds, over-the-top better.
But…
THIS IS REALLY GOOD TEA! It’s not bland or weak tasting at all! It’s spicy, has a cake taste and ‘drumroll’, no bitterness even when it gets cold!!! You suprised me Janet!
When I saw the bits of tangerine and orange peel I was wary. Usually this means the tea is going to be sour or bitter at some point. I’ve been so conditioned by tea companies getting it wrong that I do a little dance inside when someone gets it right.
I didn’t put any milk in my tea because of the citrus and even though I sweetened my cup(yum), it was tasty unsweetened.
If you tried the first batch of Orange Spice Cake and went…eh
try it again. This is really good.
Ish they shipped to Canada…some of these that you’ve been trying lately sound really good.
Yay! I am so eager to try this one. Glad to hear that Janet’s blends have improved so dramatically!
Nik… you know you’re going to place an order..and then swap with us..right? right! lol
So, Nik is your Canadian dealer?!
Bonnie lol I’m open to all dealers! ;) Nik and I just have a planned swap for January after all the Christmas magic is over to keep things happy with the mailbox :)
Great idea! I think it’s easier to send from here to Canada and visa versa than to buy from vendors directly sometimes.
Although, it seems that Canadians pay more shipping usually from what I hear. Even Davids Tea was only $5 to Colorado which was great (but took a long time).
Sil, sounds good! Maybe instead of shipping it, I can just bring it with me to the Toronto Tea Festival. :D Let’s see how things go and check in with each other in January.
Bonnie – yeah we do. If you understand the post office you can be smart about how to get things to the us and other countries without paying an arm and a leg but you have to understand their silly rules. :)
Either way it gives me hope to see you liking this companies teas more now. We seem to have similar thoughts with a number of companies. Someday ill get down to visit your lucky tea house :)
If anyone ever comes this way let me know and I’ll set up a tea tour, beer tour, scenic tour…easy to do with tips to save money. This isn’t an expensive State! Nothing is far away which makes it simple. Fall is beautiful! July is the Tea Festival in Boulder over a weekend.
Sil,
Wanted to let you know we will start shipping to Canada by the end of the day.
Nice! that sounds fantastic! As soon as I have a bit of extra cash I will totally need to check that out :)
Breaking this out in remembrance.
Listed by the vendor as outstanding floral, sweet soft and creamy with a intense huigan.
lots like a man who passed last night. Soft and smooth, not creamy but always pleasant and a intense strong man who loved his wife and children and nieces, nephews and grand children with a soft but strong love.
The floral and pleasant notes with the good tea buzz on the tongue are very reminiscent of the man I drink in honor of. Soft and strong at the same time. Like a whisper at many times and like a storm in his strong and faithful love for his family.
A special tea that I raise a cup to for a special man.
Flavors: Floral, Sugarcane, Sweet
Preparation
What a friend he must have been. So sorry for your loss.
Sorry for your loss
Sorry to hear of this person passing, but he sounds like someone special, to be worthy of this dedication.
A truly poetic tasting note that honors a dear friend with an analogy that compares his character to that of an exceptional sold out pu’erh. Quite a tribute especially coming from “mrpu’erh”. I too am very sorry for your loss mrmopar.
What a beautiful tribute, I’m sorry for your loss.
This is a lovely tribute mrmopar.
Thanks, services are this weekend so may be off a day or so.
Lovely sentiment expressed my friend – classy way to pay tribute to a special loss. We’ll miss your active presence and stand ready to welcome you back.
I’m so sorry for your loss. Your tribute to him is beautiful and touching. May the bitterness of the loss mellow out over time to memories of good times shared, just as pu’erh does.
Just drank this yesterday, during my week of hospice care for my father in law. My best to you.
I’m so sorry for your loss, mrmopar
Thanks you all this means a lot. You are a great bunch of people I am fortunate to know.
I too am sorry to hear about your friend.
I’m sorry for your loss. may you remember him every time you drink this tea and others like it.
Thanks fyrefly1981 and AllaK much appreciated. I will miss him and hope his wife will know she will se him again.
it is a beautiful tea to remember his life with. hugs from across the Pacific
Wooo Hooo 200 Tasting Notes! Well, if you don’t pat yoursef on the back, who will?!
What to do, what to do? My 200th review should be something different. I love me some Puerh…yes I do. Today’s tea should be something different. Stacy (owner of Butiki Teas) had graciously provided me with an ounce of Wild Purple Buds Puerh (Sheng) and this seemed the right choice for this 200th occasion. Thank you to Stacy!
The dry leaf looks amazing. The leaves don’t look like tea leaves, or not what I’ve ever seen before. The leaf is large, full of spiky buds that look like wheat…green, brown, gold and lavender tipped.
The instructions are 3-5 second steep, 195F for 20+ steepings! Begin the day with this tea!!! I started today at 7:30 a.m. and I’m not going to write about 20+ infusions.
I used my PIAO glass infuser pot to watch the leaves and control time.
The liquor color was consistantly pale champagne yellow through all infusions.
Wet Leaves:
1. Floral, vegital, smoky tobacco, and brine scented. Brown, golden and purple tipped.
2.-4. Strongly vegital scented.
5.-6. Leaves were greener and not as multicolored. They opened up, especially the buds and the scent was still strongly vegital.
Flavor:
1. The first impression was on my lips, the coating of cream that I could feel like butter then spreading throughout my mouth like the flavor of creamy white sweet corn. The taste was a little salty and completely smooth and without any tannin or bitterness at all.
2. A little tannin was present on this round right up front, then sweet and creamy like new Spring green beans. There was no bitter or acidic finish.
3. This was the best pour. The buttery feel was coating my lips and the vegital flavor had become cooked greens or butter lettuce…and the tannin had jumped to the finish…leaving a slightly peppery feel on the tongue. This is a Puerh? I am not able to comprehend that this is a Puerh. No earthiness…it tastes like a green tea. But not.
4. What now? My brain was confused. When I took another sip, the flavor was mineral, sweet and juicy, smooth and buttery with a tingling…then a honey wheat bread and greens taste. Sure, how did that make sense? Was I almost discribing a salad with croutons?
5.-6. These steepings brought out more buttery, smoothness and a little saltiness. A new floral quality that I found to be vaguely like paperwhite was now present. Tannin was dry like linen on the finish making the tea very juicy.
Here I added a little sugar. The saltiness of the Puerh and the vegital quality with the tannin with a bit of sugar created a beautiful balance of sweet/salty tea that brightened the cup tremendously. Here is where I would play with this effect. It made this tea dance and sparkle with flavor.
I have been pleased with the tea’s from Butiki…the new ones that are not commonly available elsewhere like the Wild Purple Bud Puerh and the Blue Nettle and some of the African Tea’s. Most of all the wonderful customer service has been so appreciated!
http://youtu.be/PSH0eRKq1lE Bagpipes…Well! (Bonnie Cameron-Johnstone)
Pretty!
Congrats on 200 tasting notes! Yours are always very informative and interesting reads!
This looks intriguing. Happy 200!
This is one of the few teas from Butiki that seemed to catch my attention.
Congrats!! By the time I get to 200 reviews I’ll be nearly 35 years old! Are you with me peeps? Hehehe…….yeah right. :))
Yay may the bagpipes play for 200 tasting notes! I love seeing your notes every day Bonnie – you inspire and bring joy :)
Thank you sweet Daisy and Scott! I guess this means I’ve finally reached 35 years of age right Scott?!
Thank you LiberTEAS! Thanks Amy (are you feeling better?) .
yeah Bonnie :))
Bonnie – yes, thank you. I had to go to the doctor have my ear irrigated but that certainly helped.
Happy 200!! I love your notes— they’ve helped me improve on my own tea tastings. :)
Congrats!! :) You made this sound so wonderful! Buttery and Salty?!?! Two of my fav things! YUMM!!!!
Congrats on 200! and this sounds like a very interesting tea, did you make it to 20 steepings?
Are you kidding…I still have more to go this evening!
Congratulations!
Congrats on 200 tasting notes! That’s quite an accomplishment. Very descriptive review. Quite interesting the notes you were picking out of that tea.
Thank you all my tea friends! Thanks Butiki! (I had more infusions of both tea’s ending with the Rose Violet for dessert!) .
Yay for 200 posts!!! Congrats :)
Woot!! Congratulations on reaching 200 tasting notes!!! And this tea is intriguing. Puer that doesn’t taste earthy and brews up to a yellow liquor? I didn’t know such a thing could exist!
Four Seasons pisses me off.
Don’t get me wrong—this isn’t a bad tea. It’s actually quite tasty. But it’s just not that special. It tastes, to me, like an average Tie Guan Yin, but missing the delicious heaviness I associate with TGY. It’s delicious, but no more delicious than some of the other TGYs I’ve tried.
But here’s the biggest kicker for me—you have to use a lot of leaf, and it does not produce that many infusions—certainly not 10-15, unless you’re thinking 2 ounce cups in 2 tablespoons of leaf. This is kind of infuriating, since the whole selling point on the Samovar website is that it lasts forever, so you’re getting a good value even if it’s $25 for a small, half-filled tin. I don’t like being lied to or misled. And there sure as hell aren’t 40 servings in the tin I received. Hell, there aren’t more than 15 teaspoons in there. And this tea requires, at the very least, 1.5 teaspoons for 6 ounces of water.
The tasting note descriptions intrigue me…I’ve done a little research, and I’ve never heard of Four Seasons/Si Jie Chun being described as bread and milk. The description I’ve come upon most is flowers, fruit, honey and pineapple. Hm. I’m tasting less milk or lactose or bakey-bready-ness, and more gardenias and sweet floral perfumes. [And yes, I have tried this at a number of different temperatures, and have gotten mostly the same results. No increase in dairy/lactose/bread at a lower temperature, for me.] I wonder how much of the (omg milk! bread!) love for this can be attributed to the power of suggestion…makes me want to experiment by writing up a tasting note for a random tea that’s like “OMG THIS TASTES LIKE CHERRIES!” and then see if anyone else says the same thing :)
So what do I taste? Gardenias, mostly; honey, certainly; and butter from my cooled down second infusion. The proportions of the flavors changes slightly from infusion to infusion, but the leaves don’t last very long either. Something I’m noticing this time around—it’s pretty bitter. I’m not sure if it’s because my water is too hot, or if I’m oversteeping it. A warning: do not try to brew this with 8 ounces and 1 teaspoon. I’ve brewed other TGYs this way and it’s been fine, but Four Seasons is not like other TGYs :) I ended up with one okay-but-light first infusion, and then almost tasteless 2nd and 3rd infusions. It’s so difficult to rate this one…on the one hand, it’s yummy when you do everything right. On the other hand, it’s extremely expensive and you have to use a lot of it to make a decent cup of tea, plus all the reservations I mentioned above.
I know I’m blaspheming, writing a negative review for a Samovar creation…please don’t hurt me!
Preparation
You have to call em as you see em.
I appreciate honestly negative reviews (and discussions of price and value), even though I feel guilty when I write them myself! Constant gushing isn’t really… informative.
I only had it from the sample so far, but I notice they tend to have pretty big samples compared to those of other companies.
I find personal tastes fascinating — you and I both love the Life In Teacup modern oolong and yet we diverge on the Samovar Four Seasons.
One thing I have noticed is that certain companies just seem to strike a chord with my tastes. I’ve liked everything I’ve tried from Life in Teacup and everything I’ve tried from Samovar, and there are some companies whose offerings consistently miss with me, too. But even among these there are outliers to the high and to the low end of the spectrum.
Yeah…I’m kind of kicking myself for not ordering samples instead. But the website said 40 servings with multiple infusions each, and yet my tin is so empty…cry
Morgana, I totally agree with you in that some companies are hit and miss depending on the person/taste buds. I am with you Shanti in that I didn’t find this one remarkable but I think Samovar is a altogether miss for me anyway. :(
Yeah, I don’t know…I guess I’m kind of suspicious of Samovar. It’s easy for a company to jack up the price of a tea and add a bunch of made-up flavors to the description, in order to push tea. (I mean, look at all the reviews for any tea, where they’re like “I didn’t know what this stated like until I read the description, and then I was like duh!” etc….I mean, if the company says you’re supposed to taste mango, then you will probably taste mango even if it’s not truly there. But I digress.
I guess I’m sick of the way people have to be afraid of offending others now on Steepster when they write a review. I have seen numerous reviews where people are like “Oh, I don’t like this tea, but important Steepsterite said it’s omfg amazing, so I’m not going to put a rating on this/am going to raise my rating.” I don’t think people should feel coerced to either write a positive rating or not leave a rating at all.
Shanti – Did you try letting Samovar know that your tin was only half full?
No, but I’m guessing it’s probably the right amount (by weight…I hope the tared the weight of the copper tin out)…but it’s still not 40 servings worth.
I guess I catch myself at times hesitating to knock a tea really hard because, well, I’m a libra, and teas are such a subjective thing. But, I hope that I never end up basing what I taste/how I feel about a tea (and almost everything else in life) on what others say. However, I do try to be respectful in what I say when I dislike something like tea because I don’t want it to come off like I’m saying that others have bad taste.
Shanti – thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings. :) I know that they really made me think seriously about staying true to myself. Rock on lady!
Thanks for this review, Shanti. I have to say, I agree with you on this tea. I’m an avid oolong lover, but the description on this one seems way off. I haven’t written my tasting note yet, because like you, I’ve been trying to figure this one out. It is very FLORAL and very GREEN tasting to me. I’m not a huge fan of green oolongs, so I probably would not have bought this if I would have known that the bake-y/bready notes were BS.
Also, my tin of Downy Sprout was not very full. Very sad. :(
I know, right…I ordered small tins of Downy Sprout, Royal Garland, and Osmanthus White, and they were filled to varying amounts…but seriously? The Downy Sprout and Osmanthus look very similar in size, weight, yet the amount of tea in the tins varies widely. I wish I had a scale to weight how much I was sent…le sigh. One thing is for sure—Samovar will probably never get my business again.
[And as an example of a good company that does not do this, see The Simple Leaf. Their one ounce “samples” seem the same size or larger than Samovar’s half-empty tins. Sigh.]
Okay, sorry guys, this is my last comment, but here’s a little comparison for you:
Competition Grade Four Seasons (Si Jie Chun), zen8tea – $12 for 150g
there are cheaper versions that are lower grades available as well
Samovar Four Seasons, ambiguous grade – $24 for 56.6g
Now, of course you have to account for the fact that Samovar relies on more middlemen than the other example I cited (I assume), but still: Samovar is charging $0.42 per gram, whereas zen8tea is charging $0.08 per gram of competition grade tea. That’s a little over 5 times the price.
Gotta say, I think Rabs really nailed it. Part of the issue with the steepster system of rating is that we’re all grading our teas subjectively, as each of us wants something different and, of course, there are peripheral concerns aside from taste that matter to us individually as well, such as price and ability to resteep, as aforementioned here.
I tend to disregard the numbers as anything but a rough guideline (so-and-so liked it, or did not) and focus more on what they had to say about it. Some of us rate based on taste alone — subjective enough to begin with, even disregarding things like price — and some of us rate based on the taste as compares to what was promised, which is not always the same (I’ve seen plenty of reviews that say ‘this tea was very enjoyable, but didn’t taste as advertised’ with a low number OR a high number)…
In the end, it’s important to remember that the numbers people assign are meaningful to them based on criteria that may have nothing to do with our own. All we can do is just try stuff, see if we like it for what it is, and rate accordingly, as consistently as we can with the stuff we’ve already rated (and I dunno about you, but that’s hard enough for me already!).
Also…just a side note, but you might want to try the rest of what leaf you have at 175. That’s how I take mine, and I prefer it by a wide margin! I suppose that won’t make up for the disappointment of your experience, but it might produce a cup of tea you like a little bit more, at least. :)
I’ve tried it at 160, 175, 185, 200, and boiling. I didn’t notice any increase in breadiness or milkiness at the lower temps, but it was a little less bitter. I prefer it that way, too :)
Thanks sophistre and MattHBomb for the suggestions. I’ve tried it at around 160, 185, and near boiling, but not 175…I’ll try that next time. :D
195 is what I usually steep oolongs at and it got me a lot of milky/creamy/buttery flavor out of this. To get anything near bready, I had to “throw my mind out of focus.”
I take these notes by companies (perhaps naively or incorrectly) not to be random, but to mean that a more cultivated palate than mine has identified these tastes or aromas and that I can train my palate to be better by searching for the notes. Sometimes I come up dry, but sometimes I really can find them, or something that I think might be them, if I try hard enough and if the stars otherwise align in terms of steeping temps/times, mood, amount of leaf and other things I’m sure are intangible. In this one, I didn’t get what I normally would think of as bread, which is a yeasty flavor, or a dark malty flavor like a thick slice of dark bread. What I got was the white inside of hot french or Italian bread, which when I think about it has a lot in common with, and isn’t that much different from, a creamy/butter flavor anyway, which I definitely tasted.
I’ve always been told that a good quality oolong like a green TGY is best at boiling.
I think I mentioned this already, but Four Seasons from Nantou is usually described not as particularly buttery, but as fruity and honey-like. The main fruit flavor is supposed to be osmanthus…I’ve read pineapple at some places too, which makes sense because osmanthus is kind of pineappley-peachy-apricotty. But it’s not bready, it’s not bakey, it’s not starchy, and it’s not particularly lactose-y to me.
It might not make a difference at this point, but out of curiosity, what size cups are you making? Takgoti sent me a sample of this a while ago and honestly, I never really got it – it just seemed kind of flat to me – until my last cup where I made a big 14oz mug instead of the 6-8oz cups I had been doing. Of course, I’m not sure if that is what made it taste so much better or what but that last cup I had was really delicious. The other cups before? Not so much.
(Though I never got bread – looking over my notes I got flowers, nectar and cattails.)
Ah, I’ve been doing between 6 and 8 ounces…I’ll try the bigger size one of these days :)
And flowers and nectar are what I tasted too. :)
I love this note! The Samovar spell has broken! :)
I just wanted to ask about your label on your container. My label said to use 1 tbsp per 16 oz of water. When I went to the web site, it said 1 tsp per 10-16 oz of water.
My Royal Garland label was even worse. It said 2 tbsp per 6 oz. Which resulted in this horrid, bitter icky brew.
Yeah, my labels were like that, too. I’m still pissed—there’s no way in hell there’s 40 servings in my tin of a teaspoon each, let alone a tablespoon or 2.
Shanti — just placed my first Samovar order 13 days ago and I’m already getting pissed. Not that they have a lot of control over shipping, but I was told I’d get my package on the 20th. I watched the package tracker start off in NV (?) head toward me, and now it’s in CA and heading to NV again. What the heck?!? The little “estimated delivery” when from 20th for sure to the 22nd, and now it’s saying the 25th. I’ve spent 1/4 of the money at other online tea stores and have had prompter deliveries than this. Going in a circle, really? This isn’t making a good impression on me. :P
Tea Review: This is a day of Memorial and Celebration for many people around the World. I was up early, before dawn.
It’s not odd to drink a wonderfully light and celebratory tea to toast a great Grandfather of us all. I wrote much about my own feelings on my blog and if you like, you can read it beginning below.
This blend takes the Yabao that many have tried already and adds Holiday magic to zing it up!
In classic (now after several years I can say ‘classic’) Verdant fashion, the ingredients are blended in such a manor that no one ingredient screams out ‘Ginger’ or ‘Coriander’ or Birch Bark’.
If anything, there is a softness that I amped up a little by steeping longer than the recommended 1 minute.
Yabao tastes like light nutmeg to me. (It tastes like cardamom to David Duckler but what does he know, he’s a young man!)
Yes this is very ‘snickerdoodle’. BEWARE… our tastebuds are on overkill with cinnamon, peppermint and strongish flavors this time of year (love the goodies).
Yabao Snickerdoodle is light on the palate. I HIGHLY suggest adding sugar or mild honey to your tea (as well as steeping longer, and please don’t underleaf…LISTEN to GRANDMA!).
I would say (am saying) that I sipped a grand white wine or two in my day that were in the same league with this tea. Nutmeg, vanilla and ginger… sparkling sweet and delicious. (Murphy’s California)
Cheers to Mandeba!
Story
I woke long before dawn to watch the news feed from South Africa this morning.
It is the day of Memorial for Nelson Mandela.
What shall I say? Some of you are not going to like what I say…
I warn you…
Yesterday, I tried to explain to my granddaughter Schey what it was like during the days of Apartheid and Civil Rights.
It’s not easy for young people to understand what it was like in the 1960′s-1980′s but I’ll keep on telling my grandmother stories no matter what.
As an interracial couple with two young children in the 1960′s and 1970′s, life for my husband and I was often dangerous. I worked in Civil Rights for many years in local projects, then as a Vista Volunteer in Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.
I was living in the Nation’s Capitol when both Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were killed. Riots followed.
Shortly after the riots, my husband and most of the young Black men in the area were drafted. (This was during the Viet Nam War)
It was too dangerous, the Army said, for me to go ‘Down South’ with my husband because of the Klu Klux Klan, so I flew home to California until he was transfered a year later to Texas. (A Hard Place in 1970).
…the rest is on my blog…
www.teaandincense.com
Now I am very sad I didn’t get to meet you when I was in Boulder this summer. I get the feeling you and I would never run out of things to talk about. :)
I am a talker! I truly not to be boring. I tell people to make the time out signal used in basketball if I’m talking too much. Wish we could have met too!
Thanks for sharing.
I appreciate that Charlotte. Not everyone would agree but I’m getting to a point in life where all I have is my own story.
Feel the same as teataku. The sad thing is things are still bad. Better in some ways, but not great. Telling your story helps though.
There’s a great deal of kindness in the tea community!
True that!
Been wondering about this tea. Thanks for the review!
At our age stories of what we endured are the inspiration to those that we wish to bring up and teach in this world! Never forget you are a light and inspiration to all us! If I ever get out you way we are going to be a couple of “Tea Drunk” people swapping tales!
I’d love that mrmopar! Time is flying. Some of the most courageous people I’ve met are in their 30’s, so there’s hope for the future!
Thank you for sharing your story.
Thank you for reading.
Every truly great story will make you both laugh and cry. This had both effects, thanks for the effort.
5 AM I awoke too early with a splitting headache from a cloud of smoke that desended to ground level from the High Park Fires. Uh!
I put on some clothes and walked a down the street towards the hills but stopped part way realizing that there were no hills to be seen. The smoke was too thick and the end of the block was invisable.
Again, my head throbbed…I wanted tea!
I had some new tea from Butiki that I had never sampled. The reviews were too good to resist. Raspberry Truffle certainly sounded more cheerful than the dirty smoke-fog.
Butiki Tea’s ingredients are first class. Organic, Vegan. This has chocolate, dry raspberries, and Kundalay tea. Notes of cinnamon and just sweet enough not to need sugar.
There is a creaminess that reminds you that this tea doesn’t taste like cake or pastry but a real chocolate coated, raspberry filled truffle. You know, the kind of candy that you sneak and eat by yourself savouring each little bite with delight. “Oh thiF is soooo gooB,” you say, with a muffled mouthful of gooey truffle dripping from the corners of your mouth and sticking to your fingers!
You understand why this tea is popular. Imagine drinking that truffle experience without the guilt of overindulgence (or the calories!). Yes!
I feel better, but…it would be good if you would send prayers for the firefighters and the displaced people here! Thanks!
(I’m sorry if my reviews are bad, right now I’m having a hard time with them…please understand it’s hard. Thanks! Doing my best.)
Your reviews BAD!?!?! NEVER!!!! Love your reviews!
Thanks, I’m not getting sleep…4-5 hours is not enough. This fire has been triggering migraines. That does make me write wierd or silly. (come to think of it…noone will know the difference ;) )
I’m so sorry that you have been going through this. Sounds just horrible. I agree with Azzrian, your reviews are always a great read.
Thanks Stacy! I guess this tea was one of my happy tea medicines! Now maybe the Tangerine Creamsicle!
I’m glad it helped a little. Tea can be a great medicine.
Like good friends ; )
Very true!
:( So sorry to read of your headaches and lack of sleep due to that nasty smoke!
Praying for you all there.
This tea does sound yummy and I am so glad it brought you some relief.
oh Bonnie… stay safe. Fire fire go away please don’t come back any other day!!!
I go to a Greek Orthodox Church …I should spit on it! Pith pith pith …
(Remember My Big Fat Greek Wedding)
I can’t wait for the fire to leave you alone! It sounds terrifying… It sounds like when the volcano erupted in Quito. We didn’t get any fire but there was ash everywhere and we could barely breathe…
Also, your reviews are always great! : )
Miss Bonnie, your reviews are good reads. No worries there. :D
Yes there is ash. Scratchy throat!
I went to a place in the Andes (Peru) (State of Ancash by Huaraz) where there was an Earthquake and mudslide that came down so fast covering the town. You could see the top of the Church and a bus suspended in the air. At one end of town, a hill which was the graveyard with a Statue of Christ like the Christ of the Andes, outstretched arms facing the town. The only people who survived were the ones who ran up to that hill.
You are all lovely people…I’m just not feeling up to par.
That fire is pretty worrisome. Perhaps you could visit out of town for a few days and get away from it?
My daughter is the only one I know and she’s 10 miles away in the same boat. The smoke is all the way to Denver 65 miles away. The thought is nice though. I just have to stay inside and wait. Keep things closed up and drink tea, take aspirin.
D’oh! Well I’ll keep you in my thoughts.
Thank you everyone! I just woke up on the couch with my chin resting in my hand…dozed off finally…tired…
My heart goes out to you and all involved in a horrible fire like that….keep your entertaining reviews coming, I always enjoy reading them!
I was really excited when Stacy put out this tea, so of course, I made another order!
The leaf is CTC, which always reminds me of grapenuts. I used to love grapenuts…nutty and sweet, just like this tea! The dry leaf smells very nutty and sweet….I could just inhale it all day. Seriously, we need candles that smell like some of these teas!
So, the directions said to steep it for 1 minute…silly CTC, but trust me, don’t ignore it!
The taste of the tea does remind me of pralines, like in Baskin Robbins pralines & cream ice cream! It’s nutty and sweet, but the sweetness isn’t sickly sweet. I almost want it to be sweeter in taste, but then it could get too sweet, so really, don’t listen to me. ;P
I’m also getting some wood and citrus notes, which lo and behold, Stacy notes for the base tea! My tastebuds are getting good! It’s bordering on astringent, but it’s not…definitely has some strength to it.
Second steep…oh this is nice. The base isn’t as strong and the flavors blend nicely. I might even like this resteep more than the first steep! It’s like the first steep would be good to enjoy as a wake up tea and the second in the afternoon with a scone. :) OMG, I really like this steep.
Stacy said she thought it would be too simplistic, but it’s actually very complex! And for those of you who make tea syrups, this would make a really yummy one (hint hint…if you do, please send me some!) ;)
Awesome! So glad you like it! I was so happy with how it came out. If you are getting a mild astringency, I would recommend to use even less tea. There is a really nice sweet spot on this tea where the praline is full and the tea is malty with no astringency. :)
I am so excited for this one!
I measured it with my cute new teaspoon (has a cat on it), but maybe I’ll try the 3/4 teaspoon next time!
Awww, that sounds adorable. 3/4 might work better or even a reduced water temp. I’m not entirely convinced that all measuring spoons provide the exact same amount.
You’re probably right about measuring spoons. I should note, my water temperature was 200 degrees. :)
I think our measuring spoons are smaller than average based on some feedback I’ve heard throughout the years.
Isn’t a tsp 5ml?
Good question, OMGsrsly. I have no idea…and nothing with small enough volumetric measure to actually measure it! One of those volumetric cylinders from chem class comes to mind!
OMGsrsly-It’s slightly under that. What I wonder is how the shape of the spoon affects the amount of leaf used. Our spoons have a very deep bowl and are narrower. So, not as much “surface area”. Leaf naturally sits slightly above the lip, so I am wondering if spoons that are wider end up with more leaf.
Oh, ok. I can see the shape causing different measurements for sure, especially with larger leafed teas. Ours are mostly labelled 5ml in Canada. I might bring one to work and measure it. For science. :)
OMGsrsly-Hmmm, maybe I should measure our teaspoon with our small liquid measuring cup to see if it is accurate.
Alright I gotta order some
Lol @ Stephanie! ;)
This sounds really good.
I just had to get up and look at this thread. I just had to order this tea and 10 others from Butiki tonight. I have not had any willpower since probably 1980.
AllanK, you are too funny! :)
Might as well get them before they’re gone AllanK!
Thank you mrmopar for this sample Puerh!
After morning prayers, a favorite way to begin my day is PUERH!
I had a choice of several samples to choose from thanks to my Steepster friend, and this one had a note that said it was a good every day Shu, mellow and thick (which I love).
I rinsed the leaves (chunky dark brown bark) 30 seconds and then for each infusion steeped 30-40 seconds in my PIAO before releasing the tea into a Gaiwan.
The wet leaves took time to break up from the bark stage into a sponge and finally a clump of chocolate brown mulch.
The wet aroma is something I love about Puerh. It’s so organic and sensual. A perfect match for my wild Highland Scot heart.
The smell began as coffee, breadish breakfast aroma then a wet wheat and hay scent on the second steep and finally a sweet pastry steam bath taming down into a grass and hay scent on the final round.
The liquor was clear and ranged from red-brown to coffee color to root beer brown on the last steep.
Each steeping was mildly scented with a savory aroma closer to light mushroom broth than earth and dirt.
Steep one, the flavor was delicate, smooth and nutty with light saltiness and sweet juicy mouthfeel. The flavor was a bit bready with a light mushroom taste.
Steep two was heavier and more savory. Full, rich, with lots of juice and a flavor that was elusive…so I came back again and again…until I found berry in the tea…a dry raspberry taste which as the tea cooled became mellow. A sweet pipe tobacco scent arrived on the finish.
The third steep was the most delicious as is often the case. Sweet and salty, savory and juicy but mild. There was a pleasent tingle on my tongue.
I added a little sweetening and thought how I would love a Thermos of Puerh like this when sitting on a beach. Somewhere like Lake Tahoe with the alpine climate and clear blue lake.
I took some photo’s, you may notice a figure on the bench…me… http://flic.kr/s/aHsjBg47K3
This Puerh is very good…the kind I would keep as an every day Puerh and I’m going to steep the rest as my ICED treat for later!
(Just in case you don’t read the notes below, mrmopar has the icon of the blue Charger so I have a clip of my first car which was a 56 Merc
so cool…with the Beach Boy’s singing… http://youtu.be/DaoMRQsQ-tw )
I’m going to try one of these soon :)
I think you’d like it. Wish you were close by because I usually have noone to sip tea with and that’s a shame. My only recourse is to teach some people. I just spoke to my Priest and I’m going to have a small group of college students from my Church over to tea taste with me and my granddaughter Schey.
I’d love to come sip some Pu with ya if i were nearby, College folks from church getting together for tea sounds like a really awesome idea, I have been trying to get a Teatime & Bible Study going around here but everyone is always too busy to come over.
hey bonnie let me know how it is iced!
I drank some cold and a little sweetened and it was almost a light honey fruit, smooth and delicious. I love puerh at about the 4th steep stage cold when they’re this type of Shu.
i think this is going on my to do list!
Love your car!!! My first car was a 56 Mercury Monterey (White and Turquoise with white roll and tuck interior…so cool!)
Here’s the closest to it…and the Beach Boys, http://youtu.be/DaoMRQsQ-tw ode to my youth!
Tommy, take it to the college or something. The group my granddaughter is in meets at the University down the street from me so I happen to be close by. Bikes and bus right outside. If it’s stop in and go, cool. I’m sharing hospitality and tea.
bonnie it is a 73 dodge challenger the result of 8 years work so far thank you for liking it!
I had a VW bug painted that blue. Really pretty. I called it cadillac blue, don’t know why. I think the bug was a 65. I had a rootbeer El Camino from the 60’s and a Ford Fairlane. Wish I had them now…I’d be rich!
Tommy and Bonnie: if I were close by I would MAKE time to come have tea with you! And invite you to tea at my house, too! :)
Good deal Ashmanra. I have some puerh to review from mrmopar and you could help me!
I liked all your pictures Bonnie – where you live it looks very peaceful.
Thank you mrmopar for this sample Pu-erh!
My education in Pu-erh has come from the generous people here on Steepster who share with me from their personal supplies of Pu-erh (like mrmopar, Roughage in the U.K. and others) and samples put in with my orders from so many vendors. Thank you all!
It’s funny to look back and remember my first experience with
Pu-erh’s.
They were so heavily flavored that I could barely detect the underlying earthiness…but it was there, and I developed a hunger for it.
This is where I began this morning. Thinking about the ignorance of the newcomer to Pu-erh. My ignorance, which I still have.
Recently on a discussion thread, someone took a shot at one of our vendors, then at me (for knowing nothing about Pu-erh).
When I read their linked blog comments they were also critical of ‘all’ of us on Steepster.
I was offended not so much for myself but everyone else.
The potshots at me were correct though. I ‘am’ a learner and I ’don’t’ know very much about tea yet.
My lack of humility suckered me into a dialog that I should have stayed out of. The people who made the comments don’t write reviews on Steepster. They just appeared out of the blue.
I’m learning about Pu-erh because of you wonderfully kind Steepster people.
One thing I swear I never want to be is a TEA SNOB! I’d rather stay right here and review tea than gain the respect of those who despise Steepsterites!
The Pu-erh for this morning:
The aroma of the wet leaves for every pour was mild shoe leather.
On all but the first steep the liquor was dark red-brown and clear.
1. After a 30 second rinse, the liquor was light brown. It was tight, compact bark waiting to open. The flavor was light cedar, a little rough and furry with a slight pepper on the tip of my tongue.
2. The flavor was much smoother but with an almost bitter chicory cedar taste. The other comparison was the thick bitter taste of dark rye bread. There was little saltiness or sweetness but lots of juice.
3. This steep produced a softer, milder cedar flavor and thickness. There was an alfalfa sprout scent and sweetness with the taste of water crackers. The earlier bitter edge was gone but the chicory was still there in a palatable mild form with a rich mouth-feel.
4. Up front there was pepper and juiciness. The flavor was similar to steeping #3 and smooth.
I thought about this Pu-erh, and even though this has been rated as ready to drink…it seems to me that it still hasn’t developed full depth. Maybe this is where it will remain though. If it were a wine I would liken it to a mild Merlot (and Merlot is NOT a dirty word, it just was overproduced in horrid amounts by every closet winemaker on earth!).
So much of what I love about Pu-erh comes from my Winery background and from living in Morgan Hill where we grew mushrooms, and were surrounded by farms and wineries. Living next to Gilroy, Salinas, Watsonville and Monterey with all the fruit, vegetables, mountains and Sea gave me a sense of what I look for in Pu-erh.
I may be wrong some of the time, or maybe all of the time but I’m certainly enjoying myself!
I have found what I really love to drink and I think the love shows.
I don’t understand the snobbery associated with anything. Everyone has to learn at some point, and not all take it as serious as a heart attack lol. Does Pu-erh taste like wine? Or it just seems to have a more natural base…
The comparison to wine was the strength of the taste, the richness. I used to describe an icky Merlot as tofu when I worked at a winery so thinking of Pu-erh in a wine frame of mind would be natural for me. The connection with the seasons and earth, the wet mash or leaves and fruit…aging and history are both attractive. My father trimmed vines in Napa in the 1920’s as a boy and my cousin has a vineyard. The association with wine is personal and probably doesn’t have much to do with flavor literally. I have flavor memory, my curse.
Sigh hugs I just read the thread. I logged onto Steepster to escape the drama on the ADF lists and Facebook. Something must be in the air.
Oh Bonnie, I just noticed that you coloured your bio! Awesome! Also, I’m totally oblivious to all the drama. You are awesome, Bonnie! (I swear DaisyChubb had commented on here too…. weird…)
Where were you when we were coloring Kittena
awhile ago? It was my 400th review! And I do appreciate you and everyone else!
I think I read that one, and saw you guys playing with colours a bit in other posts, but just noticed your bio now! It made me smile :) I’ve been really absent lately, aside from typing up some tasting notes.
<3
Interesting so it’s more the feeling of the tea. Makes me think I want to try it lol. Ahh to be rich.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the internet, it’s that relative anonymity breeds nasty behavior.
I have really enjoyed being on Steepster and getting to read about a lot of new teas, and I hope I never get to the point where I feel the need to crap on a bunch of people because I think I’m collectively “better” than them based on what kind of beverages I drink. My 2 cents.
Good for you Claire! Finn88, I can’t sent out lots of tea every month to lots of people because I’m on a fixed income. It’s the postal rates that get me. I just sent off a couple that were far away and that’s it for a few weeks. Send me a PM to remind me and I’ll send you a few samples next go around or anyone reading this chime in and see what you can do.
Oh Bonnie. That was really sweet and unexpected. Thank you. I will send you my information but believe me I completely understand the income aspect. Don’t feel pressured to have to send anything. If you would do the same I can send you what I can, although it is limited I must say.
Thanks for the review, Bonnie, and as for snobs & people who want to judge others, to hell with them! We’re all having fun here, trying new teas & trying to find the words & images to describe what we taste. We’re children of all ages, playing together & having fun. Who cares what anyone else thinks? Not me! You just keep being your wonderful open hearted self, & know that you are loved!
I need some Mandala love tonight!
This natural milk oolong is phenomenal…pure candy.
First, the dry smell is all pop corn and coconut milk. It doesn’t render that heavy dairy fragrance scented milk oolong often have, this is all natural goodness.
The first three steeps (gongfu style) are cotton candy and piña colada like, creamy and slightly fruity. The richness and sweetness really dominate.
Later, it morphs into a more floral green oolong, presenting lilac and orchid notes.
A fresh minty camphor taste is also present, slowly developing. It has lost some of its sweetness, which is a good thing, cause as you persevere into many short steeps, heavy and sweet would be just too much.
The taste lingers and lingers…
It’s making me really happy :-)
When I’m all done, I will put the spent leaves in a mason jar and cold steep in the fridge for 12 hours. Yep, this tea has a lot to give!
That sounds amazing!
This is SO going on my Mandala order when I’m on my next tea-purchasing binge. Wowzers.
Ost and Sami, you won’t regret having this one, it is now my favourite milk oolong, by far.
This is such a nice tea.
Mandala love is always coming your way, TF!
Aww, right back at you and your amazing teas Garret :-)
Oh, and I’m filling up a cart of goodness right now, will email you for shipping when I’m done…yummy!!
Ok I had to make a cup for myself, you inspired me. It’s one of my staples and always makes me happy.
Man really want this now!
Well cincin090, you should consider trying this one, it’s almost like having tea candy! (And Mandala is one of my favourite seller!!)
Travel mug #3. Almost gone :( I wish I could justify picking up more of this one, because it’s one of my favourite strawberry teas. Hopefully they’ll bring it back one day. I’m probably going to hoard my last cup until it is flavourless D: Perfect strawberry crisp flavour. Never really did pick up the rhubarb, but also never really cared.
ETA: So glad this one resists a second-infusion oversteep. Mmmm.
Preparation
Kittenna,, I agree that this one really captures the taste of strawberries, I find that other strawberry teas just turn out to taste like mixed berries most of the time…
Yeah, and the crisp flavour in here, the light cinnamon, toasty oatmeal… is perfect.
How does this one compare to Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait (that they are currently selling)?
I just did some more digging and it looks like you can still buy it… http://www.davidstea.com/portal.aspx?CN=61A404CD961D
Kittenna…you think i’d like this one? haha
You know, you might. Unfortunately I’m nearly out and rather protective… I’d love to order more but there’s the whole huge stash thing…
haha reason i was mostly asking was that imighthavebeenthinkingaboutplacingadavidsteaorder
Sil, you know… we have you on record now :P
I’m saving the email!!! Also, what else were you thinking of getting?
lime gelato/strawberry rhubarb?
Yes, I see that now, haha. Btw you can buy gift cards to hit free shipping.
hmmm…. well crap that’s good to know. Or i could try and get it from the stores…
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble is not available in any store to my knowledge, and hasn’t been for quite some time. Lime Gelato should be. If you need to pick up a gift card to hit free shipping, I can buy it off you, since I of course an always picking up new samples. I’m down to $4 from the $30 I got with my Boxing Day order.
The only alarm clock needed this morning was the bright sun! Those of us fortunate enough to live in higher altitude’s know about sun glare and the need to wear sun glasses year around. It’s really bright out today!
My condo looked like an alien spaceship was outside shining lights under the doors and windows trying to get a beam on me in my pajama’s. No deal! No alien was going to separate me from my tea cupboard!
A nice warm sunny day usually comes right before snow, someone pointed out yesterday. (Heck, we’ve had nothing but nice sunny days
for the past year!)
It’s December! The forecast looks promising for this weekend…we hope! I that December magic with a couple of inches of snow!
I have my camera ready!
The Tea:
This morning, I wanted to practice my Gaiwan skills with the new Verdant Sheng I purchased during the Black Friday sale.
I’ve been watching the new Verdant video and practicing how to pour and strain tea, shaking off all the water from the leaves so that there is none left. (Which causes bitterness in the next steeping)
I have a small 4oz. FAT (easy to handle) white Gaiwan, and I used a small amount of hard sheng (about 1.5 tsp). Boiling water.
(It is important that the water is filtered or you may have bitter tea.) A strainer is very useful. Always rinse the leaves once first.
My infusions were as quick as I could manage (5 seconds).
The liquor was a light yellow green, and the leaves smelled like sweet salty tobacco then changed and had a sweet herb scent.
The small amount of hard Sheng I used almost filled my Gaiwan half way with big green leaves when it expanded fully.
My first tasting was smoky, salty but not harsh. The scent was light tobacco, but the leaves were still tight and hard, waiting to expand. Not much to comment on as yet.
The second tasting was softer than I imagined it would be…sweet and savory on the finish with a smoky tinge and vegital something that reminded me of the feeling when drinking a Gyokuro.
For the third and forth infusions, the light smoke and saltiness settled down and an herb flavor, Greek Oregano came to mind… with a peppery bite. The tea never became dry or harsh but stayed smooth and very easy to drink.
As I went through each steeping (now on the fifth) I realized just how smooth this Sheng was. Something that I don’t always experience with a young Sheng.
The flavors were rolling around in my head for a long time because there was a definite umami quality about it!
There, I’ve said it!
Usually this is only a term used for Green Tea, but I experienced umami as this tea hit all the sweet, salty, savory, slightly bitter taste points.
This reminded me of roasting root vegetables like potato, red onions, sweet potato, parsnips with olive oil and butter, Greek oregano and sea salt. The vegetables retain the savory quality but roasting brings out the sweetness and smokiness too.
One thing that I don’t understand much about is aging Pu’er. That’s something I have to study up on. Right now though, this is a tasty
Sheng. You just have to be careful not to oversteep or you’ll have a bitter cup.
YAY! I knew I wasn’t crazy lol. I agree, ‘umami’ is a usually a green tea characteristic but I have found some Puerh that wear it. I like it, it is soothing in my opinion.
YAY! That mean’s that I’m not crazy too, or we’re BOTH crazy!
LOL! SHHHHH! They are not supposed to know that. But honestly, I really like it, no matter how unexpected it was for me. It was very welcomed. In my experience, the ones with this trait have a longer than regular aftertaste, and as time passes it starts to become sweeter like you would have expected the aftertaste to be.
After reading your review, I wonder if I get bitterness a lot because I overleaf? When I did mine (I don’t have a scale) it ended up filling my entire cup when it was fully expanded. And just so you too know, I read nothing :)
I’ve begun using a very minimal amount of leaf with puerh and enjoy it a lot more. There’s even touchas that I cut in half to maximize flavor for me.
Invader- I don’t read notes before either as a rule. I do read brewing instructions on regular tea’s though but not information on taste. I like to make up my own mind and see how it compares. I’m more at ease with how much Shu Pu’er to use and how long to let it steep. I like mine a bit on the stronger side so no cutting Shu Tuo cha’s in half for me Whispering Pines. You can’t do the stronger brewing with a Sheng or the hairs on your head will raise up like Alfalfa from the Little Rascals. (I lost some of you with that reference!) That’s where cutting back a little works better for me too.
Lol, Bonnie, when I said I read nothing, I meant of how you two are crazy! But I don’t read reviews before trying teas either. I like mine a little less strong, but I think I will start using less leaf, especially for shengs. And my hair is short enough that it does look like Alfalfa in the morning! No reference lost on me!
Me? Crazy? Heh, you tawkn to me?
Nice review, as always, Ms. Bonnie. I haven’t tried this one yet, I was gonna drink it today, but I realized I was more in the mood for a Shu. Even though I’m still fairly new to Puer, it feels good to know which type I was in the mood for!
I’m finding that with Shu’s I usually go with 5grams of tea in my 4 oz Gaiwan, whereas with Shengs I want much less. Still not sure how much yet. 5 grams was WAY too much, even with the shortest possible steeping, 4 grams still seemed too strong, so I’m gonna try 3 next time.
Good idea. This one I think less is more. My own opinion though.
Teachat has some good threads about aging puerh if you’re interested.
I guess I missed the ‘slamming’, must have happened when I was off playing gigs somewhere.
I find that with tea, as with all other things in my life, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder (or in this case the taste buds, etc). A tea that I love might be a total turnoff to another sipper. The price I am willing to pay, the place I put my trust (as in tea purveyors), those are things that are subject to my own experience, & no one else’s. We all share our experiences & preferences here, in what I consider a loving & open hearted community, but only I can determine what my tastes are, if it’s worth the cost, how it makes me feel, etc. I Love Verdant, more than anything because of the commitment to the authentic & unique artisan ideal, but also because the teas are awesome. I love the educational element as well.
So the bottom line, for anyone, is “Do I like this? Is it worth the price for ME?” If not, don’t buy it. No need to trash a person, or a company, just give your opinion in an open hearted way, and try something else.
Drum-roll please…. I’m back! I had a wonderful vacation in Europe. I even got to try delicious new teas from new places! Reviews coming soon! :) When I got back I found a nice big bag of samples from Teavivre waiting for me! What a great way to end your vacation! Admitedly I am swamped with work but I will make time for tea and Steepster. I missed you all while I was away!
This is the first tea from the samples that I have decided to try. I chose it randomly, and I have to admit that I am a pretty good random chooser (if I may say so myself!)!! hahaha… This tea is delicious!
The leaves are long and elegant. The dark brown and golden yellow make the leaves a pleasure to look at. The smell is incredible… It is a combination of extreme maltiness a hint of chocolate and a dash of honey. It is a party in your nose! My mouth couldn’t wait to join in!
The scent while brewing is spectacular, an extension of the deliciousness of the dry leaves. Once brewed the used leaves turn true golden and the golden brow liquor that they produce smells of fresh baked chocolate bread! I am in love… Unsweetened I get a tiny bit of welcome bitterness followed by the taste of fresh baked bread with just the right amount of maltiness and a hint of honey to finish of the sip. Wow… Sweetened a chocolate note becomes apparent and it is pleasure in a tea cup.
The second steep is just as delicious, but not quite as bold in flavor. I find it, surprisingly, a tad bit more astringent than the first, but still delightful.
This tea makes you double check if it is flavored… I really felt like I was eating freshly baked chocolate bread with honey!
A great welcome back tea! :)
Preparation
Welcome back!
We missed you.
Glad to have you back!
:) I’s soooo happy to be back in touch with everyone! I have a whole lot of reading reviews to catch up on! I am looking forward to it!
Good random chooser indeed :)
Welcome back! Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip. :D
Yay! Welcome back! :)
Woohoo! 300th tasting note!
I always hesitate to buy ginger tea. It just doesn’t seem like something that I’d like, but every time I drink it, I enjoy it. I tend to only drink ginger tea when my throat feels sore (although I’m starting to think I should drink it more often). This one is particularly effective, the warmth of the ginger, the peppercorns, and the other ingredients are a welcome sensation to soothe my throat.
Sometimes I’m not sure if my sore throat is because I’m dehydrated, or if maybe I’m fighting something off. Thankfully, this tea takes care of both issues. Tonight I suspect I’m just a little dehydrated, but the guy who sneezed on my neck while I was on the skytrain does make me a little nervous :O
Congratulations!
very exciting!
ew! just read the last line of your post…. i hope you gave him the stare equivalent of a whallop and lectured him on good manners! (and personal space)
Hooray for your 300th review!!!
300 Yay! Sneezy guy boo!
Congrats on 300!
Thanks everyone :D
@JustJames- No lecture (he was wearing headphones), but a few of the passengers (including me) gave him a disgusted look – he seemed oblivious. I can’t fault him on the personal space because the skytrain was pretty full, but not covering his mouth -ugh!
Yay! Congrats on reaching 300!
Oh, I totally would have sneezed right back on him! :P
@CHAroma – bahahaha! That would have been awesome!
Félicitations Canadianadia!
Merci Beaucoup :)
travelling tea box A!
and in other news – this is the 975th different tea that i’ve had (to pull a shmiracles), if steepster is to be believed.
**also in other news i totally lost my train of thought because someone’s facebook status made me laugh a lot. You know how there are words out there that people clearly don’t know what they are…how to spell them etc.. and you kind of shake your head and go with it? Well i never though i’d see the day that obstacles (a fairly “easy” word) was spelled wrong. Oppsticals. And yes..sometimes people have learning disorders and crap..not mocking the world but this was clearly from one of my friends who doesn’t know the word is obstacles, rather than her being unable to spell it properly. like my friend who thought it was “for all intensive purposes” instead of “intents and purposes” that sort of thing.
….holy tangent batman. So anyway…this tea? reminds me of i think? it’s palais de the’s toffee tea. I think? there’s something i’ve had that reminds me of this. The tea is not really buttered rum, and it’s a bit on the astringent side. it might fare better with a little cream or something but i prefer teas that i can drink straight.
Not sure what it is about this community, everyone here has good writing skills. As an ex-English teacher, this gives me great hope that writing is not a dying art.
oh god i hope not. u no its herd to rite gud. ;)
Sil. I laughed out loud. I am an ESL kid but I’m happy to say I keep up with the best of them!
I love when I find things like that. Seems to happen a lot with phrases that people hear but have never seen written down and especially when they don’t understand what the words themselves mean.
Glad you laughed! I mean no disrespect to folks who do suffer from learning disabilities as I can’t even imagine having to cope with that sort of thing in life. My friend suffers no such thing though, so i’m allowed to make fun of her just a little. Reminds me of those times when someone sings a song out loud and you’re like uh, those aren’t the words…. haha
Nicole – so true! but the word obstacles totally floored me. it seems like one of those words i use every other day haha
Haha! Every form of variation language is a legitimate form of expression. The key is to get others to understand you and your intent. Maybe your was trying to express herself creatively. :)
Speaking of Rum, International Talk Like a Pirate Day is right around the corner!!!!! We need to recruit a bunch of people to be pirates for the day, reviewing teas in character! And come up with an appropriate collection of teas…like anything with “Rum” in the name, Black Dragon Pearl, Hmmmm….what else?
fine, fine…i konseede! see what i did there :P
Terri – that day also happens to be my 4 year anniversary with smelly over here ;) he picked the day haha i told him when we get married…we are NOT doing it on the same day!
I know, you told me! LOL!
that would be an AWESOME wedding. :)
nonononononononononononono…
unless you’re going to bake for it nicole!
..and terri can sing and play pirate themed harp music!
If you get married on Int. Talk Like a Pirate Day, I will come to your wedding. We’ll have to find someone locally that has a Harp to rent to me, & you’d better plan it a year in advance, cuz Sept is one of those months that books up early. But I’ll do it! I’ll dress up like a pirate wench, & play music from all the Pirates of the Caribean movies, & sing “yo ho yo ho, a Pirates life for me!”. I think you should do it, & totally carry out the pirate theme to the max!
Arrrr, me mateys. Does rum in my maple “Hong Kong” style iced tea count?
Lol I love you guys!
OMGsrsly, hell yeah!
This really is the best community ever! :)
Don’t know how I missed this continuing discussion. :) I would soooo come to Canada to bake for a pirate wedding! A treasure chest wedding cake with golden coin cookies or mints, tea based grog… oh, yes, I can see it. :)
I made teatinis for guests yesterday and this tea with Kettle One Vodka was a huge success! I made 8oz of tea and doubled the amount of tea I would normally use plus I added 2 tablespoons of brown crystal sugar while it was steeping. Then added vodka and ice until the shaker was full and shook it. Made about 3 martinis. It came out amazing. It had the perfect sweetness with burned caramel notes, black tea, and the coconut and banana flavors. The vodka was hardly noticeable. The martinis were a huge hit! Will definitely have to come up with a recipe.
Nice! I want to come to your house… :)
awesome! sounds delicious!
It was fantastic! I will have to make more tonight and take pics and come up with a real recipe. :)
What a great idea! I may have to try that sometime. Will you post the “finalized” recipe?
mj-absolutely! :)
Sounds awesome! (Other than the coconut…)
That’s my kind of tea-party!!!
I think this sounds soooo goood. I bet it’d be good with rum or bourbon instead of vodka as well, might pair nicely with the coconut.
Another new tea! One I’ve been wanting to try for a while. A Japanese oolong… intriguing!
So I really had no idea what to expect with this tea. Some sort of oolongy flavour, obviously, but that’s about it. However, this tea is absolutely delicious. The aroma is light and sweet, and so is the flavour. Lightly caramelly, a bit oolongy… enough that I would probably describe it as an oolong in a blind taste test, anyway. No astringency whatsoever, just very smooth. It’s also not particularly floral.
What’s bugging me the most about this tea is that it seems quite familiar, but I have no idea what it’s reminding me of. My best guess, based honestly entirely on memory, is that it’s like Butiki’s Sparrow Tongue Oolong. I suppose the best way to test out that theory would be to make Sil try a cup of it :D Anyways, this is pretty freaking tasty, and I’m very happy to have at least a few more cups left in this sample packet. Indigobloom – I think you picked some of this up too, and I’m kind of glad we didn’t split a packet! More for me!
Additional infusions to come :)
ETA: Second infusion, with the same parameters, is pretty good, but doesn’t beat the first. A bit more tea flavour, perhaps, but some of the delicious sweetness is gone.
Preparation
OoooOooo!
Tealux is quickly becoming one of my favorite companies.
Kittenna, I’m not even half through my last order with them but I’m still contemplating the idea of taking advantage of their 25% off sale this week end. Please, can someone stop me?? In desperate needs of arguments to help resist…
@TheTeaFairy Chill! It’s not like they can’t grow more of it. The tea isn’t going anywhere. There will be other sales. There will always be tea.
Best argument? Their teas are not really limited edition, and they seem to have sales quite frequently. Wait until your stash is smaller, and then keep your eye out for a sale. I’ve seen 20-25% off sales with enough frequency that I wouldn’t be too worried about missing this one!
Haha! Thank you guys, great arguments, I really feel the urge dissipating now, I’m chillin… (NOT!)
I just bought 12 samples. So excited to try them out. :)
Have to ask before I jump on the bandwagon (in June)….how is their shipping costs for a bunch of samples. I know they advertise free shipping over 60 dollars (I think)
Mmmm I’m drinking this now. Though my packet doesn’t say takachiho,so I wonder if its the exact same? Hmmmm.
It is. The packets just aren’t well-labeled.
Merry belated, Steepsterites!
We had English Christmas this year which involved roast turkey dinner, Christmas pudding (Americans, what do you traditionally eat for your Christmas dinner?), lots of presents, Morris dancing in a pub carpark in the village and a pantomime in Ipswich during which I even took part in the shouting and booing (Oh yes I did!), and my bestest best present this year was a Kindle Paperwhite which I’ve been playing with today. I’m still at the stage of learning how to use it, but I have discovered that I can charge the battery using my phone charger and how to download classics for free from Project Gutenberg. And in case anybody was wondering, we were nowhere near any of the flooded areas and had power the entire time.
Before Christmas, however, I received a very sweet Christmas card from Sil who had decided to spoil me with a couple of samples of vanilla flavoured black tea. This is one of them.
It smells very sweet and vanilla-y, but also, I think, a little caramel-y. There is also an aroma as if it has a very powerful base or possibly a slightly smoky base, but I think that might be something to do with what I’ve had in this mug earlier today, so I don’t think it really belongs. (Mind you, it does smell rather like a sort of base that would be lovely with some added flavouring.)
Upon sipping… regards cup suspiciously it does actually seem to have a rather strong base. It tastes very Black Tea. All grain-y and full bodied. It’s a bit Assam-y and the vanilla is also coming out in the same sort of way that it often does on an Assam base, so if this is not Assam, I think it might be something fairly similar. And yes, I know I mentioned something earlier about having had something in this mug earlier this afternoon that may have ‘bled’ aromas into this cup, but I don’t think this experience has anything to do with that previous cup. That one was nothing like any sort of Assam at all, you see.
Anyway it strikes me as something along the lines of a vanilla-flavoured Assam, and I think Assam makes a really good vanilla base and provides a generally good experience. I’m very pleased with this tea.
I don’t know about the States, but here in Canada the usual supper is either glazed ham or turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce accompanied by mashed potatoes and various other veggie side dishes like brussel sprouts (ew). My mom also makes this delicious dish of baked acorn squash and apples.
I’m glad you enjoyed it :)
Happy holidays to you too! Jillian’s right about Canada. My family also prepares various Ukrainian dishes. Desserts vary with every family, I think? Usually cookies are common. My grandma also made lemon pie this year.
That sounds like just about every fancy Christmas dinner I’ve ever had here in Canada. This year, my Aunt made a Pecan and Pumpkin pie for dessert. My Mom tends to make croissants with “Holiday Dip” (it’s like this cream cheese type dip but with cranberry in it too) for dessert.
Sounds like an awesome fun time!
Tony’s xmas dinner for his kids was a spread of lunchmeats, cheeses, breads, various olives, etc.
Me & my kids do xmas breakfast. When they were younger it was Kugle (kind of like mac & cheese, only with apples & cinnamon added), fruit salad, scones. We used to also do a turkey dinner, pretty much a repeat of thanksgiving.
Most American dinners are very similar to the one Jillian described and as Terri noted, pretty much the same as Thanksgiving dinners. In my mom’s family, we often skip the turkey and have a pork roast of some kind instead. This year it was a fantastic pork wellington stuffed with apples and wrapped with pancetta.
When my parents were living it seemed like a replay of Thanksgiving with turkey. Now…I changed it all to ribs! We’re a blended ethnic family AND Eastern Orthodox Christians. We observe the traditional 6 week Nativity Fast and don’t eat meat or dairy until Christmas day (little ones have dairy). African-American Soul Food for dinner and Scots Eggs with scones for brunch is how we FEAST! (The Russians and Ukrainians held a 12 dish dinner at Church Christmas Eve after Liturgy).
This year for New Year’s Day I’m making (Greek) Vasilopita (St. Basil’s Bread) with a coin in it. You can see a picture and get the recipe on my Pinterest under Bonnie Johnstone…Eastern Orthodox Food board.
Thanksgiving with my parents is usually turkey and the traditional sides. Christmas is turkey and prime rib roast, along with crab. This year, my brother decided he wanted filet mignon roast as a side dish to the other two meats.
For us its usually Turkey of some sort, with mash potatoes, vegetables of some sort, red cabbage, salad, and sometimes. Turnip. When I was little we would often have carrot pudding, or mincemeat tart for dessert, but now it’s usually lemon cake and cookies sent by one on aunts great aunts from Germany, My uncle usually brings Shrimp. If at one of my other Aunts it turns into a three day gourmet fest competition between her and her sisters with Champagne breakfast, and meal consisting of pancetta stuffed roast in mediera, and poultry of all sorts. Very dangerous… Though one year we had a Vegetarian Christmas when my cousin was going through her continental vegetarian phase. To be quite honest though at that time I rarely ate meat as well.
Everyone’s food sounds great! I am always alone for New Year’s. It’s been this way for a long time. Sooooo, if you get depressed…drop me a note. I don’t get depressed, but I’ll be glad to keep your company!
Most of my life, Christmas dinner was pretty much a replay of Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, candied yams or sweet potato casserole, rolls, cakes, pies. But for the past few years I have been making eye of round roast instead, as the family seemed to tire of the turkey leftovers too quickly since they had just had them a few weeks before. Of course, gravy and mashed potatoes are still a MUST because it is some of the best food on Earth! We had creamed spinach and always macaroni and cheese with both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, as well as usually corn on the cob.
OH MY GOODNESS
I prepared a cup of this sample from Stacy and it was amazing…so much so that I didn’t trust my own judgement alone.
I’ll tell you what it isn’t first. It’s NOT malty, yammy or chocolate. This black tea is unique. I’ve never tasted a black tea like this one before! I’ve had some outstanding black tea’s. They hit every mark that a great black tea should achieve and I’ve been happy (and I love my malty, chocolaty black tea’s).
Then Stacy sent this sample and it was different than the rest.
I had a little bit of tea left in the sample packet, enough for a
4oz. gaiwan at my Tea House, so I took the rest there Saturday Night.
I waited until everyone was gone except Preston, Joe, Sam and I.
Preston heated the gaiwan, put the long,wiry tea leaves into it and waited for them to warm up for scenting.
Then he lifted the top, put his nose down to smell the aroma, and said, “WAFFLES!”
Yep! Each of us sniffed the leaves and they smelled like the best Belgian WAFFLES ever! I couldn’t believe how delicious the aroma was.
The first steep was sweet, tasting like cotton candy or powdered sugar with an ice cream milkiness…thickening in the mouth in a delightful way. Such a dessert-like tea! Sweet and smooth.
The expression on Sam and Joe’s faces, and the “WOW, THIS IS FANTASTIC!”, (Said with gusto) isn’t something I hear from these young men.
I took a whiff of the wet leaves…coriander, honey maple syrup…interesting.
A second steep had a golden raisin flavor with muscat-honey syrup and butter. Thick in the back of the mouth and not cloying. I thought of sweet cornbread and honey-butter.
I didn’t have enough leaves to continue…and I want more. TEA!
We all want more. The raving (craving) about this tea carried over to today. Joe told Eric how amazing the flavor was.
By what magic Stacy acquired this tea, I have no idea, but let me tell you… when this becomes available on the Butiki Site, do all you can to get a hold of it before it’s gone!
It’s Golden Globe, Academy Award…you name it, this tea has it all.
Winner, Fabulous, Must Have in my Cabinet Forever!
I want to know from Stacy when this is going to be available because I want some right away!!!!!
Man, that tea must be horrible!!! Glad I know not to waste my money on this one ;P
HAHAHA! Yep, ignore this…leave it all to me!!!!
Bonnie-Glad you like this one! I love this one too! Like our Gui Fei & Mi Xian Black, this too has been bitten by leaf hoppers but it is different in that it is a wild tea and is pretty limited in quantity.
It should be up on our website later this week though we do have it in stock now, so it can be purchased now.
I don’t see it so maybe you can send me some info.
Its not on our website yet, but will be later this week but we do have it in stock. I haven’t written the description yet but would be happy to send you any info. What info are you looking for?
I sent you an e-mail
wow, this sounds delicious. I haven’t ordered any Butiki in a long time…..my credit card is screaming NOOOOO right now! lol
waffle tea! I wonder if it’d go well in a simple syrup drizzled over a hot plate of waffles :P
gross gross gross
This post has given me an idea… Now I want to make Northern Iced Tea tea-sicles. Sorry you didn’t like this tea, but tea-sicles sound awesome!
Tea-sicles are awesome, you just need to choose the right tea – this wasn’t it. :((
Haha! Somehow, I’m not surprised Dexter!!
Sars, you should look at dexter’s review from yesterday :-)
http://steepster.com/Dexter/posts/254147#comments
Why do I need to do TWO cans of the coconut milk? Is there not enough in one can to make it whip? Or is it just soooooo good that you HAVE TO HAVE MORE? Thinking about hazlenut tea-sicles with this cream…
Thanks TTF!!!!!
(I have special dark in the fridge cold steeping…..hmmmmmm)
EXACTLY! Way too good to make only one can, hehe…let me know what you think…hazelnut would be awesome…I can even see special dark with maple syrup and that cream!!
(Is this the right time to admit that I don’t really do maple syrup – it just seems so un-Canadian of me, but I don’t really like it that much…)
Whaaaat? Next you’re going to tell me you don’t like hockey. Is not liking maple syrup even legal in Canada? :)
I also don’t really do maple syrup…..
No hockey I like (that IS ILLEGAL here) Go Jets – I know, I don’t really HATE it, just not something I seek out, I never buy it….
Yay – happy to have a friend here mj – lol will move down there if I get kicked out for this admission. ;))
Oh thank goodness. I was starting to think you might not even be Canadian. :p
If the US kicks me out, I’d go to Canada. I love hockey AND maple syrup, so I think I’d fit in. :)
LOL, if you get kicked out, come on down and we’ll hang out at Verdant :)
LOL Sars if that ever happened come on up – you’d fit right in!!!
Just for the record…it is illegal to not like maple syrup here….the only reason why Dexter gets away with it is because of her awesomeness.
Sars, you’d totally fit in…and so would you mj, I forgive your maple dislike…cause we are tea pot twins :-)
I was just talking about the possibility of a trip to Minneapolis and area today – would really like to do a week and hit both Verdant, and Mandala – maybe a baseball game, shopping at Albertville, German food at that restaurant I love but can’t think of the name of right now….
Gasthof Zur Gemutlichkeit – yes I had to look it up – but it’s tons of fun, really like it there…
Yes, it’s super fun!! Love that place :-). I have lots more Minneapolis tips if you decide to make the trip!
Like you definitely need to add Glam Doll Donuts to that list
Thanks – it’s just interesting that we were talking about it earlier, and now again tonight – weird how that works. I LOVE Minneapolis, I’ve been quite a few time, but not since my TEA ADDICTION happened, so haven’t done the Verdant thing. That’s almost enough to make the trip worthwhile, not to mention all the other fun things to do…
Glam Doll Donuts – OMG I would LOVE that – I also got excited when I saw the Nicollet address, but it’s not really in the mall, downtown area, but close enough to find!!!!
Minneapolis is pretty fun when it’s not winter lol. Nope, Glam Doll is not downtown but it’d be easy to bus there and trust me, it’d definitely be worth it!