Popular Tasting Notes
What a beautiful, unusual tea!
I’ve got two tea gift bags and a swap package sitting next to me, so whatever it is I’m smelling is delicious – and likely something other than the tea I’m drinking. ;)
Huge green leaves, chunks of what look like potato and something else? are in this blend. Steeped, it was a very, very light color, which surprised me – I actually opened up the Breville to make sure the tea had steeped properly. It did.
I can taste the tea foremost (lovely!), the applesauce, and something very latke-ish. It’s comforting, sweet and full, like biting into a potato almost, although I find there’s little taste there the few times I have eaten a raw potato, so it’s more the mouthfeel I’m comparing it to than anything. I added sweetener only because I’m a huge applesauce fan, and because we used to make our latkes like they were applesauce with latkes instead of the other way around.
Interesting note, of only semi-relation to the tea: I was raised with little to no religious instruction or guidance. I knew there was a story there, however my parents both passed before I really was able to get any sort of fleshed out details, and asking the family members left was… puzzling and, well, met with negative reactions. We celebrated Christmas and Easter, occasionally went to midnight mass (my Dad was Italian Catholic, my Mom, Dutch), and then for a few years we attended these amazing get-togethers at what I think was UBC’s Museum of Anthropology, where we made dreidels, ate latkes and listened to people sing in Hebrew. It was magical and a whole lot of fun.
Fast forward to a few years ago when I’m in Seattle attending film school, and I meet a Jewish man that I end up writing a rom-com with. It’s Friday night Shabbat, and as he joins me in the ceremony, I start crying. Quietly. I realize, in that moment, I am Jewish, and that this is something I’ve done many times before, yet had zero idea why, or even when. I kept quiet, wiped my tears, and went on with the evening.
Later, I received confirmation that yes, my Mother’s mother was Jewish and therefore I am as well. Long story short, a great uncle of mine along with my grandfather, published Mein Kampf in Dutch to avert the authorities from realizing they were Jewish. I have a cousin in her 80s in Amsterdam who still runs the bookstore and art shop where this all went down. I should note that this all occurred before my Mom was born – the beauty of having a family so large there’s a generation that divides them.
Anyway. This tea is an emotional one for me, for many of the reasons listed above. I am thankful to all of you who chose to read this novel of a tealog, to Stacy for making it, and for the opportunity to share these details (for the first time in public) here. Chag Sameach!
Preparation
Thanks to Lena for sharing this with me!
First off, the dry leaves (balls) smell like someone sprinkled cocoa on them… not my cat but rather the baking powder. Really surprising. I had a little trouble getting the right amount for my cup because I weigh my tea. I had to shuffle around a combination of 5 different balls (ahem) to get my 2.3g for 6oz that I wanted. The large and irregular ball size could be a problem for me. Or else I need to relax. (Probably that last one).
Once I got them in the pot, I was good to go. I was also way too entertained by watching the balls open. How do they get the leaves to stick like that? Anyone? Way too easily entertained.
The smell of the tea post-brewing is much earthier than the smell of the dry leaves. And I don’t get the strong cocoa flavor/smell anymore except as a bit of the aftertaste. It does have a little bitterness to it that reminds me of cocoa, though. Not a bad bitterness, just an unsweetened chocolate bitterness. But without the chocolate.
All in all, I like it. It’s smooth and has a good, complex flavor. Not really knock my socks off with flavor or anything but I think this is probably something I’d get to have every so often as part of a black tea rotation. Not a have to have on hand at all times kind of thing but something to bring in occasionally, use up, then move on to a couple more before ordering it again.
And if I haven’t babbled enough – my next door neighbor is trying to start the motor on his sail boat. Yes, it has been raining all day, but it isn’t that bad yet.
You’ve been shuffling balls around, then, have you? This tea has been great, at the very least because the “ball” per tasting note count has skyrocketed on this site.
I’ve been using between five and seven balls per 8 ounce cup. Perhaps I’m just a ballsy kind of woman. The more I drink this tea, the more I like it.
No idea how they make them but I love watching jasmine pearls unfurl in my mug. There’s something terribly ‘zen’ about it.
I missed the promo-thingy on these guys unfortuntely but they sound interesting enough that I might buy them the next time I order from Adagio.
@takgoti: And there are sooo many jokes that this tea encourages me to make. That’s a total plus!
@Carolyn: I think 7 balls would scare me. That’s gotta be a fairly stout tea, yes?
@Jillian: These seemed fuzzier to me as they open compared to the jasmine pearls but that could have just been because of the size. Still, so fun.
This tea makes me wish Adagio sold something between the sample size and the 4oz tin (well, 5oz for this tea).
@Auggy: It brews up black as death with 7 balls and it produces a very stout, very caffeinated cup but not all that bitter. (Or at least it is bitter in a good, chocolatey way, not an unpleasant way.) It has a real body to it.
I’ve only drunk it at work where the water temperature gets to 190 degrees max, so that may be part of why 7 balls works.
I’m sort of tempted to try what I will now think of as Carolyn’s Black Balls of Death brew.
@Auggy: You make it sound almost like an STD! XD
/Sorry, my sense of humor isn’t very sophisticated when I’m this tired.
Haha – and please! I snicker every time I type “balls”! You ARE the sophisticated one here!
I’m really glad that I’m not alone when it comes to this kind of stuff. When I was in choir, we had to sing this song in Latin that had the word poenis [where the o and e are squished together – I don’t know how to do that on here without it involving more work than its worth]. It wasn’t even pronounced like what I think you know I’m getting to [poe-niece, if I remember correctly], but EVERY TIME, I would LOSE IT. And I’d make whoever was next to me start to lose it. Not too helpful when you’re trying to be all serious and dynamic and choir-y.
As for “Carolyn’s Black Balls of Death,” well done. I think that has a really nice ring to it. Someone should edit the tea name.
I would ask what a poenis is… but in my world I already know the answer.
Hehe.
Auggy, glad to see I’m not the only one here that weighs her tea!:) Mine has a .01 accuracy so I go for 2.25g/6oz. Although these balls are so dense I just round up and don’t sift thru them.
My scale is only accurate to .1g but I normally go for my normal 2.3g but sometimes I let it go of by .1… These little balls are tricky though! I think I just called it good at 2.5g after a few swaps and resisted the urge to dig through to get me the balls that would put me right at 2.3.
High-strung? Who, me? Nooooo.
I have this scale, I’m addicted to it! http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-AMW-100-Precision-Calibration/dp/B001ODPFXE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1258166818&sr=8-3
Nice! I have one of the My Weigh pocket scales… I’ll admit, I felt like Amazon thought I was a drug dealer when I bought it.
Why’s that?
I tend to think that more people buy inexpensive, small weight scales to weigh their drugs into friendly, deal-able amounts than those that use them to measure tea.
Of course, there could be dealers out there that are big time into tea and they get a 2-for-1 deal. Bonus!
lol, maybe they sell ‘special’ tea. ;)
Well I guess, if you want to automatically assume that they use those scales for drugs then don’t be surprised if amazon does as well. I; however, think tha’s very judgemental.
Okay then.
Wow. I’m surprised the mugs don’t dissolve with the amount of this tea you all are using. I made a pot tonight – 5 balls for a one pint pot.
And reading all of the comments on this tea, I am beginning to understand why Adagio refers to this tea as “pearls.” Dragon balls would be just way too entertaining.
I weighed them and to get 2.3 – 2.5 g I needed per cup was 3 balls. I was somewhat surprised but the tea is good so I run with it! :)
Auggy, how did I miss this epic post until now?! STDs, poenis, and drug dealing (and related “judgmental”-ness), oh my!
Thank you for commenting on this because it made me reread it all and laugh. So fun!
This stuff must have crack in it.
There is no other reason that I would wind up craving what is, basically, a genmaicha. I don’t really like genmaicha. But this? SO GOOD. All it takes is for someone to mention it and suddenly I’m thinking, “Mmm, that sounds good. I need to make some.” And then I’m turning the Zojirushi down and pulling this out.
While it brews I think, “It can’t possibly be as good as I remember. It’s a genmaicha. Sure, with matcha but that’s never improved the experience for me before.” By the time I’ve pretty much determined that this is really just a standard tea and no, I must have been nuts the previous times, my little timer goes off and it’s time to go have some tea.
So I take the first sip. “Popcorn-y. Yep, normal. But wait… Ooo, that end taste is sweet and delicious. Need more of that.” Second sip. “Mmm, that’s creamy. And what is that aftertaste? YUM.” Third sip. “Mmm, milky. Sweet and toasty and creamy. And sweet. Ooh, and milky. This is sooo good.” And suddenly I’m holding my saucer because the side table is too far away for my cup to go in between sips. If I didn’t look at this tea I would swear it had been made with milk, not water. It is that milky/creamy.
And now my cup is empty and I am revealing in the joy of the afterwarmth for a few before I go get a second steep ready.
See, crack. There is no other explanation.
Preparation
Crack lol! I’m thinking the same thing about matcha and mecha.:)
Trying this again…
<3 genmaicha. This is definitely not something you can keep drinking. I mean on a daily basis (at least for me). Samovar needs free shipping so I can just purchase a tin of this!
evil grin Well, Ricky, Samovar DOES have free shipping if you buy one of their gift sets!
Aww, we’re exchanging holiday gifts?!?! Thanks teaplz! ;) I promise I’ll act surprised when I receive it in the mail.
Weeeeell…. There is free shipping for orders over $99. But it’d probably be take a lot of Ryokucha to get to that point.
Teaplz- you haven’t tempted me… til now. I’d never been on Samovar’s site before so I went looking. And found the matcha mill! must have.=P
I can’t believe my order won’t get to me before I’m gone south for the holidays. This will be sitting here at my building in Boston for 3 weeks. It is to weep.
Oh dear, it must have crack in it ;-) Sounds like something way too addictive. Must. Stay. Away.
Oh crap. The crack was supposed to go in the other package. The OTHER package! Stupid stupid stupid!
Oooh! You make this sound so amazing. Genmaicha is actually my favorite Japanese tea. I love it! And I’ve had it with matcha mixed in before but I don’t remember it being as good as you say this stuff is.
Gah!! The next payday I have… after I find a job, that is… at least half that check is probably going to Samovar. Such rampant irresponsibility! Although I can’t say that’s in conflict with my character. =\
I’m honestly not a big genmaicha fan, with or without matcha. But this? Love. Crave even. Crack. So good. And creamy. And now I want some but it is much too late.
Just have some, it’s worth it. Bouncing off walls for hours? Totally worth it :D
Soooo…last night I bought myself a BIG early birthday present….and it isn’t even tea related! http://www.scrangie.com/2012/10/official-announcement-for-opis-holiday.html All of them. Every single one. I had forgotten how much I love James Bond movies. I think I got through around 1/3 of the older ones once but sadly Netflix Instant is horribly lacking. Out of the new ones I’ve only seen Casino Royale, aka how I found my girl crush. I CAN’T WAIT FOR THEM TO GET HERE.
I actually completely forgot I made this tea and started writing the progress report for my group. And it sucks. So I feel bad but whatever but the entire thing has just been an entire whatever. Thankfully this tea doesn’t really care if you let it cool off because it is still tasty.
This brews up really light but the flavor is so good. It’s a very strong lychee flavor, and I can’t taste any oolong because I feel its floral notes got bumped right into the lychee! I’m going to give it another steep while I try to clean up my place a bit…hopefully find a place to put all these teas!
OOOOOOOOOOOOH I love the Maroon! I should have the Goldfinger though since it was my first date ever in High School!
Happy early Birthday! (I still think Sean Connery was the best Bond!)
Ohhh I love Skyfall and Tomorrow Never Dies! Lovely! Happy for you and your purchase!
might I just add, Madam, that you have excellent taste !
The World Is Not Enough is so pretty
Happy early birthday!
Ooh, you can be a Bond Girl every day of the week now with all these different colors!
I agree with Bonnie as for the best James, but I must say that Daniel Craig does capture my attention…he’s not your classic jock, but man, just can’t get enough of those piercing blue eyes!
Haha, I definitely missed the ‘early birthday’ part! Happy almost-birthday! I assume you will announce to Steepster when it actually is for some proper birthday wishes :D
I have a dear friend who loves rainy and cloudy days. She finds them romantic. I always think of her when it is cloudy, which is the only good thing I can find about repeated cloudy days.
The sun is like a drug for me. When we lived in a duplex, I kept my nose pressed against the glass of the window looking outside. An older man down the street saved my sanity by telling me that I was welcome to come and wheel the baby around his lake anytime I wanted.
On the first warm days of spring I bare my arms and look toward the sun with closed eyes and feel my brain start pumping out all kinds of feel good chemicals.
So four days straight of heavy cloud cover is not sitting well. Plus, these are our first really truly chilly days.
IRISH BREAKFAST TO THE RESCUE! A whole pot to myself, taken with milk and sugar, to fortify me until the sun returns! You know, a pot of tea really does make the day more romantic. Now if I could just settle in with a good book instead of having to teach geometry to my little geometry-atheist…
Oh, she just refuted my last statement, saying that she isn’t a geometry atheist as she knows all too well that it exists. So, would she be called an anageometer? An anti-geometrist? Conscientious objector? I think she needs tea. Off to put kettle on….
Ha! I am with your friend.
I need the rain, and mist and fog.
(and on a more serious note, my breathing issues actually disappear when there is more humidity in there air)
Of course, I am currently living in a high desert where rain is very very infrequent.
Oh, well!
Would you like to trade places for a few days? LOL! (But only if you finish painting the kitchen while I am basking in your sun! Hehe)
Hey! I am weird and I love painting, so its a deal:)
mmmm i love rainy cloudy days.
I run on solar batteries. I think they are located somewhere in the back of my neck. Come February, I have to fake sunny skies by wearing obnoxiously-brightly-colored sweaters. (And of course, I live with two moles who run around with the lights off at night.)
Oh, I’m the same way with the sun. Just a couple cloudy days can ruin my outlook and sap my energy. I use a Verlilux full-spectrum lamp on my desk, and started taking a Vitamin D supplement last year. They help, but only slightly. The only thing that really works is sunshine! My DH (who loves the cold and winter) calls me his “solar powered wife.” LOL at least my cats understand.
Love the tea! Poor daughter. I’ve always had a math block. However, I always scored very high in logic and was the top student in my technical college. No idea why!?! I hated algebra and geometry! If someone had ever come up with a way to teach the whole bloody thing in a cooking context, I would have been open to it and brilliant!
I have always longed for a tiny glass room that would keep the wind off of me and allow me to start getting sun on my skin even earlier in the year. Good thing I live where I do…I really could not take a Northern winter!
She definitely has some kind of geometry block! She loved algebra and did well in it, and so far is making A’s and B’s on her tests, but the daily work is like pulling teeth.
Yeah, northern winters are kind of rough. I have one of those Seasonal Affective Disorder lamps that I turn on when I’m doing my homework in the evening…otherwise I’ll fall asleep at like 7 pm! I call it my happy lamp __
I have seriously considered a “happy lamp,” but the first ones I looked at were so pricey it kind of scared me off.
Do Ott lights count for that? If so, they go on half price sales at JoAnn’s often!
A WONDERFUL pu-erh for beginners!! I love it and I would not say I am a “beginner” although I have so much more to explore in the world of pu-erh. I just am one who already loves pu-erh. This however is one that needs to be tried if you are timid about pu-erh.
The flavors are so well blended and the other ingredients do not take over the wonderful pu-erh notes yet the notes are probably only strong enough for a true pu-erh drinker to notice at first.
Fruity and delicious with notes of peat, oak moss, and so much more!
Oh and its creamy too!
LOVE THIS!
Full review coming on http://sororiteasisters.com later this month.
I’ll have to try this one the next time I stop in there for afternoon tea!
Oh have a cup for me! I will be out soon lol
This is really unique. Reminds me a little of the chocolate and strawberry pu-erh from Lupicia.
That is one I still have yet to get – although there are many from Lupicia I want to get still :) I LOVE lupicia!
One of my staples and a “must-try”.
A beautiful bergamonty caramel tea with a slight fruit undertone – mostly berry and apricot, but very very subtle. Lovely black base, I do find it becomes astringent quickly when steeped longer than 3 minutes.
I usually have this straight, but sometimes I’ll add in milk if I’m after the comfort factor. When milk is added it brings out a hint of vanilla and rounds out the caramel making it more creamy.
Preparation
I have a sample of this in my cupboard, I look forward to trying it.
Hope you enjoy it Marcel, I’ll be on the lookout for your tasting note!
I would agree. This is a staple of mine too! I steep it for 5 min, which turns out okay if you add milk and sugar, which I do with most black teas. Having some right now! :)
I am so happy that I am the first to review this.
This is a prime example of what Sheng should be like. The dry leaf is gorgoeus. This cake is an array of loosely compressed autumn colored maocha. The bing carries an almost medicinal scent. I can pickup a slight eucalyptus scent mixed with an underlining sweetness. I broke off a chunk and placed in my warmed yixing. The scent was unusual. I’ve never smelled something so lively. It was like escaping to a jungle. The scent was thick, hot, and humid. I could smell the vines growing rampant around me. I washed these leaves once and began possibly one of my best gongfu sessions. The steeped leaves changed dramatically. These oily olive colored leaves carried the scent of an old Victorian home with a slight peppery aroma. The liquor was a pale gold and shone bright. It looked like translucent white gold. The taste was spectacular. I’ve never tasted something so silky and sweet. I was drowning in huigan. This brew gives a thick, and I mean THICK, mouth coating. The flavor was like watercress, silk, cream, and sugarcane. There was absolutely no bitterness or astringency. I found out that you can’t make this tea bitter. I used boiling water and steeped for a little bit of time, and the brew only grew sweeter. This was well rounded and the taste lasted well after steeping. The qi was incredible. My body completely soothed and my spirits became uplifted. This tea gave an all encompassing comfort to my body. I took my time with this session. Eventually, I had to go to work. I left my table until afterwards. I came back several hours later and resumed brewing. The liquor was still powerful and just as sweet. I honestly don’t know how many steeps I got out of this. This is by far my favorite sheng. This is a delicious brew, and I can only imagine how it will be aged.
https://instagram.com/p/5zpJIYzGaY/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel
Flavors: Creamy, Eucalyptus, Honeysuckle, Rainforest, Sweet
Preparation
I have some of this on the way. Secret, Rocket Yiwu soft for 3 steeps and then gets brash a bit on you. I have the Colbert one coming as well.
I just placed another order. I have yet to get to the Yiwi, so thats for the tip, hahah. I have the rest of the spring collection on its way. That moving sale got me. I love me free tea…
Agreed, I bought the tasting set for my son. I am trying to ease him into it as well.
Yes! I’m getting my friend one for his birthday. That free shipping is awesome xD
Haha. I was going to get the tasting set for my dad! Sounds like we all have the same ideas.
Excited to try this tea. Thanks for the review!
We are all trying to convert people xD
Not trying , WE WILL convert people!
TwoDog told me he has tasted this tea aged each year from 1-5 and it gets sweeter each year.
I really enjoyed this one too. I have enough for a few more sessions. Strongly considering the purchase of a cake though.. all this damn good young tea is killing my wallet ><
I would definitely recommend buying a cake for aging. This is was a fantastic session.
Haveteawilltravel, Excellent review! Free shipping?
I bought the Basics Set to get free shipping. Its well worth the purchase. I’ve been using it as my excuse to buy more tea, hahah.
Didn’t want to like it cause white2tea already has too much of my money….. Loved it, only the last thoughts was better imo (of the 2015 cakes) which makes sense if go by pricing. I think the next step is to just direct deposit my pay checks into White2tea’s bank account in exchange for tea. Like a scaled up monthly club for pu junkies.
Lol Grill. I have a certain amount of mental illness going with w2t puerh, the house label teas.
Same here. Once he starts getting my checks I’m going to have a stent put in my arm and just mainline it. I can brew up a big IV bag and get a steady dose all day. Just keep spamming the drip button till the nurse tells me that I’ve hit the max
This made me laugh really hard, yet I relate so well xD
as a side note, I did enjoy last thoughts (2015) much more than this; although, this is still an excellent brew.
Last thoughts is pretty much the tip of the iceberg for western tea drinkers, you aren’t going to find better or even equal so easy. You’d have to visit china AND meet the right people to possibly have something better. Pretty sure Paul worked his booty off to acquire such good maocha the last couple years.
And yes the 72 hours is a really excellent tea. The session I had with it the other nights was one of my favorites to date. Liked it more than both the bosch and tuhao. Under the Last Thoughts but closer to that tea in the spectrum of 2015 then it is the other 2 cakes imo of course, or even better to my personal tastes. Need another session or two but I’m pretty settled on getting a cake of 72 hours. If the next round is as good or better then I’d go as far to say that I’d rather have 2 or 3 cakes of that rather than the tuhao and bosch but then again variety is always nice.
Paul also stated that 72 Hours ages excellent. The cake becomes even sweeter, and it ages rather quickly (1-5yrs) with a noticeable difference.
A friend of mine fell in love with Red Leaf Matcha and so we decided to split an order. We went with the buy 5, get two free package and went with the following options:
Size: Small (30g)
Matcha Quality: Classic (Basic Grade)
Matcha Type: Regular
Flavor Level: Delicate
When my package finally arrived, I opened it up to find this matcha was slightly open. Consequently, I decided to try this first. I used half a teaspoon of matcha mixed with 8 oz. of milk. Even at the delicate flavor level, it is pretty accurate to the real thing. Immediately I noticed a vanilla creaminess that was delicious but not exactly reminiscent of a cookie. However, as I continue the sip, the baked goods flavor creeps in and I am left with the aftertaste that is 100 percent cookie. Moreover, the more I drink, the more I notice that it is not simply a vanilla creaminess but rather the sip starts off tasting of butter. This is definitely a matcha I would consider getting again because what I first wrote off as just another creamy vanilla matcha turned out to be a flavorful cup of liquefied French Butter Cookies. It takes me back to the time when I was younger and reminds me of the excitement I felt when I opened the tin of butter cookies to actually find cookies inside and not the sewing equipment my grandmother liked to store in them.
This delicious treat can be found here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/french-butter-cookie-matcha.html
Flavors: Butter, Vanilla
Nice! I was wondering if this would be too similar to one of the vanilla flavours.
It does taste very strongly of vanilla but there are other components as well.
That really good to know since I’ve been going back on forth on what to get next time I order, but was worried that most of the bakery stuff would taste the same (since Caramel and English Toffee were too similar for me).
I have some English Toffee as well. Hopefully it tastes different from the Caramel for me. I also have Creme Brulee which I hope is not the same as those two. So far my favorite by far is the Caramel Popcorn.
Caramel Popcorn is one I should definitely try out next time since I like the Caramel and English Toffee anyway. Actually, I’m sure if you tasted Caramel and ET side by side, there would be a noticeable difference, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t start one until I finished another, and they were ultimately too similar to have both around. Creme Brulee sounds like another one that may be too similar.
Once you inevitably drink up your matcha, we should split an order – it seems like a lot of the matcha on your wishlist is the same as what’s on mine.
taaaakkkkeee miiiinnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Noooo… I don’t want to receive stuff from people when I’m not in a position right now where I can share back as freely D: I feel guilty getting so much free stuff.
Haha Sil. And Roswell Strange, I already split my order with a friend but I am sure we can figure something out. Like something tells me I will go through it faster than she will and I will have to get more sooner.
Plus she is neither a cherry or banana fan so I need to find someone who is willing to try either or both of those flavors.
i think i have banana and cream in my cupboard. i’ll look..there’s ONE package i have that’s not in my cupboard lol
Well obviously not this order – this one is all yours. But once you’re ready to place another order. Banana sounds great. I’ve had Black Cherry and really disliked it…
NOOO!!! I had such high hopes for Black Cherry. And Sil, is bananas and cream good? That is one I wanted to try. It will probably be ordered eventually.
i liked black cherry..but i think i used to cut it with cheesecake.. as for banana..no idea, it’s one of my unopened..i’ll try it this weekend haha
Oh, Sil have you tried Ten or Captain Jack yet from your Doctor Who sampler? I don’t remember seeing reviews for them – but I’m definitely curious :)
neither yet..but they’re on my list of teas to try and get through this week/weekend. I really wanted to try a few more tonight but i can barely manage to drink much of anything tonight other than the rye and coke. almost done work stuff and it’s nearly bed time. so annoying.
I was thrilled to receive a tea swap package from the lovely teaplz recently and this was in it.
Oh, Steepsterites.
Pear tea is not something I’ve had a lot of good luck with. It’s my favorite fruit [thinking about the validity of that statement and deciding it’s definitely true], and therefore it’s not something that I’m going to be satisfied with if I have to reach for in a tea. [Kind of like the elusive pumpkin, I suppose.] I don’t want it to be light and floaty, though light and floaty pear done well is better than artificial or this ain’t pear. I want it to be in my face and smack me around a bit.
Oh, Steepsterites.
The fact that this combines with my favorite dessert flavor [thinking about the validity of that statement and deciding it’s definitely true] means that this tea could easily be my Icarus. It could soar up high on the warm air currents and then tumble silently before crashing fatally into the sea.
Fortunately, this tea is like Icarus’ happy ending. It’s the Icarus Remix. Pears have a relatively short season where they’re really good [or at least it seems that way because I can’t get enough of them when they’re around] and this tea is going to become like crack for me, especially when pears aren’t in season. I’m already calling it, everyone. When I get really effing weird on Steepster [weirder – that is] and start spitting nonsense, it’s going to be because I’m either out of Ryokucha or this tea. Look forward to it.
Take a second to travel to Imaginationland for a second with me here. Think about a nice, ripe, juicy pear. You know, where they’re in that state of limbo between firm and mushy and when you bite into it you have to have a towel on hand [if you care about that kind of thing] because you inevitably end up making a mess. Now, cut that pear up into little half inch cubes and stick them in a bowl. You still with me? Okay, now there’s a saucepan on the stove to your left. It’s got some caramel sauce bubbling in it – deep orange-brown, bubbling, thick, and satiny. Give it a good stir, cut off the heat, and let it cool for a minute. Excellent. Take the caramel, and pour that all over the pear bits. The whole thing. Don’t hold back. Stir everything around gently, do not smush the pear.
Now, take out a spoon. Put the spoon in your mouth. Remove your belt and wrap it around your head. Take off your shoes and go outside. There will be a bag of trash in your trashcan. Take that out, and…
I’m kidding, I’m kidding.
Okay, take the spoon. Dip into the mixture and…I think you can take it from there.
That is what this tea tasted like to me. It was rich, and the caramel and the pear were both just so very much present. Between the mouthfeel and the taste and just the absolute giddiness I got from the fact that they nailed the pear so hard it won’t see straight until the weekend. Just…AH.
The two tastes didn’t combine often. When they did, it was maybe just a smidge weird, but the majority of the time it tasted like a piece of pear coated in decadent caramel, and Zeus help me, it’s going to take an insane amount of willpower to keep this sample from disappearing before I order it.
As it cooled, the caramel started to melt away a bit and the pear came to the forefront. The only thing that could keep me from being disappointed at this is the fact that I love pear to the point that it raises eyebrows, but the fact that the tea did this for me is something that I think y’all should be aware of. [This was also true of the second steep – more pear than anything else. I let it sit for seven minutes on the second infusion, but I’ll try steeping it a little longer next time. The more mileage I can get out of this the better, I think.] Oh, and the rooibos didn’t come into the picture at all.
Anyhow, win. Just…win. It was such a win that everything else could have lost that day and I wouldn’t have cared much. The ONLY reason that this tea isn’t going to get a flat out 100 from me is unfortunately because of something that also makes it so awesome. It is sweet and rich and a full on dessert tea. I can’t drink this every day, though I wish I could. If I did, I’d get sick of it, which would make my tea self cry, and this is not a tea I want to have to take out of rotation.
Anyhow.
ABSO-EFFING-LUTELY DELICIOUS. Thanks, teaplz!
Preparation
Maybe this will be my first rooibos tea…was it sour? Pencil shavings-ey?
This review is WIN. Absolute win! I’m SO HAPPY you really adored this, because I think it’s really something special too! It’s so ridiculously identifiable as pear, I can’t take it. True, juicy pear flavor, with caramel and deliciousness.
WHEEEE! 2-2 today for my tea and you and Auggy!
See I tend to be a fan of your self-proclaimed “weirder” posts and wonder what that says about me? Also…oh man oh man oh man this tea sounds right up my alley!! s-hop-list’ed as they say.
Nice review and this sounds really good.
When I get really effing weird on Steepster [weirder – that is] and start spitting nonsense, it’s going to be because I’m either out of Ryokucha or this tea.
You say that like it’s a bad thing!
@shanti I highly recommend it if the caramel and pear flavors appeal to you, but I got absolutely zero taste from the rooibos in this tea. So…I’d get it regardless, but if you’re looking to get a baseline for rooibos look elsewhere!
@teaplz Ahhhh so good. I wanted to have it again last night but I held off. This is going to be an ongoing battle, I think.
@Mike HAHAHA, I think it just means that I’m in good company here on Steepster? I’m glad that my weirdness is well received.
@teadipso Apparently there are apple pieces in it? I thought that they might be pear, but upon reading the description, it’s apple. For whatever reason, it works so well.
@silvermage2000 Oh, it is!
@Angrboda HAHAHA! Yeah…well, sometimes I get so in my head that I read what I’ve been putting on the page and have to go, “Really?” at myself. Thanks for supporting my quirks!
Yeah, Shanti, the rooibos here really doesn’t come out at all. I wouldn’t worry about it! Of course, rooibos isn’t really that scary. It has more of a woodsy sweet taste to me, and it looks like pencil shavings, but doesn’t exactly taste like them.
AND I LOVE TAKGOTI’S QUIRKINESS.
Fun log, and exciting flavors. When some of you steepsterites are enthusiastic about a really good tea, it’s incredibly contagious. Just reading this made me want to rush out and place a new order.
ohhh, you make this sound so delicious! this is going to the top of my shopping list! and takgoti, we <3 you & your quirks.
Hon, you made me buy the Andrew and Dunham Series 2 after your Jackie Muntz (? Did I get that right? I’m not looking it up right now) review – and now this has moved to the top of my list. You’re a hoot to read!
Yeah, that didn’t work. Ate my ♥. No more less than signs, it angers the HTML gods, I think. Let’s try this again.
@teaplz THANK YOU. I LOVE YOUR QUIRKINESS. Quirkiness no longer looks like a word.
@sophistre Hehe! What can I say? Good tea gets us all frothed up and ready to infect! I just made it sound like we have rabies, didn’t I? Anyhow, thanks! And secretly, though I am telling myself I am delaying the order because I’m “budgeting,” it’s really because I got a couple of other Art of Tea samples from teaplz and I want to try them first in case I want to add something to the order.
@Laura DO IT! I’m going to have to drink it again tomorrow. It’s just too irresistible and I keep on thinking about it as I’m drinking other tea. And aww, thank you! ♥’s all around!
@wombatgirl Hehe, close! It’s Jackee Muntz [JacKEE MUNtz and ThomAS SAMpson – I saw someone out that on twitter and it blew my mind a little bit], but I won’t tell anyone. I hope you like it! My Series 3 just got here. Thanks so much!
Thanks for the warm fuzzies, everyone! I am cold. Might be time for bed soon.
Ok, I’m sold! I am totally getting this when I get paid. <3
This is so delicious this afternoon!! Smooth and mellow, yet so rich, sweet and full of flavor. Notes of cocoa and light grains with honey and roses. With cream added, it tastes of buttery pastry – so good!
Preparation
Oh wow – sounds positively amazing!
Agreed! Have you also tasted TeaVivre’s Premium Keemun Hao Ya?
Yes, it was really nice. I have had it before but forgot how good it was – I’ll have to order more!
No, I haven’t tried that one, looseTman. I think I have a sample though!
Just checked – I do have a sample pack of that. Do you prefer it?
So far I’ve enjoyed 1,500g of their Premium Keemun. However, I haven’t yet tasted the Superfine Keemun. I be curious to hear how you think they compare.
lol, I haven’t tried the premium one yet. I’ll have to compare them though!
I’ll keep eye out for your comparison. Thanks!
OK! : )
I had the premium one today, but still have to do a comparison against this one as well! I will be watching for your comparison though
They both seem popular. You’ll have to compare them as well! ;-)
THIS is a great chai. Spicy and rich in all the right ways. Reminds me of that Guayasa chai I tried from Davids awhile back. Good to know I have a place to get some since I’ve ditched that Teavana wannabe :)
(and I mean no offense by that, really! I’m just saying DT has become a place that no longer captures my attention the way it once did, for reasons most of you know)
Anyhow, big thanks to BONNIE for sharing this delightful blend with me.
Without milk, it held up really well. Naturally sweet and as the description says… graham crackers!? coolio!
With the addition of some dairy, it became a bit more spicy and less sweet. Actually, it was more of a good quality common chai that way. Next time, I hope I remember not to add any milk.
Thanks again Bonnie xx
Welcome! Hope you had a nice vacation!
I did! thanks Bonnie
LOL. For whatever it’s faults, I’d say that DT would be taking a serious step down to “aspire” to be Teavana (based on my experience with Teavana thus far).
I don’t want DT to be Teavana…. I like it the way it is (at my store anyway) Grant park shopping centre Winnipeg, Manitoba :D
I would fully agree too if DT would ever ‘aspire’ to be Teavana… also based on my experience with Teavana.
From what I have heard so far…Teavana should have the customer service of DT and Teavana and DT should get together and improve both of their tea selections which have serious issues in quality because of the quantity problems. They’ve become candy store tea shops instead of quality tea stores.
Daniel Scott: I so agree with you there! but as the days go by I am finding more and more similarities between the two :(
Helena: oh heck no, I don’t want it either! eeek!!
Lynne-tea: Oh I do hope they never team up. that would be disastrous…
Bonnie: SO agreed on that front. DT is a fantastic gateway tea house though. I crave a little candy sometimes! but not often.
Bonnie – what do you mean by “quantity problems”? I know that DT always seems to be out of the one I want, but I don’t know if that’s what you mean.
I know I think they have a Q problem… in that they bring out far too many at once, and then discontinue them so fast that I sometimes don’t even get to try them…
Q-Quantity Sometimes I think DT cranks out too many new flavors. There are a couple of companies that do this..new flavors each week or ‘many’ each season. My opinion (just mine) is that quality often suffers creating combinations that are a bit bizarre or blends with little bit of tea and lots of cheap fillers. There are some older tea’s from DT that I liked better but now many of the flavors taste dull or sour. Verdant uses lots of real tea in the blends like the one here. I’m sure other companies do the same and use real flavoring (Butiki). Like I said, my opinion. Teavana… I’m not a fan of their marketing enough to want to try the flavors any more (the few I tried were cardboard). When I walked into a shop it was wierd and the person who waited on me told me the tea wasn’t good (creepy)!
Oh, yeah, okay, I know what you mean. I’m not super-impressed with the release of innumerable flavours either, I do think some teas suffered that way as they’re clearly rushed out. The spring collection is a prime example; those were mostly all “meh.” I personally liked Daydreamer a lot, but I know a lot of people felt it was lacking.
I wasn’t going to say it, but I so agree! they’ve become substandard simply because there are too many teas. I wish they would focus on quality not quantity
Hope i will have such a chai soon
Akshaya, I’d send you some to try if I had any left!
Hi bloom!
My Bonnie!! Missed you. I haven’t been around here much.
So I feel like I need to be honest with you guys: I curse like a sailor in real life.
I say that because my initial utterings upon tasting this tea are not, well… they don’t seem necessarily appropriate to say in a public forum. I meant it in a really, really good way though. Promise!
The first word that came to mind (after the expletives, haha) was whoa. This tea is soooo creamy. Tangy, fruity, and creamy, just like sherbet. I’m pretty weird in that I don’t actually like ice cream/sherbet/sorbets because a lot of the time its too sweet. Also I prefer to drink cold things, not eat them, and I don’t necessarily find milky things to be that refreshing when the weather is hot. I’m a right ball of fun, I know.
So that this manages to somehow sidestep all of my ridiculous criteria is pretty miraculous.
It’s got a creamy full texture which tea usually just doesn’t have on it’s own. The only way I get this texture in tea normally is by adding milk, but iced tea is not something you can add milk to (Ew. just the thought of that…) It tastes like ice cream without being ice cream. And I’m drinking it on its own, without a meal – it’s like dessert!
Um, LOVE. I hope I can get another 2 quarts out of this… but even if not I just went ahead and put one of each of the SBT iced tea flavors in a shopping cart because MY MOUTH IS SO HAPPY.
Thank goodness I saw that discount code when I did!
Preparation
haha I know what you mean…on Twitter I try sooooo hard not to curse…day in and day out, doesn’t happen. though maybe it keeps me from doing so on here!
I am ridiculously clean on here. I am horrible in real life though. The “every other word in sentence” one is my modo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALbW4J5VE6A
Haha, same here. For some reason I feel like I need to have extra good manners on this site.
I’m a cook. Cooks swear. A lot.
My excuse is that I’m from New Jersey.
My daughters once shut the door to the living room because I was moaning inappropriately into my tea cup, apparently. I am glad you like this one – I have some on its way to me now! I am in love with Razzleberry but it is sold out so I order a bunch of others to console me.
Oh, and I really don’t swear. Unless I sew with a sewing machine, then all bets are off.
We must be twins because I swear a lot AND love this tea.
This tea took me completely by surprise! The sweet creaminess along with the full body makes for a very enjoyable cup. I thought for a moment someone had slipped some sweetener into my cup. It’s shocking how smooth and tasty this tea really is, and the fact that it lingers in the mouth is a very nice bonus!
First of all, I love pecans and there are plenty of large pieces found in the darker colored tea leaves. The first impression I got was something entirely different than I anticipate – deep tones of dried berries or fruit, in the range of dates or raisins. The taste in the mouth is one of a good quality granola bar that has plenty of raisins. This slowly changes to the milkier, almost ice cream-like. In fact, for all of you that dairy doesn’t bother the conscience, it takes almost exactly like Butter Pecan ice cream! Of course it’s only a tea, but you’ll have a tough time convincing your taste buds otherwise!
It’s plain and simple – this is a delicious tea! This is saying a lot coming form someone that typically stays with straight or traditional teas. There is no question, this tea can easily replace a desert. It is very satisfying. Thanks, Stacy from Butiki, for this great quality and palate pleasing tea! Job well done!
Preparation
Yummy tea!
Now I want some.
So happy :) After reading this review and Sil’s review of Cantaloupe & Cream, and lots of drooling over other Butiki reviews, I’ve finally made my first order. Yay!
Missmylin – you won’t be disappointed! Stacy has lovely teas :)
yes (try the good morning sunshine!) really though everything I’ve tried has been good (sometimes not my cup but good)
Missmylin – good decision! You will not be disappointed. Stacy is such a kind and sweet person with a passion for incredible customer service. Their teas are just as equal and praiseworthy. Thanks to all for commenting!
It was yours and Sil’s words that pushed me to order, so I have to thank you for such a tantalizing review. Stacy emailed me today to let me know my shipment went out. Oh, and Helena? Stacy loves the fact that you encouraged me to get Good Morning Sunshine :)
YUM!
Today was tea party day. My first student of the day stays for an hour and a half after her lesson to have a tea party with us before my late afternoon students come. As we were finishing her lesson and were about to go to the table I smelled a wonderful scent, like on Bugs Bunny when some enticing aroma wafts to him and turns into fingers to draw him near. What is that? Ah, it must be the coconut!
Indeed it was, and this turned out to be the favorite tea of the day. (We always have three and rank them.) Don’t be misled by the description. I think it says with a hint of tartness or something like that, but don’t mistake that for sour or astringent in the base. To me, the pineapple is very light and overall this is a smooth and creamy cup of tea. Granted, I had made homemade ice cream flavored with vanilla, almond extract, and chocolate chips as well as a chocolate cake with the boiled frosting that hardens, so perhaps if it were not paired with food the pineapple is stronger, but we loved it just the way it was!
That sounded like a glorious tea party!!!
I thought of you when I made the ice cream. Can you recommend any other add-ins for the ice cream that might be good with the almond flavor? Next I want to make coconut extract and have coconut ice cream!
I loved this tea!
Awesome! I love throwing tea parties for my students!
I wonder if some sort of cherry flavor would go nicely with almond. I think coconut and almond also sound so good together.
coconut & almond are yum, especially dipped in chocolate (almond joy, anybody?). Cherry & almond also = Yum!
coconut + crystalized ginger!!!
I also just wondered if you had more Penzeys Raspberry Enlightenment — I bet that would be good in ice cream w almond extract too. I am thinking about it because I made a stir fry sauce with it and am eating the leftovers now — so good!! (Raspberry Enlightenment, Sriracha, Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Sesame Oil all put into bowl with wild abandon, mixed together, then thrown over stir fried veggies and noodles. Left over chicken thrown in last minute :)
I did think about just adding some sliced almonds – I LOVE them. I think white chocolate chips might be good, too, and the chocolate chips were really good in it and hubby liked it that way. Raspberry Enlightment – now there is an idea! I thought about chopped cherries, too. I have tons!
Wait a minute! I got to Penzey’s all the time, & I’ve never seen that stuff there! Obviously I’ve been missing out!
I like all these suggestions for Raspberry Enlightenment http://throwyourcaraway.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/feel-the-enlightenment/ !! Love Penzeys :)
It is good, isn’t it? I served it on leftover turkey and ham sandwiches after Christmas. I served it with “pigs in a blanket” – you know, Lil Smokies wrapped with Crescent Roll. It was the favorite dip for that. It is good with egg rolls and lettuce wraps, too. Sunny Paris is wonderful on baked potato, and their freeze dried garlic is awesome. I love it mixed with olive oil and their Tuscan Sunset seasoning.
Ooo, I want number six, the savory crostini!!
Thank you Indigobloom for sending this to me!
Very pretty display in the dry state.
Nonpearlis remind me of being a kid because my great great grandmother used to let me nibble on these often!
Smell is cider like or Chai like more toward the cider or chrismas wasselish.
Smells like a clove orange!
Also VERY sugary smelling.
It tastes nice.
Today it is cool and rainy even though it started out VERY sunny it turned really fall like in the weather – we live in kansas so this can happen quickly without notice.
So here I am sitting with the windows open letting the air flow in – nice cool breeze – sipping what seems to me to be a fall/winter/holiday like treat.
Nice!
I love watching this one steep. It sparkles as it steeps! :P
I’m waiting for an Edward Cullen tea that sparkles….
That sounds so familiar! I swear I made that joke to my roommate, about how G&G is the vampire tea… hahaha. You’ll see its glitteriness soon enough Missy! :D
Missy!!!! HAHAHHAA A red tea base, with vervain, oak moss, and sparkles.
LOL marketing genius! why has nobody done this yet…
Indeed – probably too sappy lol.
We should start a tea company based on movie themes!
We could have a super hero line
a Vampire and Horror film line
A romance line
Action movie line
you name it!
Hope your weather is just cool and not yucky-stormy. We’re just one county east of the tornado watches (SW MO). Be safe!
Ummm in basement now! Sirens going off – we are in north topeka just north of the kansas ave bridge – the tornado is in auburn I guess headed toward wannamaker … for those who don’t know these parts – that is about 10 miles or so away lol
Uh oh! Be safe!
Its over now – for now lol were in tornado alley so it happens often around this time of year. I hope your doing alright gmathis!! Let us know when you can how it is there!
Pretty windy, but at the moment I think it’s going to skim the northern counties of our “viewing area.”
Good be safe!
Tornadoes and Vampires… I miss all the good stuff while I’m at work :P
Sorry Dylan but its the weekend now :)
@ Krystaleyn I’m pretty sure they should have called it Twilight Romance….
Ohkay. I’ve been impatiently waiting for this package all day. I’ve been hiding in my room because I was so tired after work – I won two contests and associate of the month, and that takes effort, especially for an introvert like me!
The people across the street are moving, so there have been big trucks going by all day. Each time I see one I check – is it UPS? No? Damn.
This time it was, and I raced downstairs to intercept the deliveryman before my mum or dad could… no need for them to know I’m buying more tea.
Smelled them all – they all smelled great. I honestly started with this one, even though the chai spice aroma was a bit overpowering and intimidating, because a friend of mine tried it and said she didn’t like it, and it was bitter. So this is me proving her wrong.
I immediately went for a macchiato with this. Why not a latte? Because for some reason “Mycroft Latte” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.
Steeped 2tsp/8oz, boiling water, 2 minutes. Added about 6oz milk and 3oz foam.
The first thing I taste is the cream, followed by the vanilla rooibos. I suppose there’s a hint of chocolate in there too. I don’t taste much chai, but that’s a-okay with me. (Leave the chai and spices for Moriarty.)
This is great, and I don’t regret owning a 3-oz bag of it at all. Probably not something I’d purchase again (so many teas, so little time!) but definitely not one I’m eager be rid of.
Edit: And because of all the foam on top, it sort of gives it that feeling of drinking whipped cream. No complaints here. I’m just going to sit here and rest my tired feet (no cushioning whatsoever in the shoes I wear to work, and yet they’re more comfortable than the ones with cushions. Go figure.) and listen to Underworld’s Olympic Ceremony opening song – it’s gorgeous. I love them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mec8GZkEpD4
Preparation
So excited for my blends to get here! :) It’s so great when some of my favorite things combine.
Which ones did you order?
Watson, Sherlock, Loki and TARDIS. :D
Ooh! One of my friends has Watson and TARDIS, and we had a 221tea party tonight – the two of them are great. And Loki is on my to-get list!
I got Mycroft, Mind & Heart and The Woman, and I really want Inspector too :)
Loki tea! Want!
I’ve tried the Mycroft blend but found as I did with most Adagio teas that my tastebuds didn’t like them… not sure why. I’m glad you like it though :D
I don’t really like most of their flavored blacks on their own, but with milk and a short steep time I enjoy them. And I’m glad I figured this out :)
Michelle – officially requesting some of TARDIS for our swap later in the year. Don’t even care what it tastes like, THERE’S A TEA NAMED AFTER THE TARDIS FFS!!! Anywho…. clearly suffering withdrawals and desperately want series 7 to start…. oh dear.
Definitely. I’m actually working on some of my own DW blends – I can put those in for you too as well!
And I cannot wait for Series 7. I’m so excited for it! (And I’m currently watching The Lodger now… go figure!)
That’s a funny ep. Doctor Who teas, the pinacle of taste! (yes, that was a pun…)
It makes sense until you look away for two minutes and then you don’t have any idea what the hell happened. But I love Craig and Sophie :)
Oh yes I heard season 7 starts soon according to the Space channel. They have been running commercials for it… I try not to scream HURRY UP! at the TV. All hail the TARDIS and Doctor Who :D
Late August/Early Sept apparently, a lovely pre-birthday treat for me!
Aug 25 was kicking around for awhile but I don’t think it was ever declared official. When’s your birthday?
Mid September. And the other half’s is late August, so it’s good either way!
They finally came yaaaaaay. Unfortunately it’s too late in the day for caffeine, boo. :(
I am enjoying the fragrance of this tea … I could probably just sit here and smell it all evening and not tire of it. It smells warm and cozy, and that’s just what I need on a night like tonight, it’s cold and wet outside, and I feel like I can’t shake that cold feeling from my bones. I’m hoping that this will warm me up.
And it is doing that. This is good … the citrus is bright and juicy and the cinnamon is not overwhelming. The white tea tastes a bit different than I expected, it is more earthy than I’m used to from a white tea. Perhaps it is this combination of flavors that brings out the earthiness.
I like this – it’s good, but it isn’t great. I think I can toy around with it though, and make it great. I think that the spices need a little more dimension.
This tea hasn’t gotten as much love as the other more recent 52teas blends. :(
Yes, I know… it’s kind of “common” in comparison to the other, more unusual blends. I think I am going to have to retry it after my cold/flu/whatever this is has passed, it could be that my taste buds were a bit altered last night although I think I was feeling alright. But to be fair, I’ll give it another try without adding the other spices once my taste buds have returned.
I decided some time ago that my one luxury in life would be tea.
I don’t go out to the movies or restaurants (unless I have an occasion) and shopping for clothes is an old habit. (I have too much from when that seemed important.)
Tea is my #1 pleasure.
My contact with other human beings is primarily through discussing tea, reviewing tea online and drinking tea with family and tea shop buddies.
I want the best TEA that I can get. Sometimes it isn’t possible, and sometimes…I find a way.
When I read about Master Han’s and Anxi Fo Shou Black Tea’s I knew I had to have them, if even just an ounce. I ran to my computer as soon as they became available. Then, I waited….
This morning when I opened my curtains to look outside, there were glowing silvery ice crystal flakes, floating down without the will to be snow or stick to anything. This is intense TEA WEATHER! I’m ready with my newly arrived tea!
I have a spotted green/brown gaiwan that I chose to use for the tasting.
I followed the Verdant instructions for rinsing, proportion of leaf to water (I used a little less leaf because I’m a hyper-sensitive taster) and used the suggested steep times.
I’ve never looked at the tasting notes of other people first.
I like to make up my own mind and then check them against other people to see if there’s a match or not.
This time however, I sat with the notes from the website as though I was at a tasting with another person in a tearoom and we were going back and forth discussing the tea.
One of the first amazing but truly Brilliant flavor discoveries was Olive.
(I have to give it to whomever picked this out of the flavors because it’s so spot on.)
The fruitiness of olive oil…pungent and rich…wow! In a tea?!
I began to blither on in my head…picturing myself driving towards Elliot Road and the incline to my old home in Paradise.
The country road was lined with Olive Groves. Sheep and cows grazed between the rows of dusty green trees, the red and gold clay of the Sierra foothills under their feet and purple wildflowers lining the irrigation channel at the edge of the road.
There are tasting rooms for Olives in this part of California, tasting rooms for almonds (ah-mands is how it’s pronounced by the farmers (ah as in achoo)), and wine. Kiwi stands, peaches and apples. http://flic.kr/p/dL2zmW
The next pour, there was Brandy…in the scent of the liquor, which was beautiful clear amber, honey, golden and luscious. (I can’t even go into how the wet leaves smelled.)
The Brandy…scent.
I read that there is whisky and that was not in the scent, it was in the taste. Yes, in the fruity sweetness with a broad finish of the tea the whisky went deep… and lingered way down in the chest like liquor does. A rolling, welcome warmth. (I loved the sensation.)
There were notes about other tastes but I was not tasting them yet. I stopped somewhere else at the third steeping and found a thick syrupy quince membrillo taste, ruby red garnet yam right before they disolve into sugar. Something was changing like a mash.
If there’s anywhere the tea was taking me, it was to the beginning of Spring. Bursting forth…here I am with all my glory! Pushing up and out of a slumber and becoming many things.
From the forth steep forward, I tasted full Grape.
I not only worked at 2 wineries, but I come from a family (on my dad’s side) from Napa and Yountville. Wine people.
This tea doesn’t taste like a cloying too sweet grape, not like a dark grape or a darjeeling with a muscat flavor.
The flavor is something else. I’ve had wines from some areas that are semi sweet and golden, grown in hot climates that are ambrosia.
This is that Springtime golden grape taste, not buttery and not like a chardonney.
In Murphy’s, there’s a winery called Ironstone.
The first time I went to Ironstone, it was early Spring and the roads leading from the small town to the winery had been planted with Daffodils and they were in bloom. Winding country roads with flowers and cows in the fields…on and on. It was magical. http://flic.kr/p/dKW5wX
Ironstone makes a wine that reminds me of this tea, so does Castillo di Amarosa http://www.castellodiamorosa.com/ (worth a visit).
The meaty fresh coconut aftertaste isn’t sweet. It’s more on the savory nutty side of coconut.
Pinning down such a complex and vibrant tea isn’t easy. One amazing Ping of flavor brings to mind a time or place…then another Ping of flavor…and off I go again! This tea is full of Pings!
If you can manage this limited addition tea, do so. The experience is worth it. So much so…I can’t wait to share this with someone!
When something is such a one-of-a-kind and has given so much to me. I can’t compare it with anything else and say, this is better than…what? It’s wild picked for goodness sake. It’s fantastic!
Okay, onto the shopping list with this one!
awesome review Bonnie. Now i’m really looking forward to getting this one!
This sounds amazing!
I received this as a small sample from an order. It’s the first black tea I’ve ever had that I actually enjoy! I think it was the lack of maltiness to it that I enjoyed.
Grape?! grape… oh man that sounds good
Sil – this is the super expensive one that just came out. $4 for a 7g sample :(
Kittenna – aye…my other half treated me to this ;)
This sounds excellent. I have 7g on the way, can’t wait now!!
I just got back from Happy Lucky’s. After reviewing the tea, I shared some with my HL friends who loved it too. 9 degrees burr…but I was moved to venture out. As for expensive, when I think of the man hours put into this wild picked tea, and the quality, this as much an art (if not more) as dining at a fine restaurant. This is an option that I welcome. I want to be able to buy special tea’s now and then, but I know that with my budget I can’t do so all the time (which is fine with me).
I’m sure you’ll enjoy the 7g! I can’t wait to read your reviews. Everyone’s notes are so interesting.
Ahhhh, gotcha Sil! I was like, uh oh, I hope she doesn’t think this is the one we’re splitting! And while I did buy enough of the other recent new black to split, I did not buy enough of this one given the hefty price tag.
Wonderful review. May be the first tea purchase of 2013…
I’m cupping this now….I lack the wine experience that you speak of so the memories don’t find me there, but the savory notes evolve and I can see the olives and nutty….but my mind imagines the nuances of wines (I have no palette for white) and this will cause me to listen deeper.
Kashyap, it might come later or like you say our tasting comes through our own experience filter so there isn’t anything wrong if you’ve put your foot to a different image path.
This Yunnan was shared with me by Auggy and I have to say I’m sceptical as soon as I see the word ‘Yunnan’. However, as you may recall, I had a rather nice Yunnan the other day which didn’t have that flavour of hay, and it reminded me that all Yunnan is not created equal and that some of it is actually quite nice. So therefore I am going forth with this, safe in the knowledge that Auggy has come to know my tastes very well.
So is this one of the nommy Yunnans or one of the meh ones? The aroma isn’t really giving me much of a clue. It’s quite chocolate-y and sweet spicy, but there is also a tinge to the spice note that say, “hay, there!” (Did you see what I did there? Teehee!) Mostly though, it’s sweetie-like in the aroma so I go forth, still not completely put off.
So that was the leaves. The cup after steeping smells less chocolate-y and far more sweet spicy. I have to say it reminds me most of all of ‘brunkager’ 1 which is a very traditional Danish Christmas biscuit. Funny to find that in tea! On the tail end of summer no less. It does indeed bode well for the flavour, especially as you can see that I didn’t find any of those hay-like notes here.
So flavour. Disappointingly the association to Christmas biscuits stop here. And yes it was a disappointment, because the aroma in the cup was SO like it, that my tongue was already preparing itself for that particular flavour. And all it got was tea. Which is all good and well but not really what it was looking for at this point. How tricksy this aroma is!
Rather than a spicy biscuit, it’s actually more sort of broth-y. I’m still getting the spicy notes, but it doesn’t show itself as so sweet here in the flavour. My first and foremost association is actually to a time when I was served a soup which was spiced with these same spices. There is a whiff of that hay in the background, but it never really comes out in any significant manner, and there also isn’t any of those cocoa or chocolate notes that have tended to be a good sign of a Yunnan that I would actually enjoy. There is a pleasant sort of malty, creamy aftertaste though, which pulls the whole thing in a third direction.
This one comes out fairly in the middle of the two experiences with Yunnan that I’ve had and with a pointer towards a thirdk and that makes it difficult for me to work out what to do with it. I think I’m mostly enjoying it, but I probably wouldn’t go out and purchase it. I expect with those spicy notes, from a Danish point of view it would work excellently in a Christmas blend.
1 http://www.food.com/recipe/danish-brun-kager-brown-cookies-13614 2
2 Look, Nik showed me the other day how to do footnotes! Isn’t that neat?! :D
care to footnote Nik explaining how to do footnotes? :)
That was fast. Thanks!
Too cool!
ooh footnotes! very cool! Also a wonderful review of course :3
Nice! This sounds quite lovely. I enjoy hay flavored teas and haha yes I saw what you did there!
Warning: not everything in the package will probably be to your tastes. Some of them (like this one) I shared so you can try them since I figured you’d never actually buy a whole pouch of it! :)
Azzrian, the hay is usually a bit of a turn-off for me. :)
Auggy, yes, I noticed the selection was a little eclectic. :) That’s good though. Some of them, had they been available to me, I wouldn’t have tried otherwise. It just wouldn’t even have crossed my mind to have a second look at all. (Your care package is going to be a little similar to that in that I’m packing things down for it as I get/think of it, so I haven’t actually tried everything yet. I just started packing it down right away so I wouldn’t accidentally drink anything I had wanted to share. :p There are a few things that I expect will be well received though. I’ve run out of small tins too, so now I have to drink up some of yours so I can wash the tins and send them back!)
Ha! I ran out of tins, too! (As I’m sure you could tell.) And I’m all for samples of teas I wouldn’t otherwise try. Sometimes something new can be discovered and other times it’s just nice to have had the experience without having to drink to 50 or 100 grams of it!
I thought I had tons of the small teas, but I used a lot for the stuff that you sent me. I’ve made the labels ready, though. So far it seems to lean more towards the unflavoured, though. I haven’t actually got much of anything other than samples that are flavoured at the moment. Lots of blends, though.
As much as I seem to buy flavored teas, I definitely like unflavored better – and blends make me happy! I need to make some room in my pantry so take your time! :)
I’ve got all the ones I want to share now, so it’s just a question of emptying and washing tins. I’ve got three more tins ready now, although one of them might not be usable. It had the decadent black in it, so I suspect it may need to air out for a few months before it can be used again. :)
Call me crazy – and I have not yet taken a sip but this tea smells like chocolate when stepped! LOL yeah I know that seems odd.
I love the look of the leaf – reminds me of pea pods!
I also smell a creamy aroma. YUMMM can’t wait for it to cool enough to drink!
I should be sleeping – but I’m not.
So first sip – very light – light vegetal flavors, buttery, and rock mineral? What the??? Its not an oolong but yet there is this fresh rock mineral flavor I am getting. Interesting!
A little salty, and a cooling sensation yet not minty flavored.
Very interesting indeed.
I will play around with this one a bit to see what else I can get from it with resteeps and perhaps different brewing methods.
So far I am intrigued!
Hello Steepster, I am back for a bit, haven’t been drinking much tea lately, trying to avoid the caffeine. I got this at Whole Foods along with a bevy of vitamins and some green juice. It’s been years since I have had this blend but I like it, the peppermint is not too strong and the other herbs make this a nice relaxing tisane. Tonight I go to meditation, hope all are having a nice weekend.
Preparation
I’m not sure if you know this or not but if you really want a cup of tea that does have caffeine in it, like green or black, if you steep the leaves for 30 seconds in warm water, then drain the water, then steep your leaves as you would normally, the caffeine content is cut down by 90%.
good to know – thank you!
I don’t think that 90% reduction number is anywhere close to accurate. People used to think that almost all the caffeine was released in the first 30 seconds or so, but that appears to not be true. Arbor Teas reports on research by Nigel Melican that says it’s closer to about 20% removed: http://www.arborteas.com/pages/decaffeination-at-home.html
Thanks Noordelijk & Scott B. One thing I’ve always assumed [you know what they say about assuming], is that no matter how much caffeine is removed, hotter water extracts the caffeine at a much faster rate. :))
Interesting article Scott. Thanks for posting that!
Scott B: I have seen articles stating everything from 20% to 40% to 90%! Don’t “they” know how important this is to us? With all the government grants out there, you would think someone could get some funding to study decaffeinating our tea. Look what happened last time the government messed around with our tea…there was a revolution! :)
This is my late-night everynight tea. 2 bags cold-brewed in the Mason Jar. It truly eases the mind and body….
This smells so rich and dark and amazing. I don’t even want to sip it – just smell it all evening. But that would be a waste, wouldn’t it? I only bought 15g of this, which might end up being 2 cups, and that probably won’t be enough, but this one was more expensive than the rest…
First sip? YES. I instantly love this much more than the Coffee Cake. It’s just BAMMM. Rich chocolate and hazelnut and sweet sweetness. I guess there’s oolong under here? Mostly I’m tasting hot liquid nutella with a tiny bit of an odd aftertaste that I can’t identify, but do not mind.
Drat. Now I wish I’d grabbed more than 15g. Suppose that’s move incentive to find high paying work. :P
Preparation
Is 5 minutes at boiling your preferred steeping time for oolongs, or is it DT oolongs, or was it just this oolong? I figured it would be quicker to ask than go through all your oolong tasting notes. =)
I usually do boilings at a little less, but I typically just go by the instructions. It said to steep 5 min at 95, so I thought I’d do what I was told, at least for the first time.
What temp do you usually do it at?
Thank you!
I always follow the instructions, but if it’s a tea sans instructions, I tend to – by default – do it the Lupicia way; full boil at 1.5-2 minutes. Then again, they’re all very green oolongs, so I’d probably reconsider if I stumbled over an unidentified black oolong blend.
The aftertaste is the licorice root, btw. It’s kind of sweet, in the front of your mouth? I can’t stand it, sadly, and I had such high hopes for this one.
Yeah. I ended up not resteeping it, which isn’t the best sign when I only have enough left for one more cup. The hazelnut was just so strong/strange.
That’s why I don’t rate teas on my first sip. Especially on launch day. I get excitable.
I picked up about 25 g of this one and a few of the others – I am excited to try it…damn power going out and hindering my tea tasting ability :P
And I definitely get what you mean about being excitable on launch day…At midnight I was checking out David’s website to see the new flavors
Hahahah. Yeah I did the same – and then I made a spreadsheet with the prices so I could decide how much of everything to buy beforehand. :)
I just remember buying all the FALL teas and being OMG OMG these are great, and then a few days after was just… oh, why did I say that. /0\ So I’m trying to be cautious.
I only wish I’d noticed the licorice in the store before I bought it. I hate licorice, soooo much.
Thank you to cha dao (Now known as Alex_Allen) for this gift of tea!
I met Alex at the Rocky Mt. Tea Festival on Saturday!
He’s a very handsome and charming fellow!
(I know he’d hate me saying that but he can get back at me now that he knows how talkative and annoying I am in person!).
Alex walked right on up to me at the end of my Cooking with Tea class (which had 5 courses and was yum-o) and said “Are you Bonnie?” And he handed me this tea gift. (Here you’re supposed to say “Awe, wasn’t that nice.”)
Well, I had a tea gift for him too…so we were being true to our Steepster selves and didn’t shame all of you our online friends.
We took an Oolong class together. I’ll talk about that when I do an Oolong tea review.
So, this was quite a big gift! Alex has no idea that before leaving Boulder, I stopped at Peppercorn (kitchen goods) and bought two 6oz tumblers just to prepare this tea (wanted it to be special).
Tea Time
The dry leaves were very pretty as though someone had pressed prescious blades of tea in the pages of an enormous book between waxed paper.
Vibrant greens in varigated shades, most unbroken, two leaves and often a pale bud.
When I stuck my nose into the bag there was a salty buttered spinach smell. Made me hungry.
The first 2 minute steep was so pretty. The green leaves glistening and swirling in my glass. Pale yellow green color and slightly sweet bean scented.
If you could catch the color and drink it…this would be what I tasted. The lightest bean and a vaporous sweetness.
No astringency or dryness at all.
For the second steep the leaves became larger and turned green with yellow.
I played lazily with the leaves, swirling them around, up and down until I was ready to strain them into the second tumbler.
I could have gone longer I’m sure… because this tea doesn’t become astringent.
At the sipping, I was pleased at the sweetness. There was a floral scent that was not present before. At first I thought of vanilla and jasmine but then changed my mind and thought of more of honeysuckle. (You have to consider these things for awhile)
Even though the tea was juicy and sweeter than before, there was a dryness under the tongue yet still no bitterness or astringenty on the finish.
The light sweet bean flavor was the only vegital taste. The mouthfeel not thin but also not buttery.
I wanted to see what would happen when the tea cooled.
After a few minutes, while the tea was still warm, I took a sip and discovered that the tea had become very silky. I thought there might be a transition to buttery as I’ve experienced before but this was very smooth, not thick at all and delightfully silky!
I can see why Alex loves this tea! It’s very forgiving if you mess up the steep time. Silky smooth when cooled and not astringent. Lightly fragrant and sweet.
Thank you Alex…it was a pleasure to meet you!
How nice! Sounds like a lovely tea gift, and a fun meeting of the Steepster-ites.
Poor Chadao kept trying to offer me the gaiwan to serve everyone at our table and I kept refusing because I’m a gaiwan Klutzy person! By the end of 15 or 16 tastings I was a bit tea buzzed. A good way to meet people and make an impression! Duh!
That’s awesome that you had a tea meet up! :D
Hi Bonnie, just read this post. I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! I especially liked how you swirled the leaves during the second steep. In Chinese tea culture, using the gaiwan lid to let the leaves “dance” for you is supposed to allow them to be more “free” and release a better flavor. Like we talked about at the tea festival, it’s all about building a relationship with the tea. If you have more of this tea, you should try more steepings next time. I can usually get four or five, increasing the time by a minute starting with the third steep.
Oh my yes! My only relationships are with tea and invisible but real people on Steepster (except a trip to the tea shop or outing with a family member). In my imagination you are all handsome and lovely.
“beauty is that which is unrepeatable” so in truth, your imagination is correct ;)
i have a jewish step family. it is important to note that judaism is one of the few religions where you can be a non believer and still be a member: a jew is a jew, regardless of belief. a rare thing. my step father always reveled in ‘jewish pork chop wednesdays’ lol, and griped as he helped us haul up the christmas tree… just like every year he would wince as we muddled the hebrew words of the channukah prayers…. we tried hard!
happy channukha MissB. Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai E-lo-he-nu Me-lech Ha-olam she-heche-ya-nu ve-ki-yi-ma-nu ve-higi-a-nu liz-man ha-zeh.
Thanks for sharing such and intimate and personal experience and memory. Interfaith families can flesh out to be really interesting but also confusing experiences. I have friends who have Hindu/ Muslim, and Sikh/Catholic as well as other various backgrounds. My family with a few exceptions has fallen out of faith which is kind of sad considering my G. grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, but I do understand the value of spirituality and have felt incredible energy and had incredible experiences in spiritual places and sharing in the rites of others. Most of the time, I kind of feel like a spiritual refugee. The faiths of my ancestors have been lost to time and I haven’t really found a form of spirituality that I connect completely with. Even my older Christian relatives used to go to different denomination churches every week when I visited them. I’m glad that you were able to find such an intimate connection to your faith and heritage. Enjoy this holiday season!
yyz…. has anyone told you today that you are awesome?
More tears, the good kind. Thank you both. :)
what a lovely review :) I have a sample of this tea and I should have it tomorrow
Awww! MissB , you have me all choked up and full of chills…The irony that they had to print that awful book. I had to read it many years ago for a school project and I wished I could just forget about its madness.
What an incredible and inspiring story. You’re a very good writer, such a heartfelt story. thanks for sharing :-)
Thank you for sharing that! :)
Beautiful!
<3 !
Thank you all. :) When I was researching my heritage, I heard a story from a relatively famous rabbi who said, “Mein Kampf was the best book ever written.” Puzzled, the interviewer asked why he would ever say such a thing. I’m paraphrasing, however he responded something along the lines of, “Many a Jew kept this book in their home during the war, and that’s why I, and others like me, are/still alive.” So I too am grateful for the book, even if it’s an unusual take on the subject.
have you ever seen Europa, Europa? It’s a movie from the early to mid 80’s I think, but along similar veins. It’s a true story about how a teenage Jewish boy survives the second world war among the Nazi’s. His attempts at fleeing result in him being adopted by a German army unit, and he ends up having to play along in order to survive. It’s a movie I think you might appreciate, as I always find that it is also a message about how we can still find humanity and kindness among other even in very dark times.
Your story made me cry. Beautiful note
Thank you boychik. I mean, crying is a good thing in this case, right? :) Also, thanks for the suggestion yyz!
Amazing that you made such a discovery and bad that jews were prosecuted for many centures. i ordered Run boy run for my daughter last summer. turned out i was a reader, she said its too sad for her. i will make sure she reads it but dont want any pressure.
Made me tear up, but that’s ok. smiles It’s hard for many people to contemplate the idea of doing distastful or outrightly awful things in the name of survival.