1353 Tasting Notes
In a fit of experimental inspiration I took a pot of generic Gunpowder and added a smidge of peppermint to it. The result is… interesting. Minty. It’s sufficiently drinkable that I’m not going to pour it out, but I wouldn’t really recommend the combination. Not as served hot anyway. I suspect it would work a lot better on ice.
When smelling the leaves or the steeped tea, you’re not left in the slightest bit of doubt as to what marzipan is made of. When they say it’s a sweet tea, they’re not kidding! Show me a person who takes this tea with sweetener and I’ll show you a person with a sugar problem. It’s not unbearably sweet though, and the actual flavour is more black tea with a streak of almond than it’s the unbearable sweetness that you get from the scent. It’s actually much better than expected, but unlikely to be a tea I’ll be drinking large amounts of. One small pot now and then should suffice.
One of the reasons I like shopping at Teaspring is the bonus points you get for each purchase. This is a sample sized piece of the brick bought for those bonus points. I don’t drink a lot of Pu-ehr, but when I do I tend to like it. The colour of this one is bright reddish brown and the aroma is spicy and so strong that you can smell it already when pouring a cup. No need to get your nose anywhere near the cup for it actually. The flavour doesn’t quite live up to the aroma, though. You expect something strong, but it isn’t. The flavour is mostly there in the after-taste. It’s still good though.
This is now sold as Princess Blend, but when I bought it was called the Isabella Blend, named after the youngest of the danish princesses (turning 2 later this month). It’s a nice, fairly sweet tea, and I’m even able, with some concentration, to find the vanilla and raspberry notes. They’re very subtle though, I think. It’s a pretty girly sort of tea.
I had this on the train home from my parents’. I had a 1st class ticket which means access to free coffee and tea. I’ve had a sampler of Kusmi teabags before and found the brand largely overrated. I haven’t changed my mind. It’s better than your average cheap teabags, but it doesn’t really live up to what people have said of it. Even this one, that is merely a blend of Darjeeling and Assam has a synthetic sort of hint to it. Could be from being stored right next to some bags with a jasmine tea in it, but with each bag sealed in an air tight foil satchel I kind of doubt it.
I don’t know whether to give it a thumbs up or thumbs down. I don’t hate it, but I wouldn’t buy it for myself.
This is one of my favourite greens with additives. It’s got a really sweet flavour. Hard to describe it exactly, and this is going to sound really strange, but it’s sort of like Dr. Pepper only not. This particular batch that I’ve got though is getting on in age, so it’s turned a little dull, but it’s still enjoyable.
I only bought this because they were out of regular strawberry and I wanted some strawberry tea. I have a strong dislike of cream in tea (Milk! ALWAYS milk! Never cream! Milk!) but I was desperate enough to try it on the promise that it was supposedly sweet and summerly. The leaves smell lovely but all I can taste in the cup is the black tea and the cream. No berries of any kind. It’s drinkable, but I won’t be buying this again.
The leaves are large and pretty and the first cup is almost colourless. It grows darker as it is allowed to sit and develop. The flavour and the scent of it are very delicate just like a white tea should be, but if brewed too strong or oversteeped it becomes very bitter and nearly undrinkable.
When I bought this I wondered how it was possible to make a white fruit blend without overpowering the white tea. It is, however, entirely possible. I wouldn’t say it tasted particularly fruity. Most of what I can taste is the white tea, but it’s got a fruity sort of after-taste instead which I find much more pleasant than had it been a stronger more full-bodied fruit flavour.
