150 Tasting Notes
I wish that I could give QuiltGuppy a HUGE hug for sending me this tea! Her generosity has put to rest a long running tea mystery involving an unmarked grey clay urn, the most incredible cinnamon tea I’ve ever tasted, and my crazy friend Rachel.
First, you shall have a story. I once had a friend named Rachel who was a sane(ish) individual. Rachel was from NY and she would go back home for the holidays every year. We would exchange gifts after the holidays, and one year she gave me an unmarked grey clay urn with the most fantastic cinnamon loose leaf tea inside. I asked where she purchased the tea and she said, “An Asian place in NY”. What?! That’s not an answer! But, I let it go and I figured that I’d ask again another day.
I did ask again. Rachel became more and more vague until she eventually began to deny that she’d given me the tea at all. Now, that’s just crazy! I eventually gave up asking and I resigned myself to parceling the tea out as if it were gold. I kept the tea in a special “safe” place in the cupboard. Safe until one day it fell over, rolled out, and smashed on the kitchen floor. Destroyed! My favorite tea ever was gone and crazy Rachel wouldn’t tell me where she’d bought it. I was so upset!
Decaf Hot Cinnamon Spice is my beloved anonymous cinnamon tea reincarnated. Its wonderful sweet spicy flavor fills my heart with joy. This tea has a name and I can buy more! I can’t thank you enough QuiltGuppy :)
I have the wonderfully generous and beautifully kind QuiltGuppy to thank for my sample of this tea.
We all know that Lapsang Souchong teas are smokey, but the aroma of this tea dry gives my smoked salts some seriously smokey competition. The smokey aroma lessens a bit as the tea steeps. At first sip this tea is, you guessed it, smokey. This develops into a slightly peppery and far less smokey body, and then to a nice savory finish. The black tea is very smooth and not the least bit bitter. This is a very good tea, but I have to admit that I’m not a huge Lapsang Souchong fan in general. However, I do find myself wanting to marinate shiitake mushrooms in it. Add some diced shallots, olive oil, a splash of mirin, a little tamari… yum!
On a side note, my puppy really seems to enjoy this tea. I’m having a weird busy morning, so I decided to have leftover yellow curry for breakfast. Leftover yellow curry and a cup of Lapsang Souchong makes for a dicey breakfast combo at best. Well, I left my questionable breakfast unattended for a moment and my puppy apparently figured out how to jump onto the cocktail table. When I returned, he had eaten a few big bites of curry and lapped up a good 1/4 cup of my tea. I called my vet, because I worry, and he’ll be fine. BUT my afternoon may prove to be very interesting… I can hear his belly gurgling now :/
Silly tea Puppy!!!!!!
I know! Buckley is a dachshund pup that had a very hard early life. When we adopted him he was malnourished and lethargic, but now he’s healthy and rambunctious. I should know better than to leave food out anywhere near a hungry hound :)
I’m so glad he has a loving home now! I grew up w a Dachshund and he was an amazing friend dog. He loved his food too! Used to steal the lunches that my grandmother packed me, opened the paper carefully as a person and eat them holding between his paws! He would also go into purses, get gum, unwrap it, and sit there and chew it like a person!!!! Not swallow it but spit it out after it had no flavor!
We adopted our Beni Beagle at 9 mos old – malnourished and unsocialized – and now he is almost 14!!!! Such a loving good dog. I can’t understand how his previous owners could have mistreated him.
I used to have a bloodhound named Pluto, who could stand on his hind legs and easily reach ANYTHING left on the counters or kitchen table, which meant that as soon as food was cooked, it had to be consumed and not left to cool on the kitchen counter. (Lesson learned many times over. He especially loved my challah.)
I’ve never had a specific breed of dog before, and it’s so interesting to see how deeply breed traits run. I always knew that hounds had good noses, but WOW are they ever food focused. We now have two doxies under the age of three and they’re total partners in crime! Our beloved 13 year old mutt is not amused.
JacquelineM, I can’t understand how people can be so cruel either. The way I see it is that we don’t have to include children or pets in our lives. But if you choose to include either, you had better damn well take the best possible carre of them. No exceptions or excuses.
Amen, Jenn!
Thank you, sistah-lady-friend :)
Fantastic! At first sip there’s a very natural tasting rich banana flavor. That moves to a smooth black tea with a touch of walnut, and then a lovely buttery finish. So very, very, very delicious. I’m going for a second steep.
I love green tea and I shamlessly adore fruity teas. I brewed this one iced and I think that I may add one less tsp. of tea in the next batch. The tea came out far more grassy than fruity. All of this being said, it’s still a super refreshing and delicious. I think that I’ll like it even more once I get the brewing proportions right.
This tea is freak’n fantastic! At first sip I get a warm maple syrup flavor which I expected from both the name and the amazing aroma of the dry tea. What I didn’t expect was the complexity of this tea. That initial warm maple syrup taste moves into a buttery rich pancake flavor. It literally tastes like you took hearty bite of your pancake breakfast and washed it down with a sip of smooth high quality black tea. This tea is making me so happy this morning!
Holy honeybush Batman! Coconut Cheesecake Honeybush is just plain delish. Lovey coconutty yumminess from start to creamy finish. As I’ve read in a few other reviews, I didn’t get a cheesecake flavor from this tea but the rich finish is enough for me. Very good indeed!
Squeeeeeeeel! Okay, I haven’t tried this one yet because I’m saving it for tomorrow morning. BUT I had to share that I just received TWO 52teas orders that I’ve been anxiously awaiting. My cup runneth over with foodie tea goodness. I have six new teas to try! Life is good :)
P.S. I’m not complaining about the wait, and I hope Frank is feeling much better.
A great grand thank you hug to the incomparable QuiltGuppy for sending me this sample. Through QuiltGuppy’s generosity my tea selection seems so much more well rounded. Left to my own devices, it would be all foodie/ candy teas all the time. Cucumber and cream cheese tea sandwich green rooibos? Yes, please!
This tea… This tea is very interesting. At first sip I get a malty and even smokey flavor. That moves to a sweet and, dare I say it, floral tone. The black tea has a hint of bitterness to it for me. I’ve noticed that some people dropped the steeping temperature to lessen the bitterness a bit. I have just enough in my sample pack for one or two more tries. I don’t mind the slightly floral tone of this tea, but I don’t think I’d buy it. It is lovely for a try though.
I finally made Luscious Watermelon iced today. WOW! It’s a delicious punch in the face. I was actually afraid that this tea would taste too similiar to Goji Pop iced, but that was silly because both teas stand out in their individual greatness. YUUUUMMMMM!
I’ve already reveiwed this tea hot, but it’s so much more wonderful iced! My husband nearly drank my entire pitcher of iced Goji Pop himself. This morning he asked me to order more. MY husband requested that I buy more tea! What?!
Cyber hug received! :) I’m so glad I could help you find your fave tea’s reincarnation. This is available in a loose version, too, and as Harney’s is in NY, maybe this actually is your tea!
What if? I don’t know why crazy Rachel had to be so sketchy about it!
I’m so excited about ordering this tea :)