250 Tasting Notes
I must be doing something wrong…
I have tried several times to brew this right—even though others claim this tea is foolproof—but every time it comes out bitter and undrinkable! I want to like it, the smell is intriguing, but then something happens once hot water is added and it comes out tasting like I brewed old, bitter herbs instead of magical-natural-high-jungle-tea. Guess I’ll be returning what I have to the store…
Preparation
I wanted to try a black tea for the $1 tea promotion and the sales girls recommended this upon hearing how disappointed I was with the Orange Pekoe. Let me tell you THIS is what black tea should taste like!
Steeped, it turns a lovely, deep orange colour with a robust flavour to match! Deep and sweet, with hints of honey and malt, this tea is lovely, lovely, lovely. Have I mentioned that it’s lovely? No need for milk or sugar, although I am sure this tea would stand up to them just fine, but I’m having it straight. Mmmm, Orange Pekoe could learn a thing or two from this tea…
Oh, and I totally left the bag in waaaay longer than it was supposed to be, but no bitterness. Nothing. Nada. Just smooth, dreamy tea.
Preparation
I had this today as the $1 straight tea promo and I suspect that I let it steep a touch too long because while it was grassy and fresh there was an unfortunate hint of bitterness that I suspect could have been avoided had I removed the teabag a moment sooner. Besides that, this tea was lovely and light, brewing a beautiful pale golden green. I won’t rate it, since I messed up the steeping…
Second steep: Alright, so I saved the leaves for when I could steep them again and am I glad I did! It still has loads of flavour: grassy with the faintest hint of wood-fire, and a creaminess that reminds vaguely me of Quangzhou Milk Oolong. With the bitterness gone maybe I can get another steep…
Nope, no luck. My husband threw away the leaves before I had the chance. Oh well, 2 steeps was well worth the $1 I paid.
Preparation
This doesn’t taste so much like hot chocolate, as it stated in the description… more like a kind of caramel?
I mean, I can taste the hints of coconut & chamomile, but not really the chocolate flavour that they are supposed to create. This is not to say that’s a bad thing, this tea is rich and creamy tasting, without the addition of milk or sugar. I am sure you could make an interesting tea latte out of it if you felt so led—might have to try that next time.
The mixture of white and black tea lends an interesting body to this tea, with the black bulking up the flavour of the white, while the white ensures that the black doesn’t turn too bitter. I would have thought that mixing white and black would lead to the white being overwhelmed considerably, but somehow in this tea is just works! How do they do it? I have no idea…
Preparation
“The mixture of white and black tea lends an interesting body to this tea, with the black bulking up the flavour of the white, while the white ensures that the black doesn’t turn too bitter. I would have thought that mixing white and black would lead to the white being overwhelmed considerably, but somehow in this tea is just works! How do they do it? I have no idea…”
This.
This?
I was quoting your bit and by saying “this” I was implying that I was (am) in agreement with the statement. :)
The leaves smell oddly like… cream soda? Well, that’s different.
Strangely enough, I think this tea tastes similar to last years Geisha Plum or Whisky White (even though they really have NO ingredients in common, and without the dreaded bitterness). Initially, I didn’t get my hopes up that this tea would blow me away, but it’s doing just that! It’s light and naturally sweet, no need to add agave, honey or sugar. The black tea didn’t go bitter, and the fruitiness isn’t overwhelming either. It’s just perfectly sweet, light, fruity goodness in a cup.
For me, it’s always WAY too sweet. I’ve never had bitter though. Hmm..
It’s all good, I returned the bag and used the credit to buy something else…