1949 Tasting Notes
Courtney sent me this tea, thank you and as getting H&S teas here is a bit hard (a narrow selection); I am glad to have an opportunity to give it a try. I just looked and yes, I can get a tin of this, but it is a bit too much.
Anyway, it is a mellow black tea with stonefruit flavour. I am though not really sure if I can point out apricot after first session. The scent is strong and can be offputting for some for sure. I have been expecting also more complex fruity flavour — it was somehow flat and maybe a wee artificial to me. Just being fruity, but not like a biting a fresh apricot with juicy and mouthcoating experience.
While it’s not bad in conclusion, I probably expected more; especially with my previous experience with H&S teas.
Preparation
A sipdown! (M: 1 Y: 78)
This month is one huge craziness in my world; with very little time to drink (and enjoy!) tea. Definitely I don’t really want to drink caffeine-full tea in the evenings after coming home; while waking up early mornings.
And this is next-to-last tea from P&T I have in my office. I was today afternoon in the office all alone waiting for colleagues.
This blend, mellow, smooth was as well as citrusy and definitely I have noticed lemongrass. Maybe a little disappointing was that in today cold day there was just too little ginger for warming me up.
Two years ago derk drank this and saved a tea bag for me. Sadly, it just tastes flat, bitter and tasteless. Flat tasteless hot water after recommended 5 minutes steeping. Nothing of grapefruit or honeybush.
I have been warned, but no tea should be neglected just because one of us doesn’t like it. Sadly, I don’t like it either. Gross.
Update as it’s lukewarm: poured out. Undrinkable.
Preparation
Grapefruit is an unique flavor, Martin, and I love it! Too bad this tea disappoints. Is there a grapefruit-forward tea or tisane you would recommend?
I do have a Grapefruit with Strawberry fruit tisane from Slovakian company. I didn’t found it online with delivery to the US; but it’s very fruity and in my opinion quite genuine. The box contains 16 tea bags. If you’re interested, let me know, I can send you a box or a few tea bags to try.
A couple of Harney blends have grapefruit flavor. I believe Diamond Jubilee is one, but if you search on the site they should pop up.
Yeah, this one was no good. I sent it to for your teabag wrapper collection :P
That counts!
I have bought a few teas from Farmerleaf, focusing mostly on the puerhs. But two bags of black teas jumped to my cart too; and I have decided to try again a Jingmai Sun-dried black after 5 years. I have no idea what Shengtai mean, so feel free to educate me.
Anyway… this tea seems to be definitely more robust and stronger black tea than the 5 years old counterpart. Reading that notes now, and this is definitely “darker” tea. In fact, there are woody notes (oak and cherry), dark honey, autumn leaves and spices. Malt isn’t missing and there is long and a little tingling aftertaste, but I wouldn’t consider it bitter or astringent. Strong in caffeine and warming up body and I am feeling cozy after drinking a mug of this.
For the price 12$ / 100 gr; great deal. But sold out now.
Preparation
My Mandarin is weak but I understand shengtai translates to something similar to ‘grown in a wild way’.
Here: https://www.babelcarp.org/babelcarp/babelcarp.cgi?phrase=Sheng1+Tai4&define=1
Whoa! I haven’t been expecting any reply to that, rather rhetorical, question.
Derk the lovely sent me this tea and it is the very first tea in my new and refurbished room (still shared with older brother). I can easily drink tea prepared gongfu here on my desk, without using windowsill as an extension, where I had my gaiwan, teabowl and thermos. Thank you a lot derk!
I prepared it gongfu, all 5 grams in my 125 ml gaiwan, with temperature carefully heated to 70°C (possible variance +- 2°C), 6 pm.
Oh my…
this is a grassy tea with herb (thyme) flavour. Freshly cut grass, even it’s 3 and half years old. Smooth, round and creamy. Very aromatic, with following steeps turns more into green beans with buttery and oily texture, some florals. Kinda brings me memories of late summer/early autumn in Finland and my hiking trips near the lakes — probably mossy and swampy forest, if it makes some sense with the notes above.
While it has got some umami, it’s not dominant and feels just fine with the other notes. No seaweed as some greens are, no or very low minerality, and I just wish never finishing this tea.
I completely understand my friend’s statement being left with no words. Just go and try it yourself. And tell us your impressions. If you are able to.
Preparation
A sipdown! (M: 5 Y: 77) prompt: A tea Miss Piggy would drink
Okay, I will be honest. I never saw Kermit and his friends as a TV show. I know the characters, mostly Kermit, but that’s none of my business (pun intended).
But luckily, I saw some hints about the others. And I thought that this tea would Miss Piggy drink.
Strong black and high quality tea with sweet notes of banana and fudge. Definitely her tea.
For me… I wasn’t paying attention to this sipdown, sadly.
A sipdown! (M: 4 Y: 76)
In a week, three sessions of this tea; steeped for 2 or so minutes, best before date 2024-12-30, so not past the date, but anyway quite old apparently… not mentioning I just need to reduce amount of teas in my cupboard.
So, yes, happy with sipdown with flavourful cuppa… mostly cloves and cinnamon, sadly absolutely no almon or mandarin anymore here.
It was also somehow flat tasting. Well that was probably because the age. But as I wrote, it’s a sipdown, so I am happy to have another tea down. Now, let’s focus on some other one. Which one?
This sounds like it would have been a pretty stellar tea when the almond and mandarin flavors were present. I am not a fan of much clove, though.
I agree with ashmanra, given my fondness for Bigelow’s Constant Comment, which is a similar concoction, without the almond. For your sip-downs, I encourage you to sip your BEST teas down first! We never know when our number will come up, and “life is too short to drink bad tea”! So unless it’s a sheng Pu’erh that you’re saving for your mutual old age, drink up! As with money, you can’t take it with you! And, when you get to t(e point that he poorer teas just aren’t appealing, you can add them to the compost heap without compunction, for the benefit of your flower garden, and take comfort that it is FINALLY appropriate to acquire new tea!
A tea from derk — thank you, but I assume you sent it mostly because the outer wrapping, didn’t you?
Anyway, it’s a candy like strawberry smelling bag that turns after steeping into candy like pineapple. The base is very hay-like, but the flavours are fine.
Also as my mom said: “You have a wonderful smelling tea.”
So, yep, pretty fine for those not so caring about the tea… fine and fruity. For me, I would like to have a bit stronger fruit notes.
A sipdown! (M: 3 Y: 75) Prompt: A tea from India
A tea from the office, bought during my stay in Germany, from German vendor… but chai is an Indian thing, as well as the Yogi-Ayurvedic stuff.
I actually made this tea yesterday afternoon, when I was working hard and overtime, hardly with any time focusing on the tea itself, but it was nice warming up mug. We experience start of the autumn season with rain showers, cold, foggy mornings, warm afternoons… just the weather when you don’t know what to wear.
This tea is just right in spices level for me, balanced ginger and cloves; warming cinnamon… just I wish it have got some stronger base. I haven’t noticed any cardamom, but as I wrote, I hardly had time to focus on the tea.
Preparation
Just brewed another 2 grams today afternoon after work. Those days after vacation are just terrible.
And when your co-worker is yelling on you, it’s no fun. I am all alone doing so many things, none were my business before and I am still learning; the priorities aren’t well set, it’s just tiring and very exhausing.
As of this week, I already have 4.5 hours overtime, that’s half of the workday! And no, tomorrow it won’t be better. Actually I plan to go earlier to the office to get work done before others wake up and start to distrub me.
Taste wise it was same as last time and I was drowsy again, but this time maybe because I haven’t slept well (woke up at 3am) and worked overtime again today.
Preparation
Martin, sometimes we do have to put in some OT, and that’s why it’s defined. Hopefully this tea helped you settle down so that you CAN sleep, despite being stressed and tired. Just ensure you comply with the maxim “Work to live, don’t live to work.” Meanwhile, I wonder if you have experience with the so-called GABA teas, and if so, were they helpful? The one I’ve tried was an oolong, unlike your tisane today, and I’m perplexed by the notion of a caffeinated tea with GABA, as it seems to me that the two would have a fistfight in my body!
Jim, I am aware of GABA teas; but I haven’t found them so good as herbals for relaxing purposes. Maybe because I want to unwind, I don’t want caffeine boost either.
As of work, yes, this and a few following weeks will be hard, but I am sure it will go better soon-ish.
Martin, yes! My GABA tea also has a huge complement of osmanthus flowers in it, which is the main thing attracting me, I think. I note that the “Betty” tisane you reviewed has chamomile. I adore chamomile, And have been drinking it since childhood in California, where it also grew wild as a weed. (Although I’m learning that the weedy stuff may have been a different species with not-so-great metabolites in it.) I have a bag of Egyptian Chamomile from Tealyra that is my preferred relaxation brew these days. Good luck at work, and cheers!
No plain chamomile for me, thanks!
And also no St. John’s wort.
It’s a tricky to find relaxing teas without the second and the ones with first only.
I found this far too perfume-y when I first got it. Now the tin has been in my office and over time the over-the-top scent has become much better and now I actually quite enjoy this for a work tea.