45 Tasting Notes
Brewed Gong Fu style. This smells so creamy and buttery dry. Even when brewed, it smells almost exactly like movie theatre popcorn butter! There’s no way that this is natural, definitely the added milk flavour, but it’s so good! I adore popcorn butter. The mouth feel is thick too, which adds to the enjoyment. This only lasts for a couple of steeps, after which this starts to taste like a more natural milk oolong. Peachy, sweet, and more green the more steeps in you go. I’m not sure just how far this would go, since I had to stop (didn’t want to be up all night, and it was getting late.) As much as I want to prefer all natural milk oolongs, I really enjoyed the boost of flavor this one has. I’m not sure I’ll go out of my way to order it, but it sure is tasty.
Mmm… This is so good! This smells like fresh strawberries, and just when I think that’s all, I get this awesome whiff of cake, sweet and spongy. Not really any cream to it, but like just thawed strawberries with lots of juice poured over vanilla cake. This Rooibos base was a good choice too. Not overly woodsy, and not sour. Best of all, no caffeine, so this is a great after dinner treat. I really like this. If I found other teas I like as much as this one, I might make an order from this place.
GCTTB
These look so nice. Long spindles of leaf, mostly a nice golden yellow, and dwindling to black. The brewed scent is all smooth chocolate with fruit and a bit of a malty edge. Taste wise, the malt is actually strongest for me. That strong chocolate scent doesn’t quite follow through in the flavour. It’s definitely there, just not as much as that great smell would have you believe. Quality, enjoyable, but didn’t stand out to me.
GCTTB
Coming back to a blended tea now. Even just the smell of this is soothing. I was a little sceptical of following the instructions to boil the water, given that this is a green and black blend, but I figured Golden Moon probably knows what they’re doing. The result? Not bad at all! There’s a slight bit more bitterness than I strictly enjoy, but it doesn’t ruin it by any means. I might have accidentally left it for a couple of seconds passed the recommended 4 min as well. On the first few sips, there’s a touch of bite from the gunpowder, but it’s quickly washed away by sweetness. I can’t taste that bite passed the first few sips though. The black base is fairly muted as well, but I don’t mind! I’m here for the vanilla and mint! There is an ice cream or frosting edge to the vanilla, but is still doesn’t seem artificial. Nothing complex, not a lot of notes to pick out, just simple, comforting goodness. Yum! PS: I tried to resteep it later, with not a lot of luck. Too much green veggie, that mixed weird with the bit of remaining vanilla. Good first cup though!
GCTTB
There was just enough of this left for one session with it. This smells so much like maple in the bag! I was really surprised to read that it’s the mushrooms that are giving off this scent. When tasting the first brew, most of what I was tasting was maple, and a sort of grain like or whole wheat flavor, as well as a sour, fruit like note. To my disappointment though, no mushrooms. Happily, they made an appearance in subsequent steeps, a little in the flavor, but more so in the savoury aftertaste. There’s a slight a stringency and bitterness, but it’s mild. By the third, ah! There’s the chocolate notes, and the fruit notes remain. It just gets more savoury as it goes, as the mushrooms and wood flavors really come out to play. I think I love these mushrooms! The leaves are a milk chocolate brown, and they really expanded throughout my session with them, these are big pieces of leaf, and they lasted well, at 8 sweepings filling the recommended times on the site. Huge thanks to whoever put this in the box. I’ve always wanted to make a Whispering Pines order, but the cost really prevented me from buying blind, even with the good reviews. Now I get all the hype. Chocolate mushrooms are da bomb!
This smells so good, enough to make me wish Teavana wasn’t overpriced and that their sales tactics didn’t suck. They’re also some drive away from me. Taste wise, holy added sugar batman! Yikes. After sampling mostly straight teas the last few days, this is a little much for me. I was excited by the smell, but all I taste excessive sugar, cinnamon, and a bit of tartness. If I concentrate, maybe a can find some cloves. It’s not horrible, and I’ll finish my cup, but I probably wouldn’t make a trip for this or look for it specifically. I might be more forgiving had they named it Tart Cinnamon Heart, or something. Not a keeper for me.I
GCTTB
Wow! I’m going to preface this review by telling you that I’m not a huge fan of licorice, and the anise makes this smell a lot like it when dry. Passed that, this the spices are great! I’m a huge fan of most Chai teas, and this one packs a punch, when brewed, it doesn’t taste as much like licorice, and It’s not overly hot in a spicy way, but there’s definitely a tingle on the back of my tongue, partly from the peppercorns, but also from the cloves as there’s also a numbing sensation going on. The rest of the flavors balance wonderfully! I don’t know what spiced brandy is supposed to taste like, but I actually really like this. It’s very full flavored, and the peppercorns really linger. Strong, just the way Iike it! I’m stongly debatin taking this out of the box and keeping it.
