985 Tasting Notes
Second tea of the day and the end of my sample…..
Yes, this is smokey and really reminds me of a mid range Keemun. Perhaps a little less smokey, and slightly more cocoa noted. However, I don’t think it differs enough to make it a part of my stash.
I did have just a little left over, not quite a mug worth. I have started a ‘Franken-Blend’ of all my black teas and cant wait to taste it. It has a little Golden Monkey, a tsp of Laoshan Black, the end of my Joseph Wesley Dian Hong sample, and the end of this one. I am thinking I need to tackle that little bit of tea soon!
Preparation
Tea of the afternoon……
I recently bought a few black tea samples from Upton again. I tend to do this for entertainment, mostly, but every now and then I find something great.
I get the typical profile of a quality Keemun. This is oh so smooth and gentle. Very low to almost undetectable on the smoke. Notes of cocoa, bread, malt (I kind of think the bread/malt note is very similar in a way) with a touch of floral. One of the reasons this one caught my eye is that it is the same type of tea that Andrews & Dunham is offering as their limited Edition Spring Keemun. I am still on the fence about that one due to the cost and no samples. This one is pretty pricey on its own. It hits about the max I feel comfortable spending, if the tea is special. I am not sure if this one is worth it.
Usual mug method.
Preparation
JenW I bought that A&D Spring Keemun and I would be happy to send you some. It’s nice but its not one I will hoard, so hit me up if you want some.
MzPriss- Thank you so much for the offer, but I think I will skip it. I am one of those weird people who always falls madly in love with a limited tea and then I am kicking myself later, LOL! I am just going to save myself the hassle!
Tea of the afternoon……
I have had this sample in my stash for a while. I am not sure why it took me so long to try it. Oh well. It is an interesting one. A Panyang congou with a hint of smoke. Very Keemun-like. Fun to try for someone like me, but I am pretty sure this one will not go on the rebuy list. It kind of seems to be in the same range as the Keemun at Joseph Wesley, but not nearly as good.
Usual mug method.
Flavors: Berries, Malt
Preparation
Tea of the morning……
This is a great morning tea. It is heavier on the malt than what I usually drink. In fact, it kind of reminds me of Assam in a way. Nice and hearty, dark chocolate notes, with a serious kick. Today I decided to brew by the mug, and the second steep at 6 minutes was just as good and hearty as the first.
I think I read in a response to another Steepster poster that this one was going into sachet only form soon. I do find that kind of disappointing, just because I am a loose leaf drinker and only use bagged tea when I travel. It is not so much that I don’t think a high quality tea should come in sachet form, as I like the simplicity and reduced waste from loose leaf as much as I love the flavor. I also understand that business has to evolve in order to survive. Bagged tea makes more sense for some and is very convenient. I am one customer, and I want the company to be around for a while, so I am going to trust what is going on for now.
Usual mug method.
Flavors: Dark Bittersweet, Malt
Preparation
Agree. Makes me sad too :(
It gives me hope that you want the tea to stay in loose leaf form. With that said, one of our goals is to limit the number of teas we make available so that you may have a more meaningful relationship with them. It’s always seemed that offering 60+ teas might make good business sense but doesn’t help the customer gain an appreciation for any particular tea. We’re taking this tea out of the line-up so that we can introduce another loose leaf tea that I believe is better suited for our project. I hope that after you taste the new tea you’ll approve of our decision to give the #3 jersey to this new tea. As always, thanks for the comments. -Joe
Joseph Wesley Black Tea, I am definitely looking forward to whatever you have to offer in the future. I do appreciate your approach, which is why I am excited to see how it unfolds. Yes, the (hopefully) more dignified version of fan-girling, here!
Tea of the morning…….
It is always a good time to pare down the stash. This is a tea I will happily drink, but was not planning on buying more because the cost does not quite match up with the enjoyment for me. It is also currently out of stock, and I have less than 2 ounces, so that makes it an ideal tea to drink until it is gone. It has just been my way of getting things under control for the last year or so. It has been working for reducing the stash, but I always seem to fall in love with teas that are on their way out. Luckily, for my storage space (and the way I am trying to budget my tea purchases better this year), this one is not available or I might cave and buy one more tin.
Part of the reason teas like this are catching my eye lately is that I am cutting back on the amount of sweetener I put in my tea. Teas that are naturally sweet just taste better. There are notes of honey, sweet potato, a hint of cocoa. Decent mouthfeel. Pretty much yum. I do wonder if there will be a swing in what I like. So far, I am only noticing that the more earthy/smokey teas don’t appeal quite as much. That could change as my palate adjusts to less sweet overall, so I am not changing my staples list much for now.
The leaves on this one are also interesting. Here is a weird comparison for you…..remember the manual pencil sharpeners from grade school? They were metal, and usually attached to the wall somewhere. They were operated with a crank and had a metal reservoir kind of thing that went over the blades to catch the shavings. The shavings were a long skinny yellow-tipped corkscrew…..that is the shape of these leaves. The golden tips in the tea just add to the pencil shaving look of your yellow #2 pencils.
Anyway, this is tasting good today.
Usual teapot method.
Flavors: Cocoa, Honey, Sweet Potatoes
Preparation
Tea of the morning……
Still absolutely love this one after all this time. I did notice a significant price jump from when I first started purchasing this. Definitely something to keep in mind when purchasing again, but it is a fantastic tea and worth having around. It is still just under half the cost of my new favorite golden tipped bai lin. So glad I don’t have to choose one.
Usual teapot method.
Preparation
Matcha of the morning…..
Well, this is actually my second matcha today. I should be bouncing from the rafters, pretty soon. This was my free sample with my last order. I wish I knew what flavoring level the samples are. I asked on Steepster once, but my inquiry must have been overlooked. I have not taken the time to email directly, so that is on me.
This is pretty good. It really kind of reminds me of the Eggnog matcha, though. They are very similar tastes, I guess. I kind of feel that way about English Toffee and Caramel, too, but DS likes the English Toffee and not the Caramel. Go figure. I guess this could be a possibility for a flavor in the rotation. We can see if my daughter likes this better than French Vanilla. One of these days, I need to try a strawberry or coconut version.
Prepared with 8oz 1% milk, 1/2 tsp matcha and a little sweetener in a personal blender. No ice this time.
Tea of the morning……
I think this tea went through a name change. I know I added it to my cupboard when I bought it, but this is what the pouch says. All of the vital statistics between the two are the same, but there seems to be two pages with differing names. Look up Nonpareil Fengqing China Red Black Tea from Teavivre. If you search that name on the website, you get the Nonpareil Dian Hong pictures, so I think it is right.
Anyway, I enjoy this, but I don’t really think of it as anything too special. I am guessing it is a tea for gongfu brewing, and I just don’t often brew that way. I will enjoy it while I have it, but like I said, I think its uniqueness is lost on me and my western brewing ways.
Usual teapot method.
Flavors: Cocoa, Flowers
Preparation
Tea of the morning……
Just imagine a golden tipped Bai Lin. This is a wonderful tea. The leaves are golden, fluffy, and just a little bit fuzzy. It looks very similar to the golden tip version of Teavivre’s Dian Hong. But this is Bai Lin! I am getting notes of cocoa and honey, and I know this will be on my rebuy list. Really, it does not even seem out of the range of a golden tipped tea for price. So happy I bought some of this one.
Very impressed with Joseph Wesley!
Usual (indulgent) teapot method.
Flavors: Caramel, Cocoa, Honey
That sounds like it will be quite a tasty ‘franken-blend’! :)
Oh see? I would totally love that blend. I do that too. I usually put a couple a big pinches of Black Beauty in morning mug of Special Dark. Makes me hum.