985 Tasting Notes
Woe is me. Why is it that when you find something unique and interesting, it is sold out. But then I wonder, is it the fact that it is sold out that makes it so desirable?
I had enough left in my sample of this for a pot and a cup. It is definitely somewhere between a black and oolong in taste, but leaning black. It is definitely large in the leaf like an oolong, and oh so mellow. Ah well. I will just enjoy it, feed a little more tea into the pot in subsequent steeps, and drink this for today. So long. I think we could have been very good friends.
Preparation
My afternoon ‘dessert’. I do still like this one. I am about half-way through the 3 ounces that I ordered along with my love that is Rosy Earl Grey. I am still on the fence if I will reorder or not. It does have a good basic base, and the blueberry is pleasant.
24 oz pot, 3 perfect teaspoons (about 4 1/2 actual tsp), freshly boiled water, 4 minutes, double the usual sweet.
Preparation
My tea of the morning.
I am now down to half a mug of coffee in the morning. My Hubby likes to gradually work on eliminating coffee in the summertime. A hot drink loses its appeal for him in hot weather. I have not really noticed that for me this year…I still prefer my tea hot. We are even contemplating giving up the coffee altogether as my beverage of choice is now consumed by tea. (His beverage of choice is beer, but I have a feeling that would not be good for morning consumption!) I guess we will have to see what happens in the Fall. A single cup coffee maker is starting to sound like a good idea!
Anyway, this is not the best Keemun Mao Feng in my cupboard, but it is good. It falls under a mid range for price, which makes it a good budget choice for me. It has all of the attributesof a good Keemun…slightly smokey, cocoa notes, roasty, and is a very good tea. 24 oz pot, 3 level perfect teaspoons (or 4 1/2 actual tsp.), freshly boiled water, 5 minute first steep. Second steep coming up for 7 minutes.
I am getting a variable electric kettle for my birthday (and an early tin of Harney’s Wild Wuyi) next month! So excited!
Preparation
As well you should be! I received the Pino Digital Kettle Pro for Christmas and now I don’t know how I lived without it. It is my constant tea-brewing companion whenever I am at home.
Hmmmm, I did read in a history of tea that the British wanted tea drunk with milk and sugar in the mornings to sustain them, because the tea was replacing ale as the main breakfast drink. Don’t think it works out well so much these days, though!
ashmanra..that is too funny! I guess he was just born in the wrong time. However, he brews his own beer several times a year, and loves trying new ones. (He happens to currently be going through an IPA phase…) I imagine the variety wasn’t so great back then.
I love his beer hobby. It makes a 60 cent cup of tea seem like a bargain!
I have pretty much cut coffee out myself, I turned to tea for health reasons, a bunch of them, then fell completely for loose leaf. QuiltGuppy has helped shape my tastes. I was a coffee snob, French Press, whole bean, even roasted some of my own…I still drink a cup now and then, sometimes, I just need a good Guatemala Antigua, or some Kenyan Estate, but I am 95% tea now.
I’m married to a Colombian and don’t think I’ll ever be able (or allowed!) to stop drinking coffee. ;) (I haven’t had any in a few weeks, though.) That being said, he fully supports my enjoyment of tea and even bought me the Breville to surprise me. I wonder if he’d support it as much if I decided I needed a nice ale in the morning… ;)
@SimplyJenW – Ooh, nice angle! Don’t you love it when that works out? :D
A generous sample from QuiltGuppy of one of her own custom blends. This one is pretty good. I like that it is lower caffeine, which makes it great for a late afternoon/evening tea. I definitely get all three flavors…the vanilla, coconut, and hazelnut- all flavors that I like . The tea base works with the flavors, too. 24 oz. pot, 3 perfect teaspoons, freshly boiled water for 4 mintes. Lightly sweetened.
Preparation
This cup of tea should have been a disaster. I overbrewed by about three minutes, and it is bagged. I also skipped any type of additions, as I usually lightly sweeten my tea. However, this is quite good! I am shocked, and this needs to be on my shopping list for when I am travelling. When not at home, it is good to have fool-proof tea on hand…..
Thank you to teawing for sending me some of this to try!
Preparation
This has been in my cupboard for a few weeks, and I am just now getting around to trying it out. Really, ashmanra should get some kind of kickback from Harney…there were a few things in my last order where I just skipped the sample and bought a tin. I think I did that in my web order before this one, too, come to think of it…..
This is really good. It is definitely different than Vanilla Comoro. The vanilla is lighter, but oh the tea base is sooooo smooth….. I do think I might add a little more leaf to the next pot. 24 oz teapot, 3 perfect teaspoons- level (aren’t these really a tsp and a half? I bet that throws all of my previous notes off for readers, because I always use this spoon to measure tea), freshly boiled water, 4 minutes.
Preparation
I never realized that about the perfect teaspoon… I never check it’s volume when I got it, but I guess that would make sense given the measurements I’ve ended up using to brew most teas (1.5 perfect teaspoons for 12oz water… so actually 2.25 tsp?)
I’ve never heard of the perfect teaspoon! Where do you get it?
It looks that way…..my perfect teaspoon holds as much as my 1/2 TBS. measuring spoon, which calculates out to 1 1/2 tsp (because there are three tsp in a TBS). The scientist in me had to check into it based upon how much water they hold, but I digress……
Harney has one….
http://www.harney.com/Perfect-Tea-Scoop/productinfo/72775/
I got mine at a local spice shop last fall.
I’ll have to order one next time! I have been skimpy with my leaves, and I bet this will help!
Well thanks for the confirmation! That may definitely change the way I measure some teas. I ordered my perfect teaspoon from a random merchant on amazon.com; they seem to be all exactly the same no matter where they come from, but they all say “1 cup of perfect tea” on the handle.
I wonder if it was made for those of us who view a cup of tea as an actual cup in volume, rather than the 6 oz. traditional size.
I’ve always been frustrated when tea directions say a certain amount “per cup”… per traditional tea cup (like you said, 6oz), or per volumetric cup (8oz)? Or per some nebulous 6-12oz cup/mug/glass that you might brew tea in? “Cup” is a pretty vague word, but I’ve always treated it like an 8oz cup.
I go volumetric, too. And it looks like my spoon has been compensating for me all along…. :)
same… 8oz works for me so that must be right!
I bought my spoon at A Southern Season and we always use it to measure our tea. The one Harney sells is the same.
This spoon issue is something that never even occurred to me. Jen, your tasting note prompted me to measure my own “perfect cup of tea” spoon (which happens to be half of a two-ended tool with a tablespoon coffee measure at the other end). Turns out it’s just about the same as a measuring teaspoon … whew! However, I usually use a little extra leaf anyway, because I’m seldom drinking from a 6-oz teacup.
I just checked my Perfect Cup spoon and mine is also exactly one regular teaspoon, which would be the right amount of leaves for six ounces. I would really love to have the cup weight scale from Upton because some tea leaves are so large that they don’t measure out properly. I know it is about the weight of an American dime per six ounces, so for my Beehouse pots I weighed several dimes, noted it on my scale, and use the scale to measure for a whole pot when it is really fluffy or long leaves. The Upton scale is more sensitive and face it…way cooler. Plus they had it programmed so that you can put your available leaves on the scale and it will tell you how much tea you can make with them! Want! Want!
This is my tea of the evening courtesy of Uniquity. This one is puzzling. I do get a little banana, but it really does not seem to go well with the slight bitterness of the green rooibos base. Hmmmm. They suggest adding a splash of rum in the product description. I think I will try that! I definitely think a little Captain Morgan will fix this one right up!
Edit to add…..yep, pretty good with the rum added. Considering this is my first tea related mixed beverage…. “Cheers! Live long and prosper, dear Steepsterite Friends!”
Preparation
I owe so many for keeping me supplied in this tea. My first portion arrived from Ottawa Tea, then a sample from Jillian, and then I was able to do a great across the border swap with Uniquity for an amount larger than a sample just before the Canada postal strike. Yes, you could say I would go to many lengths to have this tea on hand. Thank you all for your generosity, and willingness to take a chance on the postal system!
This cup is smooth, sweet, and buttery tasting, with a hint of coconut. Yum. Definitely one of my favorites! I do think this one has the power to make any day brighter for me. Mmmmmm. And this time a brewed a small pot worth.
Preparation
My afternoon selection. It has been quite a day. I decided I needed a good relaxing tea, but actually, I should have chosen something with a little more “bang” to represent this day more accurately. I do know that my Earl Grey Supreme is always good, and hits the spot, so I went with the easiest choice.
We had one poweful lightning storm go through this morning. So powerful, that after a flash, and a boom as loud as an explosive, I was pretty sure there was a lightning stike somewhere right across the street. Luckily, I live across from a cul-de-sac, and it was just a tree that got hit. ….one right across the street at the end of my driveway. I am feeling very fortunate at this point. Another 20 yards in any direction, and it could have been someone’s house, including ours.
Preparation
One from the sample bin for my morning tea. This comes courtesy of Ottawa Tea. Thank you for your generosity! I do like getting samples from Teavana. Maybe one day I will find one that is good enough for me venture into their store. (I am not a fan of mall shopping, and really am not looking forward to a hard sell atmosphere, or even the possibility of one.)
This is pretty good, though. Definitely a coffee drinker’s tea. It is a smooth blend of Assam and Mate…two things that I usually don’t like on their own. I get a little of the cocoa, and vanilla, but I am also getting a touch of cinnamon. If I ever do go, I will probably pick some of this up.
I’ve always considered myself the black hole of flavors … as soon as I like ___ (insert Yankee Candle, Bath & Body Works, various and sundry teas) it disappears. I think it’s because I’m always slow to discover ___.
It is always that way with bras, too! ;) Just as soon as you find the perfect one, they stop making it.
There is no such thing as a perfect one ;)
You are right…..I meant to say tolerable.
You guys are cracking me up! And I agree, I think they should all be BURNED WITH FIRE!