985 Tasting Notes
One last test of this tea before disposing. I hate to trash tea, but really, this one is not for me as a hot tea. However, as an iced tea, it is not too bad. I definitely get an orangey taste as well as cranberry, and the flavors are strong enough to stand up to ice very well. I am keeping it, but not rebuying……
45 oz teapot, 6 tsp in a paper filter (I hate cloudy iced tea), 7 minutes with freshly boiled water. Allowed to cool to room temp and then iced. No additions.
Preparation
My morning tea. Good stuff. Brewed in my jumbo mug, but next time a small teapot.
I finally decided it was time for a smaller teapot. My current one is 45 oz, which is perfect for tea for many, or traditional brewing of tea for iced (it is about the same volume as my favorite glass pitcher). Next week, my lime For Life 24 oz pot should be here. I went with the For life rather than the Chatsford because the infuser is all stainless, and parts of the infuser on the Chatsford are plastic. Can’t wait!
Preparation
I love my Forlife pot. I think you will like it, too. I also have Beehouse 22 ounce pots and they are great as well. Their lid comes off if you want to heat in the microwave, the small Forlife pot lid does not. The larger ones do, though. I have been thinking about getting one of the larger ones for me, I already bought one for a friend and she uses it ALL the time! New tea stuff! EEEEE!
Oh, and I just ordered another sample of this tea. I can’t remember what it tasted like! It should be here in a day or two.
I have the 10 oz brew cup that has the little cover for work and I love it since I’m such a resteeper. I raved about it so much that my husband asked me to get him one. Now he is hooked on it! I love the stainless infuser!!
Oh I meant to say the Forlife 10 oz blah blah blah!
@ashmanra…The small For Life pot just has a silicone seal and the infuser comes out, so the lid could go in the microwave, but I’d probably leave it out. I love my large one…it is in my avatar!
@JacquelineM….One day I might have a brew in cup, but for now I use a basket in a jumbo mug with a bread plate over the top. Kind of the same concept, just bigger!
That is exactly the pot I bought for my friend. Even the same color!
I really have to start tackling my sample bin. There are an incredible amount of generous people here in our Steepster community, and such a wealth of information. I love it here, and you all are what make it so great!
I was looking for a Sawadee Tea House black for the morning, and I really wanted to do a trial run of the cute tea cup Uniquity sent as a gift with our awesome US/Canadian swap. One thing I really love about getting items from Sawadee Tea House…I believe it is in Halifax, NS. I have been to Halifax once in my life, and I was on my honeymoon almost 17 years ago. Thus, it holds a special place in my memory.
The Peach Apricot tea is good. Light on the peach, but you can definitely detect the apricot, too. The black base is pretty straightforward, and nothing complicated, but it works.
I brewed it up in my red For Life teapot, and am using the little coi cup, which is a handle-less cup of about 6 ounces. I am used to a jumbo mug with a handle, so you could say I am kind of clunky with such a small, delicate cup, but I am working on it! One of the coi on the front is red, too, so it even matches (if you are into that kind of thing like me!) First mistake…I filled the cup too full and then it got too hot to hold. The next fill, I left a little space at the top for holding. I think the cup is probably better suited to oolong, white, or green….something brewed at a lower temp. I also like that the smaller cup encourages me to sip and enjoy, rather than chug! :D Maybe there is hope for this clunky tea drinker to learn some refinement!
Preparation
I am drinking from just such a cup this morning! I have burned my fingers many times – it took me a while to learn! But I found quite by accident that I enjoy my tea more (except for milk and sugar breakfast tea) if I let it cool, anyway. Now I am longing for a cast iron teapot and warmer so I can keep the tea at just that temperature and sip away for hours!
SimplyJenW said
“There are in incredible amount of generous people here in our Steepster community, and such a wealth of information. I love it here, and you all are what make it so great!”
I can’t agree with you more and hang in there concerning “refinement” I am a converted coffee drinker and mug collector, but some teas just demand a tea cup and saucer, for traditions sake. I never felt a responsibility to the vessel with coffee… :)
You could try a coaster! There are lots of places that sell them. I know that Teavana (though a little over priced) sells individual cast iron coasters to go with their Tetsubin tea sets, but you could easily just pick up one for yourself. They even have red coasters with Koi fish on them. :D
So that is what that little bamboo thing is that came with the cup…a coaster! See, I have a long way to go! ;)
When I said coaster I meant saucer. You probably knew that, but I just needed to reiterate for my own sanity. x.x
& tea is the best and tastiest kind of learning curve. :3
Saucer might have confused me, actually. I did put it under the cup, and it made it much easier to pick up. Yep…the midwestern girl learns tea….
: ) That is what the little bamboo thingie is for! I actually have one of the koi cups myself (cuz I think they’re super cute) and have actually gotten really good at withstanding the heat to drink. I always grab from the top of the cup, or carefully lift it via the saucer/coaster/bamboo thing. I, too, have trouble with it’s size (my usual mugs are at least 12 oz!) but it’s nice if you’ve got time to go through a few steeps, or even different teas. Glad you’re enjoying!
(Also, yes, Sawadee is in Halifax! :D)
Are the koi cups from Teavana?
I think the koi cups are from Sawadee Tea House. It is a white background, a red and a black koi, and it sits on a bamboo saucer.
Sorry, yes, Koi cups from Sawadee. I don’t know where she sources them, but I know she tours Asia annually to pick things for the shop, so I’m not sure if they’re sold widespred in North America.
Since I do like this one iced, I tried it as a cold brew. It was a dump out. I think I like black tea brewed traditionally for iced tea. I miss that strong black tea malteyness. As a cold brew, this one just tasted like the lychees the tea was scented with, and not in a good way. Ick..kind of like drinking perfume. I even upped the tsp to 8 in 40 oz. water.
Adieu, Paris! (This is the last cup of Paris in my cupboard.) Since I have found a new friend in Tower of London, it is unlikly that you will grace my tea cupboard again anytime soon. It was great while it lasted, though! I will always think of you fondly, as you were the tea that led me to try out Harney & Son’s.
Preparation
I got a generous sample of this tea from Jillian just before the Canada Post strike. Thank you, tea gods! (And Jillian, of course!) I am sorry that I don’t know exactly what zabaglione tastes like, but I get a little creamy, vanilla, rumishness along with the strawberry in this tea. Very good!
Preparation
You know you have become a true tea drinker when………
…you are sitting on the porch in 80 degree weather drinking hot Earl Grey Supreme. And you are usually hot in this kind of weather. Still, this is a nice relaxing cup, and it is now on my shopping list for the next order to Harney’s, even though I have about an once and a half left. Resteep at 6 minutes.
How did you know you had become a true tea drinker?
Preparation
I realized it today as well, as I made my way out of my office, into 90 plus degree heat, to get hot water then back to steep at my desk. Good thing I didn’t see anyone, they would have thought I was crazy. It is iced tea month and all, but I just want it hot, then to experience that natural cool down process in the cup. TTD-True Tea Drinker for sure.
when I started getting eye rolls from people as I started to talk tea! this is a true obsession, taking over my life… but in the best way possible :)
The eye-rolling…yes, yes, I have seen that. Also, referring to friends who get hooked on tea as “converts.” And ordering one pound bags. And refusing to let the people at Barnes and Noble make my tea, taking my bag home with me to prepare it myself. :)
Oh yes…the eye-rolling. And I have totally turned into a tea snob, too! When I go to Panera for my knitting group, I pay for hot water and bring my own tea. Kind of crazy!
you have a Panera where you are?! we have one that I know of nearby, that place is fun! ahhh yes, when people get a peek at my desk drawer at work, and I tell them this is maybe a tenth of my stash… well they kindof back away haha. I’ve been known to make my own bags and get hot water from wherever I am as well. The stares of disbelief are entertaining in some ways…
Yeah I know about the eye-rolling – my boyfriend does it all the time and calls me a hard-core tea addict. :D
My hubby keeps threatening to schedule an “intervention.” He also threatens to call the authorities when I start weighing leaves to split pound bags with friends…
Two things stand out- one is when I switched to loose leaf 10 (12? 15? I’ve lost track!) or so years ago, and it became second nature/ritual. I think of it as the most natural thing in the world (and think tea bags are a little strange!!), but guests/coworkers always comment how fussy it seems! I enjoy it immensely – very soothing to go through all the steps.
The other big one is when I discovered that I loved Chinese teas without cream and sugar. That was pretty recent – just about a year or so ago!
Oh, oh! I think I have one more! When I started having tea in work and not coffee like everyone else. I got my own electric kettle and little brew cup and have been happy as a clam in tea land!!!
Intervention… lol! :D That’s great. My students think it’s really cool how I figure out how much tea I use. They prefer to watch me use the brewing basket than the t-sacs, but I only have one travel mug with the basket, so I tend to use that with a tea I know I can use for multiple infusions throughout the day.
ohhh the interventions… my Mum has tried those on several occasions, in regards to my excesssive tea! Dad has no interest, but she tries to drag him into it to. Good fun to watch :)
all I have here at work is a hot water “tap” that comes out of the coffee maker. So primitive!!! lol
I have a tin of this to use up. So, of course I made this into iced tea. Cold brewed overnight. 4 teabags in about 40 oz of water (I do like my iced teas light.) I am really surprised with this one. I was expecting the green tea to be very present, but I mostly get the goji and raspberry. Very refreshing after working out on the patio, weeding and cleaning out the grill in preparation for many meals cooked outside this summer…starting with halibut tonight!
Preparation
Cold brewed, this makes an awesome iced tea! Who knew?
5 tsp. cold brewed overnight in about 40 oz. water. (I have a brew basket with a lid that closes from my Trudeau Tea-mendous Travel Mug…it is perfect for overnight brewing!) The resulting brew has a light bite at first, but then a smooth vanilla finish. I must say I am totally pleased with this!
Preparation
Only 5 tsp? I am new to cold brewing but everything I have read says to double or triple your leaves for iced tea. I don’t add ice to mycold brew tea since it is already cold, so I was just doing double leaves. If using less will still give me good flavor, that sure would save some leaf!
I heard one and a half times the leaves, so it might be worth trying less. I think I would traditionally brew black tea, but for tea I am trying to use up, I would probably try it cold brewed as an experiment. This worked for me since I don’t mind light flavor for my iced tea. I probably could have added more…..
The last tea from my recent Harney order. As far as Earl Grey goes, this is a good one. Very enjoyable. I have discovered that I am getting to the point where I can appreciate a good base in my tea, and this one is no exception. The bergamot is not overpowering, and is rather relaxing. Definitely a repurchase when my 2 oz. are gone.
I never tried this iced, and I must confess that after keeping it absolutely FOREVER I gave it away to someone who said they like any and all tea. I hope they liked it, and it wasn’t bad but there are too many things I like more so why keep it around and make myself drink it? :)
I feel the same way about tea…that there are so many others I like, that it makes no sense drinking tea that is ‘meh’. I do have a few that if they don’t pass when iced, they will be relocated from my tea shelves. This one just happened to pass! And I just drank all of it after my daughter’s softball game.