40 Tasting Notes
This tea is just so yummy. Savory, mouthwatering and lip smacking. It’s buttery and brothy. No seaweed taste, not grassy, it reminds me of edamame. Provides lovely calm energy. I bought it as a sample, but this is a tea I need. Reminiscent of Verdant’s Laoshan Green, but richer.
Flavors: Butter, Soybean
This was a very nice tea to sample. It’s not on my list of ones to buy more of, just didn’t strike a chord with me. Malty, with a nice hint of acidity in the mid sip keeping the tea from being flabby. The finish is sweet, but I didn’t detect any muscatel.
Flavors: Malt, Sweet
Really enjoyed this chai. Mellow and lightly spicy in terms of heat. The spices at the front of the sip were cardamom and allspice for me. Sage added depth. This tea is somehow grounding and comforting. Really lovely, and I can’t imagine adding sweetener or milk to it.
My first straight assam. I love this tea. It is what Lipton’s is pretending to be when it steals it’s manly uncle’s pipe and smoking jacket, practicing powerful, seductive looks for the ladies.
It is incredibly smooth and rich, and hints at milk chocolate at the back of the tongue. The aroma is much more chocolatey, but the taste doesn’t need it. A bit of malt lingers after the sip. Just slightly dry, too.
The second steep becomes less remarkable, more just a cup of tea. But wow, the magic of that first cup.
Preparation
This is a black tea that requires attention. Very complex. In the first steep, I tasted prunes, caramel, what I imagine wet leaves to taste like, a subtle hint of pine at the back of the tongue and milk chocolate at the middle. It was dry at the end of the sip and sweetness lingered.
The second steep introduced pine gum at the front of the sip, but geez, I haven’t chewed pine gum since I was little so it could be my imagination. In the third steep the sharpness hit my tastebuds as dill!
I really enjoyed this tea. As I said, I will drink it when I can pay attention.
Preparation
This tea tastes almost identical to an Indonesian red oolong I received as a sample with my Dachi subscription last month. Very mellow, sweet and musty. Not sure if I pick up any cinnamon. I wouldn’t buy this tea ( it is a sample), but the energy it provides is so happy. It’s a shame that I don’t like the taste more. Just not remarkable to me.
This is the first tea that has made me want to eat cookies. I was saying to myself – num, num, num. In fact, I think it would be a good addition to my shortbread recipe. Maybe 2T ground would do it.
The first three steeps are harmonious and fragrant. The mouthfeel is light but still present and grounding. Lavender, vanilla and oolong all play beautifully.
I did find that by the fourth steep, the vanilla overwhelmed its spot reminding me of creeping phlox (unwelcome in my garden) and maybe some honey would have cut it back down to size. I’ll probable just keep it to three steeps and stay delighted.
One of the first loose leaf teas that I tried was Butiki’s OB. Since it closed, I have been a bit heart sick that I wouldn’t find an OB I liked as well.
Have you been in a new romantic relationship that was really promising and realized you didn’t want to talk about it with your friends like you usually would? Protective and shy in a way, not wanting to spoil the specialness with words or the reactions of an audience.
The first few times I tried this tea it felt like a flashback to when I first started dating my husband. I walked around with a secret smile and hugged this tea to myself. Figuratively. I wouldn’t want to crush the leaves.
I tasted orange blossom honey, citrus in later steeps and felt a giddiness come on as I enjoyed it. Smooth, mellow.
Sigh.
