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__Morgana__ drank Hubei Spring Needle by Samovar

2036 tasting notes

Sipdown no. 192. A sample.

I think this is the last Samovar green tea sample I have, and one I have certainly kept too long. Be that as it may, this is yum.

Ordinarily I wouldn’t drink even this much caffeine this late in the day but I just got back from no. 1’s school holiday band concert and we still have homework to check…

The leaves don’t look or smell all that different to me from many Chinese green teas I’ve had. The tea looks no different than others I’ve had, with a pale yellow liquor with a bit of particulate in it but otherwise clear. It smells sweetly vegetal.

And that’s how it tastes, too. It’s just a very nice cup of green tea without any bitterness, with a tiny bit of butteryness. Perhaps a little more grassy than some Chinese greens, but not as much as Japanese greens. I’m trying to place the vegetal flavor. It’s not sweet enough to be peas, and too sweet to be green beans. I’m thinking maybe snow peas is a good approximation.

In any case, very enjoyable all around, and unfortunately not available on the Samovar web site. Sigh.

Flavors: Grass, Vegetal

Preparation

170 °F / 76 °C 1 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes