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The last tea of the long weekend.

I have consumed much more caffeine over the course of the past three days than I typically do, so pysched was I to taste and write notes on a number of new teas, and sip down a few as well. I almost didn’t have that much today because it’s been affecting my sleep. Or rather, it’s been affecting my muscles’ ability to relax. I’ve awakened feeling quite clenched up the past couple of mornings.

But I decided to power through because I don’t often get this kind of time to devote to writing of any kind, including note writing, these days. In fact, I actually fell a bit short. I had hoped to try another matcha and some pu-erh. I briefly considered resurrecting project chai sipdown this weekend just because I found an American Tea Room masala chai sample.

But instead, I stuck to whites and oolongs, with a black tea in the mix.

I have a new project, not that it’s of interest to anyone but me. I want to make tasting everything in my Steepster cupboard at least once and writing a note on it a priority. I feel like I have all these things I don’t even remember I have, and this is one way to remind myself. But I’m so close to 100 sipdowns for the year, I don’t want to fall off the pace on those either.

As I was going through my cupboard, I discovered I had never tried this. And since I drink green/yellow tea during the week when I have less note-writing time, I also try to make it a priority to do my initial tastings of these on a weekend.

I steeped this like a green tea for my initial try. I also had some crackers to cleanse my palate after the Todd & Holland Citrus Sanctuary.

In the tin, it smells a bit grassy for a Chinese tea with a sort of a dark oolong-like sharp note.

I know I’ve been describing a lot of liquors as pale yellow and clear lately. But if the shoe fits…

I am having a very hard time describing the taste and smell of this tea. I cheated and looked at the previous notes. It’s funny, I never would have thought of cigars — but now that I see it mentioned, I can understand that. Though I have to say, it’s not the first thing I thought when I smelled or tasted this tea. Pine nuts? Not really that either. Nutty at all? Not my first impression.

What I get from this is more like pine needles, though very faint. I used to chew pine needles as a kid, and this reminds me a little of that.

As the tea cools, I get more of the nuttiness. For me, it’s a sort of cashew-like smell and taste.

Different, and interesting. It gets props for that.

Flavors: Nuts, Pine

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 30 sec 2 tsp 17 OZ / 500 ML
ashmanra

Great goals! My cupboard is out of control. I do not enter samples or really small amounts of tea. I have so much tea that I just haven’t bothered to add to my cupboard. I did a nice straightening of the main tin display area today. Now to get the number of teas under control…Best of luck with your endeavors!

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ashmanra

Great goals! My cupboard is out of control. I do not enter samples or really small amounts of tea. I have so much tea that I just haven’t bothered to add to my cupboard. I did a nice straightening of the main tin display area today. Now to get the number of teas under control…Best of luck with your endeavors!

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Bio

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

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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