382 Tasting Notes

67

Well, I’ve basically overdosed myself with sweetness, what with all the lattes and biscotti tea, etc, etc, so for my afternoon tea it’s time for…smoky! Yay smoky!

This is pretty tame as smoky teas go, and has a light sweet note that I am, right now, kind of wishing wasn’t there. All in all, I’m kinda wanting something…more.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

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96
drank Ceremonial Grade DoMatcha by DoMatcha
382 tasting notes

Trying out a matcha latte today, using up some of the HUGE amount of 52teas latte mix that I made up. I think I made the matcha a little too strong this time around because the kind of seaweedy flavor is dominating a bit more than I would have liked. I really like how the creamy texture of the matcha interacts with the creaminess of the milk so I’m definitely going to try this again. Damn my low tolerance for sweet things!

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91

Mmm, such a nice morning tea when I’m not rushing around. I don’t really eat breakfast as such most days, and well, today I woke up at 11, so I may as well wait an hour and just have lunch. This tea screams “breakfast” so much, though, that I really feel as if I HAVE had some.

It’s a little more buttery today than the first time I tried it, which was freaking me out a bit at first, but I’ve gotten used it now. The raisin is stronger as well, I think. The only problem I have with this tea is that it does leave me feeling a bit thirsty – kind of like I need to rinse out the butter taste from my mouth, but I guess that’s just going to happen with a tea this substantial.

JonTea

I LOVE THE NAME OF THIS TEA!

Ewa

Oh yeah, that is seriously, like 80% of the reason I ordered it.

Southern Boy Teas

I had someone ask me how she should abbreviate the name to fit it on her blog. I told her I had no idea how you could shorten it. The tea is every bit of each of the words in its title.

JonTea

hahah impossible to abreveate this, plus this title is too perfect, not many titles can describe an aroma, this one can.

Ewa

You could abbreviate it by calling it: “Super Tasty Breakfasty Tea of Many Tastes”!

Wait, that’s not shorter at all.

Cofftea

You could drop “flavored black”… a lot of flavored blacks just go by the flavor- black is kinda understood as the default if not stated.

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96
drank Almond Biscotti by Teavana
382 tasting notes

I am not gonna lie, the various notes/discussions/etc of the almond teas has intrigued me greatly. I am not a HUGE fan of almond, but I consider it to be an excellent addition to all manner of confectionary. Almond slivers on strawberry napoleons, for example, are what is referred to in technical circles as “the bomb.” So I was definitely interested. Then of course there’s the fact that Almond Cookie is one of the best rated teas on the site.

So today I was at Teavana looking for a matcha whisk, and I saw the almond biscotti and I basically couldn’t resist. I’m not a huge Teavana fan because one, I think they’re overpriced and two, the amount of sugar they shove into their samples completely kills the taste for me. BUT, I saw the almond biscotti sitting there and I asked to see it, and once I smelled it, I knew I was going home with it.

Needless to say, at this point I am just completely giving up on the whole “no caffeinated drinks” thing.

This tea smells like almond and I don’t even know, some sort of baked good and cinnamon and I don’t even know what else. It tastes pretty much identical, which is GREAT. Despite all the flavors though, it doesn’t feel over flavored, it works well with the tea and makes me want to actually try to ease off on the tea – possibly by adding some milk.

In any case, I dub this a HUGE success. Anyone know how it compares to the Almond Cookie?

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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88
drank Coconut Cream Pie by 52teas
382 tasting notes

YES. I have DONE it! MWAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. The perfect balance of strength of tea flavor, milk, and sweetness is MINE, ALL MINE!

And now I will never be able to do it again.

Actually now I drink more of it, the flavor of the tea could be a bit stronger. But it IS the second steeping, so a slight weakness is to be expected.

And now, for your edification, a short skit:
“So, you’ve made a cup of Coconut Cream Pie that you are satisfied with?”
“Yep”
“And you like it and feel comfortable rating it?”
“Yep”
“But you’re rating it below your other 52teas teas?”
“Well, it’s good, don’t get me wrong, but I wasn’t overwhelmed with its awesome like I was with the other two.”
“So…you realize you have just rated toast higher than pie, right?”
“…sometimes, the world works in strange ways.”

Preparation
Boiling 6 min, 0 sec
Rabs

Fantabulous note! Smiled through the whole thing and laughed a time or two :D

Ewa

Always glad to provide some amusement :D

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88
drank Coconut Cream Pie by 52teas
382 tasting notes

Looks like this tea and I have some wrangling to do. I tried the latte recipe from the 52teas website…too sweet! Waaaaaaaaay too sweet. (for me) Which means that I need to do some messing about with proportions. Fortunately, as noted on the site, the recipe makes enough latte mixture for me to experiment with this to my heart’s content. All I can say is: thank god for nonfat condensed milk, or I would be feeling SOOOOO guilty right now.

Once again, I can taste the potential! But mostly I just taste sugar.

Honestly, am I ever going to feel comfortable rating this tea?

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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96
drank Ceremonial Grade DoMatcha by DoMatcha
382 tasting notes

Wewt! Got my tin (I was one of the 10 winners) today, and, of course, immediately had to try it despite saying I was going to avoid caffeine for the next few days. What I actually meant when I said that was “I am going to avoid caffeine unless something interesting and caffeinated shows up.” And it did! Hilariously, it came with a bamboo whisk and I had just gotten back home from buying one in anticipation of its arrival. Whoops!

For my first try, I just made it straight. Half a teaspoon, add water and make into a paste, add a bit more water and whiskity whisk whisk. Wow! This is REALLY good stuff. It’s so smooth and creamy – I don’t think I’ve had a matcha quite like it! It’s got just the right amount of vegetal undertone and it balances quite well with the creaminess. Yum! I could really get used to this.

I’m so glad I got the opportunity to try this – can’t wait to try the different variations on the DoMatcha site!

Stephanie

Congratulations Ewa!!

Cofftea

You’re kidding… hmmm… I hope mine comes w/ one- I want to get my best friend a matcha set so maybe I can find a cheap chawan and scoop.

Rabs

Congrats Ewa :D I look forward to reading your “mad scientist experiments” with this ;)

Ewa

Thanks guys! So many things to try! So little time!

__Morgana__

Mine came with one, too. I don’t have a chawan, though. I’d ordered one from Maeda-En with a steepster select but they held up my order over it after the sincha came in, so I bagged it. Now waiting to get one so I can give this a try the way it’s supposed to be tried. :-)

Shanti

Ooh, I’m still waiting for mine (and hoping that my neighbors didn’t steal it…grr).

Ewa

Looks like it required a signature or some sort of acknowledgment of receipt, (I think my roommates accepted it) so hopefully that means it’s safe from your neighbors! Of course, that means it’s in danger from capricious delivery times….

Cofftea

No signature for me- mine came FedEx.

Ewa

Well, like I said, I wasn’t there. There was just a little “confirmation of receipt” thingy that I thought might have meant it needed a signature.

Shanti

Thanks for the information, Ewa ;) I’ll have to keep an eye out for it….

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68

My morning tea for today. Actually got up at a normal hour but then got overconfident and ended up taking my time too much, meaning that it was a short steep (as usual).

This is still definitely lagging behind in the mini breakfast blend contest I’ve got going on.

Preparation
Boiling 1 min, 30 sec

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67
drank Cha Cha by Adagio Teas
382 tasting notes

Harney and Sons finally got the Florence sample back in stock, so I ordered a bunch (five) samples from them and I need MOAR ROOM in the my tea cupboard, so I am making an earnest effort to destroy this.

I also read at some point that caffeinated drinks can exacerbate cramps, so for the next couple of days it’s all herbal all the time, BAY-BEEEE. Except for my morning tea, obviously. Expecting me to get through the day without the morning wake up jolt is ludicrous, LUDICROUS.

I’m getting more and more meh on this tea. Oh foxtrot, why have you forsaken me?

Stephanie

Life is definitely too short for meh tea! :)

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91

Third steep! Mostly cinnamon at this point. Very light hint of butter.

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Profile

Bio

I’m a Pole who grew up in Texas, is currently a graduate student in California studying Japan. How’s THAT for random?

Being Polish, my family has always drunk a lot of tea, and I am no different. I may drink more tea than water. On the other hand, I can’t say that I’m very particular about it; I’m generally pretty careless with steeping times and water temperature and I don’t even have a proper teapot (mostly because the lid broke during the move to California ;_;).

I always drink my tea unsweetened and I only add milk in the case of the most egregiously chai-ish of chais. (not really a big fan of milk in general)

Given that so many of my entries seem to be about my morning tea, I felt I should add something here about me and mornings: I fail at mornings. I fail at them a LOT. Therefore I often also fail at proper tea making in the mornings.

Location

Santa Barbara

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