Steepster

I am really glad this isn’t bitter – it is super flavorful and smooth. I drank it with almond milk, and it was perfect to wake me up this morning.

Okay, I am really surprised by this tea. I do not normally like teas with added flavors but this tea is nicely prepared and the licorice flavor is subtle, yet it blends extremely well with the oolong. The dry leaves look a little strange at first but finally start to open up after the 3rd steeping—instructions say 3 steepings, but I went to 5 with good flavor.

So glad I joined Steepster Select. I NEVER would have purchased this tea independently. Now, I definitely plan to get some!

This one doesn’t have much flavor. It’s a very lightly roasted Dong Ding. Nothing super special. But I’m glad it’s not overly roasty. I really don’t like overly roasty oolongs much anymore. ><
But this one is more drinkable. Thanks for the sample, LiberTEAS! Always happy to try another oolong!

This one is from Thain of Buckland’s Christmas card. Thank you for thinking of sending me chai! Brewed both servings (two tsp in two filter bags) on the stove-top. Brought to a boil, simmered for five minutes, added 2% milk and white sugar, brought to a boil again.

The dry leaf smells delicious – I’m able to discern cinnamon, ginger, and orange rind. Reminds me Constant Comment. The aroma is a pleasure to savor as the leaf is simmering.

This is an alright recipe. Good spices, good ratio. It’s definitely spicy, though not biting, more on the tamer side. On the down side, I wasn’t able to find notes from the Assam, and I didn’t particularly find the citrus/orange zests appealing.

However, my dad, lover of masala chai, approves. Check plus for him! (The rating is mine.)

I’m not convinced that this is Tea, maybe a leafy vegatable from a distant planet dried to look like Tea.
Whatever it is, its not too bad
I kinda like it and I kinda don’t, kinda glad I have another sample to try.
I’m not sure what to think of most darjeelings tho,I’m not sure what it is about them that make them odd to me but they are, I think I’ve never had a really good Darjeeling.

This was the first tea that I have tried out of my November 2014 Select box. I loved watching these little balls ‘pop’ in my gaiwan! For some reason, I got fruity smells on the dry leaf. It was like a ripe peach and pineapple. My thought is that it was some kind of fluke. The actual liquor was a different story. My first infusion was structured and smoky, but not an overpowering smoke, almost like a light Hickory note. The second infusion was a little more bitter, too bitter for me. which was bizarre. I didn’t change the temperature at all and I the steep time wasn’t prolonged… weird.
If I hadn’t ruined the second infusion, I would have liked this tea much more. If I ever have a hankering for unique white teas, I will be ordering it from Steepster.

I opened this tea today. There’s quite a lot of tea here for 2 oz. It has a smoky, toasted seaweed smell with a hint of sweetness. After brewing it the suggested amount of time on the package, it has a more green, floral scent. In my white mug it doesn’t look much different from hot water, but it smells lovely. I don’t think a minute is enough time to brew the tea. It does have a grassy flavor like a green tea. I’m not sure I know what I think about this tea yet. I’ll brew it longer next time to see what happens.

Got this as part of a monthly Steepster set. It has a light woodsy scent. I enjoyed it as an afternoon sipper.

Steepster has such a sense of humor. The tagline for the description for this tea is, “You’re not gonna want to share this tea!”
Yes, Steepster, you are right. I would not wish this tea on my worst enemy.
This was a part of the October 2014 Select box. While all of the other teas in the box were generally lovely, (Oktoberfest, anyone?) this was the one tea that stuck out like a sore thumb. The dry notes were overwhelmingly licorice – y and clovelike. Which was actually pretty pleasant to my nose. But this tisane does not get better when you steep it. The licorice and the clove increased tenfold, with a small citrus consolation prize. A sweet cinnamon mint after taste helped me forget the whole thing. I couldn’t finish the sample. Too bad too, I could use some new incense.

Okay, so I have a bunch of teas, old favorites and new discoveries alike, that I didn’t log in the past five days or so, but I’ll just add tasting notes for the new teas that I tried. I pulled this new tea from the T&C TTB with no expectations really. It just sounded like something I wanted to try out. As it was steeping, I started smelling the smokiness of the tea, which excited and worried me at the same time.

As it turns out, I was right to be excited. The smokiness was well matched by the boldness of the black tea. Plus, it was not the tobacco type of smoky that I don’t care for. It kind of reminded me of when I was up in a cabin in Tahoe with the pine trees, fresh snow, and general foresty nature smells all around me. For that reason, I think this was the perfect winter tea for me. Unfortunately, there was only one serving since it was from a Steepster Select box originally. I did save the leaves and resteep the next day, though, and it was still wonderful. A big thumbs up for this one in my book!

Smoky without being all-up-in-your-face about it. Tasty for a cold winter morning. It’s like drinking your fireplace, in a good way.

Dry leaf are nicely rolled balls of white tea that have a surprisingly salty aroma.
Smells a bit like sheng and produces a fairly clear liquor,,there are the little fuzzies from the tea leaves floating in there and a champagne color to the liquid.
The tea is not very sweet and it has a bitter note that is not unpleasant, like bitter melon.
It is pretty smooth and no astringency but I have had a much better example of this type tea and found that this one was a bit one-note. No sweet, no fruit, cream or any other flavors but the bitter melon so I didn’t like the lack of complexity or balance.

From the Steepster Select Box; November, 2014

Dry leaf is really nice smelling, just like jasmine growing in your garden. The tea is also very pretty, silver needle buds with bits of flower mixed in. The only thing not pretty was that it was very crushed and had lots of tiny bits and pieces instead of whole, intact buds.
Despite all the broken pieces and particles, the tea is quite clear and a nice champagne color.
I have an aversion to Jasmine tea and pretty much won’t try any of them, so I was quite surprised that this is actually kind of tasty!! It’s more white tea flavor with subtle jasmine. It has a jasmine and cream flavor.
I actually enjoyed this jasmine tea and this was the one I was dreading in the Steepster Box and didn’t want to try, lol.

From the Steepster Select Box; November, 2014

I’m just going to write a short review for now. I didn’t do any precise measurements or steep it for a specific amount of time. I tend to have trouble telling when some green teas are finished brewing. This tea is a light green color, but it has a prominent flavor; I would say a mix of spinach, seaweed, and something more nutty, a bit reminiscent of kukicha but not as strong. I think this tea has a more well balanced flavor than some other sencha teas I have tried.

The tea itself is a mix of two different teas, like the name implies, but the matcha doesn’t seem to be a powder, but a shorter cut leaf. Anyway, I couldn’t distinguish the two teas or say what either added to the brew, but together they make a nice tea.

I will write a better review later when I have more time to enjoy the tea.

This is one of the best teas I’ve had in a while. I brewed this and re-steeped twice. Each time it was flavorful, roasted but not heavy. It was really warming and tasty.

I prefer my Chai with more spice. I found this Bombay Chai to be too mild and not very interesting to sip. I brewed it extra-long to try and get more flavour after my first try. I will note that I drink my chais without any milk or sugar added.

Finally polished off this sample I got awhile back. I am drinking my last cup of the pot with a biscuit smeared with butter and apricot jam. Good pairing :D I would drink this again.

Packaged up the tea I promised TeaBrat. Just need to weigh it and slap on the stamps, and I will mail it out after work today.

As is customary with Japanese food (and drink as well) the flavors are very fall like. The dry leaf had a smell of autumn leaves, and the sweet nutty liquor has flavors of hay, roasted hazelnuts, and brown rice. It was a lighter, more delicate flavor than I am used to with my usual robust, in your face Hojicha. All in all a refreshing cup of tea that will pair well with any fall food.

HHTTB

I don’t generally like senchas, but I do like houjichas. It seems strange since they seem similar. Oh well!

This tea has that roasty flavor that houjichas have. Almost a slight barley taste to it. I really don’t get the cocoa notes that it is supposed to have tho. The aftertaste lingers and is nice too.

Wow! This is my 500th tasting note! I feel like this is a milestone of some sort!

You know you are in for an experience when the unsteeped tea smells like fish and old barley (anyone want milk for their Cheerios?)…
Quite possibly the worst tea I have ever tasted. Sickly greenish tan in color with aromas with cooked barley. Flavors range form burned hay and cooked barley, to that of chewing on a brown paper bag. There is some acidity on the finish hinting at the “stone fruit” that is listed as a flavor profile, but that’s a real stretch. It also says “5+ resteeps”……………. I would change that to “0 resteeps, place in garbage”…

Thanks Steepster!

For some reason, I never tried this one from my Select box in… September? Whenever it was. I put it in my little oolong baggy and it’s been there ever since. Oopsies. Admittedly, the super heavy roast style of oolongs is not my favorite, but I do find them interesting and enjoyable every so often. These pellets are fairly large but irregular in shape, and the color is a familiar dark brown with some greenish hues. Dry scent is heavily roasty with some grassiness.

Hm, this one smells different from other heavy roast oolongs I’ve had. It’s slightly sweet with pear-like fruit notes along with the obligatory roastiness. Flavor-wise, there’s definitely a strong grassiness alongside the roasty, autumn leaf sort of taste. I can taste a hint of sweetness but I’m not really getting the pear from the aroma unfortunately. There’s definitely more sweetness in the aftertaste, but it’s more along the lines of honey rather than fruit. Tasty, but not my favorite.

Ugh. Burnt hay. And the smell that makes me not abLe to tolerate Pu-erh.

This is my favorite Japanese tea so far. It has the roasted flavor of genmaicha but doesn’t have the grassy flavor I usually associate with Japanese green teas.