Walnut Street Tea Company

I was curious about how a smokey tea would be, as I love smoky foods. The smoke was almost entirely in the aroma, which I think is a good thing. It was very subtle and delicious. I would like to try pure Lapsang Souchong, and compare.

This is a perfect cold-weather tea. Pairs perfectly with Christmas season, but I still enjoy after the holidays. Keeps cheer around in February. It’s a very rich tea, not exactly an easy sipping experience, but delicious.

Admittedly, I’ve been slow to warm to oolong teas, but this one reminds me of a jasmine blend, though there is no jasmine in it. Delicious. :D

Ahhh, puer is an acquired taste! I bought this 100g mini cake four years ago, broke up the cake and tried to brew it, with immediate buyers remorse. So I dumped it into a mason jar and threw it on the shelf and ignored it. Now, with much more experience (but far from any expertise) I have brewed this 22 yr old sheng again (gongfu) and find it quite nice! It still has some bite to it, and a little smokiness, but now I look forward to steeping some up every few months as we mature together. Even the badly over-steeped 7th cup wasn’t bitter, and #8 has nutty notes with sawn lumber and leather tones. I stopped after 12 steepings, though the tea might have gone on a few more. Thank you Hilary (owner of the shop) for providing this experience to the denizens of your community—I’m loving it! You and your shop are appreciated. (Photos are of my actual tea cake in 2017).

Edit 11/2024: Clarified cake weight and upgraded my rating from 77 to 82 as the tea has improved, now being 25 yr old.

Teeny Tiny Tea Box round 2

Backlog!

I went through a chocolate phase not too long ago, and I just had to try this tea! Smells super chocolatey, not getting much mint though.

Not exactly the best tea out there. It went a bit bitter and it may have been my fault for letting it steep a bit too long, but nothing a splash of milk can’t fix! Decent tea, just nothing I would go out of my way to purchase

This one can go in the books as the first gunpowder green tea that I’ve tried. I really had some great powerful and very well pronounced green tea flavors. Lol, as weird as it sounds it tastes like i just mowed my lawn. Although it is such a strong grassy green with nutty tones included, it also keeps a pleasant fresh crisp taste, which can sometimes dissipate after the second steep or so, but this tasting made it through 3-4 before losing its taste. However, when it begins to lose it, it goes fast. Great green taste and i would recommend to any first time gunpowder tasters.

So thankful for the Teeny Tiny TTB because even though it’s a baby box, there’s a ton of tea inside!
I’ve been meaning to try straight gunpowder for a while, but I never had the chance to till now! I’ve had it in blends, but never alone. Needless to say, I really like this tea and I think I’m going to keep it :)

I received this lovely sample from the Tea and Card TTB! It is a nice mellow licorice tea. It has some really pretty star anise in the mix. I chose this tea because I need a non-caffeine tea for this late afternoon. This tea reminds me of something I use to drink long, long ago. Probably a Celestial Seasoning tea. That doesn’t make it bad, it just leaves me confused about what I had drunk long ago. I really can’t think of what it might have been. I guess I could go to their site and see which ones had licorice that I might have had (I’m talking about back in the late 70’s early 80’s, before all of you were even born!) I enjoyed this tea but wouldn’t seek it out.

This is one of those teas that – even though I enjoy drinking it – I don’t actually steep as often as I probably should.

Dry this happens to have a scent that reminds me of day-old cut grass, with a little lingering toastiness from the bits of rice. It’s a smell that I absolutely adore and I’ll often take a whiff even when I’m planning to drink other things.

On the first steep there’s a crisp, almost kale-like taste that lingers comfortably. You can pick up the background and after-taste of rice that’s quite pleasant…but my deviant palate really wishes it was just a little sweeter.

Second steep is, naturally, a bit milder…but still pleasant.

This is the sort of tea I absent-mindedly drink while doing homework, papers or whatnot. I wish I could say that it made an impression, but I’m not likely to refill my jar when this one runs out; I have a feeling there are other green teas out there that would make me happier.

It’s odd. There’s a surprising sourness that comes along with the floral and fruity notes. It is almost as if I steeped the tea in juice that had not been sweetened at all. The taste is alright, but I cannot get beyond the sourness. It is not overwhelming, but so very out of place with what I expected.

Steep Information:
Amount: ~3 tsp (plastic lunch spoon)
Water: hot spigot water (usually ~160°F)
Tool: kati loose tea system (my Review here.)
Steep Time: 4+ minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: floral, sweet, fruity, a little coco (smell cross contamination?)
Steeped Tea Smell: apple, hibiscus
Flavor: bitter and sweet berry hibiscus, apple
Body: Full
Aftertaste: sour
Liquor: opaque red-purple

I got this in a swap with Mel.

A bit more bitter than I would like.

Pictures: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2011/01/walnut-street-tea-company-loose-leaf.html