Sample sipdown – this was a swap from Sil at the Tea Festival yesterday (holy alliteration, batman!)
This smelled like grapefruit dry, and it still smells pretty citrusy brewed. I’m surprised by how true to taste and tart the tea is, and how well the hibiscus is blending in. This tastes kind of like really sour orange juice, and the flavour of the orange peel is bang on. I also get a hint of chamomile here, even though it’s not included in the ingredient list.
Updated March 2016:
I’m a writer and editor who’s fallen in love with loose-leaf tea. I’ve also set up a site for tea reviews at http://www.booksandtea.ca – an excellent excuse to keep on buying and trying new blends. There will always be more to discover!
In the meantime, since joining Steepster in January 2014, I’ve gotten a pretty good handle on my likes and dislikes
Likes: Raw/Sheng pu’erh, sobacha, fruit flavours, masala chais, jasmine, mint, citrus, ginger, Ceylons, Chinese blacks, rooibos.
Dislikes (or at least generally disinclined towards): Hibiscus, rosehip, chamomile, licorice, lavender, really vegetal green teas, shu/ripe pu’erh.
Things I generally decide on a case-by-case basis: Oolong, white teas.
Still need to do my research on: matcha
I rarely score teas anymore, but if I do, here’s the system I follow:
100-85: A winner!
84-70: Pretty good. This is a nice, everyday kind of tea.
69-60: Decent, but not up to snuff.
59-50: Not great. Better treated as an experiment.
49-0: I didn’t like this, and I’m going to avoid it in the future. Blech.
Toronto, ON, Canada
the tea bags are totally from MissB and her adventures in all fairness. You just weren’t around when we were knee deep in her teas. I found a few i had stashed away so figured you should get some of the fun too!