2201 Tasting Notes
I don’t usually have a green tea in the morning, but I make an exception for this tea (#102), which was purchased at the same time as the Tan Yang.
I’ve always liked how this tea isn’t just jasmine, but it has a lot of nuanced flavors from the green tea itself. Buttery, sweet, and others I can’t quite pinpoint. I know I should drink this one up even faster than the black teas, but it’s still hard to do, especially when the tea has as much flavor as it still does.
Preparation
This tea, this tea (#103; technically Gardens of Anxi appears in my cupboard before this one, but I recently drank down my old stock of that, so I will drink some of the reblend when I get to it and Golden Earl). Bought March of 2012.
This is a true hoarding tea. I have looked for a replacement for this tea (I bought it on Maliandao in Beijing), but nothing is quite the same. I have for sure found other tasty Tan Yangs in my search, but nothing that really captures this one. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. Even in it’s old age it is deliciously sweet and honeyed, although I know its former glory has faded a bit. Perhaps I should drink it up before it ages any more, and then its sadder because I didn’t drink what I had while it was still delicious.
Preparation
Ooh, I just tried TeaVivre’s Premium Tan Yang a few days ago, it’s strong on the honey as well! Maybe you should try that one once they get it back on their site. :)
I haven’t tried their Premium, but I have tried the Superfine from them. Definitely delicious, but not quite right. :) But maybe the Premium is actually closer. In any case I’ve long since given up trying because every tan yang is so different.
Yeah, the Premium version tasted completely different than the Superfine to me. Just a thought! :)
Next on the tour, we have this Argentinian tea (#104). It was purchased in September of 2011. It looks like a cheap, nasty CTC, but it always brews smooth and sweet with no touch of astringency, so I always enjoy my cup of it. I am pleased to find that this cup was still very delicious, although perhaps slightly less currant-y than before. Still, not bad for an old tea that doesn’t look like good leaf in the first place.
Preparation
Next oldest tea (#105), and this one it’s really hard to believe it’s as old as it is. Still full of flavor and totally delicious. Love the combo of marzipan-y almond and cranberry.
I’ve just noticed an interesting trend (after two teas, lol), in that all my oldest teas are my highest rated. I’ve gotten rid of (i.e., sipped down) all the ones I don’t care for that are older, it’s just my favorites that I can’t bring myself to sip down…
Preparation
I’m not going to lie: I’ve been avoiding Steepster. I’m just not having the fun with it that I used to. There’s a lot of nonfunctionality, and a lot of people complaining about nonfunctionality. That and I’m just not as tea-obsessed as I once was. I hardly looked at it over the holidays. Sorry if I missed anything major. I did come back to find that the cupboard sort feature is working again, so that’s awesome.
I did come back because I promised myself that I would do a taste-through of my cupboard from oldest tea to youngest. It helps me assess whether some old teas still have enough flavor to keep around, and also reminds me of everything in my cupboard, some of which I rarely get around to drinking. I am going to log notes on them to keep track. I did this at the beginning of last year, and it was fun (it also took me a really long time). The oldest tea in my cupboard this year is the same as it was last year, though looking back at my notes there are definitely a lot of old ones I sipped down last year.
So here it is, the oldest tea in my cupboard (#106). It’s probably… 3 years old? It’s hard to say. It still smells amazing while it’s brewing. It tastes pretty good. Not as good as it did when it was young, but pretty good. I have a decent amount of this at home still, and I will have to remember to brew it strong with milk and sugar, I think, to really get some flavor out of it. The almond-chocolate-caramel of this was always delicious, although I obviously don’t reach for it as frequently as I should if it was going to be a restock/cupboard staple.
ETA: Now that I think about it, this tea has got to be closer to 4 years old, or at least 3 and a half. I’ve got some ooooold teas.
Preparation
This is such a good idea! I know my tastes have changed a lot and I’ve only been around for 7 months.
I find a lot of flavored teas lose flavor after about a year anyway
I admit I am always surprised at how well a lot of flavored blacks hold their flavors for years. Last year, I thought this one was just as good as ever. It’s still not bad or flavorless. I guess maybe 2 years is about the limit for a lot of them.
The people constantly complaining about non-functionality (most of which were problems which I a) didn’t experience or b) didn’t use anyway or c)both of the above) was the main reason I had to stop looking at the discussion boards for a while. There were some for whom I started to wonder if ‘rude’ was their default setting. Always better to take a step back at that point before one actually starts disliking people. Apparently Steepster-Mike has been doing a lot of repairing over Christmas.
I also know what you mean about less obsessed lately. I’ve had that as well. Less enthusiastic of all the new things, more appreciative of the things I know well. I post more rarely and read other posts even more rarely.
well we love it when you pop back in for a visit :)
I can definitely relate to your reasons for staying away, but it’s always a treat to see a Dinosara update in my feed. Team Dino 2015!
Thanks guys, it’s nice to feel missed. :) I will be around more since I do want to log all the teas in my cupboard as I go through them.
Dammann Advent Calendar, Day 24
Merry Christmas everyone! I saved this tea for today!
More cherry, of course. They love their cherry! Anyway, I drank this one with breakfast and it was pretty tasty despite the cherry. I am once again sad that the calendar is over!
Also I drank this out of a new handmade tea mug that I got for Christmas!
Dammann Advent Calendar, Day 23
It seems the French like cherries around Christmas, or at least there are a lot of teas with cherry in the calendar. Given that I don’t really care for cherry, that makes it a little tough for me sometimes, but apparently Dammann can get me to enjoy even cherry.
I drank this one and liked it this year. Yes, there was cherry, but it wasn’t too fakey and it paired nicely with the marzipan and light spices. Apparently last year I found it similarly drinkable despite the cherry.
I’m probably going to save the christmas tea (today’s tea) for tomorrow on Christmas!
Dammann Advent Calendar, Day 21
I totally thought I had never tried this one before, but apparently I have. You could have fooled me. Reading my old tasting notes, I think my sample before was not in the best condition, as it was contaminated on the first steeping and flavorless on the second.
Well, this is certainly not flavorless. I may not be super into flavored green teas at the moment, but I do like the blend of bergamot and peach here. And a hint of rose? Yes please. I bet this would be super delicious iced, which is how I do prefer my flavored greens. Glad to have gotten to try this one again and really appreciate it.
Dammann Advent Calendar, Day 20
I laughed when I pulled this one out because although this tea is new to the calendar, it is still not new to me. I got a loose sample of this with a previous order, although I am drinking my sachet because I’m at my parents now.
I enjoy this tea because I love the caramel and apple flavors, but I’m not super fond of the cherry added in. This sachet has more cherry flavor than my cup had in the past, which is unfortunate for me. But I still drank the whole cup, so it must not have had too much extra cherry.
