761 Tasting Notes
SSTTB #2…I’m having deja vu with this one…it tastes exactly like the Big Red Robe I had recently from Teavivre. Is this a Big Red Robe? It has to be. It is the same level of toasty-ness and body and everything, though the leaves were a bit longer than the Teavivre ones I had (also from the box). This tea was comforting today, as the toasty warmth seemed to keep the rainy bone chilling away. Either that, or me being under a blanket with my laptop watching youtube videos. Maybe all of the above.
That said, it is a little plain tasting, though I did get a whiff of chocolate from the dry leaf that was promising, but that is not very present in the steeped leaf. It;s an ok tea, but I feel like there is something missing. I keep thinking I am drinking a houjicha green, and not an oolong. I think, ultimately, I prefer more mineral or stone fruit dark oolong teas, or leaf hoppers, than this roasted one.
It’s a good tea, but not my fave. As I have Silk Road in town, I have the option to repurchase more in the future if I change my mind on it.
From the SSTTB2…following the directions on the package to use 1tsp to 1tbsp and steep 5-30 minutes, I opted somewhere in the middle. I used 2 heaping tsp and steeped about 15 minutes. I did add a touch of coconut sugar and milk to this. It’s way better than the HI stuff I tried a while back. This is still thin, but it feels and tastes creamier and richer. I’m glad I could try this!
Preparation
Baklog…it’s been a while since I last had this. This batch was sent to me by a friend. I found that this brew was distinctly more grapefruit than I remember, but that’s hardly a bad thing, given it’s name. It was a nice way to brighten up a dark and rainy day. I can’t wait to have this iced or cold steeped when it is warm out. It’s tasty.
Backlog…I restrained myself and only used a teaspoon for my 12 oz mug, and stuck to a 2 minute steep time and it was light and creamy and not bitter or sour like the first time, or my times with it’s predecessor, Nutmeg Cream (version 2). You know, this makes me super happy. I got sad with the NC reblend, and I tried (or think I tried) all the suggestions and no dice. This time, the advice to ease up on leaf and steep time helped.
YAY!
Preparation
This one comes from a friend…she sent me a few Butiki teas for Christmas from her order, and I’m sending a few (ok, a ton) of teas to her, many local ones. Being that I didn’t get home til 9 or so, I opted for this one, as the other caffeine tea I had today was Long Life Oolong. And I have a late start in the morning tomorrow at work, so if the caffeine does do anything, I’m not fussed over missing sleep. But this is a white, so I’m not so concerned.
Anyway…this tea is a lot lighter than I thought, though I guess it being a white, it is as light as I was realistically expecting. The squash does bring a richer, warmer, denser feel to it though. I just think I was anticipating a little heavier…I don’t know why. Perhaps I was subconsciously thinking of squash or pumpkin pies and whipped cream and the heavy at the bottom of your tummy but oh so good along the way sort of heavy/body. And I think I was still expecting a darker oolong or black base. But those are all my grand delusions…I guess I just forget that this is a white tea.
That said, this tea is really nice. But like I said, for a white tea, the squash does add a richer, warmer, denser depth of flavour, though more subtle, like ribbons dancing across my tongue. I notice the cinnamon first. And the cinnamon flirts with the squash, and jealous vanilla tries to cut in with squash. And they all seem to dance happily away, with sometimes the vanilla being the stronger note, and sometimes the cinnamon.
It’s a really unique tea, and I wish I had more of this, but I’m happy to have been able to try it. I have a second cup waiting for when this one is finished. The dance isn’t over yet, and the chaperones aren’t looking. :P
Sipdown…having the last of this on a rainy morning…seems like a sunny feeling going down, making me long for spring again. Gotta get some laundry done soon, so that’s it for me. I pretty much feel the same way with this tea as I did previously, and thank whoever added it to the SSTTB 2.
This one is pretty good. It almost makes me think of a cross of green tea with a roasted oolong. It’s not floral like a green oolong, and it’s not vegetal like a green tea…but it does have a sort of buttery yet smokey note. So it is kind of like a slightly smokey green and a roasted oolong. Hard to describe. For a green, this tea had a bit of body…it is not a thin tasting one. I kind of get a familiar taste of fasting supreme here…but not quite. I can still taste the green in this.
I have to say that I like it!
From the SSTTB…though it’s on it’s second round, so maybe I should be doing SSTTB #2 like OMGsrsly, though this is my first crack at the box…I dunno.
I chose this one today because we had a dusting of snow overnight, and it was really cold this morning when I got up. But it was also sunny. So I opted to have a tropical yet hardy tea, and this is what I picked. I’ve kind of been waiting for the right time to have it.
This one tastes a bit like David’s old Aloha Pu Erh, but perhaps just a little different…a little less artificial? I also added milk to mine, as I pretty much do with all my shu pu erhs.
I like this, and I will have more, when the mood strikes, though it is not a love. It is a like. I agree with other reviewers that this is a good pu erh for newbies.
So I’m off today, and I slept in, really late, since I’ve been sick for the last week, and really fatigued at work (I did take Sunday off so I had 3 days in a row last weekend to take it easy). I got up, made this tea, and heated the tea biscuits I got from the Timmies at the airport yesterday morning when I took my husband there.
It tastes a little bit like an earl grey, when I added the milk, but it was more mild when it was without. Neither taste was bad. I did not steep this very long, afraid of getting a bitter base. I might they it again with a longer steep.
I’m glad I picked this one out of the SSTTB to try. It’s nice and just what I wanted this morning/afternoon. I think I may head back to bed soon, when this cup is finished, and rest up some more.
