761 Tasting Notes
Had a cup of this tonight. Decided to add a little genmai hojicha from my amoda box from January. Didn’t really make much of a difference, to be honest, in terms of flavour.
Still, I like this tea. It was the right tea for tonight. I’m glad I picked up the bag when I was in LA.
Made this one this morning since I had a headache…I do seem to like my straight blacks on such occasions.
The first thing I noticed is how light and fluffy the leaves are, and how lovely they are with the golden tips. Now, perhaps because I have been heavy on the pu erhs lately, this tasted light and sweet. I did use my organic cane sugar, and a little milk.
I can’t really go into too much detail on the intricacies of this steep, as I was in bed with the headache, and this was at my bedside.
This sample was quite tasty though, despite the headache, and I’m glad there is more for me to have. I’m sure I’ll like the rest of the sample, so many thanks to Angel at Teavivre for sending this.
First Big Apple of the season today!! YAY!
Our temps are warming up, so I broke this one out for a scenic drive today.
It’s still a favourite of mine, and I will refill for the season.
It’s light, and sweet and juicy. I like to cold brew this one in the warmer months, too.
Sipdown! I’m definitely getting more of this for now, maybe 25g for now and see how I am when that finishes. The only thing in here that is potential issue is the lemongrass. So far, with my bag, it has not been too strong, so with hope, it will be ok in larger amounts. It’s one of those ingredients that I’m on the fence with…I like it in some blends, but not all.
I let this steep too long cuz there was a shiny thing, but it is still pretty good. The taste is slightly astringent from the oversteep, but the rest of the taste is hard to describe. I’ve never had a persimmon, so I can’t compare.
The sample pouch, provided to me from Teavivre for reviewing, was perplexing. It didn’t seem like individual pieces, but pieces and then stuff…I don’t know how to explain. Like buds and leaves? I thought the packet would be solely filled with that in the image. The description on the website said to use 10-15 of them, whatever they are, flower heads? I found that hard to do, so I just measured into my bamboo spoon and hoped it was ok.
So, I’m not 100% sure how to describe this, or what to make of it, but it is tasty, and I may try mixing it with a white or green as suggested.
Sipdown…there was an odd sort of taste with this last steep, but I don’t think it was too off=putting. It might have been a ratio of ingredients thing, or the fact I brewed the rest of it up, had to run out the door, and heated it up again when I got home.
As mentioned before, I will probably get another small amount of this, though not as small as this first bag, and try it again.
Nice and rich flavour, even after a short-ish steep of a minute or so. There is the classic pu erh earthy flavour, but also a chocolate like note like you might find in a yunnan. I did not rinse, but I did sweeten and add milk. Pu erh, to me, is the coffee of tea. Aside from sheng pu erh, or a white pu erh, I pretty much always add milk and sugar to mine.
I find it to be tasty, and I’m off to make a second cup soon, though, I might like Special Dark from Mandala just a little more. I’m going to share my other packet with a friend who likes coffee and see what she thinks.
This sample was provided from Angel at Teavivre. So I thank her much for allowing me to try it.
EDIT: Second steep, this time, sans milk, but still with sugar.
I think I did somewhere between 1-2 minutes…I was stirring a little basmati rice in oil, prior to adding the water to cook it.
Even this way, it’s rich, but not overpowering.
Overall, my impression is that this is a good starter pu erh, when prepared with a short steep. I tend to like the heavy rich pu erhs and can handle most at a good 3+ minute steep, so I can probably do this one that way too, but someone not used to this type of tea, might be ok with this one, in short steeps.
Preparation
I’m still getting a little tart and juicy, but I’ll say this tea is still pretty tasty. I’ll probably get more of this, at least for now. Maybe just another small amount, like 25-30g. We ’re starting to have warmer sunny days, so a cold brew of this is lined up at some point.
Oversteeped or overleafed=bitter and astringent. I think I’m gonna use a shorter steep next time. I have a sense of deja vu with this and Vicky’s Sponge Cake with respect to steeping.
Thanks to crowkettle for allowing me to try. Hoping it turns out better on a later steep.
Sooo….yeah, I don’t really like this. The pu erh base is fine, but there is no coconut taste, and the strawberry tastes cough syrup-like and artificial…I don’t really know if adding dried strawberry and coconut would make any difference, but in any case, I’m glad I didn’t get that much of this one. Back to Fantasy Island from Davids.
