397 Tasting Notes
Cold-brewed this one last night and am sipping on it now. Dang, it’s tasty! When it’s super cold right out of the fridge, I get major watermelon notes. Now that it’s warmed up just a smidge, I’m getting a hit of raspberry and some nice floral notes from the green tea base.
This is so refreshing. I could see myself using it as a post-run rehydration drink, because plain water never really appeals to me but I don’t like sugary sports drinks.
Flavors: Floral, Melon, Raspberry, Watermelon
Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge
September 2022: A tea from a tea swap/traveling tea box
Pulled this one from the TTB a few months back and took advantage of a cool (well, relatively cool…) morning to steep it up.
I’m relatively new to oolongs but have liked what I’ve tasted so far! I think I got four steeps out of this one. I enjoyed watching the color change the longer I steeped it, from a pale yellow to a much deeper, earthier shade. As for flavors, I probably should have paid a little more attention, but I was reading outdoors and just enjoying the moment. I didn’t notice any particularly strong floral notes like other oolongs I’ve tasted; it had more of a mellow, toasty, roasty herbal earthiness. All in all, a pleasant — if not terribly memorable — sipper for a morning of reading outdoors.
(It strikes me as almost funny that I’m not using this for the “A tea with a strong aroma” prompt, given the name, but I’ve got plenty more sipdown contenders for that one!)
Flavors: Earthy, Roasty, Toasty, Vegetal
I ordered a sample-sized bag of this one a while back, tried it once, and promptly forgot about it. So I’m going into it somewhat fresh tonight!
Dry, I’m mostly getting anise with a tiny hint of cocoa. But my brewed cup smells… kinda funky and murky. There’s a smell that some fruity baked goods (blueberry muffins, banana bread) get when they’ve been sitting at room temp for too long and are just about to turn, and the scent here aaalmost reminds me of that smell. But it’s really mild and not enough to put me off.
The taste is actually kind of weak! There’s a hint of anise behind a thin, bready flavor, but not too much more. The mouthfeel is really nice and silky, but I want a little more flavor behind it.
A dash of oat milk bulks up the body, but does nothing for the flavor. Meh. Not a repurchase for me. :(
Flavors: Anise, Bread, Licorice, Malt
Yum! The dry leaf has such a bright, fruity, citrusy punch — it smells amazing. Brewed, I’m getting more of a peachy scent. The taste is just delightful — a sort of creamy citrus-peach, with just a tiiiny hint of coconut. Perfect for a cool late-summer day.
Flavors: Blood Orange, Citrus, Creamy, Fruity, Juicy, Peach
Fresh outta my July subscription box! I’m hoping this tea will wake me up on a sleepy Tuesday afternoon. (Why am I sleepy? I have no idea, but it’s 2 p.m. and I can barely keep my eyes open. Maybe because I’ve been staring at an Excel spreadsheet all morning. I’m a writer, not a data scientist!)
Anyway, this tea reminds me of Coconut Eggnog — the tea that introduced me to 52Teas! It’s got a nice, rich base and notes of clove and star anise, with just a hint of coconut to provide a creaminess. I’m drinking it hot and enjoying it quite a bit, but I’ll have to try the brew ‘n’ cool method to make a true iced tea.
Well… back to the ol’ spreadsheet.
Flavors: Astringent, Clove, Creamy, Spices, Star Anise
My summer tea-drinking has officially picked up again now that I’ve realized I can point a fan at myself to cool off while I work… thus allowing me to enjoy hot tea. :D
I’m currently taking a wee break from a busy work day and made myself a cup of this extremely fruity blend to drink alongside a little afternoon snack plate. This blend is CHOCK FREAKING FULL of ingredients, primarily dried fruit. Dry, it smells really lovely, like POG juice or some other multi-fruit juice blend. It’s visually quite busy, with giant pieces of freeze-dried starfruit, pink peppercorns, bright cornflower petals, and much more. As you might expect, the brewed tea is similarly busy. I can’t really identify any single flavor above the general cacophony, but maybe that’s a good thing. Instead, I get a mild, lightly fruity liquor with just a tiiiny hint of peppercorn at the end and a gentle creaminess, maybe from one of the flowers.
It’s pretty nice! I might try it cold brewed next, but the hot version is very pleasant.
Flavors: Creamy, Fruity, Pepper, Sweet
Another winner from my first 52Teas subscription box! This is absolutely evocative of chocolate cake batter: It’s creamy and rich, and the cacao nibs and shells add a really lovely, mild chocolate flavor. The coconut flavor is juuust there, but not at all overpowering — instead it adds a full-bodied creaminess I’ve come to associate with 52Teas’ coconut blends.
I find myself wishing the black tea base were a littttle bit stronger, but that would probably mess with the delicate alchemy of these flavors.
This is a sophisticated dessert tea that I plan to savor. :)
Flavors: Cacao, Cake, Chocolate, Coconut, Creamy
Preparation
Aww I just ordered from Anne a few days ago, and I didn’t include this one because I assumed it was regular cake batter. But chocolate cake batter sounds amazing!
Maybe next time, ha ha…
This tea is delightful in all senses—appearance, scent, taste—and it reminds me why I was so excited when I first discovered 52Teas (y’know, like eight months ago… yes, I’m a latecomer). It’s flavorful without tasting artificial, and it just makes me smile. Yum!
Flavors: Berries, Creamy
I finally signed up for a 52Teas subscription box because why the hell not. XD This one came in the June box (which arrived in early July), and then I was on vacation, and I’m only getting around to trying it now.
So, it smells delightful. After being burned (not literally) by the horrifying, cloying nature of that one Strawberry Shortcake tea from Murchie’s, I got a little twitchy when I saw the label. Happily, the scent here is much less “strawberry car freshener someone bought at the dollar store and then ripped completely open and hung up, filling the car with noxious fumes” and more “sweet strawberry candy, but in a good way.”
Steeped, the strawberry loses some of its strength, but that’s OK. I’m still getting a light, buttery creaminess layered over a bit of strawberry, plus the nice toastiness of the rice. The green tea comes in at the end as a gentle grassiness; it’s definitely present, but not overpoweringly bitter or anything.
Overall, it’s very nice and quite fun. I’m not totally sure I’d be able to identify the flavor profile/inspiration if I’d gone in cold, but I’m enjoying it (y’know, judging by the fact that I’m drinking it on a 90˚+ day). Cold-brewing it might be good too.
Flavors: Butter, Candy, Creamy, Grassy, Strawberry, Toasted Rice
Preparation
This green tea was included in the final installment of my six-month Whistling Kettle gift subscription. I’ve been pretty ambivalent about the WK boxes—there have been a few really tasty blends, but there’ve been more duds.
This one, however, is not a dud! It’s a gorgeously light green tea with delicate, almost buttery soft and smooth flavor. It’s mildly vegetal, but pretty unobjectionably so. I’m getting the tiniest hint of asparagus in the aroma, but I have to really sniff deeply to find it.
There’s not a whole lot to this one, but what’s there is good. I haven’t been drinking much tea in this hottt weather, but I’m glad I made time for a cup today. :)
Flavors: Asparagus, Smooth, Soft, Vegetal
I absolutely love this one iced. I know I’ve said this at least once before, but I’m not sure if I’ve said it here on steepster, I almost didn’t process this one for sale – I was going to just package it up for me – not because I was being selfish – but because of the stickiness of the watermelon. I’ve made watermelon teas before, but never quite this sticky. I’m not sure why this particular batch ended up so sticky – but it did. So, I was thinking, “I can’t sell this!” So I almost didn’t – but after I tasted it – I thought that people would still love this, even though it’s sticky because it tastes so good. (Especially cold brewed!)
I saw that note! I’m glad you ended up offering it… it’s so good! The stickiness is just a fun little quirk.