310 Tasting Notes
Eh. It’s ok. This was a free sample from SpecialTeas that I got with my last order. I was kind of excited about it because I never order Darjeelings, but it just tastes like tea to me. It has a little bitterness to it despite only brewing it for 2 minutes. Nothing special here.
Preparation
Finally got to brew this at the right temp (got a tea kettle for my birthday and replaced the batteries in the thermometer). Man it’s good. I didn’t think it could get better, but it did. It seemed mellower when brewed at the lower temp. Sadly, I only have about 1 more cup of this one.
Preparation
It always amazes me the difference that correct water temp can make. Sometimes it is really huge. Btw, I think I was wrong about the bowl steeping thing. I need to write to the author and get clarification. There is a thing called a gaiwan that is like what I had in mind, but they’re always single serving, maybe six ounces.
Oh yeah, when I saw that picture I was thinking that you needed a gaiwan.
I just wish I could find a big one for then pouring into a pot for serving. Doesn’t seem to exist, though. I just hate fishing tea leaves out of pots with narrow tops.
Aha, I asked the blogger, and the bowl he always has is not for steeping, it is for the water used to warm all the hardware and to pour off the water after rinsing the leaves, and for any excess during additional infusions. Which is why the contents actually look like tea, not water. Good to know!
Last cup in my sample. :( I really liked this one. I did throw another sample of it into my next order so I will get at least a few more cups of this. Not yet sure I want to order a whole bag despite how yummy it is. I’ll know for sure if I need to order some once it is gone. If I go nuts and miss it like crazy, then I’ll get some more.
This is a nice afternoon black tea. It is malty and has something in the background that I haven’t identified yet (the description says lemony, so perhaps that is what I am tasting). No bitterness after brewing for 2 min in a small teapot.
Update: the Harney & Sons book says teas from this estate have a wintergreen aroma and background flavor. Maybe I can detect a little of that, and perhaps that is the flavor I was trying to indentify… but I am not sure I would have come up with that on my own.
Preparation
This dairy-free caramel flavor Rooibos from Special Teas is pretty good. When you open the bag, it smells amazing; toasty and sweet. When brewed it has a nice light caramel flavor. I’d like a little more caramel flavor, but overall I am pretty happy with it.
Preparation
Meh. I got this free sample from Jade Teapot today. I wanted this to taste like a nice juicy pear. It doesn’t. It does have some pear flavor, but it more like an unripe pear. There is some bitter taste in the background that I couldn’t identify.
Preparation
Bleah. I had to travel over the last couple of days unexpectedly so I had no time to find travel tea. I was dying for some herbal tea on Weds and I was staying with family. This was the only tea in the house. It’s awful. I expected it to be too syrupy sweet and it was exactly the opposite. Bland. And it had that smell that I sometimes describe as ‘vomity’. Yeah, that’s never a good smell.
Morgana’s review is spot on for this one. While I love that the Rooibos flavor isn’t overpowering, I didn’t love the flavors of this one so much. The bag does have a strong liquor smell which is nice. Once brewed, it smells like mocha ice cream. The taste is harder to describe. There is a lot going on. At times it tasted like black tea and at other times it tasted like coffee. I actually feel like I have coffee breath after drinking that one. I was excited to see this Rooibos has a white chocolate that is dairy free, but sadly it didn’t do it for me.
If you are looking for something like a mocha then this tea is for you.
