New Tasting Notes

Had with Lunch

A much better first steep this time. I used less leaf and was careful about the water temperature and steeping time. It pays not to get distracted while making tea. :P

Soothing and rich. Exactly what I need right now.

Normally I love this but I think I over sweetened it or my tastebuds are off. It tasted like soap again.

I love this tea. I just wish it weren’t so expensive.

I’m thoroughly enjoying my sample pack from First Class Teas. I’m not sure I’ve perfected the brewing technique though.

Just trying this one out in the kyuusu, water at 70C and steeping for two and a half minutes. This is such a lovely, smooth tea, one of my very favourite greens and incrediblly easy to drink – and with that lovely honey scent. It’s worked out very well in the kyuusu, but I think I’ll play around with it a bit more and maybe use just slightly hotter water next time.

Triple ‘shot’ and steeped longer just for kicks. It was tasty – surely you can smell the Mango and Papaya much more but the taste was not over the top fruity herbal like some can be maybe because the Rooibos helped cut it. Either way…I like it.

This is starting to show some age, with a bit of a stale biscuit character up front. As well, the honeydew notes have subsided significantly.

One of my current favorites for early morning tea. A pot of this just kept me going through several hours of work…

This is the best broken leaf Assam I have had so far. Mid priced at about $12 for a 1/4 lb. I usually drink 2 to 3 cups a day. If you like a malty- honey Assam with a lot of complexity, this could be your favorite.

I’m a little bit addicted to this right now. Wondering how much a difference there is between the bagged and loose versions.

4 1/2 minutes. The only thing I don’t like about this is the astringent smell of the dry leaves. I think it’s common when you have a lot of bergamot in one place though. Once the leaves are in the cup with water, it’s totally fine.

One of the lighter gunpowder green teas I’ve had but still has a nice, light smokey flavor.

I FINALLY saw 2 mini blueberries in the loose leaf and steeped for a bit…it’s still yummy but light…should have probably steeped longer for the full flavor.

Yuck. Bark and twigs, but thankfully not strong. Good for cleansing the body and mind. I need this after tuesday’s Beerapalooza.

I made this tea quite strong since that was what I was in the mood for today and surprisingly, the mint flavor stood up well and wasn’t overpowered by the black tea.

This was the tea that began my love of Yunnans. I love the earthy, peppery flavor of this, though that’s not a flavor profile I typically care for. I really want to try their Yunnan Jig to see the differences between them.

This really is the last of this now! Still preferring it slightly to the organic Kaoru, but don’t think I have the parameters quite right for that one yet.

1.5 tsp leaves in 10 oz very hot water, 4 min, milk and a dab of sugar. The blackcurrant flavor is enjoyably subtle. It doesn’t taste strictly like a black tea or a green tea, or like oolong either. It has its own profile, with more black tea in the aroma and more green in the finish. I don’t know whether to puzzle or marvel over this. ;-)