New Tasting Notes

I was inspired to open this by amandastory516’s tasting notes! I got it for Christmas but hadn’t tried it yet, as Ashman doesn’t enjoy bergamot and I have been tea with him quite a lot. Today I have breakfast and lunch both on my own, so it is a great time to have it, and I had it at both meals.

I am picky about my Earl Grey type teas. I don’t like fake bergamot or bergamot ln a lemony or thin base, like a high grown Ceylon. My preference is Keemun or another hearty black tea base that can be tasted and isn’t obliterated by the flavorings.

This one, happily, is what I hoped it would be! The aroma is unmistakeable bergamot, but not sharp enough to burn your nose hairs out. The creme brulee part is soooo smooth.

Drinking it, I think the cream part comes first. It is rich and full and feels quite luxurious. The creamy feel and taste are followed by bergamot, not at all weak but not overpowering, either. Having made it twice, I will say that even with my disinclination to overly strong bergamot, I liked the pot I leafed more heavily best. I did try it as separate steeps and also with a first and second steep combined. Both were very good.

If you like Earl Grey, London Fogs, and such, you will be doing yourself a favor to try this.

A sipdown! (M: 2 Y: 18)

Finally I decided to gongfu rest of this tea. Which means it is a sipdown; and when it is a tea bought abroad, it is sometimes a little bit more sad. But I have saw this tea available from different vendors, including Czech one too. So, I may get some one day; but definitely I will wait for a new harvest at least.

So, this tea is kind of hard to describe… even after following sessions: 45 seconds, 3 times 15 seconds, 20 and 30 seconds. There was a quick, 5 seconds long rinse, that I drank but haven’t made any notes.

The first session is very strong, woody cup, with hints of rose and cinnamon; however the mouthfeel feels a bit flat and drying. The drying mouthfeel is quite long, but in the same time you just want to try another cup of this tea.

The short sessions were equal in terms of flavours and very similar to first one, with more spicy notes and cherry wood; however I didn’t noticed the fruity notes as some vendors described in their listings.

As I wrote last time, definitely a tea that gives me autumn-feel-vibes, and even though I drank it in February, it is full-flavored and potent. That’s roughly 10 months from harvest, again based on some vendors info. I don’t know when exactly my batch was harvested and processed, but I can imagine having more of this.

Glad to try another thyme black tea; but this one seems so far the least favorite. Of course, it’s not even close to Kokati by Teoria, but first of all, this one doesn’t contain Georgian tea; and secondly, it is a tea bag.

It’s not so distinctive and the base tea was on the other hand a bit too strong and harsh and with thyme that isn’t so fragrant as I would hope… it doesn’t go well together. It was quite mediocre to me. The thyme had some other notes than savoury, like it was mixed with some other herbals, but I am not able to point out what exactly.

So, keeping my thyme black tea source somewhere else.

Sipdown 8 – 2025

Logging the sipdown. Hopefully this makes an appearance again at some point.

Finding this one slightly difficult to describe. I haven’t had a lot of GABA teas, and I think they’ve all been oolongs?

I’m definitely getting a tanginess, which the Internet tells me is common for GABA teas. It actually reminds me a bit of a mango yogurt drink or lassi, but perhaps a bit tangier. But then there’s also the earthy-woody black tea flavor, with a bit of musty hay as well. It makes for an interesting combo, and once again does not taste at all like I would expect for Assam. Closer to a second flush Darjeeling really, with those hay notes, but it does have some briskness to it, and a touch of raisin in the finish. An interesting experience to be sure!

I mostly taste lavender here. It’s super strong, but I’m a big lavender fan. There’s also a touch of something else that I suppose could be the orange. This flavor combination never spoke to me very strongly. Not bad, but I guess I prefer these flavors separately.

Consistently delicious. Will probably restock once I run out (if that is still even a possibility).

This tea is lovely- super dominant jasmine flavor without being perfumey. The green base is present and lends a nice support to the fresh jasmine flavor.

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – February 2025 Tea #1 – February 2 – Groundhog Day – drink the same tea twice! (Just like last year…)

Forgot to post the prompt with only an hour left for Groundhog day!  Nothing exciting… but just drank a second steep of this today… but I usually do drink a second steep of most teas. This one is a must though, as far as resteeps go, since there are just so many leaves packed in a dragon ball.