New Tasting Notes

A tisane I’ve had in years past; giving a new box a go.

This time around, I can taste more than turmeric. The honeybush and/or rooibos come through a bit with honeyed sweetness and a woody, dry texture. Vanilla is soft and mild. I suspect cinnamon and cardamom round out the flavor but they are separately imperceptible. Overall, this tisane is mild, fairly thin and watery.

I enjoyed this the first few times I had it, but tonight… ick! My partner wanted a cinnamon-y tea, so I made a pot of this one. But neither of us cares for it. It’s got that stevia-like slippery-sweetness from the blackberry leaf that coats my tongue after each sip, and I’m just finding the overall flavor profile on the cloying side. It’s absolutely cookie-like, but it’s just not hitting the right notes for me tonight!

This is a heavy roast yancha which seems difficult to come by these days. The roast is well done, and if this tea is from 2020, it’s had plenty of time to mellow. “Dark forest chicory-carob-mulberry” sums it up well. Plenty of texture between smooth and velvety, almost syrupy, and barky rasp. No fuss here just full flavor and aroma without a demanding aftertaste. I did several sessions at 6g:100mL but 5g does as well.

One of the first gifts my boyfriend gave me. He’s a good man that knows how to shop for a good tea.

I haven’t visited Smith Teamaker in nearly a decade, and my memory of it was that it was overpriced for mediocre tea. Unfortunately that’s still my feeling. I drank this in shop and they majorly understeeped it. Watery with a hint of juniper.

Sipdown

Instead of icing it, I had it as an afternoon accompaniment to some Lindt truffles. I like this one much better than at first, as I now treat it almost like a Darjeeling. The briskness is turned down when I go with 190F. If I wanted to add milk and/or sugar, I would probably stick with boiling water and four minutes.

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – January 2025 Tea #5 – January 19 – World Snow Day – drink a white tea!

What a fitting prompt for the day – should be getting about six inches of snow today, which might be the most for the year yet so far which is unusual…  this is probably one of only two white teas I have with me, so this one it is.  It’s odd it is called a moonlight white, as it really doesn’t remind me of other moonlight teas I have had.  The leaves are much smaller — and sometimes I have to double check that it isn’t a green tea.   It really tastes more like a green tea.  Next time is a sipdown.

Trying the first caffeinated option in my Tea Forte sampler. Once again, I’m hoping that this is the correct Steepster entry, as the label on my box is simply “Vanilla Chai” versus “Vanilla Veda Chai.” I don’t know why there is such a discrepancy in names between the Steepster entries and what I have listed on the box, but until I can confirm otherwise, I will assume the ones listed here are correct.

This tea was very pleasant! I love me a good vanilla chai, and this one was every bit as good as your average pick. I have had better, but there’s much to enjoy here nevertheless. I am getting prominent notes of the vanilla and there’s a distinct clove flavor as well. I never ever put milk into my teas (yes, I know I’m probably missing out), but this one feels like it would pair really well with a splash of milk. Maybe someday I will try it, but not today.

Happy Sunday to everyone, the RealFeel here is -14*F, so stay warm!

January Sipdown Prompt – January 19: World Snow Day – drink a white tea!

Rain yesterday, rain today, fairly warm at 60F but snow and bitterly cold (for us) weather coming in two days possibly. Definitely dark and dreary enough to make us want to wrap our hands a comforting cup of tea all day.

I have very few white teas on shelf right now. This was chosen to go with lunch which was a big ol’ salad. Far from a sipdown as I have been hoarding it horribly and always resteep. I love White Rhino and definitely would want to get more when this is gone. Ashman is an especially big fan of white tea, too, so it makes a easy choice when I am drinking tea with him. This one is sweet, smooth, and a little creamy.

This is definitely a green forward Genmaicha. After a 4 minute brew, maybe too long, I have a lot of hay like green tea. The toasted rice definitely in the backseat of this blend. The nose is virtually non existent but the flavor in the mouth is stronger than many. A lot of times the blend is too weak and smooth. This i would say is for those who like less toasted rice and prefer a cup of green they can taste with a touch of toast which gives it that alfalfa/straw feel. Overall pleasant. Still searching for that quintessential Genmaicha.

I taste a lot of coconut as well as a touch of fruitness. The black tea is high quality, but this unfortunately turned out a bit bland/light in flavor for me. My opinion didn’t change after having it three times.

I have the 2023 version, but didn’t think it warranted a new listing.

I generally love greener oolongs, but this is leaning heavy on the seaweed, which isn’t my favorite. Will need to give it another try.

Really liked the idea of this tea, but I just didn’t really care for the flavor. Sadly it’s been a few days since I tried it and can’t remember specifics, but I put it in my swap pile.

Finished off a small pouch of this, but thankfully realized I had another tin. I really like this tea. Honey, floral. All the lovely qualities you associate with a bug-bitten tea.

Sipdown 6 – 2025

Another miss from Adagio. While this smelled really nice; vegetal slightly, savory, it just didn’t taste good. Seems like it’s old/stale, which is a running theme I found with a lot of these samples I got from Adagio.

Sipdown 5 – 2025

Took me a few years to finish this off, but I do like it. Quite an interesting combination of jasmine and peppermint, that I liked drinking during the holidays.

Sipdown 4 – 2025

Ddid a gongfu session with the last bit of this, and I actually prefer it western style. A lot of the floral notes were lost, with some more smoky, slightly savory notes being brought forward.