Featured & New Tasting Notes

Yep. Squidward Fandom Tea. Gotta say, I’m glad Squidward is getting his time in the spotlight finally. This tea my kiddos would even drink. Simple apple flavors that remind me of a crisp green apple. So far my favorite of the Geeky Teas.

http://www.cuppageek.com/index.php/2015/09/15/sour-squiward-tea-from-geeky-teas-cold-brewed-with-my-sei-sei-tumbler/

I bought quite a bit of this tea without having tried it before – only going by the reviews here and what I like. I was not disappointed. This tea is amazing!

When I opened the bag it smelled so fresh and of seaweed. It’s a beautiful dark green. Looking like a gyokuro.

I just brewed it in a mug with a stainless steel infuser. I like those stainless steel infusers for tiny leaf leaf. It was a beautiful bright green. Looked almost like a matcha. Taste was sweet, seaweed, grassy & a bit nutty. Loved it!

I’m building up for another round of sip downs soon, tossing those last cup worth of various teas into a box together, to await the next sip down extravaganza streak.
So today I’ve been enjoying the next to last session with this tea, which has been in my collection for basically 2 years. It’s still lovely & as heavenly as ever, bringing to mind spring flowers, gentle seaweed, lightly sweet, feel of vanilla. So soothing & as I’ve said before, I don’t know why I don’t drink my oolongs more often, because I truly enjoy them.

Tea of the morning. I haven’t had this tea in quite awhile, but it’s just as wonderful as I remember. It’s malty, spicy, and smokey. There’s also a sweetness that helps give balance to the stronger, more earthy notes. Plus, this tea is potent enough to kick my rear into gear on a Monday morning.

Happy Monday all! What a weekend. I could use a few more hours sleep for sure.

This is one of last teas I have from Leslie @Paper Box Goodies (Etsy Store). This was a white tea chai which was nice but I can’t say that I would want more of it. For being a bagged teas, her teas are pretty good. This particular one just didn’t give me the chai and white tea flavors I was hoping for. But for fans of not overly spiced chais, this one could be for you.

For the rest of my sleep deprived ramblings- http://www.cuppageek.com/index.php/2015/09/14/elderberry-jam-from-paper-box-goodies/

Have a great day all!

The last of DT’s Fall Collection I need to review (other than Honeycrisp Apple but I didn’t pick any of that up because I have NO interest in it) and probably the second most appealing one to me just based on the ingredients. The first was Peanut Butter Cup.

I cold brewed this one, but my impression is that it’d be just as good hot. It’s funny though that a tea with more emphasis on the nuts in it would taste so incredibly strongly of apricot! It’s a great flavour though; really juicy and natural with this borderline creaminess to it? I love creamy apricot flavour; Tea Desire’s White Angel plays on that flavour combo and it does it really well too.

In addition to the wonderful, strong apricot notes there is a fair bit of nuttiness though: the almond does come off more like marzipan with the level of sweetness and borderline cherry notes, and in combination with the macadamia flavours there’s a little bit of a nutty, sweet sugar cookie vibe. I could totally get on board with an apricot white chocolate macadamia sugar cookie (take notes Liquid Proust and 52Teas). On a white base in particular or a sweeter black, like an Assam, that could work really well. Also worth noting, the yerba mate is this isn’t very strong at all: the other ingredients really completely cover it up.

I could see this filling a spot in my cupboard where Butiki’s Apricot Guayusa currently is. They’re definitely different, but comparable enough that I’d be ok with stocking this instead of that blend.

Got up early today, had breakfast, went & played a church service.
I’m not a church goer, but if they hire me to come play, I’ll be there.
I’ll even attempt to sing the hymns with the congregation :)
Today they tried to give me communion. Even though I said, no thank you, the lady sat a cube on bread on my music stand (I was playing). Even if I was a christian, I can’t have gluten, or wine for that matter. So I saved my cube of bread and after church got out I set it outside for the birds to enjoy :)
Anyway, sorry to get off on a tangent. I got home a little while ago, made myself another breakfast (actually, the same one I had early…why not?).
And I’m having this tea. I forgot how much I enjoy this little tangerines stuffed with Shou.
I usually add a little something to sweeten it, as that will bring out the tangerine flavor more, but today I’m just drinking it straight.
Good for multiple steeping, good to the last drop.

Wow, this one got terrible ratings already. I initially ignored this one when it first came out, but smelled it yesterday and thought I’d grab a bit to try. The dry leaf smells so unique! It’s a melange of tart fruitiness with a pastry note in the background. I’m not sure if I would classify it as a muffin, but definitely something baked.

Trying this hot, it’s not that bad. It’s not as tart as I thought it would be. There’s definitely cranberry in there, with marmalade trailing behind. Then that pseudo-muffin note is in the far background, only noticeable if you know it’s supposed to be there in the first place.

I don’t think it’s dreadful like the majority of the reviewers on here but it’s not great either. To note, I actually had two cups and am not done my pouch, and both times were alright. I put about 5g of leaf into a regular-sized one-cup coffee mug each time, so I wouldn’t say I put more or less than the norm for a mug that size.

Trying this tea I got from Dragon Tea House a few weeks ago. It’s been ages since I had a sheng, but I’m in that kind of mood this morning. :) I know these are not top of the line teas in terms of sheng but I usually like them anyway.

This smelled very smoky after I took the wrapper off. I decided to do some steeps in my xiying teapot. After a quick rinse, I found steep #1 was very strong and aggressive. A typical Xiaguan young sheng. Definitely has a lot of smoke and a bitter finish.

Steep #2 – I did for 5 seconds at the most. I think less is definitely more for this one. Also I am using water that is below the boiling point, at about 180 degrees. The shorter steeping time did help a bit on the aggression but this is still strong, smoky and somewhat brothlike.

Steep #3 – smokiness is subsiding somewhat. Still a bittersweet finish with bitter fading a bit

Steep #4 – this is finally being a little more palatable, ha. Getting less bitter and some apricot and floral notes are starting to emerge. Still a hint of smoke in the finish.

Verdict: this seems to me a typical Xiaguan. I wouldn’t say the purple tea has made much of a difference to my palette. OK to drink now but will really benefit from a few more years of aging to balance this sucker out. I am not sure how to rate this but I have enjoyed it. Not recommended if you have a dislike for smoky teas.

I’m not getting vanilla out of this. There is a sweetness at the back of the sip which is quite pleasant. It is also very smooth. While I can tell this has black tea in it, it isn’t bitter. I think next time I will try a sweetener to see if I can encourage the vanilla :)

Sipdown (114)!

But a temporary one! I had a very small cart built on What-Cha, so after finishing this one off and having my initial feeling of this being drop dead amazing validated I felt justified in placing that order and getting more of it.

Baring in mind I’ve only had this tea twice (not counting resteeps), I still think it’s one of the most unique scented/flavoured oolongs I’ve ever had – and it’s so incredibly soft, and comforting. I had a few infusions last night; I was nursing a horribly migraine and each sip seemed to very briefly alleviate that by making me feel totally relaxed. It was an instant tension reliever, the strained/stressed muscles around my temples just… Let go.

In addition to this wonderful, accurate sticky rice/rice pudding flavour I also got notes of green beans and some floral notes as well; both do a great job as background notes providing a subtle contrast of flavours but obviously neither of those notes are the focus or ‘main attraction’.

When you go to the sideshow everyone likes to look at the bearded woman and tattooed man but the real show stopper is the four legged man or living mermaid, am I right? Well, probably not – that’s not the best metaphor. But you get the point!

This tea is truly magical! Extremely well blended! I actually had to check back at the ingredients since I was no longer sure that it was vegan, but of course it was. I saw something on Steepster a while ago written by a representative of a tea company about how blending tea was not some magical art. I strongly disagree with that statement. Very good blends, like this tea are art. I believe it is very easy to tell when love, creativity, and time have been committed to the creation of a tea. I know that is how I used to blend teas and still do for myself and I can tell the same type of care from some other tea companies.

Good morning Steepster. Just trying to revive myself here after not sleeping too well last night but I think I just need a nap later, ho hum.

Anyway I am finishing off my supply of this today. I’m guessing it’s been 2 years since I originally purchased it. Today I am really getting the molasses and brown sugar notes. It seems almost too luxurious for an every day morning tea it’s something special to be savored. Glad I can enjoy it on this foggy day in San Francisco.

Sip down and man am I going to miss this in my cupboard… so much so that I’m seriously contemplating paying the ridiculous shipping cost to have it sent to me in CA from Oz!!

Life has gotten pretty hectic the last few months between work, school and home life and I’ve been a little absent here on steepster… but I’m still drinking plenty of tea and am trying to sip down my humongous stash!! The benefit of not being on steepster so much recently? You guys haven’t been tempting me with delicious tasting notes so its been a LONG while since I really bought any tea…. YAY!!

Back to my actual tasting note… I am seriously going to miss this tea in my cupboard. It reminds me so much of rocky road – chocolate, strawberry, rhubarb and a touch of nuttiness. Its divine with a splash of milk and has kind of been my guilty pleasure recently whenever I’ve had a desert craving… What am I going to do now?!?!?! Hmmm shipping costs from Oz be that bad right??

Still among my favorites from YS, it really is a gentle & delicious cup, especially nice made in the yixing, although today I’m just doing 1 T + mug X 3/5 min. My head hurts, I have things to do, and I don’t feel like extending any effort.

On a side note, today I’m renting my harp to a harpist from out of town to play at her cousin’s wedding. I’ll deliver the harp at 1:00, complete with music stand, bench, etc, and go back to get it around 3 or so. She came over to practice yesterday and turns out, she is a tea lover! Guess what, she works at Teavana. So while she was practicing, I put together a box crammed full of samples from Verdant, YS, & Teavivre, all companies she had never heard of, and told her all about Steepster, which she also didn’t know about. So we may have another harpist joining in the near future :)

So the tea…honey, pollen, sweet potato, yum

Additional notes: I tried this one with two teaspoons as opposed to one and WHOA the flavor is amazing! Of course, this one in particular is a little costly with two teaspoons, but it’s a green tea and I have a big pouch of it from one of the mystery grab bags. The cinnamon is the perfect strength — two types and also like those cinnamon candy hearts. Hints of smoke as well. Not enough cayenne to notice, but it might not have been mixed in well enough. I really like this one with two teaspoons so I might as well do that every time. Raising the rating from an 80! It’s just a really well thought out blend.
Steep #1 // 2 tsps. // 30 min a.b. // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // ?? min a.b. // 2 min

I’m finally back in town, and that means I can return to my tea table. I have missed my yixing dearly and have been awaiting a nice puerh session. This is the brew that I have chosen.

The cake consists of massive long and slender maocha. The leaves are beautiful strands of tarnished silver and aged bronze. The carry a deep sweet pipe tobacco scent. I placed a generous chunk in my warmed yixing and gave it a shake. The tobacco scent deepened into a more plum and light wood aroma. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The brew starts out as a light jade color, but it deepens to slight gold. The flavor is sweet and syrupy. I was fooled though. The liquor turned on me and went sharp and bitter. My tolerance has diminished since I’ve stepped away, so I was slightly floored by this brew. I stood my ground and continued my brewing. The flavor is a great balance of bitter and sweet. This brew caries a lot of flavor. These flavors being, a slight wood with smoke, some sweet grapes and hay. The huigan is wonderful! It takes a few steeeping to settle, but it follows well throughout brewing. The qi is what had me hooked. It begins a swift and harsh ride. My brain was racing, and my body sweating. Then, it smoothed out, almost instantly, to a light and uplifted consciousness. I loved this brew. The leaves when steeping are a brilliant green, and it kept a consistent golden colour well into brewing. This was magnificent, and it was a great way to resume my puerh journey!

https://instagram.com/p/7fauxDTGQf/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

https://instagram.com/p/7fgRiszGaX/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

“This is my fight [tea]
Take back my life [tea]
Prove I’m all right [tea]”

The busy-ness of my work these past few weeks has been out of control. Thank goodness for good ol’ earthy, chocolatey, slightly-burnt and energizing Morning Thunder to get me motivated to work through today and tomorrow before my glorious weekend.

Yummers! This tea is hitting all those floral notes and more. So good. Plus, the tea brews up to an almost neon green color. I’m glad I still have a ton of this tea left. I drank it just about the entire day yesterday and plan on taking it to work with me again.

http://www.cuppageek.com/index.php/2015/09/11/andrews-birthday-insanity-from-liquid-proust-teas/

Happy Friday Sipping All!

So it is upper 70’s today and will top out around 80 F. It has been 90+ all month until today. We could really use rain but it keeps passing us by. But it is beautiful outside, so cause for celebration and some of the first hot tea I have prepared this month! Yes I’ve been living off a combination of cold milk/matcha lattes, Diet Mt Dew (purely for the caffeine rush), and Lipton Diet Citrus Green Tea. Don’t judge.

I’ve had Baozhong before. That’s what I told myself, until I opened this sample. I literally said, “Oh, Wow!” when the aroma hit me. I can’t paint a word picture as beautifully as Amanda, but this smells so wonderful. Lilacs! After reading Amanda’s review, I agree on peonies as well. Really, I could almost use this as potpourri and be happy. I brewed it instead.

The cup looks like liquid gold. It glimmers in the light.

The taste is softer than I expected. Once I tuned in to it this really opened up. The front of the taste is very much like the aroma. The mid sip I get what to me is a spice quality about it that reminds me of very mild custard and nutmeg. At least that is how my brain interprets it. The aftertaste is a classic Taiwan green oolong vegetal.

A wonderful light cup.

Backlog from this morning. It did taste thin, but I figured I just underleafed. Now, seeing others’ reviews here, I think it might not be me, but the tea.

I did get some chocolatiness from this, but no smoke. I thought this was pretty much the same as lapsang souchong?

My son Drew (age 26) sat through a gongfu session with me this morning, that’s rare.
Part of our conversation included him mentioning that I should get more ‘Bolder Breakfast’ from the Tea Spot. We haven’t had that tea around here for quite some time, and it is a favorite of his. I also enjoy it. I told him, “you know, you’re allowed to buy tea too!”

A few years ago both of my sons were much more into tea. They are more into the flavored teas, of course, so they were placing crazy Adagio orders, getting teas that fit the themes of their various video games, the Dr, etc. Then they started drinking coffee. I blame college, LOL.

I decided that I needed a treat for my birthday so opened the sample of last thoughts I bought during the moving day sale.

The tea is amazing. Far and away the best tea I have ever had. The tea equivalent of Ch. Lafitte Rothschild wine.

Where to start? First steep was sweet, smooth, and grassy. Lots of cha qi. Very rich and powerful. Complex. Flavors drift slowly into a very long, lush finish. I’m flying high. Wouldn’t want to drive right now. 3rd steep: Nice nose: wood, with a hint of straw and smoke. Flavor is light straw and wood seems to move around my mouth as it activates different areas. Long finish and huge cha qi. I’m totally out of it after 5-6 ounces. I would need 3 times as much wine to get the same effect. This is more like whiskey.

At this point I took a break because I was afraid it was unsafe to go up or down stairs if I had any more. 5th, 6th steeps (2 hours later): Smooth and pleasant but not complex as before. Toasty nose. Rich toast/straw flavors, but weaker than before. Less finish. As it cools it devloped more flavor and complexity, displaying a syrupy, viscous texture. Still really powerful qi.

I went back to the tea about 24 hours later. Still gorgeous. Sweet smooth and complex. Silky in the mouth with excellent finish. This may be better than the earlier steeps because it is so well integrated. I’m seriously considering a cake for $439. The biggest problem would be that if I drank this regularly I would have trouble going back to normal teas.

afternoon latte. Must remember to overleaf this one when i make it as a latte, which will be almost always lol. I really like the blending of ginger and orange in this…as well as the additional spices. feels like there’s a cinnamon type flavour going on, but i couldn’t say for sure. Just a nice latte, esp with the weather breaking just a little…