Featured & New Tasting Notes
Another one from the group TeaUrchin order.
I have been drinking the same leaves all day, but didn’t have time at work to take detailed notes on each steep. The steeps did get progressively sweeter and more honey-like. There is some slight tongue tingle, but not much. A little tiny bit of woodiness, with some crisp vegetal flavors. When I did a long steep I got a pleasant, light sort of bitterness. I’m excited to explore this one further :)
Okay, for all of you that have ordered this tea in the past and loved it, please beware…you may not want to read this for the sake of your wallets.
Now shipping with Grade A Madagascar vanilla beans. The level of depth and richness in this is beyond words…but I tried :)
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Pure decadence, this black tea blend is packed full of deep creamy cocoa notes! My goal for this tea was to bring the ice cream shop on Mackinac Island into your cup! I began with North Winds – our black tea with dessert notes inspired by the island’s famous fudge. The next step was to seek out the highest quality vanilla beans in the world, hand chop them and blend them into the base tea. Blended with a careful hand and the utmost respect for letting all of the flavors shine, this tea exceeds all expectations!
Golden Orchid carries a rich and exceedingly smooth body with a perfectly balanced flavor profile. Unlike many other vanilla black teas, our base tea shines through the vanilla, creating a mouthwatering synthesis of bold and smooth dessert notes. While the vanilla is noticible by the trained palette, it does more than just add the depth of vanilla notes. Our premium (grade A) vanilla beans sourced from the island of Madagascar accentuate the deep fudge and cocoa notes of the base tea as well as add a thick creamy aspect to the tea, reminiscent of masterfully-crafted dark chocolate. The fruity notes of the tea are ever present, too, with light notes of plum and a mouthwatering layer of dark-chocolate covered Michigan cherries! This tea extends far past the last drop, with the flavor of melted chocolate and sweet vanilla lingering for hours. We recommend enjoying Golden Orchid with shortbread cookies or breakfast pastry’s for the ultimate experience. Click here for our gluten-free shortbread recipe!
Over time, the tea will absorb the vanilla notes and smooth out. We recommend drinking this tea once or twice a week to taste the way it transforms over time. Also note that mixing up the tea prior to scooping out your desired amount of leaf is recommended due to the tendency of the vanilla beans to sink to the bottom of the bag. Enjoy!
Notes
Fudge
Dark Chocolate
Dried Cherries
Vanilla
Pluot
Honey
Malt
Looking Forward to it :)
Can’t.wait.for.this.to.be.in.my.cupboard.
That just sounds amazing…ugh..need to wait to buy it though. >< Why must self-control be so hard!? >< Oy.
It sounds fantastic!
Ive already ordered mine…
Everyone that has ordered Port or Golden Orchid and has NOT received a shipping confirmation email yet will be receiving their teas with the new vanilla! :)
I just went to add this to my wish list and it was already on there. GIMME.
:) Get it! Haha
I’m so glad I ordered 2 oz! I just had a sample before. :D
:D so excited to hear what people think about it with the new vanilla! I think theres a HUGE difference!
Aaaah, my black malty full bodied tea, how much I love you.
First time I drank Bailin Gungfu, I heard the angels singing! (Pun very intended for Angel at Teavivre!)
It was about three years ago and I was a lot less experienced with tea in general. I remember thinking that I had finally arrived, that this was the reason I kept drinking and trying new teas.
The aroma is so inviting and homey, it’s like having a sniff at fresh baked bread just out of the oven. Think crusty rye bread.
It’s malty with big cocoa notes paired with dark honey…mmm…chocolate croissant.
Everything has been said about this tea, and yet, I felt compelled to review it again.
Only the best teas stand the test of time…this is not a one trick pony, it’s one that keeps coming back to my cupboard.
As I mention in my profile, I am MARRIED to straight blacks and VERY faithful to them…Ok, maybe I do cheat a little…but I always come back!
Reading the “I heard the angels sing.” I immediately picture Angel sitting across from you while you drank this tea and serenading you…tehehe:P
That sounds lovely. :)
Haha! albertocanfly, I’ll have to invite her over someday for a real singing tea session ;-)
Arshness, if you are a fan of this type of tea, I highly recommend it, it’s a classic and it’s very accessible to any tea lover!
I’m totally unfamiliar with that kind of tea. :) Just it sounds nice. I should try it some time.
Looking forward to trying this one—especially after this review! ;-)
I have some of this on the way too
I need to be sure & put this in my basket next time I place a Teavivre order. I’ve been out for quite awhile.
Since you mention buying this one a lot, do the harvests stay pretty consistent?
Or should I ask, did you order this recently and is it as good as usual?
Yes! The harvests are very consistent and I ordered just a few months ago. I never noticed any huge difference from one order to the next.
thanks, good to know! Hopefully more consistent than the Laoshan Black harvests. But I like the Bailin Gongfu better anyway. :D
(From the Unflavored Traveling Tea Box)
MzPriss wrote a tea note earlier today saying this tea took her to her happy place. Since she was kind enough to add some of this to the tea box I thought I’d give it a try and see if it took me to a happy place, too.
Whoa… this is crazy good. MzPriss recommended a 7 minute steep, but I wussed out at 4 minutes after doing a quick rinse. The resulting liquor was very dark and the smell was earthy. The first few sips I drank plain. The taste was unsweetened cocoa and earth with maybe a hint of something nutty in the aftertaste. After adding a bit of sweetener I tasted dark chocolate and stone-fruit. There was still some of the earthy flavor and a definite nuttiness in the aftertaste. Like I said, crazy good.
I did a second steep of the leaves for 8 minutes. It was longer than I intended, but I wasn’t as worried this time. Since I was experimenting I added sugar and milk to my cup. Now I taste chocolate and caramel. As the tea cools I get more of the earthy, kind of spicy notes in the tea.
So, here is another tea I’m going to buy. This tea is begging to be experimented with. I want to try much shorter steeps, very long first steeps, all day sessions… this is a tea of wonderful possibilities.
Delicious.Preparation
Yes, so good this one!
This is my comfort tea. I promise you can do a 7 minute steep on this. But it’s great gong fu’d too – I just don’t have time very often.
I can totally see how a 7 minute first steep would be amazing! I’m leaving the rest in the box for others to enjoy, but I’ll pick up some of my own very soon. :)
Beware this tasting note is a big one. I wanted to compare all of Teavivre’s Keemuns within a week, since they have some of the best Keemuns and I will definitely be buying at least ONE of them. I have written individual tasting notes for these teas in the past, but this review is to compare the four. I have acquired these samples within the last six months, so I’m not sure if they are the same harvests now. All of them will be steeped at the same parameters: two tsps // 10 minutes after boiling // 2 min steep #1 // 3 min steep #2
Premium Keemun Hao Ya $15.90 for 100g/3.5 oz
First steep: I knew that the leaves of my new sample were definitely going to be different than the sample that I had from around the time Teavivre started out (I can’t believe that was only three years ago!) Sadly, I think I liked my previous sample better. The only difference in steep sessions was that last time I waited 18 minutes for the water to cool after boiling rather than ten minutes, but I have since learned that ten minutes is closer to 194 degrees. This sample is slightly more astringent (maybe it would benefit from only using 1- 1 1/2 teaspoons), it loses that hint of smokiness, it has less of that deepness of flavor that translates to a dark chocolate. There is still a hint of plum or cherry though. And this is still a very nice tea. Previously, the Premium would have been my favorite. We shall see!
[[I also tried to recapture the magic of the previous harvest and tried a cup with 1 1/2 teaspoons and 18 minutes after boiling. This time the astringency was gone that the first cup had but I also wasn’t able to find the flavor depth and the chocolate that the first harvest had. The second steep a couple minutes after boiling for a three minute steep and that cup was pretty good too – not oversteeped at all. I’m sure all harvests will be different though, so I’d keep trying samples of the Premium once in a while to see if it’s one day the same.]]
Organic Superfine Keemun Fragrant $12.90 for 50g/1.75oz
First steep: The dry leaves are short, mostly black with touches of gold. This cup tastes similar to the Premium Keemun Hao Ya, but everything about the flavor is lighter. The fragrance of the cup has a hint of plum, but less plum than the Premium. It also has an astringency that translates to the chocolate flavor, but the astringency is much less than the Premium, therefore there is less chocolate flavor than the Premium. No hints of smoke are to be found in this cup, but I like my keemun to have a bit of smoke. There is a flavor to this one that isn’t found in the others that I can’t place – something like wine or muscatel. It isn’t a strong muscatel, not like a darjeeling. Very unique.
Second steep: This cup is also very nice but it has that hint of flavor like it’s oversteeped: the tree bark-like flavor. I probably shouldn’t have steeped this cup for three minutes. Not astringent at all though, just the tree bark flavor. So the Superfine Keemun has less of a bite than the others, if that is what you’re looking for.
Keemun – Grade 2 $8.90 for 100g/3.5 oz
First steep: I expected a CTC leaf, very low quality, very astringent. This tea is NONE of those things. I’d say this one is closer to the astringency strength of the Organic Superfine Keemun (the Premium and Grade #1 seem like a stronger tea). It just lacks the little hints of flavor that make the Superfine special, what I call the wine-like flavor or the muscatel. This had the same level of chocolate as the Organic Superfine. A nice burgundy cup while the dry leaves look like the same shape as the others, but they don’t have that hint of gold.
Second steep: This cup loses a lot of flavor and its replaced with that oversteeped tree flavor I don’t like. Maybe the second steeps shouldn’t be steeped for three minutes. But I guess I’m judging by first steeps anyway. An amazing cup for this price – much better than I expected.
Keemun – Grade 1 $11.90 for 100g/3.5 oz
I’m trying this one again last of the four. Even though I had it recently, I vaguely remembered the flavor and I had the feeling it would be my favorite of the four. It just happens to be the keemun for me though, it’s probably different for everyone! The dry leaves are all black. I guess the Superfine is the only one with the hints of gold leaf. For me, sometimes the astringency/ strength/ briskness/ bite / whatever you want to call it is the most important thing. This one to me could win just on the strength of the flavor. The Superfine and the Grade #2 have a lighter strength. The Premium is probably closer to this one in strength. But I know that others that have more knowledge on tea would appreciate the lightness and the special flavor hints that the Superfine has. Not me, not right now though. Maybe one day. This one has a depth to it that I love, but it’s also very sweet and chocolatey.
Second steep: This one has less of the “oversteeped leaves” flavor on the second cup, so I also like it for that. It was a bit more astringent though. If the new batch of the Premium keemun still had more of the hints of plum, I’d probably buy that one, but I think this one is currently my favorite.
OVERALL You can’t really go wrong with any of these. Any tea collection should have a nice keemun and any of these would do nicely. I can say I like them all. I have no idea how they figure out the grades for these four teas. They are all similar, but there are little things with all of them that make them slightly different. None of them really have any smoky flavor, so if that’s you’re thing, you should be safe with all of these. I do like to have a keemun I have in stock to have a bit of smoke, as I feel like that is the main characteristic of keemun. These are all amazing for a black tea anyway. I can’t live without at least ONE of them. I think all four of them are unique from any other tea I’ve tried yet. I’m very appreciative that I was able to try them before buying!
Also, anyone know how the harvest of Teavivre’s Bailin Gongfu from a couple years ago compares to the new harvest? I haven’t tried it since then!
Haven’t tried the new harvest, either!
Wow! That was some note Tea Sipper, thanks for doing that.
I remain partial to Superfine Fragrant, but that’s because I’m not a fan of smoke…
Well, I was going to compare all of the Teavivre keemuns anyway and I had to write everything down to remember it anyway. Then the Teavivre review contest happened. :D
Yes, that contest is super exciting. I need to see if I have anything else laying around from them I can review ;)
haha! I usually review everything from them asap but luckily I just happened to get a pouch of samples from them last week. :D
Tea Sipper, do you ask for the samples? Last time, they just approached me on Steepster. I was just wondering if you can get more after a first sample pack for reviews.
Teavivre is so generous, they are always asking to send me more samples and I can’t resist. Some of these samples came with my last order from Teavivre. I’m sure you could ask them, TeaFairy.
http://www.teavivre.com/contacts/free_tea_tasting/ Here is the link to request samples for review TheTeaFairy :)
I’m not big on asking, i am already grateful for what I got so far. I will just accept if they approach me again. I just finished reviewing the huge sample pack Angel sent me last time. I love their teas anyways and been buying for years.
Thanks for answering my question though :-)
Thanks Stephanie :-) will keep that in mind, didn’t know they add an official ongoing offer.
Yeah, I’m the same way. I won’t ask for samples but I really appreciate it if they think to ask me again.
Excellent tasting note!
thank you! It is probably (hopefully) the longest I will ever write. :D
Wow, I found this really helpful. I’m a Keemun fan, but I haven’t been able to take the time and sit down with them (or all me new pu either) and I want to try them all until I find the Keemun of my dreams. I have a pile of Upton ones I need to try also. This is a great note. Thanks. I’m gonna point looseTman over here too – he will be interested in this.
You picked my fave of the 4!
I’m glad it can help, but I don’t want everyone taking my word for it. I hope everyone gets a chance to try all four of these if they are looking for a good keemun. I wouldn’t be surprised if all four of them had an equal number of people saying one of them was their favorite.
It’s so funny how the weather affects people’s lives. No matter where you live around the globe, the one thing we all have in common is weather talk. And it seems we are never happy about it…
It rained everyday here last week. I love, love the rain, but a full week was getting depressing and I complained a little about it. This week, we got 4 days of hot sun in a row, and I couldn’t handle it anymore, I am beyond happy to find miss Rain this morning. Rainy days make my trees lush and pollen free, to quote a friend :-)
So it’s tea day today, cause I want to make up for yesterday.
I wanted to get outside old habits and start my day with something unusual instead of my typical strong black of the morning. I chose one I’ve never drank before, a Japanese Oolong.
This looks like Pouchong Baozhong, the greenest type of oolong. The colour of the dry leaf is beautiful, a nice silver teal.
First steep (using gaiwan) is very interesting. It’s almost a traditional Japanese green tea, vegetal and grassy.
The distinction comes from its floral body, it’s not orchid or lilac like most Chinese or Taiwanese oolong, but a different variety that I can’t really name. The end of the sip is nutmeg, a note I often find in greener oolong.
The second and third steeps are evolving into a sweet and soft mineral taste, it has an almost syrupy texture. Strong florals lingers for a long time after I swallow.
Later steeps bring some sweet cherry notes, I know it sounds silly, and it’s probably the fruit of my imagination (no pun intended) but it reminds me of Bath & Body Works hand cream Japanese Cherry Blossom fragrance. You’re probably going yikes, hand cream, right? What can I say, tea has a strange way of bringing olfactory hallucinations to life :-)
Bottom line, if you like a good Wenshan Baozhong, you will adore this tea.
It was only a sample I purchased from Tealux, but it will be on my shopping list, that’s for sure.
That sounds really good. I’m going to add it to my wish list.
Also, weather talk. It cloudy and dreary looking but quite humid when I went into the grocery store to pick up lunch today. (I love their salad bar. Really reasonably priced at $4.99/lb and full of things that I don’t want to have to buy a whole one of that I like on a salad occasionally, like cauliflower.) When I came back out, it had rained hard and was still sprinkling, but the sun was shining brightly.
Mmmm, cauliflower, I made a cauliflower almond curry last night, so good! Enjoy your salad :-)
I hate cauliflower cooked, but I love it raw. Go figure. But the salad was awesome.
Ooh, this sounds lovely. And MAN, it’s annoyingly hot here. And humid. I’ve got bean salad marinating in the fridge.
Sami, I know it’s easy to say once summer has arrived, but I’ll take minus 20 celsius of cold over any overly hot and humid temperature!
Lol, it’s salad day among Steepterites, enjoy yours! I’m having tomato, basil, pine nuts and fresh mozzarella salad.
I can always put more layers on. There comes a point when I can’t take off any more layers.
Cheri, exactly!!!
Ooooh japanese oolong? How neat!
Completely, completely. There’s only so much you can take off, and if you’re still hot, you’re still hot. Boo. I wilt like an arctic lily.
This sounds really good.
Once I have moved (so, after July 1) I am planning a Dammann tea order for a limited blend and a couple of new ones I just came across. I am also thinking that I will need to order refills of this tea and Fleurilege, since I am almost out of both of them! To be fair, I only had 50g to start, but it’s kind of amazing to me that I have almost completely blown through them. I mean, I could use the time to finish up other teas, but where is the fun in that? Plus if I am paying for shipping from France I might as well throw in a couple of extras.
Unlike Sil, I am still hopelessly in love with this tea. For sure my perfect caramel tea.
Flavors: Caramel, Toffee
Preparation
haha well i’m super glad you still love it.. and it IS really nice.. i’m just tired of it heh
I admit I am curious about the Caramel from TeaG that you love, although I have not been super impressed with TG’s blends in the past. Maybe I just haven’t had the right ones. :)
DF is caramel toffee…. teaG is just caramel. I could have both in my cupboard and be happy.
Well, today went downhill quickly. In fact, I decided rather than bang my head against a wall I’m going to to give myself the day off (something I rarely do). Maybe I’ll post some notes that have been sitting in my queue, or maybe I’ll sit around and read others’ notes. Regardless, there will be much drinking of tea today because tea makes me happy, and life is too damn short to be unhappy over things I can’t control.
Speaking of tea, this tea rocks. It’s all rich dark chocolate with wonderful bready notes and honey at the finish. Yum. The second steep has the same flavors of the first with a slightly stronger biscuity flavor. Again, yum.
Thanks you, Whispering Pines, for adding this sample to my last order. One more tea that I love!
Preparation
Sometimes a day off is what’s needed. I could have used one yesterday. I pushed through a bunch of crap, and the only thing that made it bearable was that I had tea with me all day long.
«..and life is too damn short to be unhappy over things I can’t control.»
I totally agree! Have yourself a great tea day :-)
I’m working from home today, so I’m enjoying teas that I haven’t brought to work yet. It’s working out well.
Even though being on disability is stressful, I have to admit I don’t miss working at all..lmao
Thanks, everyone. Turns out tea and a nap can turn a day around. :)
Tea of the morning here and it’s a sipdown. Okay, I only bought 1 oz. of this but it’s gone anyway. :)
I find a lot of teas are fine in smaller quantities unless I really love them, odds are I will get sick of drinking them before I finish an entire tin. I forgot to set the timer for this one and I walked off and left it steeping. It got a bit oversteeped but still drinkable, especially with soymilk and sugar.
Preparation
agreed! I wish all tea companies would let you purchase small orders
Definitely! Unless it’s a tea I’ve already tried and know that I like, I don’t want to buy 100g of it. :P
sometimes i don’t even want 100g…i’d rather get 50g and be able to buy it again and have fresh-er tea later.
That’s true also, probably a good philosophy to have unless the shipping is ridiculous or something.
50g is usually plenty for me!
Taking a wee little break from tasting all of my new Kusmi teas and relaxing with this. From all the first-time notes I’ve been writing the past couple of days, it’s nice to just sit back and sip without thinking too hard about the flavor profile. I’m having it with sugar and whole milk this time around, and I think next time I try this I might do two sachets if I’m going to put milk in.
Do any of you lovely people have a good method for making hot or cold tea lattes? Please share if so, I have several teas I would like to try this way! :D
Preparation
I have my comfort teas that I like when I don’t want to think to hard or I just need something stable and normal and to turn out right.
But I am curious to hear the answers to the latte question.
Sometimes i add condensed milk. But i can eat it right out the can. pls dont judge…
Hah, I am definitely not one to judge when it comes to indulging! I have the most horrible sweet tooth ever, especially for creamy things. :P
Drooling…
I haven’t tried it yet but I might have to… I never though of adding it to tea! What have you done?! :P
i think its better than milk and sugar, and i never buy cream. its the best consistency. but dont overdo, while its hot it seems not enough and when it cooled could be sickening sweet. in my country we dont add anything to a tea, drinking on a side with cond. milk, or preserves,or pastries. BTW many yrs ago i was in Russian Tea Room with my hubby. thats where i got my first cup of Prince Vladimir with red currant preserve on a side.
I use half & half and splenda. I put them in the bottom of my cup and then froth them with a battery powered milk frother. Once it has frothed up, I add the tea.
@boychik – Yeah I noticed that the sweetener is more and more effective as the teas cools when I was trying all those Russian blends. Luckily they all tasted better warm anyway!
@Skulleigh – Do you use less water when you brew the tea or do you do it normally? I could see it making sense to reduce the amount of water proportionally to the volume of the milk you’re adding.
Not generally, but I tend to use a little more tea than I really need to, so it’s probably stronger anyway. I use big mugs.
Having a nice cup of my favorite tea today on my anniversary. Today the hubby and I have been together for 20 years and this Sunday will be the 12 year anniversary of our wedding. Woo hoo! This week is really packed, we have a good friend’s birthday, our anniversary, father’s day, and a wedding. This week will certainly be busy but for now I’m relaxing and enjoying this delicious cup of chocolaty, caramely deliciousness. In other news, I noticed that the CDC came out with a list of Powerhouse (nutrient dense) Fruits and Vegetables. That’s pretty awesome, but ugh watercress, really. Guess I will have to look into some recipes that kind of hide the watercress. Here is a link for anyone interested: http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2014/pdf/13_0390.pdf.
Happy Anniversary!
Happy Anniversary!!!May the happiness that you share grows deeper with each year
Happy Anniversary!
Have a wonderful anniversary and many more years of happiness. :)
Happy Anniversary!
Aww, Happy Anniversary <3
Awww, thanks guys! :) The hubs and I are going out to our favorite vegan restaurant (Vedge) in Philly to celebrate.
That CDC link was interesting too. I wonder which chinese cabbage they used in the study exactly. Aren’t there a billion of them?
I have heard wonderful things about Vedge. Enjoy!!!
Stephanie-I was wondering about that. Some of the categories are rather vague. Maybe Bok Choy? Another thing that left me with questions was using B12 as a basis for determining nutrient density. I thought B12 couldn’t be obtained from veggies or fruits due to the depletion of B12 in our soil. Maybe I’m wrong but this is big issue with vegans since we need to supplement B12.
Thanks Cheri, we love Vedge. Some people don’t love the small plate sizes but for me that just means we get to order more dishes.
Happy anniversary. In Denmark you’d wait another 6 months and celebrate your copper wedding at 12½ years, possibly with a larger do for friends and family. Half way to silver wedding, you see. :) (Husband thought this was bizarre)
Happy anniversary!
Angrboda, that is a great idea! I love it. (Ours is coming up, and that would be a blast of a way to celebrate it.)
Angrboda-Love that! :)
Thanks, TeaBrat!
Happy Anniversary!!
Aww, so glad I saw this post, Happy Anniversary!!!
And thanks for that awesome link! The addition of banana and pear help to reduce that watercress taste in green smoothies, it works for me at least, just thought I’d share :-)
Thanks, Tea Pet!
TheTeaFairy-Thank you! Hmmmm, that sounds like a wonderful way to mask the watercress. I will have to give that a try.
Tea of the morning. This tea is insanely good. Today there is malt followed by a sweetness – kind of a non specific frutiness – and then salted caramel at the finish. So. Very. Yum. After I get my youngest to school I’ll resteep it. One thing I like about this tea is the flavor profile changes ever so slightly from cup to cup, so tasting it is always interesting.
I have been hoarding this tea, but I’m giving myself permission to drink it with the belief that I’ll be able to order more in the near future. Brenden, please tell me that’s true! :)Preparation
Soon! :)
Is this tea related to the Laoshan Black that Verdant has? Or is the name similarity a coincidence?
I don’t think they are related though I could be wrong. I believe the Laoshan Village is in the Shandong province and the Ailao Nature Reserve is in the Yunnan province.
^ Spot on! :)
Shan means mountain. Laoshan is named after Mount Lao I believe, and Ailaoshan translates to Mount Ailao…the nature preserve is quite perfect for tea production :) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BAFuwKa5zMo/Um4UtKhvo1I/AAAAAAAAVCM/TfMwMMwWlKo/s1600/yuanyang-terraces-2.jpg
Wow, that picture is gorgeous! Visiting China is definitely on my bucket list.
Queued post, written May 4th 2014
The last of my JW teas to try! The safe bet too. I’ve already mentioned how LS is so well known to me at this point that I don’t need to sample before buying. If I need a fresh supply of LS, I get one wherever I’m shopping. Sometimes I get one close to my preferred balance of body and smoke and sometimes I don’t, but they’re all Close Enough.
And every once in a while you run into one that hasn’t actually been smoked. It’s the same tea, it’s still an LS. It just hasn’t gone through a smoking process. I’ve had very good experiences with that variety too although it is a somewhat rare beast. I mention this now because sniffing at this cup, I’m not actually finding much smoke at all. It’s grainy and sweet with perhaps a little bit of smoke at the periphery, but that’s it. There’s a thick and sticky sort of note to it as well that makes me think of caramel. That note is quite strong.
At this point I read the label on the tin. It doesn’t actually say anything about smoke anywhere at all on the label. At all! Could this be an unsmoked LS, I wonder? I does actually say caramel, though. HA! I totally called that.
Further reading on the website mentions smoky undertones. UNDERtones! That implies a naturally occuring note of smoke, doesn’t it, rather than something added to it. It’s a Fujian black, so a natural smoke note would not at all be unusual.
The smoke note is relatively strong on the flavour, but again not at all as strong as it would be if it had been smoked. At least not if it had been smoked to the degree of the LS I’m used to drinking. I suppose it coud have been smoked very lightly to enhance the natural note. I’m a little in doubt now about whether or not I think it’s gone through a smoking process. Interestingly, I was reading what other people wrote about it and a couple of people felt this one had heavy smoke notes. What have they been drinking? I’m finding it quite mild! Or am I simply too familiar with LS at this point that I can no longer view it objectively? (Not that tea tasting could ever be objective, but I think you know what I mean. I can’t find a better way to express it.)
It’s still quite grainy and sweet, just like it smells. The caramel note is not as strong in the flavour as it is in the aroma, though. I believe it’s the smoke note that tempers it somewhat. It’s a very dark sort of caramel, not a milky one. Caramel sweet as opposed to fruity sweet. That’s a new one. I’ve usually found LS quite fruity-sweet.
The more it cools, though, the stronger the smoky note gets. I take it back, this is definitely not unsmoked. It’s just… trying to pass itself off that way.
Smooth and strong. A good way to start the day.
I happened across a LS review yesterday with a comment on it that unsmoked LS is becoming more common because of import restrictions/pine smoke bad or something, but I don’t remember what I was looking at in order to refind it, and google is failing me. I remember thinking “baroo?” at the comment, as it didn’t mention where they were that such restrictions were happening. Oddness.
What about your browser history?
I seem to vaguely recall having heard such a thing before, but if smoked foods in general are bad, well… In Denmark we smoke all sorts of things. Fish, sausages, meat, even a certain cheese. We’d be in trouble if restrictions were introduced! O.o
Yeah, in the US we like smoked salmon, ham, sausage, and cheese too. It doesn’t seem like a restriction that would actually be implemented successfully!
Oh, re: browser history – I was on like 5 different devices/machines yesterday. I are technogeek. I have no idea which device I was on :D
I can see that would be a bit difficult to check then. I don’t even have that many devices. :)
I found myself scoping cadeau-deco-vendome ( A Dammann reseller) so I figured that this is as good a time as any to dig into the samples that Sil sent me.
This tea smells like butter, roasted hazelnuts and vanilla and has a light maple wood coloured broth after steeping at 1tsp/225ml/4min/95°C.
There is a lovely roasted hazelnut note with a touch of a wood in the flavouring, as well as a touch of butter caramel and a warm vanilla tone. The flavouring blends well with the base tea which is slightly fruity with a cocoa note and is relatively innocuous except for providing a light astringency and a medium body. The flavouring is light and subtle as is the tea itself.
Thanks for the treat Sil
My experience with cadeau-vendome was so awful…brings back bad memories. Guess I was just unlucky though cause everyone on Steepster seems so happy with them.
Sorry about that was it the service or the tea?
Both!!! The whole thing was surreal, really, maybe all their regular staff was on vacation or something and an unexperienced employee took care of my order. I know it’s overseas, but the box that it arrived in was so damaged, it was made of very thin cardboard and nearly got destroyed in transport. The tea was poorly packaged, not sealed, and not even labeled as Dammann Frères, so it could have been anything really. The worst was the smell: believe it or not, the tea was wrapped directly in smelly newspaper, the smell was so strong it took over the entire box! The tea not being sealed, it got compromised. They all tasted like cigarette ashes! I wrote them twice, they never answered back… I decided to let it go cause the whole thing made me too angry, didn’t want to think about it anymore, lol.
That’s awful. My experience was awful, but I have noticed that some of the less popular teas can taste a little weak. My experiences with them were good, but I did notice that in the shipping notice they say to refuse acceptance of the package if it appears damaged. Any ways my next French tea purchase is used to be Betjeman and Barton from fouvrac in Montreal, but I always get sidetracked by other things.
B&B teas in Montreal? Do they sell online?
At the moment no. But they claim to carry the whole line and as a bonus I think you can order 50g. So, if your interested build an order from http://www.betjemanandbarton.com/fr/ and then you order over the phone at http://www.betjemanandbarton.com/en/content/9-world
If you have any questions first you can contact fouvrac through Facebook first https://m.facebook.com/lefouvrac?_rdr. They sell the teas at both locations.
Thank you so much :-)
Your welcome!
I’m guessing people at Fouvrac would speak some English? Because my spoken French is not good enough to place a tea order. I could email them in French, but…
They do. I wrote them on Facebook and they responded in English. As well, a member of Steepster, I think they were in California ordered this way with no problems a number of months ago.
OMGsrsly, I’m pretty sure they do, I don’t know many merchants who don’t in Montreal, businesses are 99% at least bilingual. Sometimes, it’s even the other way around, they don’t speak French, lol.
Excellent. :) I’ll add them to my list. Did you get any info on shipping costs?
I haven’t placed my order yet. It cost $10.00 to ship 200g of tea for the US order. I was just told that shipping was reasonable when I mad my original enquiry.
Perfect! Thanks so much for enabling, yyz. :)
:)
Seriously, guys, you are all just a bunch of enablers. OMGsrsly peer pressured me into having a small evening foods, I made a pitcher of Jardin Sauvage because of TheTeaFairy, and then DTT posted about bringing old blends back into stock and I remembered this and absolutely had to have it.
And yes, this sample is still alive and there is enough left for one more cup. I was going to have some on my birthday, but I ended up having so much other good stuff there was no room for more tea.
This is still so tasty.
And I still feel dirty for liking it so much.
Considering possibly nudging it up five points. Shhh. Tell no one.
Preparation
Does it actually taste like cotton candy though?
Not even remotely. Here is what I think it tastes like: http://steepster.com/clareborn/posts/227538
Haha! Hilarious, yes we are a bunch of enablers, aren’t we? Like I spent my entire day under a blanket, reading a book and sipping oolong because of TeaTiff! ( yes, I proudly play the blaming game!!)
IT’S EVERYONE’S FAULT.
So it seems like my first thoughts about this being similar to DAVIDs Birthday Cake is probably right. Thank you for sharing :)
LOL. I can’t believe that you reading “frozen girlfriend” from my gf lasagne made you HUNGRY.
THAT OBVIOUSLY MEANS GIRLFRIEND LASAGNE OKAY.
Also girls are totally tasty.
And VariaTEA – I haven’t tried that yet, but I’m going to try to trick Sil into getting some for me for our swap!
No need to trick Sil because I have lots and am happy to share. Also, I will be by David’s tomorrow and can pick stuff up :)
Aww, thank you. You’re the best. <3
hey! i need tea to send to her! don’t steal things i can go get for her! lol
Sil, I am sure there is plenty to send and this way I save you a trip to DAVIDs.
No, because Sil must go there and get me the Movie Night she LOATHES BEYOND WORDS AND COMPREHENSION.
It’s pretty funny.
Also I love you guys.
Alright. So I will leave this for Sil to get you unless instructed otherwise prior to our eventual swap
lmao…. it’s all a vicious plot to make me go to davids…but i’m ok with that… though honestly, we should all just get together and make one GIANT BOX for anna that takes like 2 ppl to carry…
I’m packing my box as full to 500g as possible. Scale is out, and everything. :D :D :D
…uh that’s anna’s box right?
lol
Yes. My box for Anna, I meant. Clarification achieved. Although your box is a little bigger than Anna’s, Sil.
Sil, we should!! Just combine everything and it will be a cupboard explosion of tastiness.
Bigeger…but lighter? hopeful
Lighter only due to Anna’s non-tea contents, I think.
I’ll weigh before I finally manage to send (next week now because I’m visiting family this weekend) and report back. :D
Aaaaaaaaaah THE REVENGE OS SIL.
Wait, I just read this whole thing – OMGsrsly, what are you DOING?! What is in this box? I DEMAND TO KNOW. No, wait I don’t want to know. Or… no. But. NO. ARGH.
I am not in the box. Do not fear. (I do not weigh less than 500g.)
It would be so awesome if you were in the box and I opened it and you came walking out and it turned out YOU’VE BEEN THAT SIZE ALL ALONG.
Also, you’re lucky you don’t weigh less than 500g, because otherwise I would never let you out of my purse and that might get boring for you.
I guess it would depend on what you have in your purse! Any interesting books? :)
I would build an entire kingdom for you in my purse.
Those two tigers are head to head and create magic in my cup this morning!
Thanks to the wonderful and very generous Terri Harplady, I finally get to experience what Devotea is all about.
I chose this tea first cause with the name, I assumed it would be a good tea of the morning. If this stuff is an accurate representation of the company, well I am impressed!
The smell first. My grandfather was a farmer and worked really hard. At noon, he would come to eat lunch and my grandma always prepared a nice pot of strong black tea with sugar for him, just the way he liked it. The aroma took over the whole kitchen and I loved it so much as a child. My grandpa would let me have a few sips, winking at me.
The smell of this tea just reminded me of those special days, and I am already thankful for that…It’s super fragrant.
It says “a blend of Indian and Chinese teas” in the description…Assam for sure, and I am assuming Yunnan cause this tea offers boldness and mellowness at the same time.
First I taste a “bang” from the Assam and a light astringency, but I immediately get some comfort and softness from the earthiness and sweetness of the yunnan, (if that’s what it is).
There’s a very light touch of smoke in this tea, and though I’m not a fan of that usually, in this case it’s not offensive, it rather brings all the flavours together.
I am delighted I got to try this wondrful tea, thank you so much for choosing it for me Terri :-)
this story is beautiful. My grandpa has a special place in my heart.
Im in love with this tea. Do you know that AmazonV decided to make it tea of the month because of my constant whining.
Haha! Didn’t know it was a favourite of yours, now I’m gonna read your review…
Plwa
Please excuse my lack of knowledge but what is AmazonV? (Lol, I’m Canadian, remember?) Is that a special place for tea on Amazon that I’m unaware of???
(Haha, What the heck is “plwa” and what is it doing in my comment ????)
AmazonV is a Steepster member. She works for Devotea US
I’m going with “perfectly lovely wonderful assam”. Yep.
Lol, the minute you said Amazon, I was like, OMG more tea available to me please!! I know who you are talking about now :-)
Cameron B.: Hahahah!!!
pls read the comments of my note TheTeaFairy. you, Canadian friend is cracking me up (good laugh only);-)
http://steepster.com/boychik/posts/245567#comments
“OMG more tea available to me please!! " you are priceless ;-)
you need more tea???!!!!i can send you some. i now have an experience
Boychik, I read all the comments, lol, it’s good to be persistent :-)
Noooooo!!!! I don’t need more tea!! (345!!!) I just want more all the time, it’s a curse!!!
i dont think im far from you, i didnt log all the teas. i dont want to scare myself with the number
….i just got more tea. i’m afraid…
Lol, how much more???
Sil, don’t be afraid. Just accept it and enjoy. And we all know how good you are at sipdowns.
teafairy… i WAS at 205…aiming for under 200 by this weekend… bonny put me back up at 231 lol boychik…yes but sometimes sip downs are solo tiring…especially when you have like 131 small cups to drink hahaha
…and uh i might have one more swap, two travelling tea boxes and uh two orders still on their way bwahahaha
(i also really wanted to place a WP order tonight but i’m still sick and so sleep is taking over lol)
Poor girl…will you ever get rid of that flu/virus??
You made this one sounds wonderful!
I thought they decided to discontinue this one??
Thanks TeaTiff, it’s a wonderful tea…
Teabrat, I got it from a swap, but read the comments on boychik’s link just above.
I love this one too. What is this about it being the tea of the month?
@terri harplady i re-blended it for the tea of the month club – the website appears broken so i can no longer handle orders outside email until i have time next weekend to find a new host. :( 1 left i think
My favorite leafhopper tea! And I got a BUNCH of it for my birthday! :D
Tastes like rich and sweet like waffles…yum yum yum.
Preparation
Waffles?! Wow I need to try this one… With maple syrup… >>
I think syrup would dull the complex sweetness it already has going on…but to each his own! ;)
You’re probably right… But I will definitely add this one to my Butiki list! Yum yum yum is right.
This tea is dessert in the morning…
Oh here comes TheTeaFairy, whispering Butiki in my ear again. What a rascal.
I’m actually really happy I decided to place my last Butiki order…and then I stuck myself on tea buying hiatus for a while because I perhaps ordered too much. I love Butiki teas, so I have no regret over the order. I just wonder how I’m going to drink all the tea in my pantry. I now have tea on 3 shelves.
Cheri I am in the same boat…I have way too much delicious tea ;)
And yet….I want more, different teas. All the teas!
Word.
Cheri and Stephanie, I’m with you..more, always more!!!
Cameron B., ROFL!!!
Before I start playing with this tea, I have to say I’m pretty sold on it, as I usually love Dancong oolongs.
It’s always interesting to see how very light and clear the infusion of such dark leaves produce.
Oh, if this tastes half as good as it smells like, I’m in for a treat!
It unmistakably smells like unsalted cashews, really, who doesn’t love cashews?
The taste is also very nutty and creamy, think marzipan. That nutty richness is cut by a brisk orange citrus taste, a characteristic flavour of this tea.
The second steep doesn’t smell as nutty as the first, now the orange blossoms are really shinning, taking control of the cup and it really lingers in the mouth.
On third and fourth steeps, I get citrus, peppercorn and cilantro. It’s a different tea.
I stopped at the fifth infusion cause I like a strong tea and to me, it was getting watery.
You can easily get to 15 even 20 infusions Gongfu style with this type of oolong, but I promised myself I would follow the WP recommended brewing method this first time around.
I am happy I did, I got many good cups western style, but I can’t wait to spend a full afternoon with it using the Gaiwan.
Another lovely tea from Whispering Pines…my experience with them has been flawless so far :-)
Flavors: Citrus, Coriander, Creamy, Marzipan, Nuts, Orange Blossom, Peppercorn
I like this type of Dancong, the one I love has this really interesting liqueur tones that reminds me of this whisky based liqueur that my cousin brought back from Scotland.
Mmmm, sounds really good yyz!
It is… Curious about what notes you’ll get when you gongfu it.
I love this one :)
Sounds lovely! I’ve tried two different Huang Zhi Xiang wulongs, one from Seven Cups and the other from Verdant. The former was so sweet, it was as if I was drinking straight mango and passion fruit nectar. The latter was more mellow, still juicy and sweet with oaky notes. And yours, well, again, it sounds completely different! That must go to show how even on particular tea can change character from purveyor to purveyor.
Chadao, I have verdant also, you are right, it’s very sweet in an almost fruit juice kind of way. I will have to see how different this one is Gongfu style. I am expecting sweeter notes that way. And I agree, it’s amazing how different tea can be from on estate to the other, or from one harvest to the other. I’ve had a Da Yu Ling oolong recently that was so muted in taste compared to the regular brand I normally drink.
Did you ever end up making the in the gaiwan? :)
I did! Didn’t I review it a second time?
Its more boozy and orangy with short steeps…I much prefer it that way, it keeps changing from one steep to the next…that’s why I like gongfu brewing so much…did you try it yourself?
Yep, I have. I like it more that way too :) I think you did review it now that I’m thinking about it…hmmm…haha
Hmm…appears not! :P But yes, super nommy :)
Lol, no worries, I can’t remember myself…But I drank it many times this way already and it’s much more complex, my favourite way for pretty much any oolong. I bought a nice Yixing pot for them, just can’t decided if I should use it for green oolong or more oxidized like this one…big dilemma.
Normally I would comment something like – just get another then you don’t have to decide – BUT I would be remiss of me not to bring up the fact that you’ve agreed to go on an yixing buying hiatus…. ;)
Haha!! Dexter, thanks for keeping an eye on me…but let’s not give that story to the world…not my finest moment, oops :-O
But, but, I was just on Zen Tea’s website cause my heart is just like my little pumpkin pot…it’s broken :-( what to do???
:) I just bought two yixing pots (my first ones) last week! I’m stoked!
I’ve got a set of yixing cups for yunnan blacks, shou puer, and lapsang…so I bought a 120ml red yixing pot to match my yunnan black yixing cups and a 150ml black yixing pot to match my shou puer cups :)
If only they made 50ml yixing pots…i would be ALL OVER THAT. I can’t get over small teaware. It’s just so…adorable and perfect. :P
Remember that number you quoted not that long ago (but long enough that you’ve placed more orders since) – THAT NUMBER – you know the scary one – and it didn’t include any of the tins for you organization project…. I have no problem with you replacing your pumpkin pot – just trying to look out for you….
Brenden, that’s so cute! I love tiny teaware too but a 50ml pot?? Lol, that’s one sip! Have you seasoned them yet?
Oh, but Dexter, I just want the pots!! No tea. Lol, Brenden seems to be getting all my business lately anyways :-)
Those Zen Tea pots are going to disapear very soon, unbeatable quality for the price. I was thinking of replacing the broken one + the one the boychik got, the orange one. Then I’m gonna lock them up so I don’t break them no more. What do you think?
If I told you what I really thought (you should use and love them not lock them up) – you would laugh hysterically and tell me to take a look in my own cupboard, no right to give you advice etc. I would say something like do as I say not as I do – you would smile, pat me on the head and buy one anyway. :))
LOL you can do what you like, I’m just trying to do my job as the “voice of reason”.
(For those that don’t understand – I have four yixing pots, I’ve only seasoned one – not using any of them – I have no right to tell anyone that they should be using and enjoying their teaware…)
Lol, we know each other too well by now, scary!! The thing is, before I went to “breaking” mode, I was using them on REGULAR basis….but now my confidence is shaken…I’m wondering if they are better off being just “looked at” instead of end up cracked on the floor!!!
(Smile, pat on the shoulder… I just bought them!!)
Nope, they’re still on the way to me, but I’ll be seasoning them right away when they arrive!
Lol, Dexter…I can’t imagine having teaware that didnt get used!
I would highly suggest creating a tea space with thick fuzzy carpet under the drinking area. I personally have a nice big carpet under my tea table, which is only a few inches taller than my knee. I’ve dropped many cups off of the table and none of them have broken :)
Brenden are your yixing cups porcelain lined? or are they just clay? How do you like drinking out of them? I have a yixing mug (I understand that’s not what you have) and I don’t like the roughness of the clay to drink out of – don’t like how it feels in the mouth, against teeth. I have itty, bitty, teeny tiny clay tasting cups, but have never used them – too small, and afraid of the clay feel. Just wondering if proper sized cups would be better?
Fairy – I am not surprised. :))
It is scary, don’t need to actually HAVE the conversation to know how it would go. Enjoy your new pots!!!
One of these days I’m going to take a me tea day and actually spend some quality time with some of my GOOD teas and GOOD teaware – just need to find some time…
Brenden, i had a phase of uncontrollable clumsiness…let’s hope it’s over now. But the carpet is an option to consider ;-) i’d love to see your pots when you get them!!
Dexter, You know I hope and pray everyday for that to happen for you my dear friend :-)
Dexter, totally unglazed. I love drinking out of them…when I first got them, I didnt season them and they felt and tasted rough, just like you explained. After I seasoned them they began to feel smoother on the lips and produce much better tasting tea. I didn’t think I would notice much difference, but after using them for a few months I definitely started tasting a difference. All of the teas I make in them are so much smoother and cleaner tasting. I have a set of clay cups that are really low quality and i couldn’t stand to drink out of them…after seasoning it was so much better…but still definitely not as good as a good quality cup.
TeaFairy, I will definitely be posting pictures on here. Excited! :)
Also, I like to pour my first cup of the session into the yixing cups and let it sit for a minute before drinking. This seems to “open” the teacups up. Could just be my imagination though :P
Thanks Brenden – now that you say it – makes perfect sense. I did let tea sit in my mug a couple of times when I first got it to “season”, but I didn’t submerge it. That’s what I need to do, build up some patina on the lip and outside to cut down the rough mouth feel. I really want to love my yixing mug – I’m way more of a coffee mug rather than tiny cup kind of girl – this seemed like the best of both world. I’m going to submerge my mug a few times and see if I can’t get it to “smooth out”. Thanks for the advice. :))
(I’m both a super large and super tiny teaware kind of gal…I’m want ALL things tea!!!
What you need to do is boil it in a pot with the tea you want to use. Add like a half ounce of the tea and boil the tea for 20 minutes, then add the mug and boil for an hour. That initial seasoning is what really makes it start to taste good :)
The tea smells fabulous with sweet potato,cocoa, the brighter tones of malt and the spicy tones of gardenia, sharper tasting sweet berries and a touch of honey.
The dry leaf is mostly chocolate brown broken leaves with scattered golden tips
Once brewed it yields a red toned broth
There is a light flavour at first that is slightly vegetal with the bitter tones of malt, but this quickly dissapears and you get the heavier tones of malt, cocoa, and gardenia, that then sweeten into fruit, honey and cocoa notes. As it cools sweet potato is present in the first notes as well as a citrus note, and a hint of floral. Allowed to cool further the fruit notes come to the forefront with the sweet potato and the berry notes are more distinct.
The tea resteeps quite well, with sweet potato, citrus and malt notes more apparent.
I brewed this tea at around 92°C for three minutes and there is a mild astringency and a cooling feeling at the top of the mouth. There seems to be more caffeine in this one than Tiger Assam as I feel it buzzing in my upper arms. I am quite enjoying this mix of floral spice, fruit, cocoa and bitter tones. I might actually prefer it to Tiger Assam.
Thanks Sil this was a perfect first cup for today!
i wasnt impressed at first time i tried a sample. im so glad i picked a tin on NYC Fest. The more i drink it, the more i fall in love with this tea.
I think it might be a tea that might be easy to over steep, it does have those bitter tones. Others have found it to be astringent thats why I used a cooler temperature. The very first sip when hot was kind of vegetal and thin but as it cools it transforms to something really pleasant.
Yyz, you always make me want to drink whatever you’re having, but it’s rarely in my cupboard :-(
This time, it is!! I recently received a huge sample from a generous tea friend, I think I will try it tomorrow morning…
You are right. 200-205F and no more than 3 min for me.
yay! glad you’re enjoying it. it’s nice to be able to try these before committing to a whole 4.4oz tin!
and yes… keep it a little lower on the temp side with this one
Ooh, this sounds so nice! Man, I really need to invest in these tea people, for reals.
sami just poke me sometime…happy to send you samples to try before you place an order since shipping will be a nightmare
thank you Angel of teavivre for sending me this tea. As most of you know, greens are not my go to tea. That being said, these teas from angel are almost enough to make me want to change my mind. :) This is a fabulous dragon well. it’s tangy and very much GREEN but without that overly vegetal taste that i dislike. there’s a buttery sweetness to this as well that i am loving! i drank more than a few cups of this today. I may need to see if a joint order is possible since i DO love these teas but i can’t get through a 100g bag fast enough to keep the freshness!
I would definitely be up for that! I’ve heard so many good things about Teavivre but I haven’t tried anything from there yet. I don’t know which teas you’re interested in but I think I’d be willing to trust your judgment. :P
You can buy this one in a 50g bag as well. :)
(I told you before Sil…me think you are slowly leaving Dexter behind and joining forces with me to the “green side”, muahahaha!!!)
cameron – have to wait a while before i can pick up more teas sadly, but i’ll keep you in mind. heh teavivre has some incredible teas, and it seems like i am loving their green teas when it’s their blacks that are one of my go to places.
teafairy! NEVER!!
Don’t forget I have Fairy powers….
Sure thing, I’m in no hurry either so take your time. :)
(green side = scary. It’s nice, warm, safe over here in my “dark” corner. Happy on the dark side….)
(Haha! But Dexter, It’s a lot more fun when you play on both sides!!)
I’m with you guys on the dark side….haha. But so far I’ve actually enjoyed the green tea from Teavivre!
whatshesaid, that’s how the transition starts….
it may sound strange but i started to appreciate green or white teas after trying some good sheng
to be fair i do like green teas, i just don’t crave them like i do black teas…so if i buy too many of them, they end up losing their freshness…which is part of my operation to get to within 6 months of tea purchases…
I think that this is one of the ones I got too. Looing forward to trying the two dragon wells I got.
Part two of the date involved coming back to my place (because he actually lives 20 min. outside of town so that didn’t seem like a better option) to watch Game of Thrones. I’ve never seen GoT until today but I decided to give it a shot since he really likes it, and it seemed like something fun to do together and he was on board with the idea.
We actually didn’t get to watch much GoT. And get your heads of the gutter; it was just ‘cause my computer was being really shitty and videos longer than three or four minutes ended up being heavily problematic when it came to loading them. Boo to that. So, we watched two episodes: my impression thus far is that I like Tyrian, Daenerys, and Joffrey. Of course my impression on these characters is formed around two episodes of content; but Tre and Tyrell seem shocked I like Joffrey. I get he’s a total asshat, but I think that’s why I like him? I don’t know – I always fall for the most despicable characters.
Anyway, I sorta took Tyrell being around as an excuse to just make whatever teas happened to tickle my fancy, so I brewed up four teas at once; kinda as a “test” to see whether he could wrap his head around my “tea crazy” and he was pretty shocked_ just how many cups I was having in one go – but he was also on board with it and kinda just embraced the tea crazy. I think that’s a very good thing. Also, four cups at once isn’t that much of a stretch for me though two or three is closer to my norm. Didn’t want to get up to make tea mid episode, though.
I’m trying to finish this up which is why it was picked; but also I kinda just wanted something peachy too. I’m close to getting rid of the bag of this though; probably two cups left?
It was really good actually, peachy with sweet snap pea notes, until it began cooling off and then it just got crazy bitter crazy fast. That’s not cool. Boo to that! But oh well; it was nice for a while and I guess I’ll take that…
Flavors: Carrot, Lemongrass, Peach, Peas
You like Joffrey?! o.o
I know someone who made “adorable” fan art of LittleFinger….barf, LOL
Total barf. XD To each their own, I guess!
Ok, it’s crazy that you like Joffrey. I hate him so much! But Littlefinger… I kinda like him, aside from the creeptastic behavior towards Sansa.
Oh tea twin, your feelings towards Joffrey is something we definitely do not share. However, the character gave me a whole new appreciation for the actor as he captured him impeccably well.
You’re not allowed to like Joffrey. It’s a rule of humanity. :)
Oh wow! I don’t think I’ve had this one with cream before. It’s so good this way! Apricot and orange are NOT a flavour combo I thought I’d fall for, but I did.
Still, I think the 100g tin will be enough. Fauchon teas are expensive even in Europe, I think mostly for the seriously lovely tins. (I’m still looking at Madeleine de Miel, just because I’ve never seen these flavours before, and… honey tea! <3 http://www.fauchon.com/en/the-madeleine-au-miel.html)
Preparation
Madeleine de Miel was the one that caught my eye when I was browsing their website! You’ll have to tell us how it is if you do decide to try it. This one sounds delicious as well, I’m a sucker for anything apricot.
Someone has offered to send it to me, but it’s still $22 plus shipping. Almost as much as my beloved Chandernagor costs locally!
I just discovered Fauchon from other Steepsters posting about it, and I am so sad that it’s not available in the US. I signed up for Vente-Privee and I’ve been checking it every day like some kind of weirdo. >>
They don’t ship to Canada, so I’m safe. :)
I want L’Hiver but I really don’t know if I am ready to spend $20 on 50g. So I definitely understand your hesitation about buying Fauchon.
Yeah, I was looking at that one too. It’s just so much, especially for a tea I haven’t tried. But MF Chandernagor? No problem, I’ll buy it even at $25 or $30 a tin. :) That’s what happens when a tea is a favourite.
I tried L’Hiver and liked it a lot but I still have issues paying $20 for 50g cuz that price is insane. I also would love to try the MF Gourmand teas but same problem of a huge price and a not so large amount of tea. I understand willing to spend for a favorite though.
The most expensive tea I’ve bought was just over $1/gram. So… :) If I loved it, I’m sure I could justify it somehow.
Sucky tasting notes abound…sorry team…just trying to track this so I can get back to sleep. This is another courtesy of variaTEA and a decent one at that. It still can’t compete against the pumpkin tea that Terri and I love but this was a nice enough visit with the pumpkin spice :) thanks for sharing VT!
Hopefully in about 4 months we’ll be able to get more of that awesome pumpkin tea!!
Jealous of that special pumpkin tea. Hope you feel better soon Sil.
dexter, when there is more to be had, you will get some!
We’ll have to place a seriously ridiculous bulk order :)
Seriously ridiculous bulk order sounds like a good time to me – especially if I can get even a small piece of it. :))
yeah…i’d do at least 200g…
have you even tried it yet dexter? lol
No I haven’t, but I’ve tried a MOUNTAIN of pumpkin teas and Della Terra Grandma’s Pumpkin Pie is my favorite. That should tell how excited I am to have the opportunity to try this one. Based on your comments I anticipate making everything else seem like warm swill water….
ew..no this one is better than della terra’s…though to be fair it’s got ginger, so if you’re a ginger hater, it won’t be for you :)
I don’t mind ginger if it enhances rather that obliterates the other flavors. :))
I.love.pumpkin.tea.too. Just saying…
hahahaha
ok ppl, i need this what you are talking about. i dont know what tea is that, but based on your conspiracy … very intriguing…
haha boychik – this tea: http://steepster.com/teas/traveling-tea/42210-pumpkin-ginger-spice
terri sent me some, i feel in love with it…it’s terribly delicious and fresh and made with love and real pumpkin chunks… and it’s gone…and it’s a sad time because it’s pumpkin AND ginger..and i love it.
(Boychik, I don’t know, just tried to infiltrate the thread also…)
good to know. i put it on my want list:)
TheTeaFairy ROFL
So really we are right back where we started with Terri needing to place a seriously ridiculous bulk order for us. ;))
Notice how I too just assumed my way in.
that’s how it goes.. and all i have to say is…as long as i get at least 200g…you ladies are all welcome to share in the joy of a giant order. lol otherwise…BACK OFF! (i kid i kid! but i wish i had this one to add to the GCTTB)
OK Peeps, don’t get too excited, because it is only available in the Fall. The gal who makes it used locally grown org pumpkins, which she roasts & then dehydrates, & that is the basis for the tea! Maybe I should plant pumpkins this year…it’s been awhile since I grew them.
I am afraid I just ruined my nose by making my hair coloration this morning. This is a new one and I had a heavy scent of amoniac which just lingerates for 1 hour now.
I cannot really enjoy the tea as it is probably regarding smell but my taste is intact and I really enjoy sipping it.
I get all the things I love so much in Laoshan Black + a roastiness quite heavy to me. This is very lovely. Even if I tend to prefer the black version because I didn’t really get the Oolong-iness I was expecting from it.
Thank you so much Dexter for sharing.
Preparation
It’s probably just a very temporarily ruined nose. And hopefully your hair looks good enough to be worth a few hours of Temporary Nose Disorder!
thank you Anna for the support. Yes my nose came back but I am quite impressed a simple coloration can be so chimically nuisible, this is the first time I experience this.
Did you switch to a new kind of hair dye?
new line yes and I think I won’t rebuy this one :)
At least that’s better than when they change a product you’ve used for years, and you open it, and it’s all, ‘Aaaah! This smells WRONG!’
I don’t know how I missed the Tea Urchin order – I quit seeing messages :(
I still haven’t tried anything from tea urchin yet.
Yum Yum!!
Your tea photography poster is being featured by Butiki on Facebook! :D Congrats!
Stacy from Butiki teas is so awesome!
Hah. I clicked the link and saw the evil ducky! :P I really love your fox print!
Aww, thanks!!