Featured & New Tasting Notes

Sipdown (191/196)!

I don’t think people understand that when a store closes at 9PM that doesn’t mean the employees go home at 9PM – it means that’s when we get to start closing; and for a big store like Dollarama it takes quite a while to close. Christ.

So, today at 8:55PM we had a lady come in and start shopping – FIVE MINUTES TO CLOSING. That wouldn’t have been such a big deal if she was just quickly grabbing one or two things – but that wasn’t the case; instead she had to do all her grocery shopping and buy all the stuff for her wedding: a few hundred fake white/yellow flowers, all our champagne flutes (which we have to wrap individually), place settings…

And because we weren’t closed yet we had to let her shop and stay open until she was done. Ughh! We didn’t even get to start closing until 9:40! Because of her me and my closing cashier both missed our buses. At least I’m within feasible walking distance: I felt really bad for Ruby though because this late at night the buses only stop by once an hour so she had to wait an extra long time to get home.

Fuck people.

But anyway; I finished this off in my timolino with milk today. Scratch another Butiki blend off the list, as well as one less black tea in my cupboard meaning more space in the closet for black blends! Hooray!

I’m not to sad to see this go; it’s way to hard to get it right. I don’t want to waste more time on it trying to perfect brewing it – so goodbye Irish Cream Cheesecake. It was an experience, at least…

This tea is so interesting. I get notes that are not very common in most teas. For instance there are grilled corn notes (bordering on corn nuts but not quite) and roasted cashew nuts. Also, very strong butter and cream notes. This session, I’m also getting a light floral note at the end, maybe jasmine but it is just hardly there. This is definitely the most flavorful white tea I have ever tried. So good.

In other news, we are finishing up adding our new straight teas, so pretty soon we will start back working on flavored teas, which I am very excited about. I say that now before the frustration sets in when the flavors don’t work out how I want them but I do love creating new blends. It’s one of the tasks I most enjoy. Right now, we are working on a new chai. I have really been debating whether we go traditional or do a crazy flavored chai. Not sure yet, which way we will end up. Also, in 1-2 weeks we should finally have our new Silver Needle and Chinese greens in stock. We have been putting it off a bit but I’m excited to finally get the new harvests in.

I thought that I would forever be a Mariage Frères doubter, but this tea proved me wrong. SUPER almondy today (like drinking marzipan), sweet and smooth with a nice amount of spices. Sadly this is one of those limited edition MF teas that only comes in an expensive tin, but I will enjoy what I have of it. Who knows, one day I may find another MF tea that I love.

From the queue, written April 2nd 2014

Another sample that Anna shared with me. I’m less concerned about this one than other Anna – sample, because it’s one that I’ve been interested in long before Anna was on Steepster. For some reason this makes a difference. Highly illogical, I know, but it does make a difference in my head. You’d think that Anna, being my taste opposite, liking this would make my interest cool, but it seems to have not registered at all. It must be because it’s a vanilla tea and all vanilla blacks are by definition lovely.

I do, however, seem to recall being warned at one time ( Cteresa, was it you?) that this one was A Bit Different to other vanilla blacks, but I don’t know in what way it’s supposed to be so. (Or was that a completely different French vanilla blend…? I’m confused now!)

Anyway, the aroma is quite subtle on the vanilla and I’m getting a lot of the base. It smells like a fairly strong base with a great deal of malty, grainy notes to it. The vanilla is there, giving it sweetness, but it does not smell saturated by vanilla. This is not necessarily a bad thing, mind you.

It is indeed a quite strong base. It tastes a little non-descript to me. A little default tea-ish. I don’t think this is a fault of the base. I think these things just happen sometimes in the flavouring process. As if the add flavouring alters some of the natural notes and mutes them. Still, it’s fairly strong and tastes suitable for the morning hours even though it’s flavoured. (Lately I’ve found myself paying attention to the time of days when choosing a tea to drink. I’d never do a herbal or a flavoured first thing in the morning, for example, unless I had already been awake for a little while. Never cared about that before. I’d still happily have a morning tea in the afternoon though.)

The vanilla is very subtle. I get it mostly in the background. At no point, when just taking a mouthful do I think ‘oh vanilla’, but then when I’ve had it in my mouth for the short while it takes me to put the cup down and before I swallow, that’s when I get a good deal of vanilla. So it’s there but it’s hidden. It’s the sort of thing like that drawing of a toad and then when you turn the picture 90 degrees, it turns into a drawing of a horse’s head. When you first look at it, you can’t see the horse, but as soon as you’ve found the horse, it’s never just a toad again. It’s like that with the vanilla. Until you find it, it’s elusive. But once you’ve discovered it, there’s actually rather a lot of it.

My cup had cooled a little way beyond drinkable temperature, so if I’d had it when it was slightly warmer, my impression might have been different. I find that if I sip a tea while it’s piping hot I can’t taste plock all, so it’s possible that this is actually even more subtle than I think it is. I’ve got half the sample Anna gave me left, so I can test it. But Luna was being a WILD kitty with a capital WILD, so I spent some time playing with her to help her burn off some of all that energy. A toy on a string tied to an old wooden cooking spoon = Cat fishing rod. Great fun for all participants! :D

This is not how I prefer my vanilla black. I like a completely saturated vanilla tea. Which is peculiar because it goes against how I otherwise prefer my flavoured blacks. It’s still a lovely tea, though. (Yes, by definition. ;)

Addition, written May 8th 2014

I had the rest of this sample while watching the first Eurovision semifinal on Tuesday, and I had much the same experience with it as above, so it seems a pretty consistent blend and it was a very suitable to treat while watching the show. Although I cannot for the life of me understand the outcome of the semifinal! How could Iceland qualify, but Portugal didn’t??? Portugal had a totally jolly and fun salsa-y song and Iceland’s song was just… Well, it wasn’t that good. Of my own six favourites, only three qualified and the look on my face when they had announced all ten was a bit like this: O.O And Armenia’s song is a bookmaker favourite because… why, exactly? At least my absolute favourite so far that I hope will win (Netherlands) qualified. I’m going to watch the second semifinal tonight if I can stay awake for it. Hopefully that one will be less shocking. The hosts all have that dreadful Danish accent to their English, though. I hope I don’t sound like that. I’ve told Husband to lie to me if I do.

I usually have fruit for breakfast but this morning I have gone all out and made a good veggie style English breakfast. Two veggie sausages, baked beans, fried chestnut mushrooms, two fried eggs and some toast to mop up the food explosion that is on my plate. Not healthy but it will keep me going until dinner time and with something substantial in my stomach I am free to taste teas for the rest of the day without getting tea belly.

This sample of Golden Bi Luo Chun has been sat with me for just over a year and I don’t know why I was worried about sampling it before, or perhaps I forgot about it. Anyone’s guess is as good as my own. Either way an English breakfast is never complete without a cup of black tea.

The tea balls were nice and reflective and golden but they were also very small, I’ve had larger versions of this before elsewhere. I brewed this while I was cooking so I had a mixture of smells (my bad) but I could pick up silky malt tones.

I love my personaliTEA teapot from Adagio, it’s perfect size for 2 mugs of tea and comes in handy when I have days off.

Once steeped a dark brown liquid is produced that bares a sweet malt and chocolate scent that is light and silky. Very nice.

Flavour is mild but matches the scent very much ie soft, sweet, silky, malt, chocolate tones. Also a little smoky though it’s very subtle and hints of wood. After a few sips I can also taste a mature raisin or plum fruit.

This tea is wonderful and I’m sorry for keeping it on my shelf for so long. It makes the perfect start to my day.

Sipdown (174/178)!

Wow, look at that sipdown progress! I’m starting feel less fearful about my Red Leaf/52Teas orders arriving and any incoming swaps!

Thanks a bunch VariaTEA for the sample of this! It’s the second green from your giant package of them that has really surprised me with how good it is. For the prep I, of course, cold brewed last night while I slept. So, it cold brewed for a pretty good nine or so hours – potentially closer to eight.

Basically it’s a light green that leans towards a more buttery kind of quality – with a very creamy but somewhat generic fruitiness to it. And the fruitiness is strong and potent – just not abundantly “rhubarb”. I would maybe venture to call it somewhat more strawberry like. It’s very good though and I’m quite happy and content drinking it.

I don’t know if I’d want to buy this in any sort of quantity for myself – but I wouldn’t pass it up if offered in a swap or just served to me in general. I’m actually pretty curious how it would fair hot…

Apricots are my favorite food group.

But it is so hard to find an apricot tea that is not artificial or weird tasting or bitter. I am sure most fruit flavoured teas have this problem but I love apricots so much that I want a genuine flavoured tea.

I picked this one up hoping that the French would be able to stay true to my beloved apricot. The smell of the dry tea reminds me of thick and pulpy freshly made apricot juice.

The taste is ok. A bit lacklustre. But I did make it at work and although I think I have a pretty good set up at work, it is still a work set up. I am definitely getting real notes of apricot. But it feels and tastes artificially sweetened. The apricot flavour it working really well with the black tea base that is am finding very subtle.

I think next time I need to use a bit more leaf. But otherwise, this is the closest- to -apricot tea I have ever had. I bet a bit of bergamot would make this tea divine. Mmmmmm. Apricots and bergamot…

I’m gunna be a butt because I had this this morning and I’ve been freakin busy with assigments and things and YES THIS IS GOOD.
I used a different Vanilla Almond Milk so I actually had to sweeten it a bit since the other milk I had a while back was already super sweet. Sweetened with honey and it was good.

Matcha.
Vanilla Almond Milk.
Touch of honey.

Cool.
Cool cool cool.

jump sent this my way….as a practical joke i’m sure….since i do not like jasmine! but i’ll drink everything ppl send me. even smelly toe tea. :) I couldn’t drink much of this because it was REALLY jasmine smelling but the half cup i did drink was pretty decent for a bagged tea. however i was super glad i had my other tea! lol

My bravery has grown enough for me to try this unusual tea so after dinner here I am with a mug of pale beige liquid that smells like butter milk (sweet yet sour and creamy). It’s….unusual…I was never a butter milk fan, or a milk fan since I was allergic to it as a child. Mostly this tea is to say that I have tried it, after all I will just about try any tea (I say just about as anything gross like animal dropping tea is a definite no).

Ok so butter milk, which is funnily enough what this tea is. My first sip was not great, it’s very sweet, extremely creamy and full on buttery….all that and it’s rather watery and thin. My stomach turned a little. It’s not terrible by any means, just that I am not meant for this tea and it is not meant for me.

Sorry tea.

Oh my god, bringing this to work with me in my carry mug today was probably the best decision I’ve made in like a week. I had my doubts as to whether it would be “viable” in a travel mug, because travel mugs can really stifle many a good tea, but that simply wasn’t the case. I used slightly more than two tsp of leaf for 16 oz of water, added a touch of cream and sugar, and drank what I swear was hot melon juice/milk all morning. I used up the last of what was sent to me by the lovely ifjuly, and am very lucky to still have some left from Nay Lynn!

Anna, you started this addiction of mine! Ifjuly and Nay Lynn, thank you so much for being my suppliers!

I’ve been awake since 5:00. I stood looking at my tea and couldn’t decide. This one happened to be out, so my zombie brain made the decision. I forgot about the recommended brewing parameters and just went with the gut. It’s more awake at this time than the rest of me anyway. My steep was shorter than normal. This smells so good steeping. Cocoa and malt. I think I called it chocolate before but that is not what I’m getting today. Because of the short steep the brew isn’t quite as strong as this time of the morning usually requires but I have no schedule to worry about. This is the strangest tea. This is straight black tea but it tastes like it has hints of rose in it. The shorter steep really brought the malt out that seems to get lost in longer steeps. I should listen to my zombie brain and my gut more often. Good choice guys.

WHOA WHOA WHOA HOLD ON A MINUTE HERE

Gahhhhh OMG Courtney! Thank you so much for sending me a fresher sample of this!! The old one I had was clearly nothing in comparison!

I’m drinking this as I go through millions (seems that way) of photos I’ve taken of the baby girl since she was born in December, because we need to start developing them. At the rate I take photos (MUST CAPTURE ALL THE MOMENTS!!), it’s going to be a hundred bucks at least just to do a couple months’ worth at a time..

So, right now I’m trying to decide which ones from Dec 2013 and January. It’s really stressful.

BUT THIS TEA!
It’s so chocolatey and rice krispie and delicious and decadent and amazing!

I’m obviously going to order some.

Screw you, overly sweet Davidstea Chocolate Macaroon. THIS is what I want.

I’m rating it in the 90s. So there.

Welcome to day 5 of little terri’s Ultimate Sipdown Extravaganza!
I managed to polish off 20 teas in the first 4 days!
This morning I started off with this CTC, so finely chopped that it looks like coffee grounds! I over-teaed the cup just a little, so it was potent enough to warrant the addition of stevia & almond milk, something I don’t do often these days, but nice on occasion.
Thanks to Lala for this generous sample. This sipdown brings me to 380 teas to go!

Sipdown (180/184)!

Sample comes from VariaTEA.

I was splitting this one up today so that I could send a taste of it to Courtney and I decided to try it myself too so my half got used up tonight as my last tea of the night. I should note, I think, that I’m 90% sure that this is from the revised batch and not the original one that Amoda sent out – and I have not had the Amoda version so I don’t have a point of comparison between the two.

Of the three Amoda box Butiki blends I think this was the generally preferred/favored of the three – but I really struggled to see why through my cup of it. I found it very harsh/astringent with a bitter undertone to the sip and I thought it left a really weird, indescribable taste on my tongue that lingered for a really unnecessarily long time. That said, the mid sip did have both strong Nutmeg and Cream flavours so I guess the title is fitting…

I’m sort of glad I didn’t like it, though – because this is so limited edition I think it would have been harder on myself if I’d fallen in love. But that same reason (the tea being limited edition) is why I’m also so very thankful to VariaTEA for being able to spare a couple cups worth so I got that rare taste of it.

I hope Courtney has a better time with it.

Thank you Cavocorax for the sample of this tea. I am realizing that my tastes have changed enough that I enjoy straight blacks. However, my palette is yet to have developed enough to distinguish all the subtle nuances of the teas. Consequently, they all taste the same to me: malty, sweet, and delicious but still the same. Perhaps I should try them side by side and that will point out the differences but as it stands now, as embarrassed I am to say it, I can’ really tell them apart from one another.

I just came into say that I hope Frank reblends this one forever. It’s not even a tea that I’d like to drink every day, but it’s definitely one I’d always like to have on hand. I’ve never really understood why there aren’t enough banana-flavoured things in the world. Oh! but remember when I told you guys that I was really sick with strep? when I went to emerg, they let me have the liquid version of my antibiotics because swallowing the pill hurt too much…and it was banana flavoured! omg, that medicine tasted so wonderfully of my childhood. i wanted to just chug the whole bottle, but sadly they gave me a tiny amount in a little minature cup.
Anyway, at least I have this tea. Mmm.

Sipdown (183/187)!

…But only a temporary one: it sounds like I’m getting more of it from Courtney. Definitely looking forward to it!

I finished this baby off by cold brewing the last tbsp. and a half in two shots of Raspberry Vodka which sat in the fridge overnight getting all saturated and stuff. I then strained it this morning and now I’m drinking it in the evening with a splash of pineapple juice squeezed into it.

It’s bright, almost neon, purple! How intriguing!

I have to say – it’s not bad this way but it really isn’t anywhere near as good as it was prepared as a straight up, nothing fancy cold brew. When I have more I’ll probably just still to enjoying it that way.

Prepared like this, it’s a little more like the Raspberry Lemonade I was originally expecting, but with a creamy/burny aftertaste. And now that I’ve had my alcohol for the night I’m feeling sleepy so I think I’ll sleep it off and try to get well rested for the long, undoubtedly miserable, shift I have ahead of me tomorrow…

EDIT: Oh hey, I forgot to mention it in any of my tasting notes! Today is/was my friend Geordan’s 19th Birthday! He recently immigrated to Canada from Jamaica and this is his first year in Canada. It was kind of sad, really, that I couldn’t celebrate with him because of work. He recently asked me to make a tea sampler for him because he’s fascinated by my tea obsession: he has no idea what he’s in for…

I’m going to go all out and make the most massive sampler for him as a birthday present! He’ll be overwhelmed by all the tea. You know what’s really fascinating though? He grew up drinking almost solely herbal teas (Peppermint primarily) – but all the tea he drank was made with things grown in his backyard!

I find that a lot more interesting than my going online and just buying what sounds cool. He grew what sounded interesting!

A few cups of this tonight has definitely helped, as I try to rid my bedroom of bedbugs.

How did I get them? Zero idea. No one else has them in the house, just like when lice makes the rounds… I’m the only one who gets it. Sigh. Of course, the bites took over for a day or two, so I bought out the big guns: spray, some sort of earth I need to learn how to spell and write, new bed bug covers for all beds and pillows, bleach wipes, steam mop. Somewhere along the line, I inhaled and/or ingested some of the spray, called Poison Control, was told what I’d grabbed was the least offensive of the sprays available, and that I was likely allergic to the base of the spray — of all things, chrysanthemum. Cool!

So I drank a crapload of tea (of course, Clari Tea to the rescue!) had a really hot, long shower, and will be sleeping in the living room tonight while the fumes dissipate.

So, lovely Steepsterites — have I missed anything? Any suggestions?

From the queue, written March 29th 2014

Anna sent this one to me, I think. Or possibly it was in the EU TTB round 2. I’m not certain. I found one of Anna’s number stickers loose in the box of things not yet tried, and I’m not certain which bag it fell off. It’s definitely of Anna origin, though, because she’s the only one I know who packs samples this way.

It is also a tea that several people have recommended to me on account of me liking almond flavoured tea recently, and it has been generally well rated on Steepster too, so I’m dealing with one of those popular blends now that everybody seems to drink.

I hope I won’t be disappointed.

It smells wonderfully marcipan-y. More marcipan than almond, really. There’s also something else there that I can’t really put my finger on and I don’t think it’s the base tea.

Turns out that there was something else in here. It’s something fairly tart and berry-y. Not Dreaded Hibiscus tart, but berry tart. I’m not sure what it is. Perhaps cherries? Normally I would have enjoyed a spot of berries, but the aroma here really led me to believe I was about to have something almond-y and marcipan-y, and I don’t think I got that. At all. It’s very difficult for me to find a marcipan-y note, but there is an almond-y note which comes out mostly in the aftertaste.

I have to say, I am actually a little disappointed. I want more almond. Less berry.

The description of it just says ‘honey, rare spices and and fruits’. Well I found the fruits in the shape of possibly-cherries. I can’t say I found anything resembling either rare spices and definitely no honey. I got nearly-almond in vast amounts in the aroma and a little in the flavour, but that can’t really be categorised as neiter honey nor rare spice.

Hm.

This was not what I expected. And definitely not what I had hoped. Boo.

I’ve been so busy drinking samples and exploring, I realize I have neglected my beloved Butiki teas. Stacy please forgive me, I miss reviewing them so here I am!

I have reviewed this one before, but it deserves more love.

Lazy oolong afternoon…Oh, this oolong…I’m so surprised it doesn’t get more ratings, only a few have written notes.

It’s a decadent oolong, yet so elegant. So sweet and rich, creamy and buttery, almost pudding like in the mouth, with a flowery aftertaste of lilac and orchid, followed by a minty fresh coating. Awwww! Just SPECTACULAR.

This tea is from the highest plantations in the world and it shows. When something tastes heavenly, we say in French “ça goûte le ciel!”…It taste like the sky.

I’m using my little glass Gongfu pot. Of all the pots I own (beleve me when I say I own a lot!!) this is becoming one of my favourite. Easier to use than a Gaiwan, and you still get to steep short infusions with the ability to admire the beautiful leaves unfurling.

This tea is heaven. Just buy it and try it for yourself.

Lately, I’ve found that when fresh my Yunnan teas have been one of my most diversely flavoured tea types. They pretty well all have cocoa, honey and grainy/malt note which are the last notes to dissipate as they age, but diversify with fruity, herbaceous floral, leather, licorice, sweet potato, and mineral notes.

This tea may not have as complex a flavour profile or as thick a mouth feel as some of my others but what it does uyave is rich, pleasant, and comforting. It makes a nice, comforting everyday tea, especially for those who love distinct cocoa notes.

The dry leaves are longer thinner and more tightly wound than most of my current Yunnan’s. There is about 75-80% golden tips with short downy trichomes. The dry leaves smell comfortingly of malt, grain, cocoa, and a hint of alfalfa.

I got 5 steeps using a little over one TSP in 200ml at 90°C (1, 1.2, 1.4, 2 & 3 min)

The initial steeps brewed to a dark almost coffee coloured or dark oak tinged with gold colour. The scent was of malt, honey, cocoa and hay with butter and longan notes mixing in with these notes in later steeps.

Flavour notes appearing were top notes of longan, malt, clover, blended with dissolved cocoa powder, honey( sweetest in the middle steeps), sweet potato, cream, butter, berry, grapish note, alfalfa and minerals.

I found the tea to be only slightly sweet but well balanced. It is neither sour, sweet or overly savoury. It has a moderate density with little to no astringency with a nice kick of caffeine. The cocoa notes deepen as it cools.

Although it is not as complex or distinct as some of my Yunnan’s, it does what it does well and makes a nice cocoa rich everyday tea!

Thanks Angel and TeaVivre for this lovely tea.

Sipdown 389
One of Sil’s contributions to the BBBBox, which is currently headed my way to thwart all of my sipdown efforts. I’m sipping this one while warming up for the first of 2 weddings that I’ll be playing at today. I’ve still got about a half an hour before I need to get dressed (have I ever mentioned that I mostly live in my pajamas?), but this will be my last cup of tea this morning, as I don’t want to be water-logged at a wedding! This is earthy, bold, & actually very bright, with a kind of oaky tannin quality to it.

I’m running late, so this is going to be a quick one. Thanks are owed to charlotte0 who provided me with five million MF teas to sample in our swap, including this one!

This is a sipdown. It wasn’t nearly as impressive as I found it the first time I tried it, although I steeped it slightly differently this time—for about five minutes (as per the website instructions), and the sample had been languishing in my drawer with other samples for some time now. It remains my favourite chocolate tea thus far, specifically because you can really taste the quality of the chocolate flavouring. It isn’t so much that it is intensely strong, although given that it’s a flavoured black it has a decent amount of heft; it’s just that the quality of the chocolate is so rich and decadent. I definitely plan on scooping up this tea when I eventually make it to the UK. I’m finding that in general, you need to be careful with French teas; they are exquisite in their flavouring, and very rich indeed, but also prone to being easily overwhelmed.

Thanks again, charlotte0!