Featured & New Tasting Notes

Had this as my final cup tonight, mostly because i wanted to have it shortly after the yunnan from terri… I still don’t get the fuss of this tea, though i do enjoy having a sample size of this in my cupboard from time to time :)

Final Count: 147 (7 more to go before i can say i’m at 150 for the end of February, even with the incoming teas, that will likely show up here before the end of the month…so it’s only swaps that will be able to ruin my count! but i DO have a week still..and two whole glorious weekend days left…)

Ooh, I’ve wanted to try this for a bit now. It’s been in my sipdown container for a few weeks, and I’ve just been making my way through things as I can. It’s got quite the lineage, this particular cuppa – there are three names on the bag: OMGsrsly, Sil and then myself. I love it when great tea gets swapped all over the country and back! So much fun.

To the tea. It’s almost a chai, more chocolately than chai however, plus a nice thickness from the huge piece of cardamom in this particular teaspoon. It’s creamy and savory, sweet and dessert-like.. I may need to (finally) go find Steam and get some more.

EDIT: What?! This is rooibos? Jeepers. Had I put that together, I would have enjoyed this long ago. Most definitely on my to-order list now.

1 tsp in 12oz., because the sample package sent to me shared I should steep 1.5 tsp in 250mL.

First sipdown of the day, no. 90 overall, I think, sent to me from Sil.
This is lovely, simply lovely. I’m not really sure how to describe it, so I won’t even try.

Thank you VariaTEA for sending me this sample.

I don’t get it. Have tried this a couple of times with different steep parameters and I can’t find anything even vaguely resembling peanut butter cup cheesecake. No peanut butter, no chocolate, no cheesecake.
Call me crazy but I’m getting sweet, fruity, peppery, chemical and honeybush.
Sorry but that’s my impression both tonight and the other night that I tried it.

This is a sample I got with my Shanti order a while back, and I believe it may be the first Shanti product I’ve tasted. It being evening, I was looking for something without caffeine, though this may have been a mistake as it is supposedly energizing despite the lack of caffeine.

In the sample packet there’s a sweet cocoa-like aroma which is odd since there’s nothing that should smell like cocoa among the ingredients. The steeped tisane has a savory smell to it which I attribute to the holy basil, sage and pepper. It’s a light brownish orange color.

I expected the flavor to also be savory but it doesn’t strike me that way. There’s still a cocoa-like note but I think it’s the ginger that’s responsible. I’m glad I don’t get a strong licorice taste despite the licorice and fennel in the ingredients. Having had the Upton Holy Basil last night, this is sort of a jazzed up holy basil, with a little more interest going on. I don’t get a strong cardamom flavor, but the ingredient list is similar enough to chai that there’s a sort of faint chai echo to this. I don’t taste the rooibos except in the aftertaste and it’s smooth and lacking enough in the woody department that it isn’t problematic for me.

It’s okay, but it’s not bowling me over. I don’t think I’d buy it, but I’m glad for the chance to taste it.

So, nothing against it, but I’m not much of a Valentine’s day type of gal. I much prefer unexpected love days throughout the year :-)

But since today is supposed to be about love (and not about picking up some cheap flowers last minute at a grocery store cause you feel you have too), I chose to do things I really love.

Drinking this tea was one of them. Top 3 favourite tea of all time for me. Discovered Da Yu Ling last year, I keep two from different companies, equally good. Learned that it is grown at the highest plantation in the world, 8500 feet altitude!

This green oolong is similar to some of my favourites Tie Guan Yin, but brings it to the next level.

I’m using the yixing pot I dedicate to fragrant green oolongs. The brew is a beautiful bright yellow colour.

The aroma is breathtaking. I picture a vast garden with luxuriant vegetation all around as I sip on it. Think orchids and lilac scent, mixed up in a twirl of honey and fruity notes. Not sure what’s the specific fruit I get, but it feels like apricot to me.

It’s very sweet, and yet, the finish is minty fresh. Not in your face mint, more of a sweet faint spearmint. The most fabulous phenomena about this tea is how long the taste lingers in the mouth. Long after I’m done drinking it, I can still feel its imprint.

This type of thick buttery mouthfeel always reminds me a silk ribbon dancing in my mouth!

It’s pure liquid gold, but I rarely see people reviewing any Da yu ling at all.

Is there other Steepsterites out there that are as taken by it as I am??

I’ll end this note with a little love story…

It might have been the side effects of the snowstorm, but my cat Happy today was such a little bugger. Dexter (my dog) and I were trying to chill, me having tea and reading a book, him all curled up next to me. Happy likes Dexter’s ears. He’s obsessed with them . He keeps toying with them while Dexter tries to nap. Eventually, Dexter wakes up and gives me the helpless puppy look while Happy takes over his whole head. So what does a 100 pound dog do to an anoying kitty you ask? Well, have a look here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/12529529795/lightbox/

No worries, although it looks like it, Dexter is not having a “Happy meal”, lol!

Here’s how it usually ends:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/12530016644/

As the song goes «…so “happy” to-ge-therrr…»

I steeped this at a lower temperature and time to keep the smoke notes down and found I like it a lot more this way. The fennel is the strongest note, and adds a nice anise flavor and is a bit sweet. This is so much better. Wow.

Also, I just sent Fiance this note because he hates puns. I hope he loves it. But I’m pretty sure I’m just going to get ‘the look’ (you know, the exasperated why the hell would you do that look)

Dear Valentine,

At first, I couldn’t say with certaintea you were the one for me; the realitea was you were a bit arrogant and needed to learn some humilitea. But over time, I’ve gotten claritea to the situation. You’re my favorite person and you suit me to a tea. In actualitea, I think you’re teariffic and Wuyi totealy belong together.

The vitalitea you have put into my life with your generositea and kindness is outstanding. You’re a Jasmine Pearl in the rough, and my love for you is bounteaful. You have dealt with my eccentriciteas and peculiariteas like no other. Your emotional strength has made me realize that you’re my Iron God(dess) of Mercy. (Not just that, but you’re pretea cute).

Like most relationships, ours didn’t come without a degree of difficulitea. But we have overcome that together and you have helped me with my frailtea and insecuriteas and made me realize that I am beauteaful and worthy.

I love you to eternitea, Valentine, and I promise my undying loyaltea to you forever.

Come home soon, I oolong to have you in my arms.

I know this got a little long, but I hope you appreciated my sensitivitea and creativitea

Love,

Me.

PS: Is that pu-erh tuo in your pocket, or did you just love my pun thread?

I just can’t seem to get a break today—I put this on to steep before a conference call and by the time I poured it it was no longer hot. Accordingly, I’m not rating this one just yet either.

There’s a nice black tea scent with a hint of caramel in the packet. Stronger tea than caramel. The caramel smells like syrup. This carries through in the aroma of the steeped tea. It’s a medium brown orange tea.

The flavor is fairly light on the caramel, similar to my impression of the vanilla from yesterday. It’s more of a surface flavor than one with richness to it, but it’s definitely caramel and pleasant enough.

Will revisit soon, without interruption (I hope).

Dear Laoshan Black,

Will you be my Valentine?

Love,
Stephanie

Oh man, time (well, the month or so I’ve had this tea) has been very kind to these leaves. Somehow, the hot mug of blueberry justice (haha blueberry justice! I mean juice) I had this morning was perfect in its balance between cream and intense blueberry flavour, with not a hint of throat-scratching tartness. It was weird, because often when I go to bed, I think about what tea I’ll have with breakfast in the morning, and somehow I didn’t turn my mind to it last night, but it seemed like a perfect pairing with my croissant.

Besides, it’s Friday. Things just never feel bad on a Friday.

Also, Mr. Keychange and I are going up to a winter cottage resort for the long weekend, and we can’t wait. For the longest time, I’ve wanted to hole up in a winter cabin, lying by a fireplace and sipping tea while reading a book and enjoying the thick, snowy silence outside. How wonderful it will be to step outside the cabin and not hear any traffic, and to breathe in that crisp winter air. I’m no winter person—there won’t be any hardcore winter activities, but it’s more the concept and the indoor response to winter that I’m going to love this weekend.

That, and it’s a half day at work today!
Happy Friday, all!

This one is not a sipdown, but is a welcome pot of tea to enjoy with my lunch of soup. I’m still not sure if I prefer the Malty Irish Breakfast, or the other Irish Breakfast from Butiki, but I it doesn’t matter, since I have them both. Right now I love this one the most because I’m drinking it, but perhaps tomorrow I’ll change my mind. I have to load up for a gig in a few moments, so I’ll quietly list my sipdowns of the day thus far here:

82 – Silver Jasmine Green Tea – Teavivre – a lovely jasmine, plucked from the Here’s Hoping TTB, although I realized after making it that I just wasn’t really in the mood for florals today.
83 – Eight Treasures Yabao (Summer)- Verdant – This tea initially mesmerized me with it’s fairy-like appearance, light florals, & Yabao, something I’d never heard of at the time. Now it’s gone, & to be honest, I probably won’t ever re-visit it, as the novelty has worn off.
84 – Taiwan Monkey Picked Oolong – Teavivre – As always, thanks to Angel for the lovely sample, which was shared with one of my students this morning.
85 – Da Hong Pao – Teavivre – I really enjoy the roasty oolongs so much more than the green ones, & will happily linger over them for hours.

I believe that puts me at 344 teas!

Second to last SpecialTeas sample. Since I started today with an Earl Grey crème, I thought I’d continue with the vanilla theme.

There’s not a strong vanilla scent in the packet. In fact, it’s almost chocolaty (there’s that vanilla-chocolate continuum thing again). I can see the little pieces of vanilla bean in the tea. The liquor is a pretty russet color. I get mostly tea in the steeped aroma, and it’s a hearty smell, deep, a little woody, a little fruity.

I used a lot of leaf as directed on the packet. It said 2 level tsps. for 6 oz of water, and I used a little less than that but still more than I’d use ordinarily. The result is a very strong tea with a beany (as opposed to creamy) vanilla flavor around the edges. I think it would be better without so much leaf, and I intend to try it with a normal amount next time.

There’s a definite beany vanilla in the aftertaste, but it doesn’t envelope the tea the way I wish it would. It’s a fine line between overpowering the tea and underpowering it. This one seems underpowered in the vanilla department. It’s still tasty, but it’s not a top vanilla pick.

Maybe that will change with a different amount of leaf. We’ll see. As with all of these SpecialTeas samples, I’m mildly relieved that I didn’t fall in love, given that the company no longer exists.

I went 0/3 on new David’s Teas I ordered. And not even kind of okay. I threw out the whole cup of each one. This one was the most egregious.

The initial flavor as the tea hits the mouth is super tasty. Dark and roasty and nutty and then suddenly you’re hit like a truck with this AWFUL fake sweet black LICORICE bomb that goes off in your mouth. I seriously almost vomitted. The initial flavor lulled me into a false state of calm and then BOOM the worst flavor in the whole world took over my whole mouth.

I was stupid enough to see if it was an aberration so I tried again and nearly gagged again.

Worst.Tea.Ever.

David’s – Our relationship is officially over. (Except when I need some movie night, that’s the only one I truly enjoy, but no new teas. Nope. Not worth the risk)

Well I definitely have an obsession. Last night, I dreamed that I drank this tea and didn’t like it, and I was so disappointed for not liking it because I’d wanted to like it so badly. Then I woke up and realized it was a dream LOL.

I poured the entire sample the ever so wonderful and generous JustJames sent me into my basket, and steeped for four minutes. I took some time to smell the tea after it had brewed. I could definitely pick up on the fruit, and although I don’t know that I would have immediately identified it as red current and raspberry, it definitely didn’t smell like the typical cacophony of fruit you might find in French tea (stone fruit etc). The raspberry is very clear in the sip though, and so is the base. I can’t say I’m terribly familiar with the taste of red current, although the fruit didn’t taste entirely of raspberry to me, so I imagine it was there. I got a bit of a generically sweet and vanilla end-sip before the relatively strong flavour of the base, which sort of suggests to me that I should have shortened the steeping time by a touch. I’m not sure that I necessarily got caramel though, but that might have been my own rock sugar obliterating that a bit.

I can really imagine myself enjoying the sweet raspberry deliciousness during the summer months. I still think I’m slightly more wowed by Pour Maman, but this would probably make it into an order. That order will probably be placed soon though, but I need to get through some of my h and s teas first. But yeah, definitely a winner here.

Thanks again, JustJames, for not only very generously sending me these samples, but for putting differently shaped/different variations/patterns of raised stickers on them so I could tell which tea was which without any sighted assistance at all! The world is a better place because you’re in it.

Fiance: This smells like amazing cinnamon buns and then tastes like a carb and sugar free version. It’s always disappointing.

10 minutes later

Me: If you haven’t finished your cup yet I will!

Fiance: pouts I wanna. It grew on me.

Fiance: So. Um. How much more of this do you have have? I want it again.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present the most quickly resolved disappointment in Fiance’s life.

Wait, a white that brews like a black? Okay… I’ll bite. The leaves are gorgeous, it smells divine as it brews, however it’s the flavor that got me going, “Wow. WOW!” Honeyed bread and cocoa, that’s what I get from this, although there’s quite a bit going on. It reminds me of Laoshan Black, yet… better. Richer? Fuller? A bit more depth? Hard to compare exactly until I have more Laoshan Black.

One of the best teas I’ve had to date, and one I’ll definitely drink more of often.

Thank you Stacy at Butiki for sharing a generous sample of this in my last order. I have some already, however this was much more fun to crack open. ;)

1.5 tsp in 12 oz.

Oooh. This is silky slick as oil (without actually being oily, phew!), easy going down but nice and strong too. I love when you get that strength but without the usual corresponding tannic roughness. And I’m getting that mysterious lurking marine quality Terri describes (and loving it).

I had this first thing with cold leftover cashew chicken (not the most traditional, but still the breakfast of champions). Really nice. Thinking of hanging with the Queen shortly (“rain outside so a book and the Queen, peachy keen” popped in my head and well, who am I to argue?).

OMG it does exist!!! Thank you TheTeaFairy for sending me a sample of this tea.
Yes folks, this is an apple tea WITHOUT cinnamon. I don’t understand why every apple tea has to be drowning in cinnamon. This one isn’t and that makes me happy. Unfortunately I’m not that crazy about the green base. It’s a little sharp, bitter for my tastes. Did I oversteep it? I don’t think so, maybe a hint. I’m torn, love the tart apple don’t like the green base….

Horrifying! This is the only tin of this tea I have ever purchased, and I see here I bought it about four years ago. Well, the tin is almost empty. I guess the reason it has stayed around so long is that I bought it back when hubby only drank black tea with milk and sugar, so I bought lots of Ceylons for him so we could have tea together and I just bought more than we could drink. Plus, he finally developed a taste for other teas and finds that he prefers them plain, so now he usually asks for green, white, puerh, or oolong.

Wednesday Tea Party was moved to Monday this week because we are supposed to stay off the roads tomorrow and I knew this storm was coming! Miss tea party? No! Reschedule!

I served this first so that the flavors of the other teas would not conflict with our cookies. My guest really liked it, and said it tasted like a very high quality tea to her. I agree. This is a nice every day drinker. When I first started loose leaf five years ago I preferred the milder Ceylon Extra Fancy and found this one to be a little strong to me for drinking plain. Now? I like it plain just fine and don’t find it too strong at all. I would reorder it gladly, but first I have to drink the backlog of other Ceylons I bought around the same time.

It went wonderfully with our cookies, and is always great with cheese.

My city had the most snow in the state today. In a couple of hours, ice is supposed to start coming down and continue for a full 24 hours at least. We have brought up wood and have the Buck Stove fired up so if the power goes out, we will at least still have heat, and can even cook a bit!

I’ve refrained from reviewing this because I was working on tweaking the steeping parameters. But I’ve been able to get a consistently good cup from it for the last several times, so I think I’ve got it! Boiling makes it just a tiny bit bitter and can lead to the base overpowering the jammy raspberry.

It’s actually pretty stunning when I nail it. Lovely jammy, sweet raspberry and vanilla flavors with a wonderful creamy mouthfeel. There’s the tiniest bit of coconut in the aftertaste, but only once the cup begins to cool. While piping hot, it only comes across as silky feeling.

Definitely keep in mind that this is sponge cake, not cake cake though. It’s basically a sweet, convenient delivery system for delicious berries and cream and it that this is definitely a winner.

Similar to laoshan black with a dark chocolate, roasty aroma, but there is also a more earthy note and a hint of smokiness to this one.
Flavor is chocolate, malt, sweet potato, honey, some floral and a bit of mushroom earthiness. Second steep becomes stronger in honey aroma and tastes sweeter and creamier.
This is so good!! It is similar to the laoshan black, but in a lighter, less toasty way, and has more of the earthy potato notes with honey that I love. Both are delicious and I’m not sure I could pick a favorite.. but perhaps it would be this one simply because I happen to be drinking it right now. Love it!

“This drink… I like it!”
“I know, it’s great right?”
“ANOTHER!”
…
“It was delicious! I want another!”
“You could have just said so!”
“I just did!”

against my better judgement i just brewed 24oz of this.
i think i will avoid ppl for the next few hours so i can sidestep the possibility of literally tackling someone with enthusiasm.
so much mate. so so very much mate.

Ugh. Just no thanks. Somehow this tea isn’t cutting it for me. it’s weak, I don’t get pancake flavouring, but I know this is a huge steepster fave so I know I can give it to a home where it’ll get more love. This tea isn’t awful or anything, but as I continue to collect teas that I am extremely fond of, I feel less inclined to drink teas that I think are just alright. This one falls slightly below that threshold and so it just isn’t worth it to me to force myself to finish the package. Not when UPS says that my H and S order is on the truck for delivery today!

It could also be that my timolino needs a thorough cleaning, complete with denture tablets.

Alright, tasting note 300!

This was a wonderful tea to come home to. It won’t knock your socks off; instead, it’ll kneel at your feet, remove your socks kindly, and then give you a hug. And it’ll smell of good things: home, innocence, laundry (laundry? shut up, keychange!). Ok ok, so it doesn’t smell like laundry. But how can a creamy cup of coconut tinged with raspberry not be comforting on a day that makes you feel as though winter has taken up residence in your very soul and will be there forever and ever? I hate all these layers of clothes; I hate feeling like a graceless sausage as I try to cram legs into leggings and then dress pants just so I can freeze at the office anyway. I hate having to walk so gingerly so as to not slip and fall, which given that I seem to have terrible balance at the best of times, is bound to happen nonetheless. And I hate the fact that I get cold so quickly—like I’ll be standing outside for ten seconds and then start shaking violently as if I’m having a seizure, and like, no thanks. How needlessly dramatic. But this tea really does make me feel as though a coconut and sun-screen laden summer isn’t terribly far away.

And those are my deep thoughts for the evening. Back to bitching about the cold and being annoyed at having to wake up early tomorrow morning.