Featured & New Tasting Notes

I have had a box of this at my work tea station for a while and just drank the last bag. I almost shed a tear or two. Were it not for the 20 students in the room I might have let myself mourn properly. The tear shedding urge was twofold:
1. I am out of my favorite tea at work (thankfully I have a bag of the loose leaf version at home).
2. I forgot to pick up a new box this weekend when I went tea shopping at the International Food Market. I knew I needed a new box and was one of the reasons I went. I got side tracked by all the other teas and forgot to restock this. Much sadness on my part.

Another retrospective post, as I often have this tea late at night. I’m writing while something else brews.
I arrived home after teaching a four-hour barista course. Four hours in a small room, with a bunch of students, with the air gradually becoming laden with a blend named Café Noir. And of course, I was tasting all night.
I made the Darjeeling up and this time, it actually looked to be a more traditional Darjeeling colour – perhaps I’ve used a smidge too much tea on previous occasions.
Anyway, I was soon in possesion of a steaming mug of this great second flush.
It never lets me down.
Great gentle aftertaste was with me for a while, but the gum leaf quality up front is so refined that I had one and a half mugs at 11 at night.
I hoped that this would help me avoid waking with a coffee headache. (See next post to find out)

Can’t believe I’m the first to rate this! This is Zhi’s version of a traditional Kashmiri chai, which uses a green tea base and, typically, all of the other spices in a black chai. Unfortunately for me and my almond love, this version does not include the also-traditional almonds.. but I’ll live.

Zhi’s version strays a bit from the traditional, anyway, with the inclusion of vanilla. The vanilla is barely perceptible, but I definitely think it grounds the tea with a sweetness not typically found in chai. It’s not that this tastes weak – it really doesn’t – it’s just an adjustment when you’re used to more powerful chais like I am. No one flavor really stands out; cinnamon is the most easily identifiable, with that sweet vanilla coming in at the end.

This is a lot different than I thought it would be. I wish it were just a bit stronger, but I like it.

This tea’s aroma both brewed and before brewing was very vanilla-y, and I love any and everything vanilla, so I was really looking forward to tasting it. The bergamot oil and vanilla really compliment each other perfectly. The black tea laced with the bergamot and vanilla really brews the perfect cuppa for mid afternoon.

Finally. The free tea provided by my workplace is bagged, but they’ve just switched to Bigelow. This may not be a particularly great tea, but it suits my “I’m not awake yet” pre-meeting needs. It’s not too harsh, benefits well from sugar and those little half-and-half cups, and has enough caffeine to wake me up. Plus, I don’t need three teabags to get it strong enough like I did with the Stash or Tazo black teas. We do have filters on our water lines, so that makes a big difference too. It’s drinkable for what I need.

This yerba mate is one of the best that I have had, when made properly. It is shade grown which brings out a much smoother taste that most of the farm grown mates. I steeped this about 10-15 times in a traditional Argentinian gourd

Received this in a tea swap. It’s tasty. It’s mostly almond in smell and taste and a little cinnamon but it’s fairly sweet too. It’s different from the Almond Cookie one that MandyB sent me a while back. I like them both but they are both different.

Based on the sample I had previously I finally ordered a canister of this from GM. It just arrived last night. Being anxious to try it this morning before heading off to work I didn’t have time to analyze the tea as thoroughly as I would have liked for this report.

The leaf is really beautiful. It’s long and kinky with black and gold tip coloring. This tea brews up a dark color. I steeped mine for 2:30 to 3:00 minutes (I shut the timer off and failed to remove the leaf so I’m not exactly use where in that time frame it landed.)

The flavor is bold but I wouldn’t say strong. For me it is a rich, complex flavor with multiple notes including malty and fruity. I find it a very enjoyable and terrific taste. I was looking forward to getting more of this after the sample and I am not disappointed. For those who like a malty rich tippy assam, this is a winner!

Amount: 3 scoops
Water: 1 teapot (3 cups) at 160-ish, should have been 175
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes, i tried sips at 1, 2, and 3. Next time 2
Served: Hot

Smell: peach, fruity, earthy, sweet
Flavor: slightly sour / citrus, strawberry, peach
Body:medium
Liquor: dark red
Aftertaste: bitter, sour

Notes: added honey to help smooth the tartness after tasting, it might be better as a summer iced tea.

This is a very heavy jasmine tea. The scent is heavy and the mouth feel is heavy so that they seem to match in weight making the strength seem appropriate.
I’m pretty sure there is a hint of spice from the tea base to which is really neat. Like the way arugula is spicy so I know plants can exhibit that flavor. Never expected that from a tea base but it makes the whole blend exciting!

Had this iced with a bit of mint and club soda. WOW. Tastes like a fruity tropical fizz you’d only find in specialty markets stateside. The lime is present, but not overpowering. It’s subtle and warm. Would probably be great hot with honey and lemon.

This tea seems to have quickly become the ‘go-to’ tea for when my honey feels sinus-y unpleasantness. It’s a great mint tea that has a warm depth and sweetness to it that makes it very friendly on unhappy nasal passages. Very refreshing and comforting, all rolled into one.

This is kind of an odd duck. Greenbelt is a mix of green yerba mate, green tea (unspecified kind), coconuts, cherry, and some flowers including cornflower blossoms and roses. I swear that at the store or on one of their websites, marzipan was listed as an ingredient, but I guess I’m wrong. There is definitely a strong smell of marzipan in the dry leaves, though.

This brews up to an almost radioactive yellow, I guess from the green yerba mate. I can definitely taste an almondy/coconut flavor similar to marzipan, but not as syrupy or sweet. Then the cherry, and a slight floral finish. I can barely taste any green tea; this tastes more like an herbal than anything else.

It’s soothing and relaxing. It’s definitely a tea to think on.

I tried a sample of this in Harry & David’s last night, so I can’t give a steep time or anything since I didn’t do that part. What I can tell you is that this is one of my favorites that I’ve tried in a long time. It was a nice mild black tea and the cherry and vanilla flavors were delicate notes in the brew. Had this one without cream or sugar (which is odd for me) and I still thought this one was fantastic. I will definitely be purchasing this in the near future!

The dry tea has a good, solid black tea aroma with subtle floral notes. The tea liquor shares these attributes in scent and taste. The Ceylon and Assam FBOP black tea base is simultaneously bright and deep, while the bit of green tea in the mix lends freshness. Adding milk and sweetener, as the Queen would enjoy her cup, the tea’s briskness mellows into a delicious blend of classic black tea flavors with the florality continuing to linger in the background. This is a wonderful tea for drinkers who enjoy bergamot and jasmine fragrance, but find it too present in the classic floral-scented teas. I recommend it.

I love Earl Grey Bravo.

I love it I love it I love it. Just so we’re clear!

I was so happy to get this and a couple other teas for Christmas, along with an electric kettle and Adagio’s adoooorable (but fragile) two-cup Petit Teapot. I had a week off of work and started making a pot of this every day and enjoying it with a splash of whole milk and a spoon of sugar (Splenda works quite well too). Every time I finished my first cup, I was always so glad that a second one was waiting for me! By the end of the week, instead of coffee, the smell of fresh EGB was what I associated with waking up. My daily coffee has been replaced!

The smell is amazing. If you’re not into strong smells, true, this is probably not the tea for you, but I adore it. When I got a sample of this, along with many others, my whole order smelled like bergamot on the outside. The inside clear plastic lid of the tin I received for Christmas was coated in tea leaves and oil. The definitely put a lot of flavor in this one!

I’m no good at determining what scent or taste notes a tea, but I definitely smelled honey in this one.

Earl Grey isn’t for everyone, but if you do like it, this is definitely one to try.

Just picked this up at a local oriental market. It was pretty much all they had for loose-leaf, and only $2.25 to boot (so how am I not going to buy this?) They recommend 3g/cup, boiling water (for green tea?), for 5minutes. In reality, I think I used 4g/10-12oz boiling water.

I really think I’ve burnt myself out on green tea for quite a while, but this one smells less like grass clippings and much more like…well…jasmine. Refreshing. It reminds me of Chinese restaurants and old-lady floral perfume both at once.

Hm. Not bad. Although there’s a slight bitterness and astringency (my mouth feels a little dry with each sip), the sensation isn’t overwhelming. It’s towards the end of the sip and only on the middle of my tounge, just before the swallow. There’s a little greeny-sweet in there too. My mouth is full of jasmine if I breathe through my nose. Neat. Next time I think I’ll play with the temp. …or maybe the amt of leaf. This is getting more bitter the closer I get to the bottom of my cup. :/

My favorite blend in the ‘flavored’ departmant of blacks.
The leafs look very moist and juicy. The odor of this blend is fascinating from the moment of opening the tin until putting the tea cup to one’s lips.
Obviously very warm spices were used for this fine blend. Very comforting in winter time and rather cooling during summer. Suppose one might get a excellent ice tea out of it (although I never did and probably never will).
By the way, a handful of dried plums go great with that tea.
None of the spicy chai blends I tried before got close to the excitement of drinking this BOH blend…my palate gets confused with all this ginger, sandalwood, cinnamon and endless other notes that get thrown in common chai blends nowadays. Therfore: two thumbs up for BOH.

Very, very interesting tea taste. I mixed the water and powder (which I thought was matcha, but turned out to be brown Hojicha…gotta read the label).

So after mixing and whisking this Hojicha, I let it cool for a second and sipped it. Of course I believe that in the first sip or so is where you notice the most flavor. Here’s what I tasted:

- Coffee. Since Hojicha is roasted in a ceramic pot over charcoal, it was no surprise that the powder was NOT bright green, but a light brown (almost looked like sawdust).

- Chocolatey Sweetness. Now notice I didn’t say chocolate outright. I thought about it, but the fact that it didn’t taste like the cocoa bean, but rather the sweet taste of it in GENERAL was what I noticed.

- Flavorful note aftertaste. I’m not sure how to explain this, but the aftertaste of this stuck on my tongue, probably due to its powderyness. Anyway, there was an almost sticky-sweet aftertaste, like a donut taste or something. I don’t know, a bit tough to explain really. Verry pleasing though.

see more of this review at http://teacast.net

got this as a sample with my ML order. i have to say it is nothing special and it is that rich black tea taste that i enjoy. this too is a no nonsense black tea. i can see this becoming a staple in my cabinet for those lazy days when a bag is preferable seeing as school does start next week and i have a 40min drive to school! tea in a snap is preferable on the days i think im running late lol.

When I bought this the only way it was described to me was smooth, and after drinking it for a while that seems to fight perfectly. It has an earthy smooth taste that can quickly become bitter (like all green teas) if over steeped.

Gather round, Steepsterites, because I am going to have probably one of the most interesting teas of a long time now.

I have a colleague, a turkish girl, and she asked me, “Have you ever had Turkish tea?”
I told her I had once. I’ve never been to Turkey, but I’ve studied with a turkish girl and once when we were writing a paper to do with some questionnaires she had asked her uncle to take a stack with him to the mosque next time he went. He invited us for tea, so she could explain to him what the questionnaires were about. Her aunt made traditional turkish tea for us.
Then we talked about about how to brew it and my colleague told me that while they do drink a lot of that apple tea, they also drink a lot of plain black tea, taken with sugar. They brew it so strong that it’s nearly undrinkable without sugar, and my colleague gave me this that she had and never drank at home and explained to me how to brew it like a turkish person would. Of course I didn’t write it down at the time, thinking it was easy enough to remember, but when I came home I still had to google it. I found this site (http://turkish-food.suite101.com/article.cfm/turkish_tea) which has guidelines for brewing. It rang a bell, so I feel pretty confident that this is also how my colleague told me to do.

_QUOTE
1. Prepare a small teapot by adding about one heaping teaspoon of good, black tea (Keemun, Assam, Russian Caravan, English Breakfast all work well) per cup.
2. Boil about 1 cup of water per cup of tea (either in a samovar – or on a stove top).
3. Pour HALF of the steaming water into the teapot and let it steep for at least 15 minutes, keeping both the teapot and the remaining water piping hot. (Without a samovar, you can accomplish this with a good tea cozy for the pot and a very low flame for the water. (I almost hate to admit it, but a microwave works pretty well, too, for keeping the water very hot…. but I “didn’t say that…”).
4. Pour the tea into a small glass cup, about halfway up, and add the water to fill the remainder. Add sugar to taste – BUT NEVER MILK OR HONEY.

Read more at Suite101: Turkish Tea: Brewing and Drinking Tea in Turkey http://turkish-food.suite101.com/article.cfm/turkish_tea#ixzz0chWxExdO
END QUOTE_

So now I’m wondering what sort of leaves she has actually given me. They don’t have a very strong aroma. Ever so slightly smoky-ish is about the only characteristic I can pick up. It’s a quite large leaf size for a black though. Since my colleague actually travels to visit her husband’s family in Turkey at least once a year, I wonder if I could be so lucky that it was actually a tea produced in Turkey. Think about it, it’s not that unlikely. It would be cool if it was. I may have to interrogate her some on this matter. She gave me a relatively small amount. Big for a sample, but small for an amount to have lying around when one never takes tea. I’m not sure if that was what she meant but it did sound like, if I liked it, she had more that I could have. Anyway, the leaves look a bit faded in colour, so they’re probably getting a bit on in age. With this method of brewing, though, I can’t imagine it would spell disaster.

Five minutes still to go of this extremely long steep!

Okay, ready for the next step! Obviously, I don’t own the proper tulip-shaped tea glasses, so my cup with the farm animals on it will have to do. I tried a sip of the tea before adding more water to the cup. It had a nice reddish amberish colour and while it did have a strong flavour, it wasn’t undrinkably strong. Not at the one small sip, anyway. Quite astringent, but it didn’t taste bitter or oversteeped.

After adding water the taste was a little less astringent, but still not undrinkably strong. I was expecting something almost tar-like here and I’m actually wondering if I didn’t add enough leaf. I think I was supposed to have made it with another spoonful.

I feel pretty certain that I could easily have taken it without a grain of sugar and enjoyed it, but I’m trying to be authentic here. I did wonder about whether the type of sugar used was important since the instructions said to not use milk or honey. I’ve decided they probably would have said if it was, so I used cane sugar.

The aroma is very similar to the dry leaf. Not as smokey, though, which I think must be because of the sugar in it.

It’s definitely sweet to the taste. If you want a dessert tea, forget about any odd additives and flavouring, because this is a dessert in a cup. I can’t really pick up anything underneath the sweetness though. It’s a flavour where you’re aware that there is tea there, but apart from a light astringency, I can’t really tell you anything about it. I know it’s odd to my colleague that I can drink tea at all without sugar in it, so it’s supposed to be very sweet, but the unobtrusiveness and the lack of strongness of the black tea, only strengthens my belief that I should have used a spoonful more leaves.

Still, I used a third more leaf than usual (should probably have been double) and I steeped it for a quarter of an hour. I’m shocked that it didn’t turn out stronger! I’ll have to try again though, but for now… I don’t know if I’m really a big fan of tea turkish style, but I think I might rather like it as a rare treat rather than a regular occurence.

eta: why is it the quoted bit refuses to be in italics? What am I doing wrong? squints at it

First a pre-cursor. For quite some time now, I stopped brewing sencha in the “western style” (Basically, the typical tea cup-size, lots of water, more brewing time, usually less steeps). I prefer the taste variation I get with the “traditional style” (less water, smaller cups, shorter brewing, typically more steeps) when it comes to sencha(I’m still lazy and do western for most other teas though). As such, my review is based on the “traditional style”.

I could sum up this tea in one word: Wow. I’ve been drinking sencha for years, but the more traditionally cultivated methods, this was my first time trying fukamushi-styled. I ordered this one on a whim, and was blown away with it. Clearly I’m a fan. Using more Traditional Japanese brewing, I can get at least 5 steeps out of this remarkable tea. The brilliant green persists through the steeps, and so does the delicious sweet, buttery almost grassy flavour (for those wary of grass-vegetal, to be honest it is not over-powering, its well balanced, almost a hint).

Brewing method: 120-140ml(4oz or just over) of water(same amount for all steeps) and 1 teaspoon. Water is Green temp (170-175/77c-81c), further cooled, by adding to the pot before adding the tea, then pouring from the pot to the cups(all this happens within a minute, but the cups and pot natural temp cools the water further), add the tea to the pot, then add the water from the cups to the tea(you really only have to do this the one time, unless you’re going long periods between steeps, the purpose is to cool the initial infusion, and to warm the vessels so there is no leaf-shock). Now steep for only 1 minute. Second steep, 30 seconds with current water temp (green 170-175F/77c-81c). Third steep, warmer (White-Oolong temps – 185-195F/85c-90c) 1minute. Fourth steep 5minutes with boiling water. Fifth steep 10 minutes with boiling water. I would drink this every day if I could, but, due to the involved method of brewing this, makes it impractical for most offices. I haven’t brewed it in the “western style”, and I’m hesitant to “waste” this tea that way. If I feel particularly lazy, perhaps I’ll try it, and give my thoughts on it then. But any green-tea lover should definitely try fukamushi sencha. Easily my favourite sencha.