Featured & New Tasting Notes

This is the second time I’ve tried this tea. The first time was before I joined Steepster and was in no way a success! The first time, I used an artificial sweetner and it brought out the taste of the rose petals to the point where the tea was just about undrinkable. This time, I tasted the tea unsweetener first. I still didn’t like it, but it was better. I added a few drops of liquid vanilla stevia, and decided it would do. It’s not a tea I’ll be reordering. It’s got too much rose for my tastes.

For the most part, I like tea one way. It has to be hot, it should be slightly sweetened, but not too much, and milk is not necessary, it depends solely on the other flavors involved.

That being said, the leaves for this one smell very good, coconut and spice. The brewed tea smells similar, faint coconut and spice. The flavor, when fresh brewed, is slight sweet coconut with a hint of lemon grass and spice to meld the chai with Thai flavors. This I must say (slightly sweetened) is delicious. As it cools however, the spices become overpowering and the once sweet coconut flavor, is lost, leaving plain chai. This goes the same for the second steep, all the coconut and lemon grass flavors are gone and you are drinking chai.

So, I have learned a valuable lesson about my personal taste in chai: I do not like chai cooled or cold, I feel the heat dulls the spices and heightens the flavors added to the tea, in this case the coconut, either I need to buy a warmer to keep my pot constantly temperate, or I need to drink it really fast so as to not let it cool. For now, the latter will suffice.

Joy of joys! My order from Red Blossom Tea Co. arrived today. My first shipment of new tea since joining Steepster… almost makes me a little misty-eyed.

New teas: Silk Oolong Formosa, Organic White Monkey, Pi Lo Chun, Ming Qian Lu Jian, Jing Xuan, Silver Needle. Plus I got a very pretty little gaiwan and samples of Phoenix Eye Jasmine and Jade Kuan Yin. Yay!

I was very excited to try this tea. Steepster was how I discovered silk/milk oolongs and the idea was wonderfully new and exciting to me. I think I fell in love with milk oolongs before I even tried one. So it’s fair to say that I had very high expectations for this Silk Oolong Formosa.

The dry leaf smells like caramel or maybe those White Rabbit chinese milk candies (love those!). It smells sweet and creamy – like no tea I’ve smelled before.

The first steep: 2 teaspoons, 6oz water at 195, 2 minutes. The rinsed leaves smell like peach ice cream. That was the first thought that came to mind. Fresh fruit and cream. Such a wonderful aroma. I can’t wait to taste this. The liquor from this first steeping had a light cream flavor but that was kind of… it. I steeped it for another minute and it developed a somewhat thicker mouth feel. The tastes I got were all over the map. At times it had no creaminess, at times I got a very lovely milk flavor at the back of my mouth. For the most part it tasted like a fine tung ting oolong with nice fruity notes. Not bad but also not what I built this tea up into. I can’t really blame the tea for that. The second steep (195, 4 minutes) tasted like a nice oolong. Sometimes like a nice oolong with a little milk added. This tea, on both steeps, leaves a nice, sweet, fruity taste behind. Occasionally there’s a caramel taste.

It’s a very nice oolong. It’s exciting to drink since you never really know what taste you’ll get. I’m definitely a fan. The description leads me to believe that this is an oolong scented to taste like a jing xuan which, based on my research, has the milk flavor naturally. Although the information about milk oolongs on the web is sparse and varied… what I’ve gathered is that jing xuan teas are the “real deal” and then there are milk scented teas. So I’m excited to try the jing xuan.

ETA: Also! Do you rinse the leaves between steeps? I didn’t do that but I’m wondering what the general consensus is…

This tea is warm. And I don’t mean temperature-wise!

takgoti sent me this in the huge box of tea she gifted me, and I was eager to try it from the first time I smelled it. First off, the tea itself is quite beautiful, with the varying shades of reds. The honeybush and rooibos are specked with little pieces of cloves, cinnamon, licorice, and ginger. The whole thing is extremely aromatic and spicy.

I used 3/4 of a teaspoon (Samovar’s little video said 1 tsp for 16 oz., so I halved it). Looking back on it, I should have used more. Anyway, I steeped it up, and the color was very typical of rooibos. Deep scarlet with a wonderful smell coming off of it. Spicy. You can’t pick out every spice in the scent, but it’s complex and incredibly warm.

On first sip, I was surprised how light this was! I think I’ll definitely steep it for a longer time next time. You can’t really taste all of the spices separately unless you concentrate very hard. Then the cinnamon comes out with some warmth. Then there’s a bit of kick and bite from the ginger, and the warmth of cloves (and I’m happy about the clove not being overpowering, because I’m not the hugest fan of cloves). The rooibos comes through with that signature woodsy sweetness. The licorice is a big hit here, not in licorice flavor, but in sweetness. This baby is sweet and spicy at the same time in a delicious way.

What a great herbal! Sometimes herbals are a bit medicinal or cloying. I thought I might have this problem with this particular one, but Ocean of Wisdom is an ocean of awesomeness.

I really MUST be in for it today! Most of you may know my past Hibiscus experience have rarely been pleasant ones…but..for the sake of tea education…“here-goes”…

After infusing it’s Easter Egg Red in color…smells like fruity tarty Hibiscus…go figure!

WOW…

Isn’t as bad as I thought it would be…it’s tart, but almost…READY FOR THIS…tasty!

I understeeped and used less of the amount.
About 2 minutes with less than a tablespoon amount.

I’ve been made speechless…a hibiscus I can actually stand…pure hibiscus!

I wouldn’t buy or drink a lot of it but for the sake that I usually don’t like Hibiscus I will rate it a little higher! This would be great iced…I’m drinking it hot and it’s pretty good!

Teahouse Kuan Yin identifies this tea as a green tea, but it looks and tastes like a white tea, with the delicate white hairs typical of other white teas. It is a nice, refreshing and delicate tea, good to start the day with.

I have this tea, I make it with fresh lemon peel and palm sugar, and just let it sit in my dancing leaves teapot for as long as it takes me to finish, never gets bitter but then doesnt have enough oompf to make another pot

This is a little too tart to have a true raspberry flavor; I was hoping for something a bit thicker and more jammy, something with the sweetness of a real red raspberry. It’s not a fake raspberry taste, but it’s not great, either. I’d like to try combining this with Adagio’s Cream and see what happens.

If that doesn’t work, this is going in the “to swap” pile.

By the way, Cofftea, I have a running list going of whole or near-whole 1 oz Adagio samples I’d like to swap – I’ll type up and send tonight!

Well this is my third tea that I received in the Diggnation “Hippie Glenn” Samovar set, and I must say I think I saved the best for last. I’ve been a huge fan of Russian/Lapsang blends for years now but I think this one takes the prize. This is the first lapsang style blend that doesn’t “punch me in the face” when I drink it. This blend is creamy, smooth, and remarkably sweet for such a smokey tea. The balance of flavors is impeccable. Great with scones and jam in the morning.

This is a weird smell…almost like something turning funky in the frig…but the more it cools you can smell a hint of cinnamon. The coloring is neat…a reddish brown on the verge of black. It’s bold but even in taste. It’s growing on me…

Some mornings you don’t need an excellent tea as much as you need a warm mug to toast your frosty fingers. This worked.

I normally don’t like mint teas even though I love mint in candy. However this doesn’t taste like ordinary tea mint. This is more like eating a Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie and I’m enjoying it quite a bit. I need to dash out the door to travel to MIssippi. Next time I drink it I’ll be more exacting with the description. (There will definitely be a next time with this one.)

So… ages ago one of the things in the Box of Random Rooibos I inherited from Angrboda was some quince rooibos. I think there was only enough for one pot, which apparently I then forgot to log, but I enjoyed it a lot. So it was very nice to find a bag of this in my Christmas stocking, so to speak (along with others, to be detailed later)

So. Aroma is quite strong and fruity, and presumably quince-y, although I’ve never met one in person. Certainly you will be aware if you have some of this in your tea cupboard, let’s say ;-)

To taste, I would call it very smooth, if that makes any sense, and the quince flavor lingers very pleasantly on the tongue, after an inital burst of sweetness. A nice and relaxing rooibos, I would say.

I’m continuing with my tea drinking instead of food to prepare myself for an evening of riotous pleasure. Chai Agni is perfect since it is decaf, which means that I won’t be up all night if I have it late. I wish I could find more decaf teas (not rooibos or honeybush) that tasted as good. It is, of course, delicious and warming with its lovely peppers, spices, and chocolate notes.

Just opened the package for this tea and it went straight into my teapot! After about 4 minutes steep time it was at a lovely honey color and smelled gorgeous. At first sip I didn’t taste too much. It was very light. After a few more sips though the golden raisin absolutely came out. I first tasted notes of honey, then it reminded me of molasses, which then led to raisins! Still enjoying it as I type this, but I can already tell how lovely this tea is! I might steep it just a little longer next time or add a couple of extra leaves for a slightly stronger taste.

Can’t wait for the next cup!

I had the pleasure of trying this tea first in the Zoomdweebies shop in KS and it is delicious when they make it into a tea latte!

They have the tea latte recipe available so I don’t think I’m giving away anything when I say I went home and tried it on my own with sweetened condensed milk and that is the crux of their tea latte recipe.

With the full tea latte recipe the latte feels lighter than a normal Sbux tea latte and the flavor of the tea seems more developed too. Wow can Frank brew… trust me I had two!

At home making the full amount of latte mix is nice but then you feel the need to drink the whole thing… which ends up being a party type amount…. not I want a bit of tea now amount… so I tried this tea just adding the sweetened condensed milk and boy is that yummy. Actually I’ve discovered that sweetened condensed milk is FANTASTIC with a lot of different dessert type tea and I really suggest playing around with it as a tea modifier. The only flavor I don’t think it works well with so far is chocolate…. but I’ll be experimenting more with that later…

Using normal tea condiments I find that I am using more sugar than I usually do to try to mimick the tea latte flavor. Unfortunately I think I’m walking into this tea biased having had my first taste of it with the tea latte instead of my normal experimenting. I’m finding that three teaspoons of sugar in a two teaspoon of tea pot is the right ratio to about even up the flavor with what I was expecting and then of course some milk.

The tea base is a little astringent tasting if you don’t add enough sugar which is something I have not noticed with the other 52 teas blends so I’m probably again biased because of the tea latte.

Coconut is present and lightly awesome. Not over bearing or a punch in the face and it is accented well with the vanilla creamy flavor. This is a tea that I’m not enjoying with out milk as it seems to lose a depth without it and I also can’t enjoy this one with just milk and no sugar. Again it seems to lose a level without using both. Actually without sugar it almost has a woody black tea quality. Not smokey woody but that potato starchy woody round flavor. Interesting but I’m spoiled with this tea now and only want it light and sweet.

I’m happy this is a permanently available tea. I know that seems to go against the 52teas mantra but this one is that banging good… especially as a tea latte.

Got to leave work early today – yay! It’s cold and raining (thankfully not snowing) so I thought this afternoon would be a great time to put on my snow leopard fleece pants, put a heating pad on my stomach and have some tea. I pulled out my GM sampler and another basket (that I’ve dubbed the takgoti sampler) intending to leaf through the lovely teas and eventually settle on one. But this one was right on top, hand raise, screaming “PICK ME! PICK ME!”

So I did.

The dry leaves smell like barbecue sauce – the good stuff that I loved when I could still eat the darn stuff. While steeping, a meatier flavor comes up. Like smoked brisket. Once it has brewed up, though, I get more of a we-just-sprayed-down-the-campfire-before-bed smell. That’s a little… worrying. But I shall continue!

Okay, who cares about the smell. Because the taste is lovely. Not quiet as sweet at GM’s but smoother and mellower. More of a smoked tea than a smoky tea taste. Don’t get me wrong – this isn’t a pale, light flavored tea! It’s just that the smoke flavor is embedded into the tea. Like when you put a ham in the smoker for about 6 hours or more. The smoke taste isn’t overwhelming, but it’s in every square inch of taste.

Last night with the Marco Polo, the whole slurping and inhaling with the tea behind my teeth thing was really interesting so I thought I’d try it again. And holy monkeys. As soon as I stop inhaling to close my mouth and swallow, it’s like a big ole mouthful of smoke. But it’s not bad – I kind of like it! I think because it really really tastes like the smell of my dad smoking a brisket.

This one is bolder than GM’s, I think. Also, it’s not as sweet. This is much smoother than ROT’s though (which I don’t find to be overly difficult). It’s kind of a toss up for me between this one and GM’s. This one has a very true-to-life taste which I really appreciate (so for those of you that want to drink something that tastes like smoked brisket…) and an overall heartier taste. GM’s is sweeter with a good taste and a nice development but not quite as beautifully rounded in taste. I think this one might be the better tea, but I think that the added sweetness to GM’s make that one the favored tea for me personally.

I am making audible happy noises as I’m drinking this. Thanks to takgoti, of course. MY GOD.

This is probably the most delicious cup of tea I’ve had in a few days. Seriously. SO. GOOD.

I felt like a white tea this afternoon, and I began rummaging around. I almost tried the Adagio Jasmine Silver Needle that Auggy sent me, but then the thought of this popped into my mind, so I decided to steep some up.

This doesn’t really smell like much dry, but the leaves are so pretty! Like real leaves. And downy tips. So pretty. Everything pretty much looks nearly whole. The infusion is a very light honey color. Beautiful to look at. And the smell is sweet like corn, with woodsy highlights.

On my first sip, I literally made an audible “MMMM” noise. It was very loud. And then I gave a little gasp on the swallow, because this baby has depth. It’s very light tasting, but actually pretty heavy on the flavor department. There’s a lot of complex layers going on here. I feel like I can get lost in this. So unexpected and deep, yet so completely sippable and drinkable!

So let’s try to explain this. I’m a bit incoherent right now cause I’m so excited about the taste of this, and I’m still in awe over the flavors that are packed in here, but we’re going to try. There’s deepness here. Toasty notes, as well as pure sweet and floral notes. I’m definitely getting the sweet corn that takgoti mentioned, kissed with a light bit of butter. Delicious and rich. There’s also the feeling of cocoa. I can’t explain this one… not the flavor of it, but the overall end feeling of taking a sip of that drink. I’m getting some sort of nutty flavor, maybe a bit of walnut?

There’s a mouthfeel here too. I think that’s the first time I’ve noticed it. A thickness, a deliciousness that cannot be described. No astringency whatsoever. This is a tea that just keeps on giving. I love the lingering feeling on my tongue of nectar and honey and goodness. I am just finding that I love white tea in general. How something light could be so deep… it’s almost like the Caribbean waters.

The flavors here are so round and pronounced, yet so different, distinct, and enjoyable. I really can’t even begin to properly describe this cup. I’d just suggest getting some for yourself. THANK YOU TAK-TAK FOR AMAZINGNESS, as usual!

If I can only have a minute taste of heaven this is it! When it comes to Pu Erh. Red-Copper-Golden hue with a sweet earthiness thru and thru with a slight lingering acidity. Very rounded mouth finish. Yes…Yes…Yes…
Health & Happiness in 2010!

My good friend Ben sent me some of this tea from Seven Cups, and it’s FANTASTIC. I love Long Jing, and this is some of the best. This comes from the original Long Jing bushes near the Dragon Well (where the tea gets it’s name) and it has a very fruity, almost creamy smell. The infusion is sweet and kind of creamy as well, and even sitting in a gaiwan it doesn’t get very bitter. It’s a very expensive tea, but nice to have for special occasions.

Happy New Year Steepsterites.

We’re at about 9.31pm now around here and my dad just called to wish us happy new year. Well. I say us. Mostly they seemed to want to talk to Lexitus. Right. I can see I’m no longer interesting. huffs

Anyway, we’ve just made tea. A brand new addition to my hmm larger than I thought collection. AC Perch’s claim the queen actually drinks this.

It’s got a reddish sort of colour, bit like a dark honey, and the aroma is very Earl Grey-ish. I can’t seem to find any of the Gunpowder there.

The flavour is also mostly Earl Grey-ish, but it’s got some sort of flowery more leafy kind of note to it which I’m assuming must be the Gunpowder. Somewhat astringent too which makes me wonder if it might have been better with a shorter steeping time.

holy honey! its has that distinct honey flavor with the back note the pear taste. the tongue feel reminds me of a juicy pear as well. it smells so much like hot honey. im very happy with this sampler.

The combination of ginger and orange is very… interesting. There are other ingredients/flavors listed (like hibiscus, which is definitely showing up in the color) but they aren’t coming out in the taste.

I’ll probably try this one cold before making my final decision on it. The ginger could make it very refreshing… but right now it’s a “will not purchase”.