1737 Tasting Notes
Another lovely pot of this white tea blend. The fruity flavors really came through today—especially the peach.
The second infusion was very good. The third was a bit weak. I’ll probably stick to two in the future… I’m using a cast iron testubin-type pot and allowing the leaves to fully blossom (not using the mesh basket). I might try the basket next time to see whether my belief (that tea is better infused in a larger volume) has any basis in reality.
The minute I took a sip of Tazo Organic Spicy Ginger, the first words out of my mouth were: “Tastes like Settle.” This was a pleasant surprise, because I’ve been finding pretty vast differences between the newer white-envelope filter bags and the loose leaf teas.
In this case, the filter bag does a pretty good job of offering a quick and easy version of the excellent ginger infusion. The bags smell like piquant ginger and orange oil, with faint wafts of licorice and a mélange of other stuff.
Looking at the box, I found that the current batch of Tazo Organic Spicy Ginger lists exactly the same ingredients as those of Settle (the loose leaf version), and in exactly the same order:
ginger, orange peel, green rooibos, lemon verbena, chamomile, fennel, licorice root, natural flavors, orange essential oil
Clearly Tazo has changed their recipe from the colored-envelope Ginger tea pictured above. A positive change in this case, unlike some of the others (especially Calm and Thrive). This is a good ginger tea, not as good as fresh, and not as good as Settle allowed to infuse for a lengthy period of time (such as overnight!), but it’s one of the better filter bag ginger teas out there.
If you like Settle, you’ll like this. If you like this, you’ll like Settle.
If you dislike Settle, you’ll dislike this. If you dislike this, you’ll dislike Settle.
Preparation
My very first Korean tea ever. The appearance of the dried leaves did not immediately call to mind any particular type of tea, but once infused, they smelled an awful lot like sencha.
However, my initial encounter with the liquor was a bit bitter and lacked that satisfying je ne sais quoi of sencha. I did not feel utterly compelled to continue to imbibe this precious liquid (as I did yesterday with another new green tea from China). After a few sips, it no longer seemed bitter but still was not drawing my lips to the glass like iron filings to a magnet. The scent and taste seemed variable from one sip to the next: here vegetal, there a tiny bit floral, again somewhat earthy… Like a kaleidoscope, but subtly so. Korean monks apparently drink this tea. I can see that.
The color of the first infusion was pale yellow moving ever-so-slightly toward green. The color of the second infusion was quite a bit brighter yellow, but the taste was considerably lighter.
I need to try this again before bestowing a rating on it… The water for the first infusion (in a cast iron tetsubin-type tea pot) may have been too hot.
Preparation
Another trip to Starbucks after the library culminated in a take-away tea refill. I hadn’t eaten anything so first drank a grande latte (whole milk, long shots, extra hot—yeah, I’m one of them…). Then of course my by now predictable refill: full leaf sachet Refresh.
Good as usual—both the scent and the taste. Plus today there was an extra benefit: the hot cup served as a hand warmer while I meandered my way home amidst the sunlit piles of snow.
I had another cup of Calm prepared from the sachet last night. I still feel that there are a lot of different flavors competing with the result that the chamomile is left lurking in the shadows. However, unlike my latest batch of Sleepytime, the spearmint does not completely take over the blend…
Talk about delicious. Wow! The scent of this gorgeous tea sent to me directly from China by Teavivre is quite vegetal and reminiscent of something like green beans. The taste is superb. Light, crisp, and refreshing. Right up my alley, since I am a major sencha aficionado. One, I might add, with very limited experience with the fine teas of China and a pretty longstanding pro-Japan prejudice when it comes to green tea. Teavivre has arrived on the scene to rectify this situation posthaste!
I am using a small cast-iron pot and was meticulous about the water temperature and timing. At first I thought that I had under-brewed the tea, or perhaps had not used enough of the dry leaves, as the color was extremely pale green, and I worried that it would be weak. Not so: it’s excellent.
I love the flat shape of the dried leaves and how they blossom into large vibrant sheaths upon infusion.
The second infusion is just as good as the first.
Preparation
I have now exhausted my supply of Stash Premium Green filter bags and have resorted to one of my packages of the loose tea. This is one of the cases where the filter bags are so fool-proof that I prefer them since I don’t have to think to produce a perfect cup. I made a real effort today to follow the correct rules for brewing loose green tea: water not too hot; not too much tea in the pot; short steeping time.
The pot wasn’t perfect—there was a bit of a bitter edge to the first infusion—but it was still good. The liquor was the beautiful citron/peridot greenish yellow which I’ve come to associate with high-quality sencha. I love to gaze through it as the double-walled Bodum glass sits on my windowsill, especially on a day like today: 9F feels like -9F. NO WAY am I going anywhere!!!!
I must leave my former high rating in place, because the bags deserve it, and I am sure that I’ll get the proper proportions and temperature right eventually for the loose leaf tea as well. For now, this brew has satisfied today’s post-lunch sencha craving.
I’ll do a follow-up infusion, of course! (My reward for the extra effort required to use the loose leaves…)
