355 Tasting Notes
Prepared this in the takgoti chai style (recipe in my Chai thread on the discussion board), and it turned out.. okay. I really need to buy a tea strainer. I tried straining this in my Bodum Assam teapot, but there wasn’t enough tea for it to strain correctly. So it has more bits of coconut in it than I would like.
Either way, the chai is good – not too sweet, not bitter at all, and not too spicy. I’m curious to see how this tastes prepared with just water.
A weak, but pleasant tea. This says to steep for only 3 minutes, which has kept the bitterness that I often experience with Assams away. The vanilla is creamy but not too sweet; unfortunately I can’t taste much in the way of roses, but I do get a slight floral smell from my cup. I’d try steeping longer but I’d be scared it would get bitter.
Didn’t feel like doing a note of this last night..
This is kind of odd. By the end of the pot, I was enjoying it, but I don’t get apple butter at all. It has a unique taste that combines apple with some heartier fruit flavors like raisin. Good herbal for nighttime (I need those desperately), but weird.
I’m in Austin for the weekend and it’s absolutely miserable here. Rainy and cold at 55 degrees. Well, by Austin standards – it’s downright balmy compared to Chicago’s 30 degrees.
I found out about this place, Koriente, in my search for awesome restaurants on Austin’s Yelp site. They feature fresh Korean foods as well as a pretty big tea selection, mostly furnished by Harney & Sons (was so tempted to finally try that Pomegranate Oolong). They also have a big menu of bubble teas. I was going to go for the almond milk when I saw matcha as an option and just about jumped up and down with joy. I LOVE matcha, but I hate how expensive it is and how much preparation it requires. So this was my choice.
It was SO. GOOD. I think I’ll have to go back before my trip is over, as Koriente isn’t too far from my hotel. It was sweet and creamy and the tapioca balls had more flavor than I’m used to in bubble tea. So, Austin and I are off to a good start.
Not a fan of tapioca (I’m a texture psycho so it’s a miracle I adore matcha), but you know me and my matcha so this one has me interested… but – points for it not being in a matcha bowl. :( Sounds like location and temperature changes along w/ this wonderful tea were just what you needed- YAY for getting exactly what you need exactly when you need it!
I was gonna send you a private message asking if you wanted to try some mandarin matcha, but I can’t. So just let me know via comment or whatever if you want some.
Or you can be lazy like me and mix matcha inside a glass cup =D
Whenever I make matcha it’s always as a latte. I really have to drink it by itself one day.
Yes you do Ricky!=D Den’s Matcha Kaze or 52teas Mandarin matcha would be perfect starters for that:) Or the one you gave me:) The only thing I absolutely hate about making a matcha latTEA is that I can’t stand the smell of warm milk. I can barely stand the smell of cold milk.
I am also a total texture psycho, but whatever my particular brand of texture insanity, it likes the tapioca pearls. I’m informed that sometimes boba tea pearls are made of something that isn’t tapioca, but I forget now what I was told the other kind are made of, boo.
I would really like to try a matcha latte! I have some matcha…I have some milk. Is it normal ratios of tea, just using hot milk instead of water? Or do you infuse the tea into water and then add milk, like with chai? Someone must enlighten me!
Since the happy dust just disperses into the liquid, I think you could just heat the milk and water together then add the matcha. It’lll be a blended latTEA anyway since you need to whisk the matcha to disperse it evenly.
Nummy, the only bubble tea I can get around here is all artificially flavoured and made with cheap ingredients.
I just noticed your statement about matcha requiring a lot of preparation. Interesting. I don’t see it that way. Infact I think it requires less. Heat water, scoop matcha, add water, whisk, and drink. The most time consuming steps are heating the water and drinking. No waiting for the steep time and no decantation.
Today was simultaneously terrific and awful. I got word that my organization received a $15,000 grant (from a proposal that I wrote) for a program that is near and dear to my heart. I also got a call from my doctor with some potentially very troubling news.
So to celebrate/pity myself, I brewed up one of my “special teas,” Milk Oolong. It’s not as sweet as I remembered. Definitely more grassy this time, but that’s alright. It’s still smooth as silk and hits the spot.
Oh no! Thank God for good news on horrible days! Drink lots of tea, I’m praying for you:)
Yay for the first part, and I’m crossing my fingers for you on the second.
You’re in my thoughts.
Take care and drink lots of tea!
I second wombatgirl. Sending you some positive brain waves.
Hope everything’s okay, Bethany! I’ll be thinking about you!
I hope it turns out okay. :(
Another wombatgirl tea. This is kind of an odd one; the smell of the dry leaves is hard to place, and the taste isn’t all plum. I taste a lot of tartness from the hibiscus, which has become one of my all-time least favorite tea ingredients. Do taste a bit of honey and nougat at the end, though, as they say. Was just expecting a lot more from this.
As for hibiscus, I second that emotion!
I think I enjoyed it a little more than you, but I agree with the expecting more. I was hoping for something that grabbed me as much as the Strawberry Lemondaid does (which is one of my favorites, ever.) And it really didn’t. It was high on the meh scale, but still on it.
