Another sample I bought from Teakruthi! I’m very glad they have sample sizes. This also had the fragrance of basil in the leaf — same as Wild Monsoon that I had the other day. So I wanted to visually compare the leaves of the two. They both look similar, but the Wild Monsoon has a bigger/longer leaf. Of course, they are both Ceylon, as all of Teakruthi’s teas are Ceylon. Do not let that fact sway you from trying their teas. I would say in the past, I was least interested in Ceylon tea as a type, but most of Teakruthi’s teas that I’ve tried have been unique and very delicious. The first cup here was so so much basil! It’s amazing there isn’t any actual basil here. It was like smooth tomato soup with basil. The brew was a bright orange. I’d say there was a lot more basil here and none of the caramelized strawberry flavor that Wild Monsoon has. This time I tried to overcorrect with the astringent second steep of Wild Monsoon and went for a much cooler brewed second steep and the flavor wasn’t anything tasty at all, even losing most of the basil, so I definitely should have went for a hotter steep with this one. I’m in love with the savory basil flavor of the first cup though. Excellent first steep, bland second. But I will try again soon to retry.
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for full mug // 27 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 16 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
This is You :-D
Profile
Bio
Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.
Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
shop.Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea.com
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandalatea.com
verdanttea.com
Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas
My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.
Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!
I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.
My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors
My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again
I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)
Happy sipping!
Location
USA
