tea-sipper select Send Message

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – October 2024 Tea #5 – A tea with a unique name

From Michelle —a while ago!  Thanks again!  I was thinking this morning what could fit this prompt, and then looking through the puerh Michelle sent, THIS one is certainly unpronounceable to me and certainly not a name I have ever seen on another tea before.  So I think this fits this prompt.  A big chunk went into the infuser.  I noticed I didn’t have enough water in the kettle for a rinse, so the first steep was a little light, as this was a slow unraveller.  But the flavor that is there is very good.  Starchy bread!  Coffee!  No disagreeable flavor notes. The second steep was richer, stronger, even better, of course.    I had a mug outside and immediately steeped the third steep in the cold mug, so the puerh had a sort of “cold puerh flavor” that I have noticed on occasion before with an autmun mug and puerh, maybe what I could only describe as an extra bite to it?  But the fourth steep with a room temp mug also had that characteristic, so I’m not sure if it was the fault of the cold mug or not!  I have another chunk left that I will try not to let out into the autumn cold.  But four solid steeps here for this eleven year old shu. 
Steep #1  // 21 minutes after boiling // 4 minute steep
Steep #2 // 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 4 minute steep
Steep #4 // just boiled // 10 min

Another from Cameron B!  THANK YOU.  I’m trying to write tasting notes for Cameron’s teas while they are new to me…  I really wanted to try this one! It sounded dreamy!  Unfortunately, this only works as a great coffee flavored puerh blend.  It’s really tasty coffee flavor.  But any banana bread notes are nonexistent to me.  If I ran out of coffee puerh options, I’d definitely stock up on this one for that necessary tea in my cupboard.  I’d just ignore the banana bread aspect that I’m very sad is missing.  Subtle notes of cinnamon and a little bit of woodiness from the rooibos.   Cameron noticed banana in the past, so I guess it has now faded!   But three very solid coffee puerh cups, if that is what you’re looking for.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 21 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 10 minute steep

Another from Cameron B! Thanks so much. It’s fall, so the chai just TASTES better. I really have no complaints with this one. It’s spicy. It has a robust black tea base. I thought there was turmeric here, but it isn’t in the ingredients list. It seems healthy enough, but also tasty enough. I like it! I will certainly be enjoying the remainder of this pouch, so I think it found a great new home. :D

I felt like a vanilla tea today, and this was the one I had yet to try, thanks to Cameron B passing it along. Very thrilled to try this! It’s quite a unique blend, with black tea and puerh, black currants and vanilla. I do notice many black currants in the blend, but I don’t really taste those or the pom flavoring. The dry leaf DID look super shiny from whatever flavoring was added. I do taste a lot of vanilla flavor. It’s a very smooth base tea. It’s always vanilla teas that seem a little TOO smooth. But I enjoy the vanilla flavor here enough for what it is, that I will accept the black tea base. I don’t notice puerh at all. Both steeps fit my craving for vanilla! But I will bet this blend is pricey enough that they could have included REAL vanilla pieces in the blend…
Steep #1 // 21 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep

This is from Cameron B!  Thanks again!  I always wanted to try these little guys.  I was intrigued to see if the flavor was anything like pancakes, or just that the shape it’s in is like a tiny pancake.  I will say, it’s one of the sweeter raw pu-erhs I have tried… very agreeable… at least on the first steep… though not unraveled quite yet.  The second steep is also very sweet!  The third gets a typical “you’re-rushing-it” raw pu-erh harshness, but that is always my fault, every single time.  I always go too hot on subsequent steeps.   The fourth steep just seemed muted, which I guess is better than harsh.  The first and second steeps were the best.  I think I’m still ruining raw puerh by steeping them badly after ALLL these years.  I just don’t think sheng is made for western steeping, making them never really something I want to drink.  These steeps weren’t even a minute long!  So possibly on the next little flapjack I will try even shorter steep times.
Steep #1 // 35 minutes after boiling // 55 second steep
Steep #2 // 32 minutes after boiling // 45 second steep
Steep #3 // 22 minutes after boiling // 40 second steep
Steep #4 // 22 minutes after boiling // 45 second steep

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – October 2024 Tea #4 – A tea with maple syrup or flavor

I went with my oldest maple tea for this prompt.  It’s still VERY delicious and I love that the black tea doesn’t get lost in the strong maple flavor, almost leaning towards lapsang souchong territory, but not quite.  Tealux/Tealyra doesn’t carry this anymore, but they do have another maple/smoky tea that I have always wanted to try.  I’m not close to sipping this down, but I’m not ready to say goodbye to it yet anyway.  For an ELEVEN year old tea, this is still great tasting.

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – October 2024 Tea #3 – A brisk tea

Sipping this one down for this prompt.  Despite the name being a little cheesy/tea snobby, I did really enjoy this one.  It’s strong without being harsh. One teaspoon goes a long way.  The “breakfast tea” descriptor is accurate!  market spice still carries it, and there are actually a couple other teas I would like to stock up on from them… so maybe that will happen at some point. (cinnamon orange black and cranberry cream).  They are priced fairly cheap!
2024 sipdowns: 72

A general PSA to alert everyone that this is a really great, full, authentic pear tea. And these flavors are really holding up seeing that these leaves are EIGHT years old at this point. I bet it tastes almost the same as the first time I tried it. whoa.

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – October 2024 Tea #2 – A tea that reminds you of falling leaves

This is the Oh,Canada blend with the exclamation point (!)  It looks like there is a different blend without the exclamation point.  This one is full of sweet tasting goodies.  I chose this blend for this prompt, as the most obvious tea reminding me of leaves… as the blend contains the cutest little leaf sprinkles in fall colors.  It hits the decaf sweet craving, for sure, without tasting like artificial sugars.  I also could have chosen this blend for the maple prompt this month… but I will choose something else…

I just had to try this Yunnan from New Mexico Tea Co.  It isn’t hard to try their teas when you can buy an ounce, which to me is the perfect amount of tea to sample something and have it a few times.  This is CLASSIC Yunnan.  A nice balance of gold and black to the twisted together leaves.  I used a teaspoon and a half and the first steep has that lovely peppery Yunnan flavor.  Definitely a tea to reach for when I am craving Yunnan, which is often.  Not QUITE up to the standard of London Tea Room’s Ancient Golden Yunnan (trying to find one to replace that one) but I also didn’t use two teaspoons for this one like I do with that one, so maybe it would be similar if I steeped it the same way.  The second steep was a little too weak flavored for my liking.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 min steep