4337 Tasting Notes
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – March 2023 Tea #3 - March 14 – Pi Day
Another pie tea! I must remember the second steep works really well with a very long steep, especially as most of the rock sugar has dissolved. I still wish it was more everything though.
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – March 2023 Tea #3 - March 14 – Pi Day
I have a handful of pie teas so thought I would revisit three of them today… though no sipdowns. A good a time as any for this treasure! Some REALLY old teddy grahams here. But WHOA I really did forget how amazing this was. Must have been the big chunk of strawberry in the infuser. (Wish I had some actual pie though! Even some high quality pizza would suffice. sigh.)
2023 An Ode to Tea – Q
Still the only tea I have to represent ‘Q’ (so not a sipdown)… though I am surprised the tin is mostly empty! I don’t usually finish teas at such a rate of speed… it’s because this is a Quality black tea. It’s GOOD. Rich, complex, nuanced, yet sweet.
2023 An Ode to Tea – P
Time to finish one of these pouches. A gem! Still cheesecake flavor, reminding me Butiki really nailed that cheesecake. I will miss it, though I have a TINY bit remaining… This went for three steeps! Amazing stuff. Happy daylight savings!
2023 sipdowns: 30
2023 An Ode to Tea – O
This was okay. I’m sure smoky teas are tricky for most tea drinkers. The base was just never powerful enough to add to any flavors to go along with the smoke here. Glad I tried it. I’m not sure WHICH lapsang I wouldn’t mind stocking up on… (I DO realize I will kind of miss the ESP Emporium that I finished the other day, but ESP ended long ago.)
2023 sipdowns: 29
2023 An Ode to Tea – N
From derk a while ago, thank you! I love the barley or buckwheat option! Will definitely keep one or both of them around. This seems to be unhulled, with my limited knowledge of grains, so it still has the husk on them. Unique looking to other barley I have tried! The flavor is lighter, so I should maybe be using more than one teaspoon for a mug. This particular barley has a hint of BBQ spice to it, which is unexpected!
Steep #1 // 1 teaspoon for a full mug // 22 minutes after boiling // 1-2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 10+ min
What an odd little chai! And not just because the fragrance here is STRONG which is unexpected if the spices are mainly cinnamon, cardamom, saffron strands and almond. The flavor is much lighter. I wish the flavor is more unique than it is. I wanted more almond, and really more cinnamon and cardamom in the mug to really be a cup of comfort. This was really quite bland for such a new tea. Maybe I was too careful with the one minute steep. The second steep is savory to me or a bit floral, but also kind of like lemon verbena. Possibly this is the saffron? Really no notes of cinnamon, cardamom OR almond. So this seems like a fail to me.
Steep #1 // 1 teaspoon for a full mug // 32 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // 29 min after boiling // 2 min
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – March 2023 Tea #2 – Your oldest black tea
Checking for my oldest black tea by shuffling my Steepster cupboard by ‘recent’, this is the one! It was an agreeable enough smoky tea. Smoke neither too strong or light. Same on the black tea base. I think it might be keemun. I liked it! Time for it to be gone.
2023 sipdowns: 27
Neat, a real pie tea!