237 Tasting Notes

90
drank Chocolate and Cream by TeaFrog
237 tasting notes

The last of my sample of this one. So warm and comforting! It’s got a nice level of chocolate and great balance with the tea flavor. With cream and sugar, it’s like drinking an improved cup of hot chocolate – not as rich and filling as the real thing but just as satisfying for me.

I’ll just have to get some more.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Jaime

Tea that’s like improved hot chocolate? Yup, have got to get me some of that!!

Adham

Regular hot chocolate is great when you want something rich and filling – this is light but still chocolatey and creamy. I hope you enjoy it!

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82
drank Coconut Vanilla White by TeaFrog
237 tasting notes

The coconut theme of today’s Steepster Select gave me a hankering for this one – the last of my TeaFrog sample of this variety. Buttery, rich and slightly toasty; I plan on ordering more.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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82
drank Blood Orange Pu-erh by Samovar
237 tasting notes

Threw this sample in with my order of Hawaii-grown black just because it sounded good, and maybe to help defeat a bias I have against orange flavoring in tea. Fortunately the sample size is generous, if pricey, so I should be able to get quite a few steeps out of it.

I don’t usually rinse pu-erhs before steeping, but did this time because of the specific recommendation to do so on the sample pack. I figure if they’ve gone to the trouble of recommending it as the best way to enjoy their tea, I should probably try it. The first steep went for four minutes and ended up really, really dark. I was afraid it would be too far gone to be enjoyable, but it was actually quite delicious. Not at all bitter, just a little astringent, and the orange is strongly present without being acrid. There’s not too much of the typical earthy pu-erh taste in the foreground; it’s more a weight than a flavor.

2nd steep, four minutes. Just as flavorful this time around. The orange leaves a little bit of a tingle in the mouth. I’m enjoying this tea quite a bit and would consider buying it in a larger quantity.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Jaime

I’ve definitely got to try this!

Adham

I’ve now had a couple more steeps and it’s still going strong…

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77
drank Sencha Fuka-midori by Den's Tea
237 tasting notes

Having the last bit of the Den’s sampler of this variety. It never ceases to amaze me how different these drinks can be and all still be tea – from the vanilla black I had this morning to the Japanese green this afternoon. I really like the buttery vegetable quality of this one, so clean and fresh, but still with a really rich body. Good stuff.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 1 min, 0 sec

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67
drank Vanilla Bourbon by Demmers Teehaus
237 tasting notes

Always a sucker for vanilla, I had to try Demmer’s variation on the theme. The scent of the dry leaf is rich with vanilla and also has a fruity note to it reminiscent of cherry. I don’t see many pieces of vanilla bean in there, so I think the scent is probably from the addition of vanilla extract.

It steeps up to a clear medium orange-brown color with a much milder aroma compared to the dry leaf. The first sip is nice; I can taste the vanilla warmth and roundness in the back of my throat, and am still getting a cherry taste as well as some astringency from the Ceylon base. I typically doctor vanilla tea with cream and sugar, so I’ll try that on this now.

The tea has now settled into a medium full vanilla groove. Definitely there, but not overwhelming in complexity or body. Perfectly acceptable and drinkable, but no substitute for Mariage Freres Vanille des Iles or Black Orchid.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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47

The last Ronnefeldt bag I have on hand – there’s no information on it to indicate just exactly what type of red berries might be in here. The bag itself is too gauzy to get much of a view through, though I do note that the material inside is mostly greenish with red flecks.

On steeping, the liquor becomes a garish pink-purple – keep this one far away from white furniture and carpets. I’m thinking hibiscus is probably playing a starring role in this beverage. One sip confirms it – really, really tart, to the point where I need to add two lumps of sugar rather than just one in order to make it drinkable. The hibiscus flavor is there, but others in there as well which make it more than just a Red Zinger rip-off. I’d guess there’s raspberry in there and something with a woodier taste, again I’m guessing but I think it might be acai.

As an iced drink on a hot day I think it would be super; hot, it leaves me a little, well, cold.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 6 min, 0 sec
lasher6669

I completely agree with the ice drink, i had a sample ice tea with red berries with red orange brown sugar and fizzy, it was amazing. I found this description for the Red Berries on Gastronautgroup.com “fruit infusion mixes of apple-pomace, hibiscus, citric acid and rose hip peel. The sweet, fruity aroma of ripe raspberries and strawberries capture the flavour of summer (strawberries/raspberries).”

Ronnefeldt® USA

Hello and thanks for the great review of Red Berries. We wholeheartedly agree with regarding to keeping the tea away from anything white (even counter tops). The Red Berries tisane is composed of Hibiscus, apple pieces, currants, rose hip peel, sweet blackberry leaves, elderberries, black currants, blackberries, strawberry and raspberry juice concentrate. I hope that this answers your questions regarding it’s composition.

Jillstrasser

Sound delicious

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82
drank Sommerfrische by Demmers Teehaus
237 tasting notes

This is the one herbal tisane I picked up from Demmer’s, chosen because it seemed to have a nice mix of flavors across the sweet and tart spectrum. The mix is really chunky – big pieces of apple, orange, rose hips, snips of lemongrass, blossoms – and smells clean and fresh. The recommended steeping parameters are boiling water and 5 – 8 minutes, but I think I’ll use slightly cooler water at first to see how it turns out.

It yields a deep yellow liquor with a hint of green and just a little bit of cloudiness. The aroma is citrus plus a more general “herbal” tune, and that’s mirrored in the taste as well. It’s not at all overly tart, but I’m not sure what is giving it the body. It could be the honeydew which is in there, though I can’t pick this out as an individual flavor.

Definitely a pleasant drink and one I can see having when I want to avoid caffeine.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 6 min, 0 sec

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67

Squeezing in a cup of this – another bagged tea I picked up on a recent trip – between multiple infusions of the Hawaii-grown black. The steeping instructions indicate 8 minutes, which sounds unusually long, so I’m going to stop at 7 minutes and see where we are.

This is actually pretty nice – it is lemony, but not in the furniture polish direction. There’s a sweetness to it as well, but I can’t tell where that is from. Other than that, it’s not very complex. Pleasant enough for a fruit-based tisane, and refreshing without being parchingly acidic.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 7 min, 0 sec
Ronnefeldt® USA

Thank you for the review. We really appreciate it and are happy you were happy with the tisane overall.

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100
drank Hawaii-Grown Black by Samovar
237 tasting notes

This smells like Hawaii. I’ve been spending time there regularly since I was kid, and was overwhelmed by memories in a Proustian moment when I opened the packet of tea. Warm rain, damp earth, trade winds, and tropical softness are all in there, somehow, magically. The leaves are huge and dark, their twists unfurling majestically in the hot water.

Several steepings all reveal intense sweetness, a definite roasted sweet potato warmth, maltiness and a little bit of roastiness. No astringency or bitterness at all. I don’t think I’ll ever put milk, cream, or sugar in this – I just want to taste the tea and nothing else.

I’m already alarmed at how quickly and easily this 25g pack could be used up, and in the back of my mind I’m trying to do cost/cup calculations based on multiple infusions to justify getting more…

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 30 sec

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85

Having another go around with this one to try and get a better handle on where the flavors are coming from. Same parameters for the first steep – 2 minutes at 180 degrees, but this time I am getting the hint of melon that the company mentions in its description. Still a lot of that sweet hay/grass taste too, which is very pleasant. I’m noticing the aftertaste this time more – it’s a sweetness around the whole mouth.

Still, all these flavors are so gentle and understated, it’s hard for me to get the purpose of putting a bunch of flavoring in with white tea, for fear of losing the essential qualities of the tea itself. I’m going to chalk it up to other people having more acute taste centers, that can pick out the white tea flavors among the melon, licorice, or other additions.

2nd infusion at 2.5 minutes and 180 degrees: Still very sweet and grassy, nice aroma and color. No real lessening of qualities in the second steep. I’m going to bump this one up a couple points based on today’s tasting.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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Bio

Grandma introduced me to tea as a kid (lipton with milk and sugar; a bit poured into the saucer to cool it down and then sipped from there), and I’ve never looked back. Still have a slight preference for teas that go well with milk (or even better, cream) and sugar, but since Grandma’s day I’ve branched out to appreciate green and white teas, rooibos and pu erh. Absolutely love Mariage Freres!

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