336 Tasting Notes
This is Round 2 of this tea. I think I overleafed/oversteeped the first time, so I took more caution not to do either.
This is more like it. There’s still that green tea astringency behind the sweetly salty pistachio flavoring, but when you don’t half-scorch the water it’s much easier to ignore. When the tea cools a bit, it’s an even more enjoyable cup.
Glad I revisited this. It’s nice to have another green tea I enjoy drinking late at night before I go to bed.
Preparation
AAAARGH I got my tasting note eaten!!!!!
I first had this tea several months ago when I first got it, I think as part of my Black Friday splurge. I was not impressed. In fact, I was so weirded out by the flavor that I’ve avoided retrying it until now.
As usual, I have a better appreciation of this tea once I know what to expect. This is my first guayasa, so I don’t know how much of what I’m tasting is the flavoring and how much is the base. The “vanilla” part of this tea is pretty killer. It’s almost exactly the thick, sweet flavor of vanilla extract. The mint part of this tea is also a killer – in a less auspicious way. It’s pungent, a little too cool. It’s almost sanitary! It tastes more like some kind of cleaner than any kind of flavor you’d want in a food or drink. In addition to those, there’s also a grassy undertone (I think that might be the guayasa) that pushes it even farther to the left of what I was really hoping for.
If this tea had just the vanilla flavoring alone, I’d give it something in the 80’s or the 90’s. However, the mint part is just not enjoyable to me. I know people like this tea, so I know it’s a my-taste thing, but I’m having a hard time imagining someone drinking this and going “Mmm!” Fortunately, it’s not overwhelming enough yet that I don’t think I’ll be able to finish the bag. Yet.
Preparation
Whoo Steepster changed! And just like I always do with change, I have to say I’m not sure I like it. The older version was homier, bit more informal. With this version, I feel a little pressured to give a super-scientific review of the tea. Oh well, I’ll get used to it!
Egh. I am about done with this tea. I think I overleafed it tonight, and now both the cream AND the bergamot are coming off too strong for me. Kind of in the way that makes me have a queasy-headache. It’s a flavor I’ve been on the fence about for a while, and this just pushed me over to the not-a-fan side. Guess I won’t be drinking the rest of what I’ve got. Not that it’s a bad quality tea, but as I keep saying, the proportions of the flavors are really not my thing.
Welp. Dad and I were going to go into Columbus together… and then it snowed so hard that a mail truck actually got stuck in a ditch in our neighborhood. Ugggh. I’m glad I’m not at work today, but did this REALLY have to happen during my vacation? Guess I’m staying in. Not that that’s all a bad thing, though.
This tea was a pretty obvious choice for me, because I have discovered that I’m a sucker for roses when it comes to tea. Floral things in general, actually.
It’s not bad. It’s a little on the… sweet? … side of rosy. No, not sweet, maybe perfume-y is more of the right word. There’s something slightly artificial about it. I would actually quite like it… if it didn’t remind me that I have yet to get Teavivre’s Rose Dian Hong back into my cupboard.
Whee! SO glad to have this back in my cupboard, and a nice tin of it too! … Although I did spill a handful of it when I first popped the lid open. I was not pleased. At least I got to try out my new mini vacuum I got for Christmas. :P
They keep saying “fruit with a hint of bergamot” when they talk about this tea, and I see where they’re getting “fruit” but that’s not how it strikes me. But I don’t know how to describe it!!!!
Magic. It’s the taste of magic.
Having some loneliness + winter doldrums tonight, so I figured I’d fix a bout of this as I try to concentrate on learning the bass line from “Moondance” for my lesson tomorrow.
It’s hot! It’s cinnamon! It’s spicy! And it’s just enough of a kick in the tastebuds to perk me up a bit!
I’m so glad I got this in sachets. Perfect to take to work and leave in the break room, especially since my boss drinks it too.
Egggggghhhh.
This was WAY too honey-smelling in the bag. I was hoping it would be a little more palatable in brewed form. It’s the opposite. It’s WAY TOO honey – the kind that makes me sick to my stomach and headache-y at the same time – with a bit of grassiness that just adds up to something kinda nasty. And I like H & S, but not this one.
I’m not going to give this one numbers yet. From what I’ve read, I need to go lighter on all the variables to make this work. I treated it like I do any black tea – boil it, big heaping teaspoon, steep it 5 minutes-ish.
Then again, maybe this blend just isn’t for me.
But that’s OK. That’s what samples are for. :)
I wonder whether the amount of honey smell/flavor varies from batch to batch? I’ll be interested to hear what you think when you try it at a shorter steeping time. (BTW, I love your name. I have often felt like a tea klutz myself. Lol.)
Thank you! For me, the name works both ways, since I’m a tea klutz, but I’m also a klutz in general who loves tea. :P
Sipdown.
I still don’t get hazelnut in this one. I get where “chocolate” is coming from, although it still tastes more like chocolate flavoring than anything to me. This is great for when you want a really rich, creamy tea. This one actually goes into my head a little. You know what I mean? Ever have certain flavors that seem to get you right in the front of your forehead between the eyes? Not in a “punch” kind of way, like it actually makes your head hurt just the slightest bit when you smell it it’s so sweet.
It was a good sample and exactly that. A sample.
