1353 Tasting Notes

92

As this is a very long post indeed, here is a summary for those with short attention span.

Tea is very good. Smooth and with some smoky notes. It lasts for many steeps, and provokes rather a lot of mental images about cattle. Yes, cattle. The animals that say moo.

And the actual post:

I was sorely tempted to try to write this whole entire post in the royal We, it being Imperial and all that. But then I decided that I would find that annoying to read in a long post if someone else did it, so it would undoubtedly be equally as annoying to write. So I didn’t.

I don’t really know why I was in pu-erh mood this morning. Usually specific moods and cravings like that have something to do with what I have just seen other people post about. A famous example here is Mike and that caramel black he’s got that always makes me want to go and make mine.

But that wasn’t it this time. I had decided on being in a pu-erh mood, before I even started looking at my Dashboard page. Maybe I was dreaming about cows last night or something like that.

Anyway, I dithered a bit between my various pu-erh samples from Nothing But Tea and eventually landed on this one. The word ‘Imperial’ rather appealed to me this morning.

I did a short 15 second pre steep, and then steeped for 30 seconds in not quite boiling water.

This tea has aroma all over the place! It’s a little sweet and a little flowery. Quite summerly and very pleasant. Some of you may recall that I rather like that note in pu-erhs that reminds me of an oldfashioned cowstable. Not the milk or meat factories we have today, but a small stable with maybe five to ten cows all lined up eating hay and waiting for someone to come and milk them by hand. Maybe they’re even plotting kicking over the bucket a time or two for some brief bovine entertainment. (I have mental images of giggling cows now….)

Anyway, I like that note in a pu-erh. As is evident, it speaks to my imagination. Even when it isn’t there, because this pu-erh doesn’t have that note. Oh, the cows are there, all right. Only they’re not in the stable. Here, they’re out in the meadow, eating grass and with little calves running around them playing moo.

First sip blindsided me. Scratchy! Rough. Almost smoky. Who set fire to my cow pasture?! I mean, hey I like smoky in tea. Heck, I love smoky in tea. I just wasn’t expecting it here. As it cools down a bit, it smooths out completely and the scratchy smoky bit is gone. It’s gone all round and slightly earthy but without being dusty or mouldy. There’s even something a little flowery on the swallow there. It’s vague, but it’s there.

Second time around, 45 seconds.

The aroma is stronger. The cows are still in the pasture and there’s an earthy note. Like, maybe it just rained. I can almost see the rainbow.

Tastewise, it’s stronger here. The smoky note is more apparent in the beginning, but it still turns smooth after a while. There’s a slightly dusty note on it now and the floral swallow is gone. It’s still nicely round though, and it’s going quite well with this piece of chocolate I’m eating.

Third time around, 45 seconds.

I went for the same steep time this time instead of a full minute, because the second steep had turned so much stronger than the first on just those 15 seconds.

It’s earthier here. I think a cow just took a good roll in the dust out there on the pasture. Look at how she’s wiggling her legs! The scratchy has gone from the initial sips, it’s just plain smoothness. I suspect it’s because I didn’t increase the steeping time.

Fourth time around, 1 minute.

The cows are back in the stable. There are definite stable-notes in the aroma now, although the cows are still rather smelling of fresh air.

The scratchy flavour is back again with the longer steep. Although it still smooths out as it cools, it takes longer for it to do so. The smoky note is much more pronounced now and it doesn’t go away.

It’s odd, really. You would think that a smoky note would go away over time and steeps, not increase in intensity.

Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t go for that royal We thing. How something called ‘Imperial’ can turn out to be so very peasant-y, I’m not really sure, but the royal We totally wouldn’t have worked in this post at all.

These are just the first four steeps and I’m posting here because this is already turning out to be a very long entry. I dare not think how long it would be if I were to continue it until the leaves had been worn out. I’ve been drinking this tea from this morning when I got up around 8 o’clock and until now where it’s about half past two. It’s the only tea I’ve had all day, and I haven’t grown bored with it yet. I’m definitely going to be getting me some more of this later on.

It’s rather an inspiring tea. I think I’ll be doing some writing now.

MOO!

Atacdad

Cows in the barn just isn’t invoking the correct mental picture…can’t get past the patties and, well, all that. Still, I appreciate a post that has some thought and detail…I learn from them. Like the fact that you get a lot of resteeps.

Angrboda

My great-grandparents were farmers, and I can vaguely almost remember what it was like in the stable. It’s that smell that I can only nearly recall. Later when I went to school, some of the other children’s parents were farmers and had cattle, so we always got to see all the animals and pet a calf and such when we were there for birthday parties and such. Pu-erhs tend to trigger a lot of those things for me. :)

teaplz

Looooove this log! Love all the detail and the various steepings and the characteristics of the cows!

P.S. Your screen name for some reason makes me constantly want to call you “Angry Body.” Maybe that nickname will stick from now on.

Angrboda

Well, I did get called the angry dane once. :p

I’m quite pleased with myself that I managed to stop before I started naming the cows. But just so you know, one of them is called Blossom.

Laura

Angrboda, I think I know what you mean. I grew up in a little rural town and a friend of my family’s had a farm with hay and cows and chickens and whatnot. The sunshine and hay and dirt roads illicit very distinct olfactory nostalgia for me, though now I’m imagining cows in purple robes with jewel-encrusted crowns and fu manchus…

Angrboda

LOL! You put that image in my head now too. Blossom’s concerned about her crown falling off when she lowers her head. ;p
But anyway, I got so lost in those cows I completely forgot all about the imperial-ness.

Erin

Argh this is something I’ve always wanted to try! I just bought so much tea, though, so this is going to be put on hold once again. sigh

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79

Once upon a time I had a ginseng oolong from Chaplon. They said that it had a licorice-y aftertaste which was what pulled me in. And it did! It was quite nice, actually. But it must not have sold too well, because the last time I visited Chaplon’s website, the same ginseng oolong was now being sold as ginseng fertilizer!!! Underneath it said ‘ginseng oolong’ in smaller font. I looked really hard at the pictures, and I read the description. I am positive that it’s the same one. Fertilizer.

I wish I was making this up, Steepsterites. Srsly.

This one from Nothing But Tea, however, was included in my oolong sampler pack from them, and it looks like I remember the Chaplon one looked. I believe that may actually be the reason that it didn’t swell very well. This tea has the most bizarre looking leaves ever. They don’t even look live leaves. They’re all rolled up and covered in ginseng powder, so that what you actually get are little tiny pellets with a smooth surface. They look like pebbles. I can imagine that this was not entirely pleasing to the conservative danish eye.

Interestingly NBT’s offering is apparently quite popular according to their site…

The aroma is rather difficult to decipher. It’s a sort of mix between cocoa, butter and something like fresh wood. Like if you break a twig off a tree and smell it. It’s not really one note over any of the others but it doesn’t feel like an equal mix of the three either. I don’t know what ginseng is supposed to smell like, but I expect it’s probably ginseng I can smell.

Tastewise, it’s pretty watery. I winged the brewing of it and it definitely tastes like I did something or other wrong. My immediate guess would be not enough leaf combined with not long enough steep. As it cools a bit, flavours start coming out more and it gains an almost pu-erh-y flavour. Dark and earthy. And yes, there it is. The vaguely licorice-y note at the back of the throat on the swallow.

I’ll have to remember to only make half the pot with the half sample I have left, because it definitely tastes like it could have taken a huge benefit from being stronger here and it’s actually not very difficult to imagine what it might have been like if brewed better than this.

Is it better or worse than the fertilizer from Chaplon? I can’t say. It’s been four years since I had that, so I can’t really compare there. But either way if I were to get more or this, I would definitely go for Nothing But Tea’s. Mainly because even though it is the same product I absolutely refuse to brew up and drink a tea that has been sold as fertilizer. (Also Chaplon’s is only sold in 800g batches…) I don’t know, though, whether or not this is something I want to buy. It’s good, but it’s not brilliant. I’ll have to think about whether or not it’s good enough.

Also, unrelated. Mentioned in a PM conversation today how I could really do with some more teapot storage space, so hey, have a couple of pictures! (These should also explain without the need of words why Adagio’s plastic offerings or even the Sorapot don’t appeal to me. I prefer a classic pot.)
Pots in use: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30057436@N04/4387919808/
Pots no longer in use: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30057436@N04/4387920294/

JacquelineM

Love your teapots!!! They’re beautiful!

~lauren.

OMG! Fertilizer? Now, I’ve heard everything! Love your diverse collection of teapots!

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95
drank Pu Ti Cha by TeaSpring
1353 tasting notes

And that was it. The last of the sooper-speshul (and wildly expensive) sanctified Da Hong Pao. It was in the to-be-finished pile because, well, as special as it is, you can’t keep it forever. And also, I need the tin.

I’ve bought a regular (and much less expensive) Da Hong Pao to replace it, so finally finishing this off was such a terrible loss. At least that’s what I tell myself.

It’s a good cup. Every bit as good as it was that first time when I finally made myself open the little satchet and brew up half.

I’m getting that chocolate-y note on this one again. Both in aroma and in flavour. It’s actually reminding me of Adagio’s Black Dragon Pearls a bit, except this one seems to have more character, I think. The pearls were good, but at the same time also kind of ordinary.

There are floral hints too but not so many that you think it must have been contaminated or that they have secretly scented it, and not so few that you have to sit and search for them.

I’ve brewed it a bit differently this time with steep times and leaf amount, (brave after the Nepal Top fiasco, I know) because I didn’t have enough leaf left that it was worth saving if I used the normal amount of leaves.

In spite of that, I’m recognising everything that I wrote in the first review. It seems like what we’ve got here is a consistently good tea. I haven’t yet tried the regular Da Hong Pao, but I have high expectations of it because of this one.

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83

Good morning Steepsterites.

I’ve made this a bit unpleasant today. The tin I keep it in is tall and narrow, so it’s a bit difficult to get the scoop in and get a proper spoonful of leaves. I think I used too much leaf today. I tried to compensate with a shorter than normal steep but it hasn’t really worked. Not short enough.

It has that nutty bitterness that just sits on your tongue and constantly reminds you that, “I’m drinkable, yeah… But I’m not supposed to be here. Oolong, ur doin it rong!”

And that’s really distracting, you know? It makes it impossible to taste around it like you can with some other mistakes. Or maybe it’s just impossible this morning, I don’t know.

Either way, I surrender. Now I want something else.

Anything else.

teaplz

Hahahaha, and oh no! I LOATHE it when something like this happens. When you’re like, Hrm, that looks like too much. Oh wellz. Hurrhurr.

Then 3 minutes later, after it’s done steeping… “It was too much. :(”

Angrboda

Yeah, the ‘steep until bitter and then 30 seconds less’ principle just never works! Doesn’t stop me from trying though. Instead of just transferring the lot over to a larger pot like a normal person would do…

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74
drank Caramel by Luka Te m.m.
1353 tasting notes

Ah dessert!

Once upon a time it had little caramel bits in it too, making it even sweeter and caramel-ier than it is now. Those bits aren’t there anymore, because… I may possibly have accidentally kind of a little bit eaten them, but totally not on purpose. Or something.

Only one more serving of this left too, I think. Problem with that is that every time I think there’s just the one pot left and I make that, there always seem to be leaves enough left for one more pot…

I’m pretty likely to get another caramel tea when this one is out. But I think I’ll try to find one somewhere else and broaden my horizon a bit. It’s not one of those that I must replace urgently.

(“Sporadic presence,” she said… Ha!
You are thinking it, Steepsterites. You know you are.)

Dan

I would also add a bag of caramels.

Cofftea

Haha! I love it.

~lauren.

I am soooo in the mood for something sweet!

zeitfliesst

What company is this? I don’t get anything on google. Hmm…

Angrboda

Zeitfliesst, it’s a local shop, five minutes away from where I live. They do have a webshop but it’s only in danish.

zeitfliesst

I see. Wish I knew Danish lol.

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90

The genmaicha that wasn’t genmaicha! I could have sworn it said ‘genmaicha’ on the label at the bottom of the tin when I got it, but now it says Japanese Emperor Blend. Odd. I can’t understand why I didn’t initially add it as such. It never even occurred to me to go to their site and see if they had a regular genmaicha as well or not. Which, as it turns out, they had. That should all be taken care of now though. This is the genmaicha with matcha powder in it.

This one is also in the to-be-finished pile. I got the tin as a free present from A C Perch’s when I bought their book because I ordered on the day that it was released. I didn’t even know they offered this, so that was an awesome surprise. Anyway, I used it sparingly and eventually forgot about it, which was stupid, because it’s A C Perch’s! It’s not like I can’t get more.

Down to one more serving of it though. I thought that was what I had left before making this pot. I’ll never get through that pile…

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87
drank Irish Breakfast by Adagio Teas
1353 tasting notes

It’s wednesday, my regular day off and I’ve taken the rest of the week off as well. (This, btw, has nothing to do with illness, it was already planned, so no worries there). After the restorative power of yesterday’s Assam, I felt like giving this on the that TeaEqualsBliss sent me.
I didn’t really find any aroma to speak off, but my nose feels a bit like it’s considering acting up a little bit, so I don’t fully trust my sense of smell. I don’t think it’s all there at the moment.

The flavour, however, reveals the cardboard-y note of Assam. I probably wouldn’t really have picked that one out so easily if it hadn’t been for yesterday’s Assam and the revelation that was the cardboard note. (Sometimes I feel like I’m nicking all of Auggy’s words, but they’re such good words!).

It also has a surprising sweetness. Smooth, almost creamy. I’m not the sort of person to put milk in anything, even if it is recommended to me. I always try it plain first, and usually that’s the way I’ll drink it. Milk is an added occasional luxury. Maybe that’s why, to me, it doesn’t take very much for a tea to taste like it already had a drop of milk in it.

Maybe it’s some sort of phantom flavour. Like phantom pains where a patient may still feel the sensations of the amputated limb. I can almost taste the flavour that isn’t there. Or something.

It’s not really something that I would connect with a Ceylon, though, so I think that’s because of how the blend is coming together.

Funny thing is that if I were to break this apart and have the Assam on its own and the Ceylon on its own, then I don’t really think I would be more then fleetingly impressed with either of them. But together it’s a different story and they come together quite well.

I have a good amount of this and it could easily become one of my stable teas, but I have put the Irish Morning Tea from A C Perch’s on my shopping list for when I run out. The European Adagio shop carries the Irish Breakfast, but I thought it would be nice to get some comparison and some
different perspective on it. (Besides A C Perch’s is probably quicker and cheaper for me, what with being a danish company. Especially since I’m shopping there anyway)

Of course I had to add the A C Perch’s blend to the site first, and then I unleashed the full force of OCD on the A C Perch’s teas already in the database. They all have pictures and proper descriptions now, except the one that I couldn’t seem to find. (I hope I didn’t accidentally step on anybody’s toes with this) I even discovered that the genmaicha I had from them wasn’t their genmaicha at all, but a variation. The things you learn…

Anyway, this Irish Breakfast. Quite surprisingly yummy. I don’t know what’s going on with that, I’m supposed to prefer Chinese!

Auggy

Nick away! It makes me feel loved! :) Lena sent me some of this a while back (sadly all gone now) and I really liked it. It’s a good blend, I think – and soooo much better than Republic of Tea’s IB (at least for me) – and is the one that made me feel daring enough to start getting more into stout breakfast blends! (Though I still love my Chinese blacks)

Angrboda

I saw your Scottish one. :) I seem to recall having seen a French and a Russian one around the place a while ago. It would be cool if someone would do a breakfast blend sampler set. I haven’t tried RoT yet, except I think possibly a single bag from swaps and such, so I can’t compare there. Once upon a time I had a few bags of IB from Twinings, but they were bagged, and I can’t really remember what they were like. Also that was before I learned to properly taste what I was drinking.
I hope A C Perch’s can live up to this one.

Auggy

Ooh, I like the breakfast blend sampler set idea. I don’t know why I’ve become such a sucker for breakfast blends but I have. I thought Golden Moon’s Irish Breakfast was particularly yummy. And Samovar’s English Breakfast was good, too. Most breakfast blends I’ve run across though tend to be on the meh side of good. But there are good ones out there (like this IB!) so I hope AC Perch’s will be one of the awesome ones!

Angrboda

I haven’t yet managed to find a truly yummy EB. Shame AC Perch’s doesn’t offer samples. I have to get 100g minimum from them. They have, however, been fairly consistently a good experience for me. GM and Samovar are both out of reach for me, so I can’t try theirs. But hey, maybe I’ll get lucky when the TTB returns to me. ;)

Auggy

Me either, actually, as far as not finding a truly yummy EB. But I will keep looking! (And that’s probably half of the fun!)

Angrboda

True. :) This one made me about ready to start searching properly. I wish I had the opportunity and means to get a sample of a load of different ones and set up an entire sampling array of EBs. I’d have to buy a load of tiny teapots too! What’s not to love?! :D

LENA

This one is a totally decent IB. I have been in a Breakfast tea mode too! Irish, English, 2 different types of China Breakfast…
I’m waiting on my Samovar order to try their Breakfast blend. I have high hopes.

Angrboda

Maybe that’s the newest trend? Breakfast Buffet? I had one, Auggy had one, JacquelineM had one and you’re in the mood for it too. And I’m currently having the genmaicha-that-wasn’t-the-genmaicha, which is almost breakfast-y. :)

What goes in the China Breakfast blend typically?

LENA

I think China Breakfast is just strong Yunnan black teas.

Angrboda

Cool. Yunnans, that’s another category I want to explore. I should make notes of this, because when I’m buying I always seem to end up having my head turned by OOOH Shiny!

Auggy

Lena, I’ve only broken into Samovar’s Breakfast blend once but I keep craving it so I think it’s pretty good! (I’m trying to stretch it out a little though and get rid of some other teas, thus just the one visit with it so far).

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73

Stomach is fine now. Head, not so much. A good strong black is needed, to-be-finished pile be damned. Nothing is working properly inside my skull today. I tried checking my dashboard, and JacquelineM’s post about the (by now) infamous and tres yummy raspberry oolong was on top. After that one though, I suddenly found myself realising that I was just scrolling and forgetting to pay attention.

This has a strong wood-y sort of aroma which promises a kick in the rear and a clearing of the mind. After brewing the aroma turns towards the sweeter and more honey-y, but still as strong, and still definitely the same smell as the dry leaves. Just altered a little bit.

I’m suddenly beginning to understand what Auggy means when she says Assam has a cardboard like flavour. There is a strong unmistakeble cardboard flavour here. It’s not unpleasant, it’s just… odd. This is uncomplicated. It’s an Assam that tastes of Assam and that’s really all there is to it. If I had been more in favour of Indian teas over Chinese, I’d probably have rated this better.

Not sure if it really helped my mental state much though. It might be just placebo.

Really messy post, this. I’ll just stop it here and go away and go back to being a sporadic presence for another few days. I’m sure you won’t mind.

Preparation
4 min, 0 sec
Auggy

Glad you are feeling (somewhat) better! And yay cardboard! I’m finding the clean cardboard taste pretty comforting (not so much the dirty, abused package cardboard).

Robert Godden

I love my Assam, and I agree it’s a great restorative. Hope you feel better soon…

gmathis

I’ve always been a paper junkie (few things tickle my senses more than a fresh pack of paper or an unused spiral notebook) … maybe that’s why I like Assams so much!

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56
drank Melon by Pickwick
1353 tasting notes

I’ve had nothing but water and peppermint tisane to drink since mid-morning saturday. I am absolutely dying for a cup of proper tea now. I was already yesterday, but I was still feeling delicate enough that I didn’t dare have anything with caffeine in it. The only decaf I have was given to me in swaps and they deserve more attention that I would be able to give them while sick. Today I’m down to the monumental headache that always shows up post illness, so I’m having a tentative go at a small cup of tea.

Just in case, though, I’ve chosen a cheap and mediocre one. It wouldn’t feel as much of a waste.

Mediocre or not though, you lot have NO IDEA how good this is right now!!! This could have been the worst quality tea in the world and it would still have been lovely. If this had been the first time I logged this one I would have given it a 100. I don’t care about the semi-synthetic melon or the way that the tea is only barely present underneath. Just having a cup of tea is enough, and any tea will do.

Maybe I can even have some real food today too…

JacquelineM

I hope this is the sign that you are on the road to recovery!

Luthien

Glad you’re feeling up to some tea at last. Feel better!

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drank Peppermint by Thepotten
1353 tasting notes

When I put this in the to be finished pile I didn’t mean for it to be finished off like this, but I read that peppermint can help calm an upset stomach. Also I had a weird instinct about wanting peppermint tisane.

If nothing else it helps with the bad taste after…. yeah, you know.

__Morgana__

Feel better!

Angrboda

Thank you.

fcmonroe

I like the advice, but I hate that you had to have the experience!! Hope you’re feeling better.

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Introvert, crafter, black tea drinker, cat lover, wife, nerd, occasional curmudgeon.

Contact Angrboda by email: iarnvidia@gmail.com

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Bio last updated February 2020

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