Cameron B. select Send Message

My last teabento sample from VariaTEA. Thanks again for the swap! I figured after having a Ceylon, which is less to my taste, I would switch to a tasty Chinese black tea that I was sure to enjoy.

For some reason, I always have a hard time tasting chocolate notes in teas. I see chocolate mentioned often for Golden Monkey and Fujian black teas in general, but I never seem to find it unless I really look for it, and at that point it’s likely just me tasting it because I want to. And this tea has that same quality for me.

What I do get is oodles of malt and dark pumpernickel or rye bread. The mouthfeel is thick and almost chewy, which really sells the bread angle for me. There’s a faint sticky, raisiny sweetness contrasting with a more savory, earthy mineral note and a hint of smoke.

Could there be a more satisfying tea? I would consider Yunnan teas to be my favorites, but these Fujian varieties are great when you want a deeper, meatier tea that’s almost a meal in itself.

Another old swap sample from VariaTEA!

It’s been a while since I’ve had a plain Ceylon tea. A few years ago, I ordered a variety of samples of Assam and Ceylon teas from Capital Tea Ltd. and enjoyed trying the different estates. I may have to do that again soon, once I’ve emptied out my cupboard a little bit more.

This particular Ceylon is from the Amba estate in the Uva province, and tea flowers have been added. It’s quite brisk with medium astringency. It tastes similar to an Assam to me, with pleasant malt, tobacco, and raisin notes. There’s also a nice bready flavor and a touch of honey, and perhaps a bit of citrusy acidity. I’m not getting any floral notes, so I’m not sure which flavors, if any, are coming from the dried tea flowers.

It’s pleasant, but perhaps a bit brisk for my tastes. I’m sure this would take milk very well as a breakfast tea, though that’s not really my style. Not going to rate since I don’t really have a point of reference at the moment…

This is a perfectly pleasant cup.

It is essentially a green version of Harney’s Hot Cinnamon Spice, but with some added orange. I quite like the orange addition, though the cinnamon is still by far the strongest flavor here. I don’t really taste the chili or the clove, which is fine by me. The orange mostly comes in at the end of the sip, adding a little citrus tang. The green tea might as well not exists (which really, is similar to the Harney blend as well). I think I might be getting a little chili tingle on my tongue with continued sips?

Overall the flavor is a bit light, I think I will steep it hotter and perhaps with more leaf in the future when I want a stronger cinnamon flavor. Very comforting and perfect for fall!

To be honest, I find this one quite boring.

It’s simply a plain generic green oolong with peppermint leaf and flavor added. I tend to prefer spearmint to peppermint anyway, so it’s bound to not be my favorite. There are pretty peppercorns and sprinkles as well as butterfly pea flower, but they don’t contribute any flavor here.

Also, it’s a couple of years old so the mint has degraded in flavor a bit, as it is wont to do. It gets a little bit of that wet rag flavor. Meh!

Steeped this one up after Tourbillon didn’t satisfy my desserty craving!

I wasn’t so impressed with this tea at first, but I feel it’s grown on me over time. It has a lovely red fruits flavor that I enjoy in other French teas. I think I taste strawberry most, followed by cherry and then raspberry. All are rich and jammy sort of fruit notes. Then there’s a light buttery cake or cookie flavor that comes out more at the end of the sip and in the aftertaste. At the very end is a light lavender-esque floral hint.

It’s like red fruits +! This doesn’t appear to be on Dammann’s website at the moment, so I’m not sure whether it’s seasonal or they simply don’t make it anymore. If it’s the latter, that’s a pity…

I really wish I had looked at my previous tasting note before ordering this one… The website tricked me!

This is quite a floral tea. But in the description, orange blossom is mentioned only in passing, and it’s not mentioned at all in the flavor list. But I would say orange blossom is definitely the strongest note here. I can taste a bit of apricot, and perhaps some nuts, but I definitely don’t get biscuit or caramel. The apricot does pop out a little more in the aftertaste.

It’s not that I don’t find this enjoyable, it’s just not at all what I had in mind! Ah well, serves me right for not checking to see whether I’d tried it before! :P

I can’t imagine I’ll get through 100g of this, so please feel free to send me a message if you’d like some!

Another sample sipdown.

This is a strange one. I find the tart stonefruit flavor to be rather cacophonous next to the creamy and smooth flavors. They work against each other and the overall result is rather diminished.

Also, there’s something weird and soapy, and I also got the same flavor last time. I think it might be the tartness combined with the cream? It reminds me of rancid coconut unfortunately…

Nope, not for me! Thank goodness for sample sizes. ;)

Sipping down the remainder of my sample packet.

This one never really came together for me. This time, I didn’t really get any caraway, but that could be from age. The base tea is fine but not good, and it’s quite astringent. I don’t really get much cocoa either, just a somewhat light amaretto flavor.

I’m sure this has degraded with age, but I wasn’t really a fan when it was fresh either. There are some teas I like from August, but this doesn’t seem to be one of them.

Leaving the rating as it was since this is now past its prime.

This is one of a few teas that I had the pleasure of picking up at a Lupicia store in Osaka last fall. It was lovely, they had the Christmas displays out and all of the teas available for sniffing. I tried to select only more traditional Japanese teas like sencha, bancha, and houjicha, that I wouldn’t be able to get from the US website.

This one is a kuki-houjicha with added ginger. I’m not the hugest ginger fan, but I do enjoy it as a supporting flavor. Plus it must have smelled good in the sample!

I’m very happy that I chose this one, as I find it to be so delicious and very relaxing. Because it’s roasted stems and not leaves, it has a very smooth and sweet flavor that’s less “leafy” than regular houjicha. And I do enjoy standard houjicha as well, but it’s nice to have a slightly lighter version. The ginger is the perfect amount, it’s obvious but not too in-your-face and it just melds so well with the roasty flavor.

Yummy, sweet, roasty, and gingery! I’m sure this would be very nice as a digestive or upset tummy tea as well. I’ll be sad when I run out, but am happy for the opportunity to enjoy it while it lasts.

A sample from a Sips By box from May of last year.

This has notes that I associate with Assam – briskness, malt, tobacco, and rich raisin. There’s virtually no bitterness and only a touch of astringency, which is a nice improvement. It is quite a bit lighter in flavor than I would expect, which makes it perhaps more suited for afternoon, whereas I would choose Assam for a kick-in-the-pants morning tea.

This also has a rather strong floral note that shows itself in the middle of the sip, and then sort of fades a bit by the end. I’m not a floral fan, and this note comes off a bit perfumey. Unfortunately it quite ruins the flavor for me.

Oh well, you can’t love them all! I am interested in trying more Nepalese teas in the future.

(not rating since I feel I’m rather biased against this one)