Bio
Are you a company or tea blender on sites like Adagio that would you like your tea reviewed? If so, please e-mail me @ SMSchneider@live.com.
What I most enjoy from obtaining samples from companies to review is that it helps me to better learn to drink and review teas from a more objective perspective, meaning more of the “This tea is…” point of view rather than the “I like/don’t like” this tea. I feel objectivism in tea reviews is EXTREMELY important because no two tea drinkers tastes are exactly the same. I’ve also been extremely surprised by several teas. I love recieving a sample I think I will be only writing an objective review on, only to completely fall in love with it upon tasting it.
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Are you interested in redoing or starting your own tea related website or adding Search Engine Optimization? If so, please contact me at my work e-mail address: owcprojectmanager@gmail.com
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Tea tastes:
I will ALWAYS pick loose leaf over tea bags. I only drink bagged tea if that’s my only choice or I find a flavor that I can’t find a loose leaf version for. When I do drink bagged; however, I always weigh my bag and am constantly curious as to the weight/flavor ratio- sometimes I am quite surprised by the flavor punch of light bags.
I have a preference for organic and fair trade teas (preferably both), but would never pass up an amzing tea just because it isn’t organic and/or fair trade.
I love savory teas.
I’m currently searching for a chai flavored soy powder or a soy based chai mix (either already mixed or a recipe).
I hardly EVER sweeten my teas. I feel that sweeteners (unless flavored like tea honeys, brown sugar, ice cream topping syrups, flavored coffee syrups, etc) do not add anything to the flavor profile of tea- in fact, I’ve found that they dumb down the flavors.
I NEVER serve my tea over regular iced cubes- I always make tea cubes.
I LOVE cooking w/ tea and making smoothTEAS.
I LOVE tea blending.
I rarely drink herbal teas unless they are mixed with true teas. My favorite herbals to mix with true teas are: spearmint, peppermint, lemongrass, rose hips, and gingeroot.
I can’t stand anything w/ fennel or anise. Hot black teas (except orange pekoe bagged tea that you get when you go out to eat and chai teas) tend to upset my stomach.
I drink matcha daily and love flavoring it. I’m also in a constant search of preflavored matchas.
I’m constantly searching for information on how to prepare tea authentically according to its country of origin.
My Tasting Notes Ratings (edited 8/8/10)
1: I can’t even stand the raw leaf enough to make this (I’ve never owned a tea w/ this rating, but I’ve smelled some before buying resulting in me NOT buying them that were that bad)
2: I steeped this tea but couldn’t stand the aroma enough to get it past my nose
3: I immediately gagged at the 1st sip and spit it out.
4: I manageed to get the 1st sip down, but I tossed the rest.
5: I drank the 1st cup but I can’t bring myself to resteep
6: Made it thru the entire set of infusions but I can’t bring myself to tinker w/ the parameters and won’t be making it again.
7-10: Does not taste anything like the ingredients or name suggests (i.e. Adagio’s Sour apple)
11-25: I can taste some of the ingredients, but the flavor is severely lacking
25-49: Teas that I would not consider bad in their flavor profile, but certainly below average
50: Average.
51-69: Teas above averge, but I wouldn’t go as far as calling them “good”.
70-75: Very good, but still room for improvement
76-85: Above average flavor profile
86-90: REALLY good flavors
91-99: Almost PERFECTLY achieves the goal of the ingredients and name of the tea.
100: Abosolutely perfect teas!
Other Interests: GOD! and all things pertaining to Him and His children, my dog Madison, travelling, and coffee.
Favorite Music: ANYTHING Christian. I don’t normally listen to secular music, but I do love jazz and swing.
Favorite Movies: Romantic comedies mostly. My Sister’s Keeper, P.S. I Love You, Fireproof, National Treasure Trilogy (I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE 3rd ONE TO COME OUT!), Night at the Museum 1 & 2, Sister Act 1 & 2, Yes Man, Bruce & Evan Almighty, rarely watch animated movies but LOVE anything 3D.
Favorite Books: THE BIBLE!!! & My Sister’s Keeper
Favorite Quotes: “A sad soul can kill you far quicker than a germ”- John Stienbeck "
Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing”- Aristotle
“You should always carry burdens, but they should never be your own”- me
“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” ~ Winston Churchill
“Mom was right, ‘because I say so’ is enough- at least when it comes to God.”- me
Favorite Foods: fried calamari, lemon chicken, anything w/ buffalo sauce.
Favorite Places: WA state, Switzerland, Orlando
Places I Want to Visit: Hawaii, Africa
Anything Else: I was born with a birth defect called Spina Bifida which is the failure of the spinal column to close en utero. Because of this I am a parapelegic and use a manual wheelchair.
Location
Oshkosh, WI
Website
http://www.adagio.com/signatu...
That is too bad to hear… I’ve never been a big fan of the Tazo Green Tips. I prefer the “Zen” but even that comes out bitter if the water is too hot :-/
Easter musical season … EXHAUSTING! Our church did (and is doing again this year) a Passion Play or musical and it was like a week of Marine boot camp! I’ve lost my chops—-used to be a decent alto, now I waver somewhere between tenor and a hurt hound dog.
gmathis, I’m a 1st soprano and I think I left my voice some place in the ceiling of St. Mark’s Lutheran church. My voice is fine actually, I just feel spacey for some reason.
Hmm… I’ve steeped this at home using the full leaf bagged version and it wasn’t bitter. Maybe 3 minutes is too long for it, I think I did about a minute and a half.
what was your water temp during boiling?
Morgana and Networld, as I said in the post I had this @ Starbucks, not at home, so I have no idea what the temp was. Networld, because it was at SBUX, what I do know is it wasn’t boiling (I don’t think they use boiling water for even their blacks)… but if it was, it would have been 212 degrees F. I have little experience w/ Chinese greens so I’m not sure if some of them require boiling water like some Japanese greens or not… since I don’t, I would have erred on the side of caution and not used boiling water anyway. I wish I had known the weight of the bags before steeping.
Ahh- missed the SB part- yea I"m 90% sure the water was way too hot- Chinese greens are still only 175 I think…certainty not near boiling! Wouldn’t it be neat if a place like SB eventually offered loose leaf teas.
Networld- it was full leaf in sachet (I think if done correctly and enjoyed it would have reinfused extremely well) so that’s just as good. When the quality is this good I just think of the sachet as the steeping vessel:)
Interesting! I’m gonna have to go check em out now- thanks for the heads up!