1242 Tasting Notes
Sipdown! Checking this off for “June 2022 – A tea from a place you’d like to visit.” This is true for both France (never been) and Punjab, which influenced this tea. I’ve travelled to India in the past (Jaipur, Delhi, Agra, Varanasi) I’d love to go back.
I’d also love to order more of this mango almond cookie tea (it fails as an authentic lassi) at some point – unless I find an even better mango tea. I’ve been savouring it, but when a point is reached where there’s only 1-2 servings left it’s nice to open up the cupboard space.
Until next time, Mango <3
Flavors: Almond, Astringent, Cookie, Fruity, Malt, Mango, Sweet, Tangy
Preparation
Another tea that I finished off in record time. My pouch sipdown was actually on Easter Sunday (as a fridge cold brew) — so memory is hazy now. I remember it being super refreshing, with lovely red and blue (tart and sweet) berry notes. It was festive and aesthetically pleasing.
Flavors: Berries, Blueberry, Citrusy, Cranberry, Lemon, Sweet, Tart
Preparation
I drank this up too quickly and desperately to get a good read on it; its grassy, umami base and pineapple flavouring is so up my alley that I practically inhaled it. It was a little finicky but I managed to get some pretty delicious steeps (and second steeps) out of it. It will be missed.
Flavors: Floral, Fruity, Grassy, Marine, Pineapple, Smooth, Sweet, Tropical Fruit, Umami
Preparation
I love, love, love this tea. My “morning” (morning = when I wake up, which is not usually [technically] morning) matcha is pineapple juice + matcha but I find myself wanting pineapple & that japanese green tea taste later in the day so that’s why I crafted this tea. I wanted something that I could drink later in the day that wouldn’t keep me quite as alert as matcha.
It’s so delicious and refreshing! I hope you play with Japanese Sencha again in the future; it’s rare and unique to find a flavoured blend that incorporates this kind of Japanese green tea.
I’ve never mixed pineapple juice with matcha and I need to remidify that asap :)
You should definitely try Matcha with pineapple juice. It’s so good! Like I said, that’s my first thing in the morning drink. Helps me shake the sleepy plus I wake up with congestion every day, all year round (thank you, whacked out allergies) and the pineapple juice helps cut through that. So, on the rare days when I’m out of pineapple juice – it’s a sad day and I need to go to the grocery to remedy that. I probably will work more with Japanese Sencha because I really liked the flavor it brought to this drink. I did use some in this month’s featured reblend too (that’s the reason I bought the Japanese Sencha to begin with) but since I had plenty left over, I decided to make this pineapple sencha. But since it worked out great, I may have to try some other flavors with it. :)
Anne – you have bad allergies all the time AND YET can craft all of these flavors??? That is amazing.
@tea-sipper – thank you. I have to take a daily allergy tablet to keep them under control. And I get my congestion every day – I wake up congested every morning. Which is why I must turn to the pineapple juice (bromelain is magical).
I second what tea-sipper wrote :)
I’m currently reading Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan and I came across a tea competition scene that caused me so much tea anxiety. Here’s a snippet from it.
“As I waited for the water to boil, I glanced around again – only now realizing those who chose pu’er all used clay teapots, some tossing out the first steep. Struck by sudden doubt, I discarded my first choice, deciding to stick with what I knew best – my mother’s favourite Longjing, the Dragon-Well tea….
I poured the tea into a porcelain cup, a murky brown soup. My gut twisted as I lifted the lid to inspect the dregs. Careless. I cursed myself. In my haste, I had placed the Longjing into the same pot as the pu’er."
I died a little inside while reading that, and then realized I was drinking this tea – a blend of black and green jasmine. Ugh (I like this tea).
Flavors: Astringent, Bergamot, Drying, Floral, Fruity, Jasmine, Lychee, Malt, Passion Fruit, Tropical Fruit
Preparation
I think I’d flub a tea competition, too. :) Puerh and Longjing would be an odd blending choice.
Love it!
Do you recommend the book?
I’m wondering about the book too!
I enjoyed it but didn’t love it. I had some issues with pacing (too fast/convenient) and YA tropes that I don’t particularly love (ex – love triangle is one of the main “conflicts”). The story feels lush though – and I did enjoy the tea blurb. If you’re craving a dreamy xianxia/mythology-inspired romantic debut and don’t mind the YA feel it may do the trick! The library may be the way to go though.
It’s quite highly rated on GoodReads so I might give it a shot when available at the library. And I get through the 5 other books I am reading lol.
Hard to say no to such a beautiful cover too. The Goodreads reviews summarize the pros and cons well, for the most part. Much better than me, anyways! :)
I’ve been reading a lot of stuff that runs dark and dense lately; Daughter of the Moon Goddess is a pleasant contrast to my melancholic reads.
Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge, April 2022: A pu’erh tea
Just like a chocolate orange highlighted with something fresh (the lavender is almost minty). I didn’t spend a lot of time contemplating this tea when I drank it, and I always took it with some kind of milk – but I really enjoyed it overall. It was super cozy and the puerh isn’t too funky (flavoured puerh blends sometimes scare me).
I’d possibly reorder.
Steep Count: 2
Flavors: Chocolate, Cocoa, Earthy, Floral, Herbaceous, Lavender, Orange, Smooth
Preparation
After some midnight spring reorganizing, this resurfaced from the depth of the tea void. It’s circa Balkans/London 2015 Summer Trip but it’s still Power. It’s a successful marriage of Rose and Keemun; the brisk floral bouquet carries a small sweet-toothed passenger called “Rose Turkish Delight” that I’m particularly partial to. I’m in no rush to get there, but I’ll miss this one when it’s gone.
Steep Count: 2
Flavors: Bittersweet, Dark Chocolate, Floral, Malt, Powdered Sugar, Rose, Smoke
Preparation
I love my creamy-sweet citrus “sunbeam through clouds”. I have in my possession at least a couple of pouches of this but opted to steep it up as a cold brew yesterday so I could drink it today, post Beach House concert (I’ve missed live concerts so much). Lots of good fuzzy reverb and temperamental skies today (“no matter what outfit you’ve picked out for the weather you’ve picked wrong”).
Flavors: Citrus, Cream, Cucumber, Custard, Floral, Hay, Lemon, Smooth, Soft, Sweet
Preparation
Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge, April 2022: A tea paired with the weather
This tea feels like a close relative to “Walking on Sunshine” by 52Teas – although it’s more citrus bloom that citrus fruit, it carries those same bright, clean sunny vibes that are perfect for a heralding in a positive change in weather. It’s not quite an exact match for today’s weather though (I need to find a gusty, sea breeze tea).
I cold steeped mine over night and while it still contains notes of orange blossom and almond, the crisp honey is so dominant. While sipping the last of it, I think of (and crave) some of Humblebee Meadery’s fun and surprisingly light flavours, like Green Tea & Lime, or Saffron & Orange (http://www.humblebeemead.com/)
Flavors: Almond, Cucumber, Floral, Honey, Honeysuckle, Orange Blossom, Roasted Barley, Sweet
Preparation
The wind has been crazy here, and I too have found myself wondering, “What sort of tea evokes 40MPH winds?”
Yeah, capturing the impression of wind is tricky! So many variables like speed, direction, temp, and other seasonal conditions. It was moderately gusty and a bit chilly here, but smells like pollen, coniferous needles, blossoms, fresh cut grass, and marine air. An iced tieguanyin/green oolong, or matcha might work for me, or even a puerh. :)
There aren’t enough fun tea blends named after windy conditions.
Hmm, perhaps I’ll go with a Silver Needle for those “polleny” aromas that are driving my coworkers crazy with hayfever…
Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge, April 2022: A tea that includes a color in its name
Of course I fall in love with the tea whilst sipping on my last cup. Ugh.
So, this tea – it totally deserves its name. It tastes red like rust, like wine, like cherries. It’s so earthy – with notes of leather, wood, tobacco, cooking herbs, and smoke. Its bold, brisk profile is a nice contrast from the floral/fruit-inclined teas I normally favour. As it cools, it becomes subtly creamy and spicy. It reminds me a little of a sheng puerh.
Flavors: Allspice, Bittersweet, Cherry, Cherry Wood, Cinnamon, Cloves, Cocoa, Creamy, Drying, Earth, Floral, Herbs, Honey, Leather, Malt, Nutmeg, Pepper, Raisins, Red Wine, Rosemary, Sawdust, Smoke, Spices, Tannic, Thyme, Tobacco, Wood
Preparation
Oh it’s so amusing when I love the last cup of a tea the best and then want to stock up on it again. (sarcasm).
I usually have better luck; the dregs at the bottom of the pouch often make me question if I actually liked that tea after all :|
CrowKettle, have you had Ancient Spirit from WP? Since Brendan likens this as ‘Ancient Spirit’s little brother’, I wonder how you (or anybody else!) think it compares.
If I had I don’t have any memory or recording of it! I read that write-up too as I polished it off and it made me curious; I wish I’d more so I could send it out to all of you for “testing”, but it was only a sample to begin with. Did “Ancient Spirit” feel like it lived for woodwork class too? I don’t think I’ve had a tea this woody in a long time!
