1429 Tasting Notes

90
drank Coconut Oolong by SOKO Tea House
1429 tasting notes

I have a hard time telling coconut oolong from different companies apart, but this sample, from OMGsrsly, has a sweetened coconut-cream finish that makes it stand out in my mind.

I did two steeps with the first serving and four plus steeps with the second serving. The flavoring holds up surprisingly well. I might even like the latter steeps better; I’m a sucker for mellow or smooth things.

Right now, I have a giant tin of Zen’s coconut oolong, which is still delicious. However, when I run out, and if I’m in the right area, I might go with this one instead. I just wish Soko did the e-commerce thing.

Flavors: Coconut, Cream, Flowers, Sugar

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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70
drank Lime Gelato by DAVIDsTEA
1429 tasting notes

This was an iced sample cup at the mall.

I think this may be a possible substitute for Della Terra’s Lime Chiffon. It may not be caffeine-free but it’s easier to get a hold of on my end. To think I wrote this one off years ago when I had just discovered David’s Tea!

Flavors: Cream, Lime, Pineapple

Preparation
Iced

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95

I love how the sweetness oozes out of this one like a sugar or honey crystal. This is easily one of my favourite teas in my cupboard right now.

Life is bittersweet awful at the moment but this tea has a kind of “gentle spirit,” as corny as that may sound. I’m getting rather sappy right now, when I should be getting Orwellian. Oh, well. I may not be at my best but this tea is.

Flavors: Honey, Malt

TheTeaFairy

It’s not corny at all, I totally get it…I hope things get better for you soon.

Crowkettle

Thanks! It’s self-inflicted and only school which means it’s temporary. In the meantime it gives me the opportunity to remember why tea, and the little things, are so wonderful. :)

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This is a tea I can really wind down with. It has qualities both from the spa and from Grandma’s house on Thanksgiving.

With a big cup of this in my hand I’m too relaxed to stomach watching Nineteen Eighty-Four right now. Is there a “peaceful” apocalyptic/dystopian film that I can watch for this assignment instead?

Edit: I drastically upped the rating on this tea because I realized that I need it like water and tend to drink pots and pots of it when I do convince myself out of hoarding.

Flavors: Bread, Butter, Cinnamon, Coriander, Orange Zest, Raisins, Vanilla

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 min, 15 sec
Courtney

I’m so excited I got some of this added into my order last minute. I hope you manage your film!

TeaLady441

This is as peaceful as I could come up with for apocalyptic films: http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0156729/ I loved The Road, 28 Days Later and Children of Men, but those are not peaceful…

Crowkettle

Thanks Courtney and Cavo! I’m watching Children of Men later tonight, to see if I want to do my assignment on it instead. 28 Days Later is also an option I’m given, but not The Road, which I want to see anyways.. I can’t believe how many iconic movies I haven’t watched!

yyz

Blade Runner, not exactly peaceful, but not incredibly violent either, at least it’s pretty stylish for its time. City TV used to always play it as the first movie of the new year when I was a child.

Terri HarpLady

This is the 2nd blade runner reference I’ve seen today! I actually looked it up on netflix a few hours ago, thinking that it had been awhile since The last time I watched it. I was hoping to stream it, but it’s not available, although I can get the DVD sent out.

TeaLady441

I recommend reading the Road sometime, when you have a chance! The movie was very beautiful and dark and sad, but the book but the book was almost poetic with it’s starkness. I read Children of Men and found the book was actually darker than the film, almost nightmarish. There’s a few scenes from that that have stuck with me years after! Is your course just on film, or are you comparing things to literature? I went through a post-apocalypic/dystopian phase (still am?) so I’m really curious!

Crowkettle

Oh, gosh! Blade Runner is one of the few films I’ve actually seen, but it’s a favourite. I was actually thinking about it, how I wish it was on the list, before I posted. :)

Crowkettle

It’s “Apocalypse in Film”, offered by the History of Art department, but a good portion of the films that I can look at appear to be based on literature. I’ve always enjoyed apocalypse/dystopia/dying earth too, despite not having read or watched the majority of the staple novels and films. That’s one of the reason why I’m taking this class, and happy to get suggestions!

gmathis

Curious—especially since I work with kids heading to middle school, and this genre is hot with them right now—what do you think makes the dystopian genre so appealing? (I’m an old fud who prefers gentle fiction, happy endings, and mysteries with all the knots tied up at the end :)

OMGsrsly

Me too, gmathis! :) I used to read a lot more of this kind of thing when I was a teenager, but things stick and I get nightmares, so I’ve phased them out. I might have to watch Blade Runner again, though!

TeaLady441

That sounds like an interesting course! I love it!
And I’m not sure why the genre is so popular. I guess it’s better than just vmapire/horror fic? I see dystopian as the dark side of sci-fi, so at least you can learn from it – i.e., this is what not to do.

Also I think teenagers feel powerless in some situations, so they can empathize with some of these repressed characters? I read some of it, but if it’s too much I switch over to fluffy fic immediately.

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I went to open this sample packet, and I must have popped it… all the oolong ended up on the, luckily, clean floor. This takes “hand picked” to a new level.

I did a rinse, until it started to unfurl a little, and then steeped it in 180F for 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

From the smell of the dry leaf and liquor, I can already tell that this 2013 spring harvest is (or was) sweeter than the autumn batch, which I finished off last week. That sweet aroma is like bubblegum or cotton candy.

Has anyone here had dandelion burdock soda, or elderflower? This tea has that kind of sweet floral vibe. Along with the sparkling floral quality, it has a mellow sweet component, like cotton candy, gum, or marshmallow textures. There’s a little salted butter in the aftertaste too.

Soon I’m going to start describing Ferris wheels and merry-go-rounds, so I will end here. This tieguanyin’s first steep is a kind of crazy.. or maybe I’m just crazily projecting my carnival fantasies onto this hot mug of tea, on this miserable rainy day. This tieguanyin has made me doubt my perception of reality.

Flavors: Banana, Butter, Cotton Candy, Dandelion, Floral, Marshmallow

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 30 sec 1 tsp
boychik

Hand picked;-)

gmathis

Yay for clean floors! If I’d tried that, I’d be listing “essence of black cat and lint ball” in the flavor profile.

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This is just the thing to have while reading on the patio and catching the last bit of “warm” sun. That sun after 5pm isn’t so hot.

Thanks, OMGsrsly, for sending me some of this tea. I’m going to stick with my previous judgment of this, and say it reminds me of strawberry kiwi juice with a grassy nip.

Flavors: Grass, Strawberry

Preparation
Iced

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I did a quick rinse and then steeped for 2 minutes and 30 seconds, which yielded crisp floral notes, like honeysuckle, and a grassy profile. The second steep, of 3 minutes, is still very floral but the sweet notes, which were on the periphery of the the first steep, are now more prominent. The finish has a jam-like quality that invokes images of stone fruits and blossoms, like peaches or apricots.

There’s also a smooth feel which makes me think of almond milk but it’s more of an impression.

I’m not always a fan of the tieguanyin varieties from Verdant, which I find demand more of my patience, but this one is lovely on a rushed first impression. I didn’t need to short steep it to coax out qualities that I like, either.

Flavors: Floral, Honeysuckle, Nuts

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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80
drank Coconut Oolong by Zen Tea
1429 tasting notes

Despite not drinking this regularly, I continuously stock up on my Coconut Oolong whenever I get the chance. I’m impulsive with my coconut oolongs.

I recently discovered that I love this as an overnight cold steep , which means I’ve picked up the consumption rates a little bit.

Today the taste reminds me of sour coconut water with greenish floral note. Contrarily, I also get macaroons due to buttery quality of oolong. The oolong character gives the coconut flavouring more versatility then it might normally have.

Preparation
Iced
TeaLady441

Oh, I have to remember to try that too!

Frolic

I love coconut oolongs! I’m currently without, do you have a favorite?

Crowkettle

I remember loving the Coconut pouchong from Golden Moon, but I haven’t had that for a few years. I recently received a Soko sample and it’s delicious too; It has the potential to be a new favourite.

This one from Zen sometimes tastes more like coconut water than the other two, but I like it for the price and the accessibility. I’m not picky about coconut oolongs! XD

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78

I seem to recall I drank this last time I was writing a hopeless paper of misery and procrastination. I’m a creature of habit, unfortunately.

I’ve watched Buffy season 1-6, but never finished season 7. I want to do that. Right. Now. I want to finish the last six books of Wheel of Time. I want to know how A Storm of Ice and Fire ends. I don’t actually know my green teas very well. I have too many regrets and unfulfilled goals to die by paper tonight!

Flavors: Butter, Smoke, Vegetal

Veronica

I hope you survived! :)

Crowkettle

Thanks! It was a close thing when the lawnmower guy decided to start his thing outside my window an hour after my attempted nap, but I somehow managed! :)

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80

Sipdown! Hopefully I’ll see you in the fall, White Wolf.

Fingers crossed that I can invest in some new teas and companies by then so I don’t have to make notes on the same 27 all the time.. I can’t believe that half a year ago I was well over a hundred here. What have I done to myself?

Flavors: Anise, Cedar, Mint, Vanilla

Preparation
Iced
OMGsrsly

27 teas sounds like an amazing dream to me. :) To have such a carefully curated cupboard? Awesome.

Sil

omg i wish i was were you’re at right now..

Crowkettle

I wouldn’t say “carefully curated.” I still have about 15 teas that have overstayed their welcome, and there’s a few I love that I can’t justify buying right now. I want to get back to exploring new teas but those have to go first :(

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Profile

Bio

I started my Steepster loose leaf adventure back in 2012. I can’t say I’m completely new anymore, but I still view oolong as a magical, extraterrestrial creature that unfurls in water.

My favourites are teas like Milk Oolong, Silver Needle,and Japanese Sencha/Gyokuro, or fruity and floral flavoured ones. However, I generally enjoy ALL the teas, including a good old cup of Earl Grey or Breakfast blend.

FAVOURITE INGREDIENTS/NOTES:

DESSERT FLAVOURS
Vanilla, Maple, Caramel, Butterscotch, Cream, Toffee, Nougat, Marzipan, Butter

FRUIT & BERRIES
Citrus Fruits, Passionfruit, Banana, Pineapple, Melons, Blackberry, Raspberry, Currants, Elderberry, Persimmon, Rhubarb..

SPICES
Ginger, Turmeric, Clove-forward chai, Cardamom

AROMATIC & HERBACEOUS NOTES
Sandalwood, Frankincense, Juniper, Eucalyptus, Mints

FLORALS
Lavender, Jasmine, Rose, Lilac, Violet, etc.

VEGGIE/GRAIN NOTES
Spinach, Grass, Hay, Cucumber, Rice, Sweet Potato

Less Preferred Flavours/Ingredients:
Stevia, Apple, Cocoa Nib, Almond, Licorice, Cinnamon-forward blends, Chinese Sencha

Subjective Rating System:
I don’t give a lot of low ratings out, since a) I tend to grab tea I know will appeal to me, and b) I don’t have a lot of strong dislikes.

90-100: Favourites. The Desert Island Teas.
80-89: Loved teas. Possibly staple-worthy.
70-79: Good teas, but I’m less likely to repurchase. Minor quibbles.
60-69: Ok teas. Likely a few preference and/or quality issues.
50-59: Cup of meh. Will do in a pinch.
11-49: Varying levels of undrinkable tea.
1-10: Nightmare tea from the chaos realms. This tea is the embodiment of the primordial swamp, an unholy abomination. It’s very gross and I’m almost positive it doesn’t exist.

Location

BC, Canada

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