259 Tasting Notes

97
drank Rosy Earl Grey by Teas Etc
259 tasting notes

I was fortunate enough to get a sample of this delightful tea from the magnificent RABS (thank you so much!). It was labelled an “8” out of a possible “8” in the Geek package and I’ve been holding off on trying the two remaining 8 teas for a very rainy day—or for one of those dark nights of the soul.

Today I decided to indulge myself and opened the delightful package. I love this tea. It’s not a simple rose tea nor is it a simple Earl Grey. It manages to surpass Earl Greyness by an abundant bergamot taste and the rose makes for a delightful adjunct—both visually and, more importantly, in terms of taste.

I highly recommend this and must order a full package. Great job, Teas, Etc. I’ve never had another tea like this so far and, in a world where copy-cat teas seem to be the rule, I really like this original.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 45 sec
Rabs

I’m so very pleased that you enjoyed this! I have 3 teas left to try from the Shakespeare box, but am also waiting for a time to really focus on them. I’m hoping that next week will be the perfect time — I truly hope!

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95

What an utterly delicious green tea. It’s brilliant green leaves have a fresh and vegetal aroma. The brewed tea (2 mins) is sensational: one of the best—if not the best—green I have had. It does have a very buttery vegetable taste with both elements of natural sweetness and a tinge of a bitterness that is not at all unpleasant.

This is like a really good liquid salad!

Preparation
2 min, 0 sec
Stephanie

I love that—“…like a really good liquid salad!” lol! :)

Shinobi_cha

You might want to also put your entry here:
http://steepster.com/teas/maeda-en/12617-shin-cha-select-2010-edition

It appears there is a duplication on this tea, as 5 other people have already rated it, but in this entry, you are the first. :)

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77
drank Beer Tea by Man Teas
259 tasting notes

There certainly is a hint of beer flavor here. Basically I would call it a decent, strong black tea with a certain creaminess and a bit of maltiness. But I’ve had maltier blacks and creamier blacks and yeastier blacks. I don’t regret the purchase, however, but it just did not rock my socks off (on this barefoot day).

It’s a better than average black tea but not an astounding one.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 15 sec

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95
drank Rum Raisin by Lupicia
259 tasting notes

This is a really delicious tea and the “rum raisin” comes through in a nice strong yet sweet brew. I believe this tea is very close to Bread Pudding from The NecessiTeas and will try to figure out some direct comparisons. Indeed, the teas might be identical.

I love these flavored blacks that go strong on the flavor and don’t wimp out. This flavor is one that I am predisposed to like a lot (have you ever had a really great rum raisin ice cream??) and Lupicia brings it!

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
LiberTEAS

Yay! This note makes me happy… because I really love the bread pudding tea from NecessiTeas, but based on my poor experience with them, I’d rather not order from them again. It encourages me to find something that may be similar! And from a company I … need to place an order with anyways…

Doulton

LiberTeas, I would be very interested to hear the response from your palate. I cannot guarantee that the teas are identical but the similarities are so very strong. I’ll be looking for your review with eager anticipation.

Lupicia has quite speedy delivery service and I’ve ordered from them twice. I think that they sell only in 50g units which are a good sampling point but not so great if you want to stock a pound of a tea!

Their tins are pretty but I prefer the “S bags” which are about $2.00 cheaper than the same amount of tea in a tin.
LiberTEAS

I will no doubt cave in and order from them soon. I will definitely be sure to add this one to my list when I do so. There are a couple of teas I want to try from them as well… plus, I need to replenish my Earl Grey.

Meghann M

Do the bags from Lupicia reseal? Always been curious about that. Not that I don’t have my own containers.

LiberTEAS

Meghann – no. I just put the tea in one of my tins. :)

Doulton

I either use my own containers OR use a paper clip—two large paper clips on either side of the bag work well especially if I plan to consume the tea fairly quickly.

__Morgana__

Cool, great find. Wish there was a reasonable facsimile of Coco La Ven.

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65

This tea is acceptable. The Raspberry overwhelms the much more subtle melon flavor, alas. And the freeze-dried raspberries taste a little bit more like Smart-T’s than fruit.

Overall, this inexpensive tea might be worth a try. I don’t think I will reorder it because I’ve found a much nicer melon tea that I prefer (that would be you, Golden Moon) and the raspberry flavor is all over the place.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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24
drank Lapsang Souchong by The Tea Smith
259 tasting notes

Today I rolled a “1” in the fabulous Geek Pride game created so wonderfully by RABS. Right now I have only two packets left and both are “8’s”. I was, of course, thrilled to see a Lapsang Souchong because that’s my personal favorite default tea. But because it had a label of “1” I thought that there might be a flaw.

Lapsang Souchong does not always work. It ALMOST always works but not always. I don’t know, for example, what that stuff is that Tea Farm sells under the name. This is better, but I gave Tea Farm a rating of “3” out of “100”. I wanted to give it a “0” but the furthest to the left I could go was a 3. I digress.

This is a better Lapsang Souchong, but I would call it only marginally better than Tea Farm. This one does have some taste but I kept drinking it and hoping to get something more. I felt a bit like a Marlboro smoker who was suddenly trying the lightest cigarette out there—-(not having been in the situation, my metaphor may not work). Sometimes you see smokers frantically sucking on their cigarettes as if they are trying to pull in even more tobacco. Well, I was slurping at this tea trying to find more flavor, more smoke, more something. It’s got enough taste to remind me that I love a good Lapsang Souchong but not enough taste to provide any satisfaction.

I felt glad to sample this tea because I am collecting Lapsang Souchong experiences and it’s good to know the gamut.

Thank you, Rabs for giving me a new one to try!

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
Rabs

I’m so glad to get your opinion on this one! This is from the shop where I had such negative customer service experiences, so I was concerned that those associations were tainting my experience of this tea. I now feel that my scathing review of this one was based on the tea itself and nothing else.

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96
drank Bohea by Teas Etc
259 tasting notes

I have fallen in love with this tea! Does anyone else recall the mention of “Bohea” in “The Rape of the Lock” by Pope? I first encountered this word back in my university days.

Belinda and her bohea and her billets douxs is duly celebrated by Alexander Pope. I ever more appreciate the luxurious and wealthy life Belinda led when I sample this Bohea which came in a package numbered “6” in the wonderful, generous “Geek Pride” package which RABS so nicely sent to me.

One sniff of the dry leaves and I knew that I would love this tea. One person’s old ashtray is another person’s heady perfume! And so this tea brought me waves of exhilaration. It’s a smoky/sweet adventure treat!

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 15 sec

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73
drank Raspberry Nectar by Tea Forte
259 tasting notes

Thank you so much to AmazonV for this loose-leaf sample. I concur with her review/tasting note except that I think I liked it better. The raspberry tasted a bit more true to me and the color of the brew is a luscious ruby red.

I also agree that this will be better iced. As a hot herbal tea, it really is not bad. Once again I am reminded of how much rooibos can interfere with flavors. No rooibos here, thankfully. This will be a contender for purchase.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 45 sec
AmazonV

i’m glad you enjoyed it :)

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62
drank Vinegar Black by The Tea Farm
259 tasting notes

I didn’t really get along with this tea. I will try it again with less tea and less steeping time. It just tasted more than a little acidulous and acerbic. I may revise my note after a second tasting.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 30 sec
Lori

I have a sample of this from Liber-Teas and I haven’t gotten the courage to try this one….

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99

I rolled an “8” on the die that RABS provided in the wonderful Geek Pride Tea Game Giveaway today. It was so exciting because I had gone two days in a row rolling numbers that were no longer valid. I did, however, congratulate myself on my virtuous failure to cheat.

So I opened the lovely package: http://www.flickr.com/photos/destro/4675967968/

It was the one marked “8” in the upper portion of the photo. And I was enchanged. Georgia Tea Company? Russian Caravan? I briefly thought that this tea might have come from Georgia SSR, but immediately returned to reality. I remember reading the reviews that Rabs had posted of this tea and I have it on a “to purchase” list. So I was absolutely thrilled to have it in hands and water on this afternoon.

The dry aroma is enchanting and robust—very smoky with a bit of tar, just the way I like it. Very smoky which I love. I felt tranported to a Russian troika where the horses are neighing as they approach the Kremlin and a very young Omar Sharif (transplanted to the 19th century) is guiding the reins and we are both wearing traditional Russian hats because it’s a universe in which we are oblivious to animal cruelty and the evils of the Tsar. Maybe we even are the Tsar? Or would that be the Czar?

This is the best Russian Caravan I have had. My typical response to Russian Caravan is that it stops short of its full smoky and flavorful potential. Not in this case! This one is no shrinking violet. As Rabs says in her review, there is a natural sweetness underlying the smoke (a delightful combination). Both the sweetness and the smoke are bold interpreters of the Russian Caravan concept.

Georgia Tea Company and this tea are on the top of my “to be ordered” list.

What a magnificent cup! Thank you, RABS! You are a genius!

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 30 sec

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Profile

Bio

I really love big, bold, brash teas. Smokiness enthralls me. I don’t seem to do subtle.
I don’t do rooibos.

My rating system:
0-30:
Never again in a hundred million years

31-55: This tea probably has some redeeming qualities but I won’t would not seek it out again.

56-70:
Shows some promise but also has a fundamental flaw. I probably owe these a second taste but am unmotivated.

71-80:
Good with at least one strong quality; I probably would not buy it but would drink it cheerfully.

81-90: Worthy contenders; they might be ranked 100 on somebody’s else’s scale. I like them a lot but have not fallen in love. Will probably buy and use.

91-95: These are the true loves, the chosen ones, the ones I dream about and crave. Unless they are in a limited edition—la! how you tease me!—I will always keep in my cupboard.

96-100: I cannot be separated from these teas and would develop a panic attack if I were to run out.
-

“She is too fond of books and it has turned her brain.”

Elderly dowager. Quintessential cat lady.

Tea which must be in stock always:

Black Dragon LS by Upton Teas: My choice every morning.

Florence & Lapsang Souchong by Harney & Sons

a good Gen Maicha

Samovar: Russian Blend, Maiden’s Ecstasy, Ryokucha

Mariage Frères: Confucious, Vivaldi, Eros, Aida, Marco Polo

American Tea Room: Brioche

Leland Teas: Bogart

Life in Teacup:
An Xi Tie Guan Yin Grade II modern green style & also Charcoal Style

Location

In the midst of the middle of the heart of nowhere in particular.

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