523 Tasting Notes

85

I meant to try this tea again with different preparation and BrewTEAlly Sweet’s note reminded me. I took her suggestion for milk and sugar (rock sugar). It’s sooo much better this way. Sorry BrewTEALLy, I almost had it in mind to send you the rest of mine b/c I didn’t think I’d be drinking much of it. :p

BrewTEAlly Sweet

Ha ha no worries:) I’m glad you enjoy it now! I’m glad to help:) I will have to order some when I get a chance :)

JustJames

might have to indulge in this one…. i love creamsicles, and guayasa and i don’t get on. any other recommendations from this vendor?

Shelley_Lorraine

the mountain mint chocolate is pretty good. My note for it might have hyped it up a bit more than it deserves b/c it is a miracle that I like any flavored puerh tea, but its still a good one to try :)

Shelley_Lorraine

oh, but are you in canada? I cant remember where everyone is. I don’t know if they have international shipping. My mother bought these teas from their brick and mortar store. I was surprised to find that they even have a website.

JustJames

yup, i’m up in canada =0)

no worries… often a phone call fixes things, serious vendors make exceptions for international callers usually.

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45

I got this sample with my recent order. I was afraid to try another fig tea after the one that tasted like a stinky shoe, but I did it anyway. Good news is, it doesn’t like a stinky shoe, but I don’t like it. Not because of lack of flavor as some of you note, but because I don’t like the flavor. I guess i just don’t like fig tea. I feel like it could use more spice or more cranberry (for some tartness). It’s a muddy unpleasant flat flavor to me.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 6 min, 0 sec

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75

When I first took a sip of this, I thought I accidentally took the cup of tea that I had brewed for my husband (a hibiscus blend). But, nope. This tea just tastes very much like hibiscus. But fear not hibiscus-haters! It is a very mellow tart-free hibiscus flavor. I suppose it is supposed to be plum, really. The spices are not particularly strong.

Not a bad cup of tea, really, but I don’t know about repurchasing since I prefer not to have a lot of sugary teas in my cupboard. Especially since this tea doesn’t taste sugary, but i can see the sugar pieces in it. If I’m going to have sweets, they had better at least taste like sweets :D

Preparation
2 min, 45 sec
Fjellrev

Thanks for reviewing! I’ve been making DTT mock orders every couple days but keep chickening out since no one has been reviewing the new ones.

Shelley_Lorraine

I always check for reviews before buying, but sometimes I feel brave. . .or impulsive :)

Fjellrev

Sometimes you have to be. :)

Shmiracles

and yo, those sample packs?!?!? they are like the most fun ever! sometimes i just close my eyes and pick hah!

Shelley_Lorraine

I’m not that brave :)

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In previous notes for this tea, I commented on its sweetness and lack of hay flavor. The current batch that I just opened today tastes different. There are definitely hay notes this time and I cannot find that apricot.

I’m not changing my rating, however, b/c I had more than one batch previously that was superb (so this isn’t a case of the way-to-numerous teas that I dislike after the second or third cup, and anyway I don’t dislike the current cup, it’s just more basic-white flavored)

Preparation
3 min, 0 sec
Bonnie I’m glad you like this. I unfortunately can’t drink their tea’s until they list all the ingredients. I’ve told them that people with allergies have to know and they don’t even list everything online. Hope they change their advertising.
Shelley_Lorraine

yeah, that is annoying that they won’t do that. I ordered from them originally because of the donation they send to cancer wellness/research. You’d think the company of a cancer survivor would especially be detailed about ingredient lists.

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75

Another tea from my sampler cube. Smells good out of the package. Brewed up smelling artificial/generic. Tastes better than it smells. I can hardly detect the oolong base. Not a bad cup of tea, but probably not a reorder.

Yes, I included a collection of sentence fragments in this review. What are you going to do about it? ;)

K S

The grammar police have been alerted. Hopefully, it will divert attention from others (read me) ;)

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65
drank Paris by Harney & Sons
523 tasting notes

I got one of the sampler cubes full of tea sachets from H&S. There are a few in there that I definitely won’t try and have given them away already.

This one, I was afraid to try, not wanting to crash another trendy-tea party. But, I did it anyway. And, as usual, this über-popular blend does not suit me. I dunno, maybe it’s the bergamot. If there wasn’t bergamot in it, I’d say it was the caramel, but as it is, the caramel isn’t causing any trouble as it often does for me.

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75

I used the last of my sample from staphanie with a greater leaf-to-water ratio. I had just under two teaspoons and I used exactly 8oz of water. I remembered to rinse first this time and then i steeped the leaves for 4 1/2 minutes, trying to bring out some of those dark and chocolate notes everyone else gets.

But bleh. It taste like rotten green beans this time. Strange though that I get very little aroma from this puerh.

Apparently, I was not ready for the “full power of the dark side” according to the description :p

Preparation
4 min, 30 sec
Stephanie

LOL to each her own, I guess :)

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100

For a while, I was nearly out of all my favorite teas and this was all I had to keep me company for a month or so. I still have some left, believe it or not :D After much experimenting, I’ve decided that it is best brewed for 2min30 seconds. I’ve over steeped it a number of times when I left the room or didn’t hear my timer beep. It isn’t bad for a long steep. The mint compensates for the bitterness that would accompany a straight black tea, but I find that the flavors are in the best balance at a shorter brew time.

Veronica

I debated between this and the Cherokee Mint for the longest time when I placed my last order. I ended up choosing Cherokee since I like smokey teas, but I’m sure I’ll pick this one up sooner or later.

Shelley_Lorraine

I chose this one because I don’t like smokey teas ;) Although I know that avoiding smokey teas from Whispering pines is like not ordering steak at a steak house but hey, I suppose I should admit that I usually do that too! haha :)

Terri HarpLady

Oh good…I’m not the only person that has an orange select sign following me around! ;)

Kaylee

I find them kind of annoyingly distracting…

Shelley_Lorraine

gee, I was feeling all high and mighty with that orange badge. Like a badge of honor! :D

Kaylee

Hehe. Maybe it depends on which side of the badge one is on :)

Whispering Pines Tea Company

:) Thanks for spending so much time finding the ideal for this one! I’ll try it out and update the site for brewing parameters! How much leaf are you using per 8oz?

P.S. – I agree, the select badges are suuuuper distracting. Eek!

Shelley_Lorraine

It’s ideal for me, but I notice that I tend to brew a lot of teas, especially black teas, for less time than most. I use a “perfect teaspoon” ~1.5 reg. measuring teaspoons for 8oz.

Shelley_Lorraine

well alright, maybe my little orange buddy is starting to get out of control. It was “cute” when I saw it once or twice in my window. But now they are multiplying! yikes. I understand it’s supposed to be “distracting” for advertising, but maybe they can tone it down just a bit.

Whispering Pines Tea Company

I tasted it both ways and much prefer the 2.5 minute steep as well!

Also, not sure if you know this, but 1.5tsp is also 1/2tbsp, so when my teas call for 1/2tbsp, that scoop is perfect! :)

Yay, badges are gone! :D hehe

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85

As i said the last time I logged this, I get very little floral from this oolong. It’s buttery and creamy, much like the Dong Ding that I drank from Teavivre this morning. I might like this oolong slightly better, but I can’t say exactly why.

Preparation
3 min, 0 sec

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85

This is another tea from my swap with stephanie

I’ve been in a green oolong mood these days and I have become particular about what I like and don’t like. This oolong is heavy on the creamy texture side, but lacking in complexity of flavor. It was a pleasure to drink nonetheless.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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Profile

Bio

Name: Shelley Lorraine Limegrover
Location: Livingston, MT

Hobbies: Learning, reading books, math, physics (have a degree in it), literature (have a degree in it too), anthropology, traveling, piano, and drinking TEA, of course (^o^)

Favorite teas: Kukicha, Green teas in general, aged oolongs, charcoal roasted oolong, taiwanese oolongs, Assam . . .

Don’t like: Genmaicha, Earl Grey, Darjeelings, ginger, coconut, smokey teas (even mild ones), nut flavors, overwhelmingly strong floral flavor (esp. Jasmine), most della derra and adagio teas. . .

My Rating System

100 My happiness absolutely depends on it

95 Will definitely repurchase

85: Might repurchase (teas that depend on my mood)

75 Won’t repurchase (but I would drink it again if offered).

65: meh

45: I reluctantly finished a cup.

15: Couldn’t finish a cup.

I simplified my ratings to single numbers rather than ranges because I can’t precisely compare so many teas with a system more detailed than this.

An unrated tea is most often one that I recognize as having significant notable quality, but that does not suit me personally. Sometimes, I leave teas unrated for other reasons, such as I am undecided or I brewed it wrong, etc.

Note: Boiling temp. barely reaches 200 where I am (and a few times it sticks at 195, I assume due to unexplainable shifts in altitude or the position of the moon. . .aliens?. . .).

Location

Colorado

Website

https://shelleyintherain.word...

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