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My poor tongue has suffered more burns than it cares to discuss, so I’m with you on the hot issue. [And am also impatient, so usually end up burning it anyway and THEN needing to wait for it to cool.]

I’ve never been to Japan, but it’s on my list. Those peaches sound pretty phenomenal. And as a side note, NERDS ROCK. Have you seen this? [I’m assuming that’s where the Hyrule came from? It gets slightly graphic towards the end, but it’s College Humor and to be expected.] http://is.gd/4w7gf

One last thing – I’ve learned through limited experience that a good oolong should benefit from multiple steepings. The best one I’ve had sat through three rather comfortably [with the fourth starting to fade] and the flavors evolving through the cups. You might want to give this one a chance on a second if you haven’t already.

I’m so with you on the awesomeness of Japanese peaches. So wonderful.

You might also want to check out Lupicia’s flavored teas. Their flavoring has a more Japanese taste so if you like Japanese fruit candies and whatnot, you’d probably enjoy their stuff. Their Momo Black is really good and I’ve heard good things about their Momo Oolong, too. I’ve been really impressed with how nicely their flavored teas are done.

I’m really surprised anyone actually read that heap of rantiness.

@takgoti- haha I do feel like that when I’m playing zelda. You have to run around doing random crap so you can, you know, save the world and everything…but it’s a wonder that Hyrule is still around by the time you get to it 10 or 20 hours later. >__<;;;

I usually resteep oolongs, since they do develop in really interesting ways…but this one was pretty hopeless. I did give it a resteep, but it was so weak and lifeless that I felt kind of bad making them try again. The quality just isn’t there.

@Auggy- It’s funny you should mention Lupicia, I actually brought some back with me from Japan to share with my mom and sister. I wasn’t expecting anything special, but I quite like it. I feel like they use flavorings to compliment better tea, rather than cover up the flaws in a lower quality leaf. I’m really glad they have an American site!

Lately, though, I’m more interested in looking for tea that has complex flavors on its own. That’s part of the reason I joined steepster so I can figure out where I want to put my money. o__o

Um…have you SEEN my posts? I tend to take verboseness to the next level. The way I see it is, I like to read. And if I like what you’re saying I’ll keep reading.

Ha! I read takgoti’s posts beginning to end. Yours was a mini-review compared to hers! :)

…And thus beginneth my series of one word tasting notes.

[@Auggy Joking aside, I do appreciate you taking the time to read what I say. It may not be immediately apparent, but I do put some effort into them. I’m not just a pretty typeface, you know.]

@takgoti: I love your rambles. It sort of creates the setting for the tea review and gives the experience of the tea, not just the taste.

@Hyrulehippie: sorry for hijacking your comments. But what I said above is why I like your review on this one. It’s not just “tea is good, tastes like peaches” but more the experience.

Plus, anything that brings to mind Japan is a good thing!

Oh yeah. Whoops. Totally shanghai’d this one. [But I like your notes. Keep them coming!]

Having lots of comments makes me look important, please use them for whatever you like. _

Actually, this is what I was hoping steepster would be like. I’m so relieved that I don’t have to somehow disguise my personality lest I be chased off…Well, unless this is an attempt at chasing me off, in which case a change in tactics might be a good idea.

@Auggy: I completely forgot to ask you(or maybe I just want lots of comments to make me look like the cool kid I never was sob). What were you up to in Japan? Do you know the language?

After I graduated HS, I was a Rotary exchange student in Sendai, Japan for the ‘96/’97 school year (I’m so old). I’ve been back a couple of times since then – 10 days in ‘00 in Tokyo as part of a sister-college thing and a week in ’04 back in Sendai to show my hubby around my ’hometown’. The ’04 trip is really the only one I have well documented electronically, so if you are bored… pictures are here http://danzimmermann.com/album/thumbnails.php?album=4 and trip journal is here http://amanda.danzimmermann.com/travels/jpn2004.htm

I know the language but am super-rusty – not such a useful second language in Texas. I tend to talk to my cats in Japanese but they don’t understand me… and I teach hubby random words (トウモロコシ was a running theme of our ’04 trip). And since I learned Japanese as a HS student, I pretty much still sound like one. Oh well.

Anyway, I saw that you are majoring in Japanese, yes? Way cool. Your Japanese is probably much better than mine! But if you ever want to talk about Japan, I’d love to. I’m getting old so I feel nostalgic. :) I’d really be interested in hearing about what texts, etc you use for your classes. Japanese language and culture continues to fascinate me. You can email me @ amanda@danzimmermann.com

Wow, せんぱい, that’s so cool! I’ll definitely take a look at your album when I get the chance.

It’s definitely frustrating not to have people to practice with…but kitties are good listeners, at least. Sometimes I narrate my life in Japanese, which is significantly crazier. >__< The only time I think sounding like a high school student would be a problem is during a job interview. Any other time, though, I think it’s much more authentic than the other foreigners who sound like anime characters. u_u

Expect an email from me soon. o thanks so much.

Well it’s not unusual for Assams to have a malty sort of taste to them.

Yeah, I know about maltiness, but I really only have a faint idea of what malty is supposed to taste like. I’ve had tea before that’s described as “malty”, but I’m unsophisticated and can’t pick out that specific quality. I really have to stop myself from saying things like “oh, you know, it’s like that one thing in the other thing i drank!”. Yay for my vocabulary!

Hee. That’s how I am with a lot of tea. The more I drink things and the more I’m on here, the more I can start to pick things out. Just so you have a base of comparison, if you’ve ever had Whoppers, those are malted. It’s also a flavoring used in milk shakes sometimes. I find it kiiind of similar to caramel, but saltier? And slightly flatter as opposed to rich.

@takgoti: That description really helped me figure out what the heck malty tastes like. I totally get the salty caramel but flatter. Thanks!

That helps so much. I think i may have had whoppers once, and had a vague idea of what malty tastes like….but saltier, flatter caramel makes it so much easier!

Even though I’ve been “into” tea for at least a year or two (and a lifelong tea drinker) I never really had a chance to be able to discuss things like this. Having input from many people is really helpful for me.

Haha, I do what I can.

@Hyrulehippie That is exactly why I love steepster. The amount of mileage that I’ve gotten out of it in terms of knowledge and trying things I never even knew existed previously is already staggering.

I find that sometimes there’s nothing wrong with a tea but it just doesn’t suit me. Sounds like you might be the same. :)

I think you’re right. I’ve definitely felt that way more than once. I do feel guilty, though, since I know I’m not being fair ^__~. I definitely get too emotionally involved with tea.

I say “definitely” entirely too often.