1908 Tasting Notes

80
drank Spicier Chai by 52teas
1908 tasting notes

This chai is ‘spicier’ but it’s not really spicy. There’s a touch of heat from the red pepper and the ginger but its well-balanced with the rest of the tea. It has a good dose of cardamom and other spices and it doesn’t fall into the too-much-cinnamon trap that many of Frank’s previous chai blends fell into. It’s also one of those blends that can be drunk either with milk or without and doesn’t suffer for it either way. I can’t wait to try it as a latté.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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70

I had my eye on this tea but unfortunately I wasn’t able to purchase any before it sold out. However thanks to Marzipan I have another shot at this blend. I like many of Frank’s genmaicha blends and this one isn’t bad – but it’s not really gingerbread. The ‘ginger’ part is there certainly giving the tea a nice bit of heat, but it’s lacking the other key flavours of the molasses and the allspice that give gingerbread its signature flavour.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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82

Murchie’s loves its custom black tea blends, especially those in honor of British royalty. In addition to this blend they also created a blend for Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee as well as one for the royal wedding.

This is a nice, solid blend that incorporates characteristics from different black tea from around Asia and blends them together seamlessly. I can taste the grapey, muscatel tones of a Darjeeling without the astringency, some lightly malty flavours like you’d find in an Assam, and maybe the barest hint of peppery Yunnan. It has a surprising sweetness, particularly after it cooled off a bit and it’s quite smooth despite having such bold flavours. A great black tea that really shows the creator’s deft hand at blending.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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62
drank Cherry Snowcone by DAVIDsTEA
1908 tasting notes

I purchased this to make into iced tea but I wanted to try it hot first. I’m not a hibiscus fan but the ‘cherry’ drew me in. Unfortunately it’s not as strong in the hot tea as I would have wished. Surprisingly it’s not very sweet either considering all the little sugar snowflakes in the mix. Thankfully the hibiscus is also fairly muted so the end result is a fairly standard, mildly tart, berry flavour. It’s pretty ‘meh’ hot IMO, but I think it might have potential iced.

Preparation
Boiling 6 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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90
drank Masterpiece Chai by Liber Teas
1908 tasting notes

I was reaching into my tea cupboard to get my usual morning tea when I accidentally knocked out a small sample packet. I was surprised to see that it was a chai blend from our very own LiberTeas. I honestly have no memory of getting this tea so it must have come my way as part of a swap or Traveling Teabox.

I’ve been looking for a good black tea chai but I can never seen to find one that’s just right. I know it’s largely a matter of personal tastes but I find that most chais have too much of one spice or flavouring and it ends up dominating the tea. This tea on the other hand is very well balanced with each of the various spices getting their say. It’s a surprisingly versatile tea – light enough to to be drunk plain but strong enough that it holds up well to the addition of some milk and honey.

This really is a masterpiece of a tea. I hope that Liberteas might consider remaking this tea or something like it in the near future – perhaps when she takes over 52Teas from Frank. I could see this being a winner.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 15 sec 1 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML
LiberTEAS

NO WAY! I can’t believe you found some of this stashed away. It’s got to be ancient, I’m surprised and very happy to hear that it’s holding up!

I do plan on bringing back Masterpiece Chai in the fall as a tea of the week!

Sil

woohoo!

Jillian

Awesome news!
(my tea cupboard is so big stuff will get lost in there for YEARS)

LiberTEAS

@Jillian – I know what that’s like – all too well! I’m now trying to get a handle on the teas that I have so that I can focus on 52Teas … it’s going to be challenging, to say the least!

Sil

i’m super excited for you to start blending liberTeas!

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90
drank Masterpiece Chai by Liber Teas
1908 tasting notes

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70
drank Cream Caramel by Tea Desire
1908 tasting notes

The mix of creaminess and sweetness blends surprisingly well with the vegetale flavours of the green tea base. The base by itself would otherwise be pretty mediocre I think but the flavouring really improves matters. I don’t know if i like it enough to buy a large quantity of the blend but the small sample was enjoyable.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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91

This sample came courtesy of the GCTTB – I love the name, it makes me think of the Transsiberian Orchestra… aaaaand now I’ve got their music running through my head. ;)

The smell of the tea is very cinnamon-heavy though that lightens up a bit in the flavour. There’s also this nice, fudgey chocolate flavour that I’m really liking. It reminds me of a Mexican chocolate brownie recipe I tried once that had dark chocolate flavoured with spices. Given the opportunity I was definitely buy more of this tea.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 45 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Marzipan

They are so badass live.

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80

It was the sweet scent of maple that drew me in – plus I love the idea of a ‘Canadian Breakfast’ to go with all the ‘English breakfasts’ and ‘Irish breakfasts’ out there. This brews up into a brisk cuppa with lots of body, making it a good first-thing-in-the-morning tea. The maple flavour is subtle but it’s definitely there and I’m not sure if it’s the flavour or the tea base itself that has a lightly malty quality which is strange as that’s an attribute I normally associate with Assam teas but I checked the ingredients and there’s no Assam in this blend – just Ceylon and Keemun.

A good, solid tea – I could see this becoming a staple in my cupboard.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 45 sec 1 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML

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72
drank Maple Vanilla Honeybush by 52teas
1908 tasting notes

A very Canadian tea eh? ;P

Honeybush is a good choice of base for this blend because its natural sweetness blends well with the flavourings and enhances the sweetness without there being any need for sugar. The vanilla gives the tea a nice creaminess that reminds me of vanilla ice cream. There’s something maybe a tad artificial about the flavours, but overall it’s a nice blend.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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I’m a university student in her twenties who’s currently working her way toward a Bachelor of Natural Resource Science degree. I love both science and science-fiction and I’m a history nut on top of that. Maybe I should just call myself a nerd and leave it there. ;)

I’ve been drinking tea since I was young but it’s only in the past couple years that I’ve become interested in the good-quality stuff.

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