111 Tasting Notes
Steeped a few cups of this today. It’s such an interesting blend… I love the idea of an orange-chocolate tea, but I haven’t tried many yet. The orange in Three Friends is delicious, very sweet—but with just enough sharpness to make it stand out among the other flavors. I can smell orange and chocolate very clearly here, both in the dry leaf and once it’s steeped. They smell “real,” if that makes sense—no artificial sweetness, which makes them feel richer and more present.
The taste has a lot of orange flavor, with chocolate notes beneath it, and a sugary creaminess from the marshmallow. For me, the black tea base has strong honey notes, with a touch of malt. It seems to be on the lighter side, for a black. (I was a little surprised I didn’t get any cocoa notes from the tea itself, for whatever reason… Might explain why I found the orange flavor to be stronger than the chocolate.) This is a really sweet tea, even without anything added. For my second cup, I let it steep for four minutes. The honey notes became even more prominent, giving it a kind of orange/honey/cream flavor. Delicious, even though it’s not quite the balance of orange and chocolate that I expected!
Surprisingly, I think I prefer this tea with honey or sugar—even though it’s already so sweet. A little extra sweetness seems to help all the different flavors blend together. This is a fun tea, really unique and delicious. I’m sure I’ll enjoy the rest of my tin.
This is such a cozy tea! I love the base blend, December, and this blend has cinnamon and marshmallow root added to it. I’ve been on the lookout for a tea that tastes like s’mores for a while. This blend really does remind me of making s’mores around a campfire—not just the dessert, but the whole experience of it, with the smoke and the toasty warmth of the flames and the cool night air. The aroma is spicy and smoky, with hints of rich chocolate beneath it. The taste is even more complex; the cinnamon is certainly prominent, but I also taste cocoa and the smoke of the fire. The marshmallow root adds a subtle sweetness. The taste changes a lot depending on how I sip it, so I notice different notes each time.
Drinking a cup of this tea really is like an experience. It makes me feel bundling up in a coat and scarf and heading into the woods (which would be kind of odd, since I live in a desert where it’s eighty-plus degrees out right now). I have to admit, I think I actually prefer December to S’mores!… Just because I love December’s rich cocoa notes so much, and they’re a bit overshadowed by the cinnamon here. But this is a lovely tea that I will enjoy drinking, especially once the weather starts to cool down. It lived up to my hopes, for a blend that could make me nostalgic for the whole s’more-making experience. I’d recommend it to anyone searching for the same.
I really needed to unwind tonight, so I steeped up a cup of this tea. It’s one of my all-time favorites… A Hawaiian-inspired blend from Lupicia, which my best friend bought for me while she was on vacation there (because she’s awesome like that!). Palekaiko is a flavored black tea, with ginger pieces and passionfruit and chunks of mango. It smells mouth-watering, a nectar-sweet aroma of passionfruit and mango with hints of spicy ginger. The taste is spicier, lots of tongue-tingling ginger (which I love!) mixed with the sweetness of the fruit. I never would have guessed, but passionfruit and mango go really nicely with ginger. The tastes blend together, enhancing each other.
As for the black tea base, it’s on the lighter side, and hard to detect through the other flavors. But I get a citrus-y brightness from it that seems to complements the fruit. No bitterness that I noticed, which is something I appreciate about many of Lupicia’s black teas. All told, this is an excellent flavored tea, where all the ingredients blend together beautifully. (And I’m almost out of it, even though I haven’t had it in my cupboard that long! I will definitely be restocking this one.)
This tea is exquisite. I’ve had it several times since I first received it in the mail a few weeks ago. And I keep returning to it, which is pretty astonishing, considering the amount of teas in my cupboard. The black tea in Golden Orchid is rich and smooth and chocolatey. Even the aftertaste reminds me of cocoa powder. Add the indulgence of sweet vanilla on top of that (and not vanilla flavoring, but hand-cut vanilla beans!) and this tea is practically a dessert. Actually, it’s better than dessert, because it’s tea! It lives up to the hype of the reviews here, which is probably the highest compliment I can give.
I’ve been drinking a lot of black tea lately, so I thought I should switch to a green blend for this morning’s cup. And mmm, Momoko is a favorite of mine… Super creamy with loads of vanilla, complimented by gentle peach notes. I can smell the peach more than I can taste it, but it’s there— it lends a juiciness to the vanilla that’s really distinct and delicious. (And no need to add sugar. There are sugar crystals already in the tea!) When I first tried this blend, I was surprised at how well the sweet flavors complement the green tea base. The base is pretty vegetal, like a lot of Japanese greens. But when I steep it quickly (two minutes max, preferably less), I don’t seem to get any bitterness in my cup, just that buttery vegetal note you get with nice sencha. There’s a powdery mouthfeel, and particles do tend to settle on the bottom of the cup, like with a lot of Japanese greens. (On a side note, I’ve been partial to flavored greens lately, for some reason… Straight greens don’t excite me as much as they used to. Maybe because I’ve been discovering so many tasty black teas and oolongs!)
I used to drink Bigelow’s peach green tea (the bagged kind) almost every night, back when I didn’t know anything about loose leaf. For me, Momoko is like the fancy version of that tea, with a major upgrade in quality and lots of added creaminess. Yum! I have to say, Lupicia really nails it with their fruit flavors, in my experience. Anyone who enjoys fruit in their tea (especially apple, peach, mango, and passionfruit) should give them a try.
Sipdown! I received this tea as a generous sample in my first Whispering Pines order. The description on their website intrigued me, so I was excited to give it a try. I had enough to make two cups, as per the steeping directions. I just wish I had more experience with describing straight black teas… I do find Chinese black teas delicious as a rule, and this one was no exception. I was able to detect the “fruity” notes for the first time, the kind that more experienced tea drinkers describe in certain black teas. It really did remind me of plum, just like the site description says! Similarly, I detected a roasted cocoa note in the scent, and I found a certain savoriness in the taste, which I enjoyed. No real astringency that I noticed, and a smooth yet slightly powdery mouthfeel (though that may have been due to the smaller bits of leaf that fell out of the pouch with my second cup, whoops!).
This tea also resteeped very well. I’m so glad I got to try it! I’m definitely considering purchasing more for my next order.
