1277 Tasting Notes
Day 7 of the 52teas advent calendar. So happy to see this one again! I liked it so much last year that I ordered extra afterwards. The banana and the creaminess just go so well together. I only did two steeps this time just because I had a lot of other tea to get through, but I remember this holding up pretty well to a third steep in the past.
Day 19 of the Plum Deluxe herbal advent calendar. Plum Deluxe makes a chocolate-lavender rooibos blend called Easy Like Sunday Morning. I liked that one a lot. I assume this blend uses the same lavender, mostly because it reminds me so strongly of the other blend. Except now I have this mental block of wanting the other blend in my cup based on the aroma. This is fine, it’s not my favorite thing but it’s fine. I’m getting the lavender and rosemary, not really any berry notes. Replace the rosemary in this with some cacao shells and I’d be a happy camper.
Day 20 of the Tea Thoughts winter countdown box. I don’t think I’ve ever had tea in this format before. It’s a bundle of leaves tied with a string at one end. You brew it up like a teabag and don’t need a steeper or filter because the string holds the leaves together and allows you to remove them easily when it’s done steeping. I suppose flowering tea balls are a close cousin to this format because they’re typically tied together, but I’ve never seen a tea ball with a string allowing you to remove it easily. Flavor-wise, it’s a bit thin but inoffensive. On the savory vegetal side rather than sweet or grassy. I just don’t have much more to say about the flavor, unfortunately!
Day 6 of the 52teas advent calendar. The dry leaf smells clearly of chocolate/cacao shells. I made this up as an oat milk latte because duh, why wouldn’t I? It reminds me very favorably of Calabash’s Idris chai, which is a spicy, chocolatey black tea that I adore but am too sensitive to drink. Chocolate? check. Malty base? check. Gently warming spices? check. Sweetener would probably make this even better but I am enjoying it wonderfully without sweetener.
Day 5 of the 52teas advent calendar. This is a little busy for my taste. Adding a dab of agave helped clarify the flavor for me. Mostly I’m getting orange, clove, and cinnamon. I can’t tell if the base tea is a bit smokey or if it’s just the cinnamon creating that effect.
Day 18 of the Plum Deluxe herbal advent calendar. This is good but it has to be brewed just so. I oversteeped the first cup and the woodiness of the rooibos drowned out the flavoring. I was much more careful the second time and stuck to a five-minute steep time. That did the trick. The ginger is not super strong but it does have a noticeable bite at the end. The pear is lightly sweet and juicy. Tasty hot, but even better when allowed to get cold. So for optimal enjoyment, a five minute steep and let it get cold.
Day 18 of the Tea Thoughts winter countdown box. I gong fu’d this, at 205f with short steeps for the first three steeps. I just might not have a palate for appreciating pu’erh. All I got was dirt, leather, a bit of roast, and a faint but noticeable hint of fishiness. At that point, the leaves had opened up so I switched to 175f to see if I’d enjoy it more at a lower temperature. Nope. Although it got rid of the fishiness, still getting dirt, leather, and roastiness. 160f and a very short steep gets me less dirt, but it’s still not enjoyable. And I know these are not the notes that I’m “supposed” to be tasting. I gave up after the fifth steep. Next pu’erh, maybe I try short steeps at 160f from the beginning.
If a pu smells fishy, try airing it out for anywhere from a few hours to a few days (for super fishy) to let that aroma dissipate. It might give you a better session that way!
thanks for the advice!
This is also one of Paul’s more experimental pu’erhs since it’s also charcoal roasted (like an oolong) – they seem to be particularly polarizing on top of the already divisive nature of pu’erh.
Day 20 of the Lupicia advent calendar. Another single-serving loose leaf fruit tisane. This one reminds me so strongly of jelly fruit slices. Candied orange with a sweet yuzu tartness. Right on the verge of being too sweet, but it isn’t. The Jus T’aime blends seem to be a candy-fruit range of tisanes, all on the sweet side with some tipping into syrupy (looking at you, Mystique). I really like some of these, though, and think they’d be great as iced teas for hot weather!
