1154 Tasting Notes
Whoops. I came to mark a sipdown thinking I’d previously left a more comprehensive note. Turns out I never did!
I liked this blend from the Strange VariaTea TTB so much that I kept it. It’s a really nice combo of earthy-in-a-good-way, savory, and ginger zingy. I suspect it would take honey well, but I never bothered to add any. Just a really solid workhorse of a blend and one I wouldn’t mind eventually restocking.
Day 5 of the Plum Deluxe Hanukkah sampler. Um… not a fan. To be fair, I’m generally not a fan of pu’erh, but my guess is that this blend also does not use a particularly high quality pu for the base. The berry blend smells and tastes nice, but when that earthy, fishy puerh flavor comes in mid-sip and lingers long after it kind of kills the experience. Second packet of this definitely up for grabs if anyone wants to brave it.
Uh, fishy and berry doesn’t sound like a pleasing combo, but I’m game, just add it to our swap. :)
Lupicia has a chocolate and strawberry puerh that is amazing, but the base isn’t fishy. Maybe this one needs airing out? Must lose some of its berry flavor, though.
Tiffany, all yours. Putting it aside.
Ashmanra, maybe! It’s in a plastic packet so it would have to be relocated.
Day 12 of the Plum Deluxe herbal advent. I’m getting raspberry and apple, but not really picking up any rosemary. Too bad – that would have been cool. Pretty tasty raspberry tea, though. Not too sweet, not too tart, not too strong or too weak. It would probably make a nice tea soda but I’ve already gulped down nearly all of it hot!
Flavors: Apple, Raspberry
12th and final day of the Tea Thoughts Winter Countdown box. This is a tea that I’d probably drink a few more times before posting a note if I weren’t trying to keep up with advent tasting notes. I brewed it up Western style because that’s what the package suggests and because I had a lot going on today, but the flavors would probably be better served by gong fu brewing. I get a clear mineral note up front, and then I can tell there’s more going on but I can’t quite figure out what. And almost a bit of smokiness along with the lingering mineral aftertaste. This is a tightly rolled ball oolong and there’s a good bit of it in this sample size, so I have enough to play around with it later and hopefully get a better sense of it.
Easily my favorite tea from this box was the honey GABA cakes – hopefully Nazanin stocks them so I can get more. I wish there had been an herbal or two; usually there are. But yeah I’ve been getting her seasonal themed boxes for years, I’m not going to stop.
Damn Kelly, you knocked this one out of the park!
I know this isn’t actually a Hanukkah tea, but jelly donuts (sufganiyot) are a Hanukkah food so I saved it to enjoy for the holiday. And I’m glad I did because the actual sufganiyot I had today were, sadly, not particularly good. This tea, on the other hand, is. It’s a dead ringer for the flavor profile: red berry jammy, powdered sugar, and pastry. The stevia isn’t even gumming up the works. I am getting almost a raspberry quality to the jam, not just strawberry. I tried this as a latte but I actually prefer it hot and undoctored. It’s more “strawberry milk” as a latte but more “jelly donut covered in powdered sugar” undoctored. Definitely not for someone who doesn’t like flavored teas or sweet teas – it is very sweet – but this hits a very particular cultural note for me very well. I’ve still got the latke tea tucked away to try too!
Day 4 of the Plum Deluxe Hanukkah sampler. I’m not sure how I feel about this one. The passionfruit flavor is nice enough, but I don’t know how well it matches the sencha base. I’m picking up a marine note from the base that’s a bit of a weird combo with the passionfruit. The green grass note complements the fruit well, but the marine note just makes it feel a little off. On the other hand, it was very easy to finish off the mug despite not being my favorite.
Day 11 of the Tea Thoughts Winter Countdown box. Brewed this up Western style and drank it in between PT, meetings, and eating sufganiyot. I spent probably too much time trying to pin down the flavors here and still am not entirely satisfied. I liked it, I just can’t seem to describe it very well. Maybe buckwheat and honey – but soft buckwheat, not the roasted kind. It did feel very cozy, like putting on a pair of warm fuzzy socks.
Day 10 of the Plum Deluxe herbal advent calendar. Not sure I’m getting the “cookie” part of this, per se, but definitely getting the candy cane. Which is surprising, because Plum Deluxe is really really skilled at landing the cookie flavor. I don’t know if it’s the candy cane note interfering? The front of the sip is soft vanilla. The peppermint comes sliding in mid-sip and leaves a lingering menthol quality on the breath long after. But for the second time today I’m having trouble making out a cocoa note despite there being actual cocoa peel in this blend. My brain just doesn’t really know how to identify this tea other than “gentle creamy mint on a pleasant but undefinable base.” I made the second packet as an oat milk latte. This got it a little closer to “cookie” but softened the mint to a whisper, noticeable mostly in the cooling sensation at the end of the sip and after. This might be the first time I’ve had a cookie tea from Plum Deluxe that I haven’t absolutely loved, sadly. I think the balance is just a bit off for me today.
Day 10 of the Tea Thoughts Winter Countdown box. Still pretty weak, so I don’t have the strength to gong fu day 9’s tea; will have to circle back to it. I just brewed this one up Western style. It’s a little drying, but I didn’t find it bitter or acidic. I feel like I’ve had Chinese black teas with more heft and a thicker mouthfeel. This one’s landing as medium-thin. I’m getting notes of malt and cinnamon in the sip, and pepper and clove in the finish. I am really starting to worry that my sense of taste hasn’t fully recovered since the last time I had covid, though, because I’m not picking up any of the cocoa notes that are supposed to be here. I probably should see a doctor about it at some point. I’m just not sure what I’d even say that wouldn’t sound ridiculous – “before I got sick, I had a very sensitive palate and sense of smell, and now it’s merely average?”
Sorry to hear. I had hoped the decreased sensitivity in my palate might be from terrible seasonal allergies since moving to a town surrounded by ryegrass. But as that season has come and gone this past year, I realize the lack of ability to finely differentiate aromas and tastes is probably due to last Christmas’s covid. I didn’t have to retrain my senses but drinking tea is different now – less pleasurable – and so are cooking and eating. Perhaps that will change with more time.
Ugh. While it’s comforting to know I’m not alone, I’m so sorry this happened to you too! I have read that some people do recover their senses more fully over time, so you’re right, there may still be hope for us :-)
My co-worker daughter lost her sense of spicy food completely. She was doing garlic spread and used a whole bulb before she noticed any garlic taste. Her boyfriend said it is toxic.
