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I don’t crave often for dessert tea. But when I do, it is tea from Michelle recently. Thank you!

Yes, it is my second cup of this tea. First one reminded me cocoa, but maybe it was a bit affected of puerhs it was sent with. Or my taste (and smell) buds were off. Happens to me somehow very often recently.

But this second steep was… just great. I steeped one tea spoon in 400 ml mug. I let it steep for 4-5 minutes, as I haven’t been too much attentive to time. It was so pure vanilla in aroma. And even better, there was no artificial note. It was like a pure vanilla pod (or it is bean in English?).

In taste, however, the base tea was present. Not so much, no flavours or scents from it, but it wasn’t pure vanilla. That isn’t a flaw though. I liked it was reliable tea base and complements the vanilla very, very well.

Vanilla in taste was mellow, sweet and creamy. The last adjective was the most present in my mind while sipping. Yum!

Again a puerh from Michelle, thanks to Rich as well.

Again, somehow random choice from the box and prepared western. I took one chunk and loose tea in, but I haven’t weighted it.

It turned out pretty well after about 5 minutes steep. Its aroma was mostly antique store, lightly earthy and pleasant.

However, it taste it was somehow weak, quite boring, lighlty woody and kind of sweet. Brown sugar comes to mind.

It seems that this tea faded a lot, afterall it is from 2008. We will see how last chunk will do in gongfu brewing.

Skysamurai’s TTB Thank you!
One of the green teas from Japanese Tea Marathon. Took this one, from Saga, because I thought that my company other plant is located here. Nope, it’s in Shiga. Close enough? Not that much.

Tea #11 — one tea left. Keeping for bad times.

I prepared all 5 grams in gaiwan (I know, there are better teaware, but I don’t have any). Steeping with 75°C water at first, but it cools down in thermos, as I am preparing the TTB and one swap in meanwhile. 3 steeps so far, in 2 hours?

Anyway, while it is dry it is mineral, seaweed, umami. I am little confused as I haven’t much expecting this. Brewed it is different story though!
It is very grassy, a little buttery, again seaweed and umami. Later steeps had sugar peas notes. No bitterness and not salty at all. Mineral wasn’t there either.

Drinking green tea at 9 pm isn’t the best idea. But it’s so fine!

A fruit tea from derk is highly uncommon occurence, yet it happened. Thank you!
2 tsp / 93°C water / 300 ml / 3-4 minutes steep
It was very good! More than I have been expecting. Certainly I notice peach and its stonefruit flavours. Mango? Not that at all I think. Herbaceous as tulsi is in? And rooibos? Kinda.

Nice afternoon fruit cup. I have been hoping for more mango… but ces’t la vie and it’s fine. Especially with cold front coming with rain or snow, it depends on the elevation. It is very summer-y tea.

I find this tea very hard to describe. I know, after only one session it is always somehow hard, but this tea is one of the most difficult.

In aroma of my steeped three grams was baked bread, but as well roasty, leathery, a little smoky too?

In taste it was very and awesomely smooth. I don’t recall having that smooth black tea before. It was a bit on weaker side in taste, but it was good. Somehow sweet but not as sugar, lightly malty, and… I need to retry it to notice more of the flavours.

Certainly a good tea. At least its 2021 harvest. But as I wrote, I need to re-try it…

SIPDOWN 5
I brought my variety box to the work and I have very last tea bag there left. That’s Perfect Day, which I should save for some really perfect one. I finished all P&T order much faster than I want to admit. And I am afraid a new order is just around the corner.

Anyway, why I am writing a tasting note this time? I have to say, mostly to Roswell Strange, that today cup was full of basil with very nice strawberry complenting flavor. It seems their tea bags lack in consistency, which is truly sad, especially with ingredients which are a bit rare, as basil here, or juniper in Brave New Earl.

It was a delish today gloomy morning, very summer-y cup. I shall say mug, as I have a big (500 ml) porcelain mug at work. It’s heavy, it’s huge, it’s perfect! Basil was there. Lively green tea base, earthy basil and fresh strawberry.

So yeah, everyone knows I have been in Poland in the end of last year, right? I have visited also Toruń, a town famous for gingerbread. And it’s UNESCO protected city center. And why to visit Pisa, when a leaning tower is here too? So, I have been in their Gingerbread muzeum. And then I have decided to buy gingerbread for my friend in Switzerland and I have saw they offer a tea too. So here it is.

It smells fantastic. Very accurate to actual gingerbread (and similar to museum air itself), with cherry undertone. As it is often mixed with some crémes and such, I thought it is pretty good aroma. And pure gingerbread would be rather similar to chai.

I have used two teaspoons (there are no steeping parameters anywhere) in my big strainer, brewed for 3 minutes.
Woo… it is again a delicious thing. The base tea is present and truly making the base, somehow tannic, but no astringency to be found. The cloves and cinnamon play the biggest role in the taste notes. Sometimes the cinnamon is stronger, sometimes the latter. The morello cherry is adding a little, but needed sweetness and a little bit of another dimmension of flavour. But it’s not cherry-like at all.

Honestly, I am very surprised of qualities of this tea and the leaf quality isn’t bad either. It is not CTC, but it seems to be OP! And taste… is just right. Good for colder days for sure!

A single tea bag received from Michelle! Thank you so much! I really wanted to try this, but getting any US tea here… it is rather a lucky accident to get some, than getting it somewhere commonly. US candy shops don’t carry them.

So I have brewed it about a hour ago, and I have sniffed the bag prior. It was spearmint with some unidentified sweetness and lightly pine.

Brewed it is very similar, quite spearmint-y and sweet. It was similar to Halls cough drops with its lemon-honey flavour. It wasn’t bad actually. In the end of the sip, there was some pine flavour. But it was quite weak and honestly I have hoped for stronger taste of juniper.

SIPDOWN 4
The number isn’t accurate actually. It’s much higher as I have finished a few teas at work, but I never wrote a note about them, I just removed them from virtual and sadly also real, cupboard.

This tea I have received in 2020 Advent swap from Shae. I feel that the time just flies… we have already January 2022 and it seems ages ago.

It was still very delicious. Very fruity, refreshing and overall mellow cup of tea. I haven’t tried it iced.

It was a good fruit tea. Now it’s gone.

Skysamurai’s TTB Thank you!
First gongfu steeping of tea from TTB. Batch: Autumn 2019.

Tea #10
This is a winner! At least so far. I plan to try two more teas.

I decided for gongfu this afternoon and it was the best I could do with this tea. I have used whole 5 grams I had available and steeped in my 125 ml gaiwan. 10 seconds starting time with 10… 15 s increments.

Dry leaf aroma reminds me mostly cacao, slight bitterness and malts.
Steeped? It was a symphony of sweet notes of cacao, chocolate, malt and barley, lightly even a rye, complemented very well with light floral notes and a wee bit of spices.

It deserves a better note.