1839 Tasting Notes
Luckily, my foil wrapped tea bag wasn’t cardboardy, so I assume it is an error of Nordqvist advent calendar.
Tea bag wrapper design to be found here: https://colnect.com/cs/teabags/teabag/86242
Anyway, honestly it surprised me it is a black tea, because I haven’t paid enough attention to it. And it was very sweet when dry, when brewed… it was quite floral (as pears can be), quite creamy and vanilla for sure. The pear flavour itself, not the florality; isn’t much present. Which is a shame, as it could be much better, if that fruit flavour would be much more distinctive. Sadly, this way it is black tea with floral notes and creamy vanilla for me
Preparation
Sipdown prompt: A tea sample you put off trying. It is a few months since I have ordered last time from Siam Tee Shop, but honestly it’s maybe just two or three. Okay, invoice says January 25. And as it is “single serving”, it’s not an actual sipdown for me. I need to find out if I counted those to the prompts or not.
It is probably only one sample I have around, all others are shares by others; or just tea I bought. My cupboard deserves a big reduction and I am telling myself I definitely do not need any more tea yet.
So, a sample of yancha, Wuyi yancha, an oolong I never had before. I used all 5 grams for my gongfu steeping and almost a boiling water. Short steeps, starting with 10 seconds (no rinse) and increments were 3-5 seconds, to avoid quick end of session because of long steeps.
After smelling dry leaves in preheated gaiwan, I became tea-drunk fast. It smelled so good, so roasty, fruity and as well lots of minreals and stones there.
Steeps were amazing, with great flavour, long taste and aftertaste, not such minerality to be found, rather I think I notice soy sauce, dried flowers and hay, honey, spices, milled poppy seed; all together very smooth, though a bit harsh for my tummy. First steeps were also very roasty, almost too much for my tooth, but later ones were much better.
Preparation
Spring is here. Finally! And spring means that I have a mood and craving for green teas. So I did today. Harvest from April 2021 is not much encouraging, but here’s another stop by Around the World in 8 Teas Selection Box by Curious Tea!
I prepared it as suggested (1g/100 ml) which meant I used 3g for my 300 ml vessel. First bubbles heard and that water temperature used. Steeped for around 2 and so minutes and it get a wonderful yellow-green colour, slightly opaque. That said, even it’s a bit older; it seems perfectly fresh.
As I have limited (if any, again) experience with Korean teas, namely their greens, I had no idea what to expect. I read on the pouch it should be floral and grassy in the aroma; and I agree and I add some fruits notes — I notice a bit of strawberries and other summer berries in an empty cup. Huh, strange.
Promised flavours are grassy, with savoury seaweed notes. Well, here I agree with second part, it wasn’t much grassy — but it was seaweed and kale, vegetal notes. I have tried also a second steep, as they say it can be steeped 3+ times (but no mood for more than two); and second one turned out buttery and hay-like, which is due to hotter water used I think. It wasn’t that smooth and savoury.
In conclusion, I am happy with this tea and it is, one day, a different green tea than I am used to. Yep, I have still some Japanese left.
Preparation
A sipdown! (M: 1, Y: 24). Apparently my pace went slow and honestly, recently I had almost no mood to drink teas. I have survived a few mornings at work without a tea, afternoons I wanted something easydrinking as I tend to come home really tired…
But yesterday, when I sipped this down was an exception. My 3 and half years old niece came with my brother to visit us, so I prepared myself a tea I needed to finish quickly (ehem, 4 months after its BB date), is flavourful and uncomplicated.
It was rather a coconut flavoured rooibos, which was qoing already a bit stale and funky; but I finished it without any problems and I am glad to report this sipdown. Thanks Michelle
Did you have a tea party with the little niece? (“Tea With Uncle Martin” just sounds like a lovely title for a children’s book!)
A kind of sipdown; but I have used all 5 grams in one session, so… not counting as one. Thank you a lot LeafHopper for this tea; and overall, I like to try DAVIDsTEA, as… sadly I can’t get those here.
I was in a mood for roasty and mineral tea after the Sweet Potato; and well that was delivered.
If I could, I would copy whole second paragraph from derk. Beautifully described, what this tea is about.
Walnuts, roast, wood, oaks, that all comes to the mind when steeping. Some minerality in the finish and aftertaste. I do not notice any fruits, but it could be age.
Steeps 15-30-45-60-… seconds. 7-8 steeps in total.
Simple tea. But good qualities here…
Preparation
Simple, maybe too simple tea.
But you know, not always you have to drink fancy teas.
It’s fine, but it is like eating raw sweet potato. Not a flavour profile that I will look for often.
How to prepare this blend? Well, get loads of hibiscus, some apple pieces, plum flavouring and loads of cinnamon.
At least that is what I was thinking when drinking it. It was so deep red, but not tart at all thanks to apples, there was plum flavour, rather like a generic stonefruit. Well, I eat plums a bit unripe, so maybe it wasn’t that off; and cinnamon. Loads of cinnamon here.
Sadly, as the only spice is cinnamon, it was somehow flat. But it is pretty much true to its name. Cinnamon Plum. Maybe expectations were just different.
Preparation
Western steeping. One big teaspoon (worth about two normal ones), almost boiling water and…
Oh dear this is floral. Though it is 2020 harvest, but I opened it a few weeks ago; and yes, it is indeed still very floral. Vacuum sealing does the magic. Thanks White Antlers who bought this to me back then and Alistair chose it.
While it is very floral, it has got another amazing quality if steeped right. The creamy and buttery sweetness and amazing mouthfeel.
I am trying to focus what those florals are. CrowKettle says lilacs, but I am not that sure. Hycinth, also mentioned there, seems better. Lily of the valley for me is there too.
Wikipedia says: “In the “language of flowers”, the lily of the valley signifies the return of happiness." Well, that’s lovely! And somehow true today.
I will keep trying this tea and if I found something new and amazing, be sure that I will mention that in new tasting note. Because oolongs have a lot to offer to me and almost never a dud.
Preparation
I need to unwind. Maybe a vacation?
Anyway, this week is another rough one. I can’t really explain why here; but I believe it is because the chaos in the company because the end of fiscal year.
Also, adding some material extra sounds like a fun, unless it’s hazmat.
Argh…
At least the tea is good. Sooo relaxing. No chamomile in taste (or that, old, musty, funky one), rather fennel and linden for me. Prepared in original pyramid sachet today. The rose is making a nice aroma of it overall.
Setting a rating on 80
Preparation
Isn’t it wonderful how people’s tastes vary?! I really enjoy the flavor of chamomile and would be annoyed if it was replaced by fennel and linden in a cuppa cham, even though I like those flavors too! I guess it beats rooibos though (barf!)
This tea had to grow on me. First steeps were like drinking muddy dishwater with plenty of dish soap with orange aroma.
There were steeps which were very orange and almost nothing from the puerh. And there were steeps which were very puerh and almost nothing from the orange.
As I am in the middle of the pouch, I can shake the contents well and now it is perfect ratio almost everytime. Fruity and fresh orange, with very robust and strong, slightly earthy puerh base. It is such a good combo!
Preparation
Your review here had me LOLing, Martin! But your description makes sense when one considers the way orange can give an upfront burst with a long-lingering tail, and how some puers take their time to open up. Is the puer here a shou? I’m guessing not, but await your reply. :-)