189 Tasting Notes

100

Loose
Appearance: crinkle, curly bicolor, deep black leaf
Aroma when Dry: salty, vegital
After water is first poured: intensely floral
At end of first steep: floral, vegital
Tea liquor:
At beginning of steep: muddy green
Staple? Possibly, first tasting
Preferred time of day: any
Taste:
At first: deep floral, buttery
As it cools ? Malty notes surface, salt notes increse, floral notes lengthen, cocoa notes and nuttyness close
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, floral, hints of spice, slight chewyness, lastly, slight sea salt notes

Second steep (3min)
Aroma: salty, hints of malt
Taste:
At first: malt and salt notes
As it cools: malty notes lessen, salt stays, tea gets brothy

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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100

Loose
Appearance: med size, knobby oolong, bicolor
Aroma when Dry: milky, sweet (eastern)
After water is first poured: vanilla and milk
At end of first steep: deeper milky notes, almost hinting at spice
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: clear
Staple? YES
Preferred time of day: afternoon, evening
Taste:
At first: creamy, buttery, deserty
As it cools ? Starts to get nutty, little less creamy, less sweet
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, buttery, thick, creamy vanilla-ish notes, slight citrus quality

Second steep 4min
at first: nutty, deep, woody, no milkiness
As it cools? tea sweetens again, milky, nutty layers

third steep (6min)
Milky, sweet still but getting lighter, floral notes surface

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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100

Loose
Appearance: broken leaf, med green,muted bi coloration, pale lavender buds noticeable
Aroma when Dry: salty, herby, slight chewiness
After water is first poured: same
At end of first steep: floral, lavender
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: light grassy green
Staple? YES
Time of day preferred: Any, except first cup of the day
Taste:
At first: floral, lavender, faint hint of grass closing
As it cools ? notes get fluffy, much lighter, creamy, slightly sweet
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? no
Lingers? Yes, the lavender stays, gets slightly creamy

Second steep (4 min):
Same notes, milder

want to try chilled

Third Steep (8 min)
basic lavender water taste, light, herby

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Jude

Wow, glad you enjoyed it so much! LMK if you’d like me to send more :)

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82

Loose
Appearance: dark brown-black, crinkled leaf
Aroma when Dry: slight fruity notes hints of creamy maltyness
After water is first poured: slightly fruity, musty
At end of steep: faint fruity, malty
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: light muddy brown
Staple? Unsure, first tasting
Time of day preferred: afternoon, evening
Taste:
At first: balanced fruity maltyness
As it cools ? Gets slightly fruitier, tea deepens, notes layer
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? no
Lingers? Yes, with slight tang, fruity, faint metallic note

Second steep (8min)
Taste: notes flatten and weaken, tea smooths out a bit

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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24

Loose
Appearance: brown-black, crinkled leaf
Aroma when Dry: fruity, dusty, hints of earthiness
After water is first poured: fruity, sticky, another note… muscatel?
At end of steep: faint fruity sweet
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: faint green
Staple? No
Time of day preferred: unsure, first tasting
Taste:
At first: flat, mild, closes with hints of fruit
As it cools? metallic note lessens, slight spicy note surfaces, tea deepens a bit
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? no
Lingers? Yes, the fruity nature stays, closing with almost a metallic note

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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28
drank Jasmine by Ten Ren
189 tasting notes

Loose
Appearance: grey green med crinkle leaf, no jasmine buds or flowers
Aroma when Dry: fruity floral, deeply sweet, deserty
After water is first poured: syrupy sweet, floral, nutty
At end of steep: sticky floral sweet
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: pale green
Staple? No
Time of day preferred: any
Taste:
At first: deserty, slightly fruity like floral sticky rice
As it cools ? floral notes open, stickyness lessens
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? no
Lingers? Yes, creamy, jammy cloying floral sweetness

Second steep (6min)
Same characteristics

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 30 sec

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99

Bagged
Aroma when Dry: frosty sweet, crisp minty desserty
After water is first poured: sweet, spicy, powdery
At end of steep: delicate minty, crisp, slightly sweet
Tea liquor:
At beginning of steep: med minty green
At end of steep: brownish green
Staple? yes
Time of day preferred: any
Taste:
At first: light mint, mild, crisp, sweet, slight bite closes
As it cools? mint crisps up a bit, bite lingers longer, distinct from the cooling closing notes
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Crisp clear, peppermint,cooling closing notes, mild bite
Lovely chilled

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 6 min, 0 sec

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69
drank Bangkok by Harney & Sons
189 tasting notes

Appearance: large cut green, bi colored
Aroma when Dry: coconut, slight sweetness, vanilla creamy
After water is first poured: sweet coconut grassiness
At end of first steep: lemony, nutty creamy coconut
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: very light yellow– green
Staple? Would be if the brand was not so liberal about artificial ingredients.
Time of day preferred: afternoon, evening
Taste:
At first: grassy coconut, chased by creaminess, hints of lemongrass
As it cools? Coconut changes texture slightly, grassy notes heighten, texture gets silky, creamy, still no ginger notes
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? Tried part of the cup also with milk

Without milk:
Lingers? Yes, smooth grassiness, hints of the lemongrass stay longest

With milk: gets velvety, almost fluffy, lemongrass fades, coconut and vanilla most noticeable
Lingers? Yes, creaminess hints of sweetness stay

Second steep(8 min): lighter creamy, grassy, lemongrass notes heighten
Still lingers,lemongrass mostly, coconut notes closing

Third steep 3-5min: still creamy, lemongrass gets a bit bolder

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 6 min, 0 sec
Miss Starfish

This is one of my favourites. The lemongrass is lovely with the coconut isn’t it?

Kasumi no Chajin

yes, though I wish the ginger was more prominent.

Alphakitty

This is my absolute favorite tea!

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78

Bagged
Aroma when Dry: sweet (eastern) buttery, spicy, hints of floral
After water is first poured: creamy, slight floral, hints of pepper notes
At end of first steep:
Tea liquor:
At beginning of steep: murky brown
At end of steep: leathery red-brown

Staple? Was, seems to have been discontinued…Must find a replacement

Time of day preferred: afternoon, evening
Taste:
At first: cinnamon, and coconut, hints of pepper, floral creamy coconut notes close
As it cools? Notes all open up, gets slighty spicy, earthy
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? Not at first, added few oz of milk after first notation, Used to do stove-top with milk

Without milk:
Lingers? Yes, warm, hints of sweet (eastern) toastyness, coconut, Cinnamon and pepper
With milk: all the notes still noticeable, addition of a velvety creamy texture

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 6 min, 0 sec

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43

Loose
Appearance: large broken leaf med green
Aroma when Dry: slight sweetness, fruity floral, apple noticeable
After water is first poured: desert apple-y fruity
At end of first steep: apples, slightly sweet, slight tart note
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: very light green
Staple? No
Time of day preferred: unsure, first tasting
Taste:
At first: faint sweetness, light floral apple
As it cools? apple notes get more aggressive, tea gets “busy”
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? yes, sweet apple taste, no notes of green tea base

Might try chilled

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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Profile

Bio

Drink your tea slowly and reverently,
As if it is the axis on which the whole earth revolves
Slowly, evenly without rushing toward the future.
Live the actual moment.
Only this moment is life.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty.” ~Japanese Proverb

Tea is a cup of life.” ~Author Unknown

Tea is liquid wisdom.” ~Anonymous

tea leaves
tea loves
loves tea
lives tea
leaves tea?
never.

~Uniek Swain

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” ~C.S. Lewis

Divinity is a smile or a tear drop; or yes, even a cup of fresh green tea.
-Chinese Author unknown

Tea…is a religion of the art of life.” ~Okakura

I am Chajin. A 98% Loose leaf gentleman.

When in practice, and with access to loose leaf tea, I drink tea daily. With Loose leaf, often I will stay with the same tea for 2-3 days. With Teabags I flit around between kinds a bit more, though if I am restricted to only teabags due to any kind of lack of access, I often reduce my tea to a few a week, get bored easily, and as a supertaster I am very sensitive to quality.

Being of Japanese, English, French, Welsh heritage(Southern, Texas),I have had a lifetime’s experience in true teas, in one way or another. Growing up, my mother’s cupboard was rarely without a daily go-to quality genmaicha, and a matcha for cooking. My father loves blacks, and his mother was never without a box of Red Rose Tea. My Aunt and Uncle usually had Greens,Pouchongs and Oolongs around the house. Due to location and accessibility issues, I have gravitated towards bagged tea recently, but grateful to find more options opening up for me, and it is a relief to restructure my loose leaf stash!

I think of Teas as friends…exploring new relationships, deepening established ones…having a strong circle of solid support to stand alongside you through life…I have found some of these kinds of relationships with individual teas, I am hoping to find/build more along my journey courting my current circle of acquaintances, and not get sidetracked by frivolous dalliances flirting too long with a newcomer along the way.
(Due to this point of view, I will often taste a tea at least twice before fully evaluating enough even for a first rating.)

I drink true teas, and tisanes. Among Tea,
I love my Japanese Greens, and more recently love exploring whites and oolongs, and want to rediscover Pouchongs. Mixed results so far with pu-erh and also blacks, but use blacks for chai, as well as medicinally. Limited exposure to (Chinese)red teas, but interested. No experience with yellow or purple teas.

Among herbal and floral notes, my favorites are (Seaweed) Kombucha, Mints, Ginger, Honeysuckle,Yuzu, Jasmine, Lavender, and Rose.
After all this time, I still understand unflavored Matcha, jasmine or rose fragrance in tea to be a sweet tea.

The flavors I Treasure in my Tea are the Classics/Orthodox blends, I gravitate most towards the layered and nuanced teas.
Of those I always return to Scented and “Plain”…while I do enjoy some classic flavored tea also. I feel strongly that life is to short to drink bad tea.

Ingredients you will not find in my tea stash: 1. Stevia, 2. rooibos (red or green), 3. Fermented kombucha, or more accurately, kōcha kinoko.
I am attempting to avoid any artificial flavors as well.

My permanent stash consists of mostly varieties, teas I know I enjoy at any temperature( at least 1-2 each of Houjicha, Genmaicha, Sencha, Moroccan or other Green tea/Mint Blend, Thai blend, Silk Oolong, Jasmine, Chai, and White, Matcha, Darjeeling Black..

Ginger, Lychee, Lavender, Mint, Rose, Rosehips, Hibiscus, Mugicha, and Japanese Konbu-cha (both plain, and Ume flavors) and Yuzu are among the tisanes/blends ideally in residence) I chose based on overall quality as well as how a tea’s flavor and texture holds up over various temperatures(as in can it cool and keep my interest?).
I try not to be too brand loyal, in case of discontinuance, or lack of common availability.(Of course I do have my further favorites, but I try to find a few qualifying faves to rotate through.)
I have a small collection of tea ware, collect some lines of Wade Rose Tea figurines.

Rating Legend:

100 = What I will restock first and most likely always have on hand

90-99 = Where is the Tea IV again? Soul Nourishing Teas I never want to be without.

79-90 = Daily Drinker Teas, comfort teas must haves.

66-78 = Specialty stash. Seasonal must haves, Medicinals, Teas that I love that are too expensive/rare to qualify for unrestrained consumption, or that I have to “be in the mood for”

65-50 = Acceptable, 2nd choice brands or types of of my staple kinds of tea, teas that may need reconsideration.

30-49 = Will drink if only tea around. Won’t buy personally.

48-20 = Might finish a tasting cup…For Research only.

20-1 = Why am I drinking this?….Just…NO.

1= also often a tea where the smell of it, dry, or brewed makes my physically react badly, before tasting

Rated, but No tasting note?
I have tried it prior to joining, and rated from memory. If it is in my stash, or something that got a high enough rating to revisit, I will get to an update with a formal tasting note as well. OR: The first smell or sip made me ill enough, I did not proceed with the tasting.

Favorite Companies So far:
Numi
MAJANI
Shang
Tealet
Butiki Teas
Nature’s Tea Leaf
The Persimmon Tree
Steven Smith Teamaker
Japanese Green Tea Shops
Mellow Monk
Blue Lotus Chai
Red Leaf Tea
Hibiki-an
Yuuki-Cha
O-Cha.com
Maiko
Den’s
Hojo
Aiya
-
the minimalism of tea

“Tea is a an act complete in its simplicity.

When I drink tea, there is only me, and the tea.

The rest of the world dissolves.

There are no worries about the future.

No dwelling on past mistakes.

Tea is simple: loose-leaf tea, hot pure water, a cup.

I inhale the scent, tiny delicate pieces of the tea floating above the cup.

I drink the tea, the essence of the leaves becoming a part of me.

I am informed by the tea, changed.

This is the act of life, in one pure moment, and in this act the truth of the world suddenly becomes revealed: all the complexity, pain, drama of life is a pretense, invented in our minds for no good purpose.

There is only the tea, and me, converging."


Thich Nhat Hanh: Tea Ceremony

Location

Oregon, USA

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