2291 Tasting Notes
There’s a Teavana in the mall that one of my classes is in (I know, a legit university in a mall… so weird!), so I popped in the other day to pick some of this up for work. It’s perfect because I don’t need to stock any additives, it’s sweet but not ridiculous, and I can just leave the bits in my mug until I’ve finished drinking it.
I really like the flavour of this one, and I think it’s the lack of hibiscus that really makes this tea taste better to me than David’s Strawberry Ginger.
(The ingredients on the Teavana website are different than those on the tea page. Apple pieces, rosehip peels, apple slices, strawberry slices, strawberry pieces, marigold petals, citric acid, flavoring (strawberry, lemon, lime). Maybe they also use a different strawberry flavour… who knows.)
Preparation
While I love the flavours of chocolate and orange with puerh, it turns out that I am not a fan of chocolate “natural flavour” in my teas. Once I’ve finished what I have, I think I’ll be mixing up some of my own, with dark Callebaut and dried orange zest.
(Terry’s Chocolate Oranges result in a face similar to the red one on the rating chart…)
Preparation
Pretty tasty black tea. It’s especially fun to brew this in a clear container, to watch the leaves unfurl.
Like most black teas, I’m drinking this with honey and “creamer”. The flavour is deep, but not extremely strong. I used 5g of tea in 12 oz water, which is pretty standard for me now that I have a scale.
It’s not bitter, not too astringent, and actually tastes pretty good without the additions. The second steep is also delicious, but I can’t be bothered to try a third – I’d rather move on to a different flavour profile.
I’m not sure that I’d go out of my way to keep this tea in my cupboard, but I’m definitely enjoying what I have, and if I do another order from Tealux this will make the re-order list. Unfortunately, I can’t imagine needing to order more tea for many, many months at this point.
Preparation
This is an excellent morning mug tea now that I’ve figured it out! 4g leaves in my 16 oz mug, steeped for just about 3 min, with 1/2 tsp honey and a splash of ‘cream’. This still provides a strong cup of tea, but the short brew really allows the cream flavour to show through, and minimizes the tendency towards bitterness. Yum!
(I really need to a) bleach out my timolino because I was an idiot and now it smells like coffee, and b) get a glass or ceramic travel mug with a lid that seals pretty well (and isn’t too expensive). I dropped my fav. Sbux travel mug one too many times, and the lid keeps popping off!)
I brewed this up in my tiny tea pot the other day. I did an initial 30 second steep and had to dump it. Holy moly. I’m sure some people would like that first steep, but it was far to smokey for me. I then did a 1 min steep, and was very impressed. The smokiness toned down, and I was left with a dark brown-red tea with a lot of flavour, no bitterness, and practically no astringency. I actually quite like this!
Yesterday I re-used the leaves for another 1 minute steep, and although the tea was a bit lighter, there was still a tonne of flavour. I kept sipping it, trying to figure out what was missing. Cinnamon and orange, apparently! The only other dark (oxidized?) puerh I’ve had is Silk Road’s Golden Phoenix, so I associate the citrus and spice with the rich smokey flavours of the tea.
If you’re just getting into puerh, and aren’t sure about the smokiness, I’d recommend a white puerh, but if you’re willing to play around with the steeping a bit, this is a nice one that I think will take some flavour additions nicely. I’ll be adding some dried orange zest and pieces of cinnamon to some of this to try to recreate the flavours in my mind. :)
I tried to drink this tea this morning, but then I upset something on my desk and a bunch of non-edible stuff fell in my mug! I didn’t bother re-brewing, and moved on to, uhh, gin. I know, I know. But I was working on a calculus assignment (for 9 hours!) and gin was necessary.
From the bit I had, this tea is very very strong. I think that 3 minutes brew time is plenty, and I even added sugar and milk. The cream flavour isn’t terribly strong, but it does add something to the tea that I haven’t tasted before. I do like it, and am looking forward to a travel mug of it tomorrow! (Thankfully the travel mug has a lid, so even though they’re not kind to flavours, at least I won’t drop anything into it!)
Preparation
This tea is kinda interesting. It smells so good, like fresh vanilla beans, and that scent and flavour carries through brewing. I did a 10 second rinse and a 1 minute steep for the first batch… and unfortunately, I’m not completely sold. I do like it, the tea is very mild and sweet, and the vanilla flavour is true. But I don’t love it, and I don’t think I’ll get more of this tea.
I noticed when I brewed it that there are a lot of tiny broken bits of tea leaves in what I received, and even though I strained it, it’s becoming stronger and a little bitter as it sits.
I have a feeling that I prefer flavour in my black teas, and that I like the taste of the oolongs and puerhs (that I have) better on their own.
Preparation
I just got this set of 4 on sale, for $4.75. Totally worth it. The cups are super cute, and are perfect for my 200ml tea pot. It’s also surprisingly easy to sip from the rounded edge. I tend to spill a lot (so clumsy!) but I haven’t had any problems with these so far.
I was feeling awful this morning, so I had this in a travel mug. Oh, it was divine. The ginger, the sweetness, the lemon, and the bite from the cayenne. The only thing I could do without is eating the grounds when I get to the bottom of the cup!
In fact, I just made another travel mug full, and am taking it with me to sip on while I curl up and read a book.
My son graduated from the mall last spring :)
I was supposed to actually graduate from the mountain last spring, but then I ended up having one more class that’s only offered once a year, and in addition to that I was ‘conned’ into a second degree by an adviser. :) Sweet freedom this spring!
In our case, it was high school; made necessary by a tornado that flattened the campus—temporary quarters for juniors and seniors at what used to be a Shopko.
Oh wow! That’s incredible that they managed to find space and make it work. This university was an addition to the mall, along with some office towers. Pretty interesting, as it’s quite open and the food court smells up all the classroom. I don’t deny that it was needed, as the mountain has limited building space and there were some problems with designing the expansions on the main campus, but it’s really odd taking classes in a mall.