Rabs Send Message

Well, I think that I’ve fully realized that I really like the thought of rose teas, but in reality they’re not what I enjoy. There doesn’t seem to be any subtlety with the ones that I’ve had. In an odd way I think that some oolongs are what I’ve been dreaming of with roses.

This one has the aggressive “I am rose, hear me rawr” dry leaf scent that I’ve begun to associate with rose teas. The steeped scent is nice and rosy. But then there’s the war between the rose and tea. They just don’t seem to get along together. I don’t like feeling like my mouth is a battleground. And there’s a bitter aftertaste that I’m not digging.

Oh well, I’ll use this tin up over time and then be sure not to purchase again. M

Wow! I’m so glad that I’d read Shanti’s note about this tea and decided to give it a whirl. I have never craved coconuts, and I generally avoid them on sweets or cakes. Um, but I think that I’ll now take them in my teas! To paraphrase a wise old bird: I’m cuckoo for coconuts!

I think that others who have been reviewing this do a better job than I could. The one thing that I’ll add is that I don’t know what is going on (or if this is a common thing with oolongs because I had an oolong the other day that did this same thing) but it feels like little sugar bombs are going off in my mouth. Like, the size of a tastebud sugar bomb randomly “pops” on different spots on my tongue. I don’t even know if this has a name in the tea world, or if it’s just me, but I love it!

This isn’t a guaranteed future purchase, but it’s going on the short list. NE

This is my first Wuyi Oolong, and it’s really shown me how there are so many different characteristics to oolongs. The dry leaves had a slightly smoky scent along with the smell I associate with oolongs.

I actually read through all the notes to see if I was crazy, and thank goodness someone else had a similar experience (cuz I did feel crazy), but throughout the first steep I kept getting a “wift of marijuana smoke” smell. The taste was bolder than I’m used to with oolongs – more earthy and like a steamed vegetable plate (less asparagus-ey).

I’m on steeping #2 and it’s more like I’m licking a mossy rock that someone had sprinkled with sugar. Not a bad thing (or something that I’d do in real life), but I’m just not sure if this will be a staple oolong for me. NE

Blues Brothers + this tea = the saving graces of this crappy day.*

So this is what plain Honeybush tastes like! As I suspected this is that “lotioney” taste that’s been part of the flavored versions of this tea. That lotion taste isn’t bad…it’s just different. I’m also having trouble with this note since I drank 6 steeps of a Jade Oolong that I picked up today at a tea shop that shall remain nameless for now. I feel like that oolong actually steeped itself into my tongue – is that even possible? It seems that l’m still tasting the oolong while drinking this. So I plan on drinking this again in the near future when not under the oonfluence. NE

*Here’s the summary of my crap day: I drove an hour to my closest tea shop to go to a green tea tasting class with a friend. This was my first visit there. After being told by employees that the class was actually 2 hours later we went to Whole Foods (bought a couple of Rishi teas!), and then returned to the shop. Um, yeah, the class is actually next Sunday. ::facepalm:: That last part was my bad – I got my dates mixed up. My friend can’t make it next week and they said that they won’t do a class if it ends up just being me. ::sigh:: We shall see. The other saving grace is that my friend experienced her first loose leaf tea today (an oolong) and LOVED it. So, I picked up 2oz of the oolong and a sample of their Lapsang Souchon and came back home.

Oh the disappointment. I sooo wanted to enjoy this tea especially after reading the reviews. Buy nay, our love was not to be – perhaps my expectations were too high? This was the tea where I finally had to admit to myself that I must get my “winging the temp” issue resolved and soon. I just don’t want to think about how many teas I’ve potentially butchered. (eeek!)

This is another tea where I swear I tasted soy milk (plain soy this time – or what I like to call “bean juice”). Then the melon taste to me was like a not-quite-ripe cantaloupe. I’m so sad that this earns a M in my book.

I’ve decided that I’m a floral freak and I’m letting my floral freak flag fly (say that ten times fast)! Oolongs are still new to me, so I’m guessing that someday in the future I will think this one’s ho-hum. But for now I’m loving this. I’m on the third infusion and plan to keep goin’ as many times as possible – I just had to get my first 3 steeps down before I forgot (and will edit to add more info if I feel it is warrented).

Steep 1 (180ish for 3 minutes): I always think that I’m going to hate oolongs on the first infusion. The dry leaf smell doesn’t do anything for me and then the first taste is always so very veggie and I’m not a huge veg fan. Still nice, but very veg and no floral (but the leaves hadn’t fully opened). Oh – and I had done a short rinse on them.

Steep 2 (180ish for 3 minutes): Less strong veg and just the tiniest little whisper of floral. Mmm…

Steep 3 (180ish for 4 minutes): Where the hell did this sweet floral side come from?!?! It’s like a completely new tea! It has a great floral taste and then it’s the most interesting sweet lingering sensation on my tongue. I’ve never experienced that lingering sensation before. If someone handed me this tea on its third steep and had me try it, then I think that I’d be utterly confused and not know what it was. A floral white perhaps? Again – remember I have a noob palate. ;) Off for the fourth steep I go! TG

Apparently I’m a wimp when it comes to black teas. I enjoyed this a lot more than any of the loose leaf varieties with which I’ve been experimenting. This definitely hit the “spot-o-yumminess.” Right at first the peach seemed a bit fake and too strong, but then it mellowed nicely as the cup cooled.

I’m thinking that for me black teas will take time for me to grow into. It took me working as a barista for 7 years to finally embrace coffee and espresso, so I’d speculate that my black tea journey will take some time (hopefully not as long as the coffee one did!). But now I know to be patient with myself. :) NE

As inspired by Morgana’s “Tale of Three Vanillas” I chose this one out of my sampler for my morning tea. This is the first vanilla tea that I’ve ever had and it was nice. The dry leaf smell reminded me of Vanilla Silk (which is neither good nor bad – I just only have it with cereal and not as a straight drink). The steeped tea smelled like a gentler Vanilla Silk.

That being said – this is the first loose leaf black tea that was actually “smooth” to me. Maybe a little too smooth because it sort of bored me, but it did give me hope that someday I’ll like black teas more than I do at present. Ultimately it’s like this tea was going out of its way to be overly polite. M

I’d never had a plain mint tea before, and so when trying to find more caffeinie-free options I saw spearmint (which I tend to reach for when buying gum) and decided to get a sample. I don’t have a lot to say about it other than it’s pretty much what I expected, only maybe a bit more crisp. I think that this shall be my mint tea of choice to keep a small amount on hand. NE