2238 Tasting Notes
165/365
I’ve loved buckwheat tea since the first time I tried it, but I feel like I don’t come across it that often. I’m all over it when I do, though! The flavour is hard to describe – kind of cereal-like, toasted wheat? This is as good as any I’ve tried, although I find that the flavour doesn’t vary all that much between brands. It’s not really tea, after all.
Love it, though!
Preparation
164/365
I finished off my bag of LP’s This Keemun is BS yesterday, and so I had to replace it with another keemun. This one is malty, with a streak of juicy fruitiness. It’s not astringent, as such, but slightly drying, and perhaps not quite as smooth and jammy as I’d hoped it would be.
It more than lives up to the “aromatic” part of its name, with a beautifully floral scent. I don’t get a lot of floral in the flavour, except maybe very slightly in the aftertaste. I’m glad of that, though, since floral in general isn’t something I particularly enjoy in tea.
I like this one, but I’ve definitely had keemun I prefer. It’s a bit too middle of the road to really stand out, but pleasant enough. Probably not a repurchase.
Preparation
163/365
This is the last of the teas from my first White2Tea order. I can’t remember why I chose this one now, because the majority of the notes seem fairly negative. I’m not a great lover of bitterness in my pu’erh, and particularly not sheng. I must have read something redeeming at some point, though, so I’m going to give it a chance anyway! It’s the oldest of the shengs I selected, so I’m hoping age will be on its side…
I kept the first steep fairly minimal, at around 25 seconds. Fortunately, it’s perfectly smooth with absolutely no bitterness. It doesn’t have a huge amount of flavour; even the usual brassy sourness is missing! It’s lightly creamy, with a very slight edge of honey, and perhaps the tiniest bit of raw wood at the end of the sip. Pleasant, but not particularly arresting.
I left the second steep a little longer, just to see. I’ve found a touch of bitterness, but really no more than that. The flavour this time was unexpectedly smoky, with a woody undertone that’s quite pleasant. I’m surprised how different it was from the first steep, but I’ll probably reduce the time again for my next.
Third steep for 30 seconds, and the bitterness was again absent. I think there’s a fairly fine tipping point with this one; a case of a few seconds perhaps. The smokiness is present a little, but mostly in the background. For the most part, this is back to the smooth, creamy flavour of the first steep. It’s pleasant, but it’s finicky and lighter in flavour than I expected. On this plus side, no characteristic raw sheng flavour!
Third steep was for around 25 seconds; as the leaf unfurls, it obviously brews more quickly. There’s a tiny hint of bitterness, a touch of smoke, but mostly a raw wood flavour. The creaminess has disappeared. I could continue with this one for a while yet, but it’s time to go home! I may save my leaf and resume tomorrow, or I might move on to something else. I have enough left that I can return to this one in the future if I want to.
The last of Bluebird’s Tea Election candidates, and the one I ultimately decided to vote for. I prefer both the flavour and the effect over any of the other candidates, and so in the end it was the obvious choice. It was my favourite of the Dreamtime collection (two of which made the list of candidates), so perhaps it’s no surprise. I originally thought I’d probably choose Coconut Milk Oolong or Bananas & Custard, though, so it wasn’t an entirely foregone conclusion! I’ve enjoyed trying a couple of new blends, and revisiting some others. It’s been an interesting – and fun – experience!
So, the tea. I’m not usually a fan of floral teas, but I don’t mind the lavender in this one. It’s fairly muted, and what I can taste blends really well with the lemon. It’s a pairing that just works. I drink this one as a latte 9 times out of 10, and it’s great like that right before bed – so soothing and calming. In flavour terms, it reminds me a little of sherbet lemons, only not quite as intense and obviously without the effervescence.
I hope this one makes the cut, because teas that have a function as well as flavour are pretty high on my list right now. Tasty sleep aids always welcome!
Preparation
162/365
I’ve been saving this for cold brewing pretty much since I bought it. Probably it should have seen the light of day last year, but since that was a write off…
I’m really glad I pulled this one out today, though. The dry leaf (and even the brewed tea) don’t have much in the way of scent about them, so it was impossible to judge before tasting. I was expecting mostly oolong, since I’ve left it so long, but fortunately that’s not the case.
This is so good. Now that I’ve tried it, I’m more than a little sad that it’s no longer available. It reminds me a lot of Butiki’s Watermelon Xylophone, which is something I never thought I’d say. No watermelon tea has ever struck that natural, fresh, pulpy watermelon flavour so accurately before, until now. This one captures it just as well – absolutely no artificiality here!
Cold brewing was the right way to go, I think. The cold water adds to the “fridge fresh watermelon” vibe, to the point where it almost could be mistaken for watermelon juice. The base is perfect – maybe even better than Butiki’s! I love the buttery creaminess the baozhong oolong contributes; it just works so well, and is totally delicious to boot!
I’m glad I’ve got some more of this one, but I’m going to save it for the really hot days we’ll get later in the summer. It’ll be a joy, pure and simple, to drink this when it’s 30 degrees outside.
Preparation
161/365
The reviews of this are so good, I feel kind of nervous. What if it doesn’t live up to the crazy expectations I now have for it? That part of the reason why I’ve left it so long, I think. That, and no bad ever came from leaving sheng a while. It might even be better now than it was before.
While brewing, I get the typical sour, metallic scent I get from most sheng and dislike intensely. It’s one of the things that puts me off; that, and the Teavivre Fengqing from 2006 that actually tastes like that scent. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that one.
The first steep does have a brassiness to it, but underlying that is a thick creaminess and a light sweetness. It develops a little in the aftertaste into a definite sugarcane flavour, with a hint of baking flour. I’m hoping the top note of sourness will fade in successive steeps…
Second steep retains most of the metallic/sour/brassy flavour; it’s perhaps even a touch more prominent than it was. The creaminess is developing, however, and there’s still a light sugariness underlying. As it cools, I’m picking up the tiniest hint of menthol. I’m finding that there’s a happy place with this one, where the creaminess is at its peak and the sweetness is most noticeable –it’s not when it’s freshly brewed or hot, and not when it’s cooling rapidly, but somewhere in between. It’s hard to define, but it’s almost like it needs to settle a bit first to be at its best. If you catch it at this point, most of the characteristic “young sheng” flavours are significantly muted…but it doesn’t last long!
Third steep is much improved, with the sourness finally fading. The creamy sweetness prevails, with a hint of flour, but I’m not getting a lot more from it than that.
Fourth steep is very similar to the third. I’m not getting as much from this one as I expected to, but the mouthfeel alone makes it worth drinking. I’ll probably take it through a few more steeps before I call it a day, but I don’t expect too much variation for the new few.
I would try another iteration of this one with a future White2Tea order. It’s one of the more palatable young shengs I’ve come across in a long time, even if it wasn’t quite what I was hoping it would be.
160/365
The last of Bluebird’s Dreamtime collection, which was released earlier this year (just after Christmas?) Dozy Girl is kind of a repromote in this context, because it’s part of their permanent collection anyway. I’m pretty sure it’s one of the ones that’s been around since day one.
It’s never been one of my absolute favourites, just because floral teas aren’t generally my thing. I had a cup right before bed, though, and I slept so well last night that I might have to reevaluate. I didn’t go to bed particularly early, but I woke up actually feeling refreshed, and that’s a rare thing for me.
The most prominent flavour is chamomile, followed by a heavy hit of rose. The lavender is there also, but remains very much a background flavour. The combination is highly scented and perhaps a little too perfumey for my liking, but it does tone down the sweet/honey flavour of the chamomile a little, and that’s welcome.
There’s something underlying the other flavours that I can’t quite put my finger on, but it’s adding a deeply “herbal” note to an otherwise sweet tea. I suppose it could be the lemon verbena…? It’s not the hibiscus! Until I looked at the ingredients list, I didn’t actually realise there was hibiscus in this blend. It doesn’t affect the flavour or colour, so I guess it can’t be much.
This probably isn’t a tea I’d drink routinely for pleasure, because the flavour combination isn’t really one I enjoy. As a sleep aid, though? You bet!
Preparation
I find myself doing most anything for a good night’s sleep these days—and by these days, I mean the past two years since my new neighbours moved in with baby and other hysterics.
That sucks. I’ve had bad neighbours before, and remember it as one of the worst experiences of my life. That might sound melodramatic, but it got to the point where the thought of going home made me feel physically sick…and I don’t like my job! If I’d rather stay at work than go home, I know things are really bad. This tea just seems to knock me out, though. I don’t think it used to have that much effect on me, but it certainly does these days!
Not melodramatic at all. I completely get it and well know that sinking feeling when you walk in the front door to your own home. It’s like the thing gets poisoned. Sorry that you had had that experience. Here, I continue to experiment to find a workable solution. It’s coming.
Hurray for potent sleepy tea!
I cold brewed my remaining four bags to bring to work with me today. It’s pretty good this way – tart, juicy raspberry, and that something in the background that really does remind me of prosecco. The darjeeling base is crisp and clean, a touch muscatel. It’s perhaps a little strong as is (I’m still getting used to my cold brew bottle, which is only 750ml as opposed to the litre or two I’m used to preparing), but that just means I can use 70:30 tea to sparkling water, and that’s a pretty perfect way to drink this one. The carbonation helps to capture the whole “prosecco” aspect even more perfectly! I’m sad this was a Christmas limited edition, because it’s an amazing on a hot day like today.
Preparation
159/365
It was hot yesterday, like 27 degrees or something. Apparently, we’ve skipped spring entirely and gone from threatening snow to full summer pretty much overnight. Very odd, and not a little unexpected! The upside is that it’s definitely time for iced tea and cold brews.
I made this one up when I got home from work last night. I used 2 tsp of leaf, and gave it 4 minutes in 100ml boiling water. I added 2 tsp of fresh squeezed orange juice to a glass of ice, added the tea, and topped it off with sparkling water. It was the most refreshing thing! The flavour was perhaps a little more muddled than I expected – more orange blossom (and more fragrant/floral) than straight orange. There was also a touch of rose, but just in the background. I found this one to have a fair amount of hibi sour tartness, but since it helped to stop things getting too sweet I didn’t actually mind too much.
I enjoyed this one, and I’d buy more once I’ve finished my current sample. It’s rare for me to say that about a floral-ish tea, but combined with the flavour of actual orange (and it is there…) it was actually really pleasant.
Preparation
158/365
Finally getting to the third (and final) blend from this year’s Easter collection. I’ve tried this one many, many times before, but for the first time as a latte this year. The scent of the dry leaf seems sweeter to me than I remember – like there might be more vanilla than there was previously, perhaps. I remember it being a fruity/juicy blend with a hint of smoke and spice…
I followed Bluebird’s recipe for this one, except that I used whole milk rather than almond. For some reason, almond milk (or at least the one I can get at my local store) tastes really bitter to me. I can see why almond milk would work here, but in practice it’s not really for me.
The result is pretty delicious. It’s not quite hot cross bun, but close. The milk drowns out any and all smokiness, so the “toasted” aspect of the flavour I’ve noticed in previous years (and loved!) isn’t really a feature here. I wouldn’t expect it in a latte, though, s I’m okay with that. Instead, the vanilla and spice are brought to the fore – I get lots of cinnamon, lots of sweet creamy vanilla, and a pretty excellent dried fruit (specifically raisin) flavour. There’s even a hint of breadiness, which I’d maybe have expected from a black base (or certain kinds, anyway) but not so much from a rooibos.
I’m really impressed with how this one turned out. I was worried about drowning all of the flavours in milk (that’s an ever present latte concern of mine), but happily it stands up well. I’m glad to have found a new way with this one, although I think I enjoy it straight most of all.
Preparation
I find some nut milks have a bitter flavour if the manufacturer doesn’t take off the brown casing on the nut. The thin papery brown part is quite bitter on its own, but the white inner part is not. Although some manufactures don’t blanch and roast the nuts either. The best almond milk comes from de-husked blanched and roasted almonds, but the package normally doesn’t specify. Cashew or soy milk tend to be more palatable, but may not be available in your area.
I like my almond milk very sweet and creamy, so usually I go for the Vanilla Almond Milk, and not the “unsweetened” variety… blech! I accidentally grabbed a carton of the “unsweetened” stuff once and had to dump it, but I’m find with the “sweetened” varieties of almond milk. The Vanilla kind has a little extra sweetness and just has a nice creaminess that I really enjoy in tea.
