257 Tasting Notes

97

I was extremely psyched this weekend when I discovered that the mom and pop peach stand down the road sells Charleston Tea Plantation teas! Now I know how Columbus felt in 1492! I had just learned about these teas during my trip to Charleston last week and I figured I’d have to wait until my next trek to that great city before I could buy more. What made my discovery even sweeter was when I found that I can buy the teas locally for about 25% less than what they cost me in Charleston! So, needless to say, I picked up an additional variety of this wonderful tea.

The Governor Gray tea, like the other selections from this company that I’ve tried so far, has a very smooth and full flavor. The bergamot presence is light, but you know it is there by the citrus undertones that exist in every sip. Perhaps it only seems light to me because I am accustomed to the supercharged double bergamot tea blend produced by Stash. In any case, this is a very nice and tasty tea. I steeped it for four minutes at 212 degrees. This seemed to result in a hint of bitterness, but nothing to detract from my pleasure in drinking this tea. Next time I will lighten up and cut a minute off of the steeping time.

UPDATE: I did diminish the steeping time to three minutes to see if the slight bitterness that I experienced at four minutes would disappear. The results are in. To quote Goldilocks, “This one is just right!”

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
Bigelow Tea

Stoo, so happy to read your post on your recent discovery! We love to hear how the simple joy of finding a new flavor, or an existing favorite can bring our consumers pleasure! Thanks so much for sharing your experience
Kathy for Bigelow Tea

Stoo

It’s my pleasure, Kathy. I love sampling new teas. This has really become a fun adventure for me! Happy New Year!

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100
drank MateVana by Teavana
257 tasting notes

I said I was going to just enjoy the loose leaf teas I have now and not buy more until I finish what I have. But…I was at the local mall last night and passed a store that I hadn’t noticed before…TEAVANA!!!

TEAVANA became NIRVANA for me! The incredible aromas that filled the store, as well as the many free tea tasting samples, were just too much for me to resist. I didn’t want to go crazy (yet) so I only bought two types during this stop. I know I will be back…soon.

I was very excited to try the purchased MateVana tea this morning. The odor that arose from the cannister contained the only thing that I like about coffee, its great aroma. I hate the taste of coffee and have always wished that coffee tasted like it smelled. This tea does just that and more!

The sweet, almost chocolaty, aroma that wafted from the tea maker while brewing, again screamed out the qualities that I always envied in coffee. This divine smell was not even slightly diminished in the cup that followed. And, the bold, sweet, and polished flavor of the tea is beyond adequate accolades. It TASTES exactly like fine coffee SMELLS without the harsh and often bitter flavor of coffee. It is tremendously rich, vibrant, and smooth. I drank three cups of this wonderful nectar this morning. I can’t wait to pop open the cannister again soon, just to sniff it, if I don’t have time to brew it.

Now I know why they give you so many free tasting samples at Teavana. It’s to get you hooked on the fine stuff! In my case, stay tuned. I’ll let you know how things go at my TA (Te-a-holics Anonymous) meetings.

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97

This is another one of the Charleston Tea Plantation loose leaf teas that I picked up while I was in Charleston, South Carolina, last week. Although I like several strong cups of potent black tea in the morning to get my remaining brain cells chugging, I decided to give this green tea a try today. I am so glad I did! I set the Breville One-Touch Tea Maker for medium-strength green tea, with a brewing time of three minutes at 175 degrees. The flavor of this tea is smooth as silk. The taste of mint is cool and refreshing without overpowering the light but steady essence of the tea. Bitterness is not part of this tea’s vocabulary, even 40 minutes after brewing. I drank three cups this morning and still yearned for more!

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82

I was in Charleston, South Carolina, last week and just couldn’t resist picking up some loose leaf tea grown on the Charleston Tea Plantation, the only tea plantation in the United States. The Charleston Breakfast Tea variety brewed for four minutes, resulting in a vibrant amber color. The flavor is pleasant, although not multi-dimensional or particularly bold. The taste is slightly nutty but lacks sweetness that my worn tastebuds are able to detect. All-in-all, this is a kind and gentle breakfast tea that will softly stir you from your slumber.

Alan Mueller

I wasn’t a big fan of it,but reading this review makes it sound insatiable for the morning;so i’ll give it another try. Thanks. :)

Kashyap

Just so you know…not the only tea plantation in the USA…Sakuma Brothers in Skagit Valley Washington is also produced in the US…FYI

Stoo

Hi Alan!

Yes, give it a try. You won’t be sorry! Thanks for your comment!

Stoo

Stoo

Hi Kashyap!

I heard about the Sakuma Brothers several months ago. It is a fairly recent tea venture. I believe they are calling themselves a “farm” and haven’t reached “plantation” status yet. However, they are tea growers nevertheless. Thanks for keeping me straight!

To learn more about the Sakuma Brothers tea farm, go here: http://shop.sakumabros.com/tea.aspx

Stoo

Kashyap

yeah…I already know and work with Richard and offer the Green and Oolong through our website and store…

Stoo

Very cool, Kashyap! Please send me the link to your website. I’d love to take a look at it!

Stoo

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97

I was going to wait until next year to evolve from tea bags to loose leaf. However, thanks to my wonderful girlfriend, who bought me the Breville One-Touch Tea Maker for my birthday yesterday, I’m ahead of schedule. I’m a gadget kind of guy and I would love this very cool machine even if all it did was boil water. Of course, though, I need loose leaf tea to properly play with my new toy. I ran out to the store last night and chose Rishi Earl Grey for my inaugural launch. As the tea was steeping for four minutes at 212 degrees, I immediately noticed a richer aroma than I had ever experienced with bagged tea and 192-degree water. The color of the tea was also more vibrant than I had encountered with bagged Earl Grey teas. As I excitedly took my first sip, I tasted a cornucopia of tea, bergamot, malt, and spice. The experience reminded me of when I first emerged from black-and-white to color television. I love this tea, I love my new tea maker, I love loose leaf, I love my girlfriend, I love life, and I love you. All is well with the world today. :-)

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80

To tea…or not to tea…that was the question last night. Once again, I weakened, but wisely chose another caffeine free variety. This time, I selected Wissotzky’s Wild Berries tea. While steeping, there was a sweet aroma that reminded me of a fruit stand. The red-ish color was a cross between grape juice and red Hawaiian Punch. My first sip filled my tastebuds with a fruity sensation similar to a grape juice/Kool-Aid hybrid. There also was a rather pronounced bitterness left on my tongue. However, I was in this for the long haul, so I sipped again and again and again. The bitterness magically disappeared after about the third sip. (Maybe that is what the “Magic Garden” on the package means.) After that, I found the tea to be a very pleasant fruity drink for late at night. I believe this blend would be much more enjoyable for the whole family as an iced selection. The folks at Wissotzky must believe that too. The package points out that this beverage is “great for iced tea”.

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96

I wonder if it is possible to become a te-a-holic. If so, I am rapidly becoming one. This evening, I once again couldn’t resist reaching for another (caffeine-free) tea to accompany my dessert. I was very fortunate to flip a coin in favor of the Bushmen’s Brew Honeybush selection. I couldn’t have picked a more appropriate time to take this delicious number for a spin. It is easy to see how Honeybush got its name. This tea has a wonderful natural sweetness that happily walked hand-in-hand with my butterscotch pudding. The sweet Honeybush is delightful, with a light and easy flavor. There was no bitterness, even after six minutes of steeping. As of now, this scrumptious tea is the leading candidate for my night cup.

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89

I usually try to end my daily tea consumption before 7:00 PM. At that time I’m ready to unwind for the evening and come down from the energizing doses of caffeine supplied by my morning cups. However, tonight I had a craving for tea to accompany my pasta supper. Remembering that my Wissotzky gift chest contained some fruity caffeine-free varieties, I reached in and pulled out a bag of Blood Orange & Mandarin Scent. After steeping, the tea had a clean translucent orange/cherry color. I also enjoyed the tantalizing fruity aroma that emerged from my cup. This tea has an exquisite yet mellow citrus flavor. I don’t seek out flowery tasting teas, but the hint of rosehips in this blend greatly enhances the flavor. I thoroughly enjoyed it with my meal. If you dim the lights in your dining room and use crystal goblets, this tea can be an integral component of any gourmet occasion.

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97

I was already a big fan of Stash’s SINGLE Bergamot Earl Grey tea so I wondered if doubling the Bergamot content was really necessary. The consistency of Bergamot seemed perfect to me. But, when I noticed that the Double Bergamot Earl Grey selection was on sale for a very low price at our fine local French boutique, Tarzhay (spelled T-a-r-g-e-t), my curiosity was too strong to be denied. While steeping the turbo Bergamot blend, I immediately noticed the fortified aroma escaping from my cup. After five minutes, I fastened my seat belt and raised the cup cautiously to my lips. The powerful Bergamot scent slapped me in the nostrils all the way up. As the potent tea swished around my palate, my taste buds were instantly washed in the bright and sunny fruity flavor of the supercharged Bergamot. Although the aspect of tea is definitely relegated to the back seat of this variety, enough is present to create the total sensation of a divine and effervescent compound. After finishing the cup, a zesty aftertaste was left behind that reminded of this great experience. I am captivated by this compelling blend. I fear that there may no longer be sufficient chills and thrills in standard Bergamot tea for my newly enhanced sense of adventure.

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99

For my second journey into the land of The Republic of Tea, I chose their Vanilla Almond blend. I anxiously waited for this tea to finish steeping as the sweet vanilla aroma filled my nostrils. Finally, after five minutes (that seemed like five days), the tea was ready to taste. With my first sip, the full, sweet, vanilla, and nutty properties danced on my tongue. The robust quality of the vanilla joins expertly with the almond presence and the supporting tea flavor to create a delightful taste sensation. This tea instantly became one of my favorite selections. The Republic of Tea continues to create incredible blends that coddle my insatiable sweet tooth.

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Bio

I ventured into the world of serious tea drinking in the Summer of 2011. I started out slowly and gently with bagged tea but climbed to the incredible flavorful heights of loose leaf teas in October of that year. Once you go leaf, you never go bag (except when you get free samples)!

Location

South Carolina, USA

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