361 Tasting Notes

80

I bought this one to share with the BBBB ladies in the next round and couldn’t wait to try it. I’ve been eyeing it for months and finally caved since I wanted something good to share with the ladies. I brewed this up while I was seasoning my insanely cute new yixing mug. Photo here: http://tastybrewtea.blogspot.com/2013/10/crazy-cute-new-yixing-mug.html

Brewed up, this tea is super chocolaty. And almost like a keemun in its smoke flavor, not bbq flavor, but smokey. I like it and am enjoying it, but am not as blown away as others who have reviewed it. It’s definitely interesting though, very very chocolatey. The keemun notes throw me for a loop though.

El Monstro

I’ve been interested in trying this tea for awhile, the “very very chocolatey” part sounds intriguing.

Terri HarpLady

That mug is adorable!
The tea sounds interesting too!
I can’t believe I haven’t mailed the box out yet, I’ve been so busy.
Sorry about that!
:)

ashmanra

Oh, the painting on that mug is awesome!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

My teas arrived from Easy Tea Hard Choice today. The box and packaging are very cute. I pulled this one out first simply because I didn’t know what it was. I brewed up a cup and started drinking it before I read the notes on it. I agree 100% with Dinosara. It’s a little astringent per the brewing instructions and none of the other Taiwan teas I’ve had have had much astringency. Doesn’t work for me with this tea. I think next time I’ll use the same leaf amount but shorter steep times. It’s also not as juicy as the teas from Taiwan Tea Crafts. But maybe if I do shorter steeps I’ll be able to pull out some of the hidden flavors. So far not in love.

Dexter

Hmmmm Mine came yesterday. Haven’t tried any of them yet. Need to make a mental note about the shorter steep times.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

I really like this one. It tastes like a cross between a roasty taiwanese oolong and a taiwanese wild mountain black. It’s light and juicy, but with a nice roasty flavor to it. This is definitely going on the reorder list.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Hmmm… I made this one a few days ago and it was amazing. Then I made it just now and it’s not so great. Not sure what I did differently, but I’m not tasting any of the fruitiness of a few days ago. I’ll have to keep track of my steeping parameters from now on.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

97

This is the premium version and is sweeter, lighter, fruitier, and more buttery than the other. Can’t go wrong either way. This one seems like a cross between a Taiwanese Assam and Yuchi Wild Mountain Black. Really delicious.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

96

I’ve had this tea and the premium one a few times now and decided to have them side by side today. What I’ve decided…. This one is definitely more bold and more “Assam” like. Still fruity and super delicious, but bolder and deeper in flavor than the premium one. That being said, I think I actually prefer the premium. I think. I’m not sure. The premium one is a bit sweeter and is really buttery. Tastes so similar to the Caramel Vanilla Assam. It’s also a bit fruitier. I love them both. The #147 is a good first morning tea. I think the other is a great second morning tea :-)

Ysaurella

Taiwanese teas are often absolutely fabulous.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

95

After trying a few new teas that weren’t hitting the mark, I made this. This is such a delicious fall afternoon tea. There is something about it that reminds me of pumpkin pie. I also need to grab one of those “I love leaf hopper” magnets, because I seriously do. Such good little hoppers.

Sil

You say hopper and I immediately think of a bugs life heh

TastyBrew

Hmmm… yeah, I don’t lover Hopper. But I do love hoppers :-)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Another tea that’s not for me. I actually liked the first few sips of each steep, but as it cooled, the smoke flavor emerged more and more.

Sil

Mmmm I like this one.

TastyBrew

I can send you the rest of mine next go round. I can’t imagine ever reaching for it.

Sil

If you don’t then I would for sure make it a happy home. The sample dinosara sent has me contemplating purchasing more :)

Terri HarpLady

I’ve been on the fence regarding that purchase for a couple of weeks now…

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

I have really enjoyed my order from TTC. All except this one. If you like raisins, and I mean the really sweet and juicy ones, then you probably would like this tea. But as I don’t like raisins at all, not even remotely, this tea had to be dumped. The second steep wasn’t as raisiny but it still lingered in the background and I couldn’t get past it. This is their most expensive tea, so my tea budget is happy I don’t like it.

Sil

Hmmm…..

TastyBrew

Have you tried this one?

Sil

Negative!

Terri HarpLady

I think I bought some, but haven’t opened it yet

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

My husband just returned from a trip to Singapore and brought me back a few teas. One of them was labeled a Lapsang Souchong. I thought, oh crap, I seriously do not like them. But when I opened it. It smelled amazing. Rich chocolate. Dark roast. Is that normal? I always thought LS were just meat smokey. And I don’t eat meat, so I really don’t like my tea to taste like it. But this one was either mislabeled, or maybe there are different kinds. Cause this one was amazing. Anybody have any insights?

I used my new favorite glass steeper. Perfect 8oz glass mug with glass steeping insert. Pictures here:

http://tastybrewtea.blogspot.com/2013/10/my-favorite-new-steeping-cup.html

Sil

mmmmmmmm

Sil

also…that is a really cute steeper

OMGsrsly

What Sil said! Love that steeper. :)

yyz

To answer your question yes! Current regulations have severely limited the use of pine smoke in LS so more and more of them are being produced with little to no smoke flavour and yes many of them have very strong chocolate notes. I tried one that tasted like a chocolate caramel and was buttery like an oolong. I suspect I know who sells it but I have to decide if I want to pay that much for it. On the other hand of the 2 LS I have bought recently one has sharp fruit notes over the chocolate and the other has roasted notes and is more caramel underneath than chocolate but I’m currently loving this version of LS.

yyz

From another site..Apparently “Yan Zhengshan Xiaozhong” (煙正山小種). is the smoked version.

Terri HarpLady

Sounds yum!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

I love tea. And I love beer. I spent my twenties thoroughly enjoying all that beer has to offer but now that I’m into my thirties and a stay at home mom of 2 little kids and 1 big kid, I spend more time enjoying tea.

I joined steepster in Feb 2013 and it’s crazy how much my tastes have changed since joining. Before, I liked cream and honey in all teas and loved mostly dessert blacks. Now I almost rarely drink them, but enjoy them from time to time. What I love more than anything are straight rich black teas, Fujian, Laoshan, Rizhao, etc… I also love pretty much any black tea that the little leaf hoppers have gotten their teeth on.

I’m still not too into the green/white/oolong varieties. I keep trying to but my tastes are evolving pretty slowly on that front.

Overall, I just enjoy tea. Something about it that just settles me.

Location

Portland, OR

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer