694 Tasting Notes
HHTTB #9/18
Thanks CelebriTEA for adding this on in the box. I had this a while back, but I remember not being in the correct frame of mind. I had just finished the real eggnog season and one of the things that I love about eggnog is the spice. This tea doesn’t have that, but it is incredibly creamy, smooth and sweet. I am really really enjoying this tonight. It is much better when I know what to expect. I will add it to the low caffeine wish list!
HH TTB #8/18
I have been slacking on getting the rest of the TTB teas reviewed. I got two amazing orders this past week and have been drooling over those cups. This tea I pulled out b/c I haven’t been too exposed to white teas. Some of my very first teas were whites, but since discovering black tea and the range of flavors there I have not returned too frequently to white. A lot of it has to do to the delicate nature of the tea. I enjoy the flavor but they are soo picky about temperature and time. This tea is absolutely delicious. So much bettrer than my expectations. I will not be able to describe the flavor well, but i get creamy sweet hay like taste with a tad of honeysuckle, not sure. It is very tasty and I am glad I pulled out a cup of this to try.
Insomnia has been biting me in the butt again and last night I made a few crucial mistakes. I drank caffeine after dinner and I worked out close to bed time. My milk powered alarm clock then decided to go off, 40 mins earlier than normal. Thank goodness for caffeine and a good cup of tea to get me rocking and rolling this morning.
After a comment from looseTMan on the keenum front I pulled this sample out again. This is another tea that proves my theory I need to give a tea at least 2 tries before rating or making a decision on it. This has been my go to tea this week and the very generous sample from the folks at Teavivre is almost gone. This has the good kind of brisk with a fruity-ness to the tea that I can’t quite explain. I pulled this tea out to compare to the wp pin peak keenum and they are both wonderful. I would keep both in my cupboard. The pine peak has a more bread like flavor and this has more fruit accents. A good morning cup!
Have you tried Superfine? I don’t have it, just wanted to know your opinion.
I have, boychik. I is very good, but I think I am going to add one of their other keemuns to my cupboard for breakfast, as I love the Superfine for afternoons.
ashmanra, I was going to get only one Keemun to my cupboard. Now you make it more difficult haha. So which one would you get as breakfast tea? You probably had them all, right?
I haven’t had the superfine yet. I was looking at the teavivre site and there was a sample pack that had a few of the teas I havne’t tried yet. The Superfine was in that pack. What makes the supperfine good for afternoon vs breakfast ashmarnra?
Superfine is more elegant. Premium is smooth, Robust & more cost-effective. I’ve reviewed all 4 TeaVivre Keemun & just ordered another 500g of it.
WP order and Verdant tea in one week! Yeah I am sipping on some pretty awesome cups these days. I honestly have no idea how I decided on what to to order for the spring pre-order but I ended up with 2oz of this. I am so glad I did. This is really yummy. I am enjoying this cup with a post work out treat of lemon Noosa yoghurt. If you have never had Noosa you need to. Like this tea it is amazing. I get the malt, i get sweet potato, I get a brightness like I do with some Yunnan’s but this is not enough to make me question this tea, it blends in well with the malty-iness of the tea. I really am enjoying this cup.
Isn’t this one great??? <3
Sounds really yummy.
(I actually went and looked at the Verdant site when I saw that you had gotten some of this – but I’m too late – it’s sold out…) Happy that you had an amazing tea week. :))
Man they are sold out already? Your orders will get there soon Dexter and TTF! I hope customs doesn’t keep them too long!
The fact that it’s sold out is probably a good thing….
Another tea from my recent WP order. Yay! I would normally save this tea for a rainy day or a cold fall/winter day where a blanket and a book are mandatory, but I really want to try all the teas I ordered now so even though it is really warm outside I went ahead with this one. The roasted oolongs are getting to be a favorite of mine. I still don’t understand this. The first cup I had of a dark oolong I dumped out actually, but for some reason I gave it another chance and this type of tea has now becomes one of my favorites. THIS tea was a really nice dark roasted oolong. What stood out to me was the creaminess of it. It seemed so smooth. I had seen that this was formally called something else with chocolate in the name and I would say this was much lighter on the chocolate notes than other dark roasted oolongs I have had. I really enjoyed this one. I can’t wait for the weather to be cold. Once it turns chilly out side I am afraid this tea will not last very long.
Aren’t you glad you gave dark oolongs another chance? They are surprising at first though. But they are so worth getting used to. You are so right, perfect tea to have on a lazy fall day, book and blanket :-)
I <3 roasted oolongs
TTF- I am really glad I gave them another shot. They are such a cozy tea and perfect for the cold days! They are the type of tea I like to sit with at night and just sip. So many good ones to explore!
This sounds delicious! Adding it to my wishlist :)
I received a sample of this from Carmeron B in her kusmi sampler. Thank you!
Oh this tea was such a nice afternoon cup. It is slight ear grey and slight floral. The base black tea mingles really well with the flavors. This is my favorite out of the Russian blends I have tried so far. I could see a tin of this in my future. Thank you for sharing!
Up next from the recent WP order. I am not yet well versed in Yunnan’s. I know I have had a few, but not enough to really know. I made the mistake tonight of starting to sip this tea with a bowl of strawberries in front of me. The sweet from the fruit did not help this tea out. It made my first few sips a bit wishy washy. Once I got the sweet taste out of my mouth I was able to focus on the tea a bit more. I enjoyed this cup. I get malty, tad bit of honey-ish flavor with a bright finish. I will need to have another go with this cup without a bowl full of fruit to get to know this one a bit better.
Another awesome sample from Cameron B. Thank you!
This was the afternoon cup. I guess the best way for me to describe this tea would be to say it is a orange spice tea. There were hints of vanilla, and cardamon. I have one more cup’s worth and I will probably make it at home chai style. Thank you for sharing this charming cup.
I find cloves in there…
boychik you are right…. I think it was cloves and not cardamon I was tasting.
I think this tea is for cooler weather
My office at work always seems like it is winter! I was wearing a fleece and had a blanket on my lap while drinking this tea. It was a good tea for the office conditions:)
I received this sample from Cameron B. Thank you for sharing!
I really enjoy earl grey esc blends and so I have had an eye on these Kusmi teas for awhile. The reviews have been iffy on them so I was always a little nervous to pull the trigger on a purchase. Cameron. B was nice enough to send me a few tsp of each of the Russian blends. This is a nice earl grey. It has a hint of orange and floral that mellows out the bergmont a bit. I am enjoying this cup this morning.
oh my num num num num num……. I can’t even think to type to busy drinking.. Delicious.
yup.
MzPriss have you done a comparison to Zhi Gong Fu Black? If my memory serves me right, this is really similar… I am kicking myself for not ordering more than an ounce. Haha
It is similar. But that is from memory – not a side by side test – but I could do that…..I love both of them a lot.
If you get a chance it would be interesting to see how they compare. I am really enjoying this one and it took me all of 2 sec to sip down the sample of Gong Fu you gave me:)
I will do that and let you know what I think. Some more GFB could come your way if you want…
Thank you for the offer, but no need. I have plenty to work on these days. Between WP and the Verdant order that should be here anyday:) I will be interested to see how you think they compare though.
I wish my Verdant order would get here. Because Laoshan Black Chocolate Genmaicha.
I will compare the FB and the GFB and let you know :)
My Verdant order just shipped! :D
And my WP order just shipped :-)
(And my Verdant as well, haha! Too much tea??? There’s no such thing!!)
Woot, lots of tea for everyone! I checked this morning and my Verdant tracking number now exists that means it will be here soon:) I think THIS tea will not be here for very long though. I am still thinking about my cups last night.
TTF- another WP order? Haha I get it now, everything is sooo good.
Yep TeaTiff… another order :-)
Hehe, what can I say? Happy to see you’re a believer also now that you are trying them!
Tiff – I’m doing the Fujian Black/Gong Fu Black comparison this morning. And they ARE similiar. I made a cup of each, exactly the same way, same amount of leaf/water/time/temp. They are both incredibly good. I find the GFB a little more “bright”, but just slightly and the FB a bit deeper with a little more of the “woody-ness” that I love in Fujians. I need both of them, but I would just the very slightest edge to the Fujian Black as I love that little extra depth. Both are hoard worthy.
MizPriss- Thank you for the comparison! Without having them both side by side that was my guess about them. The FB was slightly more “deep”. I am finding this type of tea to be one of my favorites. They can both take up space in my cupboard any day! I hope you are enjoying your cups this morning.
I really really am! I slept for 6 hours which is unheard of! I’m making what I call my Dark Beauty cocktail for my drive-to-work cup this morning. It’s a big giant western 6-7 minute steep of Special Dark with a big pinch of Black Beauty added in for the last 3-4 minutes. Happy me!
6 hours! Yay! Enjoy your Dark Beauty! You will be supper women today.
Yes!
Dark Beauty…wow! I’m gonna try that, cuz I have both of those teas now!
MzPriss, Thanks for your Fujian Black/Gong Fu Black comparison. Is the FB more similar to cocoa or chocolate?
Yes Terri – try it!!! I use a big pinch of the BB so I get that sweet honeyish taste in the Deep Dark Sea of Love that is my Special Dark.
@looseTman – to me it’s more chocolate than cocoa, creamier to me rather than dry.
“… more chocolate than cocoa, creamier to me rather than dry.”
Ooh la la – YUM!
This one is definitely on the list for my imminent Butiki order! Sounds amazing.
I think you will really enjoy it. It is not my favorite Butiki tea, but I am partial to the blacks. I joke that I will need to take out a loan for my next Butiki order:)
I tend to like creamy and sweet things so I can’t imagine not loving it… Still waiting on that rumored July sale! :D
You mean the rumored July 25th Birthday sale. Well, it is certainly a rumor. :D
I see more oolong in my future
:)