45
drank Smoky Bacon by Man Teas
2036 tasting notes

I found a full, unopened bag of this at the back of one of my tea storage containers.

I was not happy to see it. I barely got through the maple bacon version, which was the nail in the coffin of my moratorium on teas that are supposed to taste like food (unless the food is pie, cake, cookie or some other pastry). Something about teas that are supposed to taste like food throws my equilibrium off balance and makes my stomach turn.

The kids, on the other hand, were like: BACON TEA! WOW! YAY! WANT! (What is it about bacon? I don’t get it, personally.) They wanted some last night but I said not until this morning because caffeine.

They reminded me this morning, so I made some. But since I have an appointment later today that I’m nervous enough about without a stomach ache, I did not plan to partake.

Kid no. 1 said it smelled like bacon. Smelled good.

Kid no. 2 said it smelled like smoke.

Kid no. 1 said it tasted awful and he couldn’t drink it.

Kid no. 2 said it tasted like smoke. And he couldn’t drink it.

I will say that the smell in the package had a salty meatiness that, when I went ahead and tasted despite my better judgment, was pretty much not present in the taste. This is both good and bad. Good because it doesn’t make me think of bacon, which avoids the food problem. Bad because I don’t think it tastes like bacon, which is what it claims to be. Unless you eat your bacon burnt and charred.

It tastes like a very smoky lapsang. Smoky and ashy. Like ash tray ashy.

I like some lapsangs, but generally the ones I like aren’t heavy on ash. They have some tea flavor, some woodiness at least.

So, on the one hand, I can tolerate it better than the maple bacon, which is good news. It may mean I can actually get through the bag. On the other hand, I judge these types of teas on how true they are to their named flavors, and I have to ding this one hard on that score.

Flavors: Ash, Smoke

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 17 OZ / 500 ML
tigress_al

I never have understood the bacon craze either….ew

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tigress_al

I never have understood the bacon craze either….ew

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Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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