84
drank Toupet de Legumes by THEODOR
2036 tasting notes

And now for something completely different.

When I placed my The O Dor order a while back this one seemed too strange to pass up. And it is indeed very, very strange.

First off, the smell out of the tin is the smell of latex house paint. Seriously, I kid you not. Given the list of ingredients, I was expecting to see bits of vegetables in here. I’m not seeing that upon opening the tin, but there are some really large flower petals, much bigger than I’ve seen in other blends. One is so long that initially, I mistook it for a red pepper.

This steeps to a dark reddish brown color. It still has a bit of paint to the smell after steeping, but its now has something else which is sort of like lentils. I wonder if those are in here, maybe they’re the legumes. There’s a peppery note, too.

The flavor, thankfully, is not at all paint like. But it is very hard to describe. It has a savory spice note, a hint of rosemary maybe. It reminds me of the spice mixtures in Italian restaurants that give the olive oil you dip your bread in its flavor. That same type of mixture sometimes tops specialty breads. I’m not able to identify the currant, but I am able to get a mixed vegetable note that is sort of like a hint of ratatouille. There is a sweetness in the aftertaste that’s kind of surprising given the savory quality of the tea.

This is a really unique tea, and something I need to sit with for a while. I give it points for its ingenuity in bringing together flavors not usually used in black tea mixes. I’ve had similar flavors in teas before (the savory spices) but they were always in herbal blends. I’m not really sure how to rate it. On the one hand I’m kind of charmed by the whole idea of it. On the other, it’s not something I see myself drinking frequently, and I’m not sure how likely it is to be a reorder now that I’ve satisfied my curiosity.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Cofftea

A fruit and veggie chai??? Weird. Must have! :)

__Morgana__

I wouldn’t call it a chai. It doesn’t have any chai spices except maybe pepper.

Cofftea

Ok. It’s listed as a chai here.

__Morgana__

I saw that. But having tasted it, I’m not sure why unless the The O Dor site describes it that way.

Cofftea

Nope they describe it the same as it is here. Tea equipage! I love it!:) Gotta try that African Breakfast…

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Comments

Cofftea

A fruit and veggie chai??? Weird. Must have! :)

__Morgana__

I wouldn’t call it a chai. It doesn’t have any chai spices except maybe pepper.

Cofftea

Ok. It’s listed as a chai here.

__Morgana__

I saw that. But having tasted it, I’m not sure why unless the The O Dor site describes it that way.

Cofftea

Nope they describe it the same as it is here. Tea equipage! I love it!:) Gotta try that African Breakfast…

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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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