788 Tasting Notes
Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Water: filtered, boiling, 6 ounces
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: peppermint gum
Steeped Tea Smell: peppermint gum
Flavor: peppermint gum, no lemon
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: mint
Liquor: light translucent brown
Refreshing, probably better iced with sugar. This is more a soothing cup for afternoons than a before bed steep, like I am doing now. Mint is too peppy for pre-sleep drinking.
Although this is enjoyable, it’s not unique or special. I am not getting the promised lemon which might have turned this from a generic minty tea to something a little more special.
images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/tea-forte-teabag-herbal-tea-citrus-mint.html
Preparation
Steep Information:
Amount: 1 loose tea single steeps packet
Water: Hot spigot water, 12 oz
Tool: kati loose tea system
Steep Time: a little over 6 minutes
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: Very strong bergamot, citrus scent with a hint of floral
Steeped Tea Smell: Black tea, hint of bergamot and citrus
Flavor: Citrus, bergamot, followed by black tea
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: Very astringent and slightly bitter after taste
Liquor: deep dark reddish-brown
Leaves expanded impressively.
Too much bergamot, and I am coming to believe Assam teas are not my cup of tea.
The kati mug is an excellent temperature on the hands when using hot spigot water, as opposed to being a bit too hot to handle when I used my electric kettle at home. Again, this is an excellent loose tea brewer for work, or beginners.
I think this little pre-measured packet is a great first step for converting bagged tea drinkers to loose.
Post-Steep Additives: +2 sugar a bit better, sweeter. It could have used milk as well.
images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/tea-forte-loose-leaf-black-tea-earl.html
Preparation
Steep Information:
Amount: 1 loose tea single steeps! just rip open the packet and dump into the strainer
Water: fill to line with boiling water
Tool: Kati
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: lemongrass, floral, mint
Steeped Tea Smell: mint, lemongrass, floral
Flavor: sweet, lemongrass, mint
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: tingly, minty, lemongrass
Liquor: translucent reddish-yellow
The tea was a nice zippy herbal tea to sip on. You had better like lemongrass and mint as they are the predominant flavors here.
Now here is my thoughts on the Kati system’s goal – introducing bagged / pyramid tea drinkers to loose tea with minimal fuss – I think it does a great job.
I was able, with only boiling water and a timer (a clock would do) to make loose leaf tea. It’s simple – place strainer in cup, dump in packet of pre-measured leaf, add hot water to fill line, wait the designate (on the packet) number of minutes, set strainer on lid and enjoy.
My number one and only complaint is I think a handle would improve the cup. It now is 3 for 3 on being too hot to pickup after steeping herbal teas for 5 minutes with boiling kettle water.
Resteep: just as strong and tasty
>> Here is my kati loose tea system review from a loose tea drinker perspective.
http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/kati-review.html
>>Images of the Chamomile Citron loose tea single steeps™
http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/tea-forte-loose-leaf-herbal-tea.html
Preparation
You got your Kati today, too, I see!!! :P I agree with the handle, but still pretty stoked about it! I like very much!
wins: it’s dishwasher safe, self contained, has the lip to keep the leaves from getting all over….so the handle is the only issue! sooooo close to perfect
i love it for work, for home i think it’s a little silly only because i usually drink 6 ounces or 22 ounces (for sharing) and 12 just is the wrong amount
Did you catch my post about this with the Walnut Green Tea I had earlier???
i did! i have no idea how you meander about the office without over brewing the crap out of your teas on a normal basis :) you kicked my butt into gear, i had all the pictures and i had no idea how to blob them into a post and i saw you got and enjoyed yours….so i figured the more links the better the google hits for them right? and this is a nice enough device it deserves it
Steep Information:
Amount: 4 tsp
Water: 16 oz filtered boiling
Tool: ceramic Tea Forte solstice teapot
Steep Time: a little over 7 minutes
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: apple, pineapple, raisin
Steeped Tea Smell: apple, orange, banana
Flavor: apple, pineapple, sweet
Body: Light
Aftertaste: sweet
Liquor: translucent orange-yellow
My mom had some of this in her cupboard from a trip to Teavana we made a while back. It has been discontinued. I won’t miss it too much, it tastes like apple cider with some raisins and pineapple.
I’ve had it before, but not since I started the blog. So when I visited my mom today she sent me home with it so I could revisit the tea and also get a chance to blog it.
In other news she plans to get the Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL for mother’s day. I also want one. I promise to do a side by side review of the zarafina and the breville when they arrive.
Post-Steep Additives: none
Resteep: I let it steep forever, I got colored but flavorless water. This is not re-steep-able
Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/teavana-loose-leaf-herbal-tea-banana.html
Preparation
Steep Information:
Amount: 1 nest ~4.6g
Water: ~16 oz
Tool: ceramic Tea Forte solstice teapot
Steep Time: a little over 1 minute
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: rice
Steeped Tea Smell: rice
Flavor: bitter, astringent, rice, green tea
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: bitter green tea
Liquor: translucent yellow-green
As an aside this online shop has amazing customer service, packaging, and products. I highly recommend them.
MilitiaJim appreciates that it is what it says, rice tea.
I started with a quick rinse steep to loosen everything up. As the nest unfurled the leaves were smaller than I expected. I ended up needed to strain the tea as I poured into my cup.
I think I was not patient enough in letting the water cool from a boil, or 1 minute was too long to steep the leaves as it was bitter. I could both smell and taste the rice.
I’m intrigued and can’t wait to try this tea again later, I am still new to pu-erh teas so the whole rinse and tiny steep concept is difficult for me to time correctly. To add trouble I also always over heat my whites and greens!
Post-Steep Additives: none
Resteep: same as the first in preparation and taste
This gets extra points just for being different and fun.
Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/chicago-tea-garden-tuocha-green-pu-erh.html
Preparation
Hey, AmazonV. I just had a quick couple of questions regarding Pu-Erhs in general, as I am quite new to them. Did you pick the tuocha apart before steeping? I heard you are also supposed to “rinse” the leaves. Does this mean first rinsing the dust and such off (as some cakes, tuochas, and bricks may be of a very old vintage), or should one just plop the tea right in the cup? Thanks!
Hey Alex – no i don’t pick apart the litte touchas as they are for single servings, cakes need to be pried apart with a knife (i think there are good youtube videos on this)
some people rinse (steep fast and throw out) the tea first to get rid of dust and such, just pour in the water to the pot as if steeping, swirl around, then right into the sink (only a second or so) you don’t have to though if you don’t want to (don’t just rinse it in the sink, you might end up loosing leaves, use your strainer or teapot or gaiwan)
you’ll notice the toucha coming apart the more you steep, these steep many times, until it looks like loose leaf wiht no help needed
Great! Thanks!
Steep Information:
Amount: 1 tsp
Water: filtered, 212° 1 mug
Tool: make your own paper teabag
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: mango fruit black tea, maybe some floral too
Steeped Tea Smell: black tea, hints of floral and fruit
Flavor: black tea, slightly astringent and a touch bitter
Body: Medium
Aftertaste:
Liquor: dark brown
I went over my mom’s house to drop off samples of tea, and then we enjoyed a cup of tea one of her patients got her. They tend to find her unique loose leaf tea. This batch came from the Caribbean and was not cheap (I of course looked it up online).
Mom used her variable temperature Breville electric kettle and the paper make your own teabags to make us tea.
The tea was a smooth, slightly bitter and astringent, black tea. Another disappointing Mango tea, as I could not taste the mango.
This was not a full strong tea I would recommend as a first wake-up cup of tea, as it was not that kind of strong caffeine hit.
Post-Steep Additives: none
images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/sunny-caribbee-loose-leaf-black-tea.html
Preparation
Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: 2 zarafina cups filtered water
Tool: Zarafina white-loose-medium
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet and fruity (MilitiaJim confirms the fruity is current, I don’t know what currant smells like)
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet, fruity, leafy
Flavor: slightly bitter, leafy, fruity
Body: Light
Aftertaste: bitter, fruity
Liquor: translucent yellow-green-brown
Per all the tasting notes on Steepster I should try this iced.
It smells better than it tastes to me. It is a good cup of tea but I don’t see myself craving it.
Post-Steep Additives: none
Resteep: Zarafina white-loose-medium
less bitter than the first steep, a tad weaker
images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/52teas-loose-leaf-white-tea-black.html
I’ve read all the good reviews about having this iced, but what exactly do black currants taste like? Are they tart like raspberries, sweet like strawberries? Are they comparable to any other fruit?
to me it was this generic sweet almost sweet strawberry-blueberry kinda taste, never had a currant before so that’s as close as i can compare it’s this sweet berry followed by a little tart that might be the white tea and not the fruit? hmm maybe i need to get some currants
hmm, okay thanks! i need to be on the lookout for teas that would be good iced!
@erin caffeinated iced or not caffeinated?
Preferably caffeinated.
Harney and Sons Black Currant is great iced … I’m sure this would be similar.
Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: 2 zarafina cups filtered water
Tool: Zarafina herbal-loose-strong
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: exactly like “Terry’s Milk Chocolate Orange Ball”
Steeped Tea Smell: exactly like “Terry’s Milk Chocolate Orange Ball”
Flavor: orange, hints of rooibos and chocolate
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: hints of sweet chocolate
Liquor: translucent dark orange-brown
Oh my did the tiny rooibos chips make a mess inside the zarafina! They escaped the mesh basket and got everywhere.
On the other hand this is a delicious caffeine free dessert tea.
Resteep: zarafina herbal-loose-strong
Orange colored water, this is not resteepable – at least at whatever time the zarafina uses for strong.
Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/thenecessiteas-loose-leaf-rooibos-tea.html
YUM
So the Zarafina is not good when it comes to rooibos? Please, when you do get the Breville, experiment with rooibos too and see how they fair in it? I don’t drink a lot of rooibos, but, I do occasionally like to have them… but I don’t like cleaning up after them….
@LiberTEAS usually it’s OK – for example I made the rootbeer float from TheNecessiTeas in the zarafina and it was fine, it must depend on how fine the rooibos is chopped. I’ll certainly make one of each of my favorites in it! (rooibos, green, black, white)
Yeah, I’ve made several of TeaFrog’s rooibos’s in the Zarafina and not had a problem, either. I suspect this one is just very fine! Wow!
@denisend you know the little gap around the plastic spike in the center of the basket? that’s where the chippies escaped
Steep Information:
Amount: 3 tsp
Water: 22 oz filtered, boiling
Tool: Cast Iron Teapot with Mesh basket strainer in cup
Steep Time: a little over 4 minutes
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: orange, fig
Steeped Tea Smell: black tea
Flavor: smooth black tea
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: none
Liquor: translucent brown
I really didn’t get any of the flavors listed strongly in the scent or the flavor. I think perhaps a longer steep or more leaves are in order.
As it is I find it a smooth black tea, nothing special.
Post-Steep Additives: none
images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/dammann-freres-loose-leaf-black-tea-des.html
