171 Tasting Notes
Based on Sara’s tasting note, I bought 100 grams of this stuff. I estimated the “2-3 grams per liter” down to 1 gram in 12 oz of water. The main flavor is sweetness, with saccharin, floral, and bitter notes towards the end of the sip. I would say it’s “very sweet,” but still falls short of discovering “too sweet,” which is something I have only heard of, and have never tasted. I shall try brewing it stronger next time. It would also be worth trying as a sweetener in a sweet tea, as Sara has done.
Oh. Oh. Amazing. I tried it with 5 grams of leaf in 12 ounces of water, and… my face is puckering up! Is it too much of the other flavors, or is this actually too sweet? I can drink it, but whoa. I think it is too sweet. Thank you, Yunomi, for this experience. It’s amazing.
Flavors: Bitter, Floral, Sweet
Preparation
I couldn’t even drink 2g in 12 ounces of water without getting sick feeling from it. I can handle maybe a single leaf in a cup that small, but I kinda gave up on trying to do the small cups and now I just make it in 1L like their instructions say… 2g to 1L, AND brewed with a strong black tea like Yorkshire Gold. The cold brew sweetened black tea is quite nice.
Note: This stuff can be resteeped lots of times and keeps giving out sweetness. It’s crazy.
My temporary job offers bottled drinks and snacks for free. They were low on beverages towards the end of the day. I’m not often a fan of jasmine tea, but I settled for this.
Oh wow, they got just the right amount of jasmine flavor in this, and probably a high-quality source. Jasmine often tastes perfumey to me in teas, but not in this one. The jasmine flavor comes out near the end of the sip, and right at the end of the sip, it’s almost rosy. Good job, Teas’ Tea! I looked at the bottle for more info, and I am not surprised it’s an Ito En brand. I love their Oi Ocha!
Flavors: Floral, Jasmine, Rose
I spent several hours today reinstalling the OS on my daughter-in-law’s iMac, which she’s selling. When she tried to clear her personal data… she cleared more than just that. I managed to get it all ready for the next person, and she offered to make a dessert. I asked for something with lavender, and she made an amazing cake with lavender, lemon, and vanilla flavors.
I dug through my teas looking for something with lavender and instead found a large, unmarked, thick freezer bag, with a nice maple aroma, and I realized it’s my 2017 purchase of Toasted Maple Green from TeaSource, since discontinued! And when I went to find my old review, I also realized I’ve never even reviewed it.
I was new to buying loose leaf tea, and I bought a freaking pound of it, and I’m happy I did!
It’s not quite as strong as it was four years ago, but it has a nice mild maple scent and flavor. It’s very smooth. The houjicha is just a little stale, but not bad. It’s sweet-tasting and light and refreshing. TeaSource, if you’re listening, please make more! I’m nutty for this.
Flavors: Maple, Nutty, Sweet, Toasted
Preparation
With the flavors waning on this, I finished mine up brewing as lattes, which worked rather well. I would do about two heaping teaspoons of leaf in 12 oz water, heat 4 oz of oat milk, and then add a teaspoon of maple syrup. Some of the “barkiness” of the stale houjicha was hidden by the milk and the maple notes were brought out more by adding the bit of maple syrup.
Oh, that sounds good! Will have to try it.
Hmm, never had this one but Toasted Walnut from DavidsTea is one of my all-time favorites. My stash is on the older side, but I’ve never stored tea in the freezer before, hmm…
Oh, I didn’t store it in the freezer. A freezer bag is a zippered bag like a sandwich bag, but thicker. It’s good to use in the freezer, but doesn’t have to be.
Toasted Walnut sounds good!
Another part of my group buy with Sara.
Oh wow, nothing has tasted this much like butterscotch, since those candies I liked as a kid! What’s funny is, the other main notes I get are fair food: buttered popcorn and cotton candy, lol. I get just a hint of cinnamon at the end of the sip.
This is really a party in my mouth, and a bit of a stroll along the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, back in the days when people would go outside for that sort of thing. Delicious!
Flavors: Butter, Butterscotch, Cinnamon, Cotton Candy, Popcorn
Preparation
Another part of my group buy with Sara. Ooh, smells like vanilla, with a hint of mandarin orange.
The flavor is orange, vanilla, and orange zest, mmm. Near the end of the sip I’m getting floral notes and something almost perfumy… but not in a bad way, which is odd to me. Oh, now I’m getting a rose note.
I will drink this again. It’s a well-tended garden of flavors.
Flavors: Floral, Orange, Orange Zest, Perfume, Rose, Vanilla
Preparation
Wow, the brewed tea smells amazing! Part of an Art of Tea group buy with Sara.
It tastes like the holidays! I can pick out cinnamon, clove, and I think cardamom, and there’s plenty more dancing in the background. There’s a faint licorice note too. This would be great while walking around Christmas in the Park in San Jose, instead of that rehydrated powdered cocoa mix they sell. It’s very festive.
Flavors: Cardamom, Cinnamon, Clove, Licorice
Preparation
Part of my group buy from Art of Tea with Sara!
The leaf smells amazing! I like Lychee, and I love sweet things, and this tea tastes plenty sweet on its own. It’s really nice, and I’ll bet it would be good iced too!
Odd, I must have read the bag wrong. I originally posted this under Lychee. I’m not picking up a lot of peach flavor… but I swear it’s there a tiny bit now. Power of suggestion? I don’t know. Or it could be coming out more in the second steep.
Flavors: Candy, Fruity, Lychee, Peach, Sweet
Preparation
Another gift from Sara!
The brewed tea smells… like subtle black tea!
I can pick up a little malty note and some astrigency. Oh, there’s a bit of a citrusy note. It’s a pretty basic black tea, would probably go well with some milk of your choice and served with tea sandwiches or a burger.
Flavors: Astringent, Citrusy, Malt
Preparation
I got this in a group buy with Sara.
I brewed one bag in about a 16oz mug. Mmm, the brewed tea smells malty, almost like molasses. I added a few ice cubes to bring it down to where it wouldn’t burn my tongue.
It tastes malty and sweet! I’m even getting a bit of baked bread flavor at the end of the sip. This is a fine black tea, and it rivals Yorkshire Gold for me. I can imagine sipping this and eating some Irish soda bread at a cafe in Dublin, while a server reminds me that it’s almost closing time, and I should finish up, but I want to stay and savor another minute.
Flavors: Bread, Malt, Molasses, Sweet
Preparation
Only the Art of Tea was from the groupbuy, the rest were gifts. These were the British teabag assortment I won during the International Virtual Tea Festival.
Ah, well thank you!
Specifically, this was the Irish blend from the set I won. The Glengettie teabags are Welch. (The other in the set was Yorkshire Gold from England, but you already have plenty of that).
The Dalai Lama drinks Barry’s.
I actually haven’t tried it yet! I plan to rectify that on my birthday, though. (I’m a St. Patty’s baby so an Irish tea is fitting, heh). I am a fan of Yorkshire Gold!
