3226 Tasting Notes

I decided to try one iced and lightly sweetened with my lunch. It made me change my mind about what is in this blend. This actually tasted like I had added lemon to it, so I am guessing that Ceylon must be a big component in this. I thought it was great iced but youngest said it was too astringent for her. I think she was picking the lemon actually, plus I put very little sugar and she likes a lot! I will definitely be drinking this iced from now until the tin is empty!

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I haven’t been having tea at breakfast lately, as I have been wanting to savor it by itself or with a small snack. Today I wanted a little boost, and I want to reduce my tea inventory. This one drew the short straw.

It is good, but not great. I don’t ooo and ahhh when I drink it, but it serves its purpose. It was inexpensive, on sale, and organic. I probably will not repurchase but I won’t be terribly bothered about having to finish this tin. With milk and sugar it makes an adequate breakfast tea, with a very mild Assam that has light cinnamon notes mixed with a Chinese black if I am guessing correctly. Therre is almost none of the smokiness kne finds in many keemuns. It is a great deal weaker than Harney’s Supreme Breakfast or even their English Breakfast.

Since I really want to reduce the number of tins I have I am eyeballing a lot of these teas as candidates for making iced tea. That will reduce the inventory quickly! The rest of this tin just might turn into a big pitcher of iced tea.

My kids are hovering over my nearly empty tins hoping to claim them for holding their Magic the Gathering cards. I have given up six tins already. They are making specialty and themed decks and decorating the tins to match the decks. LOL! This means they are pilfering two of my hobby areas…tea and papercrafts!

gmathis

Good tins are hard to find!

TeaBowing

Do you like tins better than zip pouches when it comes to maintaining freshness?

JacquelineM

That’s so funny! I gave my husband this nice box that Harney and Sons sent their black tea sampler in for his Magic Cards!

Uniquity

If my tins weren’t full of tea, I might consider using them for our Magic cards (Hey, it’s a fun game!). Alas, I prefer tea to Magic. : )

ashmanra

@Teabowing: at first I only bought tea in tins, or out them straight into them when I got them home. I have found that most of these teas have stayed fresh longer than expected, as some are two years old now. I didn’t start getting tea in zip bags until later in my tea buying experience, so I don’t know if they last as long. I think those nice foil bags may be good, but I don’t have a lot of faith in those single thickness cello bags that A Southern Season sells their daily teas in. It would probably be fine if you drink them fast. I like Rishi double lidded tea tins a lot for the price.

ashmanra

@Jacqueline: I shall have to order one of their samplers! (Just so the kids can have the box, of course. Heehee.) I bet that box is perfect for the cards! The kids are already buying special foil cards for prizes in a beach-themed competition to take place in May, and they are all building beach-themed decks. There is a store in Cary called Stuff and Such and they have a vast collection of cards, from common to rare, all available for individual purchase. I think blue and white cards are all they are permitting, with beach theme if possible!

Bonnie

I don’t really like tins. I wish you could get dark blue or green or opaque white canning jars in bulk to store tea in. No odor, easy to clean and easy to label.

ashmanra

@Bonnie: a long time ago I read about a company that clear glass jars for tea, but they are treated on the outside for UV resistance. You might like those! I saw some lovely porcelain tea jars at Tin Roof Teas, but they were ten dollars. Not bad, but if you need 115 of them….well….hubby wouldn’t understand. No, he is so sweet he would probably tell me to get them, what am I thinking? LOL!

gmathis

I bought a batch of clear jars on sale at Dollar General, and for small samples that I’m keeping in a closed cabinet anyway, they’re great.

Bonnie

I have some small pretty canning jars that I use to mix my own blends and keep in my dark cabinet. Works well enough…

TeaBowing

@ashmanra I’ve always felt like the zip foil lined bags are more air tight than tins so I’ve always preferred them, but I don’t have proof of that – they just look that way to me when I buy either.

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Teavivre sent me a sample of this tea a while back, and I couldn’t wait until it was all gone to order it. I had to have it on hand so I wouldn’t be without it for even a day. I served this one to hubby tonight since he is warming up to green tea now thanks to Premium Silky Green from Bird Pick.

He liked this one also. I noticed he drained his cup and was refilling, and it wasn’t long before he asked youngest if she would mind starting up a resteep for us.

This is fresh and fragrant with a hint of grain flavor and light drying to cleanse the palate. I follow their recommendation of 176 degrees. The first steep was 1 1/2 minutes, and the second received two minutes. Delicious and satisfying.

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99

Backlogging: hubby and I had this tea together last night. He has never cared for green tea, but this one has won him over. I am ever grateful to Quiltguppy for introducing me to this one. Hubby wanted to get a special tea for my birthday and my daughter, who keeps meticulous records all year on things people like so she will be ready for gift giving, passed on the recommendation to him and he ordered it. I am so glad he did. It is truly excellent tea, so incredibly buttery, even more so than a DragonWell. It is completely lacking in dryness and astringency. This gets a triple WOW! from me.

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drank Strawberry by Lupicia
3226 tasting notes

I wanted to give this tea another try this morning since it was so dismal yesterday when I mixed it with chocolate tea. The problem is, I was absolutely SURE I had removed the leaves when the timer went off. I was busy posting announcements to our homeschool support group and decided it was time to try the tea and OH NOES! The leaves were still in! I have no idea how long this steeped, but be assured it was way, way past the recommended 2 1/2 minutes.

I sneaked up on the cup from behind and stealthily took a sip and….not bad. Not bad!

This really smells super strong in the tin so if you expect the tea to have that “candy sweet sour strawberry” taste, you will heartily disappointed. But if you want a really grown up tasting tea, a bit in the French style, with some strawberry aroma and a hint of strawberry taste in a rather sophisticated black tea base, try this.

I liken it to the difference between Rose Congou by Upton and Rose Scented by H&S. This is more the equivalent of Rose Congou, and if it survived that marathon steeping this morning, it must be pretty good stuff!

I would like extra points, gmathis, for carefully reading my post and making sure it didn’t have the phrase “snot ring” in it! LOL!

gmathis

One million points … but the points don’t matter.

ashmanra

LOL! That’s probably more points than I got for HAVING “snot ring” in a review!

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drank Golden Monkey by Harney & Sons
3226 tasting notes

I have purchased this tea three times, each time from a different harvest and each time from Harney and Sons. And each tin has been ever so slightly different. I guess this tea is especially sensitive to environmental changes. Every tin has been really good tea, but this third one has been phenomenal.

This was the last tea we drank today and it stopped me in my tracks. After the first sip I just about swooned. It was that good. This batch seems richer, more honeyed, more…molasses and raisins? I am glad they held out for really good tea instead of buying what was readily available.

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drank Strawberry by Lupicia
3226 tasting notes

I am not going to say much about this one as I haven’t tried it by itself.

I opened the bag and sniffed and there was a strong, sweet scent of strawberry, but following was…mold? Yes, a smell like a big bag of moldy oranges. So I chickened out about serving this for tea time and instead mixed it half and half with Harney’s chocolate tea. The result was….weak chocolate flavor in a weak tasting tea that didn’t really have a remnant of strawberry left. I will have to try this again by itself to really know anything at all about it. I hope the weird smell doesn’t come through after steeping.

gmathis

I believe, after reading zillions of tea reviews here, this is the first time I’ve seen the phrase “snot ring.” Bonus points for originality :)

ashmanra

Aaa ahhh! How did autocorrect change STRONG to snot ring??? LOL! I am weeping from laughing so hard!

Tina S.

I did wonder what the snot ring was when I first read it myself!

Dinosara

hahaha I was wondering about snot ring too! I thought maybe it had something to do with the mold smell. :D

TeaBrat

Darn I must have missed it! :)

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drank Tochiotome Green by Lupicia
3226 tasting notes

This was the first tea served for tea time today. It was paired with fresh pound cake, made from freshly ground wheat.

My guest is really a black tea drinker, but has liked the oolongs we have tried. I threw in this flavored green today to see if she would like it and she did. I thought it was very good, and it resteeped well. I don’t know if it could go a third steep and still have strawberry flavor. This is a real treat and I am glad to have it. I really want to try it iced as well.

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drank Wuyi Cassia by Harney & Sons
3226 tasting notes

After a weekend of downing sodas with all the kids – I had five people between 14 and 21 here all weekend – I wanted to cut the sugar today. I love all my teas plain now so choosing the beverage was easy!

I had not had this one in a few months. When I first got it, I loved it. I preferred darker oolongs. My tastes have changed so much, and so quickly. I really prefer green oolongs and green teas right now, words I never thought I would say. But this smelled SO GOOD, so complex, when I opened the tin that I went with it.

This is the toastiest oolong I have ever had in my meager experience! The first cup was smoke, smoke,and more smoke. While I am not really getting cinnamon out of it today, there is a spiciness to it. On the third steep, the aroma of cinnamon seemed to creep in, but not so much in the flavor. This is a very interesting cup!

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drank Tochiotome Green by Lupicia
3226 tasting notes

This was a birthday gift from my bestie! The aroma: wowzer! Sweet, candy, strawberry!

I was too chicken to steep a green for 1 1/2 minutes in boiling water, so I took the temp down to about 175F. I am glad, because this is the tiniest tad drying as it is. The steeped tea has the strawberry aroma still, and it very much reminds me of the scent of Marco Polo. The taste is more green tea than strawberry, but I don’t mind because the aroma is great and the green tea tastes very good. There is a bit of nice tartness. I am very glad to try this one! I expect it will be good iced as well.

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Bio

I am a music teacher, tutor, and former homeschool mom (25 years!) who started drinking loose leaf tea about fourteen years ago! My daughters and I have tea every day, and we are frequently joined by my students or friends for “tea time.” Now my hubby joins us, too. His tastes have evolved from Tetley with milk and sugar to mostly unadorned greens and oolongs.

We have learned so much history, geography, and culture in this journey.

My avatar is a mole in a teacup! Long story…

Location

North Carolina

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