3240 Tasting Notes
This is a resteep of the leaves from this afternoon’s pot of tea. These leaves are still going strong, even being steeped western style and for the second time. Now I am picking up that same phenomenon that I got from Chun Mee by Teavivire. This steep is more woodsy, and at the end of the sip there is this amazing sweetness that lingers in the back of my throat. Perhaps there is a taste of dried hay as well. I didn’t pick up on the sweetness earlier today. Either it wasn’t there or it was hidden by the foods we were eating or the lively conversation. Now as an evening cuppa, oh my goodness this is marvelous. I am so glad, because I had really had a hankering for Chun Mee and I am out. This will hold me until my next Teavivre order!
After reading Dinosara’s post about her tea with rosebuds today, I almost mixed this with Rose Scented Black. At the last minute I decided to make it straight since we were already have a peach flavored tea. I am so glad I did. I don’t drink this one often enough. As soon as I took a sip I had to blurt, “Man, that’s good!”. And it was. This is a great black tea and paired wonderfully with our afternoon eclairs and cookies. Another one that has has to stay in the cupboard!
This was the first tea of tea time today and I just have to say, “WOW!”
My guest loved it, I loved it, and I want more. I also want to know why autocorrect changes the word “more” to the word “romper” even when I don’t mistype anything. That could be a very awkward substitute. Moving on…
This tea has such full flavor. It is both buttery and woodsy, and is going to be a tea shelf staple for a long, long time to come I do believe. Wonderful cup!
This is the loose leaf version. I gave instructions to my youngest to only give this about three minutes since the leaf particles are rather small. I must say it came out rather nicely and the peach flavor was quite good. This is definitely going to be my lunchtime iced tea when the horrible heat hits this summer. The tea base is strong enough to stand up to the flavoring, the peach flavor tastes natural, and it is great without additions.
Its never occurred to me to ice my peach tea. Not the brightest bulb in the room.
I love Plantation Peach! I only have it bagged but it is still worth it. Mmmm.
K S…I have tried this one iced already and it is VOON-DER-BAR! I think you would like it! I was actually a little disappointed in Harney’s sachets of Midsummer Peach when I tried it beside this tea, and not because it is decaf. I just thought the peach flavor tasted artificial next to this one. My guest today said this one tastes just like the fresh South Carolina peaches that are sold beside the road here in early summer. The farmers drive up from SC almost every day to sell their peaches.
Tina…good to know that the bagged version is good! It is probably more readily available. This was a gift from someone who actually went to the plantation.
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!
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!
Good tins are hard to find!
Do you like tins better than zip pouches when it comes to maintaining freshness?
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!
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. : )
@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.
@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!
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.
@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!
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.
I have some small pretty canning jars that I use to mix my own blends and keep in my dark cabinet. Works well enough…
@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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
