3535 Tasting Notes
April Fools’ Day Sipdown Challenge Prompt – tell someone you are giving up tea. Then have a cup of tea.
I awoke and went to my daughter and stood before her and said, “I am giving up tea.” I don’t think she even looked up from her book. She simply answered, “You can’t do that.” And she went on reading. So much for my prank. She didn’t even realize it was April Fools’ Day but she still didn’t believe me.
This is the cup (pot, actually) of tea I had afterward.
I have been giving tea to a new friend and last week when she brought her children for music lessons, she was walking to a shrub in my yard. “Is this a lilac???”, she asked as she drew near to sniff. “It is!”, I replied. “I have two, but the other is in back.”
“My grandmother’s yard in Ohio was absolutely FULL of lilacs. I have never seen one since we moved south! I thought they couldn’t grow here!”
They do grow here, but they don’t necessarily flourish as they would somewhere with cooler weather, but I do get a spring and fall bloom from mine.
Since she had happy memories of lilacs at Grandma’s, I promised her a sample of lilac tea next time she comes, so when I was measuring her tea into a bag this morning I took the easy route and made it for my morning tea as well.
Authentic lilac aroma here, and lovely flavor. It is less floral than a violet candy or Harney’s Rose Scented, but still a good, strong floral scent and flavor.
The base is strong enough to be a breakfast tea but it is more akin to an excellent afternoon tea, which is when I usually have it. It is a nice afternoon soother and rumpled day smoother. I take it plain but I feel sure it could handle sugar (definitely) and milk (probably).
I needed an extra special tea time as a treat today after dealing with taxes and other assorted business like hospital bills. This tea came to mind as something new to explore in the birthday box sent by Martin – many thanks!
I defrosted some cream puffs and added fresh blueberries for the snack part and steeped this up by Martin’s and the seller’s recommendations. It was a nice WOW for today.
The first steep is full of flavor, with lots of high notes but not unpleasantly sharp, a bit of spice like warm cinnamon, and a fruitiness that makes me think of white wine. There is something woody about it as well, and if you have had many teas from Nepal you will recognize this one pretty well as being from that terroir. Such clarity to the fresh flavors!
The second steep seemed to change in body and become more creamy, and a raisin note has popped in. It is almost as if I mixed in a few leaves of Golden Monkey. This was a delightful tea to explore as a treat on a persnickety but productive day!
March Sipdown challenge Prompt – a flavored oolong
Ashman and I had this at breakfast today, and as I look back at the last time I made a tasting note for it, it was a year ago and the kids and grandkids came to visit. Well, guess what? That’s what happened today, except this time it was expected and not a surprise.
This is a top seller for a reason. The oolong base really is lovely and silky, so smooth and fresh. This is a greener oolong rather than a roasted one. The peach is fresh and light. I love Lupicia’s white peach flavor.
I need to try this iced soon. It seems like it would be amazing to flash chill in hot weather.
I want to add a tasting note from the friend to whom I gave the rest of my tasting pouch since she knows the taste of mango very well. I asked for her thoughts since I don’t know what mango tastes like by itself.
“I tasted both the mango and the coconut very well. It was excellent with my breakfast. My husband loves mango and this reminds me of when I used to make him grilled brown sugar mangos years ago. He said that when he was overseas, they served grilled mangos with raspberry and honey drizzled on top.”
Safe to say she loved it, and I wouldn’t be surprised for her husband to come home and find both grilled mango and mango tea waiting for him.
Sharedown
Another tea I had a couple of times and shared to my new tea friend. (A while back I gave her Blueberry Lemon Lavender and she used it for tea with her young daughters and they all loved it. She highly recommends it as a tea party tea!)
I had never had mango by itself that I can recall so I don’t know exactly what it tastes like. I liked this blend a lot, and mostly I tasted a slightly toned down maple syrup in comparison to Pancake Breakfast Black, with a bit of creaminess and vanilla. If I squint, I might detect some fruit but since I don’t know what mango tastes like, I don’t know if that is what I am tasting,
I have asked my friend to report back once she drinks it but I don’t know if she has ever had mango. Lovely tasting blend, though!
Mango has a very juicy and sweet-tangy tropical flavor. I see it described as peach and pineapple together, and I guess that’s somewhat accurate? Sometimes there is a slightly piney note to it as well.
That sounds wonderful! I love pineapple in drinks and desserts. I think this tea had a more lightly fruity vibe, less tropical to me. It could just be me.
Definitely give one a try sometime if your local grocery carries them. For science! ;)
For science! It sounds delicious!
Re: Mangos. You don’t eat the skin. When ripe, they yield to gentle finger pressure. They have a large hairy flat pod embedded in the flesh which can be difficult to cut out. Since your goal is to get the flavor, I suggest just buying a small bag of frozen mango chunks at Walmart or other grocer. Remove a few pieces and let them thaw to room temperature before tasting. I like them in fruit salad with melon, berries and citrus. Mango can be very sweet, so it goes well with tart or less-sweet fruits and melons and yogurts. If you buy the whole fruit, it takes practice to remove the skin and pit, and frozen is nearly as delicious, even when eaten as a snack while frozen. A mainstay of smoothies (and daquiris).
Thanks for the advice, TeaEarleGreyHot!
Sharedown
I have had this a couple of times and decided to share the last of the pouch with my new tea friend who is trying lots of new things.
I have had the Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha before, and this is true to that blend with lovely chai spices added for a “just right” level for me. There is nothing too hot or too savory leaning in this for me, it is just a lovely addition to the marshmallow treat line up of blends.
Sipdown
This is reminiscent of the Snowball snack cakes (minus the chocolate cake part) I ate in my youth. My big sister bought us lots of junk food and Snowballs were the only form of coconut I would eat back then, being sold on it by the sticky marshmallow coating on the cake.
Overall, it is a nice marshmallow and coconut green tea!
@Ashmanra – I’m so happy you picked up on the snowball snack cakes – because that was my exact inspiration for this tea. I LOVED those snowballs! I didn’t include the chocolate cake part in this, because the cake was my least favorite part of the confection, I’ve always found those hostess cakes to be very dry but at the same time, kind of grossly moist, if that makes sense at all. Gross, but not too gross that I wouldn’t eat them as a kid. These days, I don’t know if I’d eat them, but they definitely hold a special place in my nostalgic heart.
I agree on the weirdly dry and also grossly moist at the same time! Ha ha! If it hadn’t been for the creamy filling in the middle I think I would have just peeled off the coconut and marshmallow layer and tossed the cake! A “past date” Snowball was truly a bizarrely dry confection. But we washed it down with a Pepsi.
YES! I wouldn’t have eaten the cake either, but I love that cream filling. It is SO junk food, but also so dang good. If they could have just sold the marshmallow with coconut plus cream filling, I would probably still be eating that on a daily basis.
This is from an assortment box sent to me by Martin – many thanks!
We love strawberry flavor in drinks so I was excited to try this one. I made a big carafe of it sweetened for the fridge to have with suppers since it is uncaffeinated. It is Kool Aid for grown ups, but healthier! It does not taste like pure hibiscus, as so often happens with fruit infusions that are meant to mimic red fruit.
I also put a bag in a cold steeper and drank it unsweetened. It was very nice that way as well. I find that many fruit infusions taste similar to me, but this assortment box has some neat combinations and I can hardly wait to try them all!
This is from an assortment box that Martin sent to me for my birthday. Thank you, Martin!
I like ginger for relief of stomach ailments but as a spice I like it only in very small doses. It can add sparkle to food and drink but can quickly get too hot for me. Based on the name and the smell, I thought this tea was going to be too much for me. I made it yesterday when some fried food made me a bit queasy and I felt like it helped. The ginger wasn’t too hot for me, although it did build in intensity throughout the mug of tea.
I had thought that if it was unbearably hot for me I would send it to my neighbor who loves straight ginger and strong vinegar and kombucha that puckers your whole face. Instead I will be keeping it to settle my stomach!
When I made my hot mug yesterday I also tossed a bag into my cold steeper to drink today. I drank it as is without adding simple syrup and enjoyed it. It is nice to know that I can do the easy peasy steeping for summer!
Sipdown
This was a really lovely tea for breakfast. Ashman and I had it with our tortilla egg bake and it goes so well with food. After breakfast I made a third steep to sip as we do some work this morning and while it is lighter, it is still worthwhile to sip on.
This is a nice Yunnan profile. I had one or two years ago from another company that were so peppery and they gave me a bit of a tummy ache. This one is classic Yunnan without ache and not peppery.
I think the vanilla is fairly subtle, and oddly enough I noticed it more in the third steep. Perhaps that is because we were sipping and not eating.
Delicious tea!
Love the prompt! There were two huge lilac bushes on the grounds of our former office building and we’d harvest armloads for our desks. We never quite forgave the administrators who approved their removal.
How could they???