Whee! Fun updates! Looks great, Steepster Overlords! (Now if we could just edit the comments we make….)
I spent my drive to work this morning pretty much doing three things: listening to OK Go, trying to ignore that I need to get gas (it’s literally freezing outside… I am not mentally prepared to stand out in that to pump gas) and trying to figure out what it is that this tea lacks.
I’m not saying this is a bad tea. Far from it. I quite enjoy it. I even caught a whiff of cinnamon today from the dry leaves. I tried to find that taste while drinking it, too and decided that maybe there is a hint of it on the tail end. Maybe. But anyway, I like this tea. Stout, wakes me up, but isn’t mean about it. It’s a 4/5 star for me. It’s just missing… something. Something that would give it just that little extra depth of flavor to push it into a 5/5 star tea (I am horribly stingy with 5 star ratings – out of the literally hundreds of teas I’ve tried, maybe 25 have gotten a 5).
Also this morning, I think I’ve fully figured out what malt tastes like. Others have done a great job describing it but going from acknowledging what it should taste like and really understanding what it tastes like took a few tries for me. Anyway, to me it is what comes across as a combo of bake-y and cardboard. Today I got more cardboard from this tea, but not bad cardboard. Gourmet cardboard. Not the licking-the-dirty-and-already-used-cardboard-shipping-box in-your-face-ness that I get from ROT’s Lucky Irish. This was good, clean, nice quality cardboard.
I promise, it’s not a bad thing.
But yeah. I like this tea but can’t quite love it (though it will definitely be a go-to tea for me until I find a 5-star Irish Breakfast). Now that I’ve had a chance to get to know this tea, I think I enjoy Assam Harmony more so I’ve dropped the rating just a hair to reflect that.
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WHOA…I’m drinking this now too…CHEERS!
Haha – I just saw that. Yay!
“Gourmet cardboard”…nice! I’m a fan of this tea too, but it’s not perfect. It needs more cowbell.
Hehe! What would cowbell taste like? Bakey? Cardboard? Perhaps it would it taste 5-star worthy if served by Christopher Walken?
Love nod to gourmet cardboard. :) Definitely looking for a 5-star Irish Breakfast too! I started out with my Irish Breakfast Twinings bag tea this morning, and wondered were ALL the kick went? Disappointed was an understatement – I think I might double up next time.
@ Auggy – I don’t know what needs to be added but we need to discover it! ANYTHING would be 5-star worthy if served by Christopher Walken.
Hahah – the secret to perfect tea – Christopher Walken!
Where can I order him?
Essence of Christopher Walken Tea. Would we want this?
I don’t get a cardboard taste from maltiness, but yay! I am glad you’ve found that flavor! I find it to be similar to a bitter flavor, but not really bitter. If that makes any sense.
It’s not bad cardboard and probably not like actually eating cardboard but there’s a dryness and a… sturdiness to it that just brings to mind the smell of a cardboard box. Weirdly. I’m guessing that my dry sturdiness is your not bitter but bitter taste. Hehe. I think taste is very hard to describe and translate because associations play into it a lot but it is fun trying!
Why do I think Christopher Walken Tea would smell like Old Spice?
Gourmet cardboard and bake-y…with the potential of cowbell too! I’m sold. Some of the more interesting words I’ve heard used to describe tea, good job :)
We will never let you edit your comments. You will be forever mocked for your poor grammar and lack of proofreading…bwaahahahah (evil laugh)…na, it’s on the list and coming soon. I just can’t stay mad at you :)
@Jason, Yay!!!!
adds ‘gourmet cardboard’ to the file of words that must be used in future tea reviews
Wouldn’t “cowbell” flavor be a term to apply to pu-erhs with their strange leather/compost flavors?
I just want to say I love you guys. And Christopher Walken, but maybe not Christopher Walken tea.
@Carolyn, I was thinking something more… metallic maybe. So maybe leather and metal… and Old Spice. ;)
And bake-y, don’t forget that Auggy. ;D
Bake-y! The Christopher Walken Cowbell Special must be bake-y, leathery and have a hint of metallic taste and the scent of Old Spice.
Sooooo… we’re talking pu-erh here yes? :)
Nah, Auggy, cause then you’d need to throw in FISHY.
takgoti has shared 2 pu-erhs with me (that I have yet to try but will!) and there was no mention of fishy in them. So I hold out hope for pu-erh. And Christopher Walken. :)
(Is it bad that I’m hoping the tea tastes like sweet hay and dirt? This doesn’t seem to be something I should WANT in a tea).
This entire thing makes me laugh.
Christopher Walken is a strange nut. Loved him in the SNL census skit.
Never before has cardboard sounded so delicious! smile
WHOA…I’m drinking this now too…CHEERS!
Haha – I just saw that. Yay!
“Gourmet cardboard”…nice! I’m a fan of this tea too, but it’s not perfect. It needs more cowbell.
Hehe! What would cowbell taste like? Bakey? Cardboard? Perhaps it would it taste 5-star worthy if served by Christopher Walken?
Love nod to gourmet cardboard. :) Definitely looking for a 5-star Irish Breakfast too! I started out with my Irish Breakfast Twinings bag tea this morning, and wondered were ALL the kick went? Disappointed was an understatement – I think I might double up next time.
@ Auggy – I don’t know what needs to be added but we need to discover it! ANYTHING would be 5-star worthy if served by Christopher Walken.
Hahah – the secret to perfect tea – Christopher Walken!
Where can I order him?
Essence of Christopher Walken Tea. Would we want this?
I don’t get a cardboard taste from maltiness, but yay! I am glad you’ve found that flavor! I find it to be similar to a bitter flavor, but not really bitter. If that makes any sense.
It’s not bad cardboard and probably not like actually eating cardboard but there’s a dryness and a… sturdiness to it that just brings to mind the smell of a cardboard box. Weirdly. I’m guessing that my dry sturdiness is your not bitter but bitter taste. Hehe. I think taste is very hard to describe and translate because associations play into it a lot but it is fun trying!
Why do I think Christopher Walken Tea would smell like Old Spice?
Gourmet cardboard and bake-y…with the potential of cowbell too! I’m sold. Some of the more interesting words I’ve heard used to describe tea, good job :)
We will never let you edit your comments. You will be forever mocked for your poor grammar and lack of proofreading…bwaahahahah (evil laugh)…na, it’s on the list and coming soon. I just can’t stay mad at you :)
@Jason, Yay!!!!
adds ‘gourmet cardboard’ to the file of words that must be used in future tea reviews
Wouldn’t “cowbell” flavor be a term to apply to pu-erhs with their strange leather/compost flavors?
I just want to say I love you guys. And Christopher Walken, but maybe not Christopher Walken tea.
@Carolyn, I was thinking something more… metallic maybe. So maybe leather and metal… and Old Spice. ;)
And bake-y, don’t forget that Auggy. ;D
Bake-y! The Christopher Walken Cowbell Special must be bake-y, leathery and have a hint of metallic taste and the scent of Old Spice.
Sooooo… we’re talking pu-erh here yes? :)
Nah, Auggy, cause then you’d need to throw in FISHY.
takgoti has shared 2 pu-erhs with me (that I have yet to try but will!) and there was no mention of fishy in them. So I hold out hope for pu-erh. And Christopher Walken. :)
(Is it bad that I’m hoping the tea tastes like sweet hay and dirt? This doesn’t seem to be something I should WANT in a tea).
This entire thing makes me laugh.
Christopher Walken is a strange nut. Loved him in the SNL census skit.
Never before has cardboard sounded so delicious! smile