807 Tasting Notes
Steep 1: 2:30 Minutes Toasty Roasty Oolong with a lovely sweet brown sugar, caramelized sugar, brown sugar flavor. Delicious and intriguing!
I had this when I first began drinking loose leaf and do not recall enjoying it quite so much. Now I appreciate all the elements in this tea!
The leaves in this tea are SO huge and expand SO large that you really need quite the large brew basket for them or just put them in your pot or cup and strain them.
You can really smell the vegetal roasted oolong in this blend and the flavors do not over take the aroma or flavor of this very nice oolong.
Steep 2: 3:00 Minutes – I concur with others who have said that the sugar comes out more prominent in this steep, yet there is a wet leaves earthy flavor there as well. It has not lost the toasty element and a nutty flavor is present as well. These remind me quite a bit of those caramelized nuts you can get at fairs and in the mall.
I probably won’t have time to continue logging this but if I do I will come back and add to my notes here but this is really quite lovely.
They have this tea along with coconut pouchong which I ADORE on Open Sky for sale 28 for both. I may have to grab some one of these days if they don’t sell out.
I am particular when it comes to chocolate flavored teas – chocolate anything for that matter, even just chocolate.
This is done well. It does not try to BE chocolate by over flavoring with some nasty chocolate crud that tastes nothing like chocolate.
Same with the mint – its minty but not trying to be too strong.
This is a nice balance!
It is very creamy! Let it cool down a bit and there is a malted milkshake flavor here!
I bet this would be awesome iced!
This is a sample from another order I made with Persimmon Tree but I highly recommend this to any chocolate mint lover!
Used this baby last night for a pu-erh session with hubby and a movie. Not once did I have to leave my seat to make water or anything. I LOVE THIS! LOVE!
Upping rating to 100!!!
I considered getting one of these before I got my breville, but, I don’t think I need it. Sure, it’d be handy (and nice) to have, but, I don’t think I’d get the use out of it to justify the expense.
Well I don’t and won’t get AS much use out of it as I do my Breville but it sure is nice to have when you know you will be sitting and re-steeping a lot. I usually avoid my better re-steepable teas because I really don’t have time to keep going back to my breville. HOWEVER with this now I can use it in the evening or anytime I have sit my rear down and enjoy my life time and use my Breville for when I am working and just making a few teas through out the day. Oh also this is so light and easy to carry around with the handle I am going to take it when we go to St. Louis in a couple of weeks. That way it will be in the hotel already hot and ready to go when I want a tea and I can get in the room – steep the tea – and get out again. :) So I would say if you have any desire for things like that – it is TOTALLY worth it.
That’s a good point – using it on the road. Please update after your trip and let us know how it handled as a “traveling companion” :)
I shall update after the travels! I just anticipate without it I would suffer not having time to steep good tea. This I can put in the water, leave and come back and the water is ready to go – even for a black it reboils quickly as it holds the heat at 208 if that is what you set it at.
Timer allows for up to 10 hours which is AWESOME!
Also I know how I am in the mornings – on travel its even worse! This is going to make mornings SO much easier on everyone haha.
I would not dare take my breville on a trip and while I do have my kettle with the thermometer on it which would be handy to take it still would not be as simple as having the water right there.
This thing reminds me of something you would see at a convention, or a wedding party, or something.
There are a ton of different styles but this is one of the smaller ones which is perfect for me.
I don’t know if they all have a handle though and the handle is NICE!
I don’t do a whole lot of traveling… but I can definitely see how this could become a necessary item if you do a lot of traveling… very good point!
Damn…. I really want one. It’s such a pain to be constantly heating water, especially for multiple-infusion teas.
My only problem with the Zojirushi is that it only has three set temperatures. A super-high quality green or white tea (which I don’t drink often these days, considering a tight budget) responds much better to a slightly hotter temperature, maybe 180-185 degrees. I have seen water heaters that will heat water to the degree, but they are hard to come by and more expensive than Zojirushi. In the meantime, I will have to deal with watching for the shrimp eyes at the bottom of my saucepan.
Well for the most part I got mine for pu-erh however does have that added benefit of transportability but the re-boil feature was the big draw for me.
I’ve thought about one of these. I’ve heard great things about them. Did you get yours from somewhere special or get a good deal on them?
I got mine from Mandala Teas online.
I love Garret the owner.
The prices were fair, online with what you would see them for on Amazon.
I did find one about 4 bucks cheaper but I prefer to buy from Garret at Mandala.
When I was looking into yixing pots and such, he spent over 45 minutes to an hour with me on the phone just chatting about tea. He took the time and was not in a rush, he explained things, answered a million questions, responds to email, facebook, and here on Steepster quickly.
He not only is a tea guru but he runs a spiritual healing business which is in the genera of work I am in so that is cool as well.
I just like the guy and its always great to keep our money invested in small business.
I paid 125.00 for mine and has been worth every cent.
Thank you to Kittenna for this lovely tea.
I am enjoying the creamy fruitiness.
I am not sure it is truly a creme brulee flavor here – I guess it depends on if you have some berries with your creme brulee but its good for whatever it is.
I do love the green rooibos base teas!!
Thank you for allowing me to give this a try!
I’m not sure it’s really creme brulee either, but I did enjoy it regardless! I don’t recall fruitiness though; wonder if it picked something up from another bag. I don’t think this one was double-bagged.
Side by Side Comparison with Once Upon A Tea by SerenipiTea – thank you to Missy and Dylan for both samples!
This tea is okay but the flavors are just not my favorite it seems a bit on the weak side. There was just something sort of MEH about it.
Cocoa Loco is sweeter and less spicy than Once Upon A Tea
Once Upon A Tea has more complexity and depth.
Both have a creaminess to them but I believe that Cocoa Loco wins on the creaminess factor.
I am not a huge fan of either really to be totally honest.
Where one wins the other skips out and vice versa. I think I will pour them into one big mug and see what happens :)
Side by Side Comparison with Once Upon A Tea by SerenipiTea – thank you to Missy and Dylan for both samples!
This tea is okay but the flavors are a bit on the weak side and the rooibos base is a little too prominent for me. It did get better as it cooled but there was just something sort of MEH about it.
Cocoa Loco is sweeter and less spicy than Once Upon A Tea
Once Upon A Tea has more complexity and depth.
Both have a creaminess to them but I believe that Cocoa Loco wins on the creaminess factor.
I am not a huge fan of either really to be totally honest.
Where one wins the other skips out and vice versa. I think I will pour them into one big mug and see what happens :)
This tea did not smell like much at all in dry form.
Steeped it smells A MAZ ING!
Taste: A very creamy indulgence! Notes of vanilla and caramel just as described!
Perfectly sweet but not too sweet!
This is a nice tea. Its not MY personal favorite of the SBT line but hey that does not mean it is any less YUM! I do like how it KIND of reminds me of a margarita and Im down with that especially since I do not drink anymore!
Had it today with some mexican food which is totally awesome as our yearly fiesta is going on in town.
Its a refreshing drink and palate cleansing at the same time yet has plenty of ripe juicy flavor!
I bet this would be KILLER with some sugar added!
Just a sippin on some right now. A sample from Kittenna thank you!
Somehow I keep asking for or getting samples of this one haha but thats all good.
I really would like this more with a little sugar in it but my blood sugars are running high today as it is so I can’t touch the stuff.
Any whoooooo …. been one of those days – not productive so just going to go through some samples :) WOOT!
This was one of my first loose leaf teas as well. I knew nothing about loose tea back then. I fixed this in a tea ball. I liked it a lot but didn’t know how to really appreciate it.
Exactly. Its still not the best tea in the world or anything but now that I know how to brew it properly it is MUCH better. Haha of course the tea isn’t better – I am but it makes for a much better brew to know what one is doing :)