807 Tasting Notes

88

Backlogging:

Totally unexpected delight. First of all the aroma of this tea is of warm vanilla sugar and berries. The smell was so warm, so inviting, so sweet, and so natural smelling. It really reminded me of the caramelized sugar on top of a creme brulee with wild berry glaze on the side.

The very fist sip was that of raspberry but it quickly faded into a warm sugared apricot flavor but not a sticky sweet sugar, rather a very natural sugar flavor.

Finally, an apricot I could fully appreciate, as I have had issues with finding an apricot tea I like recently.

What I liked most about this tea, and its flavoring was that I could still taste the green tea base beneath it. Often times when I have tried blends from artesian, or smaller tea vendors I find that the flavors are artificial, cloying, or chemical. This tea was wonderfully mastered! I am impressed! This is one of the best teas from a non commercial tea vendor I have ever tasted!

The liquor appeared oily and heavy in the cup at first pour and I did have some reservations thinking maybe the blend would not be very good but I was so wrong. The tea did have a full mouthfeel to it with that heavy feel but it was so juicy, mouthwatering, delicious!

This is an inconspicuous tea, it does not force you to take notice, rather allows you to simply meld into its splendor! I found that none of the flavors fought one another for attention. While vanilla was not mentioned in the name or ingredients of this tea I swear I could taste a hint of natural vanilla!
There were actual pieces of fruit in the blend just as stated on the site!

I loved the fresh tart apricot, the sharp but sweet raspberries, and the wonderful green tea base, it is naturally sweet so no sugar is needed.
The caramelized sugar aroma was mesmerizing! My mouth is watering as I write this review just thinking about the juicy fruity flavors I so enjoyed! Time to go brew another pot!

RachanaC (Rachel)-iHeartTeas

Thank you, I am so happy you enjoyed this tea. I’m going to have to blog this review if you don’t object. :)

Azzrian

No objections here at all :)

Azzrian

You are welcome! I will be ordering more soon as well! Its great stuff!

Scott B

Raspberry and apricot sounds like an interesting combination.

Azzrian

It was really good – I am not a huge fan of apricot but this I liked.

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89

Provided to me in my Steepster Select (http://member.ly/steepster-select) package, which I luckily won for March! Thank you Steepster Select!

So when I opened this package I was surprised because it looks like Yerba Mate! Not that I have a lot of experience with Yerba Mate but that is what it reminded me of. Now from what I know of Yerba Mate it has a lot of caffeine, whereas Sweet Roast Green is low in caffeine so the look of the leaf is where the similarities end as this tea does not taste like Yerba Mate either.

The dry leaf smell is indistinct. I really did not get much of any aroma from it. Steeped however the aroma is robust, grassy, earthy. It tastes exactly as it smells with just the tinniest bit of sweet with a heavy mouthfeel. The color is a golden amber. There is a slight green bean flavor to as well, and there is absolutely no astringency or bitterness.

One teaspoon of Sweet Roast Green to six ounces of water, steeped at a boiling temp for 2 minutes are the recommended instructions. I made no modifications and have before me a perfect cup of a rare and unusual tea. Yes I do realize that it is a green tea, and yes I did say boiling! This is a no fail green tea.

Now I will note, this tea is not going to be for everybody. I could potentially see this as a love it or hate it tea but I do believe everyone should give it a try. Hawaii is an up and coming tea producer of artisan quality teas. The hopes are to replace the struggling sugar industry as per the information provided with my Steepster Select package. I am all for supporting local business and industry and doing something good to help others. I do enjoy this tea very much but could see it being too musky for some, too smoky perhaps. It does have an unusual smell and I can only describe it as being something from a party perhaps in the 60’s or 70’s, now if you know what I am talking about it also has a bit of the same taste. My husband disagrees with me however but everyone’s palate is a different.

The second steep (yes you can re-steep this tea! Yay!) yields a much sweeter aroma, more of a caramel essence peeks through, yet for being named Sweet Roast I get far more of the roast flavor than the sweet. I would not say this is a sweet tea at all. On this second steep there is also a light floral aroma poking through. Much lighter now, the mouthfeel is crisper, cleaner. The same flavor elements are there just toned down. There is a slight nudge toward a genmaicha tasting tea both in the first and second steep although not quite the same there is a resemblance. I feel safe in saying those who love a genmaicha, like myself, would enjoy this tea. It is lacking some of the buttery notes of a genmaicha, and of course the toasted rice, therefore nothing for me to pick out and eat (bummer) but the base flavors do nod to genmaicha.

I did steep this a third time, although I made two cups at a time and by the time I got to the third steep I was getting to my morning tea limit, plus this is a low caffeine tea, probably a mistake to make it first thing after getting up. Could not help myself though I had to try it! The third steep still had nice flavor complexity, but was getting noticeably thinner. Regardless, still toasty, still roasty, but now lacking some of the more pungent flavors from before. Had I not had four cups already I could enjoy this tea on steep three very much. Wow, I just noticed I am already more than half way through cup one of steep three, so there you go. Still good on the third steep but there is no way I am going for four, not today anyway.

Sweet Roast Green Tea (Dark) sells on the Mauna Kea Tea site (http://www.maunakeatea.com/home) for 10.00 per 30 grams or just over an ounce. You can also get a sample size bag for 4.00 which is 10 grams.

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91
drank Guayusa by Runa
807 tasting notes

Backlogging;

This is another tea that I received in the Steepster Select (http://member.ly/steepster-select) box that I won. Thank you Steepster Select, again providing me with a totally new experience! This is my first Guayusa tea! It also looks like Yerbra Mate it its dry form.

First smell: I thought to myself Yummmm, I was surprised although I am not sure what I was expecting as I have never had a Guayusa before. Fruity, creamy, bright, eye opening, delightful aromas.

First sip: The flavor is bright, and cherry, with a slight tartness yet with such sweetness, like that of fresh berries. If I had to compare it to another tea it would be a good quality black tea, one without any astringency or bitterness!

The liquor is light brown.

I have absolutely loved my Steepster Select box – and I have more to come, – because it takes me on this amazing journey! I am learning so much about tea! This Traditional Guayusa is farmed by a native tribe in the upper Amazon regions of Ecuador, Peru and Columbia. The tried is called the Kichwa Tribe. This info was provided by Steepster Select on the card they include with all of their tea shipments.

I just think it is so wonderful to have such a fresh tea resting on my palate! To sit back and imagine this small tribe farming, and picking tea leaves that will be consumed by people like me, it is humbling and also I am slightly jealous of what I imagine their lifestyle to be. I also respect Runa Tea for working with the Kichwa tribe in regards to sustainability and socially responsible farming and procuring of teas. This tea is Certified Fair Trade, Certified Organic, and Certified Kosher. It is 5.99 for 1.5 ounces or
17.99 for one full pound! Wow! Talk about a steal for an amazing tea! According to the Runa Tea facebook page – Runa means “fully living human being” in the Kichwa language.

Second cup which is cooler than my first and I am picking out a very caramelized flavor now. Its quite nice and different from my piping hot cup before. I am intrigued by the way this tea seems to evolve right on the palate. I think if I listed all of the different flavor components it would be a very long list. Berry, sweet, bright, cherry, sugary, malty, toasty, smooth, rich, I could go on and on.

I was having such a good time with this tea, trying it iced as suggested on the website it was wonderful. Then I got adventurous and added a touch of Japanese spearmint essential oil to my cup, just a tiny drop, and it made the best tasting sensation with a toasty maple like flavor with a kick of mint. So delicious! I did not try it with any sugar in the raw or milk but I am going to assume it would be excellent as it seems to be a very versatile tea! I also noticed when the tea is colder, either cooled from a hot tea, or iced it has a more malty note to it and a wonderful bread like after taste! This was before adding the mint though.

I also wanted to note that I love their website – www.runa.org
They talk about tea origins, ways to enjoy tea, the tea farmers, and they even have a mission statement! It is also a very eye appealing site that is easy to navigate.

Re-steep on this tea was a huge success! Although I only did one re-steep I feel assured I could have went for another, maybe more. The liquor was even a bit darker on the second steep – releasing more of the complex flavors with some extra sweetness coming through!

I feel honored to be introduced to such a wonderful tea company and tea! Not to mention to feel closer to our global community and the wonderful diverse people of this planet!

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80
drank Cookie by Lupicia
807 tasting notes

Backlogging:

Cookie comes as a surprise. I was expecting something extremely sweet from this blend. I was pleasantly surprised that someone has blended a seemingly sweet tea without all the added sugars or sweeteners! Cookie, is a tea that has a lovely dark black base, the flavor of a cookie, and reminiscent of Danish Butter Cookies. It is not sugared down or cloying like many cookie blends. Now I am not saying I do not enjoy those sweet blends, I in fact quite enjoy them, but this is a different and very welcome spin on a cookie tea! The aroma is in fact very much of a caramel cookie, however I really do not pick out any caramel in the flavor. I do get a baked goodness though which is quite pleasing. However, adding a dab of sugar in the raw did evoke more of the caramel essence. I liked it with sugar very much. Then I decided I may as well take this full tilt, finished my cup, rinsed my cup, and poured a new one. This time I added milk as suggested by Lupicia Tea. It was nice with milk although I really did not note much of a change rather than a creamy aspect which was pleasing. The flavor however remained the same. My full tilt measure was adding sugar in the raw into the cup of Cookie and milk. I had struck gold. Granted Cookie by Lupicia is a very fine tea unto itself unadulterated and perhaps I am spoiled by my expectations of this tea being like all the others, sweetened. I imagine that it is my own immature palate wanting my cookie to be sweet and I will admit while I do love Danish Butter Cookies, they are often lacking in the sweet department for me. Unfortunately for me, I was totally out of any kind of cookie to dip in this tea and I know had I had any cookies I would have loved this tea much more straight. In fact I find it refreshing that a tea company made a blend that in fact did taste of the characteristics of a cookie without all the added sugars! Kudos to Lupicia for doing something unique and doing it quite well! I am sure there are many people who would love this blend even more than I. A lot of tea lovers do not care for sweetened teas yet may enjoy something as delectable as a cookie blend! Some of the flavors this tea evokes are: Buttery, Baked Flavors, Slightly Malty, Rich, as a matter of fact it even looks like a coffee with cream in the cup when milk is added, with a deep mouthfeel.
I really love the tins Lupicia teas come in, of course they are optional, you can pay slightly less without the tin. I will of course order my refills sans tin but I really think they are quite adorable resembling a silver hockey puck! I was surprised at the size of them when I got mine in the mail. I was expecting something much smaller.
I highly recommend trying this tea. I guarantee that you will not have another cookie quite like this in a tea or otherwise!

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84
drank Happiness by Lupicia
807 tasting notes

Backlogging:

After receiving a sample pyramid bag of Happiness I could not wait to give it a try. Mostly because I was exhausted and really did not feel like messing with my loose leaf tea, which is really all I have anymore. I was really happy to get a sample tea bag and be able to just boil some water and toss it in. Granted it is not difficult to use loose leaf tea but I was just THAT lazy, the mental aspect of a tea bag seemed right on for me in the moment.

I was not anticipating much, it was after all a tea bag. Yes I have become a bit jaded regarding them. To my surprise and delight I could not be happier, no pun intended, with this Happiness tea!

I clearly can taste the peach and the grapefruit gives the tea a nice bright cheery note but is not biting like grapefruit is known to be. The mallow really makes this tea soothing, almost creamy but not as creamy as a cream tea of course, just a slight smoothing effect. The floral notes are very well balanced and complimenting to the fruit notes.

I steeped my sample bag in boiling water for 2 minutes on the first steep and 2.5 minutes on the second. Yes, this tea bag did re-steep quite nicely!

Happiness is made with a mixture of green tea and green rooibos tea. I do believe that this is the first green rooibos tea I have had the pleasure of trying! Green rooibos is caffeine free, although green tea is not, however is low in caffeine in comparison to black tea. So what you get is a lightly caffeinated tea with Happiness. Yet still, I felt awake after drinking, not jittery but calm, serene, and happy. Green rooibos is not fermented like red rooibos. The process is stopped by withering the leaves right after being cut. I intend to do more research on green rooibos myself, and always love to find something new that I have not tried before when it comes to tea!

I have been looking for a peach tea that really tastes like peaches right off the tree! One that is very natural tasting, I have found that in Happiness. Of course everyone’s palate will pick up some notes more strongly than others but this cup provides so many wonderful offerings! This tea would appeal to floral tea lovers, green tea lovers, and fruit tea lovers and I also feel this would appeal to anyone in your life who does not particularly care for tea at all. Without the sugary, fake flavorings this tea reminds me very much of many bottled drinks on the market today, or a smoothie even. I know my entire family would enjoy this tea! I also allowed the second cup to get cold setting beside me and it is absolutely wonderful cold so would make a very nice summer iced tea!

Invader Zim

This sounds like it would be wonderful cold-brewed.

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96
drank Sakura Sencha by Den's Tea
807 tasting notes

This tea makes my mouth water just sniffing it in the dry state! It is such a pretty spring time tea, to look at and savor the flavor of!
Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry! So this is a cherry flavored sencha!
I also love Den’s Tea! From my first impression of them when they sent my 3.00 sampler pack along with 3.00 off my first order, to their super fast shipping, to the quality and diversity of teas, to their fair price structure. Everything about Den’s is wonderful!

This tea though, oh this tea … its my favorite Den’s tea to date and that is saying a lot because I absolutely have a love affair with Den’s Genmaicha! This is a beautiful display of tiny budded cherry blossoms laying dreamingly atop a grassy green field of buttery nutty sencha leaves. They look like delicate little fairies that could blossom open and dance about playfully at any moment. This is a tea that anyone could enjoy but younger girls would delight over if you wanted to teach them through a sweet tea party about quality tea! I am sure just the look of this tea would make young girls squeal in delight but the smell and flavor is what is truly to cherish!

It is a light tea, be careful not to over steep or you will lose the cherry flavors that make this tea so bright and cherry! Just as this is a delicate looking tea, dainty in its presence, it is a delicate tea that needs to be treated as such. On a good note its not bad over steeped, just a deeper grassier, butterier green flavor. You can’t go wrong but I am all in for the cherry cheery flavor! I realize that the steeping instructions on the canister, and the website make one pause and wonder… “Can one really get the full flavor of a tea in only a 30 second steep?” Yes one can, and one will, if one simply allows this tea to be what it is meant to be, a light, refreshing, cup of wondrous yum! Don’t push this delicate jewel of a tea to be more than it is because it is delightful left to a short dip in a warm splash of water.
Brewing instructions are 3oz of leaves at 180F for 60 seconds. Steep only 15 seconds on second cup. Of course I had 8 ounces of water in my kettle so I added the appropriate amount of tea leaves.

Other flavor profiles include, buttery, grassy, nutty, earthy, floral and vegetal.

It is sad that it is only available in early spring and even more sad I only ordered one canister! Tea this precious and wonderful however should be something we cherish, like the cherry blossom tree itself, presenting in early spring for our enjoyment, one should savor it while they can! This is surely one for my permanent supply and a tea I will never become tired of. I can’t wait to steep some of this and enjoy it with my daughter! 

LiberTEAS

This is one of the best sakura/cherry festival/cherry blossom sencha teas I’ve had … and I’ve had a few. I even had my own version of a Sakura Sencha and this one was better.

Azzrian

That is a huge compliment because I hear your teas were pretty amazing!

Invader Zim

This sounds divine!

Azzrian

Next year I will probably get two tins.

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94
drank Muscat Oolong by Lupicia
807 tasting notes

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96

Backlog from the first time I had this tea:

Yum Yum and YUM!

What an elegant creamy delight! A white tea base that is not over shadowed or muddled down by such amazing flavors!

First of all I have never had any kind of melon with cream. I never would have thought of such a thing! Berries and cream of course but cantaloupe? I would not have purchased this tea had it not been for stunning reviews I read elsewhere but wow I am so happy I did make this purchase and I will say this is going into my all time favorite flavored tea stash! I will have this on hand at all times!

Personally, I did not feel this needed any added sugar but the site suggests it to be added if you want a more dessert like tea. I still like mine better without, but the sugar does not take away from the tea flavors at all. So have it your way as it is a delight regardless!

Now I work with essential oils and Helichrysum is one of my favorite oils for many purposes and while most people probably would not pick out that flavor I could taste it lingering under the surface – how lovely! This is my first tea that had this as a flavor element at least that I could discern in the flavor palate and not just the ingredients.

I also like that it is vegan – a tea THIS divine should be an option for all!

The dry leaf is gorgeous with the Helichrysum flowers making a noticeable appearance on downy white tea leaves! Steeped the leaves puff up quite nicely but I also notice that they appear to easily accept a second steep so that is what I have done, a second delightful steep! While I make my second steep lets look at some info from Butiki Teas…

I brewed as per the above instructions, adding 30 extra seconds to the second steep.
Steep two brought out a creamier mouthfeel and flavor! The cantaloup is still present but I am missing some of the Helichrysum flavor now to my disappointment but hey its still yummy! I am just a huge fan of that flower / flavor! Now it has a very interesting nutty flavor in the after taste which is a nice surprise! This is funny but I actually prefer steep two WITH sugar! I kind of like that though. I can enjoy the first steep in its natural form and the second for a little sugar rush! Both steeps are amazing and this is one tea you simply should not pass up! I love finding obscure tea blenders who do what they do oh so well! There are many who just miss the mark with me but get an E for effort. Butiki knows what they are doing though and I am looking forward to trying more and more blends from them! This specific tea however gets its own honorable place on my china hutch and I am now going to go find its own very special tin! Try it!

Butiki Teas

I came up for the idea of this blend because I love slicing fresh cantaloupe and using the thick creamy part of coconut milk that is at the top of the can. I even add a little sugar in the raw. Its amazing! I chose not to add coconut to this tea since coconut is one of those love it or hate it ingredients.

Scott B

Sounds delicious-especially for summer.

TeaBrat

+1 for vegans!

Scott B

Indeed!

Butiki Teas

Well, I am vegan so every single tea and even our sugar is vegan. I also try for gluten free and allergen free too except for teas that have nuts in them.

Azzrian

I HIGHLY recommend this for summer but even colder weather the creaminess is so comforting!

Kittenna

I seriously got like 4 or 5 infusions out of this one. I’m ordering a bunch shortly; it is divine.

Kittenna

And Stacy/Butiki Teas, cantaloupe with coconut milk sounds amazing. I think I’ll have to try that as soon as good cantaloupes are available here.

Scott B

@ Butiki-Wow, that’s great to know!

Butiki Teas

Krystaleyn-Definitely give it a try when you have a chance, the coconut milk and cantaloupe mixture is so amazing! I love adding a little sugar in the raw to sweeten it a little and add a little crunch factor. Scott B-I’d like to clearly mark that on our website when I get a chance but feel free to ask any questions about ingredients. We are trying to make the ingredients transparent. All but one tea has only natural flavorings and are organic when possible and the dried fruits added are preservative free.

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92

This is a backlog – my first tasting of this tea.

I couldn’t wait to try this one, but I did. I waited for the perfect time to myself to just sit back and enjoy slowly sipping on this tea. The smell was insane, just like pistachio ice cream, I mean how did they do this? There are actual pistachios in the dry tea. I ate one, it was infused with the flavor additives, it was good but pretty strong, I would not necessarily recommend that you do this, but if you want to, go for it.

Now this tea is not overly sweet but it is sweet, I didn’t find the need to add any sugar although I imagine it would be quite nice as a dessert tea – if it is not already – with some sugar and milk although it is already quite creamy, silky even.

This tea is vegan and organic which is extra nice as everyone should get to try as many teas as they can, without dietary exception! Although those who are allergic to nuts will miss out on this one. This tea is so nice that even if the pistachios were taken out it would still be a very good creamy sweet tea!

I must say that this tea is not as good in my opinion as their Cantaloupe & Cream Tea but everyone’s palate is different and to me the Cantaloupe & Cream Tea was supreme, suburb, an in my stash forever and always tea so thats going to be hard to match. Still this is a tea I will enjoy every last bit of and will probably reorder and it is on sale at this time so don’t miss out on that! No reason not to order both!

The organic green tea base is present in the flavor but not strong, this is primarily a tea that is to be enjoyed for its flavor components but I do taste the green base enough to feel as though the blender did a good job complimenting it and not overburdening it.

I am not going to claim to have any idea what the lotus stamens do for this tea in flavor but according to my Google search (yes Google makes us all genius) I have discovered that the lotus stamen has strong astringent qualities as well it is good for the kidneys, so that is a positive. It is also used widely in food to give a sweet yet neutral balance. There was a lot of info on this part of the lotus I found quite interesting and I am a bit impressed to see it used in a tea. The lotus stamen is also known as the poor man’s saffron.

On another note, Stacy of Butiki Teas is wonderful with excellent communication and customer service! When I placed my order I nearly instantly received an email asking me what samples I would like to try. I made several suggestions only expecting one or two but wanting to give her some choices. She not only sent all that I requested but added in another as well! I am looking forward to trying each and every one of them! Since my order I received tracking, and follow up every step of the way. I also like their packaging which is dainty and takes little space on my tea hatch.

Butiki Teas

For this particular tea I added the lotus stamens to give the tea a little bit of a fuller body, more of a cream-like texture. They don’t add much in terms of flavor at such a small quantity but the flavor is kind of neutral. I’m glad that you are happy with the customer service! Customer service is always our first priority.

Azzrian

You would for sure be in the top 5 of a top 10 list on tea vendor customer service!

Butiki Teas

Thanks! :)

LiberTEAS

Agreed! Butiki Teas provides AMAZING service.

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Profile

Bio

Most of my reviews will be “snippits” of full reviews that can be found at http://sororiteasisters.com/
Posted every evening at 6 EST.
I usually try to post the exact date that the full reviews will post however sometimes post dates need changed so it may not always be correct. Generally the dates are correct however.

About Me:

Most of my reviews, although not all, will be quite favorable of the tea. This is not because all tea is excellent, but more so because I generally will not waste my time on an inferior tea. If I do not care for a tea I won’t continue to drink it let alone spend time reviewing it. If you see a review by me you basically know it is a quality tea. Granted it may not suit your specific taste buds, we all like different things, but as for a tea on the whole it is a good one, from a good company.

I am a spiritual advisor by profession.
I have two “young adult” children.
Four cats and three dogs.

Some of my hobbies include gardening, essential oil therapy, natural perfumery with essential oils, and cooking.

I look for complexity overall in any tea, dimensions to the flavors.

I believe tea should evoke a feeling, thought, emotion, or attitude.

I enjoy most all oolongs, blacks, whites, and greens.

I always love to try a good yellow tea.

I favor unadulterated teas but I do have my longings for a good flavored tea now and then so I don’t rule them out by any means!

I enjoy green rooibos don not like red rooibos.

Find me on facebook and twitter – Azzrian Visions

Location

Kansas

Website

http://www.azzrianvisions.com

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