676 Tasting Notes
Thank you Steepsters for being such wonderful uplifting Tea Friends
Dessert! It’s all about Dessert! Tonight I celebrate you all!
Don’t you love our shared little secret…the sweet lovely tea secret that we can pour in our cups and drink down without guilt! Cake tea, honey tea, cookies, strawberries and cream, spice and CHOCOLATE! There’s that almond biscotti flavor that lifted me up and carried me all the way to Italy…to Lake Como. The Russian Tea with cherry jam, and the Pineapple Oolongs and Coconut cream pie…making me get my hula on. Mercy!
Lupicia had this sweet little Puer…Cinnamon Cookie…laced with black tea, elderberry and cinnamon…perfect for a dessert treat tonight.
It tastes like a cookie. No kidding! I love the earthy flavor of puer…but in this case, I’m not missing it at all. (I really wouldn’t like an earthy cinnamon cookie. No, no, no.)
If something is this good… I think of ways to take it further.
I had a Blackberry Cabernet Matinee Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Bar in the freezer.
Uh oh! I went and got it out, unwrapped the silky bar and broke off a chunk.
I ate a little bit of chocolate,took a sip of cookie tea…another bit of chocolate, another sip of tea. Uh! Don’t interupt me! A little bit of chocolate, a sip of cookie tea. (flavor blending silky and rich.Sinfully wonderful…superb!) Remember, I’m only doing this for all of you! ;)
Truthfully, you all bring me such joy. Applaud yourselves! Thank you for all the uplifting comments lately during the fires in Colorado!
I want this!
Thinking of you as I see those devastating photos of the fire and praying for your safety!
Just heard from Jason and he’s ok but his business in Colorado Springs is close to the fire!
Haha, Azzrian – you’re all about the cookie teas, aren’t you!
Bonnie – I’m going to have to try the chocolate, sip of tea, chocolate, sip of tea thing sometime. It sounds like a really great way to enjoy a bit of chocolate for dessert!
Glad Jason is safe, , hoping for the safety of his business as well! Thanks for keeping us posted Bonnie, I’m really glad you’re keeping in contact with Jason.
Chocolate is such a good pairing with tea, isn’t it? Sometime I get a really good chocolate bar and have a single square with a cup of tea. It stretches out how long I get to enjoy the bar, and I’m not eating the whole thing at once, which isn’t really good for my waistline :D
Thats what I do! Another pairing is a very smoky tea and sweet whiskey cheese and an apple or pair or smoky and chocolate. My local cheese shop does tea and cheese pairings!
Ooo, I never thought of tea and cheese. I will have to give that a try!
I wonder how teas like this would work as a granita…
I regularly go to my tea pub, Happy Lucky’s Tea House, to chat with the staff, customers and share information about tea. Everyone who works at the shop is very educated about tea and they care about their customers!
Usually, I enter the shop, sit at the bar and ask “Hey, what’s new?” Other times I pick some tea from the ‘tea wall’ that I’ve never tried before. I bring tea samples from my cupboard for these special people to share as a sign of friendship now and then. It’s really a cool place!
Today, I started asking questions about Jasmine Tea’s and Silver Needle. Since the new Jasmine Silver Needle was not in stock yet, I was shown the China Green Jasmine Pearls…and the scent was captivating. I decided to try the tea…my first Jasmine Pearls ever.
Sam prepared a glass pot with the pearls and at 3 minutes poured the golden liquor into my glass teacup.
The cup was very fragrant with Jasmine. I commented to Andy that there was a scent of new rubber ducky in the floral scent. “Huh?”, he said.
He poured himself a little and agreed…“Yep, I can see how you would say that.” (How do we come up with these things I wondered! Rubber Ducky?!)
I drank some more…the tea was strong and as it cooled…strong and astringent. I commented to Andy and Sam that it was not to my liking as much as Jasmine Silver Needle Tea.
Andy said he liked the pearls at a 2 minute steep instead of 3 minutes so he brought out a Gaiwan and steeped pearls at 2 minutes for me. (I never asked for this attention to detail…it’s just how considerate these tea professionals are)
Now the tea was very pale. The flavor was much more delicate and not astringent. Oh, I really preferred the 2 minute steeping so much more!
It would have been such a shame to miss out on this tea and probably never drink it again just because I had tasted it at a stronger, more concentrated steeping than I like. Sam prefers 3 minutes. Someone else might like it at 3 minutes. I prefer 2 minute steeping.
The tea was juicy and delicious.
This was a good lesson. If a tea is a little meh. Steep it longer, or shorter. Check the temperature. Give the tea a chance to speak to you.
Don’t be afraid to experiment until you find your comfort level.
I’m a fortunate person to have such a great tea shop to go to. (The owner is a great guy too and all the other tea experts that serve there!) Thanks Happy Luckys!
I agree with trying different steeping times as well as brewing methods and the type of vessel used.
Not to mention the amount of leaves.
Or little round bocci ball pearls.
I finally learned not too long ago that less is more when I am brewing – I used to really put too much tea in to steep, and I know the leaves could not stretch out and brew nicely when I did that. I really should start setting a timer when I brew, as I tend to do the dishes or other tasks while I wait, and end up steeping longer than I’d like.
I love the line, “give it a chance to speak to you.” I truly believe that all tea has a certain energy, and when it is personified like this, it really becomes a relationship-building process. You get to know your tea. The more you get to know it, caress it, care for it, and let it be free, the more it will give you.
If you liked this tea, you should try Seven Cups’ Silver Dragon Pearls. It was actually made from tea of the Da Bai Hao (big white bush), which is what “true” silver needle tea comes from. You might also want to try Teavana’s Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls, which sounds very similar to what you just described.
I am super enthralled with the silver Yabao Pu’er from verdant and Jasmine Silver Needle which I find cooling and fresh. The regular Jasmine Pearls have to bee very lightly steeped or it’s cloying to my taste. Do try the new Laoshan White if you can!
Sometime come visit my shop and let’s meet for a tea swap!
Last of this Pu-erh from Ian (and by the way where is our friend IAN?)
It’s been months since I reviewed this Pu-erh…and a lot of Pu-erh has been DRUNK by me. Or should I say has been DRUNKEN. That’s better. I’ve been drinking Pu-erhs for months since then and enjoying myself.I’ve had lots more experience with and can tell a real difference between review 1 and what I am tasting in this review.
This flavor is not horribly bad. There is a nose and taste to the
Pu-erh that resembles bean sprouts and is dusty tasting. I did a rinse of the leaves so that’s not an issue. You’d almost swear that someone threw in a small handful of potting soil because the sour earthiness is present but not in the usual warm and inviting way. I wish the flavor was more caramel or salty rich flavored but it’s not. The mushroom taste that I detected the first time around, well…it got lost in the dustiness. I looked in the cup and it’s cloudy. Not that great a Pu-erh.
No bells and whistles. Ah.
This is good confirmation that my taste must be improving. (Now Amy Oh had better not make a comment about me being a tea snob…I’ll get sensitive!)
We all become transformed after a time by the access to the fantastic variety of wondrous tea’s. It’s bound to happen that we change and appreciate quality tea…and that our palate developes.
Onward and upward!
drunk, drunken? drank? drinked? drinken?
Drunken!I’ve been tea drunk enough for it to qualify as DRUNKEN!
Yes, where did Ian go?
tee hee – you know I was only teasing!
You KNOW you want to say it!
Yeah, where is Ian? I miss that boy ; 3;
Maybe he has a girlfriend! I know he can’t drive yet! Yooohoooo Ian, did Teavana suck you into a sales pitch?!
My assumption is that Ian is finishing exams about now, and probably too busy to be on here :)
Hi Everyone.
I know this is not the first time I’ve reviewed this tea but I needed a good friend to comfort me tonight.
This Chai is a comfort tea, one of my special Jewels in my cupboard.
I knew that writing a review would be difficult tonight.
I’m so upset about the fires raging in Colorado. There’s a new fire in Boulder close to Steepster Chadao. There’s a big fire with 32,000 evacuations tonight in Colorado Springs where Steepster Jason works. The fire here in my County is 65% contained after burning 85,000 acres and 260 homes. There are 16 fires in all!!! Plus 5 days of heat over 100 degrees.
Please remember your fellow steepsters and the people fighting these fires. I have friends in the path of this newest fire.
(While writing this a message came across my Facebook from friends in Colorado Springs. Just one word ….evacuating!)
Review:
I can always count on this particular Chai to comfort me with a blanket of warmth from cinnamon, fennel (love it) and burdock. The additional hint of saffron is such a special treat. Who else does that?
Another thing I love is the restraint in blending clove, cardamon and peppercorn. It irritates me to no end when I take a sip of Chai and a spice bomb goes off in my mouth that tastes like a bag of mulling spice mix full strength….blech…spit it oout! You’ll never get an awful vulgar spice bomb from Verdant! This tea is smooth. Mellow. Restrained, yet with enough oomph to stand up to sweetening and cream if you want additions.
The star of the show…the best of the best…is the Laoshan Black Tea base. Cocoa, thick and juicy tea that stands on it’s own as absolutely spectacular. It’s a treat to have this incredable tea used for Chai. Did someone make a mistake? Shouldn’t Verdant have used another black tea of lesser quality? Not happening! That’s not the way Verdant operates and I’m soooo glad. I benefit! We all benefit and can enjoy the best available tea and blended tea’s without denegration of quality.
My time with this Chai (one of my Jewels) was good for me tonight, relaxing and uplifting. Comforting.
I hope you will join me in sending good thoughts if that’s what you do, or prayers if you are one who prays for the people fighting the fires here in Colorado and those who are in danger and have lost their homes.
Thanks.
Bonnie – positive affirmations coming your way love. Hang in there and stay safe. ((Virtual Huggs))
I’m ok…just all the news for weeks and the being shut in and now 2 more cities on fire. All the news is homes on fire. It’s awful!The Airforce Acadamy was just evacuated. I haven’t heard from Jason…he works there. Chadoo lives in Boulder and theres a fire there. Eeks!
Im glad your holding up Bonnie please keep us posted on how you are. I figure as long as you are tea logging your okay. Don’t disappear on us!
I won’t but I’m just upset…having a hard time doing reviews. I need to gather myself together!
:( I’ve been reading about the fires on news websites, and it sounds quite bad. Keep safe and keep us updated as best as possible. Hugs.
2 Hrs ago friends evacuated with just minutes to gather photos and leave!
They posted their pictures …so sad!
Oh Bonnie, this breaks my heart! for so many reasons. All those lost houses, and the forest animals to… I’m with Kristaleyn, keep us updated!
We’re thinking of you, Bonnie, and all of those affected by this terrible summer! Please stay safe.
Bonnie, you are in our thoughts. And everyone in the surrounding area – I hope for their safety and strength to stick together and support eachother through the fires.
Does anyone know how the fires started?
Lightening! It’s been over 100 degrees too. This afternoon we’re expecting lightening again and the winds come up to 30-50 miles per hour. You can imagine…fire and wind. There was a beetle kill of trees in the mountains last year so that’s dead wood tinder and the monsoon season is yet to come so the forests are super dry. Everything is going up in smoke super fast. The fire by me is the biggest ever in State History. The others are new…just began.
Wow. How close are the fires to you? Hopefully many many miles! :(
Dear Bonnie, we are thinking of you here, and send all of our wishes to you and everyone affected. While there is little I can think of to make things better from Minneapolis, I do hope that you, like me, find joy and strength in tea, and in the community built around it.
Bonnie-You are in my thoughts. I hope things start getting better soon. So sorry to hear about this.
Thanks everyone! I’m ok really. The danger to my home is over (looks ok now), just more storms and smoke which makes me ill. It’s the others still in danger and friends, even Steepster friends in harms way. People I know being evacuated. Weeks of this type of tension behind my house, smoke like fog, lack of sleep, migraines, high heat and now new fires just made me spew here on Steepster! I have no other voice! Sorry everyone, and thanks! Hope for those fighting these blazes!
I’m sorry… I hope you get some relief soon
Stay safe and prayers sent to all.
I hope all the fires get under control soon! So sorry that you and yours are going through this!
I’ve actually been really worried about you, but I’ll keep the others in my prayers as well. Stay safe!
Oh…don’t worry. I know who has my life in His hands! I care more about the others. I’m really fine. I just stress and can’t rest.
You and all those close to fires are in my thoughts. Get some rest friend. Some times relaxation exercises help me, maybe they will work for you.
Bonnie, also sending good thoughts your way…
I had a little bit of this sample from Amanda left in the bin…and decided to purge…(such an ugly word)…the rest from my ‘Monster Tea Cupboard’. (My tea cupboard is alive and Claws at me with Talons and Tenticles as I walk past it in the kitchen! Creepy!)I think it’s time for some of the naughtier tea’s to ‘Another One Bite’s the Dust’ and some of the tablespoon sized hanger-on-ers to ‘Hit the Road Jack’!(You know you have um too!)
I found little hanger-on-er Smoky Chocolate 52teas in a little zip packet hiding on the top shelf bin. It smiled a half smile at me and turned swiftly to slink back into the darker part of the cupboard. I swiftly scooped Smoky up and poured the leaves into my brew basket before little 52tea knew what happened. (I did hear a tiny voice “…” explative…!)
Boiling water and a 4 minute steep transformed my friend into a medium smoke liquor tasting malty but not very chocolatey.
The flavor is pleasant…not bad, but not chocolate or mocha or cocoa.
I had likened the flavor in my first review to a Necco Wafer Chocolate Candy, and that’s where I stand. A little chalky, malty and smoky.
The recommendation would have to be that this is a smoky tea and that it’s smooth and fairly good tasting. The saving grace is that the flavoring used was not bad and leaves no sour aftertaste!
Adios little tea!
I reviewed this tea 5 months ago when I was just a wee baby Steepster.
Now I must be an adolescent. A teenaged Steepster, not quite respectable and wise like my elders who’ve been here for a long, long while. My irreverance irratates many I’m sure.
I remember when fun flavored tea was all the rage with me. Packages of DavidsTea from Canada arriving at my home in Colorado was a thrill. I can’t believe that in such a short time I’ve learned so much about tea and that I drink mostly unflavored or naturally flavored tea now.
To revisit and reevaluate tea gives you a chance to see where you’ve come from and test your palate to see how your taste has changed.
Tonight, in drinking Check Mate, I took another look at what was a pretty nice cup of coconut scented tea 5 months past. Would I still rate this tea the same today?
Review:
The flavor was coconut but with a sour aftertaste that I associate with artificial flavoring. I don’t like it at all. A nice cup of tea with promise of cocoa and coconut just gets ruined with bad flavoring.
The sourness is overwhelming. Ick! The cup is all mucked up! I’ve become spoiled by high quality tea’s to the extent that this Check Mate mess is not good at all anymore. I don’t want to do it but I have got to downgrade this tea. Meh! Petoowy!
Awww, my cup of this today was definitely still quite delicious, in spite of the fact that I too feel like I’m leaning more towards unflavoured teas instead the outrageously flavoured ones. No sourness at all. Perhaps it was a bad brew? I’ve managed to wreck this one before :(
I am already beginning to feel the same way. Its sort of sad really in a way. Innocence lost.
Now don’t let’s start talking about innocence lost at this time of night/morning! Why are you up anyway? It’s 1:15 here…you must be crazy!
LOL its 2:22 here now – I am a night owl by nature and am TRYING to get on a day schedule which is not working :)
Its still early by my norm though I go to bed around day break normally Ugggg hard to change what is a part of ones core being. Vampire ancestors perhaps hummmm.
Fibromyalgia causes me to have trouble sleeping sometimes. I can sleep in though. Noone to complain either. I don’t take naps hardly ever…but the smoke has been disturbing me from the fires and the temp has been over 100 for days. We should be lower in the 90’s the rest of the week. Poor Colorado. 13 fires, heat and wind. 2000 firefighters just in the fire behind my home. Jasong (on Steepster) works by the other fire in Colorado Springs. Gets to you. Anyway, I’m going to try to sleep. I hope I can leave my house tomorrow. When the smoke is bad it gives me migraines so I have to stay locked indoors.
Sigh… it’s 3:30 here…. and I have a dentist appt at 10am. Silly Steepster addiction…
I’d be up stressing about the dentist too! I remember a dentist once that looked like Robert Redford when he was young…really cute. It was awful laying in the chair looking up at this gorgous man (single too) with my mouth in one of those shield things…so gross!!!! I was in my 20’s. MORTIFIED!
Addiction? What addiction?…shakes…quivers….who…me…?
Rest well Bonnie and Krystaleyn Get to sleep young lady LOL
I am going myself :) To TRY to sleep.
OK MA!
It’s funny how tastes change. Not sleeping isn’t very fun though. I watched a kinda scary tv show and now I can’t sleep :{
You need cocoa!
Cocoa Channel!
Bonnie, you tea snob! Kidding, I totally feel the same way. I have learned so much about tea in the year I’ve been here.
I’m a tea snoot not a tea snob!
I’ve become the same way with flavor teas, they don’t seem as fun and exciting anymore, no it’s all about the nonflavored teas! Funny how tastes change.
I do like the naturally flavored tea’s and blends though. Not the fake flavors though. Fake flavor is sour! Leaves a terrible aftertaste and goes bad on the shelf.
Thanks TheTeaFairy for this big sample!
I must be the LAST person on Steepster to taste and review Movie Night!
EVERYONE has written reviews except moi! (and Miss Piggy)
I’m celebrating the occasion of being able to open my window tonight to let in FRESH AIR!
There’s no smoke from the forest fire down low this evening and having this little pleasure is such a treat after being cooped up indoors for the past 3 days.
Movie Night it is (I told myself)! Popcorn and fresh air!
Instead of watching movies, I watch the next Food Network Star and that sort of thing that I save on my DVR.
The scent of the tea steeping was hard to resist. I wanted to stop and drink the tea before it was ready…that’s just how good it smelled. Like walking past a hot caramel corn stand. Irresistible!
I suppose you COULD drink this without sweetening. Why, I have no idea? Adding a little bit of sweet to the slightly salty tea created the best caramely, salty sweet popcorn flavor… full of childhood memories and guilt free. Free I say…free…free…free! What a beautiful word!
One of the greatest gifts that tea has given me is a way to satisfy my sweet tooth cravings without packing on calories.
I knew this wasn’t exactly caramel popcorn flavored. But being a tea…to get this much flavor this close to that movie memory in a blend …well…I think it was tasting pretty cool.
I’ll share a little secret with you…
My first date in my whole life was to the movies in Los Gatos,CA.
I was a Freshman in High School and went with a Senior (big deal) to see Goldfinger with Sean Connery. We held hands. That’s all! (thankful about that too). Love the movies!
http://youtu.be/Fy_PJODH3p0 Goldfinger Theme 1964
Hahaha, that’s so cute! :D
The first date, I mean :P
Omg… I love that your first date was to see Goldfinger. Seriously you just get cooler and cooler.
call me miss piggy then lol I have not had this one.
Hey Miss Piggy! I thought I was the last one!
That is a lovely first date, Goldfinger! Also lovely that you enjoyed this tea and that you get some fresh air and to be FREE!
There’s two of us named Miss Piggy?! Who would’ve thought!
This little piggy went to market…this little piggy went to town… (there’s more to come)
Girl you’re on fire, I see I’ve missed so many of your reviews, I’m trying to catch up! SO happy you liked this one! (you forgot to mention «MOI» also, I never reviewed this tea, but I’ve been drinking it a LOT!!!
Second Review
The first time I tried this interesting looking tea I was a bit timid. I had never seen tea cigars before. Little hand rolled tea leaves several inches long and gorgeous. I wanted to steep exactly as the instructions specified so I was watching the unfolding as much as I was tasting the tea.
This time, I completely ignored the look of the leaves and went straight for favor.
I steeped this tea a little longer and ended up with a rich honey colored liquor.
Everything about the artichokey, vegital flavors listed as typical for this tea went…zip… out the window.
What I tasted was malt and fruit. Whoa…wait…hold on! Is that possible?
I tasted the smoothest honied malt with a hint of smoke at the end and a bite of astringency on the tongue-tip.
Did someone mix darjeeling, assam or black tea with this green tea? How can this be a green tea? It has to be some kind of crossover mutant tea!
If you have any of this tea, steep some a little longer and tell me what you think!
Unbelievable!
I will have to try this, sounds interesting! I also love Amy Oh’s suggestion for cold brewing this tea. It has quite an interesting lemony flavor.
I did chill some and it’s fantastic! (I used what you sent with the pineapple oolong shipment …of this tea) .Do you think that where this green is grown had made it more malty?
That could be. I will have to try at a longer brew so I can taste the malty-ness. I’m very curious about that.
Second review
After a tasting disaster with an icky puerh..(yuck)…I ran to the cupboard for a completely opposite kind of tea to cleanse my palate.
Organic Spring Twist is THE perfect clean and fresh tasting tea!!!
This was delicious! I don’t have many green tea’s in my cupboard other than samples that I’ve been sent. I’m learning little by little which ones appeal to me. It appears that the creamy, less astringent ones and the nutty greens are my favorites…so far.
Drinking Spring Twist was all about creamed corn with sweet peas so fresh just the way I love my green tea. And there was no astringency. I could have sipped this juicy tea all day. It was so, so, good! Yum!
