87 Tasting Notes
Pretty sure I’m the only person to actually destroy a timolino completely, and I accidentally ran over it with my work van, and it’s about the size of a HandiDart (short) bus! smooshed it right flat. I cried. three days later (payday) I bought a new one, and it goes everywhere with me. My tea-loving pony knows what it’s for nnow too, and will yank it out of my hand to get to the yummy treat inside. So it gets a LOT of horsey abuse, and there’s a few teeth marks in it, but it’s never leaked, keeps tea HOT or COLD (I usually plop an ice cube into my hot tea so it’s a more drinkable temperature, otherwise it’s burn-my-face-off hot for HOURS. I’ve had tea stay hot for 12 hours before, and have had ice cubes still clinking around after 8 hours)
this thing is indestructable, and I’d be lost without it!
I went into the Uptown store today in a real funk. The wonderful staff (who have quickly become friends) picked up on it and surprised me with a cup of Superberry. Well, it definitely put a smile on my face!
I’m actually quite a fan of the juniper berries, they give the tea a bit of a bite, which is a welcome contrast to the sweetness of the blueberries. Normally not one to add sweetener to tea, I actually chose to add a tiny amount of agave to my cup, and it’s exactly what it needed. The sweetness of the agave highlighted the flavour of the acai, bringing the whole thing together.
After trying it iced in the summer, and being rather disappointed with it, I was quite thrilled to discover how tasty it is hot! It seems like a good tea for making a latte with, it’s strong enough to not get lost in the milky goodness. I can imagine it tasting a bit of mixed berry oatmeal in a latte. Hmm, might have to try that next time I’m in!
Be careful though, I feel like this would be really easy to oversteep. I went for about 4min30sec on mine and it’s nice and strong without any bitterness to it.
Preparation
I haven’t actually made a hot cup of matcha yet, but I’ve made several matcha frappes recently. In all honesty, I only bought a tin of this for my pony, Java, as a way to wean him off of his mineral supplement (a green powder, the colour derived from seaweed). Now, he won’t eat his dinner unless there’s “supplement” (aka matcha) in it! Little bugger!
I think I can safely say that this is Java’s favourite tea, seeing as he will not touch his bucket if he can’t see/smell the matcha in it.
Not to be a downer, but is tea okay for horses? I know dogs and cats shouldn’t have it. Also, if you’re looking for a tea name for your horse, how about Honey Phoenix? That’s one tasty tea too!
I talked to both my vet and an equine nutritionist and neither could find any reason not to give it to him. (Asking them actually stemmed from one day when he swiped my paper take-out cup and drank my earl grey). There are a few add-ins that I need to watch out for, but the tea itself is safe :)
haha, I think I said this before, but I love your horse! I don’t know why I find rascally animals so endearing. :)
I absolutely can NOT drink this one hot. Something about hot watermelon is just too wrong and I can’t get past the idea of it.
Iced however, wow! The tin smells like pure watermelon, but the taste is something more. I don’t pick up the honeydew (which is good, I’m not a fan of the stuff), but like someone else said I taste banana?!
I like to steep it triple or quadruple strength, ice it, then use it (steeped goodies and all) to make slushies. Add a splash of vodka or red sourpuss for a more adult summery treat ;)
On its own, this is a sweet, lightly spiced tea with a light creaminess to it created by the melting marshmallows (and unlike many things that contain mini marshmallows, the ones in this tea are actually soft and squishy, not “Lucky Charms” stale/chalky! Yay!). But I don’t get “toasted” marshmallow from it.
So what do I do to remedy it? Why, add a bit of Lapsang Souchong of course!
I use a 3 to 1 ratio of Toasted Marshmallow to Laspang Souchong, adding the Laspsang about 2 minutes into the brew time, and it’s EXACTLY what I needed to get the toasted flavour I craved!
WOW! As a huge fan of the Quangzhou Milk Oolong, I was really excited to try this new oolong, and I wasn’t disappointed!
The tight “mossy pebble” leaves are perfect for adding to a travel mug and just topping up the water as you go along. It’s definitely the greenest liquor of all my oolongs, and something about that makes me happy.
It’s a sweet, slightly creamy tea with a subtle almost honeysuckle undertone. After drinking, it leaves a lingering sweetness on my breath, which in turn leaves a smile on my lips. I’d never had ginseng before, so never would have thought to combine it with oolong, but I’m really in love with the combination!
I participated in a tea tasting with the staff at the Uptown (Victoria BC) store (I consider them to be my friends now, really), yesterday evening to try the three new teas they received. I can’t wait to try the other new ones when they come in too!!
Being an avid oolong fan, and having a great love of the Quangzhou Milk Oolong, I was extremely excited to see a new straight oolong! This is even more special as it is the first tea they’ve received from Vietnam!
We did both a gongfu and western style brew to taste it, each brew style bringing out slightly different notes of the flavour. The gongfu brew brought out more of the delicate floral notes (reminds me of orchid? Magnolia? It’s definitely more floral than piney), and the western style brew brought out a rich sweetness reminiscent of the Quangzhou.
I went home with 100g and will likely need to get more before the month is up!
How lucky you got to taste them with the staff there. I know some of the Johnson Street staff, but not well enough for a tasting, though I did have an impromptu tasting with them and the Quangzhou. I felt this one is a little more floral than the milk, and a little less creamy, but still quite tasty. Nice to see another oolong fan in Victoria.
I absolutely adore the Uptown folks, and find myself there almost daily to say hi to everyone. (my entire social life as of late has been to go to the tea shop and have tea/hang out with my staff friends).
They’ve always been pleasant to me when I’m there, but I’m not at Uptown a lot, to be honest. I live in James Bay, so downtown is easier to get to.
Touché. I’ve been to the Johnson Street store twice, but didn’t have a great experience with the staff there. Been to Hillside a few times and got to know one of the girls there quite well when she did a stint at Uptown. But I’ll go out of my way to go to Uptown just because I adore the folks that work there (and I have pretty severe social anxiety, but it’s nonexistent while I’m in that store, so that’s a big part of it too I think)
Hillside is pretty relaxed (more relaxed than Johnson Street). I like it there, perhaps as it was the first, and fell in love with it. I’ll have to try to make it to Uptown again. Last time was a few weeks ago.
Let me start by saying that this tea has an extremely strong smoky aroma, reminiscent of bacon and campfires. But don’t be put off by it! Once steeped, the aroma is slightly muted. The taste is smoky and comforting. When drinking, the muted aroma reminds me of the smell of old books, and I feel compelled to curl up in a big comfy chair, with a book, while drinking.
Lapsang Souchong has officially taken place of Hojicha as my favourite smoky/roasted tea. Complex yet simple, strong yet subtle, it’s a paradox of a tea, and is my new go-to for when I’m feeling sad.
Total miss :(
It’s bitter, lacks any flavour even remotely resembling s’mores. Smells burnt when I sniff the tin. Adding milk/sweeteners/ice cream/whipped cream didn’t help.
Really disappointed that I don’t like it after reading all the hype about it, and then waiting to finally have it in stock so I could try it.
