45 Tasting Notes

85

A mild tea that smells and tastes mainly of slightly tart apple. Normally I only crave chamomile tea when I’m sick (like right now) but this would make for a good evening tea.

Found one last envelope from the box I bought in Montreal three years ago. Haven’t seen it in the USA but I haven’t been really been looking.

Flavors: Green Apple, Sweet

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

55

This is the last remains of a sampler gift set. It tastes like a mint blend with a lingering bitter aftertaste. No actual green tea flavor. If the stevia is supposed to sweeten, it’s not working. It’s … okay, not amazing. I can’t think of any situation where I would actually /want/ a caffeinated mint tea instead of a legit black or green, and if I wanted a sweetener I’d rather add it myself.

Don’t take it personally, Zhena’s, your other teas are very nice.

EDIT: Another reviewer suggested putting a tea bag in a bottle of cold water. I can see that possibly working.

Flavors: Bitter, Mint

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

92

Found this stashed (hah!) away in a different drawer where I’d forgotten it. It’s so very, very ginger! There’s also a strong but not sour lemony aftertaste (lemongrass is very good for strong-but-not-sour). Very tasty and a good palate cleanser. You could probably turn this into a dessert tea by adding sugar or honey.

I planned to do a taste comparison between this and the probiotic tea ( http://steepster.com/chai-mera/posts/285733 ), but you can just read the reviews. The other is a mild lemon tea with a hint of ginger and this is GINGER with LEMON.

UPDATE: Surprisingly I did not have to remove the tea-bag, it didn’t overbrew.

COMMUTER NOTES: Individually packaged teabags. Good for after lunch, possibly less good as a during-commute tea (since it might overbrew).

Flavors: Citrus, Ginger, Lemongrass

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank Christmas Eve by Stash Tea
45 tasting notes

(No numerical rating because I really Was Not In The Mood for a mint tea and expected this to be more cinnamon.)

Although the first ingredients are cinnamon and orange, this is really a spearmint tea, regardless of whether you do a short or long steep. The other flavors keep the mint from being overwhelming and balance things a bit; probably a good blend if you like that sort of thing.

Unfortunately I just discovered that I don’t like spearmint – this reminds me too much of chewing gum. If I had to rate right now I’d give it a 35. Will try it again when I’m actually in a mint mood and can give a fairer rating.

You can also leave it in a thermos of cold water for a faint hint of flavor during your work day.

Flavors: Spearmint

Preparation
5 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90

Warning: this review involves abusive levels of oversteeping and inappropriate water temperatures. Sensitive readers are advised to read my main Opéra review instead: http://steepster.com/chai-mera/posts/286519

Excellent travel tea under adverse conditions! A few days ago I put 2tsp in my tea thermos with hot water before leaving for work. Had no opportunity to remove/empty the steeping basket so it stayed in there all day. There was one cold-water refill and one hot-water refill in said thermos. I don’t know whether it was the alternating cold/hot water or something else, but it still tasted delicious at 9pm and never got that bitter flavor that over-brewed green tea sometimes has. (Now whether I should have been drinking caffeinated tea at 9pm is another question entirely.)

Some people may consider this to be horrible treatment of a good tea, but there are days when one needs a tea that maintains its class and poise under rugged conditions, and this, my friends, is that tea.

Flavors: Berry, Floral, Green

Preparation
8 min or more 2 tsp

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

60
drank Eggnogg'n by Bigelow
45 tasting notes

(60 = Would drink again if that’s what I had lying around.)

A couple years ago I was a big fan of dessert-flavored teas (anything with vanilla, really). I loved this one so much that I stocked up on extra boxes before it disappeared from the store. Sometime after that my tastes changed, though.

So the only reason I decided to try this out again was to log it so I’d remember why I did (or did not) like it and would (or not not) buy it again if the opportunity came up.

Opening the package I was hit with an overwhelming (almost nauseating) eggnoggy scent. However, the tea itself isn’t bad. It’s a generic black tea with a sweet aftertaste. Eggnog lovers would probably go wild over it. Me, I might buy it again next winter if I see it, but I won’t stock up again.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Eggnog and black tea lovers.

COMMUTER NOTES: Individual bags. Black tea, so it might overbrew bitter.

Flavors: Eggnog, Sweet, Tea

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90

A fruity green tea. It can have different flavors depending on brewing time: it starts out with a light floral taste but with longer brewing (about 5+ min?) the green tea begins to take over.

I tend to think of this as my “green Marco Polo” (even though MF does have a Thé Vert Marco Polo, and this is not it) because they have similar complex fruity/berry flavor. In the tin they even smell similar, but in the cup the l’Opéra is more floral and less berry.

COMMUTER NOTES: Loose tea. No problem with the leaves being left in the cup for a long time (and also tastes good cold).

Flavors: Berry, Floral, Fruity, Green

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

85

Strong but not overly sweet floral scent. Taste is standard Earl Grey with a floral aftertaste that tones down the bergamot. Would be a good choice if you find the regular Earl Grey too strong but like the flavors.

I’ve been drinking almost entirely herbals this month (trying to reduce caffeine), but was really in the mood for a black tea today.

Flavors: Bergamot, Earl Grey, Rose

Preparation
5 min, 30 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

(No ranking because I’m congested right now.)

A mild lemon-ginger flavor — didn’t get strong even though I accidentally left the teabag in the cup for half an hour.

Bought this by mistake and not sure I really want specially engineered extreme-temperature resistant gut bacteria on a daily basis (search for GanedenBC30, you’ll see what I mean), but it’s okay once in a while.

Commuter Notes: Teabags in individual foil-lined pouches; withstands long steeping times.

Flavors: Ginger, Lemongrass

Preparation
8 min or more

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

(Edit: See my other tasting note about blending this with black tea.) This tea smells delicious but is rather picky to prepare. I used a half-serving (because the tea-ball was too small) with a long steep and got a decent ginger taste with a little bite from the cinnamon. I suspect you can get wildly different flavors depending on how much you use and how long you let it sit in the water.

Not giving this a numerical review yet since I wasn’t able to follow the instructions. Brewing notes for self reference:
- do not use iron water pot.
- try with larger teaball

Flavors: Cinnamon, Ginger

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

(FYI: If I have a low numerical rating + “Would recommend” it means it’s a good quality tea but has something I personally don’t like. It’s not you, it’s me.)

Smaller and less deadly than its sister Chimera (“kai-mera”), the Chai-mera makes mischief by over-brewing tea, burning unguarded leaves, and kidnapping small livestock. It is typically found in the backs of cupboard and sometimes under beds where, if not aggravated, it can serve as a delightful foot warmer.

TEA RATINGS: My version of Steepster’s emoticon rating:
90-100 :D = One of my all-time favorites / a cupboard staple.
75-90 :9 = Pretty tasty!
50-75 :) = Quality tea but not to my taste OR Might drink again if gifted.
25-50 :/ = Ranges from drinkable to decent. (Wouldn’t go out of my way for it, but might finish what I have.)
01-25 XP = Down the drain with ye!

SEARCHING FOR: a good herbal or noncaf (no hibiscus, please).

I sometimes include a TRAVEL NOTES section about whether a tea stands up to rugged use (won’t overbrew in a thermos, can make a decent cup with hot tap water, etc).

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer