Camellia Sinensis

Sipdown (114)!

Wow; seems like this sipdown should have happened ages ago. I mean, how old is this tea? The answer is probably well over a year old. Amazingly, it’s held up over time though! Finished this one off in a large Nordic Mug; simple and just in straight hot water. It was so lovely, mellow and fruity with just this absolutely wonderful jumble of red fruit flavours (rhubarb, strawberry, cherry) and then this light almost citrus or even possibly ‘bamboo’ finish. I don’t honestly know if I’ll pick up more of this one in the future: it did take me a long time to finish it and while I really enjoy it I don’t know that it’s something I’m still overly excited about either.

Despite definitely not being in the “try everything you can get your grubby hands on” phase of tea drinking, I still do like the idea of picking up new things. Otherwise I just get sick of things, and I’d much rather finish blends like this one off in a positive way which I’ll regard fondly in the future.

Cold Brew!

This time around I really noticed the rhubarb, lemon, and pear notes and the green tea in the base; it kind of offered up this ‘stringy’ green bean imagery, with the crispness of fresh cut grass and bamboo. It was the perfect light, fruity companion to drink while munching on a crisp Asian Pear.

Subtle, fragile, and exotic all at once.

This is a queued tasting note.

Tea Soda!

This made for a really delightful tea soda; the light vegetal flavor of the white and green tea used came out very fresh, and almost bamboo-like. I’ve done bamboo tisanes as soda before, and I have to say that I really enjoy that light flavor carbonated. It makes me feel like a big panda sipping on my tea.

_Fun Fact: Did you know that giant pandas eat, on average, 84 POUNDS of bamboo a day!? _

There were also a lot of fresh fruit notes; rhubarb, strawberry, to a lesser extent cherry, and then lemon from the lemon myrtle. It was very light; like fruit infused water but much more refreshing and sweet. It almost reminded me of fresh cut fruit salad – in the best way. I’m definitely really impressed with this one as a tea soda!

I was going to attempt to make a joke, but it was really weird and bad. What was it you ask? Well, if you insist…

I woke up yesterday morning with a kink in my neck; in more ways than one!

See it’s “funny” because I really did wake up with a painful kink in my neck (it’s still kind of there), but I also had a really intense and weirdly romantic/sexual dream about one of my coworkers at Sobeys. It was really, really weird though because I don’t find him attractive even a little bit. But “dream me” certainly didn’t feel the same way. Now next time I have a shift with him it’s gonna be hella difficult making eye contact. Cringe.

Anyway: this cold brew was really, really good yesterday. All of the “red things” in the blend were really present and sweet and a little candy like. So, the cherry, rhubarb, and strawberry. Reminded me of Strawberry/Rhubarb pie filling. You know what I mean: sweet and candy like, but kinda… Supple?

I also was able to just subtly pick out the pineapple and I thought MAYBE the pear too? But I’ve never tasted the pear in this one before and it’s possible that I only thought I was tasting it because I was also drinking a Golden Pear Liqueur/Spirte mix drink. So I don’t know.

I need to pay more attention to the individual flavours in this next time I have it, and less so to the flavour as a “whole” because I think I’m missing out on some of the subtler nuances to the tea.

In my timolino! I managed to wait the perfect amount of time in the morning after the kettle finished boiling, while getting ready for work, to make a more delicate white tea. I should really splurge/make that important investment and get myself a variable temp kettle. Anyway, this was delicious! Sweet pineapple and fruity rhubarb with just a touch of strawberry over top a sweet, flavourful honey white base. Mmm!

Last tea of the night; and yeah I know I made six cups at once (shhhh, I do not have a problem) but this actually truly was the last of the night because it’s the last of those six cups that I finished – not because it was bad or anything, but because I knew this was one that would still be very good once it had gone cold, so I didn’t feel rushed to slurp it all down.

Tonight all the fruits in this really, really stood out on their own; like more so than usual, and especially after it had gone cold. The star was the very plump, ripe tasting strawberry in this but it was accented magnificently by the tropical tasting pineapples and the bright, sweet cherries and rhubarb. I even tasted the pear and lemon myrtle, both of which I find normally get lost under all the other amazing, contributing fruits.

It was like a cup of very fresh fruit salad! Or mixed fruit pie filling…

Delicious!

I put the tin away in my closet, but I feel like I may have to bring it right back out again; the one is calling out to me, telling me I better cold brew it sooner rather than later and I really don’t think I can argue with it.

The super lovely VariaTEA picked me up a bunch of this before leaving Montreal, so I’m pretty well stocked for the time being but that doesn’t stop me from feeling like I should be hoarding this special, special tea! I broke it out today though because today seemed like a fancier occasion, and I was craving something sweet and juicy.

I’ll be perfectly honest, I wasn’t paying the closest attention to how I steeped it. The water temperature was low but how low I couldn’t tell you. I used lots of leaf, but how much I couldn’t tell you. I steeped it maybe more than I should have but again, how much more I wouldn’t be able to say. What can I say? Well whatever combination of things it was it was the perfect one!

This was to die for, succulent mouthwatering strawberry/rhubarb and sweet pineapple. I enjoyed every last flavourful drop of it and had ZERO regrets about making a quantity tea instead of choosing to take an easier sipdown.

Tyrell also liked the smell of this one a lot, so maybe I’ll make it for him sometime…

Sipdown (182/184)!

This tea deserves a long tasting note, but I’m exhausted and also IMing with three other people, so my attention is really divided at the moment.

I cold brewed this though and had it at work; it was stunning! I’m so pumped to be getting more of it!

I made two cups of tea when I got home tonight; I’d have loved to make more, but I work again tomorrow at 9AM and I need to go to bed right away so I stuck with simpler, lower caffeine blends.

This sample comes from Dexter3657, though I’m pretty sure she got her sample from VariaTEA – so this works out nicely because, had Dex not sent me some, I’m sure VariaTEA would have eventually (or I’d have requested it).

I really like this though! It reminds me of Tea Desire’s Buddha Bamboo in the fruitiness of it – mostly the pineapple, which is really strong. The rhubarb is a little less strong, and hides in the background, though not enough where I can’t find it. The aftertaste is so potent – it really makes taking the time to enjoy this really easy. Mmm!

I find it funny that it reminds me of Buddha Bamboo, though! I’m buying Buddha Bamboo for VariaTEA because Tea Desire is local to me, and I’ve now requested she do the same for me with this blend, which is local to her. What a nearly comical trade off.

Another sample from the lovely Dexter3657
what a nice medium bodied roasted Oolong with cereal and bread notes.
I am enjoying it with pancakes and Maple syrup before leaving to go to my niece’s birthday.
Not especially happy to have to take the train again for more than an hour and during the week end but this is a special occasion and I’m glad to celebrate her 17 years the right day.

Thanks to VariaTEA for sharing some of this with me! The name instantly grabbed my attention, and I was hoping for Turkish Delight or something along those lines. And it basically is. First sip was candied rose, but the more sips I took, the more the cherry came out.

The base is a little on the dry side but I like it here. The only drawback is the more you sip on it, the more the cherry starts to morph into a cherry cough syrup note. Part of me still wants more, and this reminds me of how I’ve been meaning to order from this company for quite a while. Despite the cough syrup note, I can still see myself enjoying this every once in a while.

I was just feeling out of sorts, with an upset belly, and the description on this one made it seem like a good bet. It was. You’d think a Campari drinker would know better than to expect sweetness from a bright red tea, but I was still surprised that it was so…grainlike? If I closed my eyes I thought of basil and millet while actually tasting neither. Only after reading the description did I pick up on the anise – and I really hate anise in tea. But not in this one. It steps to the back and doesn’t leave that Ouzo stickiness. And it did settle my belly!

Sipdown (193/195)!

So, I made the last of this in my timolino and drank it on the walk home. It started snowing! Like, fairly heavily. Boo! Fingers crossed it all melts by tomorrow. DEATH TO ALL THE SNOW.

Anyway; this was nice! It’s sweet and maybe a little more “chocolate” flavoured than the previous cup was – but mostly it’s the cloves I’m really ‘digging’ right now. Concluding thoughts: this will be a little missed, but I’m sure it’ll be short lived/soon forgotten – it was a good, solid gingerless chai and I loved that, but I don’t think it was special enough/unique enough to be remembered over the other chais I keep stocked.

Thanks VariaTEA for the Transylvanian Transsiberian Chai!

Oh, I lost my tasting note on this! Steepster ate it on me…

Anyway, I broke this one out because the amount of Chai samples in my possession is only growing, so I figured I needed to step my shit up and actually finish (or at the very least, try) some of them. This one comes from VariaTEA and appears to be gingerless, so it was the top choice for the moment.

I have to confess; I originally thought this was called “Transylvanian Chai” and I kept getting the image of Dracula either taking a sip and his fangs being really sensitive to the heat of the liquor or him saying something like “It’s Spiiicccyyy” in his thick, sexy accent. I’m a little disappointed that that’s not actually the name…

Steeped up what I’m finding is that this isn’t as scary intense/spicy as I had assumed/feared it would be. The cloves and cinnamon are pretty strong and there’s some sort of thick creaminess/sweetness that I would maybe label as more like vanilla, but I’m assuming is the chocolate in this. The absence of ginger really helps a lot with putting this more forward in my books.

So conclusion drawn based on that? I’m pleasantly taken aback and will really enjoy finishing this off, but wont seek it out once it’s gone because I have other sweeter/fruit based (my preference) Chai blends in quantity that are more important I finish off first before getting more.

But yes; this is good and not as scary as I thought it’d be!

Meh. This has a nice, light fruity, extra floral thing going on, and if you’re into that, this is a nice, lightly astringent, balanced green blend.

Ok, ok, I lied. I’ll have a white or green tea tonight. This one is from VariaTEA. :)

Basically it was an “Anything that smells amazing!” choice. As long as “anything” wasn’t a black or oolong.

So this. Dry, it smells like fruit candy. Mmm.

Steeped (for 5 mintues!!), it smells like fruity candy plus tea.

This is really good! I don’t specifically get rhubarb and pineapple, but I do get tea and fruit and sweet-with-a-little-tart. Really nice balance. I wonder how this is iced, or cold steeped. Hmm…

(2-2.5 tsp per 14 oz)

Sniffing the dry rooibos blend made me think I had a lemon bomb on my hands, and I mean that in a good way. After brewing, what we have here is a gentle, but deep and delicious lemon with a touch of spice. This is the best thing I’ve ever seen anyone do to rooibos.

I’ve only tried two other Bi Luo Chuns so far, but this is a bit light for my taste. Instead of the earthy-sweet I was expecting, this is more fruity-sweet. It does have a pleasant light astringency though.

There are many different fruits in here, but the outcome for me is a tea that tastes like dried strawberries. Not the crispy ones with the citric acid taste, but the soft, chewy ones, as if you dried them in a dehydrator yourself, with the slight dark syrupy note under the fruity lightness. As a bonus, this feels like a total indulgence. Dessert, but not sugary.

This is every bit as delicious as the Verdant version I just discovered. Such a great tea. The only difference I can see is that where the Verdant one makes me think of buttered toast with apricot jam, this one makes me think I blended in some of my American Tea Room Immortal Green, which is a peachy green with brown sugar notes.

I’m drinking the winter harvest version. You know how your life seems to progress from a love of simple, bold flavors (Hi-C?) to, say, fine Burgundies (yeah, I’m old) that you never would have remotely liked as a kid? I think I’m somehow enjoying this relatively more delicate but creamy, sweet, thick Jin Shuan at least as much as I ever enjoyed the bolder, crazier versions I’ve tried. I think it’s satisfying, thick body makes up for the relatively delicate (but delicious) flavor.

Tasting this makes me think the first oolong I ever had many years ago must have been a tieguanyin. I brings back everything I love about it with its floral, mineral, mushroom notes. Finally a candidate worthy of filling the spot opened up by the out-of-stock Verdant Handpicked Autumn Tieguanyin. If they were both available, I think I’d have to flip a coin. This version has less-pronounced (but still present) hyacinth flavors in favor of a warmer profile.