Tavalon Tea

Too astringent for me. Not enough lemon flavor.

So astringent that I wanted to get a cotton ball and use it as a facial toner.

Very, very smooth.

Here’s Hoping traveling teabox – Round 3

The instructions call for 2 tsp per 8oz which a bit high, but I followed it best I could and used 3tsp for my 12oz mug.

Unsweetened, it tastes vaguely fruity, but I can’t really place the fruit. The green tea isn’t bitter and it’s slightly smooth. Sweetened, I’m getting apricot and pineapple. It’s quite pleasant, but it reminds me of a lot of other tropical fruity greens on the market.

’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #13
This one turned out very nice, even though I accidentally steeped it for around four minutes. Not bitter at all. The green tea was tasty, but the fruit flavor was difficult to guess. The description just says “soft fruits” so I have no idea what that means. haha. At times it tasted like cucumber, mild pickle, cantaloupe. At least it was always some sort of produce! Maybe it’s my fault, since it steeped for four minutes.
Steep # 1 // 30 min after boiling // 4 min

From the Here’s Hoping Traveling Tea Box #2

It’s an apricot green tea! I love apricots, but finding a good apricot flavor in a tea ain’t easy. Tavalon did a great job with this one. The tea is really juicy, sweet, and taste like a perfectly ripe apricot rather than a jam or jelly. This is a tea that’s begging to be iced, and it’s going on my shopping list so I can do just that.

Sipdown no. 154 of the year 2014.

Honestly, I don’t care enough about this tea to try to perfect steeping parameters for it. It was decent, but not special when I tried in the gaiwan, and I tried it several times. I dumped what was left (about 6 grams) into the Breville and made it according to Tavalon’s instructions—180 degrees, 4 minutes.

This didn’t make it any more or less remarkable than it was in the gaiwan using a lower temperature. Fortunately, it isn’t planty, so I give it higher than usual white peony marks for that, and this time a slight floral note is coming out high above some slight woodiness.

But I strongly suspect white peony and I simply aren’t meant to be unless it is operating as the base for a nicely flavored white tea.

Steeping in the gaiwan brings out a bit more flavor, and this one doesn’t have the rather nasty dead plant taste that I’ve had from white peony before, but the flavor is still fairly elusive to me. I get something sort of darjeeling-y from this, but much lighter, like a pastel version of darjeeling.

I have yet to taste a white peony that really knocks my socks off and I’m starting to wonder whether as a genre, it just isn’t the tea for me unless it’s the base for a nicely done flavored white. I’m torn on how to rate this because it’s better than some other white peonies I’ve tried, but on an absolute scale it’s not as flavorful and enjoyable as some other teas I’ve rated in the 70s. So take that into consideration when interpreting the rating.

It was perhaps a mistake to drink this after the Tropical Peony. I steeped it using the same time and temp I did for that one and avoided any unpleasant plantiness but I also didn’t get a lot of flavor out of it.

I’m also annoyed because I broke one of my glass mugs from Adagio in the process of getting ready to taste this one, and cut my finger trying to get the glass chips out of the sink. I’m also having to deal with a small tantrum on no. 1’s part. He has a piano contest coming up in two weeks and he’d rather watch television than practice. The afternoon isn’t shaping up well.

I should try this in the gaiwan and see if that helps. Not rating for now.

Sipdown no. 118 of the year 2014.

It remained one of the better tropical flavored white teas I’ve had and served well as a commuting/toodling around tea. Today it accompanied me to Little League picture day where we accomplished two team photos, two individual photos, and one buddy photo of no. 1 and no. 2 together. Of course, I had to buy the photo package that included the mug. I’m such a sucker for these things. I briefly considered the travel mug option, but the Timolino has spoiled me and I feared that even with a picture of one or the other of my little darlings on it, it would not get enough use to justify the purchase.

And down goes the roller coaster…

I reread the label on this one and discovered that Tavalon recommends using more leaf than I was. Sort of. They recommend two teaspoons per 8 oz water.

I’m using a spoon that’s a bit larger than a teaspoon and I tend to use heaping (or at least not level) teaspoons so I’m actually using more than a teaspoon. But just for fun, I put in twice as much tea as I’d been using, same amount of water, same temp and same steeping time. Then I threw it in the Timolino and drove to work.

I really didn’t notice a difference. It didn’t seem twice as strong as it was yesterday, although there might have been a bit more of the underlying tea. But the fruit and coconut flavoring wasn’t stronger.

Still liking it as a commuting tea, though.

This tea made its debut as a commuting companion today. It did well.

You know how when you eat or drink certain things outside, they taste differently than they do when you eat or drink them inside? That’s certainly true of this tea. Being in the car isn’t really the same as being outside, I guess, but this tea tasted fresher and lighter in the car than it did when I drank it at home. The coconut was also sweeter and nuttier, but in a fresh-tasting way rather than a cloying way.

So, success!

I’m worried because in the container the dry leaves smells an awful lot like White Tropics from Adagio. I really didn’t like that one at all.

I went low on temp and steeping time despite the instructions because 175 for a minute has worked v. well for some other flavored whites I’ve had recently.

I get a lot of coconut from the steeped aroma, and it’s a really good one. Deep and rich and not fakey or cloying. I don’t get a lot of pineapple though. The liquor is a clear, light yellow color.

Yay! This is not tasting like White Tropics. It’s very coconutty, in a green coconut as opposed to toasted coconut way, but only slightly sweet. Thankfully, it doesn’t remind me of cut flower stems that have been in water too long like the Adagio did. I’m not really tasting any pineapple, I don’t think. Maybe just a hint.

It’s a good flavored white tea, and if the idea of a green coconut flavored white tea appeals to you, you would likely be happy with this.

But I’m not really hopping up and down at the thought of having a coconut white tea in my cupboard. It doesn’t seem like something I’d pick to drink often. Who am I kidding, I doubt I’d ever pick it. The coconuts I tend to like are in flavored blacks and usually accompanied by another flavor, like chocolate.

It may find itself being my commuting tea as I seem to have quite a bit of it. Sometimes I look at the things I bought and the quantities in which I bought them and wonder what the hell I was thinking.

But at least I finished phase one of the redoing the drawers project for today, and I’m happy with that progress. I did not get to the garage yet. We’ll be going on the baseball trouser excursion in about half an hour so that will probably have to wait until tomorrow.

Maybe tonight I can sneak in some time to season the little Yixing…..

Sipdown no. 44 of 2016 (no. 255 total).

I still find this quite wonderful. Though I’ve now had this for a while (and it has been opened for a while) the chamomile still tastes fresh and creamy and not like dry straw as chamomile sometimes can. The fruity flavor is sweet, and the hibiscus plays well here, taking the edge off the fruit which might otherwise be too candy-like.

This is something I will buy again. And now I’m one step closer to being out of herbal lockdown. I haven’t counted how many are left but I think it is just a few, not counting the Refresh and I Love Lemon that I stocked up on in the grocery store.

P.S. Bad day here. Kitty no. 1 is in the hospital. She’s 14 and they think it’s a kidney problem. I’ve been through this a couple of times before and it isn’t fun.

Tasting note 800 and the 500th tea I’ve written a note about. If only it was a milestone sipdown as well!

Once upon a time, I belonged to the Tavalon tea of the month club. I am fairly certain this was sent to me as a part of that club.

I really love the way this looks. It’s a bit like a Teavana blend in that there are large chunks of fruit in and among the flowers that make up the rest of the blend. There’s a great dark, dried fruity smell that smells like currants and dates to me more than anything that’s actually in this blend.

It looks like cranberry juice in the cup, maybe even a bit more magenta if that’s possible. I smell mostly hibiscus and chamomile coming in the aroma. I steeled myself for the hibiscus pucker, but fortunately, this has enough sweet stuff in it to counteract that, and the hibiscus is actually serving a purpose here. It keeps the mixture from being too sweet to drink.

Cranberry and cherry are the main flavors I taste along with the hibiscus, though there’s a citrus note that floats in and out which must be the blood orange. My guess is the apple is contributing sweetness more than flavor.

With blends like this, I’m never sure whether the difference from cup to cup is going to be significant enough to change my mind, because a lot of the flavor seems to depend on how much of which ingredient gets into what you steep.

Despite the wildly divergent ingredients in each of these blends, it’s in the same general category as Tazo Passion, Teavana Caribbean Breeze, and The O Dor Je M’appelle Dorothee, but it has one thing none of those have. A balance of tart and sweet rather than just tart, tart, tart.

Sipdown no. 21 of 2023 (no. 679 total).

I recall that I enjoyed this one a lot when I first tasted it, and my earlier note confirms the reason — the jasmine is not a flavor so much as a floral essence that tastes natural rather than artificial.

I had saved this one for a long time because I didn’t want it to go away, and I am sad to see it go.

But on a positive note, I see that Tavalon is still around. I had figured it would go the way of Teavana, but nope — it’s still on the internet. And they have a jasmine green. It’s pearls, not what this one was, but it is still comforting that a blender that does a good jasmine is still around and has one available.

I love the way jasmine smells, and I love jasmine in tea. I just thought I should get that out of the way. ;-)

The smell in the container is of, of course, jasmine, but also a toasty note that I don’t typically associate with Chinese green teas.

The jasmine scent from the tea after steeping is really deep. It’s a sultry jasmine rather than a perky jasmine. The tea is a medium yellow and clear.

The flavor is pretty intensely jasmine, but unlike other Chinese green jasmines I’ve had, this one actually evokes the jasmine flower rather than the jasmine “flavor.” There’s a freshness to it, as though I’m tasting the petals from a fresh flower. I can also taste the green tea in and among the jasmine, and I often have an issue with jasmine greens where I really can’t distinguish the tea base. Perhaps it’s that toastiness that makes this one stand out. But it doesn’t taste toasty. It’s not smoky like gunpowder green. It’s a darker flavor though, sort of like gunpowder without the smoke but not quite as dark.

I am quite enjoying this. I have a jasmine oolong on the agenda for later this afternoon before we leave for no. 2’s birthday dinner. I’m hoping to stop at Bed, Bath and Beyond on the way and pick up some tools so I can season the little Yixing. Speaking of that, I really need to find my matcha bowl. It’s been bugging me that I can’t find it. I should apply myself to a search tomorrow.

Sipdown no. 83 of the year 2014. A teabag from the work stash.

I definitely over caffeinated myself yesterday so I’m trying not to drink caffeine today after 2 p.m. My line up for the rest of the afternoon at work is all decaf options, starting with this.

This is nothing but camomile, and the only other nothing but camomile I have to compare this to is the Samovar. I rated that at a 70 not because it was a bad camomile but because I don’t see myself drinking straight camomile by choice. If I was going to drink straight camomile by choice, I’d pick the Samovar (if it was still available).

This isn’t bad, though. It’s best described by what it isn’t: musty, papery, straw-like, dried flowery, pencil shavings, etc.

It’s rather sweet, and it doesn’t have the sharp, pungent note that camomile sometimes has.

It doesn’t have the deep, creamy flavor of the Samovar nor does it taste as fresh (the samples were about the same age, and the Samovar may have been slightly older). It’s a lighter, sweet floral with the definite distinctive camomile notes. On the other hand, as I’ve said, it doesn’t taste old and dusty either.

Not a bad choice if one is in the market for a straight camomile. I, at this point, am not.

I tried this tea after dinner at Buddakan in NYC. It was very nice, floral and clean.

Thanks to Katiek for including this in her incredibly generous mystery box.

I started cold steeping this yesterday when our air conditioner broke and I needed something to cool off with. I’m pretty sure my house is falling apart, I had to replace the refrigerator on Saturday and I’ll need to replace the furnace before winter sets in. What little bit of money I had in the budget for tea has now officially disappeared sigh guess I’m officially on a tea hiatus that I’ll need to stick to this time. [ok, i’m done complaining now so on to the tea]

I haven’t been drinking a lot of green tea lately and for the life of me could not tell you why. I love green tea and this one is really nice. The grassy flavor really stands out and the apricot adds just a hint of sweetness. I’m not sure I would enjoy this as much as a hot tea, but it sure hits the on a warm summer day.

This is my second tea from my Tavalon Tea of the Month Club (the first being After Dark) and no one has logged this one either!!

I thought t his would be a good to try yesterday to perk up the coldest day of winter thus far. I made a pot while rushing off to class. I don’t think I made it exactly right because it was a little weak, but from what I could taste it has a very nice green tea taste with a hint of fruitiness. Due to my poor making of this tea and the fact that I drank it quickly and on the go, I am going to forgo rating it now but I am looking forward to the rest of the pot in my fridge as well as having another go at preparing it.