Tea Runners

Cold Brew!

Sipping currently. Mostly very orange and cranberry forward, but in a less bright and sezty kind of way due to the more herbal presence of tulsi (and other ingredients). I’m not totally sure this works as well as a cold brew as I expected it to. Tulsi can be so good when chilled and I thought the fruitier notes would also come out pretty solid, but it’s a bit more muddied in taste. Not unpleasant, just a little dull and lacking clarity.

Just like I noted last time I had this tea, there’s something very bubblegum like in how the different fruit notes combine together with the ginger. Like, if I stopped and thought about what I was drinking I could pick out the tart top notes of cranberry, the more sweet orange, and the earthiness of the ginger. If I let myself drink the cup absentmindedly then they blurred together into hubba bubba.

However, the finish of each sip always tasted like tulsi regardless of the above.

(Also, bubblegum or no bubblegum, I still like the blend!)

Interestingly there was something almost “bubblegum” like about this tisane at first taste. However, as it cooled I got more of those basil/tulsi notes that I love so much as well as a sweeter orange with a little bit of a pithy undertone. I personally prefer purple tulsi much more over vana/green tulsi but this was still pretty well balanced with the fruity flavours and I liked that it wasn’t lost/hidden in the blend. Weirdly, I did not get much in the way of ginger and that’s usually a flavour I’m more sensitive to.

I kind of want to cold brew this – it feels like those fruity notes and slight herbaceous quality would work really well that way.

From subscription box

I first had this a couple of days ago. But never got around to writing up some notes. And then I came in the next day and rebelled at drinking this one two days in a row. Its already not sounding good.

This is difficult to describe. There’s like a roasted scent/flavor here. One that does not play well with others. I sometimes like to have a little chocolate with my tea in the afternoons. The combination of 100% dark chocolate and this tea pretty much makes a flavor combination that reminds me of fish. Ugh.

Its not horrible, but I am just not a fan. I’m honestly not a big fan of the roasted flavor in general. And while it is mild here, the fish thing is just too much for me. Too many other teas out there for me to try to force something that just isn’t my thing.

Gongfu!

This is such a wonderfully rich and full bodied black tea with some truly stand out notes of fresh baked goods and chocolate. Chocolate cake with malty undertones and just a bit of nuttiness was the first thing that came to mind as I sipped the early infusions, though on their packaging Tea Runners describes the flavour as “fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookies” and it’s admittedly VERY challenging to think of nearly anything else once the latest comparison has been put into your head! Regardless, I love how decadent but not overly sweet this tea is – it made for a great mid-afternoon session today!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CdoSixoOfNV/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i2e3yVoS44

I received this one as part of a gifted subscription box from Tea Runners – so thank you for the tea! It’s truly stunning with long slender golden leaves that do, truly, look like needles. Some of them even have a bit of a pointy edge, as well!

The dry leaf aroma smells really interesting to me – there’s both a deeper but yeasty bready note (like rye?) and a sweet fruitiness to it, but also sort of a chlorine smell? I tried to think of how to describe the note of chlorine in a way that wouldn’t potentially sound unpleasant (because I mean it as a positive), but I couldn’t think of one so I’m just calling it straight out. What I mean by that, though, is that it has the aroma you get from a distance of fresh & clean pool water – as someone who swam a lot as a child, that’s something that I personally find to be a deeply nostalgic and comforting aroma.

The taste is fairly dissimilar to the aroma – the bready notes translate into more of a light sweet bread and there’s more of a gentle malt and cocoa note. The package describes the tasting notes as somewhat like a “chocolate chip cookie” and I see what they were going for with that – though it’s not the same richness/sweetness IMO. The basics of the flavour notes that comprise a chocolate chip cookie are there though. Also, I have to agree with Random in that there’s something rather mineral to the cup. I enjoy it and I actually like they nuance it brings to the baked and cocoa elements.

Overall, a pretty nice tea.

Decided to try this cold brewed last week and made a big batch. Just finishing up that batch today.

Not sure what I think. My initial reaction was that there seemed something odd about it, like a waxy feeling almost? But that impression seemed to fade as I drank more.

Today it seems a bit astringent, more than I would ever notice in it brewed hot, but its not in an unpleasant way. not sure if this is the best option for cold however.

Like this enough that I bought 5oz. Gave a little to a coworker, but keeping the rest all for myself.

Hahahahahahahahaha!!!

I decided to go for a round 2 today.

That impression of cinnamon is still there. It actually makes me feel like someone added a little ground cinnamon to the tea, including that hint of expected bitterness that would come with it.

I’ve got to get more of this, but man my pocketbook needs a break.

From subscription box

You know, this might be a first. Yeah, I totally get cinnamon rolls. At least from the scent of the steeped tea. In that scent I can totally see cinnamon and bready and maybe some brown sugar.

I don’t taste it however. nor do I taste chocolate. But flavor is a combination of smell and taste so I can see where people are coming from in their descriptions. I don’t get any harshness in the flavor. Its very smooth and pleasant to drink.

I have only tried one other unsmoked Lapsang Souchong and I wasn’t too fond of it, but mostly because I found it too floral for my tastes. This one seems to just hit the spot. I think I really like it.

Stands up well to a second steeping western style. A little less cinnamon and brown sugar to the nose, but the flavor is still going strong.

I suspect this might be a good pairing with a spiced dessert of some kind. Would make a good complement. Like cinnamon rolls, spice cake, or fruit cake.

Oh! Nutmeg cheesecake!

Ever have one of those days?

Yesterday something in my left hip area went boing, my knee buckled and I ended up on the floor. Its only luck that I still have my cane for my right ankle that made it so I could get up and get back to my desk. Climbing the three steps to get into my home last night was really painful.
Then this morning I had physical therapy.
I’m dealing with a bug that the developers can’t reproduce, but everyone else can.
And I just found out my husband is loosing his health insurance coverage come the end of the month.

If only I could just curl up in a position that doesn’t hurt, drink this tea, and wish the rest of the world away.

From subscription box

This reminds me a lot of Golden Snail in scent and flavor, which I am quite pleased about. I believe it does get a little more astringent, but not by very much.

I’ve never had the words to describe the flavor. Maybe bready? Could this be what people mean by malty? But that doesn’t make sense to me given how many wildly different teas that taste absolutely nothing like this. I think I’ll stick with bready. It doesn’t taste anything like bread, but that’s the closest description I can think of for the flavor.

There may also be maybe a very slight minerally taste, mostly as it cools down.

Anyway, this is the kind of thing I tend to enjoy. Another bump for Yunan black teas.