The Tea Table

I bought this tea knowing full well it wouldn’t taste anything like baked goods or truffles or whatever they say it is “supposed” to be. I found the idea of a pseudo-Indian savory tea really intriguing, so into my cart it went!

The smell of the dry leaves is incredible. And I almost understand the name: the very first whiff is very much like buttery baked goods, and then you get a big hit of that cumin. It’s so intriguing, I spent a long time just smelling it! It tastes very interesting: the spices come out well and are almost chai-like, there’s a nuttiness from the pistachio, the cumin almost makes it savory but there’s a creamy vanilla-like texture that brings it back to sweet. I don’t really know how to rate this one so I am just going to leave it off: I really enjoyed it, but it’s a very very odd tea and definitely not for everyone. I plan on mixing some with a rose congou and sweetening with honey to create more of an Indian dessert feel!

Backlog: I had some of this last night, and I found it to be a little disappointing, really. I suspect it is because it’s a rather old sampling. The tea, overall, tasted rather dull and lackluster. I didn’t taste much from the osmanthus, and the green tea just kind of was meh. I didn’t even finish the cup.

And because the sample was a little aged, I won’t rate this numerically, as I don’t think it would be a fair representation of what this tea might be like fresh.

Late night listening to Tiny Desk Series on shuffle (currently Ivan And Alyosha) while transferring tea from bags to tins. Also spending a disproportionate amount of time on tins when compared with my talent for writing/drawing anything.

Pale gold—compliments the daffodils that are starting to stick their noses out in around the little stone tuffet in our new yard. Light and fruity but has a nice substantial weight on the tongue. A small snifter of early spring.

Steeped this one on the really light side…minute and a half. Getting a little of the “fruity” advertised in product description. For the price (moderate), it really is a nice oolong.

To me, this one’s like a blend of green and oolong. Nice fermenty oolong background, but also a little vegetabley. Nice.

I’m desperately trying to taste this tea, but my allergies are getting in the way! Every once in a while I get a little hint of flavor and aroma and it seems like a yummy tea but I won’t be able to properly rate this until I can breathe!

Very nice. The fruity tones hit you first; doesn’t lose its quality when it cools.

Had this because I didn’t want to bore you guys with another Vanilla Comoro entry ;) and I though it would go well with the remaining butter cookies with chocolate tops. It was quite good! I’m still getting a little chemically taste, but it’s a very drinkable tea. I have about a teaspoon left of my sample, and I think I will mix it with some chocolate tea I have for a sort of “half-caf” concoction one night :)

The mint definitely helped this decaf with the strange chemically thing I get with them. I steeped for 4 minutes, and heaped the teaspoon with tea, but…still…it’s not a bad cup, but there is something that just isn’t right. This isn’t an ugh, can’t drink tea, but it’s not something that I would like to purchase. Thank you SimplyJenW for letting me try this!! These decafs have been a real education!

A good decaf is hard to find! It makes me appreciate Vanilla Comoro even more!! I’m going to do a little more experimenting with Harney, and maybe my local tea shop. But my gut tells me I may find one or two more decafs that I like, but I will probably still be leaning on herbals, rooibos, and Vanilla Comoro the most! It is what it is!

A farewell to this sample – thanks again SimplyJenW! It was nice to curl up with something chocolatey after class last night. I still taste that fatiguing chemically taste despite lessening the steep time, so I won’t be purchasing. Vanilla Comoro still rules the decaf roost :)

Many, many thanks to SimplyJenW for sending me this tea to try!!!!!

I haven’t had much experience with decaf teas besides my Extremely Beloved Vanilla Comoro, and one less than stellar go with Decaf Hot Cinnamon Spice, so I was really excited to try this. I used my usual black flavored tea brewing method, which I think was a bit of a mistake – I got a little bitterness/astringency/funny decaf flavor. I get this extremely dry tongue feeling and a slight chemical aftertaste? Does anyone else get that w decafs?

Anyhoo – it reminded me a lot of H&S chocolate tea- if I could just lessen that funny decaf thing I have going on!! She also sent me a chocolate mint decaf, and I’ll bet you anything the mint will mitigate that funny unpleasantness, as will a shorter brew time/more tea trick that I do w VC (4 min, heaping teaspoon tea).

Here’s to experiments! clink tea cups

P.S. My husband drained his cup alarmingly fast and doesn’t taste chemicals – maybe it’s my very active imagination?

I still had a bit of this in my stash after swapping, and I decided to see how it compared to my memory of David’s Tea Buttered Rum.

The Rum Cream definitely has a vanilla and rum flavor that is pretty good. For a flavored tea, it really is enjoyable even though the second steap at 5 minutes is kind of weak. The Buttered Rum definitely smells sweeter, and the tea itself is in larger pieces. I can recall that the Buttered Rum is also smoother and had more of a creamy taste to the liquor. All that being said, the Rum Cream is not a bad substitute in a pinch, but I still prefer the other.

From the journal:
You can definitely smell and taste the rum flavor in this one. I remember quite liking it. And for a pseudo dessert flavor, this one was really good. It has been a while since I had some……I will queue it up for tomorrow!

I am adding a tasting note, but no rating as I am sure I am not an expert in this type of tea. I had seen many revies of pu-erh noting that this tea tastes earthy. I had seen others noting that this tea tasted like a barn. Yep….a barn is what I thought of in trying this tea, too. I will try it again later when my palate for tea gets a little more grown up. I still seem to prefer flavored ‘kid’ tea.

A perfectly nice, perfectly forgettable cup of blueberry tea.

I think I will have to try this again and pay more attention.

Not so hot, not so bad