Christina / BooksandTea Send Message

This was a swap from Lala (I think) a while back. Finally decided to try it after Jillian requested that some of it be added to the Great Canadian Travelling Tea Box.

This smelled and tasted extremely floral and perfumey. I didn’t add any sugar to it, but I wonder whether I should have, as a lot of different flavours were trying to dominate. I think I got rose and guava the most, and some chocolate too.

Anyways, as a result of this taste test and adding the sample to the box, this is a sipdown!

Backlog from last night – sample from the GCTTB

I did this gong-fu last night: 6-7 steeps with near boiling water. Really short rinse, then steeps of 10s/15s/20s/30s/40s/1m.

The first two or three steeps were very intense – they had notes of grass, hay, tobacco, and something kind of skunky but also quite fresh and green in the background. The second steep also had a hint of perfume in it.

However, after the third or fourth steep the flavour thinned out dramatically. It became more watery and I tasted a mineral/stone note then. Also, I noticed that when I snifffed the leaves after the fourth steep, I got a smoky hint like brandy or whiskey.

This was an interesting tea, but I don’t think I’d get it for myself. Thanks for adding it, Ubacat!

Backlog from yesterday morning. I sampled it from the GCTTB4

This reminded me a lot of Golden Orchid – that lovely fudgy vanilla note. I oversteeped it a bit, though – 4 minutes instead of 3. It covered my tongue and was nice and thick, with no astringency. I did get a sweetness, which I guess was the candy cap mushroom, but it wasn’t that strong.

Good tea, but I know I won’t restock just because of the exchange rate between Canada and the US. I’d love to find a similar blend that would be more accessible.

Backlog from last night.

This was something I sampled from the GCTTB4. Thank you Lala for putting it in!

This was my very first A&D tea, and I could tell from the smell of the tea as it was steeping that this was very high quality. It had that raisin spice note I find I really enjoy in black teas.

However, I did not pay much attention to this tea as it was steeping, and I oversteeped it. It wasn’t astringent, but the flavour was a bit deadened and heavy – no subtlety or layering to it. I really would like to try this again at some point, maybe with a bit of brown sugar.

First note for this tea – and it’s also a sipdown!

The tea vendor offers two steeping temperatures with this tea – lower if you want a more buttery flavour, higher if you want a more bold/robust flavour.

I went with the lower temperature – 90C for about 2 minutes, 2 tsp per 8 oz. Since I made a big mug, I used up the whole sample I got last year.

I agree with the vendor that the taste was very buttery and somewhat floral. There was definitely a feeling of richness in the back of my mouth reminiscent of butterscotch or caramel – like Werthers Original candies.

However, the tea was not sweet. It wasn’t quite tart or sour or floral, but the flavour that did result is hard to describe, mixed as it was with the butter at the back of my mouth. I think this tea would have been absolutely lovely with some sugar and cream, but I always rush with my tea in the morning, since I have to leave the house by 7:20. Not very conducive to savouring and sipping.

I doubt this would be a restock. But I’m glad I got to get a sipdown in, even as the GCTTB4 sits there on my table!

GCTTB4

I had some this morning using my usual green steeping parameters: 1.5 tsp, 12 oz, 80C. I think I let it sit for too long.

This was very savoury and green beany, but there was a note at the back I sometimes find in greens and dislike. It reminds me of rubber. Overall, this tea tasted pretty similar to a Dragon Well for me. Not my favourite, but still decent enough to drink before heading off to work.

GCTTB4

I steeped this using Western parameters this morning: 12 oz, 1.5 tsp, 70C, 3 minutes or so.

The resulting liquor was a nice pale yellow green and tasted fairly mild but typical of a Japanese green tea: that umami vegetal flavour that was slightly sweet.

Glad I got a chance to try this. I think my heart really belongs with Chinese greens over Japanese ones, but it’s always good to try something new.

Backlog from last night – another tea from the GCTTB4

I had 2 steeps of this last night, and there’s still a smidgen of leaf left for others further down the lineup of the box.

The taste of this was actually quite similar to the hei cha I had yesterday morning from Tao Tea Leaf. It was a very earthy sort of flavour, and although I could taste smoke, the smoke was not the predominant flavour.

The second steep was similarly earthy, but I got a hint of sweetness like pine sap or eucalyptus at the back of my mouth.

This was decent, and I know Verdant is one of Steepster’s darlings, but I didn’t ring my bell compared to some of the other teas I’ve tried. It was a nice way to relax and focus in the evening, though.

GCTTB4

I normally try to drink some tea before I go to work in the morning, and I had this one this morning. Bad idea.

Looking over Scribbles’s previous note and comments, it appears that a rinse is in order. However, I just brewed this western style in a mug because I seriously don’t have time in the morning for gaiwan brewing. Dark, earthy, musty, with a note of camphor/menthol.

I’m sure it’s not a bad tea if you steep it under the right conditions. Those conditions, alas, are in short supply on a Monday morning when I need to leave the house at 7:20 to catch my train. I didn’t finish the mug and poured the remainder down the sink.

GCTTB4

I’m glad I got to try this, even if only so I could say I did. How often does a special Lady Gaga tea happen, right?

I can taste the vanilla and the rice in this, and it reminds me of a very toasty, very diluted rice krispie bar. However, I’m drinking this more for the novelty than anything else. There’s a back note to the tea I’m not liking very much, but I can’t put my finger on why.