1746 Tasting Notes

90

I tried it Gong Fu, but I had very few leaves, between2 and 3 grams. So western it is. And it is so, so smooth. I didn’t get quite as much flavor, but the fudge qualities remained definite. Even the smooth, disappearing sugary mouth feel was there and unmistakable. For that alone I enjoyed it. Honestly, teas that yield great results no matter how strong or weak you make them are really the best. The more fluid the brew, the better the fluids you chug.

Flavors: Chocolate, Creamy, Sweet

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

65
drank Swiss Apple by Tea Forte
1746 tasting notes

Not a bad tea, and I really couldn’t add anything further other than what has been said. Too much on the artificial side for me personally, but still enjoyable. Think of a spicy apple cider followed by a chocolate powdery kick. I would not mind trying this again and I think it deserves a decent rating. I’m just a little bit harder to please with rooibos. For newbies for sure or a guiltless apple cider. Would recommend very lightly because I’ve had better apple like blends before.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

80

Not bad on its own, but even better with honey. I’m personally iffy with chamomile. Since this has a few whole flowers in it, I’m inclined to like it. Chamomile really isn’t hard to mess up anyway as an herbal, but to me, the taste from a whole flower is fuller and thicker. I get that stronger body sensation here. Chamomile, lemon, and the subtler florals dominate with the rose and rooibos more in the background. The rooibos is the herb providing a lot of the tea’s body and color, but it is so similar to the chamomile that it’s hard to notice.

I’d honestly recommend a try and to drink this after long steeps and portions of honey. One of my friends might like this blend for how mellow it is. My mother likes it for this reason herself. Meadow is a name that certainly fits this floral nectar.

Flavors: Flowers, Herbs, Lemon, Smooth, Thick

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

75

Foods for Living had a sampler of this, and it actually was pretty smooth and well balanced. Not something I’d surely buy, but at the same time, it is not a bad chai. Ginger is a little bit stronger, but the black tea really evens it out. I’m pretty impressed. I’ve been craving chai’s and Earl Grey’s in this cold to think of it.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

97

Same type of notes, but with a vanilla note added to the mix. And it is so, so good.
Steeping: 190 F.
5
15
10
15
30
45-a bit too weak, then upped another 30-45 seconds.
I could brew this even more, so I’ll though they are probably going to be the same type of sweet potato light taste that you normally get with these teas. Either way, I’ll increase the temperature to 200 and maybe boiling which usually gets stronger flavors quickly.

I really should have enjoyed this one on it’s own the first time I drank it. The other gallons of black teas that I drank that day made me a little bit sick of black tea, but since I have this one on its own, I really, really like it. In fact, I craved it. This has the same qualities that makes me enjoy any Dian Hong with a sweet potato starchiness and a strong powdery cocoa texture. But the smokiness and cherry tobacco like qualities give it a personality. The leather quality is still as strong as ever being on the border of brown sugared maple wood bacon. It actually reminds me of an book’s leather binding, making this the kind of tea I’d read with at an old library. I’d be careful not spill this tea, of course. Black teas stain easily, and books get stained easily.

I wish I had more of this tea to enjoy again and again. I also wish that I could try Leatherbound by August Uncommon Tea, but you know, budgeting. This one is probably a way better bang for your buck anyway.

Flavors: Cherry, Cocoa, Leather, Malt, Maple, Smoke, Smooth, Sweet, Sweet Potatoes, Tobacco

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 3 g 6 OZ / 177 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90

My morning tea for travel, and a tea that I needed for the moment. I used a small teaspoon in my 12 ounce cup again and it actually is way better western. So based on the economy of the leaf and how complex and sweet it is light, I’m rating it higher. Most of the same notes with Molasses leading, but then there’s a little bit of a cocoa thing going on with the sweet potato. And it is so, so balanced and sweet. So, I recommend this one brewed lighter, western or grandpa.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

88

Holy crap this cup was good. I’m so tempted to give this a ninety now. Have a small tea ball full and in a 12 ounce cup, I got really strong cocoa and chocolate notes from an Earl Grey. FROM AN EARL GREY! Maybe the ball had leftover flavors from other black teas I drink, but I could still taste the bergamot WITH chocolate notes. And the notes began after 30 seconds and continued as it steeped each time as I grandpa styled it. WTF?!

Flavors: Astringent, Bergamot, Chocolate, Citrus, Cocoa, Malt, Smooth, Sweet

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

80

I’m still trying to figure out a better way to brew this, but I at least know that it’s good grandpa style and that I can give it a decent rating.

The dry leaf scent is creamy, and of course grassy with a little bit of a coconut scent. The taste is dominated by the thick, creamy mouth feel at all times and at all times. I get the same essential tasting notes as I did in the first review: Green, grassy, cream, with hints of tropical fruits like mango, pineapple, and maybe lemon. The nai xiang or milk fragrance is the most distinguishable and likable aspect of this tea because it indeed does taste like milk, but grassier.

Since I left the tea ball with the slightly heaping teaspoon to soak, I got a spectrum of the tastes I just described, being consistently green and creamy, but changing in the flavors and the hints. At about 2-3 minutes, the fruity aspect was strongest. Five, was the creamiest. I finished that cup and proceeded to the second going five again, more creamy less grassy, and to 8 which was about the same but smoother and thicker. Currently on the third brew, and at about a minute to two, I sipped it and got more of the tropical fruit flavors with that lemon note that I was talking about. Continuing to soak, the more milky it gets with a more noticeable fruitiness which kinda surprises me.

For a tea from Amazon, I’m actually pretty impressed because I was expecting a flatter tea. Though this is from last years spring, there still some surprises to be had every now and then. I would recommend this to a newer drinker who wants to try the softer side of Milk Oolongs because this is one of the best representatives of it that you can get, being between the higher quality ones like from Whispering Pines and lower quality ones. Experienced drinkers would definitely appreciate how nuanced this tea is in terms of mouthfeel, but they might wish there was more flavor.

Immortalitea’s description of this oolong is pretty accurate, but give you a 3-8 minute recommendation for steeping and that’s it. No specifications on how to adjust the brewing for specific tastes. I personally found that this tea is very difficult to oversteep especially at the eight minute mark, but I also had a hard time finding the more subtle flavors and deciding the right leaf amount. Based on experience so far, I can only guess that incredibly small to medium sized servings with less water give you the fruitier angle, whereas more leaves made the tea thicker, creamier, and grassier.

Not quite my favorite, but definitely something that will keep me occupied and fairly satisfied for the next few days. If I got this closer to the harvest, I think I would have liked it more. Immortalitea also offers a fairly balanced selection of Chinese teas which is interesting. Their breakfast tea is a Yunnan Dian Hong, for example, and they offer Dragonballs and Lapsang Souchong as their other black tea options. As for Oolong, it includes an Anxi High Mountain Greener Oolong, a Jasmine Oolong with this as the base I think, and a Mi Lan Dan Cong as their only Yan Cha. Of course they have silver needle and white peony for their white teas, and their green tea selection is actually fairly specific. They have a Jasmine Pearl, a Jiangxi Mountain Wild Harvest, and a Ming Mei Imperial. This one and the images of their other teas have sold me enough to at least try them again, but I probably would only occasion. If you have an Amazon card for this, great, you can use it to get this tea. Even better, this might be a good recommendation if you have a relative trying to get you a tea present and they know nothing about the specifics of your obsession.

Flavors: Creamy, Grass, Milk, Smooth, Thick, Tropical

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

93

Yeah, still really yummy. Especially good Grandpa Style with two pearls. And lord the mouth feel.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

85

This is actually my second note on this tea since I was silly and put it under random steepings. Last time I under leafed it. This time, it is pretty good. I still prefer the Russian Host Estate because of its more chocolaty profile, but this one is yummy. This one also has a cocoa-malt quality, but more cocoa malty than straight chocolaty. Overall, it’s super sweet for a black tea, thick, smooth, and juicy. Not sure what fruit to pin point it as. A little bit more on the berry side but also close to something like an apple or maybe a plum. First steep at 30-45 seconds. Second around two minutes. The rest: don’t ask. I just winged the rest of it. As it cooled, it got really, really sweet. Like sugary iced tea sweet.

Bottom line: a great black tea worth a try, or those of you looking for a fruitier black tea without artificial flavoring. ..or, if you want iced sweet tea without adding sugar, or a great base for a Long Island Iced Tea.

Flavors: Astringent, Berry, Cocoa, Fruity, Malt, Smooth, Sweet, Thick

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 45 sec 3 g 6 OZ / 177 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

First Off, Current Targets:

Whispering Pines Alice
Good Luxurious Work Teas
Wang Family’s Jasmine Shanlinxi
Spring, Winter Taiwan High Mountain Oolongs

Dislikes: Heavy Tannin, Astringency, Bitterness, or Fake Flavor, Overly herby herbal or aged teas

Picky with: Higher Oxidation Oolongs, Red Oolongs (Some I love, others give me headaches or are almost too sweet), Mint Teas

Currently, my stash is overflowing. Among my favorites are What-Cha’s Lishan Black, Amber Gaba Oolong, Lishan Oolong, Qilan Oolong, White Rhino, Kenya Silver Needle, Tong Mu Lapsang Black (Unsmoked); Whispering Pines Alice, Taiwanese Assam, Wang’s Shanlinxi, Cuifeng, Dayuling, Jasmine Shan Lin Xi; Beautiful Taiwan Tea Co.“Old Style” Dong Ding, Mandala Milk Oolong; Paru’s Milk Oolong

Me:

I am an MSU graduate, and current alternative ed. high school social studies and history teacher. I formerly minored in anthropology, and I love Egyptian and classical history. I love to read, write, draw, paint, sculpt, fence(with a sword), practice calisthenics on rings, lift weights, workout, relax, and drink a cuppa tea…or twenty.

I’ve been drinking green and black teas ever since I was little living in Hawaii. Eastern Asian influence was prominent with my friends and where I grew up, so I’ve been exposed to some tea culture at a young age. I’ve come a long way since I began on steepster and now drink most teas gong fu, especially oolong. Any tea that is naturally creamy, fruity, or sweet without a lot of added flavoring ranks as a must have for me. I also love black teas and dark oolongs with the elusive “cocoa” note. My favorites are lighter Earl Greys, some white teas like What-Cha’s Kenyan offerings, most Hong-Cha’s, darker Darjeelings, almost anything from Nepal, Green Shan Lin Xi’s, and Greener Dong Dings. I’m in the process of trying Alishan’s. I also tend to really enjoy Yunnan Black or Red teas and white teas. I’m pickier with other teas like chamomile, green teas, and Masalas among several.

I used to give ratings, but now I only rate teas that have a strong impression on me. If I really like it, I’ll write it down.

I’ll enjoy a tea almost no matter what, even if the purpose is more medicinal, for it is my truest vice and addiction.

Location

Michigan, USA

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer