1729 Tasting Notes
I kept swinging back on forth on whether or not to get this one. Spooky vibes=YES, and but I was mixed about the toothpaste qualities. Smelling it, I got that vibe, but tasting it…it’s a really good vanilla mint tea. Actually, it reminds me of vanilla mint quality of tic tacs. The spearmint can be a bit much for me, though keeping the steeping time under 2 minutes gets the profile I like. The body is also viscous from the green tea and very smooth. The vanilla was more prominent in steep 2 as well.
Again, I’m very happy I got to try it. I’m not sure if I’d make it a staple, but this beats out a lot of other green mint teas I’ve had that are just too grassy. My mom was very much into this one, and she’s picky about some of the flavored teas.
Flavors: Creamy, Green, Smooth, Spearmint, Vanilla
I finally got the chance to get some 52 Teas because I finally timed it to get the kind of samples I want. I got this one and a two new ones that might not be there for long. Smelling the bag, it smells like marshmallow flavored popcorn, or white chocolate covered popcorn. Brewing up the leaf, it’s smells like typical Genmaicha. Tasting it, it’s very savory and desert-like-it makes me imagine white chocolate with popped rice in it. It’s a weird combo that works, and I like how much the marshmallow offsets the marine green tea qualities, and balances the toasty rice qualities.
I’m glad I tried it because I’ve had very few teas like it. I’m still preferential to blacks and oolongs, but I’m very happy to have this unique blend on hand as a sample.
Flavors: Creamy, Marine, Marshmallow, Popcorn, Salt, Savory, Seaweed, Sweet, Toasted Rice, Vanilla, White Chocolate
Finally rating it. Since I opened the bag and just let the leaves spread around the tin, the flavor and aroma has been far more forward. Opening up the tin now smells like pineapple sage and cream next to a bundle of lilacs. Brewing it in my Eclipse also improves the flavor significantly leaning harder into pineapple overall than just the heavy amounts of soft lilac and cream. It’s sweet enough to use the condensed milk description I hoped for.
Overall, I think this tea could replace a lot of the Qin Xin’s I buy for a slightly cheaper price. I’m glad that Steven Smith opted this tea to be a regular on the lineup instead of their Alishan because I think this tea is superior. It doesn’t quite beat out my favorite Lishans or Shan Lin Xis, but it’s up there.
I was very tempted to rate it 90, but I think 87 is fair. This is a really good 4 grams western or 3-5 grams grandpa/tumbler tea, but it’s been too soft for me gong fu. It’s easy for me to over or under-leaf it causing an overly soft or overly grassy session, which I know is an error on my part, but I get more of the lilac gong fu and don’t get pineapple until later in the session. Western and grandpa makes all the flavors more forward. I’d still suggest gong fu to people trying to look for dimension because it does change in very subtle ways, but the profile wasn’t as layered as it was with longer steeping times. Thus, it loses a little bit of points gong fu.Easily, this tea is one of my favorite pure teas from Steven Smith. I’m very tempted to refill my tin in the future. We’ll see how my budget is.
Preparation
Roasted Version, same year:
I’m feeling lame-I do not feel like importing another tea right now, because I know I will for a bunch of other teas soon, so I’m reviewing here.
I tried the roasted version of this tea a few nights ago and loved it. It was oddly smoother than the unroasted one, and heavy on the grapefruit and mineral. I’d even write honey, passionfruit, floral, rose, salt, mineral, rock sugar, and rocks.
The roast didn’t show up until I rebrewed it the third and fourth times, and complimented the fruity notes perfectly. Later notes were a little bit more pithy too, but it lacked some of the astringency of the unroasted version. It eventually got more thin and roasty too with more pith.
I’d have to try them side by side to get a definite opinion, but I may have liked the roasted one more. I’d likely change my mind because the unroasted one lasted a little bit longer and kept flavors longer (oddly), but it’s nice to see how a roast can actually enhance fruity flavors when made masterfully.2020 Bei Dou-from the awesome Leafhopper!
I’ve been working through a lot of the teas in the swamp (swap)and I’m down to about 4 of the samples left, going through 2-3 each week. I picked this one after going through a few Taiwanese ones and needed something with lighter caffeine. Smelling the dry leaf, I was enticed by the chocolate nutty notes singed with smooth roast and campfire smells.
Like most teas in the past two weeks, I brewed this one in my Eclipse press. I let it sit around 35 seconds, and pressed the leaves to try to separate it out. Tasting and smelling it each time in several rounds of small cups from the press, it resembled other good Bei Dou and Big Red Robes I’ve had by leaning hard into nutty and nearly chocolaty profiles. I kept on getting cocoa, hazelnut, and a tinge of orange pele and citrus, then leaning back hard into the woody, incense like roast. I was deeply satisfied and grounded with a calming buzz.
The second brew time in the press-even after 20 sec, it was just woody and roasty. I let it sit more. Alas, more charcoal and roast. I finished it quickly and then dumped the leaves out. They smelled like ash, so I think I hit a good stopping point.
The first session was incredible, and it was more mild and complex-the way I like my yancha. As for the second, the ashy-muddled profile was consistent with why I don’t drink them often, and losing the complexity from earlier. I’m still very happy to it.
Flavors: Ash, Campfire, Char, Charcoal, Chocolate, Citrus Zest, Cocoa, Dirt, Earth, Fireplace, Nutty, Orange Zest, Roast Nuts, Smooth
Preparation
Another free one-HEAVY on the booze…in a good way. Caramel works with honeybush and rooibos, but the rum adds another layer. I kept on sipping it, and my girlfriend nearly stole it.
It is strong and very artificial, but unlike a lot of other Caramel herbal teas I’ve had, this one is not too thin in terms of body. I felt like I was drinking something out of a warm snifter, and the aroma was super inviting. I could see myself picking some up. I’d save it as a boozy alternative to cut out calories, and I wouldn’t drink it often. The flavoring might give me a headache if I have too much of it, but as a boozy tea, it’s a win.
Super fruity. I got a free sample, and was just happy. It compared favorably to other ones, and I really liked the grapefruit and peach combo, though not too sure about the apricot or other elements. This one could get a little bitter if I oversteeped it. It’s mostly a friendly easy going tea for the summer. I know, boring. I might rate it higher if I had it more often, but my oolong preference might supercede it.
