1403 Tasting Notes

Steeped with cooler water. A bit of a sour after sip. Wonder what is up with that?

Kirkoneill1988

just the other day i tried steeping cold with a Japanese tea :D

Evol Ving Ness

And what happened?

Evol Ving Ness

FTR, I steeped with cooler than boiling, not cold.

Kirkoneill1988

it was hojicha teabag (long story) from ippodo, it steeped very lightly but it was a nice tea/watery taste :D i should do it the right way: steep a few of the teabags in a jug of cold water for he night

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90

This was yesterday’s travel cup or two or three. The flavour is true blueberry with a bit of cream and the divine black blend base. Event though I was sidetracked with my day’s events and not focussing on the tea as fully as I would have like to, this tea is always a pleasure.

Sil

i miss this one! haha

Jlvintagelove

I would snag that if it came back for sure.

mahjongfan

this tea sounds so interesting, I will need to keep my eye out for it.

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90

I completely forgot about the maple aspect of this tea when I reached for it today. Delicious, even though the maple came as a surprise.

For some reason, I was thinking Cinnabon when I decided to steep this up. I mean, I have had a few cups of this tea, so I theoretically know that it is not Cinnabon.

You know when you are expecting one thing and you get something a bit different?

Yeah, well.

This is a very delicious tea. Just don’t expect Cinnabon.

Thank you, VariaTEA :)

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drank Kashmiri Chai by DAVIDsTEA
1403 tasting notes

Another in-store sample

I liked this one a lot even though it was a bit clove heavy in the spice combination.

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20
drank Mango Boost by DAVIDsTEA
1403 tasting notes

Another in-store sample.

Again, I like the flavour. It’s the after sip that I don’t like. While in this experience, the after sip was a bit less harsh, the flavour is still unpleasant. What I had initially thought was stevia, it turns out that this is the combination of sugar—as the fruit used is preserved in sugar—and matcha. I wonder whether the after sip would be the same if the tea were steeped at home with cooler water.

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100

Sweet potato and dark chocolate and a teeny bit of citrus. Someone had described this as leathery. I get that in the sense of warm rich golden brown saddle leather, if that had a taste. Well, I’m sure it does have a taste, but I/we rarely taste it.

This tea has a remarkable depth in flavour. Intoxicating.

Glad to be able to tote this along with me today into the world.

tperez

Ooh, that sounds good

Sil

this was a tasty harvest.

Jlvintagelove

sounds excellent!

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75

The floral notes came out for me this time, in addition to the citrus. The finely ground rooibos planted it all nicely. Quite enjoyed it. Raising my rating to reflect this newfound joyfulness in the cup.

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100

So grateful to have found this surprise squirrelled away while shuffling and attempting to order my cupboard. I like the savoury goodness of this tea a lot and would like to see it make a comeback one of these days. No sense of urgency, of course, as omg, too many teas. Nothing else to say as the name pretty well sums up what is going on here with the added slight smokiness in the base. Odd, but beautiful.

52Teas

This is likely to be reblended at some point since it is one of my all-time favorites. Probably not this year, or even next year – but eventually. At the moment, I’m toying around with the idea of doing a green tea version of it because that was my original vision for the tea but Frank wanted to do it as a black tea so it could be more like a “soup” tea. I was thinking “Salad” which green tea would serve as a better base.

Evol Ving Ness

My first impulse is noooooooooo green—black, please.

I’m sure that green would be awesome, of course, but black would be my preference. The green concept is magnificent though, I gotta say.

52Teas

The black tea has been done though – so I want to try it as a green base. :)

Evol Ving Ness

hahhaha, I’m sure it’ll be awesome!

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Profile

Bio

A monk sips morning tea

A monk sips morning tea,
it’s quiet,
the chrysanthemum’s flowering.

- Basho

(1644-1694)

Note to self—-you do not actually need any more tea.

My real tea obsession began in February 2015.

Not, sadly, when I had been living and working in China, though I very much enjoyed sampling a variety of teas during my travels there as well. No, no, that would have been far too sensible.

I am a reformed coffee drinker. I still enjoy a long double espresso with a good quantity or milk or cream from time to time, but for now, tea is my thing. All day.

*note—this is way out of date, so if we are doing a swap and you are checking to see what I like and dislike, mostly never mind what you find below. One of these days, I will update this. In the meantime, check what I’ve been drinking and use your own judgement. I like all the teas. Well, I am open to trying all the teas.

I tend to drink black, green, or oolong tea in the morning to early afternoon. Rooibos or
Honeybush or herbal in the evening. And perhaps some sort of sleepy-type tea in the wee hours.

This year, I’ve been discovering flavoured teas, so it may look like that is all I drink although that would provide a false impression.

Not a big fan of chocolate or mint in teas, but I will try them and, from time to time, have been pleasantly surprised. Also, usually I dislike a prominent cinnamon flavour, if untempered with other things, in teas. Again, I say usually, because there are exceptions.

Also, please note that haven’t quite gotten into the habit of updating my tea cupboard on Steepster, and it is unlikely that I will do this on any kind of regular basis.

I drink my tea black and unsweetened. If there comes a rare moment that I add something to it, I will mention it.

Finally, while I thank large and successful tea companies for tantalizing and beckoning me to the world of tea, I prefer to support independent ventures with real people, real enthusiasm and commitment, and real dreams.

Currently, I am researching monthly tea subscriptions. Perhaps it will keep me out of tea shops.

And here is Shae’s rating scale— which I am using with permission, of course— which more or less describes the way I have been rating teas. I am going to make more of an effort to stay very close to these parameters now.

Rating Scale

1-20: By far, one of the worst teas I’ve tasted. I most certainly will not finish my cup and will likely “gift” the rest to my sweet husband who almost always enjoys the teas I dislike (and vice versa).

21-40: This tea is not good but if I mix it with another tea or find another steeping method I might be able to finish it.

41-60: This one is just okay. I might drink it again if someone were to give it to me, but I probably won’t be buying more for myself.

61-75: This is a consistently good tea. It’s reliable but not necessarily special.

76-90: This one is a notch above the rest and I would gladly enjoy a cup of it any day of the week. I’ll likely be keeping this in my cupboard, but it isn’t one of my all-time favorites.

91-95: One small change and this tea would be perfect. I’ll definitely have a stash of this in my kitchen if you come over for tea.

96-100: No words can describe this tea. It’s an experience, an aha moment. Closed eyes, wide smile, encompassing warmth. Absolutely incredible. Perfect.

Location

Mostly, but not always, Toronto, Canada.

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