85

Backlogging from Sunday.

This was the biggest reason I wanted to try the Shang sampler and I had such huge hopes for this one. Wild honeysuckle grows along the roadside where I grew up and where my parents still live. I still love to walk down the road and to pick it and taste the sweet nectar.

My dad has a convertible and puts the top down when we go out somewhere in the spring and summer and I always bug him to take the back roads so I can smell all the honeysuckle blooming. It grows everywhere, even along the highways. It is one of my favorite things about spring and early summer.

So, I opened the little sampler bag and smelled a slight sweet floral scent. The wet leaves smelled of sweet hay with a floral note. The taste was sweet hay, slightly floral with a nectar note in the aftertaste. It didn’t jump out and say “Hey! It’s me, Honeysuckle!” it was very subtle, I almost had to look for it. It was a light enough floral that had I not been told it was honeysuckle I may not have guessed it was.

I had too high of expectations for this tea to live up to. I was expecting it to be similar to jasmine teas, to be able to scent and taste the floral notes and go “Yes! That is honeysuckle!” to be blown away. Unfortunately this tea is not that for me.

Even though my expectations were way too high for this, after getting past the fact that I was not going to be blown away by honeysuckle, this was a good white tea with a soft floral note added to it. It was more like the tea picked up the floral notes by growing in close proximity than actually being added to the tea, that’s how soft the floral notes are.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 0 sec
Lucy

Oh jeez. I absolutely adore honeysuckle. I wonder if just a tiny touch of agave would bring out the honeysuckle more? I do not like to put things in my tea, but I randomly experimented with Super Chocolate by Davids Tea and the other flavours that were hiding came alive and danced in my mouth. I only added about 1/8th to 1/4th of a tsp of agave too.

Invader Zim

I didn’t think about sweetening it, and the sample was all or nothing size of sample…just dump the whole packet. If I get this again I may have to try sweetening it and see what happens.

Lucy

Ohh bummer! I am accustomed to larger sample sizes I think, hence my assumption that you would have a cup left to try. =)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Comments

Lucy

Oh jeez. I absolutely adore honeysuckle. I wonder if just a tiny touch of agave would bring out the honeysuckle more? I do not like to put things in my tea, but I randomly experimented with Super Chocolate by Davids Tea and the other flavours that were hiding came alive and danced in my mouth. I only added about 1/8th to 1/4th of a tsp of agave too.

Invader Zim

I didn’t think about sweetening it, and the sample was all or nothing size of sample…just dump the whole packet. If I get this again I may have to try sweetening it and see what happens.

Lucy

Ohh bummer! I am accustomed to larger sample sizes I think, hence my assumption that you would have a cup left to try. =)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

I’m an avid tea drinker, it’s what I drink all day and why I’m here. I don’t sweeten my teas except for the occasional iced tea or cold-brewed tea. I typically brew my teas with a brew basket in a 12 oz cup. If I brew another way I will always note it.

Dislikes: black teas, milk flavored oolongs, hibiscus, red rooibos, licorice, dessert teas, mate, guayusa.

Loves: straight teas, especially Chinese green teas, sencha, jasmine, dan congs, mint, coconut.

My ratings are based mostly on the smiley faces. If a tea is of good quality but not to my taste preference I try not to rate it because I think that is unfair.

I drink a lot of the same teas and will not record every time I drink them. I log them the first time I try them and then again if I did something different and/or got different results.

I also try to keep my cupboard updated to what I actually have for those that wish to swap, although some of them are merely samples.

100 – http://steepster.com/teas/verdant-tea/32720-hand-rolled-top-grade-jasmine

Location

Pennsylvania

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer