2904 Tasting Notes
This is up for an official www.itsallabouttheleaf.com review, and I don’t know that I can reach a measured conclusion about it until I see if it really truly makes four steeps as advertised. But first impression is favorable; this is a white tea with some muscle, instead of being glorified tinted water.
I don’t like subtle iced teas. I need my cold stuff to whap me upside the head. This does exactly that.
Breakfast tea notwithstanding, this is way too nice to doctor up with milk. Lovely and juicy on its own. Isn’t a bit drying or acidic in the mouth.
This is my favorite assam so far. This is one of the first loose leaf tea brands I ever purchased, and then only because a.) my daughter’s name is Grace – she is my GiGi! – she is a rare treasure, and she loves tea so it was très meta, and 2.)they have really cool tins. In fact, the tin even has a sticker telling how it won some food design award or something. I love their Winey Keemun and this Assam. I need to try their jasmine tea. Oh dear! I shall have to go to Chapel Hill to visit my son, I guess! :)
Fridge-steeped in the Homebrew jar (do I sound like a hick or what?), this comes out a little more acidic than the hot-steeped version. Lovely red-gold color, but clouded up a bit. I need to remember to try the baking soda pinch trick.
This was a pass-along from one of you wonderful people out there … at least I think so … uh, I mean I know it was a pass-along. The “I think” part stems from the fact that it’s in a zip-lock bag without original packaging, so I just matched it up visually with the dry leaf picture.
But if this is what it is, it’s really tasty! I am not a huge bergamot fan, but there’s just something in me that wants to learn to love it. You can’t be a tea geek without liking Earl Gray, at least a little bit. So the heavy cream flavor served as “training wheels” and maybe, just maybe, I can start doing EG on its own.
This one can go bitter when you zone out and forget to remove the bag, so it’s not completely sleep-deprivation-proof. (Storms again. Panicked teenager. Up till the wee hours at a friend’s house—-friend has brand new safe room.) But, oh, how I need the mate’ no matter how it tastes…
So sorry your kid was scared. :(
Hope the weather gets better there!
We had some storms last night but nothing bad.
So what IS in a safe room anyway? What IS a safe room exactly? Curious sorry. lol
They’re quickly becoming popular in these parts…basically, a severely heavily reinforced steel enclosure designed not to crash or crumple in tornadic winds. Claustrophobically small and not much storage, but can hold a family when necessary. Generally installed in garages, but some can be buried in the backyard like a traditional storm cellar. Lousy tea-steeping facilities ;)
Totally insensitive, I know… but it’s kind of funny that you zoned out on a tea called focus :)
LOL, Dylan! like when my mother-in-law bought ginkgo Bilbao to help improve her memory. I asked her if it worked and she said she didn’t now because she couldn’t remember to take it! LOL!
haha that’s awesome!
Wow, autocorrect changed so many things in that post and I didn’t even notice! Ginkgo biloba and know…
I am … slowly … learning a little restraint when it comes to steeping the really fine stuff. While I don’t have anything sophisticated in the way of heating equipment, at least I’m learning to hold my peace and occasionally stick a thermometer in the water to keep from scorching things.
This one, when I cool the water temp off boiling, is phenomenally good, sweet, and caramelly. Mom used to make us “skillet toast” with bread, butter, and sugar. This is a slightly lighter equivalent.
I don’t usually put milk in Darjeelings, but I made a second steep and drizzled in a spoonful of half-and-half. Nice pick-me-up to the flavor. Oh, and I subliminally hinted myself into making said skillet toast for dinner. Highly recommended comfort food.
Your review has made me add this to my shopping list! Also, I’ve never heard of skillet toast, but now I’m looking into it!
Leftover Tower of London (H&S) + leftover Warwick Assam + leftover Hampton Breakfast (both Ahmad) … and likely a dollop of something else = British Breakfast Suicide. Shaken, not stirred, in a mason jar, garnet dark, refrigerated and left a questionable number of days. My kind of iced tea on kind of a thick and sultry afternoon ;)
Prepare to be impressed…I cooked dinner. Not reheated, not assembled, cooked … flounder coated in panko bread crumbs and pan fried. We’re talking dredging in egg and everything. (Those of you who have known me for any length of time are justified in laughing hysterically at my expense.)
Thus, something celebratory seemed appropriate for the after dinner cuppa…this pink green tea is so great to watch, first steep, is it gets all pale rosey. The rerun isn’t quite as exciting; this time, it came out apricot in color, and faintly hay-ey in flavor. More points for style than substance, but still fun.
I am impressed … but I didn’t laugh hysterically, I guess I don’t know you well enough. But, Dinner sounds YUMMY!
Hey, you’re a busy lady! Three pats on the back!
LiberTEAS, I am seriously culinarily challenged—the aforementioned is absoutely at the outer edge of my abilities. Coating didn’t stick quite as well as I had hoped, but it was pretty tasty (stirred in lemon pepper & paprika with the bread crumbs).
Not so culinarily challenged here, but breading things is not one of my specialties. I tried pan frying scallops with panko (and seas bread crumbs and parmesan cheese), and it didn’t stick too well either. Panko is the tricky part I think. But practice makes perfect… keep going (you’ll figure it out).
