333 Tasting Notes

84

I got this from moraiwe in a swap over a year ago but am just trying it for the first time now—whoops! I’d been curious about this one because I adore jasmine but have never tried it paired with a black base before. In this case, the base has that typical Yunnan chocolate thing going on. Though I know it’s a favorite for a lot of people, it’s not for me. Still, this tea is pleasingly well-rounded, with some nice malty notes and a hint of pepper to balance the cocoa out. There’s a bit of astringency, which I don’t mind at all. And, while I think I do prefer jasmine with a green or white base, I’ve got to admit it works surprisingly well with the Yunnan. I’m really enjoying this cup quite a bit, and it’s been the perfect thing for a lazy weekend afternoon of soup-making and sorting out how to prepare freelance invoices. It’s just as well I haven’t fallen in love with it, though, since thepuriTea is long gone now.

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84
drank PG Tips by PG Tips
333 tasting notes

This isn’t a subtle tea, or a nuanced one. It doesn’t taste like sweet potato or chocolate or freshly baked bread. It just tastes like tea. As others have noted, PG Tips really is England’s Lipton—albeit a bolder, deeper version. It really is quite strong—my general stance is the more kick the better, but this one can be a bit much even for me if steeped too long. This has been my wakeup beverage of choice lately, and it’s just the thing for those fuzzy early mornings (and really, when are early mornings any other way?) when you’re not aware enough to appreciate a more refined (or pricey) tea and just need a serious caffeine infusion ASAP.

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83
drank After Dinner by Pukka
333 tasting notes

I’m surprised at how much I’m enjoying this tisane! I’ve always had it in my mind that I’m a decided non-fan of fennel and licorice in teas, but I’m realizing that maybe what I really don’t like is when those ingredients are used to add sweetness in blends where they really don’t belong. Anyway, this is quite strong on the fennel, and rather sweet. I could’ve done with more cardamom—I love cardamom—but I’ll take what I can get. I’ve been trying to expand my decaf collection lately, and this is something I can see keeping around.

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38

I really wanted to like this one, but I just can’t. It has a weird and off-putting chemical aroma, and while that note’s much subdued in the flavor it’s not entirely absent. Otherwise, I’m mostly getting what seems to be a slightly smoky base (or maybe that’s the whiskey flavoring?). I don’t get sweet potato, or much in the way of sweetness. In fact, I’ve had unflavored teas that tasted way more like sweet potato than this one does. It could be that I’ve let this sample sit too long, but whatever the reason this one isn’t doing it for me at all. Thanks to Dustin for letting me sample it, since I would’ve been pretty disappointed if I’d ordered a whole bag!

Dustin

Heh heh heh! It is a weird one, isn’t it! I didn’t like it much at first, but it did end up growing on me. Now I taste that base in other Lupicia teas like Cookie. Glad I didn’t get the chemical flavors you did!

greenteafairy

Yeah, I don’t know what it was—maybe something to do with the whiskey flavoring? It’s funny, because I usually dislike Lupicia’s black base but it seemed pretty okay here (if only by comparison with how much other aspects were not okay!). But I did think the base worked well in Cookie, so maybe I just don’t like it with fruit flavoring.

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82
drank African Chai by JusTea
333 tasting notes

I’ve been slacking off on my sample stash this summer. While I’ve been dutifully chugging through a couple of teas I’d acquired in massive (well, 3 oz.) quantities, I’ve mostly only been drinking tea at work. And I don’t like to try anything for the first time at work, since I can’t do much in the way of timing or controlling temperature there. I have been drinking copious quantities of iced corn, corn silk, and barley tisanes I picked up from HMart at home, so there’s that.

Anyway, now that it’s getting cooler, I’m more inclined to reach for hot tea, and today I decided to break out this sample of African Chai I’ve been hanging onto for the better part of a year. I picked this up from someone—maybe Nicole_Martin?—at one of the now-defunct NYC meet-ups. And while it’s not my ideal chai, it’s pretty good! I’m enjoying the base; it’s got just the right amount of astringency and malt for my tastes.

There’s a nice natural sweetness to this chai. It’s a little heavy on the cloves and light on the everything else for my taste, but it does taste pleasingly gingerbread-y. I’m not generally a fan of fennel or liquorice in teas, but while I do taste them they’re subtle enough not to bother me here. I was intrigued by the inclusion of rose, since I love the one other rose chai I’ve tried, but I can’t taste it here. All in all, this is a nice fall tea, and a great way to cap off my brunch of pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin butter. I’m not sure if it’s something I’d want to pick up more of, but I have enough left for another cup to mull it over.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Kaylee

We should have another meet-up! I’ll post something in the discussion thread once the site’s working properly again.

Also, pumpkin pancakes sound delicious!

greenteafairy

We should! I’m awful at organizing things but am definitely up for a meet-up.

I used a great mix from Trader Joe’s for my pumpkin pancakes; highly recommended!

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84

This came to me via Nicole_Martin at an NYC meetup almost a year ago. It’s a nice, basic jasmine green. The jasmine is quite strong, which is fine by me, but the green base comes through reasonably clearly as well. I love watching pearl teas unfurl, and this one was no exception. I’m happy with most any quality (read: not artificial and soapy) jasmine green, so naturally I enjoyed this cup quite a bit.

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82

I was in London visiting my boyfriend a couple of weeks ago, and naturally I had to check out the Mariage Frères shop in Selfridges. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and they have what I’m pretty sure is their full lineup available, with samples of everything available for sniffing (but none for tasting, alas). After smelling ALL the teas, I decided to go for Lune Rouge (which I haven’t gotten around to trying yet; it smelled amazing though—roses and ginger and honey with a green base) and my boyfriend picked this, which we had with breakfast a couple of times.

It’s an unusual choice for a breakfast tea. It’s not very strong, and it’s quite rich and sweet. I’m surprised to learn the primary flavor is meant to be chocolate, because to me this blend was all caramel (or possibly toffee). These dessert flavors aren’t honestly my favorites, and this isn’t a tea I would’ve picked out myself (and especially not for drinking at breakfast). Still, it’s nice for what it is, and I’m glad to have had the chance to try it. And my boyfriend liked it—and will, I hope, continue to think of my American self while working his way through the rest of the bag.

CHAroma

Wow, how do you do a long distance relationship across an ocean? That must be so hard. How often do you see each other?

greenteafairy

Yeah, it’s not easy! We’ve only been seeing each other three or four times a year, for a week or two at a time—I’m really hoping we’ll be able to get ourselves in the same country within the next year or so, though.

CHAroma

Oh, I’d totally move to London given the option. I love it there. :)

Patricia

How much are the Mariage Frères teas at Selfridges? Is it just the euro prices converted to pounds or it’s a bit more?

greenteafairy

As far as I recall, most were around £9 for 100g (the minimum you can purchase).

Patricia

Oh, ok! So more expensive than in France. Thanks for answering :)

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84

This is a nice basic black tea. It has a deep, malty flavor that reminds me quite a bit of Assam, with some undertones of dried apricot. I can’t say I picked up on any grapefruit—that bit of the official description had me intrigued—but it makes for a solid morning cup nonetheless.

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77

Another tea from my ancient Verdant sampler. I can tell this is a good tea, but light TGY is emphatically not my thing. Those honeysuckle notes send me running every time, and this is no exception. I pretty much knew this would be the case going into it, but I couldn’t resist trying just in case. At least my curiosity is satisfied now, right?

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84

This is one of the teas from the Verdant sampler pack I ordered last summer (I think?). Although I tried Laoshan Black ASAP to see what all the fuss was about, I’ve been avoiding the rest of the set ever since. It’s not because I wasn’t eager to try the remaining teas, but because I’ve given up on gongfu-style steeping—I just don’t enjoy it—yet sometimes feel like I’m wasting good tea with my lazy Western-style ways. Anyway, today I decided to get over it and jump back in with a (single, large) cup of Autumn Harvest Laoshan Green. And I’m very glad I did. It’s rich and creamy, redolent with flavors of spinach, green beans, asparagus, and even edamame. This is definitely one I’d consider picking up more of at some point.

Nightshifter

Haha, I feel the same way about MY lazy Western-style ways. :D

greenteafairy

I’m glad it’s not just me!

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Profile

Bio

Likes: greens, dark oolongs, genmaicha, fruity greens and oolongs, chai, matcha, jasmine, Assam, Ceylon, Darjeeling

Dislikes: spearmint, chamomile, stevia, marshmallows, unflavored white teas, green oolongs

I’m always open to swaps; let me know if you’re interested!

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New York, NY

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