863 Tasting Notes

98

Prepped according to the below parameters – 2 tsp. leaf to 8 oz. water as per package directions.

The last few nights at work were rough but I don’t go back in until Thursday night at least. Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking, becoming a nurse. I love it but I’m such an introvert that I get positively drained after a few shifts and need the time to recover.
Speaking of introverts, I discovered I’m an INFJ recently. Anybody else know their MBTI type?

I say all this to explain why I’m drinking a strong cup of this malty, chocolate wonder now, instead of going straight to bed. It is so smooth, rich and comforting. Something about the smell of a freshly brewed, good black tea just relaxes me, and this is no exception. Strange how a tea can manage to be both calming and energizing simultaneously – but this one does that.

Just what I needed for right now…

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
Stephanie

Weird! I am an INFJ too…isn’t that type supposed to be pretty rare? Neat :)

Stephanie

Ad yeah, as a fellow INFJ, I’m real glad my job does not involve me dealing with the public directly…

gmathis

Didn’t we have a whole discussion thread recently on the introversion thing? I can’t find it, but I’m right there in INFJ land with you. My husband, King of Introverts, noted just yesterday that we have created a world that doesn’t understand the value of quiet.

JoonSusanna

@ Stephanie, they do say INFJs are pretty rare. Maybe an unusually high percentage are represented online, though, since its a way of getting people interaction without actually interacting.

@gmathis, I’ll have to search the threads for this! I’m definitely curious to see how similar as a group we Steepsters are…

Stephanie

Yes, online is definitely a LOT easier than in person interaction, so I bet you are right about the number of introverts online :)

Shmiracles

i’m an ENFP. but i still identify as an introvert. strongly.
in fact, my boyfriend sent me this drawing last week. (he is a true extrovert and i think i make him lonely sometimes) (but it’s been 6 years so i guess he’s okay with it.)
http://schrojones.deviantart.com/art/How-to-Live-with-Introverts-291305760
i feel like the drawing is our exact interaction every single day hahaha
welcome to my hamster ball!!!

gmathis

Love the art!

Stephanie

lol the comic…so true

TeaBrat

I usually come up as an INFJ or an INFP

OMGsrsly

(Hiss!) I love that part. I generally feel that way about people, but I truly do value social interaction.

Doug F

I’m an INFP as well. Idealistic and not exactly practical.

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100

Backlog from Sunday.

Had this with some peach pie for breakfast (I’m on a pie making kick lately because I’ve decided not being able to make a decent crust is unacceptable – this means a lot of pies are in my future and that is okay with me. Also – tell me your favorite pies, if you have them! I don’t want to be repetitive with my fillings.)

Anyway, the tea was beautiful, as always. Creamy and caramelly and kick in the pants strong. We’d almost run out so I’d been hoarding it, but our stash is replenished so I imagine I’ll be drinking this plenty for my breakfast beverage. :)

gmathis

When you land on an EASY and decent crust recipe/technique, would love to know what works for you.

gmathis

Oh, and…lemon meringue :)

Nicole

Strawberry & Triple Layer Pumpkin – graham crust is a winner. :)

gmathis

Graham crust—that I can handle! Got really adventurous on the 4th and put a Jello cheesecake mix (sacrilege, I know) in crust made from crunched up lemon shortbread cookies.

Fuzzy_Peachkin

Peach and blueberry pie! I really NEED to bake a pie this weekend!

I ♥ NewYorkCiTEA

Peanut Butter Pie !!

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96

So I feel like I need to be honest with you guys: I curse like a sailor in real life.

I say that because my initial utterings upon tasting this tea are not, well… they don’t seem necessarily appropriate to say in a public forum. I meant it in a really, really good way though. Promise!

The first word that came to mind (after the expletives, haha) was whoa. This tea is soooo creamy. Tangy, fruity, and creamy, just like sherbet. I’m pretty weird in that I don’t actually like ice cream/sherbet/sorbets because a lot of the time its too sweet. Also I prefer to drink cold things, not eat them, and I don’t necessarily find milky things to be that refreshing when the weather is hot. I’m a right ball of fun, I know.

So that this manages to somehow sidestep all of my ridiculous criteria is pretty miraculous.
It’s got a creamy full texture which tea usually just doesn’t have on it’s own. The only way I get this texture in tea normally is by adding milk, but iced tea is not something you can add milk to (Ew. just the thought of that…) It tastes like ice cream without being ice cream. And I’m drinking it on its own, without a meal – it’s like dessert!

Um, LOVE. I hope I can get another 2 quarts out of this… but even if not I just went ahead and put one of each of the SBT iced tea flavors in a shopping cart because MY MOUTH IS SO HAPPY.

Thank goodness I saw that discount code when I did!

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
momo

haha I know what you mean…on Twitter I try sooooo hard not to curse…day in and day out, doesn’t happen. though maybe it keeps me from doing so on here!

Ze_Teamaker

I am ridiculously clean on here. I am horrible in real life though. The “every other word in sentence” one is my modo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALbW4J5VE6A

adagio breeze

Haha, same here. For some reason I feel like I need to have extra good manners on this site.

Nxtdoor

I’m a cook. Cooks swear. A lot.

adagio breeze

My excuse is that I’m from New Jersey.

ashmanra

My daughters once shut the door to the living room because I was moaning inappropriately into my tea cup, apparently. I am glad you like this one – I have some on its way to me now! I am in love with Razzleberry but it is sold out so I order a bunch of others to console me.

ashmanra

Oh, and I really don’t swear. Unless I sew with a sewing machine, then all bets are off.

Fjellrev

We must be twins because I swear a lot AND love this tea.

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92
drank French Toast by 52teas
863 tasting notes

Alright french toast. We meet again. Prepped with sugar and milk at the below parameters.

I get bread now – like the egg soaked bread you make french toast with. Egg-bread and spices. French toast without the syrup/powdered sugar – which I could probably fix if I added some maple syrup – I just can’t seem to wrap my brain around putting that in tea. Does not compute. So it looks like between this and pancake breakfast, the pancake breakfast wins out on its ability to taste like syrup.

As far as accuracy, though, I have no complaints – I just should have know I’d prefer the pancakes since as a rule they’re my first choice for breakfast anyway. :)

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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100

Hello friends!

It’s summer and I’m in the middle of my busy spell at work, but I got an unexpected day off (hooray, low census!) and found myself craving Laoshan in some form. This tiny little bag caught my eye and chocolate crispy rice tea sounded ideal for breakfast, so that’s what I went with.

I’ve had it plain, I’ve had it with just sugar, but today I really just wanted a slightly creamy tea so I added a splash of milk. I think this is how I will do it from now on, too, because it was WONDERFUL.

Mostly it tasted like a rich cocoa with that nutty roasted rice flavor equally as prominent. It almost had a caramel undertone too, though this was not nearly as pronounced as the chocolate rice crispy-ness. The texture was extremely thick considering I really just splashed a tiny bit of milk in there. Texture makes or breaks a tea for me a lot of the time, and this had one of the best mouthfeels I’ve ever experienced.

Seriously, it surpasses my beloved East Frisian blend, which is the standard by which I judge all black teas. I guess that means this will be my new standard…and I should probably get some more then, because I only have enough left for one cup.

The rating has been changed… it only goes up to 100 here but add on at least one more zero to that and you’ll get close to the real rating for me. :)

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
Terri HarpLady

Oooh, it’s been awhile since I had some of this. I have none.
Hopefully Verdant will keep making it, because “I’m not allowed to order anything for a little while,” she said.

Sil

Eastfrisian blend?

Lily Duckler

Wow- thanks for the great review! I am definitely going to have to try this one with a little splash of milk now.. if I can get to work as well as it did for you, it could become a seasonal Tea Bar special here at the Tasting Room!

JoonSusanna

@ Sil – the East Frisian Blend is from Upton. I have 30 + notes on it. It’s really nothing gourmet, just a solid black tea but it is a favorite of mine, and my boyfriends.

@Lily – thank you guys for the tea! This one is always really good, but it just rose to the next level when I tried it with milk. I hope you can get the same results, it was really something!

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83
drank Butterbeer by 52teas
863 tasting notes

ARGH! I have had this twice already but it’s been days ago so this is kind of a faded tasting note x2.

Okay, I tacked this on to my French Toast black tea order out of a mild curiosity. I likely would not have placed an order specifically for this, even though I am a big Harry Potter fan and I have always had my own ideas of what butterbeer would taste like if it were an actual thing.

Steep notes: 1 tsp., 8 oz. water, below parameters. Some sugar, no creamer added.

Imagine rootbeer with a smoother buttery overtone and that’s this tea. I always felt like butterbeer was intended to be served hot based on a memory from the Goblet of Fire where Harry took a sip and felt the warmth spread down to his toes, so even though there’s rootbeer flavors, this works really well warm.

For an add on tea, this has been my favorite in the order so far. I’ll have to do another tasting note (while I’m actively drinking it, haha) to make sure I give a more thorough tasting review…that will probably be sooner rather than later!

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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94
drank Smooth Earl by Compass Teas
863 tasting notes

I’m in Orlando for a wedding and I thought ahead – brought a few different options of loos teas just in case the hotel had a small coffee/tea brewer. The hotel room does indeed have a mini Keurig type dispenser, so I went ahead and brewed this.

And you know – I always thought that it was just maybe that the options of hotel teas are inferior, but I think it’s more that prepping tea in a hotel room with individually packaged sugar and creamer will take its toll on any flavor tea. Even if its a nice, creamy earl that has been tempting you for a few days.

I’ve got to figure out a way to transport my stash better….it’s such a shame I can’t seem to get the same good cups that I do when I’m back at home!

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec

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100

So. Darn. Good.

I’ve never had a bad cup of this. It’s nice to have a surefire tea like that in your arsenal – especially for breakfast when you really don’t want to be up in the first place. Yummy!

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Sil

i wish i could taste what you taste with this one

tea-sipper

I just got a whole unopened package of this from Rachel’s sale today! Looking forward to it!

Skulleigh

Oh man, just the name of the tea has my mouth watering!

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92
drank French Toast by 52teas
863 tasting notes

ugh – so behind on my tasting notes!

I had this yesterday prepped at the parameters I normally use for Frank’s black teas. It was slightly better this time – I think because I added some milk and that brought out the eggy bready notes. I need to get up the courage to use maple syrup instead of sugar and I think that will get it the rest of the way….and I bet it will be at least as good as Pancake Breakfast then!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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67

Tried this on “lunch” break at 1 AM this morning – the hospital I work at has a few iced tea options from Honest Tea, and I know I’ve had stuff from them before, but I think it was before I was a full blown tea addict (oh, so long ago haha) so I can’t remember which ones they were.

This tea was sweetened and definitely an identifiable peach flavor. I wish I had had a black tea base with it as I love peach iced tea that way, but nope, that wasn’t one of my options. I’m sure that my palate has changed to become more selective, too, because this tastes…bottled. There’s something vaguely chemically about it that I just don’t like. Kind of like how “sweet tea with lemon” that is RTD does not have an authentically lemon taste.

Eh. It was nice to have an iced tea option for lunch…I’ll just probably try a different one next time.

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Profile

Bio

My tea habits:

*I am an unashamed Lipton iced-tea drinker (mass quantities, year round).
*I like hot teas but only in cold weather (and occasionally late summer nights or mornings).
*I love Japanese greens (the more seaweed-y the better) and good strong malty black teas.
*I do NOT love smoke in any form.
*Vanilla, cinnamon, or lemon anything will usually pique my interest.
*I’m working on pu-erh but it’s definitely going to take some time to grow on me.

(updated September 2015)

Location

Medford, OR

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