6111 Tasting Notes

53

J is for… Jasmine Coconut Green!

Out of order because I just happened to stumble on this tonight as I tried to find teas to fulfill sipdown prompts. Located a bag of Whispering Pines samples, half with coconut, that I had never finished. Hopefully I tried them all at least once when fresh?

This one, I apparently did not care for, and couldn’t taste the coconut, therefore it garnered a 53 rating (ouch). I can taste the coconut now – surprisingly, the ultra-shredded pieces are only just starting to go off (just a wee bit soapy), and there’s a nice, light jasmine flavour. I can’t really taste much of the base at all, but it is fairly broken up and I prefer full-leaf greens as the flavour is usually better.

Not a bad tea, but not stellar either. Mostly needs a better base tea that will liven up the flavours, but the jasmine-coconut balance is pretty good.

derk

Holy crap that’s an old tea!

Kittenna

Yeah, I think it might be from around the time Whispering Pines came into existence?

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81
drank Kabusecha by DAVIDsTEA
6111 tasting notes

(DavidsTea 2022: 83)
2022 Sipdown 83/365!

K is for… Kabusecha!

Well…. finished this off in the hopes it would satisfy the spinach/artichoke prompt, but no such luck. It’s savoury but I don’t think it quite goes that direction. It’s buttery for sure, and vegetal, but not beany like some greens, and not mariney. It’s also a bit drying, and a bit sweet. I really can’t think of a good comparison, although I read the description and it’s noted as having the sweetness of sencha and richness of gyokuro, and I think I’d agree. It’s very full-bodied and rich, unlike some greens that are lighter. I just wish I was better at identifying flavours! I am enjoying this cup, and would definitely drink this again – it’s pretty tasty (and also about 10 years old, so it held up well in a ziploc!)

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67
drank Kokomo Green by DAVIDsTEA
6111 tasting notes

(DavidsTea 2022: 82)
2022 Sipdown 82/365!

K is for… Kokomo Green!

It’s never good when you navigate to a tea only to find that you previously rated it 33… yikes! I have to say – my initial sip today definitely doesn’t garner a 33. It’s fruity, and I swear I taste creamy coconut? I think I’d guess mango and maybe passionfruit, but I’m really not sure. However, it’s also kind of bitter/astringent, with a metallic edge, and that takes away from the fruitiness.

Ok, checked out my previous note and it appears that I got some unpleasant weird taste the first time I had it. Harsh that I didn’t give it a second chance before rating… it’s really not that terrible. In fact, I’d consider picking up 50g of it if it was re-released, because the tropical/coconut flavours are kind of nice.

Rating upped to 67, but I doubt much of this tea remains in the world at this point, so it probably doesn’t matter. Haha.

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70
drank Kiwi Mojito by 52teas
6111 tasting notes

(52teas (Anne) 2022: 172)

K is for… Kiwi Mojito!

I don’t know that I’ve ever really tasted kiwi in tea. The trend continues here. The mint level is nice – present but not overwhelming – but I struggle to taste other flavours clearly here, though there are other flavours. Maybe there’s kiwi, and I just don’t really know what to taste for?

Either way, don’t really care for this one. Maybe would be better in the summer, as it’s refreshing.

ETA: Oh, I read there’s supposed to be lime…. nope, not tasting that at this point…

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74

(52teas (Anne) 2022: 171)

K is for… Kumquat Cucumber Chutney!

Annoying, looks like I may have duplicated this tea in the database 3 years ago. Logging this review under my duplicate so it’s with the other.

Noticed the cayenne quickly, as a mild burning in my throat after swallowing – a good level of spice for a tea to have. There’s some citrus on the initial sip, but I’m not really perceiving cucumber at all, just a nice citrus black with some heat. Not a favourite, but interesting!

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62
drank Kumquat Cheesecake by 52teas
6111 tasting notes

(52teas (Anne) 2022: 170)

K is for… Kumquat Cheesecake!

Only had one J tea and didn’t want to dig through other companies… so today is also K!

This tea is smooth and mild, and if I am really in the mood, I can imagine it being creamy and maybe even having the slightest cheesecake tang. But, I taste no kumquat; no citrus whatsoever. It’s a pleasant enough cup but that lack of citrus is unfortunate!

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74
drank Candy Cane Matcha by DAVIDsTEA
6111 tasting notes

(DavidsTea 2022: 81)
2022 Sipdown 81/365!

Another deviation, and a matcha I haven’t tried before! Drank with milk as usual. This was literally liquid candy cane in a cup; I couldn’t taste the matcha at all, really. Glad I tried it, but mint just is not my thing.

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85
drank Salted Caramel Matcha by DAVIDsTEA
6111 tasting notes

(DavidsTea 2022: already recorded)
2022 Sipdown 80/365!

I don’t have any matchas starting with H-J, so a deviation for this one. It was very strong and quite delicious, but I’m not sure I got a caffeine punch from it?

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81

(52teas (Anne) 2022: 169)

J is for… Jardin de Yvoire!

This tea was pretty tasty! It was kind of like blackerry custard tart with jasmine, although the base tea wasn’t quite as good. But I did enjoy the blackberry/vanilla/jasmine combo, and appreciated that the jasmine wasn’t overwhelming.

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70
drank Iced Tea Blend Green Tea by 52teas
6111 tasting notes

(52teas (Anne) 2022: 168)

I is for… Iced Tea Blend!

Hopefully I’ll remember to cold-brew this next time, as it seems others have done successfully. Instead, I brewed hot and diluted with many ice cubes. The result is nicely refreshing from the spearmint, but the peach isn’t quite meshing for me, especially cold. However, warmed to room temp I feel like the two flavours integrate a bit better. Interestingly – I don’t really taste any lemon, or at least, not any up front. Maybe it’s blending in too well and I’m not paying enough attention? Not a favourite for me as I don’t love mint but it does seem like it would be very refreshing on a hot day!

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Bio

I have always been a tea fan (primarily herbals and Japanese greens/oolongs) but in the last year or so, tea has become increasingly more appealing as not only a delicious, calming drink, but as a relatively cheap, healthy reward or treat to give myself when I deserve something. I should clarify that, however; the reward is expanding my tea cupboard, not drinking tea – I place no restrictions on myself in terms of drinking anything from my cupboard as that would defeat my many goals!

My DavidsTea addiction was born in late 2011, despite having spent nearly a year intentionally avoiding their local mall location (but apparently it was just avoiding the inevitable!). I seem to have some desire to try every tea they’ve ever had, so much of my stash is from there, although I’ve recently branched out and ordered from numerous other companies.

I like to try and drink all my teas unaltered, as one of the main reasons I’m drinking tea other than for the flavour is to be healthy and increase my water intake without adding too many calories! I’ve found that the trick in this regard is to be very careful about steeping time, as most teas are quite pleasant to drink straight as long as they haven’t been oversteeped. However, I tend to be forgetful (particularly at work) when I don’t set a timer, resulting in a few horrors (The Earl’s Garden is not so pleasant after, say, 7+ minutes of steeping).

I’m currently trying to figure out which types of teas are my favourites. Herbals are no longer at the top; oolongs have thoroughly taken over that spot, with greens a reasonably close second. My preference is for straight versions of both, but I do love a good flavoured oolong (flavoured greens are really hit or miss for me). Herbals I do love iced/cold-brewed, but I drink few routinely (Mulberry Magic from DavidsTea being a notable exception). I’m learning to like straight black teas thanks to the chocolatey, malty, delicious Laoshan Black from Verdant Tea, and malty, caramelly flavoured blacks work for me, but I’m pretty picky about anything with astringency. Lately I’ve found red rooibos to be rather medicinal, which I dislike, but green rooibos and honeybush blends are tolerable. I haven’t explored pu’erh, mate, or guayasa a great deal (although I have a few options in my cupboard).

I’ve decided to institute a rating system so my ratings will be more consistent. Following the smiley/frowny faces Steepster gives us:

100: This tea is amazing and I will go out of my way to keep it in stock.

85-99: My core collection (or a tea that would be, if I was allowing myself to restock everything!) Teas I get cravings for, and drink often.

75-84: Good but not amazing; I might keep these in stock sparingly depending on current preferences.

67-74: Not bad, I’ll happily finish what I have but probably won’t ever buy it again as there’s likely something rated more highly that I prefer.

51-66: Drinkable and maybe has some aspect that I like, but not really worth picking up again.

34-50: Not for me, but I can see why others might like it. I’ll make it through the cup and maybe experiment with the rest to get rid of it.

0-33: It’s a struggle to get through the cup, if I do at all. I will not willingly consume this one again, and will attempt to get rid of the rest of the tea if I have any left.

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