1719 Tasting Notes

I received an unexpected shipment from Kent & Sussex, so Thanks! In the box was this one and an Earl Grey. Normally I would always rip open the EG first, but even through the packaging this one smells so good. It is the kind of good that you would pour into a bowl and set out on the counter. Mostly orange scented but with cardamom, cinnamon, and apple. I used a healthy scoop and steeped for 4 minutes. I recall having this before and liking the taste but thought it a little light, so more leaf and longer steep. Nicely sweet on its own but takes sweetening well. The taste is orange, clove, cinnamon and cardamom, followed by just a touch from pink peppercorn. The black tea base is present but stays in the background. It does add a little dryness but no bitterness or bite. The only problem with this tea is I picked up my mug and it was empty.

gmathis

Yeah, that happens to me a lot, too.

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drank Chamomile by Buddha's Herbs
1719 tasting notes

I had this one a couple days ago. I have been craving it since. Yes, it is a simple bagged chamomile and yet it is not. I personally think this might be the perfect time for a bag. Late in the evening I just want a cup to relax with. I don’t want to mess with strainers and stuff. While I think the bag does dull the flavor just a bit, I also find this one to have enough flavor that I don’t mind. My wife says she doesn’t like chamomile when it tastes too appley and she really enjoyed this one. To me it tasted a lot like apple pie filling – especially sweetened. Who’s right? Doesn’t matter as we both thought this one was pretty good. I think it is less than a quarter ($0.25) a cup.

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drank Hot Cinnamon Spice by Petit Tea
1719 tasting notes

Haven’t been around much lately. I have been way too busy lately. Part of it is some physical therapy I’m taking. I kind of have to program my time around it. I am so sore all over at the moment. I hurt in places I didn’t even know I had. Anyway, tea – so this one is the last of my Petit teas. Based on the name, I was expecting something akin to Harney’s. This sachet is a kinder gentler cinnamon tea. The cinnamon itself is not like the dull stuff found on your grocers shelf. It is full of rich flavor. It smells intense when dry but once steeped you can actually taste the assam base. I can’t recall the last cinnamon tea where I could taste the tea, so kudos Petit. I prepared this sans additions. After tasting I added sweetener per the label. The cinnamon flavor and heat were intensified yet still remained far below scary levels. Finally I added a splash of milk as recommended on the label. This took the cinnamon taste down a notch or two. The heat level remained. The milk and assam base blended together while the cinnamon danced around the edges and the heat warmed my tongue. While a bit more grown up than the Harney version this was still plenty fun. I enjoyed this one.

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98

This is for the 2016 tea. Thank you Angel for the sample.

Opening the packet this has a savory malt aroma. The flat leaves are smaller than I remember so I checked out the website and learned the tea is made of a bud and tiny leaf. The color is a soft spring green.

I couldn’t decide how to prepare it. I don’t really enjoy gaiwan brewing but I didn’t want a long 3-5 minute western steep either. I decided to use 8oz of water heated to 175F and steeped the leaf for 1 minute. The aroma as I removed the lid was a wonderful umami and steamed veggies. The brew color is very light – someone called it straw, I think that is close enough. Its clear and bright.

The taste is somewhere between nutty and creamed corn. It is very smooth and without bitterness. The aftertaste trails off into a lingering grassiness with just a mild bite.

This is really a light tea. If you enjoy the subtle nature of silver needle white tea (as example) you would enjoy this one. Not because they are similar because they are completely different, however both are subtle and mellow.

I personally prefer the taste of the more robust premium version for its bolder presence. That said, what moves me with this tea is the inner warming glow I get from drinking it. This one has possibly the strongest Qi I have experienced. I don’t feel buzzed or euphoric. Instead it gives me a strong sense of alertness and calm. Very few teas have this affect on me. A pot of this and I think I could snatch the pebble (the elders of us will get that reference).

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I get to be first to review this one!

First I have to tell you, when I originally came to Steepster I was drinking all Twinings and Ahmad. Shortly after, Angel sent the first set of samples to me and I was absolutely blown away. Everything I tried was a new eye opening experience. Now several years have passed and I have tried literally hundreds of teas. Teavivre remains the yardstick by which I compare all natural unflavored teas. It is rare when I taste something I enjoy more.

On to this one provided by Teavivre – a simple sniff of the bag was enough to convince me I loved this. It is like sticking your nose in an ear of sweet corn without getting butter all over your nose.

The leaf is cool. Looks for all the world like a white tea. Lots of downy white needles and deep green leaf.

Once steeped the leaf smells of corn and creamy vegetables. The liquor is bright clear yellow with golden highlights. The liquor scent is corn and a comforting spicy/floral mix.

The taste is sweet corn (see a pattern here?) and a stone like mineral spring water. I think Teavivre mentions chestnut, but since I have never tasted one I can only offer from a reference point I know. It feels smooth and kind of thick but not syrupy.

I prepared this western mug style with a 3 minute steep, so I am getting a green briskness late in the sip. It is not bitter or drying. This fades into a leafy plant green aftertaste. I pretty sure short gaiwan steeps would be absent of the briskness.

This is plenty sweet on its own. Any addition of sweetener would ruin a beautiful cup in my opinion. As a former Splenda junkie trust me.

I wrote on my blog this is “Complex enough to entertain but not so much as to demand concentration.” It is more than a comfort tea but not necessarily a deep meditation tea.

Miss Starfish

Sounds like a great tea! I had a very similar experience re: Steepster & Teavivre. I’ll always have a place in my cupboard and heart for them :)

tigress_al

Same here! I did drink DAVIDsTEA at the time as well

gmathis

I like the “not so much as to demand concentration” aspect. Needing that a lot these days!

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drank Primetime by Ahmad Tea
1719 tasting notes

So, not long ago on my FB feed Ahmad had a post where they gave away a few samples of this tea. I was there at the right place at the right time and scored a box of 10 tea bags.

The bags are tagless and each contains just over 3g of CTC leaf. This is a blend of Assam, Kenyan, and Ceylon tea and it smells pretty good. Fresh and fruity with almost a pipe tobacco scent.

Steeping 3 minutes produced probably the best looking cup of tea ever from a bag. It was a deep cherry mahogany and had kind of a purplish cast. This is full bodied and brisk just as you would expect from the blend. The bite is not overwhelming or excessively bitter. I have read comparisons to PG Tips but I found that one and Yorkshire Gold to both be far too bitter for my tastes.

This one I liked straight up. Sweetener took away from the cup when added. For me, same with milk. It took milk fine but I like the bite and I hated ruining that color.

If you aren’t opposed to bags and you can find it – this is worthy of trying.

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90

This kind of a non-tea post. I’ve said before I love this stuff. Last night I was mostly sipping memories. The end of this box is over a year old and it shows. I think. It took two bags. I normally just use one. I could barely taste the orange. Now I say I think this is showing its age because it may be me. I am using Flonase along with an inhaled steroid. I’ve noticed lately I am having problems pulling out and and separating tastes. Yesterday, I also had an herbal tea that to me was mint and ginger – except there isn’t any of either in the mix. I am barely functioning with the meds, hate to think I may have to stop blogging because I am not sure what I’m tasting. Hopefully, my senses straighten up on their own soon.

Funny non-tea related story – Tuesday night I was at praise band practice when it began to lightening with torrential rain and wind. It made some of them real nervous to where practice became almost impossible. After it slacked off and without the singers realizing it, they wanted to sing “I’ll Praise You In The Storm”. Then one asked for “Til The Storm Passes By”. I kept quiet until one of our singers blasted into “Wade In The Water”. I lost it and rolled on the floor laughing. I had to explain it to them as they were totally unconscious of what they were doing.

Anyway, Sugar Cookie – I still have a sealed unopened box. I intend to break into it soon.

gmathis

I remember a Sunday evening service that got moved to our church basement when sirens started up and the first hymn (that was already on the order of service) was “A Shelter in the Time of Storm!”

K S

I love it when stuff like that happens. I imagine it set a mood for the rest of the service.

tigress_al

I hope you can resolve your taste issue!

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90

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I hope all of you are experiencing the same awesomely beautiful weather we are enjoying. Not a cloud in the sky. This morning I decided to completely forget all the stuff that I am supposed to be doing. Instead I got out my gorgeous Tivelasi teapot and filled it with Little Red Cup Lapsang Souchong. Grabbed the accompanying mug and a bowl of grits and parked myself on the front porch. It was so peaceful. No traffic. The sound of faint hammering across the road – the neighbors are building a barn for their horses. The sweet pine smoke from the tea along with the gentle warm breeze simply melted the stress away. The perfect early morning porch tea. Highly recommend you start your day the same way.

Unfortunately back to reality this afternoon.

Evol Ving Ness

A bowl of grits! How I miss grits.

Evol Ving Ness

Sounds like a perfect morning.

White Antlers

What a beautiful, evocative post!

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Bio

K.S. passed away in late April. There will be no more postings from him. Thank you.

My Rating System

90-100 Love it enough to keep around
80-90 Like a lot, would drink often
70-80 Above average
50-70 Average – take it or leave it
0-50 I don’t like it and don’t want to like it

Location

Indiana, USA

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http://theeverdayteablog.blog...

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