415 Tasting Notes

70
drank Roasted Mate by Steepers
415 tasting notes

A coworker of mine gave me a bunch of teas from Steepers, but only this one had not gone rancid or stale. It’s still old, but drinkable.

This tea brews up strong like all mates, and of course has a very herbaceous taste with a strong roasted/smoky flavor. I don’t drink mate/guayusa teas very often because of the caffeine, but my husband is not sensitive to caffeine and he loves this tea. He’ll probably get to drink up most of it ;)

Flavors: Herbaceous, Roasted, Smoke

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

85

Another tea from the sampler pack. Unfortunately, it seems like I received a lot of broken leaves and dust in my sample. Probably since it was a sample. Either way, when I scooped out tea to make my mug full I did get almost all whole leaves to try it out- nice.

This tea is one of my favourites from the sampler pack. It is not too prone to astringency, not too bold or weak, and very floral, sweet, and vegetal. I’m especially loving the vegetal aspect of this tea. Yum.

Unlike the Yunnan tea I just reviewed, this one is a re-purchase. The vegetal character does make it unique to me and this tea is good for multiple steepings. It is one of the most pricey teas from iHOT at $12.50/50g (only gyokuro and jasmine pearls are more expensive), but that’s the beauty of trying a sample first.

Flavors: Floral, Sweet, Vegetal

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 295 ML
MrQuackers

Dragonwell is my favourite. Havent tried this ver.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

74

One of the teas from the sampler pack I got from iHOT. I’ve tried it several times now, actually just finishing up the last of the sample.

Let me just start off by saying how pretty this tea is. Because it’s tips all of the leaves are the same size and shape, almost reminding me of the look of fennel. The uniform look is really nice.

Besides that though, the description of this tea is: “this green tea has a strong, spicy flavour, a hint of sweetness and an outstanding unique character.”. Personally, I do find this tea strong (I actually brew it for only 2min @ 160degree F otherwise there is astringency) but I do not find it is “spicy”. In the aftertaste it is a little sweet, though. Sadly though, I do not find this tea re-steeps well. I brew up two mugs at a time: one for me which has a stronger colour and flavour, one for my husband (his at 3min as opposed to two) and the liqueur is a LOT paler. That’s kind of disappointing.

So with that being said, I did enjoy this tea, but I dunno if I would repurchase. The taste isn’t unique to me and the tea is really prone to astringency, yet it’s not that great for multiple resteepings. This tea is pretty inexpensive so I think there would be other greens I would prefer over this one in that price range.

Flavors: Astringent

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 2 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 295 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

71

I find with fruit flavoured teas, a lot of the time they’ll SAY it tastes like a particular tea, but when you drink it it’s just vaguely fruit or sweet but distinctive. This blueberry rooibos does a pretty good job with it’s blueberry flavour. I suppose that’s what happens when you use dehydrated blueberries in your tea! I did enjoy it straight up, but I’m wondering how it’ll tasted iced as well. We’ll have to see!

Flavors: Blueberry, Floral, Rooibos

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 295 ML
Kristal

*particular fruit, not tea :)

Kristal

Note: this one is not good iced. Could have been my error with steeping, but the blueberry didn’t pull through.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90

Mulberry Magic from DAVID’s tea is a staple for me. However, when I saw that iHOT sold mulberry leaves for $6.00/50g as opposed to about $10/50g for Mulberry Magic from DAVIDs, I knew I needed to try this out and be economical.

I noticed that the leaves are VERY long (some are about 2.5 inches!) and more straight than with mulberry magic. Even still, it brews up just like mulberry magic: dark, muddled green with a very floral, grass, and sweet flavour that has depth to it. Very nice. I always brew mulberry strong so I never noticed the macadamia nuts with Mulberry Magic, so this is a great substitute.

Flavors: Floral, Grass, Sweet

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more 2 tsp 41 OZ / 1200 ML
Kirkoneill1988

i once tried mulberry leaf tea. yes actual mulberry tree leaf. tasty! dry them out first

Kristal

Yes, these are dried. It’s quite nice :)

Kristal

It’s a good thing I just got into these mulberry leaves because DAVIDs just posted more teas they’re discontinuing and mulberry magic is one of them!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

79

Good amount of bergamont flavouring in this rooibos blend. Yum. I think I like the Cream of Earl Grey rooibos blend better though. Still though- this tea is a good substitute for people like myself who cannot drink black tea but still like bergamot flavouring.

Flavors: Bergamot, Rooibos

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 295 ML
Kirkoneill1988

rooibos tastes like alcohol :( and honeybush tastes like brandy :(

Kristal

I’m guessing it’s not for you then? That’s a shame :(

Kirkoneill1988

its ok. as long as someone likes it.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

75

I currently have 3 genmaicha teas in my collection but haven’t been drinking genmaicha lately! Luckily this is just a sample.

Not much to say- a nice roasted rice + popcorn flavour with the taste of fresh grass in the background. Nice. I hope to get a move on with this genmaicha teas soon..

Flavors: Freshly Cut Grass, Popcorn, Roasted

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 30 sec 10 OZ / 295 ML
Kirkoneill1988

i love the popcorn flavour

Kristal

me too :)

Just to amend my comment that I currently have 3 genmaicha teas, I actually have 2 now (this sample + some from DAVIDs). A co worker of mine gave me 5 teas from a local tea shop called Steepers and 4/5 teas she gave me were rancid/stale (which included the genmaicha). The only tea she gave me that’s still good is roasted mate.

A nice thought for her to give me them, but teas can go bad…

Kirkoneill1988

rancid? was there mould?

Kristal

No mold, but the bold popcorn flavour that is normally present in genmaicha wasn’t there nearly as much in spite of all the roasted and popped rice that was present. The tea also had a strange aftertaste I couldn’t put my finger on as well. All in all, it certainly wasn’t fresh

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

80

Not usually one for flavored greens, but since this is decaf I don’t really care. Made a pot of this for the hubs and I, then took some tea out of the pot for a cup (and brought some for a short evening shift too). A not too weak, not strong vanilla taste with the undertones of grass. Lovely. I find that straight, decaf green tea is not nearly as good as the straight, regular-caf stuff since the decaffeination process creates a strange taste, but adding the vanilla takes away that strange taste while still having the pleasant grassy undertones. I think this shall replace the straight decaf stuff I have!

Flavors: Grass, Vanilla

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 30 sec 2 tsp 41 OZ / 1200 ML
Kirkoneill1988

i’ve never had a decaf green tea

Kristal

Maybe you should try some and see for yourself :)

Kirkoneill1988

maybe someday

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

92

Finally used up my $50 gift card my husband got me for my bday (dec 14, so it’s been 3 months!). I’m really impressed with how much tea I got for $50. iHOT’s prices are so much better than most companies I’ve ordered from (example: most of iHOT’s rooibos teas are $5.75/50g instead of the avg $7.00/50g from DAVIDs) and they have great quality. Not to mention, I watched them fill up the bags of tea and I noticed they were giving me 60-70g for the price of 50g (they sell in denominations of 50g). What a deal and great customer service!

Anywho, I brewed this tea up for prob 8min, 2tsp of tea in 10oz of 200F water. Earl Grey Cream indeed! Bergamot and vanilla flavours are more prominent than the rooibos- which is hard to find in flavoured rooibos blends (especially vanilla). I want to try this as a latte. It’s so creamy I’m sure it would wok wondrously. I’ll have no probably drinking this one down!

Flavors: Bergamot, Creamy, Rooibos, Vanilla

Preparation
165 °F / 73 °C 8 min or more 2 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML
Kristal

Just had this as a latte- so creamy and tasty!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

65

I’ve had this tea for a while, but never had to drink it up until now. I caught a little bit of a cold- although it has not progressed beyond a bit of a sore throat since I caught it three days go. My husband has more a cough along with a sore throat, but not so much for me.

In terms of taste, this is a very strong licorice tea. I don’t care for the taste, but it does provide some relief. So weighing taste vs medicinal properties, I’ll rate this one a 65. It’s not one I drink “for fun”, but it helps when I need it.

Flavors: Anise, Licorice

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
Jillian

That’s pretty much how I feel about all of Traditional Medicinals’ offerings

Kristal

Makes sense, but I suppose their marketing is “medicine” and not “delicious tea”.

BTW, although I very, very, rarely drink tea with sweetener, this goes well with honey which helps provide even more relief.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

I used to drink coffee, but it started to hurt my stomach so I switched to tea. A friend of mine introduced me to DAVID’s TEA and I couldn’t stop after that! I’ve now been expanding my scope beyond DAVIDs away from “candy-like teas” into more natural teas or flavourings. Current favourite stores include International House of Tea (iHOT) and Verdant Tea.

When it comes to tea ratings, I usually only ever rate them once. I know a lot of people on steepster do many tasting notes for the same teas depending on their mood, but I prefer to rate once and if my opinion changes, I will delete the old note and rate again. How I rate teas goes as following:

1-49: Teas I won’t buy again. Either the taste is disgusting to me, or it’s too bland, etc. I’m most likely not even going to finish the tin/bag.

50-59: Teas I wouldn’t buy again; I have to force myself to drink the whole cup to not waste it.

60-69: I’ll finish the cup and even the bag/tin, but I wouldn’t buy these teas again. Teas of this rating are “lacking something”.

70-79:Teas that are pretty good and ones I might buy again. Usually these teas are ones I have to be “in the mood for” and drink occasionally.

80-89: Great teas! Ones I will drink several times a week and often have in my stash :).

90-100: Favourite must-have teas!

My favourite types of tea are green tea and different types of “natural” herbal tea (different herbs, natural flavourings, etc). I cannot drink black or oolong teas due a sensitive stomach. I don’t really go for white tea due to its cost and the fact that it has just a little caffeine (if I want caffeine I’ll just go for a green tea and if I don’t I’ll go for a herbal-no sense on just having a little caffeine). I also like to do iced teas in the summer time, and then I’ll gravitate towards herbal fruit blends that are bagged to cut costs and convenience (it’s easier to throw out bags than clean a filter). Flavours I don’t care for include anything too tart, bitter, artificial, overly spicy or overly sweet.
Also, when I have time (usually when I’m not working much) I like to make tea lattes out of different rooibos blends.

My everyday green tea is Gunpowder since it is strong and not sensitive to temperatures or steeping time which is something I cannot be bothered with when I’m getting ready for work. Other greens I enjoy are dragonwell, sencha, and different Chinese greens. I’m not the biggest fan of yunnan greens since they are so finicky (although I do like gyokuro)

On a day to day basis I usually have 2-3 cups of green tea and several more cups of different herbal blends.

Besides tea I also work at a couple libraries (I am finishing my library tech diploma),am in my early 20s and got married in Oct 2014.

Location

Northwestern Ontario

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer