Kristal Send Message

Tried this twice now: first time I made it I used 175F water, 8oz and 2 min steeps x 3cups. I found it was a bit bitter (not too bad though- I had three cups) along with a nice grassy taste. Today I used 160F water and the same steeping parameters- no bitterness and a bit grassy.

Altogether pretty good, but a bit too finicky for me. I’ll have no prob using up the 25g I bought.

Tried this tea twice now. First time at 175F I found it to be a bit bitter (not too bad- I drank 2 cups) so the next time I made it I used 160F water. Hardly any bitterness, but nothing too special. Maybe a light vegetal taste far in the background? Nothing else really stand out to me. Altogether it’s pretty good and I’ll have no problem using up the 25ish grams I have.

Had this yesterday since, once again, I did not work until 1pm and could enjoy some quality tea whilst reading a good book.

The first thing that struck me about this tea were its leaves. Some were bright green and some were yellow and almost looked like lemongrass. The bag claimed 185F water and I didn’t believe it because the tea comes from a sencha plant and I know how sensitive some sencha teas are.

The first cup I steeped 2min, 175F water and it was vegetal (yum) and very smooth. I’ve been finding Sencha Tea Bars times and temps to be so inconsistent that I was shocked when there was no astringency. The 2 subsequent cups I steeped at 185F and the tea was still not astringent, but it did lose most of the vegetal flavour. I will have to experiment more (I almost feel bad for writing a review this early for that reason). Either way, another quality and delicious tea.

Had this a few days ago on a nice, sunny morning when I did not have to work until 1pm. In spite of it being autumn, a fresh, spring-like tea was calling my name.

Because of how fine the leaves are I definitely expected this tea to get astringent FAST like a yunnan and to be very temperamental. To my surprise, this was very smooth and VERY floral and almost fruity (like spring, yes?). Actually reminded me of Yunnan Mao Feng Green from Verdant Tea with its quality flavour. I almost could have sworn I was drinking a jasmine blend. The only negative thing I have to say of this tea is that it lacks any vegetal flavour, which I love in greens. Nonetheless, I chugged my 3 cups that day, they were so lovely.

This is a first for me on steepster. Rating a tea a 1. This really takes the cake here.

What’s so messed up about this tea is I drank a plain cup of it first (1.5ish tsp in 10oz of 200F water steeped 5min) and it was watery but tasted of anise, coconut and vanilla. Figuring a latte would pull these flavours through and make them shine I steeped 3tbsp of tea in 8oz the same way as above and added hot, frothed milk. However, during the steeping I could tell something was wrong. It smells like vomit. Not being dramatic, it did. I had the guts to try a sip of the latte and I almost vomited myself. I dumped it out. In order to do process of elimination I made sure the water in the kettle was good, the steeper was clean, the milk wasn’t sour, everything. Something horrible happens to this tea when steeped strong. I used up the rest of my leaf steeping it in different strengths and sniffing. I dunno which ingredient did it – I’m assuming brahmi since I just tried it and I know it can turn astringent? The description says "Coconut, pomegranite, brahmi, honeybush, anise, and vanilla " so idk. But this tea was horrible.

Had this last night before bed. It’s a really different blend- especially chamomile with rooibos?? The description says: " Egyptian chamomile and South African rooibos with a touch of vanilla and fresh peppermint" and that’s very accurate. I can pick out the tastes one by one: first floral, then woody, a touch of mint, and a touch of sweetness (vanilla?). Altogether this is ok, but I think the rooibos is really unnecessary. I’ll use it up, but Celestial Seasonings’ Honey Vanilla Chamomile is my favorite chamomile tea by far.

I’ve had to make this tea several times. In spite of being a herbal, this becomes astringent like green tea. I have no idea why they recommended boiling water for 4-5min; this needs 175F for 2-3min max otherwise it’s bitter.

Once you get this tea right it kind of tastes like blueberry leaf tea. Woody and herbaceous. Altogether it’s ok and I’ll use it up but it’s not my favorite flavours and its really finicky, especially for a herbal.

Once again, the package says 170F but I used 160F water. I could tell by the looks of this tea that it needs a lower temp. Even still I may have overstepped or overleafed cause there is a bit of astringency. However, unlike Rwandan green this tea has a wonderful vegetal taste and brews up a gorgeous vibrant green. This is very much like gyokuro and the fussiness is merited by the lovely taste. I think when I brew it p next time I will let the 160F water sit for a min or two then steep to a max of 1.5min. That should create a tasty vegetal cup without bitterness.
.

The package says 175 F but I could tell by how tippy this tea is that it needed a lower temp. Thus I steeped it at 160F for 2 min. Even then there was a bit of astringency so i think 1.5 min is the way to go.

In spite of how sensitive this tea is it doesn’t have any rich vegetal flavour. To me it tastes like any standard green tea bag (I’m not sure how to describe it other than that). The fussiness of this tea is not worth it too me so I will use it up but not repurchase.

My anniversary trip was a success in spite of a cold! We went to Sencha Tea bar before even checking into the hotel. Unfortunately it looks like loose leaf tea is not their specialty. Their tea menu was mostly bubble teas (something I’ve never actually had but appears to be some sugary concoction) and when I passed the server a list of teas I wished to purchase neither him nor his coworker knew what several of them were (apparently the website has several teas from last year that they no longer stock). Their manager seemed up to speed though, and I was given SIX sample packets of different teas to try, which I thought very generous. So altogether, I’ll have to see how I like the teas and if I will buy from them again, lol.

This is the first tea I tried, and when I double checked my list that I passed the worker there, this one wasn’t on it. My guess is he typed in the wrong code and I got this instead of a different tea (there were about a dozen on my list and he seemed a little overwhelmed and not used to someone buying so much loose leaf tea). Either way this one is a winner- the lime flavouring is strong and refreshing, the ginger light and the green rooibos nicely subtle. This tea is actually not one I would have picked for myself so this was a happy accident.