762 Tasting Notes
I forgot I had a few Tea Forte silken pyramids (I really love these sachets!) left over from Christmas. I decided to have one for my afternoon cup. I’m not terribly impressed iwth this one. It’s not in any way bad, but compared to the What-Cha Georgia Old Gentleman, this is sort of blah. One more thing out of the cabinet!
I had this one for breakfast! A very nice tea, smooth and easy to drink on a cold January morning in North Dakota USA. I love that What-Cha allows online orders of 10 grams. I don’t want to buy 50 grams only to find out I don’t like the tea. I wish other tea companies would do that too. I think it would bring more return customers. If I buy ten 10 gram samples and find 4 that I love, the company will probably get a 200 gram order from me, or more, because I’ll probably throw in a few more samples I want to try. But my pocketbook and cabinet space tell me I can’t afford to buy too many 50 gram pouches of new tea, so maybe I won’t make an order at all from a new-to-me company to try new-to-me tea.
So far the two from What-Cha that I’ve sampled have been lovely. I’ve enjoyed them and can;’t wait to try more of my loot!
Preparation
Small samples are the best. I’m still mostly in try all the teas mode, but I do tend to skip over companies that only sell larger quantities unless their prices are incredibly low. I’d rather spend $50 on a huge pile of samples and then reorder the ones I love, than $50 on a small number of teas and maybe end up with nothing I like.
I’m feeling lazy and tired. Decided on some herbal tea for bedtime, and being lazy, opted for bagged tea. Sometimes it’s nice to go simple. I don’t think this tea is as good as David’s Peppermint Amore, but I don’t have Peppermint Amore, and this one is a perfectly good tea. Besides, I’m feeling lazy and tired. I wish I didn’t have to work tomorrow…
My order from What-Cha arrived today. Oh, boy, it is just like Christmas around here! This one says “Full-bodied with a sweet raisin and citrus taste.” I don’t taste the raisin (no big surprise, since I have no sense of smell) but I can detect a hint of citrus. Just a little tang at the end of a mouthful. Not sour. The tea is more robust than mild, but smooth, with no bitterness, no astringency, and just a bit sweet on its own. I’m really, really glad I ordered this one!
Flavors: Citrus, Smooth
Preparation
Brewed up a pot of this after the green tea I didn’t care for. This is one of my favorite black teas! Smooth with just a hint of sweetness from the teensy candy canes. I ordered 100 grams of this fall/early winter because it’s a seasonal tea and I know I enjoy it. This one is always a winner for me!
Another sample from David’s Tea with my last order. I’ve only had a couple of green teas and I haven’t cared for them, but they were grocery store type bagged teas, so maybe lower quality. Somehow I felt like I was drinking water run through grass clippings. I’m not sure what I think of this tea. It’s very light. Without a sense of smell I’m not picking up any particular scent or flavor. It’s just pale warmed up water in my cup. At least it didn’t have the sour taste of watered grass clippings. I didn’t see a lot of tea leaves, so maybe I just got a poor sample. Anyway, nothing objectionable in the cup. I finished it without any trouble, but I wouldn’t try this one again.
Preparation
This came as a sample with the latest David’s Tea order. I’m not a chai lover. All my friends are surprised by that because I love cinnamon, ginger, and all those spices. My favorite kind of hot chocolate is the spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate. But for some reason chai just doesn’t do it for me. This one isn’t bad as chais go. I liked it enough to finish the two-cup pot I made, and I am glad I had the chance to try it. Even for someone without a sense of smell, the cinnamon made itself known. But this won’t be one I order.
Flavors: Cinnamon
Preparation
Decided to take this with me to a meeting tonight. Forgot to ditch the leaves after it brewed. They stayed in my travel mug for nearly THREE HOURS. Tea still tasted good. A little over-steeped, perhaps, but very drinkable. Just slightly bitter.
That cheap travel mug actually kept the tea burning hot the whole time.
A very mild and delicate tea. I can taste a hint of ginger at the end of the sip. Might be just the thing for when your editor returns your manuscript to you with more red than black on the page. Sigh. No, I think this calls for a splash of whisky. I wonder if whiskey might be a nice addition to this tea?
Seriously, I like this tea. I like that it is so mild and that the ginger is just a whisper at the end. I can see this one being a great evening tea. Glad I got this one.