13 Tasting Notes
A pleasant if unremarkable caffeine-free tisane. Neutral grassy flavour similar to pandan, with lower notes of stone or sulphur. Effective balancing chaser to salty meals, which is primarily when I brew it. Not really “nice” enough to serve at a tea party.
Flavors: Grass, Mineral
Preparation
Wet, spongy earth. Steel, iron and sun showers. Trees and mushrooms follow. Nothing raw or herbal in this cuppa. At the same time, I found it approachable for a pu-erh, on the sweet rather than fecund side of earthy, and might just brew it for a pu-erh n00b on a chilly autumn day. I myself drank it in the Tea-luxe window, and enjoyed two steeps to my pot.
Preparation
Pu-erh is my favourite tea, precisely because it is intense. I was unsure what I would make, then, of a supposedly “milder” pu-erh — but this cup was subtly but distinctly earthy-mineral, with a faint flowery-sweetness that I would normally expect in an oolong. This has carried through across several steeps, at which time I’m writing this! Overall very mellow and just the right pu-erh to follow a week of holiday kitchen-richness.
Preparation
I drink it with pizza! So there you go: subtle, no. The orange really is over the top, and the liquorice is actually pronounced to the degree it lingers on the tongue. Not re-steepable, incidentally. But good with pizza.
Preparation
Y’know, I love that you said that. I had pizza for breakfast and I like drinking tea for a caffeine kick without the coffee, but I can’t drink tea with pizza. Pizza is like one of my food markers on the drink-o-meter. I have to have a mucho strong flavored drink with pizza or it all tastes wrong. I’m just glad someone else uses pizza on their drink meter.
Right. I like to keep a couple of hot drinks that match pizza on the bench for the cold months!
I have a cold, you see… normally I’m not at all the fruit tea type, but when the mood strikes, I like my tisanes on the herbal, even bitter, side of fruity. This tea succeeds: flavours of crab-apple, cranberry, lemon and rind, with some wicked hibiscus. Luscious plain, or with a touch of honey. Beats the snot out of the Belfast cold, speaking both weather and health-wise.
Preparation
I take this tea places. It has a silky texture and great depth of flavour: wild honey, dried roses, a hint of cedar, and a puehr-like moss and stone undertone. The aftertaste is mildly tannic, a welcome reminder that I’m drinking tea, not hot water! It is fantastic as a wake-me-up or bedtime cuppa, and right now it is accompanying a slice of not-too-sweet apple bread. Very flexible, this is my staple darjeeling.
Preparation
This quality chamomile was full-flavoured without being astringent; just loads of floral, apple-scented, knock-you-out chamomile. My favourite from the Steep line so far (I bought a mixed packet from a hotel room pantry) but really, I’d have a hard time purchasing it again, before my standby bulk chamomile from a reliable herbalist.
