41 Tasting Notes

81
drank Earl Grey Creme by Art of Tea
41 tasting notes

It’d probably be expected here to write something about how this tea is keeping me warm in the great big snowstorm we’re currently having here in New York. But let me be honest: I’m working from home and the heat works just fine. So let’s talk about the tea instead.

The best way I can think of to describe the tea is to say that it tastes like Earl Grey tea, only more so. They obviously put more than the normal amount of bergamot. (Also, has anyone ever seen an actual bergamot fruit? Do they have any uses other than flavoring tea? Why does the Firefox spellchecker insist that bergamot is not even a word?)

The vanilla, while present, is definitely secondary to the bergamot and the tea itself. It serves more to enhance these other flavors than to stand on its own.

Other posters here have suggested that this tea is especially nice with milk. I don’t usually like milk in my tea, but I suppose if I have some milk in the house then it might be worth trying.

Overall a nice, easy-to-drink black tea. I’ll certainly be drinking this a bunch in mornings when I need help waking up.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Angrboda

http://billgreenwell.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/bergamot.jpg This is a bergamot orange.
Also, according to wikipedia, used for preserves, aromatherapy, perfume and a herbal remedy for malaria.

As for the spellchecker, no idea.

mlc

…but I heard anti-malarial drugs give you great hallucinations. Feh to remedies without side effects.

takgoti

Indeed. If a drug doesn’t have a chance of inducing severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); blurred vision; change in sexual ability or desire; chest pain; confusion; depression; fast or irregular heartbeat; fever; growth suppression; mental/mood changes; numbness or tingling in an arm or leg; one-sided weakness; painful or frequent urination; seizures; severe headache; severe stomach pain; severe weight loss; sudden severe dizziness, fainting, or vomiting; uncontrolled muscle movement; unusual weakness or tiredness; vision or speech changes…

…then feh on it AND its mother.

On a slightly more serious note, I have heard that anti-malarial drug hallucinations can be quite terrifying and not at all fun.

Angrboda

change in sexual ability or desire;
I read that as change in sexual orientation and went WHOA!!! O.o

HEE!

mlc

indeed, for the side effects of anti-malarial drugs, see Act Three of http://thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=399 which was what popped into my mind as I was writing the above comment.

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59
drank Mandarin Silk by Art of Tea
41 tasting notes

This smells so good. But it hardly tastes like anything (or, more accurately, it does not taste anywhere nearly as strongly as it smells). I used about 1.5 tsp for about 12oz water, but the tea is kind of loosely packed, so maybe this is not enough. I’m going to try it again with more tea and see what happens..

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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78
drank Vanilla Jasmine by Golden Moon Tea
41 tasting notes

I understand that wearing a decent shirt and meeting someone at 9am is not exactly abnormal for much of the world. But as I’m a software developer who normally works from home, these are both atypical experiences for me.

So! I need something with caffeine in it and which is easy to drink. And the vanilla jasmine tea has been my go-to tea for such circumstances lately, but apparently for some reason I haven’t reviewed it yet here.

Unlike most jasmine teas, this is a black tea blend. The vanilla is more noticeable than the jasmine. The jasmine is definitely still there, though, and I suppose it’d be more obvious if I had more experience drinking vanilla teas without jasmine in them.

All in all, a very drinkable black tea, especially with a bit of sugar in it.

But: as I was finishing the tea, my client called me to move our meeting to 10:30. So I could’ve substituted getting enough sleep for the caffeine. But it’s too late now, and so I’ve been able to spend the past hour writing this not-particularly-long review.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 15 sec
takgoti

As a student who signs up for late morning classes and spends most days in pajama pants and hoodies, I hear you.

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65
drank White Tangerine by Revolution Tea
41 tasting notes

So I was in a fancy grocery store earlier today and for some reason started looking at the teas. I know that I don’t need to buy any more tea, and I know that if I did need to buy tea, there are better places to get it than a grocery store, even (especially?) a fancy one.

But despite this, I walked out with a box of Revolution White Tangerine tea.

The box suggests 3-5 minutes at “just under boiling,” which seems a bit aggressive for white tea. So I compromised and did 80°C for 3 minutes. I think this is about right: there is just the tiniest hint of bitterness which would probably get to be a problem if I’d left it steeping much longer.

It’s a decent white tea. I can barely taste the tangerine, though. I wonder if adding some sugar would bring the tangerine out? I will try doing so next time.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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63
drank Gunpowder by Adagio Teas
41 tasting notes

No notes yet. Add one?

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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84
drank Coconut Pouchong by Golden Moon Tea
41 tasting notes

So I’ve been drinking a fair amount of this over the past couple of weeks but haven’t got around to writing it up yet. But as it’s today’s Select, I suppose I should delay no longer.

The coconut (which, as others have said, is more like a toasted coconut) is definitely more noticeable than the tea when you open up the canister and smell it. This mellows somewhat as you steep the tea: no one would mistake this for tea-less coconut water, but no one would fail to notice the coconut either.

Anyhow, I like it and have been drinking it with some regularity.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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78
drank Vanilla Jasmine by Golden Moon Tea
41 tasting notes

No notes yet. Add one?

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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80

Okay, the last bit of the sampler tin Adagio sent me, and I prepared it correctly this time, so it tastes like it’s supposed to taste when I’m not screwing it up. Bumping the rating up accordingly.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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87
drank Sencha Yuzu by Rishi Tea
41 tasting notes

So, it took me a few cups to decide, but I’m really kind of digging this tea.

For some reason they don’t really explain on the website, but this is a Ryokucha, which apparently means it is blended with machta powder in addition to green tea leaves. This makes the tea a bit stronger and, um, green-er, preventing the citrusy yuzu from completely overpowering everything else.

The only problem is the packet is rather small (50g) and so the recommended preparation instructions (1 Tbsp tea / cup) mean that I’m almost running out already!

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec
Cofftea

A steeped version of yuzu matcha? Yum! I hope 52teas catches that;)

takgoti

Your entry on this has me convinced that Samovar and Rishi source from some of the same places. I wouldn’t be surprised if these are the same teas. I know that Samovar blends the majority of their stuff in house, but sometimes they send me things that come in the original packaging [really only Japanese – matcha, fukamushi sencha, and this one] and clearly those haven’t been messed with. This particular one was labeled yuzu ryokucha, is called yuzu sencha on their website, but looks like ryokucha to me.

mlc

Cofftea, in case I wasn’t clear above, this has both matcha and regular sencha leaves in it.

takgoti, I’ve not seen the Samovar stuff, but it’s entirely possible that you’re right. This came in a brown packet (somewhat different-looking and containing less tea than the other teas in my Rishi order) with a Rishi sticker labeled “Yuzucha” on one side and some unbranded sticker labeled “Yuzu Ryokucha 50g net” on the other.

Cofftea

@mlc, Yeah I know, but if it’s like mecha when you decant it, the liquor is not completely translucent- there are small particles floating in it.

takgoti

@Cofftea Well, ryokucha by definition contains matcha, sencha, and toasted rice so if it were ryokucha then yeah, there should be small particles in it from the matcha that’s in it. In fact, that’s likely to happen with most japanese teas since the leaves are delicate and likely to be broken up either in the processing or in transit [especially depending on the type of sencha]. Just because something’s got some ground up leaf in it doesn’t equate to matcha, though. Fukamushi sencha is more broken up because of the processing so there might be small particles in it – but it isn’t matcha, really. High quality matcha powder is grown differently.

@mlc I had to go grab my packet to look at it and originally thought that the little brown things were rice, but on closer inspection in mine it looks like it’s actually grated yuzu rind. So I guess that our respective vendors were correct in switching this to sencha in their listings. The leaves also look like more of an asamushi sencha [though I can’t confirm this]. Sorry, I’m still new-ish to the Japanese green tea game and I’m kind of nerding out on information. I had to share.

mlc

Aha. According to Wikipedia, Ryokucha is just Japanese for “green tea.”

takgoti

Pweh, no, you’re right. Sorry, I’ve got Samovar on the brain. That’s what their ryokucha is. I don’t think that extends to the general tea world [I think there’s another name for genmaicha with matcha, but I’m not familiar with it] so that’s my bad. The rest of the information should be legit, though. So that explains why Samovar changed their name [to avoid confusion]. I’m not sure why Rishi did, except to say that maybe it’s for specificity sake.

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52
drank Jasmine Bloom by Adagio Teas
41 tasting notes

I think Adagio sent me one of these for free at some point, because I don’t remember buying it. Anyway, it’s very pretty of course and brews into a reasonable if mild jasmine green tea.

I feel no need to buy more of these, but there was nothing wrong with it either.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 6 min, 15 sec
Cofftea

I really wish you could buy these individually.

mlc

Cofftea, maybe if you place an order for something else and ask nicely they will send you one?

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hi there. I live in New York, where I (among other things) develop websites.

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