1186 Tasting Notes
YAY my Della Terra order came yesterday, as did my teacups from Verdant! Will try to put some pics up later :) oh and I also tried the Papa Bear’s Hibernation Blend from DT but I couldn’t find it in the database! Might have to try to add a new tea lol.
So I have this tea again! Hurrah! It’s still excellent, lemony and sweet and caffeine free, which I need for my barrage of finals in the coming weeks (caffeine will just increase my anxiety too much, however, going to have a Yixing session later today anyways haha). The lemon is light and sugary today, maybe because I only steeped it for 4 mins, and usually I steep rooibos for 5. Still delicious though!
So happy I have this back in stock! Probably my favorite or second favorite rooibos tea! Oh, and upping rating due to that fact!
Preparation
This is my project companion today. Ugh I am very sick of writing trying to market a product that doesn’t exist yet! Haha, anyways, tea tea tea..buttery, creamy, lovely, and caffeine boost to get me focused. Pretty good, and hit the spot for me to get to work. Now I’m getting super hungry though, the boyfriend is making an epic dinner of meatballs and things..it smells amazing!
Oh, and see previous notes on this tea for details. Also, steeping for 5 mins was quite nice today.
Preparation
Having a cup of this today because I haven’t had it in ages since I had a really blargh bitter cup. It smells quite sweet and licorice today, so I don’t know how it will go. Also lots of bits floating that made it through the steeper lol. Oh well, trying to finish up the bag so I can make room for when my new teas arrive!
ETA: The lower steeping time helped a lot. This is a sweet little cuppa that is warming and not too bad today. Still not my favorite due to all the fennel, but I will be able to finish the cup at least :)
Preparation
So even though today was the last day of classes for this term, I still have an extensive business plan assignment due on Friday. Sigh. So since I had 2 matchas and green tea earlier, I am still full of too much alertness. So out comes this tea, so I can actually maybe sleep tonight. See previous notes on this tea :)
Preparation
This is my first matcha! Haha, of all my black Friday/Cyber Monday orders, this was the second last one I placed, and it’s the first to arrive! Yay for fast shipping :) so yes I tore open this box and was super excited to see all the matcha, unfortunately, only one pack is for me and the others are for Christmas presents! Also got 2 whisks and 2 scoops for the gifts as well, not one for myself yet. But onto my first experience with my matcha, the blueberry one!
Here is the type I ordered:
Blueberry Matcha
Size : Small
Matcha Quality: Classic (Basic Grade)
Matcha Type: Regular Matcha
Flavor: Robust
So upon opening the package, BLUEBERRY!! SOO MUCH BLUEBERRY! I was amazed at how intense it was! That must be the robust flavoring haha! It smelled ridiculously berry like, and I was very excited to try it out.
So now here is where my attempt begins. It was not the best attempt, but bear in mind, it is my first, and I didn’t really know what I was doing, and also didn’t have the proper tools haha. So I measured out roughly .5 tsp (used a baking spoon) and put it in my metal strainer to remove clumps. I put it in a plastic blue bowl, and got out my kitchen whisk. It was a big big for the task to be honest, and I really wish I had ordered a whisk for myself! I boiled water, and let it cool for a bit, then added roughly 3 oz to the bowl.
And then I tried to whisk…lol, it didn’t really work! I got a few bubbles, but I’m pretty sure it was more my unorthodox (and not very good) whisk/technique that caused this.
But I persevered with my task. And finally i thought hey I’ll just try it like this. So I put it in my cup, added some more water and a bit of sugar.
And it actually isn’t too bad! For a first attempt, it tastes pretty decent :) it’s a lovely green color, LOVE IT, and it smells like a blueberry, and what I’m tasting is a muted blueberry (and a real blueberry at that, fresh and juicy!) and some green teaness. I confess, I haven’t actually tried plain matcha before trying this, so I’m not really sure what matcha tastes like. But overall, this is pretty good, which means it must be AWESOME if I actually knew how to prepare it right!
Oh, and I feel a caffeine buzz coming on, probably contributed to this long review hehe. I am so excited to experiment with this! I want to try it cold, with milk, smoothies, everything! I can’t wait to get this perfected. I will hold off on rating this until I get my technique down.
ETA: I had to try it again haha, so after finishing my cup with water, I tried again using a ceramic bowl and a bit less water when whisking this time. YAY I got some bubbles to stay!! And I added it to hot milk with a bit of sugar and it’s really good this way too! :D
I have joined the world of Matcha! :)
Sounds like you did pretty well for your first attempt! I will say that after using a fork for several months before finally purchasing a whisk, there is a vast difference between the texture of the matcha produced by stirring with a fork and that produced by whisking with a bamboo whisk, and I believe if someone is to buy only one tool for matcha preparation, a proper whisk is the tool they should purchase. You can easily measure out an almond size portion using any spoon, you can easily use a cereal bowl in place of a chawan… but a chasen makes a big difference in my opinion. But, it is good that you found a way to enjoy it without the tools, because they aren’t absolutely necessary.
Yeah I definitely was going to grab a whisk for myself when I ordered, but it was already getting up there for price haha. I will see how much I like it, and if it’s a hit, I can get one at my local DAVIDsTEA in the future :D I actually just tried making a hot latte with it and this time whisking I actually got some bubbles to stay! Only difference was I used a bit less water and a ceramic bowl instead of plastic, something made it better! It’s so much fun :D
Yeah, I am not a big fan of plastic when it comes to tea … the ceramic makes a difference, if only in my head! :)
Haha I don’t think it’s in your head! It definitely helped the frothing, lol and now the whole apartment smells like blueberries! I love it!
Mmmmm having this tea again…I don’t ever want to finish my bag of this…it is slowly nearing the bottom. :( I love this green tea, brothy and amazing, I always feel like I’m having some delicious soup when I drink this! Off to have another few cups, see previous notes on this delight :)
Again drinking this out of my timolino, it’s soooo cold out today so this is hitting the spot. I actually am finding it prefer this in the mug than from a cup at home. I should however mention that I brew it in a basket in a cup and then transfer it to my travel mug. Yay I might actually finish my massive 50 g bag lol – I bought it back when I didn’t realize in store at Davids you can get smaller sizes.
Also, reallly hoping some of my black Friday orders arrive today, I hate waiting :/
Preparation
I made that mistake. I bought a full 100g on impulse but I find this is a tea I need to be in the mood for… I’ll empty it eventually!
Haha yes for me it smelled so much better in the store so I bought a lot! So happy I’m growing to enjoy it more :)
Yeah I learned that lesson – don’t buy tea based on the smell. :| But it’s a good thing this one grows on you. I like it when my stomach is upset too.
Yeah it’s very good for that too, it must be the ginger in it. It’s funny, I ordered some teas from DAVIDsTEA online and smelled them – smelled terrible! But I love the taste of them!
Brr the hot water heater is off/broken in the bfs apartment building … And – 21 C out. So I made a cup of this first thing to attempt to warm up. Excellent start to Monday, when it’s cold and I can’t shower /sarcasm. At least I have tea to keep my spirits up :) see previous notes on this one.
Preparation
My stomach was in a bad place this afternoon (must have ate something funny) so I made a cup of this tea pronto. It worked! My stomach is returning to calm, and I have a little bit of the giant mug I made of it left. Yay for tea!
Preparation
My vanilla kick continues! Steeped this for around 3 – 3.5 minutes and it is awesome! Lighter and sweeter and there’s a bit more orchid I’m finding. Not as much of that strange melding of flavors I was getting the first time I made it, more just airy and dreamy and deliciousness. I haven’t had this tea in a while, so I’m happy I took it out today. Please see previous notes :)
