1186 Tasting Notes

86

I thought I had reviewed this, but I guess not! This was a blend of the month tea back this summer. I have since discontinued the club, but I have a giant backlog of teas that I need to finish off from previous months.

I haven’t been paying enough attention to give this a detailed review, but essentially this is floral, jasmine and sweet. My favorite jasmine white tea is the base, and its typical linen and sugared sweetness is present, perhaps even enhanced by the vanilla. I agree that this being a ‘vanilla’ tea is a mismomer, but I do like the mild sweet flavor that smooths and softens the myriad of florals. To me, this reminds me of my beloved Eight Treasures Yabao but with a different base :)

Overall, this is a lovely summery tea if you like florals and jasmine. I love these things when they are done right, and I love how this blend tastes. For me, this is a good one, as it’s to my liking :)

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82
drank Apple Custard by DAVIDsTEA
1186 tasting notes

Second at work sipdown of the day. This one is delicious today, I added in some tasty honey and it is quite sweet and smooth. This actually might be my favorite cup of it so far, and it’s the last one! Unsure if I will re-stock, as some days it seemed very herbal and not very sweet and custard like. See previous notes on this tea!

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82

Quick at work sipdown! This one took FOREVER to finish, it is a good tea, but I was getting quite tired of it near the end. However the final cup was quite tasty, even with the under boiling water from the hot water tap at work. See previous notes on this tea!

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89
drank Golden Earl by Verdant Tea
1186 tasting notes

Happy International Tea Day!

I am drinking this splendid EG on this international tea day. It is bright and fresh and also chocolatey from the base on this bright Monday morning. It’s been a decent day so far, mostly drove around as I had to go to a site visit in the far south end of town. The morning goes by fast when I am out of the office for most of it lol! And now I will finish up this tea and hopefully get in a few sipdowns this afternoon at work!

This one is still awesome. See previous notes!

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81

Unexpected sipdown tonight, as my allergies are acting up horribly so I needed something with nettles haha. I also very nearly overcaffeinated with my yixing session today, so herbal was in order :P here’s hoping I feel better soon! Oh, and this tea will probably make its way into my cupboard again, the rosy herby taste reminds me of summer and I quite like it :) however many more sipdowns to do before I buy anymore tea! See previous notes on this tea!

ETA – figured out why allergies are bad. I had turned the air filter to the ‘germ’ setting to remove some of the cold virus particles floating around (hopefully) but that is the lowest setting and doesn’t do much for allergies. Also, I sprinkled cat litter on the icy sidewalk this morning and the container is chilling upstairs with me, and cat litter is DEATH on the lungs. Gahh.

Miss Starfish

Awr, poor thing! Hope you feel better soon :(

mrs.stenhouse12

I am much better today :) I washed all the bedding so there actually isn’t cat hair on it and I slept wonderfully, and I am going to try to keep the cat out of the bedroom from now on lol. He thinks he owns the place, so that might be difficult…lol, even though he’s hypoallergenic I still get a bit sneezy from him. The bigger culprit was the cat we cat-sat a few weeks ago…I’m sure that hair is still kicking around, and I am very allergic to it :(

madametj

The cheap/generic litter typically has only one ingredient: bentonite clay. Maybe get some one that juts for spreading on the sidewalk. It’s natural and better for the environment too.

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95

Mmmmm. So I re-seasoned my yixing yesterday with this lovely tea! It took a couple long boilings to take out the oolong flavor from the yixing, so I hope it’s all out now, and if not, meh, it will add a nice sweet note to my pu’erh haha. This pot is now officially dedicated to shu!

So I just gave my new tea pet his first rinse too in this session haha hoping to slowly season him over time too, he is a small pig fyi. This actually is the first time I’ve had Noble Mark brewed up in small quantities rather than a mug! And let me tell you – it is delicious!!! The lovely woody notes are stronger, but the smoothness keeps it from getting overwhelming. There is a certain creaminess about this too. I can’t wait to have this tea all day in my little pot, it’s off to a good start! And yes there is a sweet aftertaste, not sure if that is remnants of the oolong or from this tea, but regardless, it tastes lovely!

Guess I will be getting a cake of this in the near future to continue to feed my yixing pot :D

Here’s a link of the setup:
http://instagram.com/p/wmlk_NusG2/

caile

Cute little piggy! :)

mrs.stenhouse12

Thanks :) he is supposed to spit water apparently but he just bubbled a bit this time haha

caile

hahaha, hopefully he’ll be spitting soon then! :)

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89
drank Mint Earl Grey by Thay Tea
1186 tasting notes

I will finally review this tea! I have drank it quite a few times, especially on our trip, but haven’t written a note on it yet. Well, tonight is the night! I have been sipping shu all day while re-seasoning my pot (it’s done now, just drying, hopefully it worked!). I need a little caffeine break, and this is such a delicious tea I had to have it again tonight.

The thing that sold me on this tea in Ucluelet’s tea shop Thay Tea is that it is a mint EG. Just contains spearmint, peppermint and bergamot! A wonderfully simple concept but not one that I had seen before. So I smelled it, and was blown away by the freshness of it. I mean, citrusy bergamot and mint? It was SO FRESH. Mmmm. Smelling the bag now takes me back to the west coast. I’m happy I have that memory attached to this :)

I brewed this for around 2 minutes. The liquor smells not quite as minty when steeped, but definitely still there, and the bergamot is not overpowering. As for the flavor, this is so fresh. Mostly mint yes, but the bergamot adds this brightness and livens it up from a straight mint blend by adding citrus notes. SO REFRESHING. I bet this would be amazing iced too! This helps clear out my sinuses too, and it makes me happy :) a lovely combo!

Overall, I am so happy I picked up 50g (smallest in-store size) of this tea. It is one I will drink quite frequently for the memories and flavor. The fact that it is caffeine free means it will also get drank frequently. If you like mint and want to try something a bit different, this is for you. Tasty and fresh!

Flavors: Bergamot, Citrus, Mint

Fjellrev

I love how you were able to visit these rural tea shops on the Island! I haven’t even done so since I don’t have a vehicle haha.

mrs.stenhouse12

Awe, well hopefully you get to go to them at some point! We had a rental car so we went everywhere put a lot of miles on it haha. Luckily they do have online ordering so you can still try them :)

Fjellrev

Smart plan renting! I only have my learner’s so no can do, but regardless, I’m sure it must have been a nice experience going to these places in person, smelling the teas, etc. It must have been a ton of fun!

mrs.stenhouse12

Yeah we had to pay the young renters fee but luckily we still could or our trip would have been much less eventful haha, well you will be able to go to them all in a couple years at least! It was quite fun :)

Fjellrev

I wish I were that young! I could have been getting my license for well over ten years now but kept brushing it off since I always took the bus in Edmonton. Now that I’m here, I just do the same thing.

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‘Tis the weekend, and I decided I want to have many pu’erh sessions today, so I chose a tuocha for this task. It freezing rained here last night so the roads are a skating rink, therefore I am staying inside all day. Oh, and I’ll be worrying away about the bf, who got called out to work 3 days early and is currently in a cab on the terrible roads heading to the airport. Hope he makes it there in one piece! :(

Anyways, back to this tea! I am guessing this is the same sample I had as Tealizzy, as it is similar to the 2011 Lao Cang tu on Mandala’s site, but just brown writing rather than multi colored. I can’t find a year on mine, but at least it is a Lao Cang! So I did a 15s rinse and I bit the bullet and did a 1 minute steep as recommended. I always worry it will be too strong haha. The tea is super dark, and unfortunately I am writing this review as the cup has already cooled, so there isn’t much of a scent, just a clean, light smell.

As for the flavor, this is a satisfying pu’erh. It’s not crazy caramelly or bright or musty or woody like others, it’s a bit nondescript, but definitely not difficult to drink. It is SUPER smooth, a tiny bit savoury, a bit of a mushroom savouriness actually. There is a mild brown sugar note blending in nicely too, and a bit of a hay aftertaste. It’s tough to describe because there aren’t any stand out flavors, but it is just good. Quite good actually! My stomach also feels wonderful, and I have a sleepy calmness about me, not strong cha qi, just a light calming sensation.

Overall, to me this is a really good tuocha, even if it is not overly distinct. I like that even with the minute steep, it is smooth and soft, not overbearing, not too strong, and no caffeine jitters. This will be a perfect one to steep throughout the day! And don’t let my mention of it not being distinctive scare you off. I enjoy that it is just a lovely, smooth flavor, with everything blending together into an excellent tea.

ETA – I have also made a big decision…I am going to re-season my yixing pot. I hardly ever drink oolong anymore mostly due to the caffeine effects, so I am seasoning it with Noble Mark, a shu that I have enjoyed for a while now and doesnt give me negative caffeine effects. In hindsite, I definitely should have waited until I was further into the tea scene before seasoning a yixing, but I adore the shape of this one and it truly is my most beautiful piece of teaware. I realize this may not work with my yixing, but it will be better than it sitting in the cupboard forlornly while I brew my shus in a gaiwan lol. It needs to be used! Wish me luck :)

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92

I feel the start of a cold coming on..probably due to the warmer weather that is incoming, messing with my system..so I am going to drink this and related ginger heavy teas all day to ward it off. And lots of water. Luckily it is just a sore throat and irritated nose right now, so it could even just be my allergies acting up. But I’m not taking any chances :P this is a delicious tea anyways, not like I need an excuse to drink it! Gingery, warm, spicy and a tasty pu’erh base..yum. No honey in it today haha. See previous notes on this tea!

Cheri

feel better!

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85

Finally trying this mini tu! I really have not felt like reviewing new teas lately (aka all last week lol), but I will try to be better this week. I still have so many to review that I picked up on vacation! Ah, all in good time. Tonight, I was ridiculously craving a latte with eggnog lol, but my stomach doesn’t do well with milk, so I thought I’d be nicer to it and have some pu’erh instead. And I have so many mini tuochas to get to, might as well have one tonight.

This one has a barn, hay-like scent to it. Definitely like wet hay in a barn haha. I do not mind this earthy scent, mostly due to my new love of pu’erh, although I can see it being off-putting to some. I did a quick 15s steep as recommended, then a 1 minute steep. The tuocha is just starting to break apart at the end of this steeping.

The liquor is dark and rich and smells clean and caramelly. Mmmm, man I needed this tonight. As for the flavor, ahh this is so good right now. A ton of caramel flavors in this one! A clean earthiness, a tinge of smoke, maybe leather at the end of the sip, but this melds with the sweetness to lend a sugar like sensation on my tongue. I’m totally picturing caramellized, slightly burnt brown sugar.

Overall, this is rich, thick, and immensely satisfying. I feel like I am not quite adept enough to determine many flavours in pu’erh yet other than caramel and earth notes haha, but this is certainly enjoyable, even if I’m missing (or mis-interpreting) some of the flavours. Exactly what I needed tonight!

ETA – I did the second steeping for 1 min as well, and the liquor is super dark like coffee. I was worried it would be pretty strong, but it is still awesome. More pronounced leather and some wood notes and not quite as smooth, but still delicious. And its also making me quite sleepy and relaxed :)

Flavors: Brown Sugar, Caramel, Leather

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Profile

Bio

Hello all, I am an electrical engineer (read:NERD :D), who is a bit obsessed with tea! I discovered loose tea in 2011, DAVIDsTEA in 2012 and it took off from there. I really started drinking/enjoying tea because it was excellent to take to class in the morning and because I can’t handle coffee! (unless it’s a really good cappuccino or latte, or decent decaf haha)

I enjoy a variety of teas – current favorites being ripe and raw pu’erhs, chinese black teas and herbal/green rooibos blends. I also enjoy white, green, and oolong teas, although I tend to drink them more in the warmer months. I have also tried matcha and guayusa, but I don’t drink them too often as I am a bit sensitive to caffeine. As a result I don’t drink black teas as often as I used to, but in moderation I can still enjoy a wide variety of teas.

Oh, and I have a severe peanut allergy and try to avoid most other nuts, just to be safe. Limits my tea choices a bit, but that’s ok. However I have tried almonds and found out I can eat them, so I have been trying a few teas with them in them.

mrs.stenhouse12’s rating system
(as of 04/19/13)

95+: Absolute favorite, will try to always have it in stock, and when I don’t I pine over it!
90-94: Awesome teas, will probably purchase again a few times
80-89: Very good tea, may restock at some point
70-79: happy to have tried and will gladly finish, but not restock
60-69: not horrible, but not the best, will finish if I have some though
50-59: not a favorite, probably will have a tough time finishing the bag
-50: yuck. I don’t want to have it ever again.

Location

Canada

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