141 Tasting Notes

68
drank Lemon Cream Pie by DAVIDsTEA
141 tasting notes

This had a creamy, sweet, buttery fragrance. Overlying the more subtle notes was a strong, zesty lemon.

Once prepared, the fragrance lost some definition and just the lemon remained. This was true of the flavor as well. The lemon in this was not only strong, but it tended towards tart. It was like drinking hot lemon juice.

This would be perfect with some honey for soothing a cough or taking the edge off a cold so I might keep some of this around just for medicinal purposes.

Preparation
Boiling 6 min, 0 sec

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38

This is another tea from this purveyor that has an incredible fragrance but the flavor is a off.

It smells sweet and strongly of berries, cinnamon and a touch of brown sugar. Once prepared, this takes on more of a tart, green fragrance.

The initial flavor was sour and tart. It eventually developed a bit of spiciness from the cinnamon and there was a subtle, lingering strawberry aftertaste. The tea in this, however, was completely obliterated. The lack of any tea presence and the initial sourness made this a mediocre cup for me.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 4 min, 30 sec

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47
drank Cafe Mocha by DAVIDsTEA
141 tasting notes

This tea smells great. When you open the bag, there’s a heavy almond presence then roasted coffee. There are huge pieces of each mixed into the tea.

The tea brews to almost black. The initial fragrance was “burnt” and the first sip was extremely bitter. I almost threw the whole cup out. However, I let it sit a minute and it started to behave. None of the almond ever came through, but the coffee and chicory made this pretty bold. So bold, that you could never tell there was any tea in the cup.

As the cup sat, the bitterness returned so there’s a finite window in which this tea is enjoyable.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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83
drank More Cookies by Shui Tea
141 tasting notes

Ho Ho Ho-my-gosh! I bet this is what the kitchens at the North Pole smell like!

When you first open the bag, there’s a really complex fragrance that’s a mix of butter, sugar, lemon and underlying spice. I imagined just a touch of cherry as well. These blend together to be reminiscent of sugar cookies and ginger snaps.

Once brewed, the fragrance takes on a totally different profile. There’s still a subtle sugar-savory play, but the vegetative and malty fragrance of the tea itself actually comes through. Nice!

The flavor is an initial combination of butter and spices. This fades quickly so you can pick up the malt and mossy taste of the tea. There’s a final warmth left behind by the spice. As the cup cools, the initial baked goods aroma returns.

This is the last of three limited holiday edition teas that I recently purchased from Shui Tea. I’m glad I decided on a larger bag of this one! (I wish I had also bought a larger bag of Cinnamerry Christmas- aka apple pie a la mode. Maybe Santa will remember?)

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 15 sec

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68
drank Caramelo Rápido by Shui Tea
141 tasting notes

This is one of Shui Tea’s best sellers so I had to try it.

The fragrance is very mellow, woody and vanillin. The appearance is “earthy” but there was a bit of color which surprised me.

The taste was a bit unusual. As expected from the name, there were notes of caramel and vanilla. However, I got a strong impression of toasted bread and it was also slightly peppery. All of the flavors are very subtle which made me think at first that this wasn’t very flavorful. However, the lingering caramel aftertaste which seems to become progressively more pronounced was pleasant.

If you like mate, I can see how this would be a great variation. The roasting gives it a smooth flavor and the touch of caramel adds a hint of sweetness.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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86

I opened the pouch, stuck my nose in and took a big whiff. Oh, mistake…singed my nose hairs. The cinnamon in this is bordering on atomic! OK, let the bag sit open a bit and try again. Ahhhh, sweet apples, berries and spicy cinnamon!

This tisane brewed to a really festive cranberry color. The fragrance mellowed out and became fruity with a hint of cinnamon. While drinking, the taste kept shifting between tart, sweet and spicy. This really keeps your attention!

What I liked best was the lingering apple-cinnamon taste. The apple in this was exceptionally good. It seemed really fresh and had a very clean apple flavor. There was a creaminess to this too so it was like hot apple pie a la mode.

Maybe Shui Tea can come up with a second name for this and keep it year round?!

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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73
drank Festivus Miracle by Shui Tea
141 tasting notes

When I first opened the bag, I was surprised by the size and quantity of the dried orange peel and chocolate nuggets. The fragrance of both the orange and chocolate was really strong.

Once prepared, everything mellowed and blended really well. You could taste the underlying rooibos and the orange was prominent. The chocolate became more noticeable as the cup cooled. I actually liked this best right before it reached room temperature.

As an added benefit, the pot was left sitting in the kitchen for a few hours prior to being washed and now most of the house smells like orange and chocolate!

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
takgoti

Until you pin me, Festivus is not over!!!

Stephanie

Having a Seinfeld flashback! Lol at “Festivus”!

Paul M Tracy

Shui Tea needs to make one named “Serenity Now”

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87

I received a sample of this from LiberTEAS and I’m really appreciative.

From the name, I thought this would be predominantly floral in character. Upon opening the packet, my first impressions was “wow, not what I expected.” The fragrance is strong of peach, almonds, apricots and dates with very subtle chocolate notes. The leaves are tightly curled.

Upon steeping, the leaves unfurled fairly well and yielded a deep gold tea. The fragrance became more coconut and date and that sense of chocolate was still there. In flavor, I picked up date, coconut, apricot and honey.

Oolongs continue to surprise me with how varied they can be in flavor and overall complexity. This is a great example.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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41

This doesn’t even really qualify as a tisane- it’s trail mix! It’s made of huge pieces of dates, raisins, dried banana chips and nut bits. This may also be one of the most expensive products I’ve rated here on Steepster so far. A 25g pouch was only enough for 2 modest cups.

The fragrance was sweet and nutty. There was only one banana chip in the pouch, so that didn’t contribute much. The dates really stood out.

Once prepared, this made a drink that was essentially a fruit soup. The liquid was a light muddy brown. With the nuts floating in it, you don’t want to look at it too long.

The taste wasn’t too bad. The dates were sweet and the slight oil from the nuts gave it a bit of creaminess. There was a very faint note of banana, but I would have liked it much stronger.

Overall, I was a little disappointed with this one. The flavor wasn’t as balanced or deep as I would like and it was a bit expensive. I guess it was fun to try it once but I won’t be reordering.

Preparation
Boiling 7 min, 0 sec
Cofftea

Yeah I have different categories for tea: tea (true), herbals, and fruit tisane… and I even distinguis some herbals (like ginger) that has no liquor to speak of. I call those. “waters” (i.e. ginger water). You used 13g for just one modest cup? Hot dang! What qualifies as modest?

Paul M Tracy

The cups were about 6oz each. The recommendation was 1 1/2 tsp per cup. There was only 4tsp in the 25g bag so I used it all since I wouldn’t have been left enough for a third cup. This was really heavy from the dates and nuts.

Kristen

I agree with your post… I ordered this with my last davids order and was disappointed! I was surprised that I had used most of the bag at one time.

takgoti

Maybe eating it would reap more favorable results?

Paul M Tracy

I have to admit that I did nibble on a few of the cooked date bits.

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72
drank Jessie's Tea by DAVIDsTEA
141 tasting notes

I don’t have a lot of experience with lavender as a flavoring component so I was going into this one blind.

The fragrance is strong of coconut and very subtly minty. Since mint isn’t listed as an ingredient, I’m guessing that’s how I was interpreting the lavender.

When prepared, there was a faint slick at the top of the cup which I’m guessing was coconut oil. There was a creaminess to this and the coconut flavor was very strong. I picked up a very faint wintergreen or peppermint note and a tart-floral finish. There’s a lingering coconut aftertaste.

I received a sample of this with my recent order. It definitely isn’t something I would have selected on my own but I was pleasantly surprised by how good this turned out.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Michelle Butler Hallett

Thanks for the post, Paul. I’ve been considering this tisane for a while, but the coconut made me hesitate. I’ve enjoyed the effect of cococut in David’s Cocoa Paradiso, so I might try Jessie’s next.

Michelle Butler Hallett

I find some red rooiboses, especially when super-fresh, give off a slight mintiness.

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avid reader and fitness freak – my tasting notes are brutally honest and range from raving fanaticism to snarky *please don’t take them personally*

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Scottsdale, Arizona

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http://flavors.me/paulmtracy

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