218 Tasting Notes
TTB #1
This is an amazing earl grey! Sometimes, with earls, I get this artificial bite of what is supposed to be bergamot flavor. I don’t find that here at all. Just smooth, creamy essence of all the complex notes that make an earl grey exactly what it is. At the same time, the base is pretty bold, slightly astringent, and plain delicious.
I was so excited to find a JusTea tea in the Traveling Teabox as I’ve been wanting to try their teas for so long. Now I will definitely place an order with them at some point, and I will, in fact, add their company name to the
(neverending :P) list of tea companies I would like to order from this year.
Preparation
I believe I got this in my November Amoda box when I wasn’t yet fully immersed into the sea of loose leaf tea. I had it then, but I don’t think I was particularly excited or impressed. But I made it just now again and I can’t believe how sweetly it smells, just like sweet pea. The flavor is also amazing, there’s this lovely sweetness at the beginning of every sip that I can’t put my finger on. It’s like some ripe fruit, but not a citrus – a particularly tasty avocado perhaps?
All I seem to know for sure is that I can’t get enough of it!
I haven’t been leaving a whole lot of notes recently… But it seems I rarely drink anything new nowadays – and definitely not for the lack of it! Perhaps I am attempting sipdowns with some of my favorites and not-so-favorites. Not that they have ever gone to a sipdown level yet.
I adore green oolongs. I am not so sure about the dark ones yet – I mean, I do like them, but when I need a super-comfort tea, I turn to green oolongs usually. This one is delicious and awesome.
I also noticed that I am not too fond of flavored oolongs. I love them plain – although the choice of the word ‘plain’ is pretty misplaced ;) But you guys know what I mean.
I think I might start treating the tasting notes partially as a tea log / tea musings space. I hope noone will mind.
Preparation
I added this sample to my order on a whim, I certainly did not have any crazy expectations about it. I must say, however, that I absolutely love it and I will be definitely getting a tin of it at some point.
I don’t know where green tea is in the first infusion, it is certainly hiding somewhere under the greatest, juiciest, most delicious lemon flavor. It is so yummy and good, I just can’t get enough of it.
Some nice astringency is revealed in the second steep, on which I am right now, but the lemon flavor is still there, and still strong. Wow. Normally I would be a little upset about flavoring completely killing base tea but here it just works too damn well! And since I’m not an expert (yet!) on green teas, I don’t know, perhaps the taste of gunpowder merges exceptionally well with lemon flavor so that you can hardly tell them apart?
Oh well, it doesn’t matter, onto “My fav” list with it!
Preparation
The weather is evil and I am so glad I don’t have to go to work today!
And now I’m sipping this warming tea. The spices here are very unassuming and what you mostly get upfront is the biting bitterness of the base. The bitter stays with you for a while, but it’s kind of pleasant and adds to this tea’s complexity. I am guessing that it would taste great with honey and milk but I rarely add anything to my teas, so I’m having it plain.
Preparation
I think this one probably really does need milk and some sweetening to do it justice as H&S bills it as something to make chai from. That said, I drank it as a chai and found it only very mildly spiced so it wasn’t my favorite chai, even though I got a lot more tea taste from it than some chais.
This is one that we like at work but made with milk and sugar. Haven’t tried it plain.
It smells like Big Red gum… which does not necessarily belong to “top coolest things to smell like” in my book, even though I love cinnamon. And then, the flavor itself – it’s ridiculously sweet! Of course I know they claim it to be sweet and so I should’ve taken a hint but I saw so many descriptions of teas that claim they are sweet and they were only remotely so… This one is upfront, midfront and backfront sweet. And there’s this Big Red presence again. It is different from usual cinnamon notes, it’s just like some kind of powdered, artificial, weird cinnamon that I am not so fond of.
I am not really sure if I like it (at all). While I can see how some might be loving this tea, it’s just too sweet for me. I will try it again, definitely, and perhaps I will be in a better mood for it then?
Preparation
I love this tea, but I can tell that it’s fairly polarizing—few people feel neutral towards it.
It seems like it! I thought I would like it a lot, actually. It’s good I got only a sample. I hope the friend for whom I got a tin of this won’t hate it though ;D
hmmm… I wonder if this is anything like Cinnamon Rooibos Chai from David’s Tea. While I normally like cinnamon, I do not like this type of cinnamon. It’s in your face cinnamon and it’s sweet… in a weird sort of way. It’s not the honey they advertise in the ingredients… it’s something else… I hate it, my oldest daughter loves it, so I keep it in the house for when she visits (she has a bag of her own at home).
Ever since I tried that one I’m deathly scared of cinnamon in teas… especially if they take part of the name of the tea.. lol
I remember really liking this one, but it is a VERY strong cinnamon. I think I liked it because I’d had other cinnamons that had other flavors in them that made for too much going on or that I just didn’t like.
Kamyria, I don’t know the DT’s tea you mention, but I would venture to guess from your description that it is this kind of cinnamon. I am sure Harney & Sons made sure to blend this tea from the finest ingredients and I can’t say anything bad about this tea’s quality obviously. But the flavor just wasn’t for me.
Morgana, I can definitely see how somebody would love it. It’s a very pronounced tea “with character”, but it’s the kind of character that, just like keychange said, you can either love or hate (or at least dislike).
Oh, Queen Catherine, I am so glad I got a tin of you and not a mere sample! Because I must admit that you have become the magic morning black of my absolute first choice since my first cup of you. You are witty, charming and sweet and I hope I will never have to experience the darkness of your absence. Your servant forever, Kat.
Preparation
I got this as a free sample with my Happy Bag order… And WOW, holy shmoly, it’s COOKIE alright! I am not able to say more about it :O
Preparation
Ooh, ooh! Pretty good! I think I am totally getting this tea this morning. The body is extremely rich, lovely bitterness hits me on the head, which obviously wakes me up. Aroma turns out to be persistently sweet, at least this time. Every sip is extremely enjoyable. I think there’s a great black tea lover hidden inside of me!
It’s like 2:40 PM but it’s morning for me. It really is. My assam tea understands it.
