254 Tasting Notes
Other than the orange element, there is no way I could not tell this is supposed to be like gingerbread. Which is odd because I don’t normally pair orange with gingerbread. But Orange and Ginger is a really good combination. The after taste is wild how much this gives gingerbread vibes. There’s a faint sweetness, but not too much.
As it cools, the flavor becomes significantly more orange and clove with a bit of ginger. Not a fan of the combination of orange and clove.
Second steep, sweet orange and ginger when hot, orange clove when cold.
The feeling of gingerbread has died out as well. I think because the ginger is fading and the orange and clove are standing out more. I could do with more of a hint of orange than the strong orange I am getting. And the clove could go jump off a cliff.
I got excited right after the first steep, but the feeling I got then changes so much as this goes, and its moving into a direction I don’t enjoy.
Not what I initially imagined from reading the ingredients list, though I am still finding this quite enjoyable.
I’m not really getting any pumpkin. The ginger is the predominate flavor. I expected more of a raw ginger flavor, but I think I prefer how it comes across here. The cinnamon is more in the back of the sip than you might expect. Its so common for cinnamon to dominate, but that is not the case. The maple and vanilla are more in the aftertaste, rounding everything out. I don’t think I am getting much in the way of caramel, though it may just be blending with the vanilla and maple.
Overall, I am quite enjoying myself. I’ve been looking for ages for a spiced tea that was neither so strong there was no sign of the tea anywhere nor smacking you in the face with clove. This appears to be filling that niche quite nicely.
Second steep still has a good amount of flavor, though the base is standing out more now. As a flavored tea, this is not unexpected. But still, likely will not go well with my steep the same leaves repeatedly all day method of making tea.
Third steep and I have ruined my sense of smell sniffing all of the new flavored teas I picked up. I’m no longer sure what I am smelling from where at this point and my office is smelling like a craft store at Christmas. But it is confirmed. Two steeps seems to be all this tea can realistically give. I let it go a nearly 10 minutes but the flavor is decidedly anemic at best.
I opened the packet and took a sniff and I immediately thought this is a familiar smell, but not of anything in the ingredients list. I seriously suspected citrusy and floral, but that was not it.
Let it steep for a while, not sure how long because I got distracted, but once I poured it into my cup and took another sniff that familiar scent just stood up and screamed at me. And then I could identify it, the smell of air popped popcorn. Completely unexpected.
The first sip and wow, that was harsh. My sense of bitter is a bit off, but I get the impression that the lemon and orange zest I was expecting is in fact the entire peel including the pith. In fact the ingredient list says peels, not zest. I agree with the description, I suspect this could use a touch of sweetener to help it along. Sadly, I don’t like putting sweeteners into my drinks.
I let it cool a bit (more distractions) and when I came back, that air popped popcorn scent has died down. The flavor isn’t quite as punch in the mouth as it had been really hot, but that orange and lemon pith is still there and its impossible to ignore it.
Some more sipping and I can get a sense of the sweet/sour from the rosehips. That’s actually quite enjoyable. But man, what I am assuming is the pith from the citrus peels is just too much for my tastes. Really a pity since otherwise I’m really enjoying the rest of the flavors.
I am wondering if that bitterness would be mitigated if I tried a cold brew.
2021 Tiltshift
7g mini in my 8oz pot steeped western with boiling water
First steep is very light. I let it steep for longer than I would normally and the ball had barely started to break apart and was still floating on the top.
Flavor is light as expected with an interesting sweetness in the aftertaste that brings to mind fruit, though not a specific fruit. Maybe a bit of a hay flavor as well. Its difficult to say.
Second steep, now the mini has broken up and I’m getting a lot more flavor, though its still delicate. Sweetness is now in the back of the sip as well as in the aftertaste. The maybe hay like flavor is also stronger. The mouth feel has a bit of viscosity. Its not heavy, but it is noticeable.
I’m not as fond of the direction the flavor goes as it cools. It does get stronger and drying and not so much sweetness in the back of the sip. The scent in the cup is absolutely hay like.
I’ve been looking through notes from others to see if they can kick start a vocabulary for what I am tasting. I don’t know if I would agree with cucumber, but maybe green melon might in the aftertaste.
Third steep and loosing flavor now. Dryness is now the dominant sensation and its lost that viscous mouth feel. It literally feels like all moisture is being sucked out of my tongue. Sweetness is down to an aftertaste. Might be some hay in the scent, but flavor is mild. The green melon vibe is also missing in flavor and scent. I don’t think this resteeps well, at least not for western style.
Aroma gives me the impression of cereal. I’m smelling it even as it sits on my desk beside me.
As I’m sipping, there is another scent that comes out stronger than the cereal, but I can’t put a name to it.
I’m having a lot of trouble describing the flavor.
As it cools, that cereal scent dies away. The flavor also becomes a little more harsh I think. Still can’t really describe it.
Second steep. Cereal scent not as noticeable. The other that I can’t identify/name stands out more.
Flavor is definitely better when its hot. Kind of reminding me of a keemum I had once.
By the third steep, flavor had really rounded off and became more muted. Doesn’t have the harsher notes I had noticed in previous steeps.
Sadly this is when work got hectic, its quitting time and its still half full
Well they said that its a hint of cinnamon. I go more with barely perceptible. Maybe not even that.
The base is also not my kind of thing. Its more towards a breakfast type vibe, though not as harsh/brisk.
I may finish up this sample with a cold brew. Might work well.
This note is for the 2024 Moon Waffles sample. I’m too lazy to make a new database entry.
Had this for the first time yesterday, but the day got so hectic I never had a chance to cleanup and post my notes.
I used one square for my 8oz pot. Steeped western style with full boiling water.
First steep and I noticed a lightly sweet aroma that seemed quite pleasant. Flavor was delicate with that hint of sweetness. As it cools, its a little more dry in the mouth with a hint of a flavor that I just can’t quite identify.
Second steep the dryness came out significantly more. I’m not sure if this is the tea itself or because I had broken the square in half to see how easy that might be and so had a lot more leaf fragments.
Still has that delicate sweet flavor. It gives me fruit kind of vibes, though I could not identify any specific fruit type. Maybe also honey notes? This is difficult for me to say since its been a decade since I have tasted honey. The sweetness in the aftertaste gets more pronounced as I go. I still get the hint of another flavor that I can’t quite identify.
The second steep ended up going cold due to meetings. At room temp the sweetness seems to diminish and that unidentified flavor stands out more. Maybe hay? I’m unsure on that. I might just be suggestable after reading the notes of others.
I did try a third steeping, but by then the day was almost over and I didn’t get much of a chance to drink it or think about it.
I’m glad I have enough to try a few more times. Overall I think I am pleased with it, though not yet sure if I am buy a whole cake pleased or not.
Was able to sip down as cold brew. Not anything I would want again however.
Sad. I apparently liked it and I remember Mokalbari from What-cha which is my all-time favorite.
I think its more a not to my tastes kind of thing over it just being bad tea. I was able to drink it fine as a cold brew I think because its more what I’m looking for when I have cold tea. But for hot, its not what I am looking for.
I had this again not long after my first note, but have since been sitting on this for a few months.
Decided to try it again today as I took advantage of black Friday and cyber Monday sales and have a bunch of new teas coming in. So time to clean out some stuff I’m not enjoying.
This time I am getting the florals. They are not over powering, but they do keep making me think of soap.
I’m still not getting any real sweetness, though it might be there a bit in the aftertaste.
I might give this one more try, but its likely going to be decluttered to make room for other things. Soap is just not what I want to be thinking of when I’m drinking tea.
You might try their Gingerbread Festival, it’s very similar but no orange!
Interestingly orange and gingerbread is a seemingly more normal combination in parts of Europe. One of the suppliers we work with sends up German and Danish gingerbread/cookies from Europe every year and the gingerbread almost always has orange in it and is just much fruitier overall.
I’ll have to look into Gingerbread Festival.
My issue with the orange is the combination with clove. Its just a combination that doesn’t sit well with me. As a kid during the winter my mom would put a pot of water on the stone with a cinnamon sticks, a small handful of cloves, and a manky old orange due for the garbage. She did this to add moisture to the dry air and add a nice scent. And at the end of the day, I was usually the one who had to clean out that pot.
So now clove and orange makes me think of manky, stinky, mushy old oranges. :)
It is common here to add orange to the tin or box with gingerbread to soften the cookies. Dunno how it works, but it does.
I love Gingerbread Festival, but I haven’t tried Williamsburg Ginger Cake. I dislike clove except in tiny amounts, so I probably would not like this as well.