245 Tasting Notes
Cold brew sip down.
I think this was a mistake. The roasted flavor is dominant and this is not the kind of flavor I like in a cold drink at all. I though at first there was an almost raisiny like aftertaste, but that was only brief and hasn’t showed up again.
Now its just all roast.
Sample from my most recent order.
I’ve failed taking notes on this tea in so many different ways.
A tried it first a couple days ago. It was busy and scattered and I never managed to pay enough attention to it to be able to say much.
There’s a flavor that kind of reminded me of roasted, but def not actually roasted. Kind of a warmth to it that I would almost expect from a black, only its not.
I tried it again today and how am I out already? Wow.
And guess what? Yep, another one of those scattered, distracted days where nothing seems to come together for me.
I will say that while there were some interesting flavors the first time I tried it it seemed much harsher this time around and those interesting flavors seemed to be missing. I had been hoping I’ve be able to take a little more time with it and put some names to them. Alas, none of that managed to happen.
I’d been wanting to try an Oriental Beauty and jumped on the chance since I was already making a Whispering Pines order and there one was.
Fresh and hot, it has an almost camphor or eucalyptus vibe going for it in both scent and flavor. That’s not quite right, but these are the descriptors that first came to mind. As I sipped more, maybe this is more woody than anything else?
Really surprised me as most descriptions I have read of this type of tea are more sweet/floral/fruity. I don’t get these flavors at all. Not anywhere near even remotely close.
As it cools, the wood comes out even more. It is drying in the mouth, though I would not call it harsh in any way.
Second steep the wood has calmed down a little, but still there. I’m also actually getting a little bit of a sweet note in the back end of the sip maybe. However this seems to fade as the tea cools. Woody and maybe a little bit earthy flavor is what’s standing out now.
Been a while since I made a note so thought I should do another.
The sweet raisin note really stood out for me today, which I am coming to adore. That makes such a wonderful combination with the warm mellow cinnamon.
I wish I could have spent a little more time with it, but yay CrowdStrike made sure that wasn’t going to happen.
Sip down of this sample.
I really noticed that burnt sugar like scent in the steeping leaves and in the brew itself. Flavor kind of has it as a vibe, though leans more towards that sliced bread.
I’m almost sad its gone. I’m glad I had enough to really give it a chance to stand on its own instead of trying to compare to others.
Adding to the possible rebuy list.
I’ve had this a couple more times. One thing that really stood out to me, once I had time to pay attention, was the sweetness. Its not in the sip, but after I swallowed, a sweet flavor stated to build like up from my throat to my mouth. Fascinating sensation, a returning sweetness.
It also resteeps well. Got something like 6-8 resteeps out of these leaves yesterday and it was till going well.
I’m really pleased I’ve been enjoying this as much as I have. I need to up my rating.
Trying again.
Today I am detecting what I think is a roasted scent and flavor. Not too heavy, but its certainly present. I think there is something else though that I’m am just struggling to name.
Astringency comes in hot and heavy as the tea cools.
Additional steeps have lighter roasted flavors, but its still there.
