Featured & New Tasting Notes

The instructions said to brew the tea for three to five minutes, so I went for four. The flavor was lighter than I expected. Tasty and tropical, but I wasn’t smacked in the face by the flavor. It also had the tiniest bit of astringency on the finish but it wasn’t unpleasant.

It was very nice but not remarkable. Hot it was a tea that I could definitely finish but might or might not reorder it.

And then I iced it.

Full review and photos: https://tealover.net/2015/06/specialtea-teas-organic-caribbean-cooler/

There is nothing I don’t love about this tea. I love the name, love the packaging, love the tea! I don’t drink unflavored teas that often but this tea proves to me that I need to. Such a fabulous tea. Raisin like with malty touches. No astringency. Just a smooth well balanced tea that I have been drinking every day for the past week. So Good!

http://www.cuppageek.com/index.php/2015/06/27/tea-of-the-day-bigfoot-tea-from-wendigo-tea/

http://www.teapots4u.com/

I had the pleasure of visiting this tea shop in person last Saturday. They were about to close and the owner Donna was kind enough to stay a little late to show me around and tell me about her teas. The shop is chock full of vintage teaware and other goodies! Donna was extremely kind to me. She had heard of Steepster but did not realize a few of her teas were already reviewed here! I wish I could have bought more of her teas but she didn’t have any sample sizes so I picked two different packages and then she included a couple of free samples with my purchase. She does her own blending and sources organic teas whenever she can which is super cool. Also she uses locally made chocolate AND gummy bears in some of her teas!

ANYWAY, this herbal tea. I was so curious because the first ingredient is eucalyptus! Not sure I’ve ever had that in a tea before. This tea has a LOT going on. I am actually impressed with how balanced this tastes. None of the strong elements are sticking out. There is a cooling sensation from the mint and eucalyptus. I am a very picky person about my herbals and I am impressed! My only complaint is not really a complaint, more of a personal preference thing. I’m not sure the black tea is adding anything flavor wise and if it were omitted I’d be able to drink this one in the evenings and not worry about the caffeine!

Nice first experience with this tea seller.

This is gonna be a long vent. Pardon my whining, I just need to write :P

Ugh. You ever feel like your tea cupboard owns you?
I keep drinking and sipping down samples, yet somehow my stash never seems to decrease. People give me tea or I break down and make an order(kickstarter 52teas only so far, since black Friday!). Or David’s lures me in with their enticing blue signage… (which only happens every few months and no more than $7-8 at a time. but I do like to keep abreast of their offerings).
I was doing quite well for awhile. And then I don’t know what happened, it just started slipping! eeesh. Without making any purchases at all my cupboard seems to have increased?! I found a bag of tea that I’d forgotten about, and then got a few things as gifts… then the travelling tea box… and voila, cupboard progress destroyed. Sighs.
I so badly wanted to make a new purchase soon… but with my 52teas kickstarter splurge coming in soon (yay for that!) and a few other things from way back… errr that just doesn’t seem feasible. I really need to update with some fresh stuff, most of mine is a bit stale… doesn’t help that I keep drinking all the new stuff first haha. Anyhow. Rant is over.
On the bright side, this is a sipdown!! a rather tasteless one. Seems it lost all flavour even though it was in a box without sun exposure in my cupboard. Bah.

On a personal level… the doc my GP referred me to, who was supposed to call me for an appointment? I was told to call them if I didn’t hear back within two weeks. Except they rarely answer the darn phone. Finally got ahold of them today and guess what? turns out he isn’t accepting patients. GP wasn’t in today, so now I’m back to waiting all over again. Ugh. I just want to get this over with so I can finally move on. Why must it take forever… (I started the process in March. In the meantime I haven’t been able to work).

The mother of one of my Harp students requested tea this morning, so I made a nice big pot of this one. I haven’t been drinking it as much lately, it seems to have lost it’s appeal to me, probably because I tend to like it sweetened a little, and I’m not really sweetening things anymore, or at least not very often. But that isn’t to say I don’t like it, because it’s still pretty tasty!

This batch is from Feb of 2014, so it’s been on my shelf for awhile. I think there is also another bag of it upstairs in my archives, which is probably a little newer, maybe from Fall. I pledge to polish this bag off so I can start on the new one!

Another sample from Happy Earth Tea. This has a very appropriate name because it seems like a bouquet of flowers to me. As others have remarked this isn’t a “black” tea in the traditional sense, it steeps up fairly light similar to a darjeeling. I got a yellow tea liquor color from this. This is a very gentle, uplifting tea with no astringency or bitterness. I get the raisin like sweetness and the nuttiness in this blend. Combined with the floral nose, this is pretty dreamy. I would drink this as an afternoon tea it’s so mild and refreshing. No need for sweetener or milk! Would probably be good iced as well.

I am saving up to get a large order from HET but need to try all my samples first. I think this is going in the “buy” list for me. :)

I am quite fond of Nepali teas. Did you know 10% of Happy Earth’s Nepali teas go to the Ama Foundation? check it out. http://happyearthtea.com/pages/social-partners

So, this was supposed to be posted yesterday, but I was super busy, swamped even, with deciding what I am doing with my life. No really, yours truly might be going on an epic adventure pretty soon! No spoilers yet, because I do not have all the details and such, but I can safely say I am excited and a little scared. Unless something goes drastically wrong (like my computer explodes again) it won’t affect the blog long term, there might be a week or so where I don’t update, but I will be sure to let everyone know ahead of time.

Since I missed my What-Cha Wednesday review, this will be a rare What-Cha Thursday! Today it is time to revisit the country of Malawi with Malawi Bvumbwe Handmade Treasure Black Tea, I was really blow away by their Antler and Peony White Teas, so I am super excited to dive into the Satemwa Estate’s Handmade Treasure Black Tea. For a while I was rather apprehensive about trying new black teas from Africa, a few nasty run-ins with some particularly dirty tasting Kenyan black teas unfairly soured me on the whole continent for a while. Really, quite narrow minded of me, but they were really gross. Anyway, onto more pleasant things, like these lovely twisted dark leaves! The aroma is pretty rich, blending notes of an oak brandy cask with roasted peanuts and yams, and a touch of loam and spice. Something about the way this tea smells reminds me of home, not any homes that I have lived in, but a feel of ‘home’ yes people, this tea smells like a concept to me.

After steeping the leaves (they get rather huge post steeping) and giving them a good sniffing, I am pleasantly surprised by the fruity notes that have now shown up. It has the oak wood and slight earthiness of the dry leaves, but now with a blend of cherries and orange zest with a hint of cocoa, oh yeah, and a spice finish. A little like allspice and a little like nutmeg, with a faint sweetness to go with it. The liquid has a lot more of the spice notes, definitely allspice with pepper, and a tiny hint of nutmeg. There are also strong notes of cocoa and cherry, with just a delicate hint of orange zest and distant flowers.

The tea has a definite briskness to it, and is quite bright, the texture is light and it really livens up the mouth, kinda like liquid sunshine for a morning wake up, without being really overbearing. I am really picky about how brisk and astringent I like my black teas, and not just because they tend to give me a belly ache, I find when they are really intense they are just too overbearing, much like some people find mint too much or flowery teas. I like my black teas (more traditional western style ones, not the delicate Chinese reds) to have just a little bite to them. The taste is both robust and sweet, blending creamy notes of cocoa (bordering between milk and dark) and peanut butter, with earthy notes of sweet potatoes and woody notes of oak. The finish is a delicate mix of cherries and orange zest with a citrus aftertaste that lingers. I feel this tea has the potential to be a really iconic morning tea, proving once again that the Satemwa Tea Estate has some mad skills.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/06/what-cha-malawi-bvumbwe-handmade.html

Revisiting this “gentle” tea built upon Manzhuan material found in the broader YiWu area. Softer and definitely less aggressive taste with a pleasant rather sweet lingering aftertaste. I always enjoy drinking it on a low-key day. Nice big leaves which have remained in-tact in the loosely compressed cake. Golden yellow tea soup with a sip that is not at all bitter and tastes of light stonefruit. The tea becomes a little sweeter with successive brews but it is never “powerfully” sweet. Not an earthy tea but should be considered a sweet tea carefully processed with high quality whole tea leaves.

I am definitely happy with this ff darjeeling sample I got from Happy Earth tea.

I brewed up my whole 5g sample because I was using a tea tumbler for this one. The predominate note I am getting is fruity. I thought peach/nectarine but it has a little bit of pineapple too. There seems to be a slight nuttiness about it as well. Only a hint of astringency in the finish but that might be because I steeped it too long. I did get a 2nd steep out of this that brought forth more pineapple and slight lemony notes.

Wow! I love early spring Dragonwell!

SO SWEET! Nectar of the gods for sure :D

Tin Roof’s Turkish Delight tea looks beautiful. Long twisty black leaves, whole pistachios, sliced almonds, cardamom pods, pink peppercorns. The dry leaf smells lightly spiced and exotic.
Full review and photos: https://tealover.net/2015/06/tin-roof-teas-turkish-delight/

I tried this with hubby last night. I did a rinse of about 5 seconds and then kept this tea at 30 second steeps based on the description.

The first steeps were grassy and had a little “bite”, but not unpleasantly so. It was the same sort I get from Chun Mee, which usually finishes with a late rising sweet note. Hubby said he didn’t notice it, but most reviewers on here mention it and I definitely got it in the first four steeps.

The fifth and sixth steeps were sweeter, lacked the bite, and became ever so slightly creamy. These were my favorite steeps of the evening. Strangely, the sweet aftertaste came in here instead of on the early steeps where I expected it, and it was light and fleeting.

If you like sheng with a little muscle but no real violent tendencies, this could be a hit!

This cold brew was so limey you’d have never know that Stacy blended it in the states…

That’s a bad pun and I know it.

But seriously; it was the most delicious it’s tasted in a long time! Fresh lime with a bit of a peel/zest notes and a lovely damp earthiness. Just a pinch of berry thrown into the mix. Refreshing and delicious! Why can’t every brew of this come out this way?

It felt like… The moment before it rains?

New oolong players, Taiwan Sourcing!

First to review this it seems…

Pretty dark roast, this oolong surprisingly does not overwhelm with “roastiness”, no burnt taste.

The first note I got was cannabis… How do I know what cannabis tastes like? Well…i’ll leave that to your imagination ;-)

Eucalyptus follows….A fresh mouthfeel.

Dried fruit sweetness as well. A caramel feel, thickness in the mouth.

It rendered many steeps.

The liquor is this amazing amber bronze color, it does wear its name pretty well.

A beautiful tea.

I must say I’m very impressed with the quality I have found in Taiwan Sourcing products so far. With Scott Wilson (Yunnan Sourcing) behind it, why am I not surprised?

Good luck to them! I’m officially a fan :-)

https://instagram.com/p/4Koykpwh7u/

https://instagram.com/p/4KpzQRwh-O/

This is a true old arbor gushu puerh tea with a predominantly Yiwu floral flavor and a Menghai base flavor. Leaves and stems are large and thick and this tea steeps fifteen times or more. I used 5 grams of leaf in about 75-100 ml water, and this was too much for me due to a powerful head effect similar to what I experience with hydrocodone. Two cups and I was sweating, foggy headed, and heart palpitations, and had to sleep it off a couple times. Younger people might not need the nap, but one other person has confirmed the painkiller effect to me on his sample.

This tier of tea has layers of things to taste.I got mostly the floral Yiwu, some bitterness and astringency, along with hot pepper, grapes, aspirin, Chinese medicine, Apple vinegar and I don’t mean in a sour way, more that flavor of apples fermenting in wood casks. I’m certain as I continue to drink this tea I will find even more things to taste. The tea seems more bassy than last year’s, a bit more base than bud which to me adds more of those darker notes and rounds out the profile nicely. The painkiller effect is new, I’m certain that it wasn’t in last year’s edition.

I checked with TwoDog and he said the tea is the same arbor as last year, just different leaf of course. This cake would be interesting to see a Chinese medicine doctor try and learn about how it might be used as medicine. I hope to get a full cake myself. This is the best quality, highest tier of puerh tea we can acquire in the west. The best tea, period. I will never find better in my life than this.

A cautionary note for drinkers with heart issues, I believe I would be fine with a dosage of 3G/100ml but no more. You can read more on my blog http://deathbytea.blogspot.com and also take note of the reader comment who experienced a similar effect.

Thank you Rishi for the sample. I had this in a tea bag that was a free sample from Midwest Tea Fest. I won’t give a proper full review with elaborate Gongfu tasting notes (since it’s in a tea bag), but I think that when you’re looking at bagged green teas, this is a great one. The leaves are whole and the flavor is that of authentic Chinese green tea. It’s very vegetal and green tasting with some classic hints of green bean that you’ll sense in a lot of Chinese greens. I don’t typically buy bagged teas, so it’s not one I’d buy again, but It was nice and light, fresh tasting. I’d say this one veers more toward grassy and leafy than toward nutty or earthy, on the green tea flavor spectrum. It’s a good product for a person who likes tea bags… and it came in the nice pyramid shaped mesh tea bag to really give the leaves room to open and expand, which is helpful to the overall flavor. Thanks for the sample, Rishi Tea!

I got this in the mail earlier this week, but haven’t had time to sit down with it yet. I took today off to relax, so it’s a perfect day to spend some time with this tea.

I liked it right off the bat. As the information card notes, it has a sweet tang to it. I decided that this was an apricot sweetness with kind of a sour note, like a sweet and sour flavor. Very interesting! I love when a tea has a unique characteristic that makes me want to come back again. This one has that. The texture is slightly oily, which sounds bad, but it’s kind of how I find good sheng texture thickness. This one isn’t that thick but has that smoothness. It was not hard on my stomach at all, which is also nice. Overall, a very good sheng!

I always hate those long, drawn out posts that go on and on about the different steeps, so I’m going to make this fairly abbreviated and let the pictures speak for themselves.

I gave the pu an initial rinse and dumped it. Then the first steep was 30 seconds. This steep was super dark, a little bitter, notes of leather and tobacco. I decided to dump this one too and go with a shorter steep (15 seconds) this time. The second steep was delicious. Strong dark tea flavor, hints of leather but very pleasant and WHOA is it possible that I already have a tea buzz?

Full review and photos: https://tealover.net/2015/06/special-dark-ripe-puer-2006-mandala-tea/

This sample came to me from MissB, thanks! This tea reminded me a lot of Fauchon’s Chocolate Eclair, but on a black base instead of a dark oolong. A little more robustness to the base, but still a lot of thick milk chocolate flavor and sweetness, presumably from actual chocolate in the blend as well as the cacao nibs I see. This one left some substantial sludge in the bottom of my cup. Nonetheless, still quite tasty. Thanks for sending it along!

It’s been a long time Steepster..I have been pretty busy with life, had a work conference in Toronto last week, lots of events, not much time to have tea, except for a bunch of bagged peppermint last week lol. But I thought I’d log this tea this morning because it’s FRIDAY and I can finally (hopefully) go home and nap and catch up on sleep before my brother’s birthday celebration tonight. This tea is minty and fresh citrus, as usual. Tasty and happy to not have caffeine today, my digestion has been on a rollercoaster from too much eating out the past week and a half…need to eat veggies and avoid tannins for a bit! See previous notes on this tea :)

Oooh, this is tasty. Not quite spicy (heat), more like spicy (flavorful and smooth), with a hint of chocolate and a tiny bit of kick from the … cinnamon? Yes, I like this tea very, very much. Even more so that it came straight from Galway, for less shipping than I ever thought possible.

OH HELL YEAH!
My best friend came over last night and we picked out five pretty high end teas to drink with this included. We only ended up drinking three because we resteeped this tea four different times. This is one sneaky tea,who would of known it was a black tea by tasting it?
Water at 205f poured right over these guys. The lychee is strong and last throughout the steeps.
Now I want to know where I can find me some black pearls without jasmine in them so I can start to play with them.

Oh man this is good!! Another one from the travelling tea box.
At first I was skeptical. Surely this one would be too much for me. But it is super pleasant!
Other reviews are so right. With a splash of milk, it’s just perfect. Spicy, refreshing, and brisk. Quite astringent mind you. My mouth is super dried out feeling.
Still, if I see this in a store, I’m gettin it!!!

Thanks to MissB for this tea! The flavour combination of pineapple, mango, and chili is totally up my alley, and the mango chunks especially caught my eye. But somehow, I barely taste any of these notes in here. Just a hint of generic fruity sweetness but no chili heat or distinguishable mango or pineapple notes. Perhaps it’s an age thing? The base is nice and smooth, however.