132 Tasting Notes
I had this again tonight after I came to the realization that I doesn’t and wont taste the way I assumed it would…sooooo I went into this with an open mind and it is actually quite good. It’s sweet, fruity and has a nice lingering jasmine that is in there as well. I like it better this go around, and so I will bump it up on the rating a bit.
I tried this earlier today thanks to Meghann M and even though I am not a big black tea fan I decided to give some “finer” black teas a try and I must say this is pretty good and I can taste a cocoa taste to it which is pretty cool! I personally couldn’t drink this every day or even often but, that’s just me who doesn’t care for black teas that much. But I can tell that is a black tea that is of great quality and for that I will mark it high, because it is good…it’s just not for me… the non-black tea lover hehe.
GEEZ that is a strong bergamot flavor in this tea!!! Like take my breath away strong! The creamy/vanilla is noticible as a lingering flavor. But there is so much bergamot that I feel like I have a film on my tongue after I swallow. It’s kinda weird and perfumey and I can’t get past that weird oily feel that stays on my tongue! It’s as if they spilled a whole bottle of bergamot oil into a smalll pouch of tea and just left it as is to be sold. I like Earl Grey and I like a strong bergamot flavor, but this was just crazy… perhaps I had a bad batch?! I would like to believe that because I am still pretty freaked by having an “oil” feel on my tongue :-|
This is a pretty darn good jasmine silver needle! I actually let it steep for nearly 8mins (3mins more than the recommended max). I was scared this wasn’t going to taste good since I did that, BUT it actually was…it had a “chewy” kind of taste to it which gave it more of a personality to me. I taste the vegetal taste of the white tea very clearly with the jasmine lingering lightly in the background letting itself known. This is a very nice tea that I was able to try thanks to LiberTEAS.
Also, now that it has cooled off quite a bit it has a subtle sweetness to it and the chewyness is subsiding. Still yummy, if not better than right out of the tea pot!
Preparation
Ahhhh now that’s more like it! I gave this pu-erh a quick rinse and then steeped for the full 5mins and it brewed up to a very dark brown/black color. The taste is like a sweet hay/mossy taste with a bit of astringency to it, but that’s ok! Honestly though I would prefer a stronger earthy/hay/mossy taste. But this is still really good! Nom, nom, nom!!! :-D