1367 Tasting Notes
Oh, the conflict! The treachery! The… muddled sense of wtf. The lady who runs this company is super nice, and I love her transparency towards farmers but this has me tearing my hair out a bit. My understanding:
Extreme basics:
Mo Cha: Unshaded. Formed into bricks. Powdered. China.
Matcha: Shaded. Powdered. Japan.
But she is calling hers Mocha or Matcha. I feel like confusing the bounds makes neither special.
Dry Powder: Very different aroma from those who are used to matcha. It’s very herby. Reminds me of dandelions. The coloring is decent. Not quite as amazing as some higher grade matcha, but not the worst I’ve seen either.
Flavor: Oh man. Bitter. Like I stuck a dandelion in my mouth and started chewing on it. But not unpleasant like industrial grade matcha is on its own. To make this, they used Long Jing #43, which I love as a loose leaf. Not sure how I feel about this one, though. The herbaceous/medicinal qualities through me for a loop.
The coloring is also a bit different. It’s less of a jade green and more yellow, which makes sense as it is pan-fried.
Teagschwendner is now known as Chicago Teahouse. Things pretty much look the same on the website but they are no longer part of the Teegschwendner franchise.
You can read more on those changes here: https://teatiff.com/2023/02/13/chicago-teahouse/
I messed up a bit. In my morning hay fever delirium I added too much leaf. This one is like an oolong, you don’t need much. So my cup is a bit astringent and the taste is a bit more bitter then I expect it should be. The overall tones are nice and woody.
I recall Chicago Tea House as being one of the sponsors of the Chicago Tea Festival this year. Hurrah!
Yes! She is the main sponsor of the event.
TTB.
Dry Leaf aroma: Notes of contamination. Generally, I sense notes of nutty and pan-fried toastiness, but this one has some issues. Just a bit of the nutty and toasty, but it has some musty, like it’s been next to too many flavored teas.
Wet Leaf: Better. More nutty notes. A bit of passion fruit. But still, that contamination lingers.
Flavor: Maybe it’s just me but still does not taste like a Lung Ching/Dragonwell/Long Jing should I know this is most likely not a good show of what their product actually is like so for now I won’t rate.
No intent to impugn anyone here, since oversights can and do happen. But it could be that the tea was somewhat stale, since it had been around long enough to pick up contaminating flavors. Last week I myself threw most of a pouch of dragon well onto the compost heap because it tasted poor—and was actually 3 yr past its BestBy date!
Good to note. I think I will do the same with this one.
TTB – This is reminiscent of some Japanese greens. The ever-so-slight metallics and bitterness of bancha, the grassiness of sencha, and a hint of umami from gyokuro. All tea grown in Hawaii has some of the same terroir qualities. That slightly volcanic minerality that is so unique. Not my favorite, but I think I need to try more to develop a palate for it.
TTB – Rebagging this one because I can barely read what it says. I wasn’t going to ty it at first, but after reading some comments, I’m curious as to what it tastes like.
The dry aroma is somewhat unappealing. A bit of old vanilla and dusty cabinets. Bourbon barrel.
Wet leaf reminds me of some of the other typical tea company greenhouse blends. Lower-grade leaf tends to smell like this. And not that that is a bad thing. The Japanese consider bancha a lower grade, but many love to drink it.
Flavor: I think this one has been around a bit too long. It’s rather dull. I am going to assume it’s due to the packaging, and maybe it’s been traveling around for a while?
TTB – Finished. Just the dust left. It may not be a good example of what the rest of the tea is like. The dry leaf smelled okay. The wet liquor does not. Old and disgruntled tea. Nothing is appealing in that aroma.
Flavor: CLOYING! If ever you wanted to know what cloying was, this is it. It sticks to your mouth. It gets up your nose. Your eyes buldge out of their head. This smooth sugar texture is a weird entrance to the world of wtf. There is way to much going on with this. It’s like a 70s movie where they need to have one of those tripping scenes and everything is spinning and ALL THE COLORS DUKE! Good heavens…
It’s a no for me.
TTB
Dry Aroma: Lemon, Lemon grass, a hint of ginger
Wet Aroma: Not much there. Kinda spicy. Allspice, nutmeg, and orange.
Flavor: This is the definition of “I drink this when I’m not feeling good” tisane. Medicinal and all the good-for-you flavors. The Hibiscus isn’t quite as strong, so it doesn’t quite take over, but don’t think about it too much.
Smooth mouth feel.
TTB. IF I said the butter had a buttery taste. You’d probably squint your eyes at me and say… ‘well.. yeah’. That is how I feel when I read their ingredient blend on the front of the label. Saying Roasted Hojicha is redundant. Just like chai tea or matcha tea. “houji” (焙じ), meaning “roasted,” and “cha” (茶), meaning "tea. Of course, for those who don’t know it’s easy to put that in front but now you know =D
Dry Aroma: Lemon myrtle. Lemon candy. Minty. Hints of lavender.
Flavor: Lemony, Bits of lavender. A bit bitter. Medicinal.
This is quite a unique mix of ingredients. Blending is an art. While it seems like it would be easy to just throw stuff in, there is a lot more that goes into it, and you can tell when someone has really thought things through.
Ooohhh, snap! I recently ranted elsewhere at a company hawking their “ghee butter” as a high-end product!
XD That’s a good one!!! I don’t use ghee anymore but saying ghee butter rofl
TTB. Something just bloomed, and it hates me. I honestly thought I had a cold. But I stopped sniffling as much after a while when we closed the windows so… Thankful, I am fully stocked on Benifuki and elderberry. Good for colds and allergies.
Dry aroma: Very herbal and a bit medicinal. It has that same type of nose-clearing ability as camphor.
Flavor: Slight vanilla, a bit of candied lemon. Medicinal.
Wet Liquor: Very dark blue. Very pretty.
TTB. When a smell triggers a memory, it is called the Proust effect. The moment I smelled this dry blend, I was ripped away from my home here in MN and taken straight to Island Soap & Candle Works in Kilauea, Kauai. It reminds me of how their shop smells.
That being said… not sure I want to drink that aroma…
Oh my goodness. The aroma has undergone a change from the dry to the wet. I’ve been swiped from Kaua’i and landed in Amish country in Indiana. The aroma of some of the places we used to visit. A mix of spices and fruit to form a relaxing potpourri.
The liquor color is opaque and beautiful burgundy.
Flavor: There is a lot going on in this tisane. It’s hard to pick everything out. Here goes: Hibiscus, Coconut cream, Cinnamon, slight woody notes, slight palo santo. Hint of beet.
This is quite intriguing.
