744 Tasting Notes
Today is rainy. Dreary. Soggy. Perfect for more cups of tea. Especially a chai. But not just any chai. A nice spicy chai. The aroma just from opening the bag is wonderful. All of the proper chai spice smell with a pleasant nose tingle. The leaf is CTC, so it is tiny but this makes it so that the other flavors don’t overwhelm it. Steeps up quickly I only needed about 3-4 minutes to achieve a good flavor. Too much more than that and it becomes too bitter. Though if you are planning to turn this into a true India treat, Chaiwala, then steeping it a few more minutes isn’t a bad idea. The after taste is pleasantly sweet while still retaining a bit of zip.
I’m taking a leap out of my purist comfort zone to taste some cuppas by a new tea company. The smell immediately pulsates up your nose when you open the bag. The blueberry aroma is like a club playing EDM. Makes me wonder if we’ll ever see clubbing again… This wonderful smell prepares you for something amazing in the flavor. Which unfortunately isn’t there. It is tepid blueberry in flavor. To be honest, the flavor is very bland. Even the black leaf uninspiring. My suggestion would be to add real blueberries to the blend (freeze-dried if possible). Out of curiosity, I’ve also steeped it cold to see if that would reveal better flavors. At five minutes it is still bland but something seems to be trying to peek out. After 10 minutes there is a bit of cream and a bit more fruity. Which makes me wonder if this would be a good overnight iced tea.
Lush, deep green. These leaves are a fantastic color. If you are going to call it superior it better be a green like this. The liquid is a clear, light amber. The mouthfeel is very smooth. Barely any astringency. Wet leaf smells of umami. Not sure of how to explain that smell besides umami. It is warming and reminds me of soft Japanese udon. The flavor is slightly grassy with vegetal notes. Garden veggies.
If you really want to test your matcha mettle you should try to drink a single cultivar for a few days and then switch it up to a different one. I have been drinking okumidori the last few days which is more nori forward or at least I thought it was until I tried this samidori. The marine flavor is not just forward, it is in your face. Bits of nori mixed with umami sea notes. It starts very smooth and ends up a bit silty but the bits aren’t unpleasant. The overall mouthfeel is very smooth. The matcha coloring is just a very slight shade off of the highest grade I have in my fridge but it still is nice jade green. The powder is smooth to the touch.
I really wish I could give this a higher rating because the aroma is amazing and I love that the company employees those with disabilities but the matcha is bitter. It was decent once I made it into a latte and I think it will mix really well once I cook with it but… it’s a no on its own.
Have you ever licked a cedar chest? Can’t say I have. But I wouldn’t put it past the toddler version of myself to do so. This tea is fairly heavy with cedar influence when it comes to the flavor. The aroma, however, initially when the hot water hits it is woodsy. Then it changes to a strange medicinal pitch with a hint of vaseline… Luckily that went away pretty quickly and morphed into fresh barn hay. The flavor for the first 3ish sessions was stone fruit with cedar backdrop and after that became more woodsy. Around the 5th or 6th is was very cedar in flavor. The mouthfeel almost makes me feel as is Ive licked a cedar chest.
I love a good Earl Grey. I’ve tasted many from different companies but none have them have taken it to the level that Teakruthi has. Some are too creamy, some are so strong in bergamot that the citrus knocks you out. Vanilla Earl is the perfect marriage of both of these unique ingredients.
Not sure what part of this is Minnestoan. Feel like it needs wild rice or pine needles… something to make it truly different from the other MN chai blends. Good spicy flavor. But the aroma is my favorite. Smells so good. Don’t get too close though. Better hot, though it was decent cold. With milk, it is also very good. Interestingly, it becomes more nutty but that is probably because I’m using oat milk.
Might have to give this a few rounds before it sets in. Right now all I taste is dill.
Dill and drench woods.
I’m walking through a forest. Suddenly the rain comes down in sheets. It takes me off guard but what really catches me is the sudden aroma of dill.
Something has gone wrong with the aging of this tea.
I just can’t…
