1812 Tasting Notes

drank English Breakfast by Ahmad Tea
1812 tasting notes

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Back to drinking this for some reason! Decent.
makes the “meh, decent” face

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86
drank Coconut Oolong by DAVIDsTEA
1812 tasting notes

A cold-brewed cup of this is quite refreshing for this afternoon.

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Go-to, quick cup of pu’erh. Steeped for 5-10 minutes, today. It will do for now, until I can make a better shou, later.

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Brewing this in my yixing, which is thankfully seeing more use than it was a week ago. Unfortunately, I realized that the glue on one corner of my tea tray has been splitting, due to the hot water, and pu’erh has been seeping through the seams. Thank goodness for a tile countertop being underneath. Still…

These infusions were very loosely timed. The first one was supposed to be for twenty seconds, but I think it ended up at about thirty. The tea is not incredibly dark; despite a rinse of a couple of seconds, I think the leaves are still awakening. The tea does not smell too rich, but there are some cocoa notes with the earthiness. It tastes very smooth, if a little less intense than I would expect, but this was only the first steep. As I sip this steep, I already started and completed brewing the second steep. The cup finishes with some dark chocolate/cocoa notes.

Steep two is darker in appearance. The flavor has deepened a bit but not quite as far as I usually enjoy. I think I will run the third steep for forty-five seconds to a minute, rather than just adding ten to fifteen seconds. This one was steeped for thirty.

Third steep for a minute – dark and delicious. Still very smooth, not super earthy.

We shall see how long this can go.

TheTeaFairy

My friend Dexter says this is Special Dark’s little brother…and I have to agree :-)

Spencer

I would agree with that statement! It lacks a lot of the intense dark chocolate notes that the Special Dark holds.

Spencer

Steep four and five, for 65 and 80 seconds, respectively, were less than ideal in terms of strength, so I topped off the yixing pot with water and am going to let it sit for the “long steep”

Garret

One of the important things to remember is that this tea is gong ting, the smallest grade leaf for a pu’er. The smaller the leaf, the more quickly it will give up flavor in early infusions.

Alot of times, pu’er is made into blends with other larger leaves so that smaller leaves give up more in early infusions while larger leaves give up more in later ones. That being said, even though a gong ting may be brewed several times, the flavor will most definitely get lighter with subsequent infusions.

We have alot of customers, though, who enjoy this tea steeped once at a longer time. Flash rinse followed by one long steep. Alternately, try maybe 1 quick one infusion (following the rinse) and then one long one. Pays to experiement and find out what makes it your cup of tea!

Spencer

Thanks, Garret! I am going to try your recommendations, tomorrow. I appreciate the advice on the tea!

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drank Bravissimo by DAVIDsTEA
1812 tasting notes

While I have the first cup of the morning, Secret Weapon by DavidsTea, I am brewing a pot of this, hoping that it will help to soothe my throat and clear my head a bit.

The licorice is supposed to be good for the throat. The peppermint should open my sinuses.

Terri HarpLady

Still the sore throat? Licorice is definitely good for that, as is honey & echinacea.
And don’t forget to gargle salt water 4X a day!
I hope it passes quickly :)

Terri HarpLady

Oh yeah…sucking on a clove of garlic is also good for a sore throat, if it is caused by a virus or bacteria especially. I recommend only doing that before bed though, unless your staying home still. And sips of the juice of lacto cultured pickles, kimchi, sauerkraut, etc. Or even brags cider vinegar, although I’d delete that in a little water first.

Spencer

Thankfully, of everything you mentioned, I love licorice and garlic. Salt water gargle gets interesting, as the salt usually triggers a gag reflex. All the more reason to get it done faster, I suppose!

Thanks for the tips, Terri!

ashmanra

Remember to use non-iodized salt for the gargle!

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drank Secret Weapon by DAVIDsTEA
1812 tasting notes

Trying a new blend from DavidsTea with the hope that it will help these allergies. Making this back-to-back with a pot of DavidsTea Bravissimo.

It smells more like cocoa nibs than the almonds or licorice it claims to have. Well…taking another sniff…maybe peanuts? Strange.
Fruity taste and…almonds? cocoa? It is hard to tell exactly what is going on in this tea.

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drank Tango Roybos by Busch Tea Company
1812 tasting notes

Herbal TTB provided me the opportunity to taste this fruity/spicy-tasting rooibos. Not bad, but not something I will be adding to my cupboard any time, soon.

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Bio

“I love trading tea and trying new teas. My favourites are oolong (mainly Chinese) and pu’erh.
Will gladly talk all day about tea.”

The above was my bio when I joined five years ago, and I felt it needed to be updated. I still love pu’erh, though I have begun to take preference toward cooked, shou. Oolongs are certainly still a go-to tea for me, but I have expanded my horizons to begin including greens and blacks based upon the weather and how I am feeling.

Still more than glad to talk about tea – anytime, anywhere, anyplace.
Additionally, if fountain pens, books, music, or computers are on the discussion list…

My ratings, this “personal enjoyment scale” about which I talk, are just that – based on how much I enjoyed the tea. I might have enjoyed it immensely, yet do not keep it stocked for various reasons. On the flip side, I have a few teas that are “good” but not “great,” which I keep stocked for various reasons.

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