4317 Tasting Notes
additional notes: Sadly, the new batch I just bought of this is very different from the batch I loved years ago. (Seriously, at least a decade ago.) I had to look at my old tasting notes. I said previously that two teaspoons steeped would be too much, too astringent and strong. Here, I used 1 1/2 teaspoons and the base black tea is now incredibly thin and weak. That is very sad, as it needs that strong base to match the chocolate/cinnamon. It’s just very very different now. :/
Another to try from Cameron B — thanks very much! Woowwee, I think I used the directed half teaspoon but this was super sweet. One of the sweetest cups I have ever had. The grape here is a little like mashing up an entire bottle of grape vitamins, adding some water. Not complimentary to this poor matcha, I know. I have had worse teas, but this was A LOT.
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – January 2025 Tea #3 – A tea you plan to buy again
I would very much buy this again, but it looks like Fusion doesn’t have it anymore. It was definitely a favorite rooibos blend! A rating of 97!! I will miss it. Though I won’t miss this old coconut. Not too bad here, but still. Old coconut.
2025 sipdowns: 2
2025 unique sipdowns: 1
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – January 2025 Tea #2 – Your newest tea
This was just delivered in a 52Teas order, so it is my very newest tea. A part of me felt I needed to buy this one, as I MIGHT be the person who has asked Anne to reblend Frank’s Black Silk Chocolate Milk Qu Hao the most. Probably definitely. It was still in stock on the site after a few months, so I decided to order! It might be my favorite of Frank’s blends. Definitely top five. So I was thrilled that Anne tried to recreate a similar blend! The Qu Hao base used in the original blend is rare, impossible to find when it isn’t expensive, so I understand it won’t be the SAME blend. But I also was very happy that Anne aimed to recreate it. The base in this blend is Gu Zhang mixed with Assam and Yunnan. Sounds good to me! Though I am not sure I have ever actually had another Gu Zhang leaf before. (A quick search of all the teas that I have rated in my Steepster lifetime tells me no, no Gu Zhang in my tea drinking history, at least directly in the name.) I’m wondering if Anne has ever used it before? So I have no idea how the Gu Zhang tastes on its own. But I was also thrilled that Anne still has the original recipe for the Black Silk Chocolate Milk Qu Hao… as sometimes I hear many of Frank’s recipes were lost. So there was a chance the flavoring would be similar! AND IT IS. The base probably isn’t as deep as the Qu Hao, but the flavoring is spot on. It’s like a silky smooth mix of chocolate/ marshmallow/ vanilla and kahlua. You know… exactly what the ingredients contain… minus the kahlua. But wow, the flavors really meld together so well and very balanced. (One of my favorite combinations of flavors is chocolate/marshmallow, so this is very much my thing.) It’s amazing that the flavors are so spot on to the original blend. It seems like a simple mix of flavors, but I have only ever noticed this exact flavoring with Black Silk Chocolate Milk Qu Hao before. The third steep (milking the leaves for all I can) is quite good too — smooth, never harsh. In a mystery taste test, I would definitely compare the two blends. So… mission successful! I was so blinded by the lack of Qu Hao in the tea world, that I didn’t realize something similar could be recreated, especially by someone with Anne’s talents! Thank you! Very glad you put this together!
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 23 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 10 minute steep
Also, I can’t remember if I have ever had Pinwheel cookies, so I can’t say if the name is accurate or not. Though I trust Anne’s judgement on that!
Daughter who lives with us LOVES Pinwheel cookies, and actually prefers the Publix brand version because of the size. I made most of her advent this year with Pinwheel cookies as the daily treat!
@tea=sipper thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed this tea! When I realized you were the one who bought the last of the Pinwheel that I had in stock, I was glad, because I had blended this with you in mind, hoping you might like it, because the blend of teas was about as close to the Qu Hao that I could manage without this blend costing WAY too much.
@ashmanra – pinwheels were my favorite as a kid, and it wasn’t always the pinwheels that were purchased, I think Nabisco also makes Mallowmars? which are basically the same thing. Which is kind or weird, actually, because Nabisco makes both cookies but I think they’re both basically a cookie base topped with a marshmallow and then it’s all covered in chocolate. I’ve always loved anything chocolate and anything marshmallow, so these cookies were a bit of heaven for me. :)
ashmanra – I love that! And I loved hearing about all of the advent details of your fam this year. :D
52Teas – Ah, Anne, thank you. I had a feeling you MAY have had me in mind in creating this blend, and your comment just warms my heart. :D I saw Pinwheel was still on the site after a few months of giving anyone else a chance to grab them, so I just went for it and purchased. Another BIG thank you!
additional notes: RESTOCK! I can attest, S&V is still blending this one up real well. The same as my sample from a few years ago. Though initially I did not like this blend… to be fair, I tried it from a teabox and who knows how old it actually was. Then a few years ago I tried it again in S&V’s holiday sample box and loved it. So it’s a lesson. A reminder that teas age, or blend recipes change. It’s probably a rare example of stevia used perfectly in a blend. It’s strong mint, but not too strong, not harsh peppermint… and amazingly blended with the perfect amount of sweetness that also seems to have a hint of cream to it. So good. ONE teaspoon is perfect for a mug.
I thought I remembered this having too much stevia for me, but I actually really enjoyed it in the advent!
Yeah, I think if I steep it with a flat teaspoon, it’s a perfect mug amount of stevia. I can see 1 1/2 teaspoons being overboard.
There’s a S&V order in my future, but definitely not in the near future ha ha! There were several teas in the advent that I liked more than I remembered (Caramel Walnut Shortbread comes to mind!).
yep, that Caramel Walnut is a cupboard staple for sure (and another one I just stocked up on.)
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – January 2025 Tea #1 -January 1 – Happy New Year! Drink a favorite tea to start the year off right!
This one might not be my ultimate favorite ripe, but I do consider ripe puerh in general to be a favorite. This is one I recently restocked so I thought it would be appropriate to finally finish the sample. So this will NOT count as a “unique cupboard sipdown”. I think a puerh tea is a good start to the year after way too much unhealthy food yesterday. I only recently learned (somehow?!) that puerh has probiotics, which is another added benefit to a tasty favorite type of tea.
2025 unique sipdowns: 0
2025 sipdowns: 1
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – December 2024 Tea #9 – December 31 – New Year’s Eve: get one last sipdown for 2024
Finishing my old sample of this one, now that I have restocked it. Such a classic. I MIGHT be able to fit in another sipdown later today… we shall see. Overall, I kind of failed sipdowns this year at a mere 88 out of my goal of 150. Being mostly away from my tea collection was probably the reason for that. Just as long as I’m still enjoying tea, it was a good year in tea! I spent about $200 on tea this year, which is $200 more than I wanted to, but they were all small tea shops, so that is entirely okay with me. A happy and Healthy New Year to you all in Steepster land!
2024 sipdowns: 88
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – December 2024 Tea #7 – A tea that was a gift
I received this as a gift this year, and I also previously had my eye on it — I think the vendor was at the fair this year. So, a great gift! It’s a great tea too. An decent chai, definitely. Most importantly, the base is robust enough. The base is Assam and Ceylon, so not just Ceylon here, which I can always appreciate. I think I notice at least four types of peppercorns in the blend, which is unique. The spices are spot on. It reminds me a little bit of pumpkin pie, but also it seems to have a hint of vanilla flavor, though there is NOT actually vanilla here. Just my tastebuds thinking so. The second steep really does lean into a squash note — so it seems even more like a pumpkin pie with these spices. I would say it’s an excellent balance of base black teas and spices. Really good stuff.
On another note, I did check out the sale table at the grocery store and they had TWO boxes of two different Celestial Seasonings teas. Though I’m wondering where they were in the store previously, if they made it to the sale shelf. I intentionally was looking for them a week or two ago! However neither box was Nutcracker Sweet, so I did not buy them.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 16 minutes after boiling // almost 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep
Flavors: Pumpkin, Pumpkin Spice, Spices, Squash, Vanilla
