4185 Tasting Notes
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #27
Steep #1 // 20 min after boiling // 4 min
I may have waited too long for the water to cool for this one. But maybe there isn’t too much flavor to begin with. The little roses are pretty but I don’t think they impart much flavor to the oolong, not like the infused rose flavoring that Adagio’s has. The oolong doesn’t have much flavor either. The oolong looks gorgeous though. It is very sweet and it kind of tastes like blueberry but that could be what was in the infuser before that.
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #26
Steep #1 // just boiled // 4-5 min
Steep#2 // just boiled // 4 min
Oh I like this one, even though I don’t usually like ginger unless it’s in a chai. I think the ripened pu-erh overpowers the ginger anyway… it’s either the ginger or the pu-erh itself that is very sweet. I love the deep duskiness of the pu-erh… it kind of tastes like raisins. The second steep of any pu-erh is always just a little bit better, deeper yet sweeter. There is a lot of this in the teabox, so I’m taking a couple teaspoons out for later!
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #25
Steep #1 // just boiled // 5 min steep
I’ve always wanted to try this one! I’m not sure if I shouldn’t have used boiling water or if a teaspoon was too much but the flavor isn’t delicate like a flower… it’s pretty tough and astringent. I like it anyway. It certainly tastes like lavender… but with a bite to it. Somehow the next day when there was a little bit in the mug, it seemed much tamer. The steep color was a light periwinkle. This would be great to mix with other teas.
Steep #1 // 15 min after boiling // 2-3 min
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 min
I always love a ginseng oolong! The toy jewel rock tumbler tea. :D I can’t help but be reminded of that every time. Usually I can taste the licorice covering the oolong, but with this one, I can’t really find that flavor, even when I noticed that the coating has dissolved, even by the first cup. So if you like ginseng oolong, but not so much the licorice holding it together, this one might be mild enough for you. I could have used more of that flavor though. The oolong underneath is very nice too, though it doesn’t seem to fall into any of the oolong flavor categories… maybe the third steep might have. Boiling water on the second steep didn’t ruin it, even though the cup had the color of apple cider! I wanted to make sure I got all of that ginseng. It certainly seemed to give me super-brain powers all day!
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #23
Sometimes rose doesn’t like to actually make itself known when it’s actually in a tea blend. Usually it just looks pretty. But when this says rose, it actually means rose! It’s bordering on potpourri here. But it’s tasty anyway. I love Adagio’s black tea base – it pairs with anything with the perfect amount of robustness. And if this is Ceylon, it’s my favorite Ceylon. But the rose is definitely there (probably because it is both petals AND rose oil) and sometimes very sweet. A couple more teaspoons of this one in the teabox! Some nice ones so far!
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #22
Steep #1 // just boiled // few minutes
A tea from Della Terra I haven’t tried yet? Preposterous! It’s a cute blend – sprinkles! This isn’t just rooibos flavor, there is something else there but it isn’t exactly cotton candy either (52Teas Cotton candy has this one beat – that one is very accurate). To be fair, I steeped this one for a while, so maybe a shorter steep time wouldn’t have had the rooibos drown out the flavor as much. Maybe the sweetness came from the sprinkles? Not the best from DT, but I like it. Della Terra’s rooibos is one of the better rooibos bases anyway.
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #21
There is quite a bit of this one in the teabox, but it isn’t in the Steepster system yet! It’s actually quite good, though that may be because there was three goji berries in my infuser! Very fruity! The green tea was on the mild side (but to be honest, the three gojiberries were taking up a ton of room in that teaspoon anyway, so blame the gojis… but I loved the fruitiness!) I might take a few teaspoons of this one out of the teabox for later…
Steep #1 // 30 min after boiling // 3 min
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #20
I have a passing familiarity with Minecraft. I haven’t played any videogames lately, though I wish I was – I miss them! Minecraft seems like it would take 100% of my time though, which is exactly why I must not play any videogames right now. haha. I had to try this tea though – this here is a green tea triple threat! I don’t think I’ve actually had these three types together before, or even two of them, so interesting! The hojicha makes itself known on the first sip, even though there isn’t a ton of it that I see in the blend itself. Then the gunpowder flavors – vegetal green. I didn’t really taste the kukicha, and I’m confident I would have been able to…maybe not. A nice blend!
Steep #1 // 30 min after boiling // 3 min
Steep #2 // (half cup) 30 min after boiling // ??
I think this one from the teabox labeled ’Kim’s Homemade Chai’ is from KimLovesTea? Please correct me if I’m wrong! So I ‘added a tea’ for this one.
’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #19
Oh wow, nice job on this one, Kim! And thanks for including it in the teabox! This is very high up there on the nicest chais I have tried. The base is a CTC, but it isn’t as strong as I’d expect, maybe because there are a ton of spices here (and maybe also the two minute steep). Everything here is perfectly balanced! Very nice! The first couple of sips were surprisingly sweet. It’s up to my standards for spiciness, which is rare. I wouldn’t change anything about this one. Kim has proved with this blend: Why buy chai when you can make your own blend exactly how you want it to be? I’ve noticed JeweledThumb (next for the teabox) likes chai, so make sure you try this one!
Steep #1 // couple minutes after boiling // 2 1/2 min steep
Steep #2 // half mug – just boiled // 2-3 min steep
Additional notes: Sipping this one now, trying to figure out what to put in the teabox. This one is on a few wishlists (yes, I check.) I tried this one after the boiled water cooled for 10 minutes. It seems like it tasted exactly the same as last time. This is an odd tea – the leaves are supposedly half green/half black, but the green tea itself is very dark. It isn’t hojicha. There are twigs in it that could be kukicha. Then I thought maybe it is just black tea and kukicha which was a light bulb in the brain BUT then the brew itself is super light colored, like it is a green tea. I wish when tea companies said “green tea” they would specify which type. It’s still a mystery, but it’s a delicious one. This is definitely a dessert tea. But maybe it could have been called blueberry maple pancakes!
