4170 Tasting Notes

84

additional notes: Having this one again… might be becoming a rainy day go-to! Makes me wish I was on the ocean!!! That lighthouse again.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

62

Did I love the name of this one! Vanilla! Mint! I had to try it. Sadly, there is Eleuthero Root in this blend, which to my tastebuds is very medicinal flavored and it’s drowning out my dreams of what I wish this tea to be. I hardly taste any vanilla and what should be peppermint tastes like spearmint to me. There should also be honeybush here, but I don’t notice it. Maybe that is where the vanilla flavor is located. So whatever Eleuthero Root is has kind of ruined this one. But again, happy to find all this out for the small price of one dolla.
Steep #1 // 1 teaspoon for a full mug // 35 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // 30 min after boiling // 2 min

Flavors: Medicinal, Spearmint

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

97

Ancient Alphabet challenge – S

Aw, I really liked this one but now it’s quite faded. I could swear I’m only tasting blackberry leaves.  I had to check the ingredient list to make sure that there isn’t actually blackberry leaves here.  There aren’t.  So it’s sad to say this has aged terribly.    I’d buy it again but only when the cupboard is tamed. (Not like I can buy it again.)  Well, that throws what I said in my last tasting note out the window…

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

83
drank Russian Samovar by ESP Emporium
4170 tasting notes

Ancient Alphabet challenge – R

Now that this is ancient, the smoke is all but gone BUT that means there is room here to notice that this base black tea is quite delicious. Not a horrible Ceylon covered in smoke, but probably keemun. It’s delicious. All of these old teas have really been shining. So I think this Ancient Alphabet challenge was successful in reminding me that the old stuff is still worth steeping up, even more so than I previously thought.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

75

From the Cinco de Mayo sale from last year.  I’m trying to write some notes for the last few teas before then, if they happen to have a sale again this year (though I will be refraining from that sale this time around.)  This is a decent example of English Breakfast.  I can tell it is NOT just Ceylon, and looking up the info, I’m correct.  It still isn’t the best black tea I have ever had, but it’s a mix of Ceylon, Chinese and Indian teas.   There is a sweetness here, dried hay, and when it cools, hints of stonefruits.  The second steep gets a bit more bitey, but retains that fresh fruit quality, then maybe hazelnuts. (I notice a flavor note from another Steepsterer says “nutty”.) Worth trying for a dollar!
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for full mug // 24 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep

On another note, it looks like Maya Tea is going allergen free, so they have many good blends on sale to make room for new recipes. 

Flavors: Hay, Hazelnut, Stonefruit

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

94
drank Raspberry Black by Maya Tea
4170 tasting notes

additional notes: I wanted to make a note that I tried this with half a teaspoon of S&V’s cocoa shells yet the raspberry flavor entirely drowned out any chocolate flavor that was within the cup. So note to self: don’t bother with adding cocoa shells to this tea.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

97

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge – April Tea #10: A woody tea

YEAH finished all ten prompts and all ten were true sipdowns.  Now, I definitely loved this tea when I first tried it, and the flavors are still on point.  I would definitely buy this again!  I think it’s my favorite cinnamon apple rooibos.  And of course, I associate rooibos with being little pieces of wood.  This blend is a great balance of cinnamon, apple, and those little yogurt pieces.  This is actually quite the high quality rooibos that isn’t too woody after all. I forgot I had rated this rooibos tea a 97 – whoa. What a nice end to this tea… two excellent steeps. This pouch is gone but I have another one around here somewhere.
2022 sipdowns:  57

tea-sipper

Looking forward to May’s prompts. :D

derk

Impressive accomplishment :)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

91
drank Queen Catherine by Harney & Sons
4170 tasting notes
Ancient Alphabet challenge – Q

The ONLY tea I have for ‘Q’. A solid option! Leaning to the smoky side today for some reason…

ashmanra

mmmm! I had some yesterday. It had been a while.

tea-sipper

Yes, I think of ashmanra when I have this tea. :D

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

84

additional notes: Having this one again a month later and raising the rating from 74. I’m surprised I only gave it a rating of 74 a month ago, as there are some real clunkers of bergamot blends out there and this is NOT one of them. This IS a solid Earl – just as long as I use two teabags in a big mug. The flavor is quite good. I really like it. This could be a go-to tea for me, if I’m looking for STRONG, BRISK, TASTY BERGAMOT. It seems like a tea I’d drink at a lighthouse or something… Or great on a sunny yet brisk and windy day (as today is). As whoa, this tea is also brisk yet sunny. It’s a real energy booster and brightener.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

84

Ancient Alphabet challenge – P

Not only one of Frank’s blends but a ZOOMDWEEBIES blend. Now that is Old. I thought the flavor was completely gone, but no, brewed just right, I can definitely taste a bit of peaches and cream. Wow.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.

Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandala
verdanttea.com

Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas

My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.

Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!

I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.

My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors

My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again

I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)

Happy sipping!

Location

USA

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer