92
drank Yunnan Noir by Simple Loose Leaf
4299 tasting notes

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge Monday, February 1st: National Freedom Day / Black History Month  Tea #1
Somehow I have notaone tea from that lovely list of black owned tea shops.  For shame.  I looked through it a couple times.  I guess it’s eye opening to see where I mostly buy teas, when I do buy teas.  I really need to check out some of the smaller shops more often.  There are so many shops though!  Which are your favorite shops/teas from that list?
So I went with this black tea today.  It also just happens to be a sipdown.  I love this type of leaf – the silky black bundles.  Not sure if this is the same as Adagio’s Yunnan Noir – this one looks more black than Adagio’s gold.   I have noticed that any Yunnan tends to lose nuance with age which is a shame.  But it’s still a lovely cup of tea.
2021 sipdowns: 18

Mastress Alita

I remember quite enjoying Adagio’s Yunnan Noir!

Courtney

I also checked over the list and will need to eventually plan out some orders for new companies! I have tried the Blue Velvet from Calabash and loved it!

Leafhopper

I also don’t have any teas from that list of black-owned companies, unfortunately. I think this is partly because I usually buy from the same places and partly because these companies tend to sell flavoured teas. Oh, and most of them are in the U.S. :(

Lexie Aleah

Same here I, unfortunately, don’t have one right now off that list either. I’d recommend Aesthete I’ve tried one of their teas in the past and enjoyed it. They are also a local company for me.

Leafhopper

Lexie Aleah, thanks for the suggestion. I’ll have to check them out.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Comments

Mastress Alita

I remember quite enjoying Adagio’s Yunnan Noir!

Courtney

I also checked over the list and will need to eventually plan out some orders for new companies! I have tried the Blue Velvet from Calabash and loved it!

Leafhopper

I also don’t have any teas from that list of black-owned companies, unfortunately. I think this is partly because I usually buy from the same places and partly because these companies tend to sell flavoured teas. Oh, and most of them are in the U.S. :(

Lexie Aleah

Same here I, unfortunately, don’t have one right now off that list either. I’d recommend Aesthete I’ve tried one of their teas in the past and enjoyed it. They are also a local company for me.

Leafhopper

Lexie Aleah, thanks for the suggestion. I’ll have to check them out.

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
shop.Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea.com
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandalatea.com
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