tea-sipper select Send Message

Thank you Kimquat for sharing some of this one! I had around one teaspoon, so I didn’t fill my mug all the way, but now that I think of it, it was probably the suggested eight ounce amount anyway. I’ve noticed that it is basically Golden Orchid without the vanilla, and it’s so good, it doesn’t really need the vanilla. I swear there is some magic in these leaves. I can’t imagine how they are this chocolatey. Definitely the most chocolate tea I’ve ever tried without additions. It even has the consistency of melted chocolate. I love this one. I’d have to stock up on this one… but no orders for a while!
Steep #1 // just boiled // 2 1/2 min steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 1/2 min

Thank you Kimquat for the sale! I scored a bunch of nice teas I’ve wanted to try. This one sounded interesting – I haven’t seen too many fruity chais. This has a CTC base but there are actual pieces of mango in the mix. It certainly smells like mango and the first steep certainly had a mango flavor throughout. If you don’t overdue the steep time with the CTC the flavor is smoother at just a minute and a half. The spices weren’t too tough but I was enjoying the ripe fresh mango flavor. The second steep seemed to have less of a mango flavor but it’s still a nice chai. This one is interesting!
Steep #1 // few min after boiling // 1 1/2 min
Steep #2 // just boiled // 2-3 min

A creamsicle iced tea! If I ever get to an ice cream shop, I’d most likely order the orange vanilla swirl. I brewed a teaspoon of this one hot, not as an iced tea. Immediately on opening the bag, this is definitely creamsicle! It smells like a melted creamsicle was in the pouch. However, after a 45 second steep, the flavor isn’t quite as nice as the scent. A little orange and a little cream but it tastes a tad bit more artificial than some other 52Teas blends. Let’s be fair, a creamsicle is probably artificial too. I still enjoy it but the fragrance is so promising! Maybe I should have added a bit of sugar. The second steep surprisingly has almost just as much creamsicle… it doesn’t all go to the first steep! I like these 52Teas iced especially when I need a kick of caffeine from the CTC but my other infuser is full of bigger leaves so they fit right in the teaspoon sized infuser when I need to use it.
Steep #1 // few minutes after boiling // 45 second steep
Steep #2 // few min after boiling // 2 1/2 min steep

Another sample from Teasenz! I adore these types of teas with their golden leaves and their honey sweetness. The leaves here aren’t entirely golden, there are a few dark spots. Somehow that doesn’t always show in the flavor. This is very much honey and light. The color of the brew is golden like the leaves. I don’t think I properly steeped this the first cup around though – I waited too long to steep and the time was too short. The flavor was nice but I think it could have been deeper with a proper steep. The second cup was slightly deeper, the flavors melded together but it’s tough to describe this one as it is all sweetness & light… no chocolate or sweet potato or squash notes at all. Mostly honey. It’s a nice change of flavor to all the deep black teas I’ve been drinking!
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 tsp // 10 min after boiling // 2 min
Steep #2 // few min after boiling // 3 min
http://www.teasenz.com/yunnan-gold-tea#.U_k2dcjD9lY

Thank you Maria for selling a bit of this one! I’m getting more and more addicted to white teas, though they were once my least favorite. I used almost two teaspoons of these fuzzy leaves, and because they are fuzzy I also rinsed them to get some of the fuzzies out of the cup. At first sip with these types of teas, they seem like they need some getting used to… the flavor seems a bit unpleasant, but then the rest of the mug is just fine. Maybe that makes this tea all the more enjoyable, if at first it doesn’t seem like it will be a good cup but then gets better. The flavor is light and sweet – a bit grassy or hay, and then something like marshmallow. I like the shifting lingering flavor. The second steep has even more flavor, something fruity like a melon and kind of smooths out even more, even though this is a very smooth tea to begin with! I’m not sure if all ‘silver needles’ are also the teas called ‘bai hao yin zhen’. It seems like most white teas are either those types or the ‘bai mu dan’.
Steep #1 // 2 tsps. // 30 min after boiling // rinse // 1 min
Steep #2 // 25 min after boiling // 2-3 min

Sidenote: My first incident of Steepster deleting one of my tasting notes. I was trying to look up my note for David’sTea – Bai Hao Yin Zhen but the tasting note (and my little rating at the top) is completely missing! This worries me as Steepster is my tea brain! I’ll be getting tea amnesia!

This is a one teaspoon sample I’ve had for a while, but it has been in that terrible metallic packaging… terrible for one teaspoon anyway, so I haven’t been in a rush to drink it. This tea could last 100 years in this packaging. And this packaging could fit a few teaspoons, so the least they could do is make the packaging smaller for one teaspoon. ANYWAY, I wish I was on a vacation and I was hoping this coconut would be enough. The oolong is a twisty long oolong, not rolled. Yes it is sunscreen coconut and it is delicious. The oolong has a little bit of a vegetal flavor to it, otherwise it is hidden by the coconut. The second steep had more hints of oolong that were allowed to shine with slightly less coconut. There seems to be a hint of a tangy off flavor to this, but probably because I’ve tried a couple other teas similar to this that were a little better. I have no idea how this is actual coconut milk anyway. But at least this tea is what I expected!
Steep #1 // 25 min after boiling // closer to 4 min steep
Steep #2 // 25 min after boiling // 4 min

Thank you so much for the samples, GreenTerraceTeas.com! This one has similar long dark leaves to the Honey Black but the flavor is definitely different. As the Honey black is syrupy and fruity, this one is just like sweet potato. All sweet potato, 100% sweet potato, so I don’t even have much else to say about it. But I love this tea. Even the brew color is a nice light orange, so it’s a very light cup. It’s funny that these leaves have such a light brew, I guess because they aren’t chopped up into small pieces. I also used two and half teaspoons to compensate for the longer leaf. The second steep was just as nice, complete sweet potato. Similar to whichever Teavivre tea is like sweet potato. At first glance, both of the black teas on offer at Green Terrace seem similar but I love each of them for their own characteristics.
Steep #1 // 2 1/2 teaspoons // 10 min after boiling // 2-3 min steep
Steep #2 // few minutes after boiling // 4 min

A sample! I’ve been dreaming of Butiki’s White Rhino so I will probably be drinking a ton of white teas. Also, I found a song called ‘White Rhino Tea’… I forget the band now, but that was amusing. This blend sounds divine, but I think I could have used more flavor from the white tea, the lemon and the almond. I wasn’t tasting too much almond. Really, a good Bai mu Dan tea might have had enough lemon flavor in it as is. Or maybe even the White Rhino would have been a nice base, but White Rhino would be a nice base for many things. Again, not doing this tea any justice with this tasting note, as I sipped this one a couple days ago. This one doesn’t have the Butiki magic that I expect, I guess. I’m planning a Butiki order, though I really shouldn’t.. at least until after January!

Thank you Ost for the sale! I picked up some good ones. Now when I’m not drinking new teas, it must be sipdowns! I think I have all three of S&V’s cupcake teas now. Whoops. This one smells heavenly, just as the description sounded: cocoa, coconut, raspberry. I’m not exactly SURE what red velvet is, but I did make a red velvet cake a couple weeks ago for the first time… but from a box. Also, the red velvet Pop Tarts are the BEST Pop Tarts. Anyway, the taste is the same as the scent. Sweet, chocolate notes, hints of coconut, not a huge amount of raspberry. The dry blend is mostly rooibos, which completely makes sense for red velvet and of course actually makes the color red, but if there had been more of the ingredients that aren’t rooibos, I think it would have been even more cakey. S&V seems to have some pretty darn nice teas.
Steep #1 // just boiled // 1 min

I’m the first to write a tasting note for this lovely tea?! Another sample from Teasenz. How I love pearls and here are some really delicious pearls. I’ve tried a few, and these are really nice. I went with five of these larger pearls in a 12 ounce mug, black and gold leaves wrapped tightly. These are called “red” but Teasenz is from China and China likes to call their black teas red. This is Yunnan tea which is one of my favorite types of black tea. I went with a short rinse with boiled water then steeped for two minutes. The color of the cup is actually a luscious red. The flavor is deep dark chocolate, with hints of maple or brown sugar. Perfect level of depth and briskness. The second steep was very nice too, as the leaves were completely unraveled, maybe just not as chocolate as the first cup. The cup actually looked like some milk chocolate had been melted in the mug. Very delicious – one of the most delicious types of teas. If these were the first pearls I tried, I would have fell in love instantly. And I’m remembering how much I love them now. I wouldn’t have any problem stocking these as the pearls in my cupboard! Many of the pearls seem like they could be from the same source, since most of them are from Yunnan, but these are some of the best I’ve tried.
Steep #1 // just boiled // rinse // 2 min
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 min
http://www.teasenz.com/red-dragon-pearls-black-tea#.U_EkycjD9hg