61 Tasting Notes
So recently discovered that a friend of mine is a tea fan, and she gave me a two bags of this and a bit of unidentified loose green as a way to cheer me up. My pet rabbit was recently discovered by the dorm RAs, and was promptly kicked out, which makes me terrible upset BUT she will take care of him for me till summer. So all is well once again! And now with added tea.
So this is one of first hot oolongs that I’ve had in sometime and it was as delicious as I remember them being. The tartness of the pomegranate melted into the light taste of the oolong. I really like how delicate and light the tea was overall. Downside, kind of bitter and doesn’t re-steep very well. Very pleasant, but may not something I buy with my own money.
Preparation
What can I say, I like em tall, dark, and handsome. Oh so hot and steamy, Mr. Muntz you’re making me blush.
I was talking about this tea to my mother, and she had to stop me to make sure I wasn’t going to get pregnant. Once I clarified I was talking about tea, she hung up on me. Granted she doesn’t know I like them petite, fair, and womanly, she knows she can’t get grandkids from a tea.
Seriously, this tea has totally shown me the light of how perfect tea can be. Its burnt-carmel flavor and that oh so smokey smell really makes everything with the world once again. I finally figured out malty and why people like smokey tea, which sounded odd to my novice ears. I think I might have accidentally over steeped it at one point, but found that it hadn’t become bitter. Very smooth and bold with rich full bodied flavor. And a hot one at that.
I hope this tea never runs out, or I will cry. A lot.
After drinking this in comparison with Twinings and Stash, I would definitely pick this one any day. Its smoother and more balanced than Twinings or Stash. This was the right amount of bergamot for me, and the citrus component didn’t dominate (looking at you Stash).
Also Twinings tasted like crap. I wasn’t surprised. I don’t think I’ll even log it.
So I had an Orgo exam this morning. Consequently, I had a cup of my new favorite focus tea.
This is naturally sweeter than I expected of and green and a mate, its almost honeyed. Very mild and reasonable smooth if I had remembered to time it. It has very characteristic green qualities with the mate playing bass to it. I know when I run out I will definitely be getting a new box.
Also! It is bagged. I usually stick my nose up to such things, but it means I can put in my jeans pocket and “find” it latter when I’m in a dinning hall and in need of good tea. I found a thing of Earl Grey at lunch time in my pocket and my day was made.
So all the tannic made my stomach achey, so this is my solution.
But only after downing a 5hr energy.
Man do I love college.
Yay for college! Too much caffeine gets to me in the same way, especially if it’s on an empty stomach.
Is it midterms for you? Mine just finished and I’m burnt out. Try to make sure you get some rest when it’s over, I hear there’s something going around ;)
My profs. thought they be nice and place their exams slightly after the normal mid-terms, but they all did it. But the big one is out of the way (Organic) and I’ve finished grading which takes forever. Now just Micro and a paper. But the paper is on tea, so thats going to be awesome.
YEAH, that flu thing right. I heard thats not going to end well…
Glances at the log entry and then glances at today’s Steepster Select Coincidence? Or IS it? 0_o
;)
haha just saw this too! you’ll have to ask @jason…he’s the spy…I mean…erh the one responsible for that Select choice :)
I was just worried about the poor bunny and wanted to spread awareness ;)
But seriously, I’ve heard good things about this oolong, especially from people who drink flavored teas, so I thought it would be a good choice to feature (plus it’s on sale now). It wasn’t until after I had setup everything that I noticed your tasting note. *Looks down at ground bashfully :)
The timing was just too perfect. XD
The tea sounds quite tempting, but I just ordered from H&S recently. I’m glad you guys are featuring this company though. :)
Yea, they have good quality products that I think the community would enjoy. Are there any other specific companies you’d like to see in Select?
Well really I’d be happy to see any tea company that isn’t either:
a) A US only company (like Tavalon) or
b) Charging ridiculous prices to ship outside the States. (ie. Rishi and Republic of Tea charge around $20 minimum for shipping to Canada, and Samovar charges $40!)
Adagio and H&S are both great companies with reasonable shipping rates and so is SpecialTeas. Mighty Leaf teas are great too, although those might be too mainstream.
I’m assuming you guys want to stick with the larger tea companies.
I understand that as a european I’m in the minority around these parts but if you could find someone, anyone!, who didn’t require you to pay in blood for shipping fees across the Atlantic, it would be awesome. To that end I suggest taking a look at teaspring.com who has very reasonable shipping to both America and Europe
I was just reading about this one in the H&S catalog that was sent to my house. Gotta love those tea catalogs. drools
Remind me to check here more often!
Thanks for worry about my bunny, Eckhart Eckerson! I was really close to losing him, truly last minute save. Still, not having him following me around is a real downer. At least he’s safe and I can see him.
I still don’t believe you Jason, you totally planned it (jk).
But on the out of the States thing, I totally agree. I’m planning on going overseas for about a year, and will definitely need some good links. Or a place to live, but tea comes first.