24 Tasting Notes

79
drank Chun Mee by Simpli
24 tasting notes

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88

Mmm, I enjoyed this tea quite a lot! Whilst it is a green tea, it struck me as something half way between on the first steep.

The dried leaves, as expected, are rolled in tight balls. There is a real mixture of greens in this one, dark to light in colour. There wasn’t a strong scent when dry, but when wet you get a slight earthy note. Again, when steeping the aroma isn’t particularly strong.

The wet leaves become more vibrant as usual, but I noticed that there were flecks of rusty, ruddy brown leaves now.

As far as taste goes, this was a real change from the green teas I’ve been having this week. It is difficult to describe, other than it’s definitely got some oak and earthyness in there. It also tastes like a good quality tea. It immediately grabbed me and made me think this was something a bit special. I’m really pleased I got to try this.

Second steeping lost the oak as the main body, and balanced itself with the normal slight floral and sweetness of green leaves. Very pleasant again, and the third steeping matched this balance.

I’m looking forward to my next cup of this, and it’s one that I’m looking forward to sharing with my family.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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81
drank Genmaicha by Simpli-special
24 tasting notes

This is one blend I have wanted to try ever since I began researching tea. It stood out as unique because of the addition of the toasted rice. Out of the packet, it’s visually appealing thanks to the toasted colour of the rice against the dried green of the leaves, with the odd large fleck of popped rice, which looks very much like popcorn. The smell is fairly strong too, predominantly of the rice with little room for the tea.

Once steeping the aroma grows even more. It is intensely nutty and savoury, although after a few minutes a hint of the green tea forms in the backgroud. The liqour is a pale mixture of green and yellow.

The taste of this tea has the familiar nutty and earthy flavour from the scent, but the sweetness of the tea was much more noticeable. The body of the tea wasn’t as heavy as I expected from the strength of the aroma. After drinking my mug down I was left with a slight buttery taste which was very pleasant.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 30 sec

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79
drank Chun Mee by Simpli
24 tasting notes

Argh, someone remind me to edit this later. The company is meant to be Simpli Special!

The dried leaves live up to their ‘eyebrow’ nickname. The aroma of this tea was quite understated for me, although it does replicate the taste. It created a pale tea between yellow and amber, sligthly darker than expected despite following recommended brewing technique.

The taste was the same as I expected from a Chun Mee. The nut hits you, and then the smokiness joins it subtly, and before you release it you’re finishing with a slight sweetness just before the flavour melts away.

To me this seems more like a tea to help you get up and do things, rather than some lighter/sweeter/flowery green teas. I would definitely prefer this as an everyday tea rather than saving it for times of relaxation. It’s got an initial punch with the flavour that really helps you focus!

Update: Upon second steeping the aroma was much sweeter! It was very pleasant. The taste of the liquor wasn’t quite as smokey as the first time, and this helped to bring out the natural sweetness here too. Maybe it is just the way I’m brewing it, but it seems like an interesting main course and then pudding combination in one set of leaves.

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75
drank Japanese Sencha by Harney & Sons
24 tasting notes

I experienced this tea at a corperate function today, and I was definitely glad of it! They had a small selection of teas from H&S, but I thought this Sencha would be the most refreshing. It’s the first time I’ve sampled a Sencha, and I was looking forward to trying it.

The tea in the bag looked quite dull to start with, but it smelt good. It was quite grassy as someone else has mentioned. When brewing a hint of nut was also released in the background. The taste was similar, although the nuttiness at the back came out more to balance the grass. The wet leaves were a fantastic emerald green colour. I did feel the bag hindered the flavour a bit though, whether it was the general tea in a bag production or the steeping.

I was impressed with this first try of Sencha. I have some loose leaf to sample soon, and I expect a more natural flavour. I’m excited to try multiple uses to see how the flavour changes.

One other thing about my experience, there was lots of bits on the outside of the tea bag before I put it in the mug!

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86
drank Nilgiri by Northern Tea Merchants
24 tasting notes

There is a wonderful fresh aroma and taste to this leaf. It is lovely and smooth. I like how well it steeps, you can get a light-medium strength easily to suit your mood. Despite leaving it in longer than usual once I never got any bitterness, which is a great characteristic of Nilgiri. It brought a great malt flavour.

I find it perfect for times when everything around is a bit hectic and scattered. The refreshing flavour and smoothness seem to wash all hassle away!

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64
drank Lemon Herbal Tea by Lipton
24 tasting notes

When steeping it smells exactly like Lemsip! Definite lemon scent, but again Liptop manage to get a strange artificial edge to it as well.

The taste is better than expected, although more on the bland side, and it’s not because the bag wasn’t in long enough! The lemon is pleasant, and does taste more natural than it smelt. Occasionally I got a wonderful lemon fresh taste rush through after swallowing, but it didn’t happen often enough for me to love this tea.

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56
drank Forest Fruits by Lipton
24 tasting notes

I found the aroma to be a bit too strong and sickly sweet. I couldn’t help but think it was a bit artificial.

The taste isn’t as bad thankfully, although I have had much better versions of this tea. The fruitiness didn’t really come out in the way I would have hoped, and it unfortunately this version isn’t for me.

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85

I don’t have experience of any loose leaf Lapsang Souchong to compare against unfortunately, but I did enjoy it in a bag. I can see the loose leaf have a fresher underlying tea flavour, but I thought this was great as a quick brew solution.

It has that wonderful camp fire smell, much stronger than I expected. The taste was very pleasant too, just enough wood and smokiness in it. It wasn’t overpowering and steeped very well.

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86
drank Girlie Grey by Jeeves & Jericho
24 tasting notes

I was very impressed with this tea. It certainly lives up to it’s ‘girlie’ tag over traditional Earl and Baroness variates thanks to it’s blend of citrus and sweet flavours alongside the flora. I enjoyed this tea during an afternoon tea outing with family, and the three of us that tried it all loved it. It is one that I will have to purchase more of.

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