1184 Tasting Notes

92

Mmm so happy to have this back in my cupboard.
Chamomile is one of those ingredients that I don’t have too often, but I do enjoy it in this blend. The peach is also very tasty in here. It all blends fairly well together with the white/green base.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 30 sec 1 tsp

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89
drank French Toast by 52teas
1184 tasting notes

I had this tea previously in the 12 days of tea box a couple of years ago (or was that last year?). I think that this is Anne’s blend and as far as I remember, this tastes different than the original. I find that It has more bread and egg notes. Unfortunately, I find it lacking in the maple department but hey, I’m Canadian, so there is never enough maple syrup for me right! Lol.
Next time, I might add a smudge of maple syrup to take it to the next level.
Delicious!

I resteeped this for 4 minutes , but I think I might go for 5 minutes next time because it was a tad weak.

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 30 sec 1 tsp

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No one has rated this yet? I accidentally steeped it way longer than the parameters on the bag. The bag says 30 seconds. I got distracted and steeped it for a minute and a half. The first time I steep a tea, I always try to stick to the recommendations and then change things from there based on personal preference or suggestions of others. Next time, I will steep with the recommended parameters.

The tea was fairly smooth and not vegetal. The jasmine was present but not cloying or artificial. A really good jasmine green. It isn’t as sweet as I was expecting though.

It resteeped well through 2 more infusions before I ran out of time today.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 tsp
Garret

I like shorter steeps with this one. But we’ve got alot of our restaurant and coffeehouse clients who are using less leaf and longer steeps times(2 to 3 minutes) for their customers and getting very good results, too. If you are looking for a sweeter green jasmine, our dragon pearl green jasmine is outta sight and steeps many many many times over. Thanks for your tasting notes lately! I am grateful you took the time!

tigress_al

Thanks Garret, I will try those pearls next order!
I will also try both different steeping recommendations!

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95

If my memory serves me correctly, this seems to have a little less baked goods and icing notes this time around. It is still sweet cinnamon goodness though. Maybe I need to shake that bag up a bit too. I am beginning to enjoy honeybush even more than rooibos these days actually. That darn sweet tooth! 52teas seems to be one of the only companies to do honeybush blends though. I need more!!!

I am also enjoying these more now with less than boiling water. It does seem to keep the sourness at bay.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 8 min or more

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95
drank White Night by Mandala Tea
1184 tasting notes

This is a very nice white tea. The dry leaf is beautiful, with silver and black leaves.

I used 1tbls of leaf. It was challenging to get the leaf to stay on the spoon because it is so twisted and long!
It seems to be a complex tea. The first infusion is light with lots of silky smooth hay and honey notes. It is a little different than any other white tea I have tried in the past.
The second infusion (at 3 minutes) seems to be creamier. It is a very comforting cuppa.
The third infusion (4 minutes) is sweet and smooth, the honey is back.
I did a 4th (5 minutes) and 5th (6 minutes) infusion, but didn’t have enough time to pay attention to detailed notes

On the website, it says to rinse the tea. The bag that I received has different steeping parameters than on the website and it did not say to rinse. Maybe I will try the websites parameters next time to see what develops.

Preparation
165 °F / 73 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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79

Thankyou for the sample 52teas!
I would not have bought this for myself because I am not usually a fan of banana flavour in teas. I am not sure what it is about hot bananas but it just doesn’t jive with me.
Anyways, this honeybush was better than I was expecting it to be. Coconut is fairly high up there on the favourite list for me, and it was the most prominent note in this cuppa. The “cake” was missing a little for me though. To me, the banana was fairly in the background which made me happy.

Preparation
6 min, 0 sec 1 tsp

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92

I am a little timid going into the world of straight pu’erh but here I go! I have so far likely not had very high quality other than Teavivre. I have been scared of the fishy/mushroom taste.
This tea is nothing like that though. It is very smooth and not fishy at all. It is smooth and earthy with notes of dark chocolate. Creamy, nutty notes develop in later steeps.
I followed the steeping parameters on the bag including a rinse first. Steeped for 30sec, 1min, 1.5, 2
I wish I could have resteeped all day but my body maxes out on caffeine at 4 steeps. I might save the leaves and steep again tomorrow

Flavors: Creamy, Dark Chocolate, Earth

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 30 sec 1 tsp

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88

I really enjoy honeybush in the evenings. It is a little sweet and I have always enjoyed the offerings from 52teas. This is the first order I have placed with all the changes!
This is really good. It is fairly sweet and to raspberry is slightly tart. I am getting a bit of the pastry, but sadly thnot cheesecake is way in the background.

I guess I have always been brewing honeybush incorrectly, I always just guessed at the parameters. I have been brewing for 5 minutes with boiling water. I am not sure if it makes a big difference or not.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 min, 0 sec 1 tsp
52Teas

In my experience as a tea reviewer, I found that using boiling water to brew honeybush (and rooibos) – that weird, sour woody flavor comes out more significantly which is why I write the parameters with a slightly lower water temperature. I find that the lower temperature keeps the sour wood flavors at bay and since honeybush doesn’t get bitter because it doesn’t have the tannins of tea, you can steep it longer to get more flavor out of it.

Alyssa

Thanks for the tip, 52Teas! I will have to try that with my next rooibos.

tigress_al

Thankyou so much 52teas I am not sure why that reasoning has never occurred to me before!! Now I can enjoy those honeybush blends even more!

Kristal

Wow, thanks for tip, 52Teas!

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drank Anxi dark by Zen Tea
1184 tasting notes

This is a good roasted oolong. It has fruity notes, which the description states is peach, but I am not getting peach specifically. I will have to pay more attention to what fruit I’m tasting next time.
I was too tired this morning to remember much more than that. I will have to write a proper note next time I brew this tea.

I resteeped for 3 minutes. This steep tasted a little more mineral and a little less roasty.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp

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84
drank Bossa Nova by Zen Tea
1184 tasting notes

This oolong got a little beat up in the shipping process I think. There was lots of little bits in my sample bag. Or maybe this tea comes like that, I don’t know.

I rather enjoy this tea. Hazelnut is the most prominent note for me. It is slightly creamy, likely from the oolong base. I am really enjoying roasted oolong lately, and this fits that bill. The vanilla is barely there, just a tiny hint.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 15 sec 1 tsp

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Bio

Hello,
I am a nurse. I have numerous hobbies: reading, crocheting, crafting, card making, scrapbooking, photography, shopping, and of course drinking TEA!

I started drinking loose leaf tea in Dec. 2010 when I went into a DavidsTea for the first time and have been hooked ever since! My favourite is probably white tea, but I also love black and oolong. I also like a nice relaxing rooibos or herbal in the evening. On Sundays, I like to treat myself and make a tea latte.

My favourite flavours are nutty, vanilla, chocolate, jasmine, tropical, fruity, earl grey.
My dislikes are lavender, rose, hibiscus, banana, and straight green or overly vegetal teas.

I am admittedly fairly generous in my rating scale. Most of my teas I rate at 90 and above, and would re-stock these teas.
Anything under 90 I probably wouldn’t re-stock unless I found a great price.

Location

Saskatchewan, Canada

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