Lemme start by giving a great big ‘thank you’ to JacquelineM for a VERY generous sample (I mean, she must of bought a truck full and got sick of it “generous”). I really will resist the desire to rave on and on about the share package I recieved from her and will get on with the note.
I had a high expectation after reading several of the near forty posts on this tea. It seems, generally speaking, we like it- actually more than the creator who gave it a 75.
Being this sample resembled a purchase rather than an act of kindness (I’m just dying to reveal how much there is, but I’m sure that would be uncouth-not that I’m overly couthy) I elected to make a pressful= 8 cups. We normally reserve full pots of anything for the Asian grocery oolongs due to the cost effectiveness. I haven’t broken down the pennies to cup ratio as I’ve seen a few do, but it’s cheap. What the heck, I’m living it up this morning.
Where was I, oh yeah the tea. The tin, when opened, (another bonus, it came in a tin! I’m getting so big time with tins and everything! Thanks again Jacqueline) smacked me upside the head with the smell of a barn! Yep, a barn. It smells like dry hay that’s also very malty. Immediately when the water hit the tea my very ampley proportioned nose was filled with a leather like maltiness that made me think “this is going to be a strong cup”. Again when bringing the cup to my lips the malt smell was so apparent, yet when I took the first sip I was greeted by an amazing mix of flavors/impressions. There is a baseline of subtle malt that shares the stage with some smokiness and a faint creamy sweetness that actually stays with you as an aftertaste. Gentle yet bold.
The dry hay is there too, and thankfully it’s not a wet/green hay or this would not be the same tasting note at all. There’s almost a pu’erh thing going on in the backside if the sip (who am I kidding, it’s more a gulp). I can see where most other posts leaned toward a green/grassy descrition as one of the characteristics, though I have to stick with the dry hay choice. For me, it lacks the bitter,sometimes astringent, note I seem to get out of greener tasting teas.I went ahead and steeped this a second time with fair results. It definitely lacked the complexity and the smokiness that it started with, yet was still considerable as an easy drinking tea. In other words, this second steep was better than some first steeps I’ve came across, and by no means was comparable to the initial infuze.
I’m so thankful that several- Jacqueline,Azz,and LiberTEAS have been so kind as to help me experience many other facets and types of tea that would have taken me months, if not years, to visit. AmazonV, MissMylin, and Autumn Hearth have all pledged to send samples my way as well (unless I already recieved AmazonV’s, which is still to be determined). What a wonderfull community to belong to (sniff sniff) and I appreciate it very much, so many kind and helpful people. OK enough with the sentimental mooshy junk, I gotta get another sample going-this will take weeks to get through.
tunes-the Black Keys=Little Black Submarines/Run Right Back/Sister…turns out the whole El Camino album. It’s all great, as nearly everything they put out is. I have a hard time naming who has more talent between them and Mumford&Sons, yet Black Keys have 7 albums whereas Mumford are just releasing their second.
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I can not hear the song “Good Life” by One Republic without salivating for this tea. A couple of years ago, not long before I was diagnosed with cancer, I got in the habit of making a JoeMo full of QC and walking the track at the gym where my youngest daughter was taking swim lessons…every week day. The two became firmly associated! Then I drank to pull myself up by my bootstraps during radiation. I have a lot of respect for the Queen, and I hope she will always be on my shelf.
I am glad you met Jacqueline!! My girls were talking about tea the other day and I told them Jacqueline is the Queen of Steepster! :)
Wow that’s great! I’m not familiar with the tune, but soon will be. Hadn’t heard about your diagnosis yet, but it explains a portion of the spirituality you exhibit. Hope to hear more of your story as time goes on. Also, didn’t realize that I had brushed shoulders with royalty, Queen Jacqueline it is!
Oh, no worries! Other than the fact that I have to get poked and prodded a lot, my treatments are over and I have the all clear! But my girls can look at me some mornings and know whether to make a pot of QC or EB!
I like the Black Keys :)
You are so sweet!
I’m blushing!
I can not hear the song “Good Life” by One Republic without salivating for this tea. A couple of years ago, not long before I was diagnosed with cancer, I got in the habit of making a JoeMo full of QC and walking the track at the gym where my youngest daughter was taking swim lessons…every week day. The two became firmly associated! Then I drank to pull myself up by my bootstraps during radiation. I have a lot of respect for the Queen, and I hope she will always be on my shelf.
I am glad you met Jacqueline!! My girls were talking about tea the other day and I told them Jacqueline is the Queen of Steepster! :)
Wow that’s great! I’m not familiar with the tune, but soon will be. Hadn’t heard about your diagnosis yet, but it explains a portion of the spirituality you exhibit. Hope to hear more of your story as time goes on. Also, didn’t realize that I had brushed shoulders with royalty, Queen Jacqueline it is!
Oh, no worries! Other than the fact that I have to get poked and prodded a lot, my treatments are over and I have the all clear! But my girls can look at me some mornings and know whether to make a pot of QC or EB!
I like the Black Keys :)
You are so sweet!
I’m blushing!