26 Tasting Notes

79

This one is pretty interesting. Let me first start by saying that I always add rock sugar to this tea, as this is another one of those teas who’s flavors are brought out by the rock sugar.

Now, speaking of those flavors… the reviewers if this tea are getting all kinds of flavors and notes, but I myself would describe this as simply this: a creamy citrus mint. I wouldn’t call this tea ‘complex’ but these three flavors play wonderfully (perhaps confusingly to some palettes) together, and I definitely can see how the illusion of vanilla is created. The cream and citrus are equal parts, while the mint is subtle. In fact, the way the mint leaves fall in your bag may vary so I recommend shaking your bag upside-down a bit just to get an even distribution of the particles before you scoop.

I like this tea even though I’m not in love with citrus (lemon, orange) flavors in general, but I enjoy the creaminess of this and how the contrast of 3 flavors lets your mind/mouth wander to come up with your own interpretations of notes on this tea. This is definitely one of those teas where I can see my opinion and perception of it changing as I become more familiar with it.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 45 sec

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83

Just finished my sample of this tea. Definitely getting some chocolate notes in this one, quickly followed by a sharp sweetness. These flavors are brought together by an earthy, slightly malty body. I did perhaps notice a tiny bit of bitterness and astringency, but trust me as somebody who dislikes those things a lot – they are not a problem due to the boldness of the fruit flavor here. In fact, this tea may have let me develop an appreciation for how a hint of bitterness and astringency can sometimes work with the flavors to produce something good. In regards to that it reminds me of dark chocolate, where the bitterness is sort of a necessary evil that eventually grows on you. Currently I’m unsure if i would re-order this and I find it hard to rate this tea because I am still kind of ‘exploring’ the spectrum of various black teas… but I would not be surprised if, at the end of my journey, this tea ends up being one of the highlights.

3min/1.5tsp/210F/8oz

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75
drank Shooting Starfruit by DAVIDsTEA
26 tasting notes

I received a bit of this tea in a swap. It was my first tea from Davids and I am not disappointed. The taste was obviously very fruity, and I could identify the unique jackfruit/starfruit taste despite it being my first time with that flavor. The tea has a small bit of natural sweetness, but not enough for my tastes so I end up adding some sugar to my cups. I had to be careful not to oversteep this tea even a little bit, because the one time i did it tasted pretty undrinkable. This was a good intro for me to Davidstea and I look foward to trying more from them soon.

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79
drank Sencha Fuka-midori by Den's Tea
26 tasting notes

I’m changing my previous rating on this tea. I’m not sure if I oversteeped it on my first review, but this time I did 2g/3oz/1min. This time, the brew was MUCH better… any astringency or bitterness during my first tasting was much improved on this revisit, and had a much more vegetal flavor with a good amount of natural sweetness (another tea that I do not need to add sugar to). It tasted great, and its sad that most people dismiss green teas before tasting a delicious one such as this. Its hard for me to identify and define the notes in this since its my first sencha so I apologize for the briefness, but I will definitely be coming back to this tea in the future to see how it stacks up vs other senchas. In fact, tomorrow my huge Yunomi.us order arrives, so we will see very soon =D

Preparation
1 min, 0 sec 2 g 3 OZ / 88 ML

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Drank a sample of this. A bright rose is the first thing I tasted, with the cream being more subtle. I can’t discern any champagne flavors in here since I’m not familiar with them, but that is fine with me since this tea tastes great regardless. Halfway through the cup I added a bit of sugar and it made the flavors explode (moreso than with adding sugar to other teas); the rose was now very sweet and at the same time the cream was more forward and full-bodied. The tea came across to my pallete as kinda confusing, probably because I wasn’t familiar with what champagne flavors should taste like. But I definitely enjoyed it and will plan to give it another try with my next order.

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Just tried a cup sample of this. This tea doesn’t remind me of something bright or refreshing, but rather something very smooth and relaxing. Though there seem to be a lot of flavors and notes going on in this tea, I enjoyed being able to clearly realize each one of them despite the fact that they are relatively similar types of flavors. Coconut, banana, and cream are the most immediate flavors in this tea, with a subtle flowery vanilla playing in the background and perhaps even a quiet nuttiness at times. I did not add any sugar to this (like I do with 80% of my teas) and it had enough flavor and sweetness to stand on its own. I will probably order some of this with my next Butiki shipment, at the very least so I can try it cold-brewed or to see how it tastes with some sugar. I just hope they have it in stock at that time, since it is a “Limited Edition” after all! This is a perfect tea for anyone who likes that tropical ‘Pina-Colada’ type of taste and also wants something exceedingly smooth and comforting.

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Just tried a sample of this. It is a pretty unique combination of flavors for a tea, and the flavors seem pretty spot-on. The flavor of a typical applesauce is very different from that of a normal apple flavor, and this tea matches the sauce flavor very well. I’m not sure if this will become a favorite since I was only able to try 1 cup of it, but I could definitely see it growing on me if I were to order more. If you are a fan of the equivalent Hanukkah food dish (which I am both assuming exists and that this tea is modeled after) then I 100% recommend this tea. If not, I still recommend giving it a try due to its uniqueness.

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Tried a sample of this. Definitely more maple than pecan, in fact the pecan was fairly subtle. That being said, this tasted fine and will be great for somebody in the mood for a maple-y tea.. but I’ll have to look elsewhere for a go-to pecan flavored tea.

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83

This was my first loose-leaf white tea, and it won’t be the last. There is a sort of juicy almost “mouth-watering” effect that the flavor has. I have not experienced this with any other types of tea, and as this is my first white tea I am unsure if this “juicy” property is found in other white teas or if it is unique to this tea in particular.

The crisp notes of hay are definitely in the spotlight, shadowed by a quiet sweetness and a very subtle honey/melon-like tone. I usually add a bit of sugar to my teas, but this one works just fine if not better without it. This tea is everything I imagined white teas would be; delicate, crisp, and clean. I look forward to seeing how this tea will stand up to other whites as my cupboard grows!

Brewing notes:
The tea leaves are pretty long so I tend to want to weigh my leaves rather than measure them. I’m not sure if measuring these leaves is as inconsistent as I am imagining it, but I just can’t imagine the leaves are going to fall into the tablespoon the same way every time you measure. I used 4g in 8oz of 190F water for 3/5/8mins.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec 4 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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Interesting Keemun combination here. Mint is in the spotlight here from the start, and it leaves a fresh mouth feeling to finish. A bit of lemon/honey is present, though more subtle than the mint. Even more subtle is the berry flavor, but it is still definitely identifiable.

This tastes good but I’m not sure if I’d reorder it. I’ll decide during my next tasting and update then.

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Profile

Bio

Currently looking for these teas:
A replacement for Butiki’s Taiwanese Wild Mountain Black

Notes & flavors I like: vanilla, cinnamon, coffee, cream, butter, brown sugar, smokey, roasty, earthy, wood. Banana, melon, most fruits in general, sweet, rose, jasmine, florals.

If you are interested in a particular tea in my Cupboard, we can perhaps set up a SWAP… please post in my Swap thread and tell me what you are interested in!

Rating scale:
100-90: Incredibly delicious, a staple which I will look to always keep stocked
89-80: Great, will definitely look to purchase again.
79-70: Good or decent. Would drink again, and might purchase again.
69-60: Not good or bad. I won’t drink it again, and will throw away any remaining.
59-00: Completely awful or terrible. Undrinkable.

Location

California, USA

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