1347 Tasting Notes
So I got some of this in a swap from Cavovorax a while ago (I’m pretty positive it was Cavo), and I just sent it along to my friend. Once she tried it, she couldn’t stop raving about it.
My Verdant order arrived today, so this was the first tea I wanted to try. It kind of smells like the forest. The taste matches up well with the scent. Like pine trees. Pine tree tea.
I think I need to fiddle around with the steeping times and temperatures, because this one is tasty, but I don’t think it’s keep-around-in-my-cupboard tasty. Any suggestions on steeping parameters?
I also need to find space in my cupboard for the five other orders on the way.
Preparation
This is another lovely sample from caile – thanks!
Yet another great black tea. This one doesn’t have that natural sweetness, but it’s still quite tasty. I decided on this for my morning cup this morning and it did not disappoint. It comes off as fresh and clean tasting.
I would say I prefer the Bailin, because I really enjoy the honey-like sweetness, but I certainly wouldn’t say no to this being in my cupboard from time to time.
Preparation
I’m getting the Bailin soon as a sample for review. SUPER excited!
Yay! I also had chosen the bailin over this one, although both were good. Glad you enjoyed them!
Thanks caile! This swap has been so informative haha. I now know TeaVivre teas will most likely be a staple in my cupboard.
Stephanie the Bailin was wonderful! I ordered some a little over a week ago and now I’m even more impatient for it to arrive.
You’re so good at trying all the samples, Courtney! lol I’m so slow. :-P
Haha I get overly excited with swaps and I always want to try all the new teas. :P
Haha! Me too… (except I’m a slowpoke)! ;-)
Haha. :P I’m excited to see some of your tasting notes – especially the Taiwanese Wild Mountain, I might even say that is my all-time favourite.
Yes, I’m really forward to trying this one!!
Another awesome sample from caile!
This tea is fascinating! The smell is that typical comforting black tea scent, but the taste is different altogether. Is that a berry taste? It’s also a bit woodsy. Not like the forest, like wood. I’m quite enjoying it, and the different taste for each sip is keeping me on my toes.
Preparation
Another sample from caile :)
I smell smoke. Okay so that smokiness isn’t strong at all in taste, but it’s there. Subtle, yes, but still too much for me. It’s not actually in the taste, but seeing as my nose has to come pretty close to the cup to take a sip, I don’t think I can quite handle it. Thank you for letting me try this one out caile!
Preparation
This one has that natural honey-like sweetness going on. I love that flavour. The taste isn’t overwhelming, but still a lovely strong black tea.
Thanks for sharing caile! I’m thrilled I have some of this en route.
Update: The second steep of this is delightful with plenty of flavour. (1.5 tsp/14 oz.)
Preparation
I’m glad you like it!! :-)
I know what you mean by lower steep temperature being more trouble than just letting the water boil – do you have a variable temp kettle?
I don’t! Pout. I do love my kettle though, perhaps my next one will be a variable temperature.
I recently received one and really like it! Before that I used a stove top kettle with a whistling spout.
That was my one before the current one. Now I have this one: http://instagram.com/p/YBKG2SuZB9/
Now that I have a variable temp, I don’t steep anything but herbals at boiling. :) I find the black teas so much nicer plain with 195-200F water..
Neat OMGsrsly! I’ll have to try a few of my favourites at lower temperatures now. :)
Agreed – I steep most blacks at 90-95C
I just noticed that this is listed as the organic version; the one I sent was the regular one. ;-) I was interested in trying the organic version but it was out of stock.
Whoops!
Lol Sorry I didn’t notice it until now for some reason.
I did the same thing for the note I did when I got my TeaVivre order. Wow, fail haha.
Haha! They are almost the same, so easy to do. :-)
I didn’t realize this wasn’t in my cupboard, though I have only one cup left until it’s gone. It wasn’t in my Butiki order that’s en route, but perhaps the next one.
This one is sweet, and I can get the baked bread notes. And a touch of hazelnut. All very subtle of course. Butiki teas really are a work of art.
Preparation
A couple months ago I made the ill-considered decision to eat one of the animal crackers from my dry tea leaves. Obviously, it wasn’t just the animal cracker, but also residue from the actual tea. Well, this tea in dry form was not my friend. A part of me feared I would never love this tea again, but this morning I took the bold step of brewing this up, and yes I am enjoying as I once did.
Preparation
yay!
Haha yay!
Haha this is why I LOVE their company!!
that’s awesome… I’m so tempted to just say the hell with it and order through amazon even if i’ll likely be there soon haha
Well, as I have no plans to go to Miami anytime soon, I couldn’t help myself. :P I’m happy to send anything I got your way Sil.
Ooohoh oh oh!! what’d you get? what’d you get? (can’t see your pic for obvious reasons lol)
keychange I placed a Nina’s order yesterday for 4 teas and they emailed me this morning saying they were throwing in an extra 1.6oz. of 4 fruits rouges as a gift for me and my Steepster friends. :)
oh wow, how very kind of them!
This is a delightful oolong. I’ve tried a fair few from Verdant, but without having them side by side I don’t really feel qualified to say which is better. They all taste like lovely oolongs. There is none of the mineral like taste here that I’m not overly fond of, but there is a delightful, extremely subtle hint of sweetness. We shall see what resteeps bring.
Thanks for sharing KiwiDelight!
Preparation
I went in the middle of the paramaters and steeped this for 2.5 minutes with boiled, slightly cooled water.
This is a green oolong, so it has that familiar slightly vegetal flavour, but with a sweetness at the end of the sip. I generally prefer darker oolongs but I was happy with this one.
Preparation
I have now finished my updated bio. Woot!
This tea I picked up a while ago, from the London Drugs, when there was an extensive discussion on someone’s review of it. I must say this one is tasty. I do have to steep it for quite a while, but that could be because it’s a bagged tea. I love that the coconut makes it creamier and it’s a subtle chai overall.
I got the yabao snickerdoodle, and yes! Pine trees! So interesting. I think I steeped at 185 for 3-4min.
Nice! And…wow at five other orders! ;-)
I didn’t see that one OMGsrsly! I did pick up the Eight Treasures Yabao though. Perhaps that will be my next cup.
I’ve been so out of hand this month with order caile. :|
I’m so glad that I’m not the only one that has trouble fitting their tea orders into the cupboard. :-)
Haha! I had to rearrange drastically sundaysipping. I’m only “allowed” one tea cupboard, so I’m going to need to get creative.
gross. silver yabao and i do NOT get along… blech. in so far as cuboards go… i need a day to rearrange..my unopened teas are taking up too much room in me “open once you’ve finished some other stuff” cube
Sil! I got the Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong Smoked Wuyi as a sample in my order – are you interested? I kind of despise smoke in my tea haha.
of course! looooove it! that would be awesome
Part of the deal with my fiance and I moving in together was that he got a fish tank and I got a tea cupboard. It’s the smallest cupboard in our kitchen, meanwhile my fiance has a 55 gallon fish tank. I’m considering taking over the (much larger) spice-and-sundries cabinet for my tea. After all, tea is so much more important than things like canned tomatoes. And I’d still only be using one cabinet.
Do it, sundaysipping! :D Courtney, the tea was part of the Verdant Blends christmas box.
OMGsrsly, I am so tempted. Only think keeping me from doing it is that he cooks most of our meals and I’m afraid he’d dump some of my Lime Gelato into pasta sauce, thinking it was oregano or something. What a horrible thought.
Courtney, that is so weird about the fishtank and cabinet! Maybe I can trade my fiance if I offer to let him get a bigger fishtank … (he thinks I don’t see him eyeing them when we’re in the fish store but I totally notice). I think that you should convert your kitchen cart into a tea cart! Also: I love the idea of a kitchen cart — we have no storage space and barely any counters so this might be a good solution for us. Hmmm.
That’s exactly why we got the cart. It is so handy. I may be able to convert one more drawer in it at least. Mwuahaha.
That would be a waste of good tea, wouldn’t it, sundaysipping. :)