2720 Tasting Notes
3rd Trip Through the May Prompts!
A cupboard staple – I chose this because I realized that I always have a rose tea on hand, whether this one or another. I just ran out of Yume by Lupicia and I have three rose teas still on hand – this one, Rose Scented by Harney, and Valentine’s Tea from Czar Nikolas.
Ashman isn’t a fan of rose in teas, but I love it. This one is a Keemun, not a pouchong, and even the company and distributor could not find out how it got its name. It is clearly labeled Keemun in the ingredients, it looks, smells, and tastes like Keemun, so go figure. Maybe someone thought Pouchong sounded fancy.
A former student of mine went to a shop that had tons of Bellocq tea. I offered to send her samples of some of the ones she didn’t buy and in return she was going to send me a sample of Queen’s Guard. Instead, her sisters showed up today with three full pouches of tea in addition to the sample of Queen’s Guard!
I was torn between trying this or the Raspberry Champagne White but I have been enjoying Tropical Vibes from Cuppageek so I wanted coconut, plus it is partially serving as first dessert because to be honest we have been having at least two desserts or treats a night. Awful, I know.
This was YUMMY. It is so creamy and coconut-y. I know I am going to try it as a latte because it would be amazing that way.
Funny thing – I didn’t smell the leaves until after I had enjoyed several small cups of the tea, and I picked up the same very weird smell that I noticed in another tea not long ago. It doesn’t come through in the taste at all. It must have something to do with the flavoring.
I looked in old notes, and I smelled this same odd smell in Lupicia’s plain Strawberry Black Tea, which tasted great to me and everyone I know who tried it, but had a very off-putting aroma in the dry leaves.
Big bonus – Ashman loved it and it is available locally. I am pretty sure this White Coconut Creme by Art of Tea.
I had this for the third time a couple of days ago. The first two times I drank it, I made it western, and last time gong fu.
I delayed writing a note because it is nothing like my first Ruby 18 or any others I have had since. My first was from A Southern Season. It was supposed to be black tea, but when I steeped it, it was pale yellow. I had even forgotten to time it! I was sure I had done something wrong, as these were my early tea drinking days. In spite of oversteeping, it was marvelous. I kept it on hand as long as they were open and had it in stock.
With excitement I ordered this one (rather expensive as good Ruby 18 can be) using mostly my reward points, and… it is good, but it is not remotely like the one from A Southern Season. It looks like black tea, tastes like black tea. It is good, but it isn’t what I was expecting.
Since I was a little put out at the difference between the old and new Western, I made it gong fu last time and it steeped more times than any regular black tea I have done, not counting ripe puerh. It was good with our dessert, so I will accept it for its positive points and not dwell on the fact that it is not what I expected.
My final tea of the second pass through the May Sipdown Prompts – a tea with unique or unusual ingredients.
This tea is jam packed full of goodies, but the unique thing about it is that they feature Smoky Assam prominently in the ingredient list and in the description, but it simply isn’t there in taste. The taste is mostly oolong with fruit.
A decadent and delicious tea!
For my second trip through the May prompts I am choosing this one as the tea that reminds me of myself.
Magnolias grow best in the Southeast and I have never lived anywhere else, and seldom traveled out of that realm. In fact, I have lived for over fifty years within walking distance of the hospital where I was born.
That also tells something else I have in common with this tea. We are both a bit older! Not sure of the age on this one but Tea Ave sadly went out of business a while back – before the pandemic, even. And I am old enough to be the mom of nearly everyone on Steepster.
The tea is still very enjoyable, and has lots of flavor, and I will enjoy the one remaining cup very much. Hopefully, I am not yet past my usefulness, too!
I like magnolia flavor very much, and I think this tea was my first exposure to it. It is floral yet I think people who dislike some florals could like this one. I don’t detect anything that could be thought of as bubble bath the way some people feel jasmine can, and I feel badly done jasmine can. It is a lower floral note where I think of jasmine as quite high but soothing. It is less oily and powerful than rose to me, although I love rose.
I think it is a happy medium in the realm of floral flavors in tea.
Although I bought some long ago, this particular pouch was a gift from White Antlers. If you see this, thank you again and we miss you!
An excellent tea, but my cupboard was too full and it was neglected and is now past its prime. Still tastes nice but isn’t holding a candle to its younger self.
I wanted a jasmine tea to enjoy outside since our three jasmine vines are all blooming right now.
This one is a little more astringent in its old age. The jasmine is much lighter and the peach nearly gone. The small bit that remains will be iced, and I will use my plain Premium Jasmine Dragon Pearls for the rest of my rocker time by the vines this week.
May sipdown prompts third trip through! – a tea flavored like a favorite baked good.
One of the most decadent desserts we make is Creme de Menthe Brownies. Superanna fell in love with them as a teen and always made them extra minty.
While this tea isn’t as minty as her brownies, it is as sweet and minty as the original recipe because I made a carafe to ice and sweetened it and had the foresight to give it time to chill and meld.
The marshmallows give that frosting vibe and the mint is the absolutely most perfect level for me. I confess to also sneaking a wee bit of it while it was still hot. Best mint black tea I have had.
Second trip through the May prompts – a soda tea.
I made this extra strong and extra sweet so it was a syrup and added it to cold Perrier. It made a nice enough tea soda but I love it hot and also flat and cold. I think there is only enough for one more big pot. The black tea base is nice and doesn’t get drowned out by the orange and cream flavors. This was a really great tea. I MIGHT be slightly more in live with Jaffa Cakes.
Second trip through the May prompts and drinking the same strawberry tea because I think this and the decaf version are all the strawberry I have. And it wasn’t listed in my cupboard? How?
Delicious strawberry flavor, resteeps well, awesome with an everything bagel this morning. Yum!
Although I love many teas, I tend to gravitate toward black teas for western and oolong for gong fu.
But this darjeeling….a gift from Superanna, of course.
This contains salted cherry leaf, thus Sakura in the moniker. It does not taste like cherries, FYI. When I first had their Sakura Vert I fully expected a fruity green tea and it certainly was not.
From the moment the water hit the leaves, I was patting myself on the back for choosing this for breakfast. (Ashman is away at the Woodwright’s School so breakfast is simpler today. I really am not sure how he would react to this one.)
This smells rich and briny or brothy, and how does a tea actually smell thick? But it does.
The golden tea has the characteristic darjeeling astringency but at the same time, a rich and almost oily mouthfeel. Those muscatel darjeeling notes hang in there with the salted cherry leaf and linger linger linger. Breathe deep as you take a slow sip, then swish a moment. And keep enjoying the tea for ten minutes after it is gone.
