17 Tasting Notes
Very interesting! The flavor upfront is a nice mild oolong, nothing special, mouthfeel like plain hot water. Holding it in your mouth for several seconds yields a wonderfully intense, smooth, honeyed licorice aftertaste.
The leaves expand like crazy, so use a big strainer!
A refreshing change from artificially flavored black teas. The vanilla, which predominates, is authentic and creamy. I initially couldn’t taste the tea at all through it, although the tea flavor came out and balanced more at around 100°F. A four minute brew just starts to get astringent.
Overall, too mild for my taste.
Preparation
Yummo! I don’t usually do tea with milk, but I received a tin of this as a gift. Brewed according to the directions, with the exception of reducing the sugar to 1T. With 1c whole milk + 1c water, it was perfectly spicy, delicious, and rich. 1c 1% milk + 1c water tasted thin and the pepper came through too strongly. Haven’t tried any intermediates yet.
A second infusion (with the addition of another teaspoon of leaf and 1-2 extra minutes) was decent but didn’t hit the spot like the first.
Preparation
My first pu-erh. Yes, it tastes and smells exactly like sticky rice, at least on the first infusion. A fun novelty experience, but I wouldn’t buy more (only got a sample).
1st infusion (45 sec): Tastes just like sweet sticky rice, with a touch of greenness at the end.
2nd infusion (45 sec): Oops, slightly bitter — the pu-erh cake had a chance to loosen up more, and is infusing faster. The rice flavor is still there, but it’s much more grassy and earthy now.
3rd infusion (40 sec): Too earthy for me. Tastes like the smell of fresh, clean dirt. Guess pu-erh isn’t my thing.
Preparation
Unfortunately, I don’t like grassy teas…not sure why I decided to sample this. Not my thing.
1st infusion: Sweet, vegetal, extremely buttery (though not smooth like CTG’s amazing TGY), and a little reminiscent of…soup? There’s an extremely clean, bright, sort of filtered-water quality to it that seems to go up your nose like pool water.
2nd infusion: A roasty, nutty flavor came out in this steep.
You know how teas never live up to their smell? This one exceeds it. Imagine drinking the smell of your favorite perfume. (Not your grandmother’s.)
1st infusion: OMG. The mouthfeel is ridiculously, unbelievably silky smooth. Floral, sweetly vegetal, buttery, maybe with a hint of jasmine? The flavor is somehow both delicate and strong. I don’t usually notice color, but it’s a gorgeous sort of yellowy jade hue.
2nd infusion: The vegetal flavor is pushing back the perfumey florals a bit. Still sweet and buttery smooth.
3rd infusion: Getting more vegetal than I’d like, and starting to weaken. It’s rich and buttery enough, not sencha-grassy, that I don’t really care.
Brew with extreme love and care. The second time I made it, I didn’t jump through all the extra hoops that CTG suggests, and it came out disappointing. Seriously though, best tea experience I’ve ever had. Love CTG’s sample program.
