1578 Tasting Notes

90

SIPDOWN! (101)

This tea was given to me by TeaBrat. She added it to a swap just out of the kindness of her heart. :) Overall, I find it pretty good, and caffeine-free options are always nice in the evening. I did a shorter steep this time around so the peppermint flavor would be a bit less intense. My only issue with this blend is the stevia – it adds a weird faux sugar aftertaste that I don’t like. I wish they would leave that out and allow people to sweeten it themselves if they choose to. I think a little bit of vanilla would be helpful too, just to give it that sweetness that candy canes obviously have.

I’m happy that I got the chance to try this blend, but it’s not something I would restock. But I’m not the biggest mint fan either, especially peppermint. :P

Edit: I hope I’m not annoying anyone with all of these sipdown notes… I realize they don’t have much substance! Don’t worry, I’ll go back to writing meaningful tasting notes soon.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Show 6 previous comments...
Dexter 11 years ago

If the tasting note conveys your thoughts on the tea then it’s meaningful. :))

Cameron B. 11 years ago

You know what I mean! :P Smarty-pants.

Dexter 11 years ago

I was trying to say that we are interested in your thoughts and impressions – this style of note is just as meaningful as the more technical style.
(I’m also not a mint fan…..)

Cameron B. 11 years ago

Well that’s sweet of you to say. I was mostly concerned because of the volume of these notes I’ve been posting. Don’t want to spam up anyone’s dashboard!

SarsyPie 11 years ago

I just dropped by to say: “Eeeeeew MINT!!!” :p

Dexter 11 years ago

LOL no worries, my dashboard was a little slow tonight – I actually enjoyed the “spam” ;))

SarsyPie 11 years ago

OMG. I just realized that this makes me a troll.

A MINT TROLL!!!!!

TeaBrat 11 years ago

Agree, most of the time I don’t like stevia in things either.

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75

SIPDOWN! (102)

This one wasn’t roasty enough for me before, so I figured I’d try a longer steep this time around and see if that intensified the toasted rice flavor. Noop. I still taste too much grassiness and not enough nommy roasty toastiness. This was my last traditional genmaicha, but I’m not too upset about it, considering I still have the lovely Laoshan Black Chocolate Genmaicha! And hooray, I’m almost under a hundred teas!

Too bad I have more on the way… hangs head.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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78

SIPDOWN! (103)

Meh, returning to this tea after trying many Yunnans over the past couple (few?) weeks and finding it sub-par. I have clearly been ruined by all of those lovely tippy, golden Yunnan teas I’ve ordered and received (all Nicole’s fault). This just can’t compare. It’s very harsh and somewhat bitter compared to what I’m now used to. I’m not really getting honey, just strong malt and “tea” taste. I tried this one yesterday with the 1/2/4 steep method and while it was improved, it was nowhere near my new favorites…

Oh no… I’m a snob!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Show 11 previous comments...
mj 11 years ago

LOL sneaky snobbery

TheTeaFairy 11 years ago

Haha! Tea snobbery is a sneaky little thing, isn’t it?

TheTeaFairy 11 years ago

(Haha! Had not seen your comment mj, we said almost the same thing!!!)

mj 11 years ago

Well, you know what they say, great minds think alike. This proves it :)

Cameron B. 11 years ago

I’m just an incognito tea snob… Like a ninja. ;)

TheTeaFairy 11 years ago

Haha! NinjaCam, sounds great!!

ohfancythat 11 years ago

Oh no! ;)

(The way I look at it is my money can go towards teas I love instead of “meh” teas)

Cameron B. 11 years ago

I jump from roof to roof! …and get my friends free cable. Badass.

TheTeaFairy 11 years ago

Totally!

mj 11 years ago

Can you please come jump to my roof then because I pay way too much for internet!

boychik 11 years ago

What does it make me? This tea is GROSS. Period. Enough said.

Cameron B. 11 years ago

boychik I thought it was the Tippy Yunnan that you despised. :P And I totally got a little fuzzy aftertaste from this one this time.

boychik 11 years ago

Oh my bad. You are absolutely right. Not enough caffeine, should drink something ASAP.

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95

(SAD) SIPDOWN! (104)

Aw, my very last cup of this tasty tea (for now). Gotta love the light and delicious pastry notes, the honey, the mild fruitiness. Sigh… Soon it will return to me! I want to try gong fu brewing with this one, since the name pretty much demands it.

I also found out today that Tan Yang Gong Fu (also called Panyang Congou apparently) comes from the same varietal as Golden Monkey! They’re also processed in the same way, apparently Tan Yang is slightly higher grade though. Interesting! They were listed as the same tea in The Tea Enthusiast’s Handbook, so I looked it up and found more information here:

http://www.cantonteaco.com/blog/2013/07/a-trip-to-fuan-and-golden-monkey-tea/

Gotta love learning! I will definitely be repurchasing this tea when TeaVivre’s black and oolong sale starts! SOON.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Show 1 previous comments...
SarsyPie 11 years ago

I want pastry notes. I hear people talk about them, but I don’t often find them myself. :)

Cameron B. 11 years ago

I’ve found them in this tea and the very tippy Yunnans so far, especially with shorter steeps. I also got pastry when I did that Eastern Beauty gong fu style! Yum yum yum!

ohfancythat 11 years ago

Thanks for the learnin’!

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88

Sipdown! (105)

Another lovely fuzzy tea from Nicole. I did the 1/2/4m method tonight, and all three steeps basically tasted the same to me, which is interesting. They all had that nice cucumber/honeydew in the beginning of every sip, and then turned into lovely light bread and pastry notes. There’s definitely a very light floral at the end somewhere, maybe a mild lilac? Overall, this is definitely a unique tea. I would absolutely consider stocking this just because it’s nice and light and refreshing. Lovely for afternoon or early evening. Thanks Nicole! :P

Flavors: Pastries

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Show 6 previous comments...
MzPriss 11 years ago

I love the fuzzy gold teas!

Cameron B. 11 years ago

Me too! At least I’ve loved them all so far. I still need to try your Golden Fleece, sorry! :P

Cameron B. 11 years ago

By the way, do you have a recommendation for gong fu parameters for that?

SarsyPie 11 years ago

Lilac! Wow!!!!

Cameron B. 11 years ago

Sarsonator this one is very interesting. I’ll be sure to send you some if/when I order from Yunnan Sourcing.

SarsyPie 11 years ago

Super, Cam! Update for ya: Lady Gaga should be here Saturday, according to the USPS site. The tracking info finally showed up!

Dexter 11 years ago

Did I order this one? (Massive YS black tea incoming – pretty sad when you don’t even know what’s included) Probably, I too LOVE Gold Yunnan teas…

SarsyPie 11 years ago

Uh oh… Someone needs a tea time out. :p

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93

Sipdown! (106)

This tea is so delicous. :3 I used water within the recommended range this time around. I’m definitely getting a fruity note that I don’t remember from before, it’s kind of like a golden raisin (sweet and syrupy, but not as intense as a regular raisin). Very lovely. I will definitely be adding this to my list of teas I must repurchase! And I would like to try this with the 1/2/4 method or as a gong fu session. Thanks so much to Nicole for introducing me to this tea and to Yunnan Sourcing in general! :D

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Show 2 previous comments...
Nicole 11 years ago

I’m so glad you are finding teas you like from the Yunnanapalooza box! I blame/thank boychik for Yunnan Sourcing. :)

Cameron B. 11 years ago

I’ve definitely loved all of the big fuzzy golden ones. I am seeing a pattern. :P

boychik 11 years ago

Don’t mention it;)

Terri HarpLady 11 years ago

Yeah, this tea is wonderful!

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85

Sipdown! (107)

Used the yyz method (1m/2m/4m) although I didn’t actually do the third steep this time around. This tea is still very unique, it has that fennel seed herbaceous flavor that I’ve found in a couple others. But I feel like this one is more savory. It’s very dark rye or pumpernickel bread with the seeds over the top. Butter, maybe, but not honey.

Delicious, but not something I absolutely need. :P Thanks to TeaTiff for the sample..

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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88

Sipdown!

I finished this one off this morning using the new method that I got from yyz! It’s a 1 minute steep, then a 2 minute steep, followed by a 4 minute steep. I am really liking this method. I guess it’s somewhere between gong fu and western-style? I tend to love the lighter/more golden Yunnan teas and this kind of emulates that flavor even with a darker Yunnan. I will definitely be trying this with a lot of my other black teas. Thanks so much, yyz!

As for this tea, it’s a good one. But there are other Yunnan teas that I like as much or more that are cheaper (and more accessible, there is only one tin of this left and then it’s gone forever). Thanks again Nicole for letting me try this one! :)

My stomach is sloshing from all this tea!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
yyz 11 years ago

Your welcome!

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78

Sipdown!

This is definitely my favorite of the Della Terra teas I ordered a few weeks ago. A few of the others had really artificial flavors, which were okay for the first try, but after that I found they made me a bit nauseous. This one does have flavoring, but I actually enjoy it. The blueberry is more of a blueberry jam flavor than fresh. The cream is kind of vanilla-ish and it’s definitely stronger than the blueberry, which is okay, but I would prefer if the blueberry were stronger. It’s not overly rooibosy, and I don’t taste the black tea at all.

Overall, a relatively good dessert tea but not a very good blueberry tea, which is what I’m looking for.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Show 5 previous comments...
SarsyPie 11 years ago

The hunt continues…

Dexter 11 years ago

http://www.teavivre.com/blueberry/
(If you have some of this in the house, you can add a little to save disappointing teas like the one mentioned – or you can just add it to your favorite base and make your own blueberry teas…)

Cameron B. 11 years ago

Ehhhh I see hibiscus… :(

TheTeaFairy 11 years ago

(You can trust Dexter, she’s her own little tea-mixologist in her spare time :-))

Dexter 11 years ago

Shrug – the hunt continues…. :(

Cameron B. 11 years ago

Do you like hibiscus? Or can you just not taste it much in that blend?

Dexter 11 years ago

I like hibiscus – so it’s hard for me to say. I don’t think this is overly tart, but I’m not really sensitive to it. IMHO – if blueberry teas don’t have a little hibiscus they end up being too sweet and “jammy” like you mentioned – if you want the “fresh” blueberry taste you need a little tart to balance the sweet.
If you don’t like hibby – then that blend is probably not for you…

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85

Sipdown!

Yum, toasted rice! It’s been a while since I’ve had a (traditional) genmaicha. This one is definitely my favorite out of the three I’ve tried. It’s the smoothest and has a lot of yummy toasted rice flavor. I can taste the green tea in the background but it’s not rough or grassy like other genmaichas can be. I still don’t taste the matcha. I don’t feel that I necessarily need a traditional genmaicha in my cupboard right now. I have Laoshan Black Chocolate and I think it about covers my lovely toasted rice tea slot.

I still really need to try that buckwheat tea! I bet it’s just like this but without the green tea flavor at all. OM NOM NOM TOASTED RICE!

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Stephanie 11 years ago

Yeah, buckwheat tea is great!

Stephanie 11 years ago

So is this one :)

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Profile

Bio

Hi, I’m Cameron! I’m a 30-year-old software engineer currently living in Austin, Texas with my husband and our two pugs, Gobo and Ume. I tend to cycle between my different hobbies, and they include knitting, video games, board games, miniature painting, bento, baking, and – of course – TEA! But really, what I’m best at is collecting hobby related-things… ;)

I prefer my tea lukewarm or at room temperature and without milk or sugar. I will often sweeten iced tea. I brew Western style, and fluctuate between using mugs or teapots with small cups depending on the season. Occasionally I’ll brew Gongfu style when I’m in the mood. I also use a kyusu for Japanese teas.

I am always up for a swap! Just let me know if you’d like to try something in my cupboard.

Current Subscriptions:
52teas
Bird & Blend
Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms
Sips By

Tea Preferences:
I enjoy both flavored and unflavored teas in many forms. These days, I drink mostly flavored teas, and I tend to gravitate most toward black, green, and oolong varieties. I do have a special fondness for straight Japanese green teas, however.

Fruit: All of them! My ‘go-to’s tend to be in the red fruits, stonefruit, or citrus spectra. I also really love apple, banana, berry, fig, lychee, melon, pear, and rhubarb flavors. Tropical fruits aren’t among my favorites, but I still enjoy them once in a while – especially mango and pineapple. I am not generally a fan of coconut in tea, though there are some exceptions.

Dessert: I love creamy vanilla and marshmallow flavors, along with anything in the caramel family such as butterscotch, toffee, or maple. Chocolate is also a favorite, though I’m often disappointed by it in tea. And don’t forget anything buttery, cakey, or cookie-y!

Floral: I’m a little bit more particular in this category. I very much enjoy jasmine, even strong jasmine, along with sakura and chamomile. But I’m not crazy about rose or lavender flavors, and I prefer hibiscus in moderation only.

Spices: I don’t generally find myself drawn to masala chai, but I do enjoy spices combined with other flavors. My favorite spices are the warm ones, especially cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, and cardamom. A bit of heat from black pepper or chili is okay too, as long as it’s not overwhelming! Ginger can be a lovely accent, but I find it difficult to drink as a starring flavor.

Aromatics: I’m obsessed with Earl Grey! I also love cooling flavors such as mint (especially spearmint), pine, juniper, and eucalyptus. I am not a fan of strong rosemary or sage in tea.

Favorite Purveyors:
Bird & Blend
Dammann Frères
Kusmi
Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms
Lupicia
Taiwan Tea Crafts
TeaVivre
Yunnan Sourcing

Tea Rating Scale:
90-100: Outstanding! Permanent cupboard resident
80-89: Great – a possible staple
70-79: Good, but I wouldn’t buy it
60-69: It’s decent
50-59: Meh… I may or may not have finished the cup
40-49: Ick. Couldn’t finish it.
00-39: Repulsive, I spat it out

I will sometimes refrain from rating a tea if I feel I’m too biased due to my personal dislikes, or if I suspect the sample has been compromised by age.

Location

Austin, Texas

Website

https://www.instagram.com/cam...

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