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Spring 2019 Harvest, Winter 2020 Grind

Oh, man. I haven’t whisked a bowl of matcha for over five years and it shows. And I thought I could get away without sifting and winging the portion ratios/whisking motions? Nope. Waaaay too many clumps.

Thankfully, this matcha is a tasty forgiving kind. It’s mellow and grassy (bitter and sweet like dark chocolate), with a banana sweet finish. Today I tried it directly as powder (when it coated my fingers, don’t ask), as a hot whisked cup (strong but smooth), before dumping most of that cup over ice cubs and adding milk (mellow, grassy, gentle, savoury herb and sweet banana finish). It was tasty and flavourful in all forms. Looking forward to drinking this up and, hopefully, treating it with more respect!

Flavors: Banana, Dark Bittersweet, Grass, Herbs, Moss, Umami

derk

When I use less powder, I can taste banana just under-ripe in the finish.

CrowKettle

So far the banana has been a one off and occurred after adding the milk and doing weird things with ice cubes and water ratio. It was super vivid, and you’re right- totally a green banana, but like I don’t even know what I did to get it. It was such a mess. Haha

CrowKettle

Yeah, today is more moss, grass, umami, and maybe slightly sweet plantains to finish. A faint starchy/fruit sweetness.

CrowKettle

I also get the faint rosemary note when I ice latte and “clump” it. Such a weird flavour. I haven’t tasted it in my warm cups though!

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Comments

derk

When I use less powder, I can taste banana just under-ripe in the finish.

CrowKettle

So far the banana has been a one off and occurred after adding the milk and doing weird things with ice cubes and water ratio. It was super vivid, and you’re right- totally a green banana, but like I don’t even know what I did to get it. It was such a mess. Haha

CrowKettle

Yeah, today is more moss, grass, umami, and maybe slightly sweet plantains to finish. A faint starchy/fruit sweetness.

CrowKettle

I also get the faint rosemary note when I ice latte and “clump” it. Such a weird flavour. I haven’t tasted it in my warm cups though!

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Bio

I started my Steepster loose leaf adventure back in 2012. I can’t say I’m completely new anymore, but I still view oolong as a magical, extraterrestrial creature that unfurls in water.

Favourite Flavours/Ingredients:

-Vanilla, Maple, Caramel, Cream, Toffee, Nougat, Marzipan
-All Citrus: Lime, Grapefruit, Lemon, Bergamot, Orange, Yuzu
-Anise, but not licorice
-Ginger or Clove-forward chai
-Rosemary
-Grass/Marine/Vegetal/Nutty Green teas
-Florals: Rose, Lavender, Jasmine…
-Musky and/or Woody Incense-like stuff: Sandalwood, Frankincense, Eucalyptus
-Berries: Blackberry, Raspberry, Currants, Blueberry, Elderberry
-Bananas, and most fruits actually.

Less Preferred Flavours/Ingredients:

-Stevia and most sweetners
-Cinnamon-forward chai/blends
-Apple & Cranberries
-Mango pieces (love mango outside of tea though)
-Coconut pieces (as a sub/filler ingredient)
-Metallic or overly artificial teas
-Cocoa Nibs, 95% of the time.

Subjective Rating System 3.0:

90-100: My absolute favourite tea. I’ll impulsively buy in large quantities and hoard like a dragon.

85-89: A favourite tea. I’ll try to keep this one around when it’s practical.

76-84: A good tea, but not one I’m likely to order again.

70-75: Alright, but I may have a few problems with quality, consistency, ingredient chemistry and/or personal preferences.

50-69: Average to mediocre cup.

11-49: Varying levels of undrinkable tea. I don’t give a lot of these ratings out, since I tend to grab tea I know will appeal to me.

1-10: Nightmare tea from the chaos realms. This tea is the embodiment of the primordial swamp, the unholy abomination that is a chimera. It’s very gross and I’m almost positive it doesn’t exist.

Location

BC, Canada

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