CrowKettle Send Message

This was one of three random free samples from Bee’s Soulteez. Thank you!

When I saw goji berries I wrongly assumed this would be a slightly nutty-tart vitamin-c oolong blend. What I actually got was an awesome bright and sweet goji berry/ honeydew melon-like profile, with floral notes of honeysuckle. The flavour held up for at least four steeps and probably would’ve gone for longer if I hadn’t neglected the fifth.

Also, I was not aware that wolfberry was another name for a goji berry.

Steep Count: 4

Bumping up the rating on this one. I forgot about this one and totally oversteeped it, and it actually improved. On a blind test, my mom was a big fan too. It’s so smooth and boozy. A brown sugar-like sweetness is also peaking through and it’s delicious with the pineapple. It makes a perfect tropical, but hearty, latte for these overcast and rainy summer days that our Northwest Coast weather system seems to be churning out lately (this also lowers the chance of forest fires so none of us are too mad, I don’t think. The Cedars, Firs, and Spruce love it too and they definitely deserve some happiness after the last few killing summers).

This was included as a random free sample from Bee’s Soulteez. Thank you!

This is a pretty standard chocolatey mint tea, and has a smooth and satisfying After Eight profile, but more natural/less candy-like than some of its peers. It definitely hits the spot after overeating (Final essay stress + butter chicken = max, possibly unhealthy, level of indulgence. Whoops). The creamy-fresh peppermint aroma alone seems to help right away and provides a soothing back-drop to (hypothetical) writing and plotting. Off I go, I guess, while most of the “jitterys” are subdued. lol

I tried this first straight up, but it’s even better with milk. Amplified the creaminess.

Taken with milk.

This one is pretty nice, with a satisfying combo of pineapple, coconut, and malt notes. The coconut is a little baffling, because it’s not a listed ingredient, but I swear you can taste it; the nutty element may be attributed to the sunflower, as well as my brain’s tendency to pair pineapple with coconut! The tea also delivers on the booze, with an aggressive astringent nip.

All in all, I enjoy this one, even if I wish the base was something more special! I enjoyed the far sweeter Buttered Rum from David’s Tea+, and the more perilous but fancier One Night in Rio! from Camellia Sinensis (always scared coconut will expire and become soap), so not too surprised I like this one as well. I’m going to play around, and potentially make it into a Rum Hot Toddy or a Sweet Tea Rum Punch (Note to self: https://food52.com/recipes/77603-sweet-tea-rum-punch).

+Buttered Rum: A spider (Edit: probably wasn’t a spider as ashmanra points out) somehow made it’s home in my last tin. Needless to say I didn’t get to savour my remaining 40 grams, because.Webs.Everywhere. I’m still heartbroken but at least we have other rum teas!

TMI or TW: If bugs make you uncomfortable you probably won’t want to read the comments on this note!

Spring 2020 Harvest

This was provided as a sample with my latest order. Thank you, Alistair!

This tea has a gentle yet persistent creamy profile that is more than pleasant. I may have forgot I was drinking this tea and thought I made a Jin Xuan on the second steep. It was early and this tea is very creamy and smooth.

Steep Count: 5

This was part of my “three tea mystery grab bag” purchase, and was definitely the one I was most excited to try after sniffing the leaves (what tea purchaser doesn’t immediately open all of their mailed teas and smell them, eh?). The leaves are also lovely and curled/twisted and black with gold-red highlights ( I took a crappy phone pic for steepster).

The aroma of leaf and steeped liquid is dusty rose, malt and grape, bearing some similarities to Darjeeling.

Tangy-sweet muscatel, stonefruit and floral rose are the most prominent notes. A faint hint of pepper. Malt is also present and incredibly smooth and syrupy – You know how some lagers are like super boring and taste like funky water for most of the mouthful, but then, BAM, you’re smacked with the finish of decadent honey-malt syrupy goodness? It’s like that except you don’t have to wait each mouthful for “payoff”.

Ok, so I enjoyed the few Darjeeling teas I’ve tried but never tend to buy them because I don’t love their tendency for astringency. This tea has all the qualities I loved about my favourite Darjeeling experiences minus that big con. There is some pleasant astringency but nowhere near the level of some of the first steep Darjeeling teas I’ve had.

This tea is just so incredibly smooth and full-bodied and hits all the right notes for me (I’m a rose note person). I don’t know how this would hold up with connoisseurs of Darjeeling or Nepalese teas but it’s more than perfect for my pedestrian tastes. Wish it was available for purchase!

Steep Count: 2

(2019 harvest)

May 2020 Blend

I haven’t had the chocolatey goodness of Laoshan Black in ages! Mmm..

The two other black teas that make up this blend add a thin brown sweetness and a kind of bright oompf that’s hard for me to pinpoint or describe.

The Vanilla note on my second steep is slightly reminiscent of Comptoir Sud Pacifique’s Vanille Coco Perfume.. so a kind of creamy floral coconut vanilla (but thankfully far less overpowering)! I’m pretty sure there is no coconut in this blend, or brown sugar, or banana, or cream, but the brain is weird and the sweet vanilla finish is taking it on a spectacular journey. Second steep is good. Also, name of tea is accurate.

May 2020 Reblend

This is such a freaking good iced tea. It tastes and smells exactly what you’d imagine and want the tea equivalent of strawberry lemonade to be like.

The blend brings back memories of being a kid obsessed with the smell of those sickeningly sweet and citrusy frozen Minute Maid Pink Lemonade cans (so poignant a smell, so strange a child) . Now I, as an adult, can smell and drink this refreshing tea with no weird looks and a far less chance of developing cavities. These are the real milestone moments.

May 2020 Blend

I like the smell of this one quite a bit; it’s kind of spiced orange blossom honey aroma with a hint of caramelized butter. I mostly enjoy the taste but wish there was a bit more cookie/baked goods front. The tea delivers completely on the honey and butter though!

I also drank this straight up, with milk, and with milk and brown sugar. I can’t say which way I prefer it but I do know it didn’t last long (my mother thought the milk & sugar combo was deliciously smooth too so that’s two favourable impressions).

This was part of my “three tea mystery grab bag” purchase. I’m grateful that Alistair included this one because my past “less than stellar” experiences with other Four Seasons harvests has made me reluctant to seek it out again. I had one that was kind of doughy (ie- flat) in profile and it was meh.

However, this one is my jam. Like, it has fruity jam notes, which is one of my favourite things about some green oolong selections. It also has buttery cream notes (another favourite thing) and I am now pretending I’m eating a delicious scone. Life is good.

The aroma of the steeped cup is similar to that of the dry leaf: a floral bouquet of lilacs, lilacs, lilacs. A dab of Hyacinth. It dominates the room. I went into this first steep expecting an overpowering floral smackdown, like some Tieguanyin oolongs, and I was so kind of wrong (still a floral-heavy tasting profile).

Depending on how this session goes, and if following sessions yield consistently, I may just order more. I’ve denied myself the simple flowers for too long. Also, Four Seasons is always cheaper than the average oolong. Always a plus.

Steep Count: 4

(spring 2020 harvest)