1018 Tasting Notes

90

My baby is now restocked! yesss… I literally just finished off the last of the old batch yesterday so the delivery gods will be lavished with praise today. Also doubles as a nice reward for submitting a paper today. So many happy coincidences.

Everything is more vibrant than my 2018 batch; the aroma, the colour, the starchy taste… I’m looking forward to getting to know the the 2020 version of this tea better.

Steep Count: 2 + ongoing

(spring 2020 harvest)

Flavors: Baked Bread, Chocolate, Malt, Milk, Raisins, Sweet Potatoes

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Leafhopper 5 years ago

That’s great news! It’s always nice when you can get more of a tea you like. I’m looking forward to getting some 2020 tea, hopefully sooner rather than later.

CrowKettle 5 years ago

Yes, it’s always exciting to try the incoming harvests! I was going to hold off and then realized all of my dwindling teas are from 2018 or earlier. It was time :)

Fjellrev 5 years ago

Sounds wonderful!

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82
drank Lime Marshmallow Mate by 52teas
1018 tasting notes

I think I now like this one more than my remaining Lime Jello Salad.

Flavors: Candy, Earth, Lime, Marshmallow, Roasted

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 8 min or more
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Fjellrev 5 years ago

No way, better than Lime Jello Salad? Ralph Wiggum would say that that’s unpossible!

CrowKettle 5 years ago

To be fair, my Lime Jello Salad has aged and now the lime leaves/citrusy ingredients are coming across as kind of.. pissy? And mate has more caffeine, or at least I like to think it has more caffeine. I need to believe in that right now.

52Teas 5 years ago

Mate is so invigorating (that is, caffeinated)! I remember last year when I was testing it again – after a couple of years of even having any – & it was like a Matcha high on steroids! I was buzzing – but not in a bad way at all. Just – I can’t drink it very late because it will keep me up for another few hours.

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April 2020 Blend

Ok, I finished this one off last week and I think I need more time with it to form an opinion or give it a rating (ie – I still need to drink more). Rooibos and I have a mercurial relationship.

I always love the idea of green rooibos more than the actual thing but this one is not bad. I do get more unripe (Green) mango salad than sherbet half the time but that’s not a terrible thing either!

Flavors: Lemon, Lemongrass, Mango, Tangy

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 8 min or more

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86
drank Malted ChocoMaté by 52teas
1018 tasting notes

This is the most delicious of elixirs for late night caffeine consumption (necessary evil for doing battle with the essay readings).

I wish this one was a 52teas staple. Flavoured Mate is hard to come by and I have yet to find a worthy substitute for the earthy chocolate malt ball goodness. Also, it resteeps well once or twice (+8 minutes).

Flavors: Chocolate, Earth, Malt

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 8 min or more
gmathis 5 years ago

Yes, this is a good one.

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78
drank Pumpkin Chai by DAVIDsTEA
1018 tasting notes

Everyone in the family opted in for the self-care Pumpkin Chai Latte, with frothy milk. Sometimes there is nothing left to do but have a sugary hot milk beverage!

I have my complaints about David’s Tea but I must begrudgingly admit that many of their teas make excellent dessert lattes, especially now that they love to add so much sugar and stevia directly to the blends (boo, hiss). Pumpkin Chai, Cardamom French Toast, Santa’s Secret, Read My Lips, etc. All great candy lattes.

Flavors: Caramel, Cloves, Nutmeg, Spices

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88
drank With Open Eyes by Butiki Teas
1018 tasting notes

Every year or so, I exhume the desecrated husk of my sole remaining Butiki tea and mourn anew. It’s a grizzly and macabre affair. It involves a lot of pining.

The ginger is now very bright, somewhat eclipsing the strawberry, which in turn has mostly drowned out the withered remains of the green tea base (why did I hoard a green tea? I should have gone with a black tea or something. I have so many regrets).

There is still beauty in the residue. Stacy made the best blends.

Flavors: Ginger, Nuts, Strawberry

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 30 sec
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tea-sipper 5 years ago

Butiki forever!

Nattie 5 years ago

I still have so many Butiki teas I’m hoarding

CrowKettle 5 years ago

@Nattie, I don’t blame you! I’d be hoarding if I had your stash too. Some of the flavouring is as tough as nails.

I’m a tad over-dramatic in my note about the tea decay. Wven though this dragonwell is tired (oxidized brown), the original flavouring of strawberry and ginger is still pretty strong, if not stronger! Sometimes, I add a bit of fresh dragonwell when available and that brings back that missing dimension :)

Nattie 5 years ago

Hey that’s a great tip! Yeah a couple of my Butikis are at a point where I probably should call it and get rid of them, but I would say around 90% are still doing great! They’re fighters (: and it’s just as well too, with the amount I have left!

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87

Golden Orchid is a vanilla scented black tea blend as per its ingredients list. In practice it’s more of a fudge tea. I stand by my old tea note of six years ago. I don’t know which year this batch came from (no younger than 2018) but I do think it’s not quite as fudge-like as previous batches but the aftertaste is undoubtedly fudge-like. Weirdly enough, a bit of the sour tang of stonefruit and cleansing note of eucalyptus is creeping in too, as well as a burst of cloying date sweetness every once in a while. Neat.

I may be at the point where I slightly prefer Ambrosia to this but it’s still very much a comfort tea. Glad to see I still have some in my stash (I am totally rediscovering my previously neglected tea cupboard. It’s the coursework and procrastination).

Flavors: Apricot, Chocolate, Dates, Eucalyptus, Honey, Malt, Stonefruits, Vanilla

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75

I wish this blend and more peanut butter consistently but, omg, the banana is once again delicious. Also does stellar as the “cup forgotten the night before and consumed first thing in the morning” tea.

Flavors: banana, Butter, Nuts

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tea-sipper 5 years ago

I love those ‘last night’ cups – they are great to have ready in the morning when I’m already craving tea tea tea. Therefore, I always have at least one cup going whenever I’m awake. :D

Kawaii433 5 years ago

Had this the other night, it’s very good. Their banana anything are my favorites hehe. I would’ve loved more peanut butter taste too.

CrowKettle 5 years ago

I was not impressed with this one when I first tried it but the time I’d finished off the sample (5/6 cups later) I’d warmed up to it greatly. 52Bananas forever.

@tea-sipper, you and I are kindred souls. ‘Last night’ cups are often an essential part of the waking up process :)

tea-sipper 5 years ago

Yep, Crowkettle, the ‘last night’ cups make getting out of bed easier.

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84

Oh man, I feel bad I never made a proper note of this one while I had it. We will all just have to make due with this belated note.

This tea was consumed enthusiastically and without care by the tea drinker. It was wispy and sprite-like in nature, both in its fleeting non-committing flavour profile and brief but flighty sojourn in and out of my cup. Sometimes it tasted like nothing at all. Other times, like the sweetest of sugar crystals and smooth sensual grass. Gone before you know it – with memory altering effects that are sure signs that this tea might just be another moniker for the Springs of Elysium. Like, I don’t even remember the year I bought and consumed most of this tea.

You think this tea note is fluff but it was the tea that was fluff! And I want more despite not having the foggiest clue why. Thanks for all the confusing feels tea.

Flavors: Grass, Smooth, Sugarcane, Sweet, Vegetal

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 1 min, 0 sec 2 tsp
Daylon R Thomas 5 years ago

The black version was sneaky too. I tried Gong Fuing it, but ended up grandpa and it was still too light. I westerned the second time with at least five grams, and it was better. It was still very light and a little bit confusing too, but it was smooth and sweet like a Taiwanese black

CrowKettle 5 years ago

Ha! That makes me feel less crazy and also a little envious I didn’t pick up the black tea version. I’ve had (Big Island) Hawaiian (white) tea before this and also recall it being extremely delicate and sweet but I pegged it at the time as being the result of the flavourful water there and the type of tea!

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90

Today this is all about the sourdough. I guess sour fermentation and nutty rice grains promote some crossovers with other food associations.

I wonder how many steeps I’d have to go through before stripping back most of the flavouring.

Steep Count: 2

Flavors: Baked Bread, Butter, Camphor, Chocolate, Grain, Milk, Nutty, Pleasantly Sour, Toasted Rice

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec
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Nattie 5 years ago

How many steeps did you get in the end?

CrowKettle 5 years ago

Oh, my ongoing status was a lie! Other teas distracted me yesterday. Will have to try for a long session again.

Nattie 5 years ago

Lol. I have a few teas I keep meaning to drink, but avoiding because I want to have a long session with them and I know I’ll get distracted with other teas. It happens to us all XD

Kawaii433 5 years ago

Great Pu’er. I have some still, now you make me what to have some. Maybe I’ll have some this afternoon.

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Profile

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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