1202 Tasting Notes
Having this again today having cold steeped it overnight. It was a concentrated brew so I could add a bunch of creamer and still have a strong cup. It’s delicious! Creamy cold strawberry with an almost genmaicha flavor on the finish. I think this how I’m going to finish the entire bag.
Preparation
I’m not a fan of mate. It often has an ashy tobacco note that I dislike, so it’s not a surprise that I would not have considered it before. A friend received a sample of this with her recent Theodor order and gave it to me. It definitely has a bright melon/peach flavor to it! It also seems to lack the mate notes I don’t like. It does have a hint of slight smokiness or earthiness that rounds out the flavors well, giving it nice base notes that tame the bright fruit. They blend together well in the sip and then seem to take turns in the finish with a hint of hay. Theodor surprises me. They manage to blur many of my harder lines of what I don’t like in tea with teas that I unexpectedly find good. I’m not quite sure if I’d want to order 125g of it, but I would be pleased to try it again.
Preparation
Trying to get through another day in this burning world one cup of tea at a time. Today it’s J’aime. I get the perfume and flavor of strawberries for sure. After reading CameronB’s tasting note I was able to pick out the sour cherry and almond notes. My brain wasn’t able to make the taste to name connection on it’s own today! I’m having it straight and it’s nice, but not amazing. I don’t recall what led me to choose it. The scent? It is very similar to a strawberry Lupicia tea that I enjoyed cold steeped, so I might try that with this one too.
Preparation
Bought this tea on a visit to a Mariage Freres in Paris with the husband in mind, since oolongs aren’t my thing, but I had to try it anyways. I hope I get to go back and visit again someday. Wish I could download French into my brain before that!
The tea does remind me a bit of Theodor’s oolong. They both have creamy light caramel like flavors. Most oolongs fall flat for me towards the back of the sip, but this one has a light creamy grassy hint to it. Creamy and grassy are not flavors I’d have thought I’d enjoy together. As it cools it looses a bit of it’s magic. I think the taste of the unfiltered water starts peeking through. I really should get a good water filter. I think I kinda like this tea!
Preparation
Another tea I picked up last summer at my visit to Theodor. It looks like I have been enjoying this quite a bit the past year or so judging by the amount left and have neglected to make any tasting notes for it.
It is citrusy, that’s for sure, but it’s a deep citrus and not bright, sharp or with a bite like fresh fruit. Almost a baked nature to it. The tea has lots of light floral notes on a solid deep base. It gives it an aromatic almost perfume like flavor, but not in an obnoxious sort of way. I might have oversteeped this cup, but all it shows for it is the slightest tinge on the sides of my tongue at the end of the sip. It’s a really lovely tea, but it’s so hard to describe accurately! Theodor makes a great tea once again!
Preparation
This company, Gurmans, seems to be linked to another called J&S which isn’t in the Steepster data base. I’m not sure if one is owned by another or if one is the retail outlet of the other.
On a trip to Ireland earlier in the year, just before the pandemic really took hold, I went past Gurmans and picked some of this up along with another tea in their Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre location in Dublin. I also found a specialty grocery shop that had a set of Irish teas under the J&S name. It wasn’t until I got home that I saw that Gurmans was listed as the manufacturer on the J&S label and realized I had doubled up on this tea and one other. Luckily I like it a lot, so I’m sure it won’t go to waste.
It has little chocolate chips in it, which I have mixed feelings about in my teas, despite my love of the effect they have. I’ve been drinking this tea with a bit of creamer and it has a faint scent and taste of banana, which isn’t at all what I was expecting. There is a malty finish that lingers pleasantly. I think I get a hint of chocolate, but it’s not exactly what I’d think of as Irish Cream. Once I got bananas in my head it was hard to move past that impression. It tastes good hot or cold, which is great when I walk away and forget my cup for a bit.
Preparation
I was thinking I’d like to have a cup of an old favorite today, but the ones I reached for were smokey teas and I just couldn’t do it with the five days of inescapable smoke from all the California wild fires burning. I look forward to being able to enjoy those teas again when the air is fresh. Instead I decided on vanilla.
I think I went through a bit of this tea a while back, but didn’t write any steeping notes so I don’t recall how I prepared it. I’m having it plain today. It was a little better when it was hot and takes on a touch of flatness as it cools. Still, I do get a bit of vanilla. It does seem well balanced with a slight leaning towards base flavors. I feel like this tea is growing on me a touch.
Preparation
I’ve been loving this tea for about a year now… how have I not written a tasting note?! Picked this up in Paris at the Lupicia store there. Wish I had time to visit their tea room in the back.
It has a dark rich berry scent to it. I’ve been enjoying it with a bit of cream. The chocolate is subtle. I think it works more to add depth to the flavor of the berry as opposed to tasting like chocolate in it’s own right. My cup is cool now, so it’s hard to pick out the flavors in the sip, but the finish leaves me with a light yet rich raspberry flavor. I’ll have to add more notes when I have a hot cup in front of me again.
Preparation
Long time, no posts! Been busy watching and dealing with the world falling down. Looks like Steepster was doing a bit of the same. Glad to see the site back up again and am crossing my fingers for a good revival.
I got a sample of this from a friend’s recent order. It has a nice mellow minty flavor with more depth behind it. I’m not quite able to pick out the bergamot in it, but I bet that’s part of the elusive background. I’m having this hot, but I think I’ll do a second steeping as a cold brew. I’m betting the flavors will morph quite a bit with temperature. As it is, it’s nice, but not something that is captivating.
Update: Cold steeping did nothing to bring out an epiphany with this tea. :/
Preparation
Finished up this sample yesterday and in trying to sipdown the last two cups worth it kinda grew on me! Reading over my previous notes makes me wonder if this is a tea that does well with age. Sitting in my cupboard for 6 months or more seems to have taken some of the strength out of the clove and let the citrus and plum come through. It was really nice with some cream. A little sad to see it go and might think about ordering more in the future.