514 Tasting Notes

85

Sipdown!

I did something completely new today. I added milk. omg, i know! I kept reading how strong breakfast teas are meant for milk, so I was curious. After much deliberation over weather to add milk first or after (haha) I went with first, having heard that it will make a more creamy cup or that it prevents stains, etc ,etc.

I can definitely see the appeal for milk in a British cup of tea. I can’t say that I will be doing this often, but it could be a nice change of pace on occasion. But let it be told that I will never ever pollute my sacred coffee with milk or creamer. ever. :p

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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100

I’ve had a sample sachet of this sitting around for some time, since my last H&S order. I didn’t expect that I’d ever sample it myself but, rather, give it away or to my husband. But for some strange reason, I had a craving for a spicy tea this morning. I am not generally big on spicy teas. I like them ok enough, but don’t go out of my way to buy them for myself (with rare exceptions). Cinnamon teas especially haven’t impressed me. I find them often watery and flavorless. This one said “spicy” cinnamon, which implies a punch of flavor, but then I remembered Butiki’s winter fire and how that one was too spicy for me. But, whatever, I felt like trying it out anyway.

So glad I did, but also so frustrated that I just placed an H&S order the other day for a single tea and it would be silly to pay double shipping for another single tea. bah!

This tea packs a lot of flavor and it’s spicy without causing discomfort. It tastes very much like red hot candies which, honestly, I don’t much care for. I like the flavor, but I hate that nasty sugary sticky after-taste of eating candies like that. This tea offers the best traits of the candies. yay. If only I could buy more right away!! so sad :(

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec
tea-sipper

I love this one! I wish you had tried this one before you ordered!

Shelley_Lorraine

I am so bad. I ordered it anyway. And I got a sampler sachet cube too to make it feel like I got enough to pay more shipping for. . though its hardly justification. I just wanted more of this tea dammit! what other reason do I need :D

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85

Tea #12 from the HHTTB

Yes, I know I’ve had this before, but I wanted to try it again just to confirm my opinion. It’s still sweet and vegetal and not too bitter just as I remember. The debris in the bottom wasn’t so severe this time and if I don’t let it sit around too long before finishing my cup, the last sip bitterness shouldn’t be a problem.

My cupboard is painfully lacking in greens at the moment so I’m going to keep this one.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 1 min, 30 sec
Stephanie

:) I really like this one too!

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15

Tea #11 from the HHTTB

♪ Berries and cream berries and cream! I’m a little lad… ♪Oh wait, I’m not a little lad. That’s what’s wrong here.

Yucky! I do not like this tea. I have not the words to describe it. It’s just yucky.

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45

Tea #10 from the HHTTB

just when i was starting to think that ti kwan yin was always a safe bet. . .not the best one I’ve had. It has a strange almost unnatural fruity sweetness. Not much else to say except that this one is definitely going back in the box.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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75

Tea #9 from the HHTTB

Decent cup of green tea. It smells like it will be bitter, if that makes sense, but it isn’t at all. It’s a bright and sweet green tea. I tend to favor a stronger vegetal flavor, but this is good too.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 2 min, 15 sec

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85

Tea #8 from the HHTTB

ooh, minty. If there is ever a flavored tea I will love, it will likely contain mint. I love mint, Peppermint and spearmint. Most of the mint teas I’ve had are heavy on the peppermint, so spearmint is a nice change of pace.

The tea doesn’t smell so minty, though. It has a unique herbal and woody smell. It’s not bad, but if that was also what the tea tasted like, I don’t think I would like it so much.

The dominant flavor is definitely the mint. The cinnamon and clove impart a spicy sensation, but I don’t detect them directly. As some others have noted, this tastes mostly like an herbal blend. I wouldn’t have guessed that it had an oolong base if I didn’t know.

It’s probably not such a quality blend in terms of the balance of flavors, but I like it nonetheless.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec
BrewTEAlly Sweet

Yay another success of what I added for you! I’m on a roll!

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95

Tea #7 the From the HHTTB

Well, I’ll be! I’ve already tried this one. I knew I tried a tieguanyin from Verdant, but I thought it was a spring one, not autumn. But no matter, because since then I’ve developed an unexplainable change of heart towards naturally occurring floral flavor, provided that it’s not over-the-top. I rated this one pretty high before, an 80, but it’s so much better than that. This one’s a keeper.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Whispering Pines Tea Company

I’ve loved every TGY I’ve had from Verdant, especially since I’ve figured out my favorite brewing parameters :) this is one of my favorites for sure!

BrewTEAlly Sweet

Yay glad you liked it! I tried including somethings I thought you would enjoy.

Shelley_Lorraine

Thanks BrewTEAlly. :) I’m a hard one to please when it comes to tea. I scavenged the box thoroughly for all the non-desserty teas. And thanks too for leaving the gyokuro for me. I’m saving that one for last!

BrewTEAlly Sweet

Anytime. I never really have time to truly enjoy multiple steep.and fine teas except fridays and mornings of some saturdays but I usually am busy with errands:(

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Tea #6 from the HHTTB

I thought that this tea tasted very much like Hong Jing Luo from thepuriTea. Sometimes, though, I don’t remember tastes so well after having so many different kinds of tea, but I vaguely categorize them along the way (man-ly tea, mushroom tea, honey tea.. some of my categories probably aren’t so useful for the rest of you, sorry!). I wasn’t sure what type of tea the hong jing luo was, so I looked it up and lo and behold it says “Fans of Golden Yunnan will like…” so it seems I wasn’t too far off this time, and I didn’t even have to use a unique-to-me descriptor.

Hong Jing Luo was briefly a favorite of mine, but that didn’t last long. I can’t say exactly why I don’t like it so much anymore, but I just don’t. So, naturally, this tea isn’t going to be a favorite either.

This is a delicate, smooth, and sweet black tea. Not sweet like honey, but more like sugar-sweetened tea. Nothing not to like here, so don’t ask me what my problem is :p

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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65

Tea #5 from the HHTTB

Meh. This is a mediocre tea. It’s watery and bitter. The strawberry flavor is ok, but not enough to make up for the rest. I don’t get much in the way of vanilla, except that it might be what I detect in the aftertaste, can’t quite tell.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 1 min, 30 sec

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Profile

Bio

Name: Shelley Lorraine Limegrover
Location: Thornton, Colorado
Occupation: Evil Genius
Ward: Three spaniels, three cats, a very loud small parrot, and one husband.

Hobbies: Learning, reading books, math, physics (have a degree in it), literature (have a degree in it too), anthropology, traveling, piano, and drinking TEA, of course (^o^)

Future plans: World domination >-)

Favorite teas: Kukicha, Green teas in general, aged oolongs, charcoal roasted oolong, taiwanese oolongs, Assam . . .

Don’t like: Genmaicha, Earl Grey, Darjeelings, ginger, coconut, smokey teas (even mild ones), nut flavors, overwhelmingly strong floral flavor (esp. Jasmine), most della derra and adagio teas. . .

My Rating System

100 My happiness absolutely depends on it

95 Will definitely repurchase

85: Might repurchase (teas that depend on my mood)

75 Won’t repurchase (but I would drink it again if offered).

65: meh

45: I reluctantly finished a cup.

15: Couldn’t finish a cup.

I simplified my ratings to single numbers rather than ranges because I can’t precisely compare so many teas with a system more detailed than this.

An unrated tea is most often one that I recognize as having significant notable quality, but that does not suit me personally. Sometimes, I leave teas unrated for other reasons, such as I am undecided or I brewed it wrong, etc.

Note: Boiling temp. barely reaches 200 where I am (and a few times it sticks at 195, I assume due to unexplainable shifts in altitude or the position of the moon. . .aliens?. . .).

Location

Colorado

Website

https://shelleyintherain.word...

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