620 Tasting Notes
The “basket” cycle rocks! If you’re making 4-5 cups of tea, you can set the basket to rise and fall during the steep to agitate the leaves a bit and draw out even richer flavour. I nearly swooned in ecstasy (luckily was already sick in bed) when I sipped some Kopili Assam made with the basket cycle on.
This teamaker kicks arse. Some of the best tea I’ve drunk in my life has been in the Breville over the last week.
First use to make Long Life Oolong (oolong with peaches, apricots and almonds) from DavidsTea at medium strength.
I received the Breville for a birthday gift, and I am freakin delighted with it. One extremely important note: when you’re taking everything out of the box, DO NOT PUT THE CARAFE UNDER RUNNING WATER for a rinse and clean. The base has electronics in it.
The Breville demands a light wipe to clean it.
But I’ll happily put up with some diva behaviour. I have never tasted such exquisute oolong before. The constant temperature during steeping is an enormously good touch. And, of course, the water was at the best temp for oolong; with my kettle, I have to guess by how much steam is rising … not terribly accurate.
My one suggestion is to try oolong on the “weak” setting first. I did find the medium setting brought out a slight soapiness in the first few sips of the Long Life; I blame the dried fruit for that, though, not the Breville. I can’t wait to try a milk oolong in this today.
Everything worked beautifully — and silently.
And it’s shiny.
Been playing with the Breville all week. I am making tea in larger quanitites now — and drinking it — so I guess that means healthier me, or at least a good workout for my kidneys. I never much cared for tea made in a pot before, as it always seemed weaker to me than tea made by the cup or mug, even with an extra spoon of leaves “for the pot.” Got my beloved Britannia English Breakfast in there now, brewed at 5 minutes (a custom setting — apparently “strong” black tea steeps for 3 minutes in Breville-land), and it is FAHN. I do wonder at Farenheit temp readins and metric volume measures, but I can cope. If you drink a fair bit of tea, a Breville is a good investment. I’m really pleased with mine,
I see in another review a note about the tea scoop provided … it’s a tiny thing, a very scant teaspoon, and needly teas like Yunnan fall out. I suggest using your usual tea measure.
Tonight, I’m setting the timer so I can have some kick-arse Assam first thing in themorning. WIll report.
Ooh, shiny! Happy birthday!
@ Baratchoid: tenk yew.
A note on brewing strength: using the basket cycle makes for stronger, much richer tea. Now I stick to 3 minutes when using the basket cycle. YUM.
Here I am, sipping some of my favourite English Breakfast, brewed by the cup in a filter … and ya know what? The Breville’s got me spoilt. Ruint! The basket function makes such rich tea and develops the flavour that much more that regularly steeped good tea is now starting to taste flat.
I’ve had a few of these wiothout the extra syrup — much nicer aftertaste — and with both soy and dairy milk. Soy complements matcha better. This is a really refreshing treat that6 I dont mind paying the remium price for, because I cannot (yet) make it at home.
Sweet but not cloying, grassy, creamy. LOVE.
1 TB for 450mL water, bare.
DavidsTea has jigged the formulation of Super Chocolate. I keep detecting a bit more green tea - lovely dark long leaves to look at- a little less fruitiness, and more creaminess from melting cocoa. I can no longer drink this one before going to bed, but I still knock it back throughtout the day. I swear, I can feel the antioxidants coursing through me. Still not a heavy chocolate tea, but definitely sweet enough to feel like a treat. Highly recommned.
1 pyramid for 250mL water, bare.
So Tea Forte winsthe tea sachet design award. I love the pyramids with the little leaf tag. I try not to think of how wasteful the pyramids, with all their packaging, are. I just got the Tea Forte Sanctuary box (white ginger pear, jasmine green, sencha, silk oolong) as a gift, and I intend to enjoy it.
A very good silk (aka milk) oolong. Not as toasty-creamy as the Quangzhou from DavidsTea, but still very, very nice. Greener and more vegetal — I think I stepped it too long — with a hint of bitterness. Yeah, just have steeped too long. But definitely a buttery silk oolong, and quite silky at that.
Pretty sure that’s full leaf in the pyramid. And dang, those pyramid infusers are handy.
Yeah, IE 9 doesn’t talk to the slider bars below. Hmph. So, 4 minute steep with 87 degree water (estimated), ratng of 88.
2 tsp (1 sample tin) for 250mL water, bare.
Reminds me of stale Halloween candy mixed with bubblegum, but this sweetness then gets undercut with a stab of hibiscus. Not for me.
1 gently rounded TB for 450mL water, bare.
Sweetly sharp peaches and apricots and buttery oolong. The sliced almonds add to the creamy mouthfeel. Steeps at least 3 times, even with a 4-minute 1st steep. Hubby compares this one to cognac. Love love love …
Preparation
1 gently rounded TB to 450mL water, bare.
I love Yunnan teas. The more I drink them, the more I go deeply mad for them. I used to avoid China black teas, but then I found good Keemun and good Yunnan. They share the good depth and body of the richer India teas like Assam, and the brightness of Darjeeling, but none of the astringency. Some Golden Monkeys get a bit malty, but the malty notes are often balanced with dark fruit notes.
I usually drink Black Needles and Golden Monkey from Stash. I had tried DavidsTea’s Black Needles but found them a bit flat. Their Wild Yunnan is quite a different story.
Hey, who can resist tea from ancient trees?
The ad copy is accurate on the tasting notes. I would add that the tea is a slight bit earthy — but a clean earthy, none of those dubious tastes you get in some pu-ehrs. A strong mineral undertone adds to the perceptions of “clean.” Lots of Yunnan pepperiness, too. Some honey notes, and something else relaxing — another reviewer calls it “hoppy.” I can agree with that. Very smooth.
An excellent tea. Highly recommend. Yay, Yunnans!
Preparation
1 TB for 450mL water, bare.
About twenty-odd years ago, when I started university (in a different province, far from home), Second Cup was making a raspberry chocolate flavoured coffee. I drank a lot of that and felt like I could do anything.
Guess what the scent of DavidsTea Chocolate Rocket reminds me of?
So yeah, on scent alone, I’m smilin.
Then I sipped.
BAM! Very much as described in the ad copy. I geneally don’t care for roasted mate, but I am loving this blend. It’s quite intense brewed as a tisane and almost as dark as coffee. I’m not sure I could handle the flavours if I brewed this in a gourd, but it would be worth a try.
Refreshing. Lives up to the hype. Not a delicate drink. I’ll report later on any mate buzz.
Preparation
The mate helped chase away a bad-night-with-arthritis pain hangover. Very nice. I feel pleasantly speedy but not jittery and anxious, the way I get after too much coffee or after energy drinks (why, oh WHY do I keep trying those??).
This blend is also a bit sweet on its own — I’d suggest truing it plain first before adding sweetener.
Okay, I’ve been using this since Christmas and wasn’t aware! Thanks for the tip.
There’s a note about it almost at tne end of the instructions. You need te be making at least 4 cupes /1000mL of tea for it it work. If so, press the “basket” button as you’re preparing to brew, and away it goes.
The Breville is like an elephant, though — it remembers, even if you unplug it. So if you don’t the basket cycle on thenext time you make tea, press the “basket” button again to turn that feature off. And if you use if with less than 4 cups of water, the tea won’t steep properly at all, because then the basket will actually rise above the water.