770 Tasting Notes
A SIPDOWN somewhere in the week. I think it is Friday or Thursday.
For last brew I really take care about temperature so it was indeed around recommended 80 °C water and after that I added the bag in.
It brings nice aromatic tea of jasmine and spearmint buut in taste it is bit weird to be honest. It is light tea in taste though and overall okay I think. Not the best, but calming blend .
I don’t need to have it around. But it is nice tea!
Flavors: Cut grass, Jasmine, Spearmint
Preparation
I just eyeballed the amount of tea and brewed.
Not boiling, again I think it was around 80°C.
The sencha base is quite nice, although in taste isn’t the most present. But it was grassy and smooth. The expected flavour profile is there present! Yep, I notice it was quite melon-seed like and overall it was round and nice. Of course, recreating the melon flavour without any actual melon is quite hard, but I think they managed it fairly well!
Food pairing: Blueberry and cream koláč (kolach) and our garden apple, Wealthy varietal. Yum!
Flavors: Grass, Melon, Round
Preparation
I need to make rating higher, so from 83 → 90.
I took two small pinches of this tea to my DIY teabag and it was so delicous. I needed to brew something with caffeine quickly, as I woke up only 10 minutes before the first lecture (online). Probability and statistics, oh well…
The tea deliveres caffeine boost as well wonderful flavour profile. I wasn’t paying much attention to aromas, so I will avoid them in this tasting note today.
The taste was bit malty, orange zest, grapes (now red, not like like last time white). It was quite full of muscatel as well; fruity and maybe little bit bready and overall quite smooth. Almost none astringency! Yum tea.
Flavors: Baked Bread, Grapes, Malt, Muscatel, Smooth
Preparation
Set up: 5 grams per 85 ml gaiwan.
Quick rinse around 15 seconds
Dampening around 5 minutes
Aromas, after first steep, of wet leaf Citrus fruits, fig, woody (in a good way, like a birch or/and oak), maybe bit of tobbaco when dry.
15 seconds, 1st steep
First steep is quite weak, though I notice wood, bark, but somehow on sweet side, light and citrusy as well. Enjoyable.
20 seconds, 2nd steep
Wet leaf aroma remained same, but the tea is certainly more flavourful. Notes are same; wood, bark on sweet side, bit citrusy. Expected it way more flavourful though.
25 seconds, 3rd steep
It is somehow quite creamy, sweet bark. Citruses are gone.
45 seconds, 4th steep
I thought it needed longer steeping so I jumped over maybe too much. Nope. It’s just right. Well, there aren’t much other flavours, I find this tea rather weak in flavour profile, this steep have just some cooling quality, like a mint or somthing but without the menthol. Tends to herbal notes a bit as well.
50 seconds, 5th steep
Mild and woody, with herbal aftertaste.
Flavors: Citrusy, Fig, Herbs, Tobacco, Wood
Preparation
A tea bag that I had in my drawer instead of huge bags, but comes from the latter.
It is overcast, with little rain, a bank holiday (patron of Bohemia, St. Wenceslas, was killed 1085 years ago by his brother), sad day… heading to work this afternoon.
Tomorrow a new semester starts. I was promising myself I will clean up my desk so I could work as needed, as we will stay at home and have distance learning. Nope.
Tea review down from this line
The tea is same as last time (tea bag version). Typical black tea with some bitterness, quite tannic and not much of malty. They say it is light and refreshing and well, I don’t much think so.
Tea review up from this line
I feel overall somehow quite down, like the little kid who realised that his vacation is over, my mother said me that I am kind of sponger of family, I am doing nothing to pay family bills and I am trading on that I am the youngest. I must say it hit me terrilbly and although I am sure she didn’t meant it necessary in a bad way, it is something you really don’t want to hear!
Flavors: Bitter, Tannic, Tea
Keep in mind that we are going into the 7th month of the pandemic. It feels like everyone’s patience with and tolerance of each other and life in general grows less and less as we wait for things to become ‘normal’ again. Forgive yourself for not being perfect and forgive your mother as well. None of us are at our best right now.
White Antlers wisdom
Thanks derk. It’s a reminder to myself as much as it (if not more than) is a comment to Martin’s feeling badly.
White Antlers: You know you are right :-) I just was somehow tense yesterday and those things hurt me badly
Got another bag from postcrossing, back in May.
Oh well, I don’T know if I have steeped it for long or what was wrong, but I noticed only sweet licorice and hints of apples. No ginger nor cinnamon. Apple/Licorice. Uhh, what a dismal!
Dropping from 70 → 60
Flavors: Apple, Licorice
My grandma is celebrating 79 on the 29th, so we had a small celebration today (only day we agreed on, whole close family)… counting people, it was 13 people. One of my brothers is working unfortunately today.
The tea, was delicious once again — apple and its skins, vanilla, pastry notes, quite high in cinnamon. It is respectable opponent to its opponent, granny’s real Apple Strudel. I think that granny’s won a tiny bit — because raisins, but it is really tiny bit!
It’s interesting that other family members weren’t that impressed about this tea though (when I prepared it in big pot for everyone) but they like the real strudel. Give me more!
Flavors: Apple, Apple Skins, Cinnamon, Pastries, Vanilla
Preparation
Happy birthday to your grandma! Mine lived to be over 100 years old. I still miss her, but she left many wonderful memories behind and introduced me to the joys of tea back when I was a little girl.
Learn from her Martin as our grandparents are wise due to the fact they have lived through a lot. Cherish them while you still have them as they are priceless. Glad you celebrated with her.
Happy birthday to your grandma!
Happy birthday to your grandma! It’s nice that you live near her and can spend time with her enjoying tea.
Both the day and the sound lovely.
Happy birthday to your grandmother! May her year be blessed and may she enjoy many more birthdays with you!
That sounds like a wonderful day. I love that you served the tea with your grandma’s strudel. How fun! I hope she enjoyed her day.
Thank you all! I am very glad to have her still around. She lives only downstairs Leafhopper, so indeed close by. She got some Pukka teas from me (and other family members), she don’t need much already. I hope we will celebrate lots of upcoming birthdays! Veronica: Indeed it was nice coincidence, and nice idea to compare liquid strudel and real one :D
Tried again and alone :)
While last time I found it really enjoyable, today it is bit different story! I still quite enjoyed it, but maybe it was too spicy; maybe I have over"appled" it?
It was nice warming up cuppa, mostly apples and allspice. Pretty much mouthwatering, but quite tart aftertaste. I will keep current rating; it’s tasty, but not really perfect!
Flavors: Apple, Tart
A bag from ashmanra, THANK YOU again.
Finally, tried all the teas from her. And only 3 months till Christmas. First snow to appear on “mountains” here this weekend.
White tea, peppermint and ginger sounds like an interesting combo and well it was delivered. It was nice and mellow, peppermint was quite smooth and certainly not overpowering, the base was probably very nice as well. I haven’t noticed much of ginger honestly, but it was noticeable it wasn’t just white and peppermint. It maybe reminded me bit of wintergreen; it was nice and smooth.
Missing the spiciness a bit, what I would expected for winter teas, but it was nice. Thank you for new tea bag into collection as well.
Flavors: Peppermint, Smooth
Preparation
You have snow already? We usually don’t get it until November, which is fine by me.
It should arrive in the weekend :)
Yikes! It’s still 24C here in Ontario. I guess you’ll need all those winter-themed teas! :)
Oooh! I am so jealous, Martin! When I lived on the West coast, I missed snow so badly. My first winter back home was very white and very cold, but last year we had what amounted to white dust a few times. My fingers are crossed for heaps and drifts of snow this winter! Stay warm and safe and enjoy your ‘winter’ teas. : )
That is my eldest daughter’s favorite tea! I am glad it you enjoyed it.
We rarely get snow. It was 78F here today or 25.5C. I can’t believe you will be seeing it so soon! Enjoy and have a hot cuppa!
It is almost too early for me as well, but I am used to :) Well I guess I still miss Finland I have been to 4 years ago from late August till Christmas! There first snow appeared in this time and although it didn’t stayed, it was quite cold all the time.
Yesterday morning tea — I have combined two teaspoons of Bird & Blend’s Carrot Cake with one teaspoon of SebaSTea Ceylon High Grown.
Worked well together, actually it was like that Carrot Cake tea, with different base — black tea. It woke me up quite well, while it still had it’s cinnamon, carrot cake flavour with hints of caramelised hazelnuts.
Pretty nice!
