2264 Tasting Notes
Yum.
At least puer teas age well, even the white ones! This is delicious although I oversteeped it at 1 min. I did a quick rinse, then 1 min at 165F. I’ll do 1-2 more steeps as I finish up my work and then the presentation I’m doing for class tonight. Heh. Yeah, I haven’t written it yet.
Soft, sweet, fruity, and then tannin.
Sadly about half my tin ended up as a sacrifice to the floor gods. Oh well, I’ll savour what I have left then maybe break into one of the other 5 (est) white puer I have.
Yes, I still have this.
When I first opened the (well sealed) package, I’m not gonna lie it smelled bad. Not rancid, but definitely not how I remember.
So I asked some tea friends… should I try it? The answer was yes.
It didn’t smell as bad this morning (maybe airing it out helped?) and I did a quick rinse before my usual 3 minute steep.
It’s actually OK! The flavour has definitely deteriorated, as there’s a weird aftertaste (a bit astringent, a bit metallic), but the tea flavour is still good. I mostly taste vanilla now, so I think it’s the caramel flavour that is behaving weirdly. (I say weirdly but friends, this tea is OLD for a flavoured tea.)
I still love the base Assam that Stacy used. The big leaves, the sweet malty flavour. I’ve tried others in the same tea family but they’re just not as good. A lot of them have more “dirt tea” flavour, which this one never had.
Preparation
Yay, glad it mostly worked out!
Taiwanese Assam and Wild Mountain are still some of my favourite black teas too.
It worked out enough that I will drink all I have for nostalgia reasons. It’s actually way more drinkable than the H&S Paris I had yesterday…
I just wish I had a (local, reliable) source for Taiwanese Assam THIS GOOD.
I’m with you. I caved and ordered from Whispering Pines when they had it in stock a couple years ago, and it made so nostalgic and happy.. but it’s WP, and they are both expensive and carry a limited supply of their teas with unpredictable restocking. If they get it and/or Tawainese Wild Mountain back this year I’m breaking my self-imposed tea buy ban.
I mean, it sounds like a plan to hold out and jump on fav’s when they’re released!
It’s my one and only exception.. and also a possible Jayida Che reorder because they gave me a 20% off code. That’s totally it though. D:
i’ve been hoping tawain tea crafts would bring back the few varieties they have that are delicious. WP is too expensive and never has enough stock for me to make a cart worthwhile.
Taiwan Tea Crafts would definitely be more ideal. I’ll try to keep them on my radar too. WP is for years when my tea budget is not.. like this year.
I never ordered from either TTC or WP. I think I’ve had a few of their teas, but not a lot. TTC always intrigued me but their turn over of teas was quite fast I think???
Cup of this during a meeting this afternoon. Again, this tea is really old. It’s not as good as it used to be.
But I still drank it!
And now I’m debating composting what’s left or continuing to drink it.
I forgot how good this tea is. Again, this is super old, especially for a green tea… I got it in 2014 from Sil maybe? Not sure about the handwriting..
It’s soft. Jasmine. Forest. Some butteriness.
I think I have another cup left. I pulled this tea to finish, so I’ll probably do that tomorrow!
Revisiting this because of Crowkettle!
I found this in the back of my stash. It sadly hasn’t aged well since the last time I had it. It’s quite astringent and the flavour is mostly gone, except for the bitter from cocoa nibs!
Darn. I really liked this tea when it was fresher. (This tea is OLD. So. Not unexpected.)
Pretty much my favourite tea. I love the Assam base, I love earl grey, and I love the heavy hit of lavender.
So good either plain or with milk/sugar. Once my mom sends me more (she’s my tea supplier these days!) I’ll have to make it as a latte, all fancy with steamed milk and everything.
Sil sent me this One ages and ages ago too.
It’s uhh, not my cup of tea.
Thank you for sharing, Sil. Is this revenge for all the earl greys???
Does Janet’s Special Teas ship or is it in-store only?
I’ve only ever been in-store.
Cool, thanks!