194 Tasting Notes
Sipdown Number 6!
Oh am I sad to see this one go. But don’t get me wrong, next month, after payday, there will be more. I’m honestly contemplating the 5oz tin because I just need to drink this every day. Same basic recipe applies, almond milk (unsweetened vanilla) plus two splendas. BOOM! Andes Candy. This is a new favorite thing. I have managed to drink down the entire sample in about a week, and that includes getting at least one resteep per sitting. I think I’m going to have to greatly up the rating on this, even though it needs to be “Latte-ed” to get the full effect. I will make an exception because once made into a sweetened latte, it’s just SO DARN GOOD. Farewell for now, Skele-Gro. We shall meet again soon.
Flavors: Chocolate, Cocoa, Spearmint
Preparation
Well, I wanted a new tea I had never had before. And, as I’m running out of those, here we are.
Bought this as part of a quasi-sampler of green teas from Upton. I’ve had varying results so far so we shall see.
Western style prep, 2tsp for 12oz, 180F water at 3 minutes.
Taste is… holy crap does that taste like sweet peas. No really, it’s exactly what I would imagine sweet pea to taste like. It’s green pea flavored, but sweeter. I guess you could chalk that up to a yummy green tea flavor. I’m also getting a hay aftersip, which is different but not bad. This is one of the greener greens I’ve had. It’s actually really good. I know I’ve said I don’t like grassy flavors, but the natural sweetness in this one overrides the negativity I might feel about the grass flavor. Yummy yummy. I’d call this green tea experiment a rousing success. Absolutely delicious.
Flavors: Grass, Hay, Peas, Sweet
Preparation
Ok, another added tea. This time, it is the “Naturally flavored Vanilla black tea” from Upton. Smell in bag is, well, not good. It smells like the vanilla has gone straight past body spray and into licorice territory. Some people might like that, but I don’t. This tea already has me concerned. But, onward for SCIENCE!
Western prep. 2tsp for 12oz cup, 4min at boiling water.
Taste is… blech that’s bad. Unfortunately that offputting licorice smell makes it into the tea. The vanilla, while supposedly natural, is like drinking vanilla extract. It’s so dominant, I really can’t even taste the black tea base. This is awful. I wonder if sweetener would help, but honestly I think I am just going to call this one a loss. The only remotely decent thing about this tea is it’s crisp mouthfeel. Only any goodness from that is taken to a negative level.
It’s a very sharp, dry tea- if you like that sort of thing. It leaves me personally feeling like I have dry mouth. I’ve never been one for dry wines, I suppose that would explain why I don’t like dry teas. There’s a word people use: Astringency. I think that applies here. I really am not completely sure what astringency is in a cup of tea. All I know is I feel like I just ate a mouthfull of dry coffee creamer. Horrible. Do not recommend at all. Go back, Upton, and try again.
Flavors: Drying, Licorice, Vanilla
Preparation
Another green tea. I know I’m testing the limits here drinking this at 5am but oh well.
This one has long curled green and white leaves that, in bag, smell somewhat fruity and sweet. It’s a wonderful smell that compelled me to drink some despite the odd hour.
Prepared western style, 180F water at 3 min. Smell while brewing is very grassy, which has me slightly concerned. The brewing smell is completely different from dry leaf smell.
Taste once brewed is… oddly familiar. It reminds me of the green tea that Adagio uses in its Jasmine scented teas. Actually I’m pretty sure it is the same tea. The flavor is slightly vegetal, while also floral and mildly sweet. I’m getting a dry grass flavor predominately, but not so much as to be offputting. Unfortunately those sweet fruity scents that the dry leaf has do not really translate over except in a aftersip taste. Basically after you drink this, if you wait a few minutes, the lingering flavor turns from one of hay, to mouth full o’berries. Its a bit odd and I really wish that fruity flavor translated into the actual tea itself. In the end, this is 100% drinkable and I do enjoy it. This I would consider a successful green tea experience. Bring on more like it.
Flavors: Berries, Dry Grass, Floral, Hay, Sweet
Preparation
Huzzah. Another adventure into the world of rooibos. This time, we are trying a more fruity variety, instead of the traditional vanilla overkill.
Smell in bag is very distinctly blueberry. Strong fruity smell.
Prepared western style, far more conservatively than package suggests, with boiling water and only a 4 min steep rather than 8 minutes.
Taste of tea is… pleasing. I am definitely getting that blueberry tartness, but not so tart as to be sour or unpleasant. It’s a mild tartness. There’s supposedly grapes in this as well and I’m getting a bit of either that or the black currant. I’m not good enough at this yet to say which. There is a background woody flavor here, that while consistently present, doesn’t overtake the rest of the tea. It’s a very balanced tea, and one of the first rooibos teas I’ve tried that I thoroughly enjoy. I may actually get this one again. It’s not my favorite tea ever, but by far my favorite rooibos I’ve tried. Thumbs up to this one. Good job.
Flavors: Black Currant, Blueberry, Grapes, Wood
Preparation
Ok. I want to start this by saying I have never really been the fondest of straight green tea. However, I have been told by many these days that my experience is skewed because I am used to grocery store green tea. So I bought a bunch of green tea samples to try from across the board to see if what I am being told is right or not. This is one of my first (non-jasmine) attempts. Here goes.
Ok, right off the bat this isn’t starting out well. This tea tastes slightly smoked, which is definitely NOT my favorite flavor. The weird thing is I didn’t notice the smokey flavor till the bottom of cup one. Resteep is smokey right away though. Definitely getting those green tea flavor notes, but it isn’t overpowering. If I had to describe it I would say smoked spinach. There’s almost a meaty flavor to it as well, kinda like jerky. I don’t know if I didn’t prepare this right or what but I’m getting a different flavor profile than everyone else on here. It kinda tastes like… dinner. Like beef and potatoes and veggies dinner all mixed up in one. Not the worst thing I’ve ever tasted, but certainly not good either. I think I will have to pass on this one and try a different one next time. Oh well.
Flavors: Meat, Smoke, Spinach, Vegetables
Preparation
I’ve tried many different Pi Lo Chun from several different vendors and don’t think I’ve ever had a smoke note from any of them yet (I don’t like smoky green teas, either). I’ve never had Uptons, though. Meat and veggies are typical flavor notes I’ve picked up on, though! I’ve had a bacon-like taste and scallops/shrimp sort of meaty flavors, and grean beans very frequently. I really like it… but I’ve also never had a smoky one. If I ever had a smoky one, I’d certainly pass on it. I also only steep my greens 1-2 minutes, as I don’t like them getting astringent. Not sure if that would make a difference or not?
Well, judging from the fact that when I poured the water in the cup there was tons of visible steam coming from it, along with the dark color of the liquid, makes me think I burned the leaves. I tried to use lower temp water but maybe it wasn’t low enough? That may account for some of the smokey flavor. I could try again with lower temp water and only a 1-2 minute steep and see if it helps. I didn’t mind the meat and veggies taste nearly as much as the ash flavor. I suppose I can give this another shot. I will take your advice into account and try again sometime later this week.
My second YS tea from my order. and wow am I impressed. The mellow flavor of this with the floral notes of the Jasmine blend perfectly. Unlike previous jasmines which were either too floral or too bitter, this one is just perfect. There is a background sweetness to this one as well. Wonderful tea. Totally recommend.
UPDATE: Just a friendly note on this one. There was no listing on this tea for Caffeine content, and there are far too many sites out there that still subscribe to the “all white tea is low caffeine” myth. This stuff is totally high caffeine. I drank two cups of this last night and was up all night. My brain would not stop pinging. Just a word of warning. It’s delish, but maybe save it for earlier in the day.
Flavors: Floral, Sweet
Preparation
Thanks for the warning. I was thinking of trying some white tea in place of my nightly herbals just for a bit more diversity but I may hold off now.
Well from my further research I have found that white tea cannot as a whole be grouped into a caffeine catagory. Some white teas actually do have lower caffeine levels. Others, like this one however, are sky high. Basically if you want to know how much caffeine is in a tea I would do some independent research. Don’t just trust what the big name sites say. According to my findings, Teavana lied about caffeine levels pretty much the entire time they were open. Adagio is basically the same it seems.
Sipdown!
So I paid attention to how long I brewed this one this time. Only three minutes this time around. I am finding the flavor is still rather bitter. Definitely floral, but still rather bitter. I think I am going to drop the rating on this one as it isn’t just my oversteeping that made it bitter, it really just is that bitter. From what I understand, Dancongs come in many varieties. I have at least one more coming my way via teamail, if not more. Hopefully some of those will be better than this one. I’m afraid this one gets a pass from me.
Flavors: Bitter, Floral
Preparation
Well, I have generally determined that Golden Blacks are one of my favorite types of tea. So, time to step my game up a notch!
Western Style. 3 min with 212F Water. Wet leaf smells like honey and muted cocoa with some maybe baked bread is it? Hard to say, I’m still learning this stuff.
Taste is… OH WOW. This is so much better than my Adagio Golden Monkey. I can see the similarities for sure, but all of the yumminess in this cup is turned up to 11. I’m getting strong cocoa and honey notes, and yes I’m calling it- it tastes like fresh baked bread. There’s something else there, I want to say ever so slight sweet potato, but really only the best parts of sweet potato because I really hate sweet potato and I’m definitely loving on this. Aftersip mouth taste is sweet and pleasing. Almost like a honeyed dinner roll. This is probably the best tea I’ve ever tasted in my life. Actually, “probably” may be misleading. I’m pretty much certain this is the best tea I’ve ever had. If there is better tasting tea out there, I don’t recall. I need this all the time. Bottom line: If you are a fan of the golden blacks, you owe it to yourself to try this. Go for it. This tea is wonderful.
Flavors: Baked Bread, Cocoa, Honey, Sweet Potatoes
Preparation
Well, my late night brew time has arrived. This is the Honeybush variety of Adagio’s vanilla tea. In bag, it smells almost too sweet. But there is an additional scent there, something akin to bourbon. It’s almost syrupy sweet smell, so we shall see how well that translates.
Steeping is western style. I will point out that I steeped this about 3 minutes longer than I usually do. I forgot to not listen to Adagio’s instructions and only steep 3 minutes. Water was boiling.
Flavor is… well it’s better plain than the vanilla rooibos, if that makes any sense. I can smell more sweetness then I taste. The sweetness with no added sweetener is very mild. The vanilla is there but isn’t necessarily bitter or sweet. It’s sort of a neutral vanilla note. I’m not getting any real flavor of that bourbon I smelled. I mean it may be there if you hold it in your mouth and search for it, but in regular sippage it’s missing. The tea overall is slightly bitter, but I don’t want to add splenda because I am afraid it will go too far the opposite direction. I suppose this is an acceptable tea. If you like vanilla, then this may be ok. But more than likely it’s probably too bitter and muted for most peoples tastes. Technically, when taken straight, it’s better than the Rooibos Vanilla from same company. But it’s really not the best. I will likely finish the sample but that’s about it.
Flavors: Caramel, Honey, Vanilla
