1789 Tasting Notes
Pumpkin tea… I love theeeee…
I’m down to the first ‘D’ in my tin. I will miss this when it’s gone but I may try Della Terra’s pumpkin for comparison. I just know next fall I will want something with pumpkin.
Tea is funny. Now that I know how many blends there are, I have more categories I want to fill up: pumpkin, coconut, nutty, minty, smoky, cake-like, cinnamon etc… I can see why some people have 100+ types of tea.
This tea is so good. Too bad I steeped it in my Timolino tumbler. I gave it 20 minutes to cool with the lid off but still managed to burn my tongue so badly that an hour later it still feels numb/terrible. :(
Dumb me. Oh well…
20 minutes? Try 2 hours. Hahahaha. :) Hope your tongue recovers quickly!
:) Thanks!
I guess next time I use that tumbler and I plan to drink tea any time soon I’ll add an ice cube or put it in the fridge or something.
Man, that thing honestly sounds like more trouble than it’s worth!
Sounds like I need a Timolino, I have a DT Noble travel mug and it works great, but certainly not as good as what I have been hearing about the Timolino, also I haven’t seen one up close but it looks like the infuser is mesh rather then a basket with holes in it allowing better particle filtration.
Ozli: :) Yeah…. Maybe. It does fit in my stroller through, and it’s also really good if you’re the type to make tea, then forget to drink it. I imagine that when I’m back to work it’ll be super useful.
Ne141: It does have a mesh basket. There’s also a secret compartment in the lid, but I haven’t used it yet.
The Timolinos are fabulous, really. I brew my tea in a different cup, let it cool a bit, then pour into the thermos and go. If I brew in-thermos using boiling water, I do have to wait a few hours before I can drink it, which is perfect if you want tea a few hours later (I often do!) And yes, the little basket is mesh, and works great for most things, but rooibos will get through a bit, just FYI. The problem is if you leave the basket in with tea, you will get floaties while drinking, as the holes in the top part of the mug are quite a bit bigger. I advise removing the infuser basket regardless of whether it’s an herbal or proper tea you’re drinking.
I’m considering getting a timolino, Did you get yours from David’s tea?
I did! It was $30 so I hesitated, but I don’t regret it! (Except for when I don’t let things cool enough.) There a lot of reviews on Steepster for it too!
I am having the same hesitation with the fact that it’s $30, so it’s good to hear you think it’s worth it. I’ll have a look at other steepster reviews, I was hoping that there might be a good time of year to catch it on sale, but I’m starting to doubt that.
Yeah I haven’t gotten the impression that DavidsTea does a, ot of sales, but that might just be because I keep missing them.
They don’t do many sales, no. I’d be surprised if they did one on the Timolinos, but you never know. Perhaps wait until Boxing Day?? Totally worth $30 though, especially if you like your beverages kept HOT.
I can see why they’d equate this tea with champagne: it’s brisk, and fruity with a carbonated mouthfeel. Peach is what I think when I sip, not grape.
Maybe if I were drinking this for New Years I’d get more out of it, but as it stands I can take it or leave it.
Yowza – low rating alert! :O I feel bad when I see a number that low, but I’m trying to base it on the smiley’s and I’m halfway between happy and ambivalent.
Yeah, I found this one very interesting, but probably not something I’d seek out. I can’t recall whether I’ve posted my tasting note yet, haha.
I didn’t mind it, reminded me of something a bit better then a cheap Champagne, as mentioned not really a grape flavor keeping it from really reaching the Bubbly status.
Yikes! Hibiscus! I bought this before I realized how strong it could be. It was also $2.50 for a 25g bag so I thought why not?
It’s ok, but the rose and hibiscus overpower it. It was tart and terrible when I brewed it hot, but tart and drinkable iced. I just have to empty this last pitcher and I am done with it!
Weird. It doesn’t say anything about lemons in the ingredients, but it’s all I can taste, along with the black tea base. It’s good, but not amazing.
It IS amazing if you eat it with Devil’s Food Cake Cupcakes…
Preparation
I can see why this wasn’t a big hit with you! It’s v flowery and Earl Greyish. We liked it though. Strong + black = breakfast tea ACHIEVED!
Awesome. Glad you liked it. I hope I sent you a big sample. I can send more?
And it’s not terrible, it just didn’t wow me.
You did send a big sample!!! I have lots, thx :D
This is my second sample from Tea From Taiwan. Thanks again for the generous samples!
Dry: it smells really sweet and refreshing.
1st Steep: (5 min, 98C) It tastes very ‘green’ and vegetal but I’m also some getting some roasted notes as well -much like genmaicha green tea. No, correction. It’s very toasty. These notes subside about mid-sip and give way to a pleasant floral sensation.
2nd Steep: (1 min 98C) I thought I would try a shorter steep this time if it wasn’t too late to try gong fu style. It looks as though the leaves have unraveled as much as my tea ball will allow so I doubt I’m doing it right, but it doesn’t matter too much as this still tastes pretty good. It’s far less toasty -there’s a good balance between that and fruity undertones in each sip. Very nice.
3rd Steep: (1 min 98C ) Still a lot of flavour!
Overall it’s good, and it reminds me that I do like toasted flavors sometimes, but if I had to choose I think I prefer the other Zhong Shu Hu sample.
Preparation
Blech. I don’t know if I realized this was herbal when I bought it but it was a mistake. Down the drain and the rest of the bags are getting dumped. It doesn’t taste like chocolate or Chai.
Preparation
Mmmmmm. Would I like some tea with my sugar? Yes. Yes I would. :)
Cuz really, this is just a cup of sugary creamy goodness.
I probably shouldn’t order double-double anymore as 95% of the time I drink my teas plain – this is just insane compared to what I’m used to. Insanely good.
Hah! – I just realized that this tea has only been rated on Steepster 8 times in 3 years. I was surprised to see it here.
So I thought I’d drink this to see if I can tell the difference between this and Ceylon. I think this one is more tannic, while the Ceylon was sweeter and possibly creamier. More practice required.
I saw this chart from the aptly named tumble site: http://fuckyeahilovetea.tumblr.com/post/33309787977
Idk about accuracy but it looks helpful.
I think 3 min is the right amount of brewing tea. I’m sipping away at this straight and it’s pretty good, although a little mild.
Preparation
I like that chart! Ditto on the practice required part- the only black tea I’ve had extensively is Ceylon and I spent most of the year not even noticing it. It could be fun to do a blind test with a bunch of samples :)
I was thinking about something like that! It could be fun, especially if I had a friend or two over to help me drink all the tea. :)
Ceylon is one I’ve totally taken for granted!
Exploring Tea with friends is the best! Most of my friends and relatives are so set in the way of ‘The Red Rose Bag’ they view all my teas with skepticism. Straight blacks are a good starting point though if your friends aren’t that into tea!
Yeah I have the same problem. My bf doesn’t drink tea at all and our roommate probably thinks I’m silly for hoarding so much. At least there’s Steepster!
I think this tea is on the way out as Tea Desire has it on clearance.
It’s a pretty decent black, with a nice base and a fruity/strawberry finish that creeps up on you. It also has a nice mouthfeel (my new favorite word). I like it, but I’m not blown away. Maybe this would be better iced? Or with agave? I have 50g so I’m sure that will last for a long time.
Not only are there all of those categories, there are so many different kinds and blends of tea in those categories. The first time I tried an English Breakfast, I thought, “hmm that’s good, but are there better English Breakfast blends from other companies that are better?”
Next thing I know, I have 4 or 5 blends from various places. And that is just in one category! Multiply that by all of the categories I like, plus all of the random tea I like to try, plus all of the new categories I am discovering, and I’ve got myself what some people might call a problem.
It’s totally a problem! I want to try ALL THE TEAS.
I did the same thing with a few of my straight blacks, just to get a better idea of which companies I like better. I didn’t realize how much 2oz was when I made my order so now I have SO MUCH.
I would love to try 4-5 of the same type of tea, but my memory sucks. I’d probably have to brew them all at once to compare, and hope that I could get someone to help me sample them all so it’s not wasted.