Liquid Proust Teas

GCTTB V1

I was really happy to see that enough for one cup/mug of this tea had made it to me; it’s been on my wishlist for a while but when I placed my most recent LP order it was sold out. Since I’m pretty far on the list for this box I was worried I wouldn’t get a chance to try it…

The leaf for this one looks so pretty! Not getting much from the dry aroma, but as it’s infusing I can definitely smell some sweeter floral and fruity notes emerging from the cup.

First thing I taste with the initial sips is blueberry: I’m actually kind of surprised just how strong the blueberry flavour is. I’ve also tried LP’s Blueberry Sandstorm Genmaicha and enjoyed it, but the blueberry in that was subtle in comparison to this. Once the berry subsides, there’s some nice floral orchid notes as well as a floral flavour that’s almost like… gardenias? There’s also some faint peachyness from the base tea, presumably. It’s a nice, delicate flavour with the exception of the more bright blueberry top notes. I’m finding it really calming and enjoyable overall.

I’m very happy to have been able to get a taste of this one.

Puerh Tea TTB. This was an interesting tea. The taste of the rum was very strong at first, too strong to my taste buds. It lessened after a few steeps and I liked it better. The ripe tea itself was good, not having too strong a fermentation taste and not having any real bitterness. Overall I liked this tea.

I steeped this tea twelve times in a 100ml gaiwan with 6.4g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, and 2 min.

How have I not rated this yet?

Anyway, I love the Laoshan Black/Oolong tea from Verdant very much. I think I’ve shared that thought many times. But this tea, it adds so much more to already superior teas. The base really comes forward in the cup, but the added ingredients make these two teas work stupendously well together.

The cocoa nibs add a little more of that chocolate note to the base. The rice gives it a slight nutty flavor, which progresses after a while. Unfortunately, I’ve stopped drinking the tea alone after the fourth cup, since, after all, it IS Memorial Day, and there was food going around after the first few cups, so I had a lot of other flavors going on with it (I’ll most likely write a second review later on).

I will note here, though, that if you’re looking for a solid tea for the morning, this is one I’d grab. It’d make a great afternoon pick-me-up, too. And as far as Liquid Proust’s teas go, anything made by this guy is quality—even my wife is starting to drink tea (or least try it). So, with that said, go get ya’ll-selves some!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGCaEw_A-4R/?taken-by=s.g_sanders1

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGCad5yA-5O/?taken-by=s.g_sanders1

Oh yeah, I’d totally go out and buy a large amount of the Laoshan Black, but it’s incredibly expensive, so it wouldn’t be the ideal ‘daily drinker.’ However, it’s on the long wishlist of “These will be the ‘guests only’ drinkers; that, or, ‘holidays only’ tea.”

https://www.etsy.com/listing/288562613/laoshan-chocolate-genmaicha?ref=shop_home_active_3

I might rate this higher, but I really like it hot. Like REALLY like it. Flavored Baozhongs are meant for me then.

What I said remains true. A good light and clean baozhong with a great dry leaf smell of sugar and watermelon, and a floral liquor with the same after tastes. Definitely recommend it as something unique, and for you to try.

I’ve actually had this tea for a while. Why I haven’t reviewed it: I have yet to properly cold brew it. The first time yielded some nice results. I put my pot instantly in the fridge overnight after splashing 190 F hot water. Eight hours past, and I got a cool baozhong with green hints and a discernible background of watermelon. Re-steeped it a few times with cool water, and the watermelon quality opened up more. Yet in that entire session, it was very light. The cool water overwhelmed the tea. I’ve looked up a few ways to brew it online, but I prefer listening to what you guys have to say about cold brewing.

Which brings me to being naughty this morning. I’ve asked Andrew before about this tea being served hot-and as I thought and as he thought OBVIOUS-this tea was meant for cold brewing. Hot watermelon=weird. However, I was curious.

I got a serving of only the baozhong leaves without the watermelon. Steeping it western, and I got an enhanced baozhong. It still had the crisp green and floral qualities of the oolong type, but with the accents of sugarcane and watermelon. A Baozhong with watermelon and sugarcane notes. A hot tea I have no complaint with drinking in the morning.

I will write another note when I’ve brewed the tea properly. For now, I’m just enjoying the sippin’.

GCTTB
The label on the tea says ‘Spa Oolong’ but here it’s called ‘Oolong Spa’ so I’m not sure which is the right one. Not that it really matters in the face of good tea. ;)

Lavender and oolong sound like an odd combination but somehow they manage to work here. It’s the creamy vanilla flavours that help meld everything together, I think. The tea is floral without being too overpowering (no lavender soap tea here!) and the mild woodsy flavour of the dark oolong base compliments the lavender quite well.

GCTTB
This is a very stemy oolong, making it a bit hard to measure with the twigs hanging over the side of the spoon like little spider legs, lol. The smell of the tea is beautifully floral, like fresh lilacs. The floral notes are also in the flavour but they’re mixed with a light blueberry flavour, and the tea finishes with a slight tanginess.

The second steep @ 4 min didn’t have much in the way of berry flavour though the oolong base itself was still full and flavourful. Those tangy ends note were more developped into something that might be pineapple or maybe citrus.

GCTTB
I love mead so naturally I had to try this tea. Given the Darjeeling base I lowered the steeping temperature from the usual boiling water I usually use with black teas. It tastes very much like a Darjeeling with that slightly astringent, muscatel wine flavour. As the tea cools off I can taste the smoother sweet honey flavour. It’s a great idea for a tea blend, I just wish a bit more of the honey flavour came through initially.

This is a queued tasting note.

Sipdown (141)!

Finished this one off hot; though finished is perhaps not quite the right word since most of what I had of this found its way into the GCTTB V1. Gotta share the tea love! Hot was definitely the right way to be drinking this one though: it was much smoother and the flavours were far better balanced. The dominate berry notes I experienced were strawberry and raspberry, though there could have been others present that just didn’t have the same impact. This was complimented by a very nice, toasty rice flavour and the subtle marine/grassy flavour of the base tea.

So, basically it was smooth, sweet and with just enough savory/umami from the toasted rice to really elevate this one and make it something special.

Cold Brew!

Personally, I wouldn’t have chosen this to cold brew but when we finished off the pitcher of Lemon Pound Cake I told my roomie he could pick any of the new teas that came in to brew a new pitcher of – this was his choice. I have to say that I do get why he picked this one: the aroma of the strawberry in the back is really intense and effervescent.

The cold brew, now that’s it’s brewed and strained, tastes fine. Fine isn’t bad; but it’s not really great either. The big “problem”, so to say, is that the brown rice in the blend doesn’t taste great cold: it’s a strong flavour and it’s a little weird to be drinking it cold. On the flip side; the berry notes are so flipping tasty! The strawberry in particular comes through a lot and it’s very juicy and ripe tasting. That element of the tea definitely makes sense to be drinking cold but there’s just too much disconnect to be drinking it paired with such a toasty/roasty element.

I definitely think I’m going to enjoy this a lot when I brew it hot though: all the flavours should come together in a way that works really well, just like I’m craving. I look forward to putting that to the test! No rating for now.

Cold Brew Sipdown (138)!

Wow, I guess I was in a watermelon mood yesterday? I didn’t even realize until literally just now writing this note that I had two different watermelon blends yesterday. I should have gone for the trifecta and drank some Watermelon Xylophone as well.

This is a sadder sipdown for me; I really enjoyed the balance of mellow but sweet watermelon notes and then the softer vegetal/grassy notes of the oolong in addition to light floral notes. This was always so beautiful and nuanced; and I thoroughly enjoyed it every time I drank it – be that hot or cold. Sadly, it’s all sold out now so this probably truly is goodbye.

After finishing off a few LP blends recently, I’m excited to welcome some new(er) ones back into my cupboard come Black Friday though. Personally, as a Canadian, the best Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal a company can offer is free shipping ‘cause typically speaking I like to use BF/CM to sample new things which means smaller orders: free shipping makes that so much more justifiable, especially when shipping to Canada is usually hella expensive. And LP’s BF deal is just that; free shipping for Canadians.

Definitely feeling the love, and I can tell you right now that while I’m not totally decided on what I want to order I will be ordering something.

Last tea of the night before I head to bed…

I think this is my first time trying this one hot? Normally I cold brew it but tonight I was craving something light and melon-y so I whipped this one out and gave it a shot. I was definitely light handed with both water temp and steep time because I know that LP has warned this is finnicky when brewed hot, but this worked for me. Just very fragile and delicate overall but with lovely fresh green notes of grass and cucumber skin softly counter balanced by natural, realistic watermelon notes.

I only brewed a small teacup both out of fear for brewing this poorly and because I was trying to be conscious of caffeine intake before bed, but I almost wish I’d brewed more because I finished my teacup in what felt like the blink of an eye and I was so disheartened when there wasn’t more to keep sipping at.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pkX94f3Z20&index=7&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ

The album that this cover is from is one of my favourites of all time; and in fact the only ‘single’ from that album might just be my favourite song of all time if one can even narrow their favourite music down to one song. Sadly this singer is so unheard of that 80% of his music can’t even be found on Youtube to listen to, though. Fortunately, this is one of the few songs that you CAN find so I’m able to share it with all of you. I hope you enjoy it…

For anyone curious this is the song I’m referring to as my ‘favourite of all time’…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiwYNCTKU2Y

It’s absolutely BEAUTIFUL in its meaning, tone and simplicity and something I honestly feel that EVERYONE can relate to. It also pairs perfectly with this tea; and most teas in general, in my opinion anyway.

This is a queued tasting note.

Cold brewed this one; it was really enjoyable but in this particular cold brew I didn’t find that the watermelon notes were actually all that strong. Maybe this is because I didn’t get any dehydrated watermelon pieces in the leaf I used for the brew; maybe not? It’s one of those things that’s a bit hard to pinpoint.

But the oolong base itself is really nice; I like that it’s kind of weirdly creamy and buttery but still has that cooling, vegetal crispness as well. In addition to being a bit floral and buttery, the vegetal notes specifically remind me of cucumber skins/peel.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruxTT6hjbWQ

Can’t think of anything better to listen to this with than a little bit of Surf Music, and Jack Johnson is my favourite when it comes to that kind of music!

Cold Brew!

Still really loving this one! It’s a tea to drink slowly while having big thoughts.

The watermelon is really natural and refreshing, and with this most recent brew I found I was getting the pulpyness of it as well as that verging on sour flavour of the rind. That’s not a bad thing; when I eat watermelon I gnaw that rind down to the bitter end. All watermelon is good watermelon. As for the oolong base, it’s pretty floral in a complimentary way. Didn’t noticed this last time, but this time around it had a bit of a buttery flavour as well. I liked it, even if it was a little odd next to the fleshy watermelon notes. Butter and watermelon? Eh… Maybe watermelon and generously buttered corn on the cob, though. Summer flavours/picnic flavours. That kind of thing. Regardless, it worked.

So my teas from Liquid Proust and Camellia Sinensis arrived! I have so much tea to get to that I can’t really dig into all of the new goodies; so I just picked on or two things from each order to get excited about and try…

I fucking ADORE watermelon teas, especially in the summer time, so I was hella pumped to try this. The aroma of the dry leaf is really nice, too – you can definitely smell the watermelon (although it is light) and the buttery, floral freshness of the oolong. LP recommends steeping it cold, and that’s one thing I do really well and often so I of course complied. No arm twisting necessary.

This brews up really delicate, but that’s far from a bad thing. The first thing I notice when I’m drinking it is the very fragile taste of watermelon; pulpy, all natural “perfect for picnics in the summer” watermelon! The way this comes across is so authentic and genuine to fresh watermelon that I’d probably be sold on this tea already just from that aspect of it. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve tasted realistic watermelon this good since Butiki.

After that soft wave of summery watermelon, you get to experience the Baozhong. From talking to LP I understand that this one is particularly finnicky; but that’s part of why cold brewing is so nice – generally speaking you don’t need to worry about that kind of thing. The base is really nice though; it, too, is rather delicate and soft but the fragile floral notes and faint fruity sweetness are perfect companions to that little bit of a buttery finish I’m experiencing as I drink the tea.

It really, truly, does remind me of summer picnics in the park. Well done, Liquid Proust. You’ve sold me on another blend…

Sipdown (137)!

Tried doing a ‘flash’ infusion (of sorts) of this to finish off the sample. So, instead of steeping at a lower temperature for a more extended time period I instead used boiling water for a minute. I remember this is a tip I first learned from Stacy/Butiki and it really hasn’t steered me wrong since.

In this case, it really drew out the blueberry flavour without giving the green base as much time to develop/overwhelm the blueberry. So that blueberry note that I found really subtle last cuppa instead became this really brilliant, juicy blueberry top note that made the cup. I also got hints of cinnamon and the roasty toasted rice but the blueberry was DEFINITELY the star.

It made for a very positive way to finish off the sample. So, thanks again Scheherazade!

Thank you Scheherazade for the sample!

I wasn’t sure how well blueberry would work with the toastyness of genmaicha, if I’m being honest. However I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It was kind of like your typical genmaicha: strong roasty notes and a lighter dose of the marine green tea base. It’s a flavour combo I like a lot. The difference, of course, is the blueberry. For the most part it’s just this sort of consistently present sweetness that’s more than is usually present in a genmaicha. There are blueberry notes that are actually distinctly blueberry, but they’re pretty subtle. Mostly I taste them in the aftertaste or end of the sip when the roastiness is subsiding.

I like that the flavour is kind of soft and gentle though; Genmaicha is kind of one of those ideal night time teas for me. I don’t have to worry about the caffeine; I have a pretty high tolerance. S gentle flavours are perfect for that time of day and sort of calming down.

First Steep – 1 minute

Once steeped the tea liquid is dark brown/red with a damp and earthy scent with sweet and sharp rum taking centre stage.

The first few sips reveal a smooth and sweet combination with some damp earth and a touch of sourness, but the rum cuts through the earth and it’s taste lingers. While it’s hot it’s not as strong as the scent in terms of rum but it’s still very noticeable. It’s actually a nice combination, you have the smoothness of the golden tips with some earthiness but the rum brings sweetness but also a strength that matches the wood and damp elements from the Shu.

Half way down the cup and my mouth is completely coated with a soft and creamy rum flavour which just resembles rum ball sweets even more. Also the rum is more noticeable as the tea cools.

The raw leaves are still strong smelling, despite already having one steep.

Second Steep – 2 minutes

More rum in this steep but it remains as creamy as the first cup. The rum is not as medicinal as the first steep but it remains sweet. This cup is perhaps a little dry in comparison but it’s in a nice way.

This is a delicious steep, it has more body but the flavours remain the same.

The loose leaves still smell like rum but there is also a manure like sweetness to it now.

Third Steep – 3 minutes

This steep smells a lot less like rum, with sour earth notes now in control.

In flavour I also feel that the rum has toned down but it’s still there, just softer and less sweet among the thick cream of the golden tips.

Conclusion

This tea is rum-a-licious! A creamy base combined with sweet rum that resembles rum ball sweets brings back lots of nostalgia. The only time I would get rum balls or rum and raisin ice cream is when I went to the seaside, so for me it homes in on happy memories. Plus I like the balance between the two, being a Sheng fan over Shu I find myself enjoying this base quite a bit. The smoothness and cream reminds me of a nice Dian Hong golden tip but less malty and more earthy.

For pictures and more information please view my blog: http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2016/05/25/rummy-pu-rum-infused-pu-erh-adventure/

GCTTB
I love the name of this tea – it was the first thing that caught my eye. The combination of flavours is unusual but they manage to work quite well. The sage is subtle and doesn’t make me think I’m drinking a cup of poultry seasoning and the blackberry is distinct and not just some hibiscus pretending to be blackberry. The keemun base is pretty mild compared to others I’ve tried and maybe that’s all to the good; the dense chocolate or smoke notes I get from some keemuns might end up drowning out the flavours in this tea. A really interesting tea that I would find myself tempted to buy if I wasn’t flat broke right now. :D

As I’ve said in my other reviews, Liquid Proust’s Teas have the few Pu-Erhs that I fully enjoy. The Pu-Erh actually tasted like earthy, but lighter black tea with the Rum flavor being the most pronounced throughout. I brewed it up closer to western, but in a first steep starting at 45 seconds, then two minutes, 3, then 5. I’ll have to do it again Gong Fu…which will probably be the later note. This tea is for more experienced tea drinkers, but I think that a few newer drinkers might be converted to trying more Pu-Erh after having this. And it is a shame that this was limited edition because it was awesome.

There are plenty of people playing around with alcoholic tea, incorporating everything from wine to hops, but Rummy Pu is so far beyond what I’ve seen others working on. It’s safe to say that one sip and my mind was blown, I’ve never tasted anything quite like this. It was hands-down my favorite discovery at the Midwest Tea Festival. The depth of flavor the tea picked up during the aging process is astounding. Opening up a fresh package smelled as if I had popped open a bottle of spiced rum for a mid-day tipple. The flavor changes subtly each time it’s steeped, but even after using the same leaves for the third, fourth, and fifth time I was met with a distinct spiced rum flavor backed up with deeper notes of chocolate, earth, and eventually a slight sweetness. This is a truly remarkable tea!

You can read the full review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2016/5/17/rummy-pu-liquid-proust-teas

I’m towards the bottom of my bag and got more of the many other black teas with the Pu-Erh, and the notes are coming through nicely. The 90 rating never got written down, so here it is. Funny enough, I was about to drink it as a desert tea tonight and Amanda writes a stellar review. Cheers to you Andrew!

I’ve had this tea for a while, and needed to review it. I’ve only had two cups of it so far and have not done a full fledged gong fu session which this tea deserves.

Here’s what I can say so far, however: after 20 seconds in about eight ounces from five grams, this was probably one of the better Pu-Erh blends I’ve had. Nuts and a smokey vanilla are what I taste in the first three steeps. I personally recommend NOT to rinse the tea to preserve the vanilla. After that, I’ve steeped the tea before with too much water making it into something close to an aged iced tea blend…my mistake.

Yet. In the same batch, I re-brewed a western cup in 3 minutes at 190 degrees F, I got a really sweet vanilla tea. There was a very subtle fruity date quality that CWarren called fig like. It is like a vanilla fig. I really don’t like to give tea ratings, but this one I’m rating high because a Pu-Erh has not given me a taste like that before. The earlier steeps were a lot like kitchen sink water with loaded vanilla, but that cup was actually CLEAN. A clean creamy Pu-Erh. Now I’m really impressed. I steeped that a little longer and then I got something that tasted close to a vanilla English breakfast. You could probably ignore that last note, but I added that just for information anyway.

Based on my reaction to this, I’m really excited for the Rummy Pu. I love the smell and thick taste of rum, and if a vanilla Pu-Erh can be this clean and sweet, then I’ll have high expectations for the following. Andrew’s Pu-Erh’s are some of the few that I’ve ever liked anyway.

Well, I made the hard decision to reset my Nether on Ramble, this was a very hard decision but one I am glad I made! See when I switched my world from the Xbox 360 to the Xbone, all my existing Nether portals got messed up and no longer lined up, so most my Nether builds were kind of moot, and as I am sure you can guess this frustrated me. My only real complaint about doing this (other than rebuilding things, but that is no big problem, most my Nether builds were kinda old and needed redoing, except the Nether hub) with one of the recent updates you can’t get water in the Nether anymore. It used to be you could use melted iceblocks to bring water to the Nether, meaning my Nether villa had a bathroom and fountains, now not so much. I understand doing it in survival, but I wish in creative I could still get water in the Nether…so many building potentials! Especially for map makers, some of the old maps came up with really clever ways of using water in the Nether, and I will miss that.

Today I am looking at Liquid Proust’s Rummy Pu, a fancy Golden Needle Shou aged in a rum barrel and debuted at the Midwest Tea Festival, where I procured it. Before I get into huge depth on tasting, I want to give a little me backstory, I LOVE rum. In fact I love the taste of most alcohol, thanks to a quirk in my metabolism it took a lot to get me drunk and I never stayed drunk for long, in fact I was only a tiny bit hungover once and never made myself sick off of the stuff, well that was when I was younger. When I was 21 my gallbladder failed and pretty much ever since then my guts have been made of fail in one way or another, and anytime I try to drink I would curl up in a tiny ball of agony, so no more booze for me! I never really liked being tipsy, but man did I love the taste, especially of rum, so having things that taste like rum make me happy. One of the reasons I eat a lot of rum balls come Christmas…and speaking of rum balls this tea smells uncannily like them. It has a bit of a loamy earthy Shou quality, but really the showing point is a rich rum, chocolate, graham crackers, and a tiny distant spice. In short, it smells really amazing!

Gaiwan time for the golden needles, and for the first time in I can’t even remember how long, I drank the rinse. Usually I never drink the rinse on a Shou, but this one smelled so tantalizing that I had to. The leaves smell sweet, like rum and molasses, with chocolate and earthy wet loam. The rum is super strong and very sweet, and it still reminds me of rum balls. The aroma of the tea is equally rummy and sweet, with strong notes of chocolate and graham crackers, wet wood and forest floor. It smells like what I imagine a wet rum barrel would smell like on a hot day.

The first several steeps are super rummy and sweet, and yes they taste like rum balls! Smooth and sweet with a gentle distant spice (allspice reminiscent) with rich chocolate notes and sweet graham crackers. There is an earthiness to the tea as well, like clean wet soil after rain in a deep forest, lush and loamy. I was expecting this tea to lull me into sleep, as many thick Shous tend to do, but nope this one had me lost in nostalgia and wide awake. Oops.

The middle steeps took on a surprising creaminess and fruity tone, now this tea no longer tastes like rum balls but tastes like rum raisin ice cream. The sweet rum and raisin mixed with rich vanilla and cream is pretty decadent, thickly sweet and with a solid mouthfeel, I don’t even care that I was up til five in the morning drinking this stuff. Though hilariously the taste at the beginning reminding me Christmas rum balls, now the taste reminds me of rich bowls of ice cream on a summer day…clearly this tea has range.

Not wanting the tea to ever end, I took to grandpa-ish style steeping the final steeps, going for at times 20 minute long steeps as I drank around the leaves. As one imagines the liquid gets a bit chilled at this point, and usually I LOATHE cold Shou, but it was delightfully sweet and creamy, the rum notes still strong. By this point there are none of the familiar earthy notes of Shou (which is what I dislike about cold Shou, those notes are wonderful warm but a big nope when cold) just creamy vanilla and chocolate, rum, and a gentle spice that lingers. I got nine steeps out of this tea before it quit, and enjoyed every one of them…even Ben who is not a fan of any alcohol (he won’t even eat my famous rum balls) and who only moderately likes Shou loved this stuff, he fussed at me for only getting one bag and he wants to turn some into a Masala Chai! I really do regret only getting one bag, this tea is wonderful and I will mourn it when it is gone.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/05/liquid-proust-teas-rummy-pu-tea-review.html