Nina's Paris

Backlog from yesterday afternoon.

I tried this again using Lala’s preferred parameters of 1 tsp per 8 oz, 87C, 1.5 minute steep with a bit of sweetener (agave nectar, in my case). The tea was very light and fragrant, but the berry flavour was only visible in the aftertaste. Still pleasant, but kind of average.

I really have to find the old tasting note I wrote where the tea resulted in an aftertaste of fruit roll-ups. That’s still the most memorable steep for me, so I guess I should keep to those parameters.

I tried this tea this morning using Lala’s recommended steeping parameters: 1 tsp per 8 oz, 87C, 1.5 minute steep, with a little bit of sweetener added.

This resulted in a very mild, light cup of tea. The green tea base was a lot less noticeable this time, though I didn’t sense the berry flavours taking over the way I hoped they would. I do like this, though. I might stick with these steeping instructions, as the tea was very smooth. However, I did really like it that one time I brewed it and the aftertaste reminded me of fruit rollups. Hmmm…

Last time I tried this, I made note of what steeping parameters I was going to use next.

Aaaaand I forgot about that when I brewed. Bah. I really need to figure out how to get this one right.

Second time I’ve had this, and I admit I like the green base a little better now. It’s still not there yet though. Steeped it for slightly longer this time. Looking over other people’s tasting notes, I’m going to try Lala’s suggestion next (1.5 tsp, 8 oz, 190°F [87°C] for 1-1.5 minutes with a bit of sweetener).

The aftertaste on this is great – fruity and sweet and tongue-coating, almost like a classier, grown-up version of a fruit roll-up!

Backlog from earlier this evening.

I finally opened up my tin of this! I just didn’t have the time for this one before. As I’m finding typical for Nina’s teas, this smells absolutely heavenly when dry – fruity and slightly floral, even candylike. The raspberry is definitely the most prominent flavour here.

Also as I’m finding typical for Nina’s teas, this doesn’t come with any steeping instructions. Sigh. I went with 1.5 tsp for 8 oz at a temperature of 75°C and a 2-minute steep. In the end, this tea was a lovely yellowish green, mostly clear but slightly cloudy. There was some dust at the bottom of the cup.

Brewed, the scent is very similar: fragrant and fruity, with the raspberrry still dominant. However, alas: the base tea itself tastes somewhat musty! This definitely tastes like a Chinese green, (perhaps Chun Mee?) and I can see why this melds well with the fruit flavours, but I’m not a fan of the base itself. It’s not bitter or astringent, though.

I’m finding that Nina’s teas are rather finicky. The smell is worth it, though – I will figure out how to make this tea work, as I’m rather fond of red-fruit greens.

omg i’ve been so MIA

it suuuuucks.

but look. me and 3d!steve. we’ve been spending some quality time.
http://instagram.com/p/mifNfSIc8m/
really connecting.
bro-ing down.
priorities.

(i miss you steepster and i’ll be back soon i swear.)

Sipdown! (141/395)

I am so happy to finally be drinking my last cup of this tea, as I’ve had this well over 4 years at this point (!!!) I’ve been saving it for when it could be properly appreciated, since I screwed up my cup so royally the last time. It got to the point where I was scared to brew it, for fear of making the same mistake again and ruining the entirety of the sample I was sent. This time I was prepared. I read my old tasting note about what I did wrong the last time, read VariaTEA’s suggestions on how she drinks this, and read several other notes from other people who had enjoyed this particular tea. I used less water as last time I remarked that the tea was underleafed. I stuck to a 2-minute steep time, below my usual 3-4 minutes and FAR below the 30 minutes I left it last time. I am resolved not to add milk.

The waiting and preparation have definitely paid off! This is delicious! I can only imagine how incredible it would be fresh. As it was steeping, I could smell the apricot strongly, and the peach came through too after a minute or so. My mam remarked that it smelled like jam, and I agree. Plain, the peach and apricot flavours came through in the initial sip, but were quickly replaced by a surprising bitter note. Not astringency from the black tea, though there is a hint of that too, but something actually bitter which took me by surprise. I added a spoon of sugar as I enjoyed it best this way the last time, and wow! The peach and apricot flavours really pop! Now it tastes incredibly jammy, too. I love peach flavour, and I’m not usually keen on apricots, but together here they are d e l i c i o u s ! The bitter note is much less prominent with sugar added, and even less so as the cup begins to cool. I’m going to chalk it up to age or cross-contamination, as nobody else seems to have mentioned this. The vanilla really adds an extra something, a sweet creaminess which goes beautifully with the other flavours. The apple is lost behind the peach, apricot and vanilla, but I’m totally fine with that. As predicted, my previous rating of 43 is being left for dust this time around, and I couldn’t be happier about it. I definitely see a Nina’s order in my future.

Hmm…
I will write a proper tasting note for this one from my swap with variaTEA when I can do it justice. For now, it was poor and totally my fault as I fudged it up.

It smelled very strongly of apples in the packet, with a creamy hint which I suppose came from the vanilla. Almost like Adagio/Cara’s Ten blend (Doctor Who) only without the coconut. Brewed, the peachiness came through more than the apples and it smelled very juicy. HOWEVER I got distracted and alas, totally forgot about it for over half an hour, with the leaves still steeping in the cup in my little brew basket. I was so annoyed with myself when I remembered, as I was so looking forward to this!! It also turns out I underleafed, so the flavour was weak as well as bitter. I am planning on using the rest of the sample to very carefully prepare a cup exactly as it should be, as I want to enjoy it as it should be enjoyed.

Although it was bitter, I didn’t have to dump the cup – I added a teaspoon of sugar which mellowed it out a little, and was able to enjoy the fruity flavours in the aftertaste, after each bitter sip. The bitterness was just bearable enough, thankfully! Near the end of the cup, I added a touch of almond milk, out of curiousity, which didn’t turn out anywhere near as good as it sounded in my head. It kind of curdled a little, and the flavours seemed to remain separate in my mouth, too – first bitterness, followed by fruits, followed by a faint almond hint which ruined the overall aftertaste in my opinion. I think it would be good without sugar, too, but wasn’t able to tell this time due to the bitterness. My rating reflects the way I drank it with sugar before adding the almond milk as it was the most enjoyable, but I am sure the rating will increase massively when I manage to brew it properly without breaking it.

I am so angry with myself for overbrewing. I may have to find a way to acquire more (read: place a Nina’s order) as punishment. Yep. That’s what I’ll do.

Well, now that I look at the picture on this page and at my actual tea… I am not sure if they are the same. Because I sure don’t have any of these fancy fruit pieces! The Mon Secret that I got is largely just tea leaves… There’s bits and pieces of something in it, I guess. Hmmm…

The steep has a beautiful dark ruby color but it looks and tastes just like keemun tea with not much else to it. It’s a little disappointing, but I am not sure who to blame for it. I seriously believe that there’s something not right with the blend I got. Perhaps getting their teas from Amazon is not an entirely good idea?

I think I’m finally getting used to the flavour on this one and accepting it for what it is, rather than what it should be. Consequently, I’m not noticing the vanilla/peach flavour as much, and instead the base is coming to the fore. Really nice and smooth, not astringent. I need to have this tea more often.

I really can’t seem to find my perfect steep parameters for this blend. However, this was pretty ok – 1 tsp per 8 oz at 89C for 2.5 minutes, with a bit of sweetener. Slightly fruity, slightly creamy, but not a huge overpowering presence of either.

I really really want to love Nina’s teas, but they’re just so persnickety, it makes me kind of annoyed.

Backlog from last night:

I guess I’ll just have to accept that no matter how I brew this, it will end up tasting more like vanilla and less like fruit – I really want to have the peach flavour come to the front, but it hasn’t.

Ah well, it’s still a nice tea. And I have a lot more left to finish off.

I’m still figuring out the steep parameters on this – I really want the apple and peach to come forward, but it’s still vanilla-tasting.

Maybe I’ll just have to give up and stick with the way things are. Which is sad. Nina, why is it so hard for me to figure out how to steep your teas?!

Second time steeping this. Still haven’t figured it out.

The first time I did it for 3 minutes at 90C. This time I did it for 2 minutes at boiling temp. Both times it was still not as fruity as I wanted it to be. Vanilla, chocolate and cream flavours still the most present. All I really want is for this to be a black peach tea, but I just can’t get the peach/fruit flavours to come forward.

Perhaps I should use 1 tsp for 8 oz instead?

Finally had a chance to open the package that I received last week. The dry leaf smells strongly of peach, apple, and vanilla, so I was really looking forward to testing it out!

Nina’s teas don’t come with any steeping parameters, unfortunately, so I tried the tea with 2 tsp/12 oz for 3 minutes at 90°C. I initially meant to steep it for 2 minutes, but the phone rang and I got interrupted.

Brewed, the tea still smells strongly of peaches and vanilla, as well as chocolate, with the apple being fainter. The taste is of chocolate/vanilla and possibly some cream, with the fruit tastes being less dominant. This is not astringent at all, but I think that I would have appreciated it more if it were steeped at a higher temperature for a shorter length of time. I still have 2 oz to play with to figure out the perfect steep. Withholding a rating for now.

TTB&C #1

It seems like every time I check my dashboard VariaTEA has written something amazing about this tea. NayLynn was so nice to add a sample of this to the TTB and so when I saw it in the box it was the first tea I grabbed. I would say this lives up to the wonderful reviews. Sweet, toasty, caramely, vanilla all in one cup. This is a tea I could easily drink at night as a dessert and a relaxing cup. There is enough for a few more cups and I think I am going to have to hide the rest in the box so someone else will get the pleasure to try this tea.

Hmm, I am not sure what to make of this tea. I brewed it at a hotter temp this time to try to bring out more flavor (not boiling, though not quite sure what temp; more below), and it backfired on me. It’s not bitter or astringent or anything, but it’s like a mild mannered person who is really sweet and then you make them angry and they surprise you. This cup has a burnt-toast/burnt-rice/burnt-nuts scent and flavor that actually reminds me of coffee. Um, what? Where was that mild-mannered caramel vanilla tea again? How can these be the same teas?

I’m rating this based on a combo of my two experiences. Steep it like a green tea, and it is sweet and caramelly, but lacking depth and body from the base teas. Steep it closer to a black tea, and it turns into some kind of weird caramel-flavored weak coffee. So although I wouldn’t turn down another cup or the chance to go for it again, this isn’t really doing it for me.

Finally, the reason I don’t know what temp this is really at is that my Adagio UtiliTEA kettle may have finally kicked the bucket. It worked this morning but when I tried to make some water at ~195°F, I noticed that it was just boiling forever without shutting off. It boiled so hard that I lost probably two ounces of water out of the pot through boil-off. I stopped it, let it cool for a bit, and then ended up putting in a bit of room temp water to top off my cup since the water had boiled off. Will have to try going to a lower temp and seeing if it works that way; otherwise I may be in the market for a new office kettle.

I asked Sil for a sample of this tea and she was nice enough to oblige! Quite a while ago Nina’s offered some samples and I got some, and did not find them to be to my taste. But then Nina’s blew up on Steepster and people started loving on them hard, so I thought maybe I should give them a second chance. This is one that a lot of people love, so I thought it might be a good place to start.

This is a good reminder to check a tea on Steepster before brewing. I assumed this was a green tea, not a black/green blend, so I brewed it probably too cool. Well, I have enough for another go so I’ll have to try it a little hotter. As it is, the flavor is nice but rather light. I do get some nice buttery caramel and I can certainly see why this one is popular. Will wait to rate until I try it again at a higher temp.

The first jasmine tea I ever had was a total bust, almost a disaster. It made me feel sick, as if I had been drinking perfume. I thought I was destined to hate jasmine teas but then I tried some really good….no…..really great ones.

This is a free sample provided by Nina’s and I saved it for a game night tonight because one of my guests has spent a bit of time in China and really loves jasmine tea. I promised to save the sample until we could drink it together.

The leaves are so dark that I wasn’t sure at first if this was green or black, but definitely it is green. The scent is heavenly. I steeped one tablespoon in 22 ounces of 174F water for three minutes. We tasted the first steep and added the second steep to it.

The verdict – this is a really good jasmine green. The jasmine is rich and natural, not fake or “perfume-y”. The liquor was a deep yellow color and the resteep maintained much of the strength of the first steep. The green tea base had a lot of presence but was smooth, much better to me than the Grace Rare Tea version, which I can drink with a meal but is a bit sour for me by itself. This one is a delight on its own and is also good with food,

After tasting the tea twice – first steep by itself, then first and second mixed – we passed around a box of truffles and I must say it was a fantastic pairing.

Thank you, Nina’s!

This tea… puzzles me.

First off, it’s a green & black blend, which is pretty unusual. How in the world do you steep it? That’s one of the many occasions when Steepster is indispensable. I steeped it according to the average preparation then.

The liquor looks clear, and the color is something like coppery brown, which is what I would expect from a green & black tea mix. Smells like caramel (seriously, I’ve been on some caramel streak recently. I swear I typed this word a million times today whe writing tea reviews), sweet popcorn and vanilla toffee. Wow.

The first few sips underwhelmed me, in a way. It tasted like a really good genmaicha with a little bit of black tea’s boldness to it. I just shrugged and continued drinking and then I noticed… these shy but charming little notes of vanilla that made me reach for the cup almost compulsedly obsessively :D It’s like… having a spell put on you.

I think it’s one of these teas that is going to grown on me more and more with time – much like this first cup unraveled for me. And it’s kind of unusual because I don’t remember a tea that felt like this to me recently.

I am still puzzled, though.

What on earth did I do wrong here? It tastes like cardboard.

Thank you JustJames for sharing this. Thankfully I have more to play with.

Well, it’s decided: passionfruit is a flavor I’d just rather avoid in my teas. While this is a well-constructed, lovely fruit tea, and I really do want to give it all the credit that it’s due, I want it to be anything other than this passionfruit flavor. It’s also got some flowery Frenchness to it, which I actually like in this blend… just not the tea for me.

Thank you to JustJames who helped me assuage my guilt about trying this, and in a small enough quantity that I could justify having one cup and that’s it. :)

Saturday Sample Sipdown #3!

The first time I tried this tea, I steeped it for 3 minutes and it tasted strongly of rose with a hint of apple. The second time, I reduced the steeping time by one minute and didn’t get much flavour of anything beyond the base. This time, in a final attempt to get the apple flavour to the forefront, I steeped it for 4 minutes.

Alas, I still didn’t get the apple flavour that I was hoping for. Which is a shame, because I really wanted to make this tea work for me, and while the first steep was lovely, the rose was a bit too strong for me.

Ah well. There are some teas that you can never quite see eye-to-eye with, no matter how high-quality they are. So long, amazing-smelling tea.

Backlog from this afternoon:

After I got home from the accountant, I took a much needed nap, then decided to pep up with this blend. This is my second attempt at this tea. I really want to like it because it smells amazing. However, I still haven’t figured out how to make this tea taste the way I want it to (apple with rose in the background).

This time I reduced the steep time, and the rose was far less dominant, but the apple still didn’t come to the fore. I only have enough for one cup of this, so I think I’ll try steeping it for 4 minutes next. If that doesn’t do it, then so long sipdown.