Samovar
Edit CompanyPopular Teas from Samovar
See All 79 TeasRecent Tasting Notes
Our fair state has looked like this for the past week.
Which, yes, is pretty. And I usually like the rain. But it’s gotten dreary and I’ve been feeling lethargic. So when I woke up the the other day and was greeted by sunlight, it made sense that the glorious event be coupled with a metaphorical awakening as to just how exceptional this tea is.
I’m really glad that I decided to pull this one out of my tea stash before the cold I am coming down with decided to rear its ugly self, because I can already feel my taste buds starting to dull.
I’ve been drinking an increasing number of black teas lately [for which I must credit to the fine people at Andrews & Dunham], and I think that that has added new layers of wonder to the appreciation that I have for this tea.
So. Many. Flavors! I mean, I was floored. It reminds me, bizarrely perhaps, of the best parts of movies and TV shows for me – where they do something and it’s funny or whatever and I’m mildly amused, but then they take it past the slightly mundane and all of a sudden kick it into overdrive.
I know that I really think TV shows or movies are good when I am watching them alone and I catch myself laughing out loud, or holding my breath, or becoming seriously annoyed when the commercial break hits. What have you. I know that I really think that this tea is good because three mouthfuls in, I let fly a, “Holy shit.”
If you are going to fully enjoy this tea you need to let it hit all the sections of your tongue, and you need to let it move around a bit. It’s smooth, deep, and reminiscent of wet autumn leaves. The predominant flavors I get are a caramel maltiness and yams or sweet potatoes. Maybe yams because it has more of that sweetness to it. I get hints of a buttery flavor, spices that I can’t place, and raisins. This is a tea that I am definitely going to be drinking a lot more once this cold goes away, because there is a LOT going on in it.
I like it better warm, but it changes as it’s cooling. When it’s actually cool I don’t find it nearly as enjoyable, but the journey that it makes on its way there is somewhat fascinating, so its a bit of a Catch 22.
Plus, it’s one of the prettiest teas I’ve ever seen.
Wow that tea sounds amazing! I’ve added it to my shopping list.
I sympathize with you regarding the rain. It was non-stop here until we left for Chicago. Now it is glorious sunshine and I can feel the sun entering my body and filling me with joy.
It’s at the top of my list for favorite black teas. That’s how much I like it.
And yes, SUN. We’re supposed to have nice weather through the weekend here so I’m trying to spend as much time outside as humanly possible.
Why are you trying to ruin my bank account?
Misery loves company and mine’s already a hot mess?
The tea is gooood, though.
Wow, this sounds interesting….too bad I hate raisins :(
Shh…
We’re not going to talk about how long it’s been since I’ve logged a tea. In my defense I’ve been devoured by and residing in the bowels of schoolwork. Today I decided that for my own mental sanity I needed to put the books down for a few minutes [and Top Chef is on a commercial break]. Long preamble to simple question short: should you feel special because I’ve decided to spend some of my not-banging-my-head-against-my-desk-time to write this for you?
Short answer: probably not.
Longer answer: but if you do, have some warm fuzzies courtesy of me and the internets.
I tend to drink a lot of the same tea, so…I figure you can only hear about how much I want to marry the same four or five teas from Samovar x number of times. [Yes, that’s how I roll.]
However, the lack of money [being a student is over-rated] and time [ditto] has led to the need to branch out into my tea stash a little bit more.
Not that this is at all a bad thing, because as fall is beginning to waft into Virginia, I find the hot cup of Yunnan Golden Bud in front of me to be deeply satisfying. It’s got a bit of sweetness to it, but more of a brown sugar kind of sweetness. There are many different tastes that swirl around in this tea, but my palate isn’t nearly sophisticated enough to pick them out. I can tell you, though, that the flavor profile sings of autumn to me – it’s deep and rich and would probably be awesome with something heavy and savory. Oooh, like potato torte.
Oh my god I could really eat some potato torte right now. Want to make me one? I’ll split it with you!
Brewing a darker tea from my collection to get ready for my last final! Maiden’s Ecstasy is the first puerh I’ve ever bought but my stash is running low and I’m looking into trying out other puerhs. Any suggestions?
I haven’t really had any pu-erh that I’ve truly liked outside of Samovar’s [just being honest]. If you haven’t tried their Palace pu-erh I like that one a lot, though it is a little bit more on the expensive side.
In any case, I hope your finals went well! I know it feels beyond fantastic to be done with mine!
Look for pu erh encased in some form of citrus…manderine, tangerine…yum!
