Samovar

This is the third and most expensive of the Pu-erhs I’ve tried that arrived in the Samovar Pu-erh sampler.

Difficult to say whether this is “better” than Maiden’s Ecstasy because ME will appeal to the person who likes hints of sweet. Royal Palace Organic is a classic malty, deeply woodsy Pu-erh that will appeal to the purist.

I’m not sure I detect the chocolate or cocoa notes that have been described. The malt and wood notes are strong, but yet it drinks smooth. This is the first Pu-erh I’ve tried that actually had me craving to drink mass quantities of it, so it’s possible the cocoa finish is subtly there, beckoning me back.

It’s smooth, it finishes a bit cleaner than other pu-erhs, I would say it’s almost got a crispness to it that I haven’t yet experienced in other brand’s higher-end pu-erhs.

Still deep and earthy after 6-7 infusions.

I would drink this everyday if it were affordable, but I’ll stick with my other finds and reserve Royal Palace for the occasional “ah, this is the stuff” moments. It truly is the clean finish that distinguishes it from other brands, but that’s not enough of a “wow” for me to convert to it for my go-to brewing.

This is my first puer without lots of fruit, spices, or other stuff added to it, so I had no idea what to expect. I don’t have the experience, palate or vocabularly to attempt to describe this. It doesn’t taste like anything else I’ve tried and it tastes of things I don’t recognize. So I’ll just say, made first pot at midnight. Whoowho, wild and crazy, no work in the morning. Beautiful rich, dark colour. Tasted good, fell asleep mid-pot. Heated remains of first pot in microwave this morning. Amazingly, still tasted good! Second steep, still good. Added cream. Yum, made cream taste extra creamy. I’m about to make 3rd pot.

I think I’m going to really like this as I get to know it. I don’t know what this tastes like, but it tastes right somehow, as though this will become a taste other teas will aspire to and that I’ll search for.

I got this from swapping teas with AmazonV. I had lost this in my house, and finally found it to brew it. My only experience with mate was in a Celestial Seasoning blend. It was from 2004 I think, they had a line of flavored mate. My favorite was the Island Spice, what a shame they cut it. So from that, I thought mate was awesome! I also have had it in blends, so I thought it must be good.

So the dry leaf smell just didn’t seem appealing. It is earthy! I like my cheese earthy, not the tea I drink though. It came out beautiful green. The taste? Um…just not me. I prefer it blended. I took one sip, and that was enough! I can’t rate it since it’s just mate I don’t like. I had another brand I wasn’t much a fan of either.

So far I don’t like this. It tastes too strongly of hibiscus and stevia to me. Next time I try it I’ll try a much shorter steep time.

Old Arcade Fire, nose deep in writing, and a stiff cup of tea. It’s like college again!

I got this as part of Samovar’s black tea sampler. Something happened with mine so that all the samples were smokey from the Lapsang Souchong. Everything in my sample got smokey (and Samovar had awesome customer support about it). I thought about throwing out my samples, but never got around to it. Today I decided to try the Ancient Gold. It smells more smokey than I like, and definitely has a hint of it, which I don’t like. However, the base is really good. It’s a strong cup and I get a hint of raisin. It’s good enough I want to try an untainted cup of this at some point…. I guess I’ll have to order a sample of this one!

I decided to try a little experiment today: steep Yunnan Golden Buds like I do all my “golden” teas (200 degree water, 4 minutes).

It’s quite delicious. I’m surprised that it’s honestly not that much different than when I steep it at 175 for a minute or two! So sweet and delightfully yammy. Not astringent, bitter, or strong (a tad stronger than the lower temp/time brew but I see that as a positive).

I made a second steep at 5 minutes and it’s delicious as well. I believe I found a new steeping parameter for this tea! I am loving the boost in flavor!

I wanted a tea that I could drink alllllllll day, and this one came to mind. So nice and sweet. I can’t taste the complexities with my illness, but the sweet potato-ness and gentleness come through. Very soothing and delicious.

Sweet, sweet, sweet! Love that sweet potato, sweet roasted carrot (I just had sweet roasted carrots last night so the flavor is fresh in my head!) brown sugar-ish and tea flavor. So, so lovely. This is one of my favorite “experience” teas to drink – you can steep it all day and experience a myriad of different flavors in each steep. I am looking forward to when it goes “milky” in later steeps :) The best thing I have ever won in a contest, hands down!

Sweet, light, delightful! I’m having this one in honor of the very spring-like weather we are experiencing today! It tastes like new green shoots coming out of the ground and and sun on your skin!

My coworker asked if I could make some 175 degree water for her green tea in my kettle, so I thought I would make a tea which tastes great at that temperature too! Yunnan Golden Buds came immediately to mind. I have lost track of the number of infusions, but I’ve been drinking cup after cup since 9am (it’s now almost 1pm!) and the tea is still a sweet potato and brown sugar delight. Amazing.

Drinking my gentle precious today :) It is our Office Goin’ Out for the Holiday Day (we’re going to Max Brenner’s Chocoholic Restaurant at 3pm OMG:

http://www.maxbrenner.com/about.html

so I am trying to take it easy food wise and tea wise because only the Chocolate Gods know what I am going to consume this afternoon!!!! I ate a bagel and brewed this one because I can make steep after steep all day as I look forward to my Chocolate Dream Afternoon with my coworkers!!!

Also, we are exchanging gifts. It had to be max $10 and appropriate for anyone in the office (we are drawing numbers). I won’t say what’s in my offering just in case, but I will say that part of it involves TEA!

My precious! Easing into yet another Monday with this tea :) So sweet and delicious. I love how multiple steep friendly it is.

Trying to eeeeeeease my way in to my normal schedule after four days off. I thought some brown sugar sprinkled sweet potato tea would do the trick – a gentle, sweet, multiple steeper so I can have tea all day :) Mmmmmmmm. This tea makes the “I could drink this every day!!!” list (aka my holy grail absolute favorites).

This is also a tea that makes me “evangelical” – I want to run out in the streets and make people taste it, then taste another steep, then taste the next, because I don’t think most people have experienced a tea so amazing and sweet without additions, and then to have it DO THAT over and over again!?! Why it might change the world!

Crazy busy, and drinking my Amazing Yunnan Golden Buds! Having steep after steep is helping to keep me calm, yet energized and productive, yet centered today.

My prize for the What’s Your Ritual Samovar contest came last night! I’m not sure if it was an error or if they decided to be extra generous, but they sent me Yunnan Golden Buds. Oh my dear sweet tea leaves!!!! The leaves are gorgeous and golden and puffy and amazing.

I did my first steep at 175 for 2 minutes, and I am in Sweet Potato Heaven. I mean, there are yams with halos on playing harps each time I close my eyes and take a sip! I am in awe! I was going to play around with the steeping parameters but I said why mess with perfection! Maybe another day I’ll try a different temp, but I am enjoying it so much as it is…ahhh!

I did the second steep in much the same way, and it’s outstanding as well. I think it’s even sweeter on this go around. I hate to keep saying amazing, but, er, amazing!!!

This is a gentle, subtle, delicious wonder in flavor yet an invigorating feel good tea! I love it!

I will most certainly be doing steeps all day, and I’ll update this post later :)

It’s kinda funny – I wrote my little essay to win this prize from an experience that I was able to have because my husband won a prize of free airfare anywhere in the USA for two at his holiday party at work two years ago!!! In that spirit, I gave samples to two of my favorite tea people at work to spread the spirit of giving and prizes and tea and ALL THINGS GOOD!!!

Thank you Samovar!!!

EDIT: I wound up doing 6 steeps! I at first stopped at 4, and then an hour later put more water in my kettle and did 2 more because I wanted that exquisite flavor. I know I went on about Sweet Potatoes earlier in my note, but I will amend to that and say I taste Sweet Potatoes and Brown Sugar. Image the Sweet potato angels glistening with brown sugar and THAT is how this tea tastes!

So I got a black sampler set from Samovar, but something weird must have happened in the shipping because everything smells a bit of lapsang souchong (not the best for me). So the fact that I didn’t love this might be because of the faintly smoky smell and taste of it. Otherwise: total flowers. I’m abstaining from applying a numerical rating since the LS scent would cause me to lower the rating and that might just be a one-off thing in my sample.