Tea At Sea

Love this tea! Nice and floral and sweet. I think I steeped it about 6 times.

Oh god, I’ve been terrible at doing my writing up my reviews for samples. My goal is now to do one a day.

I’m really glad I waited on this one till I got my water filter. I think it would have been completely ruined by my tap water. It was actually quite delicate and sophisticated. I’m a bit zoned out right now so I didn’t get many specific notes. Just a general feeling of refined contentment.

I will try to add more useful information next tasting.

After reading the description and smelling the tea, I knew I was going to like it. As such, I decided to try yyz steeping parameters, my first time trying the little water short steeping method (what is that style called again?), hoping for a more sort of special process.
1 tsp, 4 oz water, 185 degrees, 45 seconds
Boy oh boy is this good. One of the few teas I’ve ever had that I feel absolutely no desire to add anything to (I think theres been 2, maybe 3 so far). Sort of vegetal, sort of nutty, with a very pleasant mouth feel, almost buttery. I enjoyed rolling the tea around in my mouth and just savoring the flavor.
60 sec steeping
Still delicious and nutty and vegetal, and buttery.
80 sec steeping
More nutty, less vegetal, and I’m getting notes of something fruity. I’m also so of noticing a pleasent sort metallic or maybe mineral sort of taste at the end of the sip. I feel like I’m getting better at detecting notes that aren’t specific added flavors (;
100 sec steeping
Oddly this steeping I noticed more vegetal and less nutty. Still buttery texture. The end of the sip this time is super fresh almost like the feeling of jumping into water, if that makes any since. It’s also more minerally. This steeping really reminds me of the ocean for some reason. I don’t taste seaweed exactly, but it tastes like how swimming in the ocean feels, kind of. I don’t know.
I notice that when I write my tasting notes as I sip, instead of right after I finish, they sound crazier, and make me sound really amateurish, haha. Either way I really enjoyed this tea, and I’m going to have to order more!

Samples Only TTB

BLECH. This tastes like seaweed. I brewed it according to instructions and didn’t oversteep. It tasted terrible. Even with sugar, it was awful.

Another green tea I can’t stand.
It tasted and smelled of seaweed. Yuck. >_<
I even eat nori with rice or sushi but THIS was just … yuuuck.

Shame. Such CUTE packaging ;_;

Smooth, a little ‘chewy’ with malt and rich spring earth plus a vague hint of sweetness. Pleasant overall flavor with sustained, mildly astringent finish. Noticing now that Tea at Sea recommends using more than a tsp of tea, will try that next time. Would be happy to be served this tea in a restaurant. Thanks to Tea at Sea for the sample!

This tea is delightfully smooth and pleasant. The taste is very clean and smells sweet and vegetal. The sip opens with sweet grassiness and finishes with roasted rice. It has a nice, creamy mouth-feel and reminds me more of an oolong than a green. The aftertaste brings it back to a nice sophisticated green tea, similar to a green tea bread. It has no bitterness or astringency.

Ah….I had been saving this for a rainy day – which turned out to be day 1 of 3 days of back to back meetings… Too bad it’s only a sample because it is really good! Heavy on the floral notes, but I like that in a green oolong. It kind of reminds me of an orchid oolong I loved a while back but can’t find anymore. Perhaps this one is a new contender.

I’m still trying to decide if I prefer ceylon or assam black tea. This one has a nice sweet and earthy scent. It tastes like a smooth, black that goes well with my brunch. Would be good with some added spices. Will try it again with my cinnamon.

Thank you Tea At Sea for the samples! I’m just trying this one now, sorry! I used half my sample package it looked like — 1 1/3 teaspoon. I’ll mention right now that the looks of these leaves and the way they taste is more like OOLONG than a green tea: the green bundles. I’ve never had a green tea like this that was so much like an oolong.

Steep #1 // 30 minutes after boiling // 2 1/2 min steep
The steep color is a very light mellow yellow. If this is a green tea it tastes like the mao feng types: like creamed corn or breaded corn. But the mao feng is also crossed with an oolong. There is a butteriness, a sweetness, a nuttiness, hints of vegetation (well, maybe because tea is.) It’s really very tasty. Almost like a milk oolong…

Steep #2 // 22 min after boiling // 2-3 min steep
This was another delicious cup. Less like a milk oolong this time around. But the leaves didn’t get that “oversteeped” flavor. The flavor of this one didn’t change like an oolong typically would, it was like the first steep but with slightly less flavor. I’d rather have that than the sharp oversteeped flavor. I really like this one, but I’d consider this an oolong and not a green tea.

Sidenote: I wrote this note before I noticed I mentioned most of the flavor notes that Steepster mentions! I guess my tasting is getting more refined!

Backlog:

One of the better Indonesian Black teas that I’ve tasted. Thick with malty tones and no discernible bitterness to this tea. It’s just smooth and sweet. It has a nice caramel note that keeps me sipping. The caramel and the malt together remind me of the chewy crust from a freshly baked loaf of french bread.

A lovely and complex tea: notes of wood, a distant smoky note. Warm and earthy. A really good tea.

Read my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/03/22/organic-mountain-indonesian-black-tea-tea-sea/

Tea At Sea was kind enough to send me a sample of this beautiful tea. The packaging is delightful! It came with a half cork, a toothpick, and little “Tea at Sea” flag that you can turn into a little sailboat to float on top of your tea. Quite unique.
The tea was rolled tightly, and you can tell just by looking at it that it’s a high quality tea. The tea itself is a light green tea – a little too light for my taste. It wasn’t really bitter at all, and had some light flowery notes.

Had this tea yesterday from a free sample from Tea at Sea. Can’t remember much about it. Nothing was outstanding and nothing bad. It seemed like a perfectly fine cup of green tea. Probably would need to drink it a few time to determine if I really like it.

Thank you Tea at Sea for this sample. In the bag it had a strong charcoal smell. Brewed up really rich and dark. Malty, charcoal. I’m not picking up the floral that others got. Maybe it will come through more in a second infusion. I’m not used to such roasty teas either so the dark roasted flavour could be overwhelming my taste buds. It’s a good tea but I think I prefer the light oolongs.

Thanks for the free sample, Tea at the Sea. It comes with a cork sailboat? I’ll need to make that for my bookshelf. I do like the little sample bags.
It’s something that would look nice a gift shop of a port town.

It smells lovely. I really should have more unflavoured black teas. This has a sweet, malty flavour. Shall have to make some again in the morning.

Home at last after hot hot dry and then damp and full of pollen and an endless drive (the usual 3-4 hours became 6-7) then we have this weird weather with hot and humid and rain?? Rain in so cal in summer? So I’m having more of this wonderful tea that tastes higher drier and cooler than the climate here. I will have to look for tea drops for next time as I could barely get hot water (never boiling) on this trip. And horrors, my electric tea kettle seems to be leaking from somewhere!

enjoying my third steep of this trying to cool off here. The vegetal and even a bit of smoke flavor are coming out probably because I let it soak far too long while at least completing the shellac on the chair that has been tormenting me for weeks now. I have to put a final coat on just the top of one arm tomorrow then I can find a celebratory tea to complete the project. At first I far preferred the regular green to this oolong but the oolong is now growing on me, I’m so glad I bought more of both and not just the green!

I bought this tea after sampling the free samples. At first between this and the straight green, I loved the green more but now I am really enjoying this. Dry, its tightly wound knots of bright green with stems sticking out and not much scent. 1 tsp rinsed then brewed western style yields this satisfying brew its initial flavor is so light a breath of grass and hay and just a touch of vanilla and orchid but as I keep sipping it unfolds into a substantial bread and butter taste with a vanilla and honey after taste. I had a disturbing afternoon, I was greeted by in injured sea lion as i headed out for my swim, his injuries had me worried for the whole swim. This tea has calmed me down now i can
move on to evening tasks

The second time around went better. Somehow the first time I just didn’t get all that much out of this tea which surprised me because the green tea was one of my best ever experiences with green. Tis time carefully brewed in a prewarmed pot. The initial aroma was quite kelpy to me but the leaves unfold in the three full minutes I gave them to release their flavor and aroma helped. I still smell kelp but something that reminds me of the mountains of Nepal and a nearby tea house, a hint of soil or smoke, I’m not sure. . The taste is bread and a touch of honey and that same nearly smoky taste. The second steep brings more floral and honey notes and the slightest mineral taste.

Mmm a nice cup of dark oolong. My sister in law gave me a tiny one cup teapot that I had to try. I did multiple brewings of this tea in it.
I used approx 2 tbsp leaves to approx 7 oz water. I did a quick rinse of the leaves and discarded the rinse water.
My first brewing was for 30 secs I tasted a hint of roasty flavour that I have come to expect from these dark oolongs but mostly got floral notes with a very slight bitter taste.
My second infusion was for approx a minute and I definitely smell and taste more of the roasted notes, still with a floral and a very slight “bitter” undertone. The colour of the tea is a nice and dark.
My third infusion was for approx a minute and 15 sec I am not getting quite a much roasted flavour as the last infusion but the floral is still there.
I can probably get more infusions out of these leave but that will have to wait until later, as will trying this for an extended brew in my tea glass at work.

When I placed my order with Tea at Sea they generously gave me some more samples free. This is one I looked forward to trying. In the package it smelled so rich, almost chocolatey. I brewed it up and was drinking from the first infusion when I read on their website to discard the first infusion. Don’t know why. It was tasting pretty good but strong. So i followed their directions, discarded it and did a 2nd infusion. More of the mushroomy taste comes through in the 2nd infusion and the bark/woody flavor is just a little less strong. It’s still a pretty strong tea but sooo earthy and rich. MMMMM I’ve just slurped the last sip down.

Mmmm, this smells like chocolate and malt once it’s steeped up.

Tastewise, it’s very malty, with intense honey notes and just a bit of stone fruit. It’s incredibly smooth and despite the richness of flavors and thickness of the cup, the finish feels quite crisp and a bit lemony/citrus.

This is kind of like the love child of a Yunnan and a Darjeeling. And what a beautiful child it is.

Thanks Tea at Sea for the sample of this! I like it as it’s a pleasant green tea. It has a very green taste but in a way that I like, not in a grassy way. It is mild, or maybe 3 minutes is not long enough but I liked it that way. I can’t believe the weekend is over already :( it’s the most time I get to enjoy doing nothing…

Now, honestly i was a bit disappointed by this tea. I opened the packaging, i was very impressed by the tight rolled leaves and the bright green fresh leaves. However, after the initial brew which often seems to be the most powerful, i really didn’t get much. Almost to the point of just warmed water with a very subtle flavor. I chalked it up to maybe a bit over temp. I tried a second steeping, but to little avail. I am not sure if it was supposed to be as mellow and subtle as it was but i definitely noticed a lighter color but a more pronounced taste. It was very very subtle. I still have more for another try, but i honestly just wasn’t impressed. Maybe after another try i might get a different result, but i am happy i tried it nonetheless.