Tearunners

Roswell Strange had an awful experience with the sample that I sent her with this tea. She got sudsy and chemical and “fresh linen” deodorizer. Needless to say, that did not have me particularly excited to try this.

With that said, that is not my experience at all. To me, this doesn’t really taste a whole lot like anything. I got a slight hint of milk chocolate. Maybe a touch of malt. A little metallic/copper at the tail-end of some sips. It’s sort of run of the mill and meh but I am definitely not getting suds and fresh linen. So is that a win? I don’t know.

From yesterday afternoon!

I forgot I was steeping this, which resulted in a tea that steeped for nearly fifteen minutes. It was still surprisingly drinkable – I think me from seven years ago would absolutely lose their shit watching “current me” polish back a mug of straight, oversteeped black tea as if it was water. I think you really get used to astringency/bitterness over time and actually in many ways I’ve come to crave it in a straight black because otherwise I find that black teas often taste too simple or flat to me. Craaazzzyyy how palates change with time. I used to be so sensitive to bitterness.

This was good – like peppery dark chocolate with bits of malt, dark brown bread with the crusts, and leather. Thanks for the share VariaTEA!

Just finished a mug of this for my first cup of the morning – thank you VariaTEA for sharing it! I think I’m going to have to go and look it up on the TeaRunners website to see if they list any tasting notes/information on the tea because I found it really weird…

The aroma coming from the dry leaf and off the steep aroma was like a nice sweet honeycomb and red fruit, but the taste is sort of sudsy and chemical. It reminded me a bit of the “Fresh Linen” scented laundry detergent that I use. Not as full blown as that, of course, and with an undertone of something pleasant but just not wonderful. Though there’s still hints of malt, honey, and red fruit. They’re just drowned out by that off note.

Thanks VariaTEA for coordinating this group order!

I dipped into this one late into the morning, and I liked it a lot. Compared to the other teas I’ve had today, this was much more subtle and delicate, but the gentle mineral notes complimented by soft spices (cinnamon) and floral stonefruit (plum skin and orchids) notes was entrancing and quite relaxing.

I can’t imagine that making this Western style was the best form of preparation, so I will try it Gongfu – but it was good this way! And I think the name is accurate.

Steepster is working! Yay! Hopefully it lasts!

During the Steepster freeze I drank a lot of teas and got a wonderful package from my Dad which had my new teas from Tea Please and my order (with Sil and Roswell Strange) from Tea Runners. Need to add them into my steepster cupboard.

Tonight I divided up the teas that needed dividing so I could seal up the package for Roswell Strange. This was one of the teas that needed dividing as I’m sharing it with Sil and it also happened to be the tea that I finished dividing when the kettle was ready. So I brewed it.

I was busy while drinking it but it was good. Nothing special but good. Sweet is really the descriptor that comes to mind. It’s a sweet black tea. I’ll enjoy drinking it again but I may not remember it by the time I get to it again if I’m being honest.

Stole a sample of this from Roswell Strange and enjoyed it while playing pandemic. It was light and fruity and reminds me of Ombrelle de Papier…but not as sweet.

Samurai Travelling Tea Box – Tea #14

As I expressed in another tasting note today, I had a stressful/bad day today. So, I wanted to pick something Grandpa style that I could have throughout the afternoon with no fuss. This was what I settled on, but it definitely didn’t make the day any better. The buttery floral orchid and elderflower type notes were welcome but it quickly got very bitter and very astringent quite fast and once that happened I just wasn’t able to recover the cup…

The weather is hot. Stinkin’ hot. It’s been in the upper 80s and low 90s for the last couple of weeks, and the 10 day forecast calls for more of the same. Even worse, the lows are in the low 70s. Ugh! I really hate to be hot!

Thank God for air conditioning and iced tea. This tea was part of my June subscription packet. It is a teensy bit bitter, but that is removed by a splash of lemonade. Very refereshing. I won’t be buying any teas soon, but this is one I mi8ght get a refill on.

From the Samurai TTB.

First note in my brand-new Moleskine notebook and last note for the teabox. This is my second TTB and I think they are just so much fun. Now to start the next bit of fun – picking out teas to add back to the box. I think I love that part just as much. Anyway, on to the tea!

I wasn’t sure if I was going to drink any of the white/green/oolong teas in the box. Black teas are my favorite and I enjoy herbals on occasion, but I can almost never seem to brew a white or green tea in a way that is really enjoyable to me. So I figured, why waste these beautiful teas on someone who can’t fully appreciate them? BUT. I did a splurge and bought an electric kettle, hoping that getting the temperature right would be the key. So I picked this one from SkySamurai out of the box based on how amazing it smelled. I absolutely love florals and this one smells exquisite. Jasmine, I think?

I have to say, it’s one of the more flavorful white teas I’ve had. They usually come off tasting like lukewarm water and not much else. This one is still fragrant and keeps that floral fragrance in the taste. It’s a touch bitter and slightly astringent but enjoyable. My husband had a sip and said that it tastes metallic. Now that he says it, I can see that.

Overall, I would say this hasn’t won me over for white teas but it certainly has shown me that they can have flavor that I haven’t experienced before. I’ll withhold a rating here since this isn’t my preferred cup of tea. I do want to add – I think this would be really refreshing iced!

I am not a big fan of Assam teas. They tend to be a little strong and bitter for me. When this one came in my Tearunners package I put it away.

With the weather turning hot I have been doing iced tea. My brother came by and left some lemonade for me. (I was positive for COVID several weeks ago, so couldn’t leave my apartment. My brother drove from Minnesota to North Dakota a couple of times a week to deliver some groceries for me) Being diabetic, I tend to not drink a lot of juice. but a light bulb went off in my head: Arnie Palmer! The tea I had been drinking was a little light, and the flavor didn’t come through. I decided to brew this one up next and use it for the Arnie Palmer. It was perfect at 3 parts tea and 1 part lemonade. Very refreshing!

No worries about Covid. I was certainly sick, but my temp never went over 102. I felt worse in February when I had pneumonia. I was re-tested on Thursday and today got word that I am negative. So, yay!!! I can buy my own groceries again!

Another tea box tea! It’s so fun to watch the pearls unfurl, so I used my one clear mug for this. The flavor was pretty strong and classic. It was a little bitter at first, but that mellowed overnight. If you want a tea that’s strongly flowery, this might be the one. It’s one of the better flowery teas I’ve had.

I’ve only ever tried flavored puerh before, so I figured I’d try this pure one that was in the tea box. The smell was just so muddy that I had to see what it tasted like. Surprisingly I did kind of like it at first. It matched its scent and was sort of muddy in a pleasing way. I only had two sips the first day, and the second day it tasted more murky and weird. I wish I’d had more the first day since it evolved into something not so pleasant. Anyway, still not for me, but it was interesting, and much better than I had anticipated.

It has been so blessed hot lately. Normally we have around 10 days a year in the 90s. In the first 16 days of June we’ve had 6 days in the 90s. Ugh! Even th air conditioner does completely cool the apartment on those days. But i suppose 82 is better than 92!

Made a jug of iced tea using this leaf. Wow, excellent flavor, no bitterness or astringency, and almost sweet on its own. Some straight black tea are just icky iced because they are so bitter/strong. Those benefit from a splash of flavoring or lemonade or even sugar, altho i avoid added sugar. This one is lovely. Didn’t even need additives to be drinkable.

Today I finally made the switch from morning coffee to morning tea. At first I was going to brew a cup of North Winds, which is one of my favorite straight black teas, but I decided to try one of the straight blacks from my recent Tea Runners box. It is a Sri Lankan tea

I liked this one. A lot. It is very smooth. I didn’t get that faint bitter after taste that I sometimes get. I added 1 teaspoon of leaf to 10 ounces of 205 degree water and steeped for 4 minutes. along with one small lump of rock sugar (about the size of a pea) I can imagine this one iced. Pretty tasty.

i like it strong and i like it with a high caffeine content, so this tea is spot on. i taste mainly malt and nothing much else, which is fine with me. it can withstand a splash of milk without losing flavour. it’s a good morning cuppa. this is the last of the teas from my Tearunners March subscription. i hope you are staying safe, home and healthy where you are.

this is absolutely lovely tea. it’s strong and the sweetness goes with the malt very well. it can handle milk without losing flavour. a mere hint of astringency. the black currant flavour is subtle but resonant. and unique.

dear friends, i’ve departed from my precious black teas for a bit to try this oolong. i haven’t had a lot of oolong teas so far. i adore milky oolong by World of Tea, but that’s another entry.

this is a delightfully bright tea with a bit of zing and a lot of flavour. i can taste the hint of oolongy-ness, how do i describe that? sort of milky/buttery?
it’s also got a smokey flavour as well. the aroma upon first nose sniff when it’s still dry is very plummy but the taste is more peach than plum. this tea feels very kind and friendly on a rainy day in Ottawa and is a good distraction from the free floating anxiety of these sad and worrieome times. i hope you are safe and healthy where you are, my friends.

greetings everyone. i hope you are staying safe and healthy during this pandemic. it’s scary, eh? (I’m a Canadian so I say eh, heh). i am grateful for my husband, even though he has to work during all of this, as i’m sure many others here do too, or have loved ones who are at work or caught up in travel bans, in hospital or home sick – hugs!),
i am grateful i have food and shelter and wish everyone could have both.
i am also grateful for a large supply of tea!
but sadly, this Irish Breakfast doesn’t really pass muster. it is too perfumy, acidic, lemony to taste like Irish Breakfast tea to me. it’s light. i like a darker, stronger taste alas. it’s the completely wrong taste for Irish Breakfast.

The second tea I tried from my tearunners subscription box. To me, this one had no flavor. I carefully prepared it according to instructions. As it cooled a faint bitter note emerged. I don’t know if the flavorless bit is just me and my stupid anosmic nose. It might be. This one certainly sounded good. I’m a bit disappointed in the two teas I’ve tried so far. And I don’t want to be! I will try this one again another time. I generally do not add sweetner to my tea, but maybe I will try that next time. I still have two straight black teas to try so I’m not giving up on TeaRunners. Since I paid in advance for 6 months I can’t give up yet ;) But I think I’ll try an old favorite later tonight.

i confess that i don’t really drink iced tea and i’ve brewed this one as hot tea . it’s a sunny and cold February afternoon on a Saturday. i live in a place where winter is a six-month-long affair. i see no point to iced tea now or most of the time. tea, for me, is meant to be hot and comforting whether in February or July in a/c. this is a very plain tasting tea and i’m good with that. it’s strong with a bit of an astringent aftertaste that brightens it.