Teas Etc

To paraphrase an old commercial “Where’s the bergamot” A pleasant lavender tea, but not an earl grey. Phooey If the Earl was as good as the flowers, I would give it high marks, but this should not be labeled as an Earl Grey

Gen Mai Cha is my go-to tea! It’s earthy, flavorful, and I especially crave it in the fall/winter. Goes great with rice and sushi.

This is a very nice breakfast tea. Its brisk, rich, malty, and chewy. It steeped to an amber color, not as dark as some assam’s I have drank but still very tasty. This is a great tea and is one of the better assam teas I have drank.

This tea is brisk, malty, and biscuity. It does remind me a little of Mountain Malt. The health food store here carries Teas etc which is a plus. I asked them to carry more of their black teas. I loved their Golden Monkey and figured I would like this one. ( I also read JacquelineM’s review on this tea as we have alike tastes.) The tea is black with golden tips and smells very earthy. This is one of the best assam teas I have drank with one exception.

I am glad I took time to have a cup of this tea today.

This was second tasting of this tea. I still do not rate this tea as a favorite, however, I did feel like it was a light tea that was enjoyable with fresh fruit and a homemade muffin this morning.

I find It’s sweet and woodsy and comforting. For some reason I really like the sound the little pellets make as I toss them into my teapot. I do not rate this as a favorite, however, I liked the smoke and wood taste (after adding 2 packets of sugar). Without sugar I found this tea bland.

I think I died and I am in heaven! This tea is outstanding!!!!!! This is a tea I will keep in my tea vault to be drank on very special days (or nights). I did compare it to eating some fresh fruit (plum was what I tasted).

This is my last cup of this sample. So sad! Fortunately, it was a great cup to end on. In fact, I’m giving the rating a bump upwards just a tad because it is just so good.

It’s got some faint notes of a Chinese green – a little grassy, a little mineral/salty, a little sweet – and and some stronger notes of a good Silver Needle (I’m thinking specifically of Chicago Tea Garden’s SN which I had recently) with honey and nectar and bit of vegetal depth.

My little cup went very quickly and pretty much guaranteed that, when I next order from Teas Etc, I will be getting some of this tea.
2.4g/5oz

I’m still suffering from braindeadness but must review newly tried tea! Sadly, no Magnetic Poetry this time. I just consider myself lucky that I’m not drooling on my keyboard – anything more than that is pretty much a bonus.

I think I maybe have had one yellow tea before. (Very definitive, yes?) Considering that my brain isn’t working well enough to remember what I had for breakfast, there’s no way I can remember my impressions of the previous yellow I’ve had (or honestly, if I even have actually had one or just wanted to try one for long enough that now think I did). Regardless, it means I really have no idea what to expect from this tea other than something that is not quite a white but not quite a green.

The leaves look like dried Silver Needle. It’s simulatenously sad (because I do love the furry SN-type leaves) and nifty because they don’t look unhappy – just dehydrated. The smell (post-brewing) is like a sweet Chinese green. And oh, look at that! It tastes like a sweet Chinese green, too! A velvety, smooth, sweet Chinese green. There’s a little mineral-y taste that is similar (but much milder) to the salty taste I get from most Chinese greens but this also has a lovely little treat at the end of the sip – a bit of honey and maybe plum? Apricot? Something stonefruit-y. It’s sweet, but more fruit – or perhaps nectar – sweet than a more grass or vegetal sweet. There’s also a bit of an unexpected astringency that hits the middle of my tongue and makes my mouth water fairly pleasantly.

Considering that I couldn’t find the info sheet sophistre included in the teas she sent me (which means it wasn’t stapled to my head and I couldn’t manage to make the effort to look through the stuff on the kitchen table to find it) I think this turned out pretty nicely for guesstimating parameters. I don’t know how expensive it is, but assuming it’s not priced like titanium, I could see wanting to keep some of this around for the times that I crave something like a Chinese green (which always ends up being better in idea than in practice unless I have some sweeter, smoother greens on hand – this would fit nicely).

I really enjoyed it. I got the buttery green taste that the description hints at. I thought it had a unique flavor that is a little different from other Bai Mu Tan’s, so keep that in mind for what you’re looking to drink.

It struck me as very high quality, with a few of the complex flavors I’d expect from Silver Needles, but yet richer and deeper. It’s not as fruity as other white teas I’ve had — and that can be a good or bad thing, depending on your taste.

Also came with a bit of a punch of caffeine.

It was a pretty good representation of 1st Flush Darjeeling, hitting all the right notes. Rather astringent, but that’s exactly what comes with the territory.

Although it’s a “black tea”, there are some good hints that this is “oolong-ish” — which I think is nice trait in this first flush darjeeling. It has a bright color, light flavor, but a little bit drying aftertaste.

YUM! It’s a great pairing. I wouldn’t usually want to mix Silver Needles with anything, but this works.

It has this dry and clean taste, and I mean that in a very good way. The earthiness of the flowers really compliments with brightness of the tea. There is some depth in the tea, but it not overly complicated or picky. I usually shy away from floral teas, but this one keeps my attention more than others.

This is a weekend teas. When I have errands or work to do at home, I’ll brew up a big pot and drink it all.

The loose material this tisane is made up of is very colorful. Lots of rosehips, some chamomile and valerian root are the most prominent visuals here. The aroma however, is most heavily of chamomile with some light rose scent and a bit of fresh sweetness.

The liquor brews to a medium caramel with some dusting seeping through the infuser making the brew itself a bit cloudy at first. The aroma is light consisting primarily or chamomile. The rose scent is considerably lessened and the sweetness I noted in the dry aroma is also notably subdued.

The flavors are more astringent than I expected. There’s no drying of the tongue by a heavy chamomile presence linkers through an unusually long tailing finish. The softness of the rosehips is present, but none of the flavor.

This blend seems primarily of chamomile even if it’s only one of a number of ingredients. I would recommend this blend to fans of chamomile tea, mint tea and rose petal teas.

2nd steep
4g tea
12oz water

There is sweetness element to this, that seems to linger on the tongue for 5 to 10 seconds. This second steep is still quite pleasant and very smooth. It has not gotten bitter or astringent.

Steepsterrrrrrr. I miss and love you.

I have been on a tea-buying hiatus, and as such am not writing tasting notes, while I feverishly try to dispose of (read: drink) a rather remarkable surplus of tea in my cabinet.

However, I needed to write something today to give people a heads-up. Anyone near NYC ought to be aware of the following:

“Harney & Sons in SoHo, 433 Broome Street (between Crosby and Broadway), will pour free cups of tea and hold discussions with experts about the culture at tea this weekend. On Saturday, James Norwood Pratt, author of “Tea Dictionary,” will speak about tea between 4 and 6 p.m. On Sunday, John and Michael Harney join the discussion and guests can sip tea before a screening of the documentary “The Meaning of Tea” at 7 p.m.”

If I were closer to NYC than Cambridge, I would totally go!

Also, my cup of golden monkey was delicious this morning. ;) And now, back to the trenches of my word processor!

Not all Golden Monkeys are created equal.

As much as I dog on Teavana’s — the price alone begs for minor mocking, even if you’re not snooty enough to sniff at the association to the store (really I think the eyeroll factor with Teavana, for me, comes from their desperate desire to portray tea as a magic bullet cure for zapping cake-fat off of our tushes or as an ambitious panacea for the unrealistic curing of any number of other ills) — I enjoyed it. (Woo! There’s a run-on sentence for you!) I said in my tasting note for it that I wouldn’t buy it again, and I haven’t, but I considered it more than once. It was the single bake-y-est tea I’ve ever had, and once I figured out that short steep times were its friend, I found it utterly craving-worthy, if only for the aroma alone. I preferred it to almost every other Golden Monkey that I’ve had since then, by a slim margin.

This tea is another outstanding Golden Monkey, but for different reasons. It has some of that bake-y quality to it — I find it very alluring; my palate interprets this in the same way that it does bread — but pairs it together with a profile that is irresistibly Yunnan. I have been plunging my nose into my cup in search of the proper analogy for the sweetness there, and coming up short. Sweet potato is not adequate, this time, nor is raisin. Perhaps if the two got together and produced delicious, delicious love-children? Who were actually made of bread?

The tea has a very thick feeling both in the mouth and after you swallow. I’ve found in the past that Golden Monkey is easy to screw up; steep it just 30 seconds too long, and something about it takes a turn for the strangely sour or the unbearably bitter. I think the lesser amount of malt in this (vs. the Teavana stuff I’ve been comparing it to) makes it a far more forgiving cup with a delectable, umami-savory quality.

Steep two was every bit as good, and the goodness sticks around long after the cup is cold. Steep 3 is incoming, and then I really ought to stop brewing black tea for the day, lest the top of my skull pop completely off. Whoo!

Definitely going to have to pick up some of this for my very own. Thanks Auggy!

Edit: What remains in my cup (there isn’t more than a hair of tea) smells, cooled down to utterly cold, distinctly of brown sugar and nothing else.

Wanted something different from my usual for my BIRTHDAY TEA, so I am having the last of the Bohea that Auggy sent me. It’s just what was needed: something smooth and slightly sweet, but also very flavorful.

I really like this one best when it has sat for just long enough to reach that magical level of temperature that’s just less than piping hot, but not yet at ‘warm’. It seems to thicken up and get sweeter and fuller-bodied, with a delightfully smooth smoky finish. Mmm.

Bring on the carcinogens!

I love smoky tea. I really do. I love its moodiness and atmosphere.

When Auggy — through whose generosity I’m able to have this tea today — mentioned that she thought she might’ve zealously overpacked the tea in an effort to keep everything from smelling like Bohea, I was surprised; the only Bohea I have in my cabinet is certainly a very mildly smoky tea. I would debate its ability to contaminate other leaves too badly. Since I’d only just had my Bohea yesterday, I thought this would be a good place to start, since I’d be fresh for comparing the two.

I unwrapped the foil packet enclosing the plastic baggie and was hit with a wave of that familiar lapsang scent. The smell is quite strong! Not daunting for me, because…well, I love lapsang — as long as it avoids becoming acrid and tarry.

This one assuredly does. Freshly steeped, you can tell that the tea will be more mild than the scent of the dry leaves might suggest, but the tea doesn’t get ‘watery’ underneath the smoke, which is lovely. It brewed to a pretty golden-amber color. There is no astringency, but the tea feels rich and a little bit sweet when it sits on your tongue. After you swallow, the richness comes forward with the definite taste of wood — I assume that this is the oak mentioned in the description, as it’s more shadowy and less sap-like than some of the distinctly pine-like lapsangs I’ve tasted previously. It reminds me very much of visits to various reenactment villages along the New England coast on summer vacations with my family — Williamsburg particularly. There is something of the antique Colonial kitchen to the taste and the smell that makes me crave cured ham and apple cider.

Unrelated note, I think my ratings need overhauling again. Alas!

Also: I think I may have missed several HUNDRED tasting notes since my stepsis and mom came up to visit me a week ago. I will try to go through them, but am bound to miss a few. Apologies in advance!

Hmm….the pellets look like rabbit pellets. The blend contains licorice. But the licorice is not noticeable AT ALL. This is a mild oolong. Others have said it is woodsy. And it is. There is a vegetative aroma this tea. Smooth. Not bitter.

I was fortunate enough to get a sample of this delightful tea from the magnificent RABS (thank you so much!). It was labelled an “8” out of a possible “8” in the Geek package and I’ve been holding off on trying the two remaining 8 teas for a very rainy day—or for one of those dark nights of the soul.

Today I decided to indulge myself and opened the delightful package. I love this tea. It’s not a simple rose tea nor is it a simple Earl Grey. It manages to surpass Earl Greyness by an abundant bergamot taste and the rose makes for a delightful adjunct—both visually and, more importantly, in terms of taste.

I highly recommend this and must order a full package. Great job, Teas, Etc. I’ve never had another tea like this so far and, in a world where copy-cat teas seem to be the rule, I really like this original.

I had a sample of this and it was fantastic. One of the best black teas I’ve had in a while. Highly recommend trying it.