The Whistling Kettle

I had this one iced last night as a parting treat from The Whistling Kettle. What a treat it was. It sort of reminded me of Lucky Charms marshmallows! In a good way – like a walk down memory lane to Saturday morning cartoons. Which were always watching with a big bowl of Lucky Charms. Very smooth and silky too. I need to try this one hot soon.

Got this as a sample, but there was no description and no instructions on the bag. It just said in handwriting “Fancy Japanese Sencha”, so I went with it. Steeped it about two and a half minutes with 175 degree water.

Dry, this tea smells slightly sweet and mainly grassy.
Once brewed it smells much the same, but the sweetness is a bit more detectable. There is also a vegetal scent on top of the grassy scent.

Taste: Well, it’s a tad bit bitter, so I may have brewed this one a little too long (or it could be an old sample), but I’m definitely picking up other flavors, so it’s not a loss. It’s slightly buttery, with a grassy flavor (not too strong, but it’s the most prominent). There is a sweetness to it as well as a light vegetal character. Overall, not bad. I’d definitely try another sencha sometime, but this one isn’t one I’d keep stocked. Could’ve been worse, could’ve (I think) been better.

NOTE: As the tea cooled more, it got more bitter. Could’ve been my fault, could’ve been the tea (I suspect this is an older sample, as that’s what they tend to send out in their $2 for 6 samples flash sale deals). Not completely sure which. I have a bit of this left, so I’ll give it another go later. For now, I think I’ll withhold the rating.

Ok. So this tea…has a very strong smoke and spice odor. It isn’t what I’d call unpleasant, but it invaded my kitchen after I steeped this tea last night. Got this one as a sample from The Whistling Kettle’s $2 sample flash deal. I was very hesitant about this one… dried corn? I don’t even like corn with my meal, let alone in my tea. But I figured I’d give it a shot. After all, I’ve had teas I thought I’d despise that I actually loved! I didn’t end up loving this one, but I didn’t exactly hate it either. I’m going to give it another go later on this week so I can try and describe it a bit better. Until then, I am also withholding my rating.

For now, I’ll try and describe what I remember from last night. The taste of this tea is interesting and unlike anything I’ve tried up to this point. It’s smokey, with a bit of sweetness (maybe from the corn flavor? or the pink peppercorns?), followed by a mild spice. The main thing I get though is the smokey flavor.
Like I said, I’ll try it again and add more to this once I have it in front of me. Should be much easier than trying to do this now.

I did not realize this was a green tea when I bought it and I had been hoping for a black base. Oh well, not a big deal. Just means I’m still on the lookout for a blueberry pie like the Teas, Etc one that is no more.

This isn’t bad, I guess. I didn’t really taste much blueberry to it. honestly I would have guessed apple pie. It has a bit of pie spice kind of flavors, not really sure, but it is definitely sweet. I just don’t know why I wasn’t tasting blueberry very much.

Nice base tea too, last time I had a blueberry green I think it was gunpowder and kind of flat. This one is nice, so I enjoyed the cup anyway!

For some reason I decided it’d be a good idea to buy 4 oz of this tea. The problem is that it has two very edible ingredients: popcorn and maple syrup bits that melt in your mouth. My boyfriend practically had to take the bag away while I’m eating the syrup bits like candy.

This tastes a lot more like a cinnamon kettle corn that it tastes like anything maple syrupy. Still tasty, but the cinnamon is just a bit too strong, and I could do without the popcorn. Next time I’ll try a cup without any popcorn and see.

Or I could add more maple syrup.

This one is strong and sweet and took a teaspoon of experimental milk very nicely. Would be good Mother’s Day tea party fare. With petit fours.

My favorite Monk’s Blend is the Metropolitan/Mlesna version from Culinary Teas. This one is still really good, but the vanilla/grenadine flavoring is almost a little … syrupy? (Duh—grenadine is syrup, yes?) Anyway, it was strong enough I could dump in a half teaspoon of mate leaves without much flavor deterioration at at all.

From the journal:
I got this one as part of an herbal sample pack. This one is good! Lots of berry flavors going on with a little hibiscus tartness. It brews up deep red. I did order more from another source. (I am pretty sure it is available lots of places.)

i’m pretty sure this came from the Traveling Tea Box
and i remember looking forward to trying it. and it was fun for a cup.

is it just me or has the summer made steepster quieter than usual?

While trying to get the Traveling Tea Box prepared for send-off Monday or Tuesday I found myself having to take more out because it wouldn’t all fit – and if you have received a package from me – you know I jam-pack ’em!

Anyways – here is one I had to take out – there really wasn’t much left regardless – but this smells awesome and tastes pretty dandy, too!

It’s a creamy-sweet blueberry – not tart! It also has a ‘pie’ sort of a ‘feel’ to it, I suppose! Yes…this is really LOVELY!

Hello! Long time no write. I’ve been so busy and so lazy when I’m not that I’ve kinda neglected my Steepster account. I’m going to try my best to write tasting notes more often, as I’ve been trying a lot of tea cold brewed and finding that I prefer some that way.

Now onto this tea. So I had some of this (hot brewed) in-store yesterday. It smelled slightly hay-ish when it came out, with a nice sweet note, and some notes of grass. The brew itself was a very pale brown/tan.
Taste wise, I was expecting a little more from this one. Sure, I got some nuttiness in the cup as the overview had described (though I don’t know if I’d call it chestnut. I think it was closer to walnut). I also got a slight floral taste, as well as some hay/grass notes. But to me the flavor seemed to fall a bit flat. There was nothing really “wow” about it, and nothing screamed “finest white tea” to me. I was expecting a crisp, clean flavor, but all I got was muted and flat. Don’t know if it was the leaf they used, the water, or the brew time, but it didn’t exactly come out as expected.

Oh well. I guess you win some and lose some. I was happy I tried it instead of just buying in bulk. Not horrible, but I think there are better Monkey Picked White’s out there.

Ceylon? Green Tea?, Flavouring? Oh dear. This can NOT be anything CLOSE to true Prince of Wales tea. This violates the entire premise behind the original POW blend. You may like this stuff, but flavoured teas are usually low quality tea that need flavouring to be drinkable. Otherwise, they would be plowed back into the soil or sold for other purposes (e.g. making the drug Theodore -i.e. Theopholine).

I do not need to taste this to know it cannot possibly be a valid version of Prince of Wales tea. To get something that is a little closer, buy the Twinings blend. Twinings is probably little like the original blend, but at least it is PURE tea and it taste good! I.e., it is Camellia Sinensis! As Twining’s products go, the two best teas they sell are their Prince of Wales blend and their Darjeeling. Usually, Twinings’ Darjeeling is the past year’s flushes TGFOP1-2 (broken tops,dust). It is drinkable and recognisable as Darjeeling, but quite old by the time it hits the shelves. Darjeeling must not be more than 6 months beyond production for it to taste like Darjeeling SHOULD taste.

Recently, I noticed a new shipment of Twining’s Darjeeling at the grocery. The “Best-By” date was 3 years in the future (2016) and the boxes were strikingly new looking. It was also on sale. I grabbed a box. I will be darned. It turned out to be a solid Blend of 1st and 2nd flush Darjeeling. I suspect 2012 final rain flush and 2013 1st flush from a southern Darjeeling Estate. It was an unusually cold winter. The only 1st flush of any merit came from the southern estates this year. I put the box in the fridge with all my teas (I do my own blending). I have had 3 cups and they have all bested a 2nd flush Mim from 2012 that cost about 10 times as much! It also tastes as good as the standard Boston Tea Campaign blend, -for about half the price. -So have a look at your grocery! The date was “28/03/2016”. If you find Twinings Darjeeling with a “Best Before Date” sometime in 2016, grab a couple of boxes. You will be glad that you did.

HOWEVER, until the new Indian Tea Board labelling goes into effect, ALL your Darjeeling should come from The Boston Tea Campaign. -Safest, best quality and price. You KNOW they support the new laws and their tea is the real thing. You will always get a great cup from the Campaign (German or USA). So it is not single estate. I have found that single estate Darjeelings are usually not that great. But when you DO find a winner, it is the finest ta you will ever drink. I once obtained a kilo of Happy Valley 1st Flush a month after processing, it was like drinking tea for the first time. NEVER, have I had tea that good. I have spent 20 years trying!

DID you know that over 80% of all tea labelled Darjeeling or Assam has NO Darjeeling or Assam in it at all?!! Hence, the new laws!

Most people NEVER discover the Chinese teas. Some Chinese teas are easily the equal of the best Darjeelings. Climate, soil, picking and processing are what make Camellia Sinensis taste so different depending upon where it was grown and processed.

It’s like real estate. Location, location and location. Good luck.

Another tea that I purchased from momo

Just quick notes as I’m still playing Magic – The Gathering and having to multi task at the moment.

The tea in raw form looks magickal but it’s hard to explain why. The green tea is in large balls that are very pretty but I did not see any blueberries. It smells fruity sweet but not necessarily blue berry.

Once steeped it’s dark golden brown in colour with a sweet, fruity and slightly smoky aroma.

It’s astringent but sweet and fruity. Again not especially blueberry, more apple if I’m honest but it’s still a pleasant enough drink. Not sure it’s pie like either but there you go. So I’ve established it doesn’t taste like blueberry or pie so what does it taste like? Well like a strong black based apple tea.

It’s something I can finish but also happy to trade some of.

Backlog:

I was quite happy that there was no hibiscus in this blend. Sweet, floral, lovely lavender notes! The chamomile adds a light, apple-y flavor. Hints of rose, and the bilberry adds a nice hint of tart.

A very enjoyable tisane to relax with. Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/03/09/bilberry-chamomile-bliss-from-the-whistling-kettle/

It’s been a while. But I’ve been busy with a new job and yet another minor surgery…“good” times. I’ve also been making a few changes here and there (see if you can spot them).

Anyway, I’m back and it’s raining once again here in Upstate NY. Perfect reason to grab a cup of this. I probably could have gone with a regular chai…goodness knows the pain meds will knock me out as it is. But I still enjoy this tea as a nice relaxing afternoon cup of tea!

The other night we were at a tea tasting and the 3 year old in the group ordered this (as she wasn’t going to enjoy the “grown-up” tea, so she said). Well, let me tell you all the “grown ups” wanted her tea when it arrived. They even added the steamed milk to it for her. It smelled so good I got 4oz. to go.

This decaf chai is great for evening sipping and awesome with milk (steamed or not). Today I’m drinking it straight and I must say there is no need to add extra sweetener to it. This is one of the more cinnamon flavored chai teas I’ve ever had, but it is mighty tasty! I’m glad the little miss ordered it Friday night!

Yum! I’ve been looking for a caffeine free evening tea to replace my sweet snacking and this my friends is it (well, one of two)! Sweet and full of chocolate flavor with a hint of cake. This is one yummy cup of early evening tea (today). I’m really glad I saw it on the menu last night! Even happier that the Mister didn’t bat an eye at all the tea I purchased!

I got this tea in my very first tea swap from EmilyM. I’m not a huge white tea fan, but the champagne part sounded interesting. I enjoyed this tea enough, but it was a little too perfumey for me. The champagne aftertaste was pretty cool though! Now I need someone to make me a Northwest Pale Ale tea. That would be the ultimate!

Backlogging and sample sipdown! Going to keep this one brief…

This one smells a lot like maple, with hints of vanilla/cream and the black tea base.

Taste wise, this one was nice. It wasn’t WOW!, but it was smooth and tastey (which is sometimes all I’m looking for). The maple was probably the strongest flavor, followed by the black tea base, with just a hint of vanilla/cream throughout the sip. There is also a slight floral aspect to the cup. I think this would be a nice fall tea. Sweet, smooth, and warming. I’d try it again, but it’s not a cupboard staple. Maybe some cinnamon would make this a little more interesting?

NOTE: This one gets bitter very easily. The recommended steep time of 4 minutes is a bit high for my tastes.

Sample sipdown, backlogging from last night.

Dry Leaf: Very strong lemon aspects, with a nice balanced ginger component. There is an incredible sweetness, here. And pineapple? Yes, that’s what that is. This smells absolutely delicious! It reminds me of those lemon ginger hard candies…if anyone knows what I’m talking about.

Brewed: Once again, ginger and lemon, with the ginger just a tad more pronounced now. I’m also still picking up the pineapple scent, though it’s subtle. There is also a bit of a floral smell to this now.

Taste: Nice, balanced ginger and lemon notes! Neither is overpowering, which is awesome. When I saw ginger, I was expecting it to be really spicy, as it has the tendency to do. Glad this was not the case. Just as with the smell, there is also a slight floral aspect peeking through. This too is balanced. This is a sweet, slightly spicy, relaxing brew.

Overall, I really liked this one. I think it would make a great “sick” tea, or just a nice “unwinding” agent. In fact, I found it made me so relaxed I said “screw you” to homework and fell asleep!

Ok. So I think this tea has been discontinued, as I can’t find it or any information about it on the Whistling Kettle’s website. I’ve had this one for about 6 months…

Smell: The dry leaves smell like mandarin oranges and a grassy green tea. Once brewed the mandarin stays present, but the grassy smell fades. Instead, it is replaced by the fruity, unique smell of lychee! Yum! (That’s what prompted me to have this one. I was dog-sitting at my neighbors house tonight, and he and his girlfriend left all kinds of Chinese teas out for me to try. They had a lychee black that I made tonight, and it was amazing. Now I just have to find the company/name of the tea…I’ll have to rummage the cupboards tomorrow and see if they still have the bag. Anyway, side note over. Back to the actual tea I’m reviewing). Anyway, this tea smells sweet, fruity, and citrus-y. =)

Taste: What I’m getting in the taste is about 60% Lychee, 30% mandarin, and 10% green tea base. The lychee and the mandarin work very well together in this tea, and the green tea base adds a nice sweet/grassy note. The green tea base seems to like to hover at the end of the sip, while the other two flavors meld together throughout. There is no bitterness, as well. Big plus! As for the bamboo…I don’t really know what it tastes like, so I wouldn’t be able to tell you if it was present.

Overall, I like this one. If they ever get it back (maybe it was a summer/seasonal blend?) I’d probably consider it again. Not an all time favorite, but not something I wouldn’t buy again either. Somewhere in between.

Sample sipdown!

This one, brewed, smells slightly buttery with strong notes of marigold and vanilla. I’m also picking up some lemon notes. I’m not thrilled on the marigold being so pronounced… but we’ll see.

Taste: I’m definately getting a lot of the floral marigold and vanilla aspects in the taste. There is a slight citrus thing going on as well. There’s a buttery taste in the very beginning of the sip that disappears into floral/vanilla very quickly. This is a VERY smooth cuppa, but unfortunately I don’t think it’s for me. It isn’t undrinkable, I just don’t think the flavors are working for me. The vanilla, in my opinion, is a little artificial tasting, even though the ingredients are supposedly natural. Maybe it’s the vanilla and the citrus together that is making me get this taste. Also, the marigold/floral taste is more pronounced than I was expecting. Finally, the creamy taste I was hoping for is limited to the beginning of the sip. While very smooth on the tongue, the flavor just isn’t showing up for me. =(

Overall, it’s not a favorite. I wouldn’t say it’s undrinkable. It just isn’t my cuppa. Vanilla can be hit or miss with me sometimes, so I wouldn’t blame the tea. Maybe if the person really liked vanilla/floral teas and was looking for something smooth they would enjoy this one more than I.