Various Artists

I’ve been drinking genmaicha all evening, and needed something a little bolder. Dug though my sample box and found this little mini tuocha. I have no idea what it is. Sil so generously included it in the package she sent me. It’s a mini toucha wrapped in gold foil with Chinese characters.
Gave it a moderate rinse, and I’m frightened at this point. The rinse is really fishy. Dumped that off, and steeped it for about 30 seconds. I’m still smelling fish, dumped it into my travel mug – trying to keep the fish out of my nose. Hmmmm interesting. This is the type of pu’erh that scares people off. Having said that, I don’t really mind this. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but not bad and what I was needing tonight.
Thanks Sil for providing this mystery sample.

I received a package from Sil today. Thank you very much!!!!
In the package were a couple of mystery packages. I have no idea what this is. Little gold package with lots of Chinese characters. The only English on the package is “Refined Chinese Tea”, that doesn’t tell me much but I’m game to try almost anything. Cut the package open, took a look at the leaves. This is a black tea. LOL I know nothing, I’m not even going to guess anything other than that. I was a bit cautious with steeping. Might have underleafed a touch, and only steeped it for 2.5 minutes. Yep, this is a black tea. This is a decent black tea. Not the best one I’ve ever drank, but pleasant enough. I’m calling this light and bright, rather than the dark and malty that I really like. I’m going to add more leaf and steep it a bit longer and see what happens.
OK so I dumped the rest of the package into the infuser with the previously steeped leaves added water and steeped about 4 minutes. This still looks really pale to me. Better, but still not as bold as I normally like.
Thanks for the sample Sil, has been an interesting experience. I normally look up a tea before I drink it to have an idea what to expect. Going in “blind” as been interesting. I’m not sure what to compare this too, different than any others I’ve tried, but not completely to my taste.

The ingredients: Vanilla Orchid (DavidsTea) and Lady Lavender (Bird & Blend)

I used 3/4 tsp of each for an 8oz mug, brewed with about 200F water for 2-3 minutes.

Outcome? Apparently Lady Lavender is a very strong tea. I’m going to have to drop my infusion time down for it, as well as the leaf. This blend was actually pretty astringent, which seemed surprising to me, and actually needed more VO as opposed to the other mix I tried with Laoshan Black. The vanilla was hardly noticeable amongst the heavy florals and bergamot, and astringency. I’m more interested in trying this blend again as I think Lady Lavender is just a bit much for me to handle (whereas LB is perfectly fine on its own!)

Oh – baby’s up. I guess that’s it for note writing for the moment!

I finally did it! I remember to try “blending” a few teas together to create something interesting and yummy! (I did it twice, in fact. Other combo to be detailed in a separate note.)

The ingredients: Vanilla Orchid (DavidsTea) and Laoshan Black (Verdant)

I used 3/4 tsp of each for an 8oz mug, brewed with about 200F water for 2-3 minutes.

Outcome? Not too bad, but the first thing I noticed was that the mix needed to be a bit heavier on the LB, as it was almost drowned out a bit by the strength of the oolong + vanilla in Vanilla Orchid. That said, I think the combination of the oolong and LB was a little weird – while vanilla flavours pair well with roasty, chocolatey teas, green oolongs maybe don’t quite so much. I may try this again with less VO, but it was not quite what I was hoping for. An interesting experiment, nonetheless!

ETA: Ok, third infusion of this was fantastic. Tasted like burnt toasty marshmallows. Yesssss.

Random unlabeled tea sample from the 2017(?) Toronto Tea Festival. Can’t recall which company made it, but it was a blend of what looked to be dragonwell, with some sort of red berry that I couldn’t identify (not cranberry, goji, or anything else familiar). Didn’t taste like a great deal when brewed up, but there was a bit of flavour from the green tea. Wish I’d tried it when fresh, and noted down what it was!

Sipdown! 831.

Sil gave me the remnants of two of her matcha latte mix samples from Red Leaf (way back), and I finally got to trying one sometime a week or two ago. I made it with milk, because I’m silly like that (I assume it didn’t need milk? Or maybe I’m wrong), but anyways, it was pretty delicious. No need to add sweetener, because it’s already in there, and the powder dissolved beautifully. Since I wasn’t doing the actual taste test for Red Leaf, I didn’t feel the need to compare the two samples, so I wouldn’t be able to comment on differences, but I did find it enjoyable and easy to use, and honestly? If I didn’t have so much tea, I’d be tempted to pick up some of the pre-made mixes just because it was so easy to use. I didn’t sift my matcha, didn’t heat any water/milk (I used cold milk), and it was ready to go, and delicious, in a couple minutes. Yum. Thanks Sil!

So I bought a tea sample last month from Bulk Barn. But I neglected to write down the full name, thinking I’d try it before forgetting. Ha. SMH.
I think it was a holiday themed type? Oolong… the leaves are pretty huge, and balled up when dry. and kinda crinkly,which leads me to think they are old. Except the flavour is all there, and pretty good at that. I’m quite impressed. A really nice balance of spices. Nutmeg for sure, a bit of clove, cinnamon and I can’t really say what else. It all worked perfectly with the base. Very comforting. It tasted like a warm hug.
If I didn’t have a cupboard explosion on my hands here, I would seriously consider picking up some more.

I had a bunch of black tea bits lying around and since I rarely if ever have a regular sized cup of tea, I combined them all to make my usual size (two cups worth).
Not bad, overall but it needed a little something extra and we have chocolate milk in the house so I added a few dollops. Ahhhh perfection. Albeit a touch odd. I won’t be making this a habit!

I bought a bunch of random tea the other day from a hole in the wall shop at Pacific Mall. It wasn’t bad! and at ten dollars for 100g, I am pretty impressed. Yah it is a little dusty tasting, but I think an extra rinse will fix that :)
Anyhow, I’m going camping tomorrow!!! Gotta pick the teas I’m bringing. My friend has limited me to a small container, AND we are planning a tea party so I need to choose carefully. Probably a genmaicha, and a black tea. I know one girl there loves sencha. Hmmm.

A colleague shared some Pu-erh tea picked from a 200 year old tree.
What an experience! A light tea with a sweet, maple syrup note throughout all infusions, and intermittent notes of clay, malt, spun sugar, linen and oak. 
Unfortunately I had a few interruptions that threw off my timings a bit, so I had to fudge the follow up infusions a bit.
Also, I really need a way to maintain water temperature! My teapot cools down fast and I haven’t got a thermos big enough to hold that much liquid. For some reason my kettle keeps the heat, but it stays above where I need it to be, and then when I pour it into another vessel, its below where I need it because of the air exposure… tea snob problems
Not that it bothers me TOO much. Still, I wouldn’t mind doing it as per instructions the first (and in this case, only!) time.
Ah well. I really enjoyed it, and methinks I had a tea-buzz going on as well. Sweeeeet

So Friday was my last tea sommelier class. I’m done!! Sighs.
This is gonna be a long note so apologies in advance. I really want to remember the day and I think writing about it is the best way. That and I want to see if I can replicate some of the experiments at home one day :)
It was a great class to end on. We had so many teas that day, I swear I was a little drunk by the end of it!
The course was just presentations… I guess sommeliers are expected to have public speaking skills. It was a little stressful, but fun.
Well, we did start off the class with beer infused with Oolong. That was really tasty. Kindof floral and it blended well together. And it kicked off the “party” atmosphere.
Next we had some aged puerh with pretty intense menthol notes. Tasted great but the leaves smelled like moth balls! Errr…
After that we had more puerh (each class is dedicated to a type of tea. Can you guess what this one was??)
The lady who presented brought in tea eggs for us to try and they were the best I’ve ever had. Then again, I’ve only ever tried them at the old tea house I used to frequent before they closed down, and a sushi house that is also now closed. Hmmm.
Apparently the eggs are boiled in a brew of soy sauce, cinnamon, clove, sugar, salt, and guess what… tea! So flavourful and pretty. I love the marbled effect! I wonder what type of tea they used.
After that, we had another oolong, infused with presoaked (in tea!) pumpkin seeds. Our Prof is really nice, and doesn’t really care if we follow the schedule, and we weren’t being marked that day anyhow.
First steep was super pumpkin like, a little harsh, but rather tasty. I quite enjoyed it. Second one was much smoother, rounder, a little milder, and overall amazing. The package was written up in Japanese, so I’m not even sure what they are called… but I really wish I could find me some!
Anyhow, our last experiment was a bit more serious. One of my classmates bought a pesticide detection kit at Essence of Tea, that teaches you how to notice the difference between organic vs pesticide free food and beverages. They tested both teas in a lab and showed the results on a handout. I have it if anyone wants a copy. (though I would have to scan it)
It was not a perfect experiment because it came with two teas that weren’t identical besides the pesticide factor, but I did learn quite a bit anyhow. Mind you they were both uncooked puerhs made in a similar fashion, so it was easier to compare atleast.
It turns out that the way you can tell is not by taste at all! Not the main factor anyhow. Nope, it is more of a sensation thing. The organic version had a slight bitterness that came back with a honey sweet aftertaste. There was definitely more flavour there, while the pesticide version was less defined in that way. I would even say that it was kindof bland, more like something you could use for a flavoured tea, or in a blend.
The sensory part comes in with the pesticide version, and was really only noticeable when I sat down with a glass of both types. With the pesticide one, there was a very slight tingling/numbing of the tongue and roof of my mouth, and a tiny little pinching in my sinuses. You know when you have a headache, it comes in tiny stabs? somewhat like that, only very brief and not something I would normally pay attention to, although perhaps I should! Of course, organic is only one thing that contributes to quality tea. The richness of the soil, how it’s processed, how much sun it gets, those all need to be in balance as well. Bah. I had fun. Hopefully I’m not ruined for non-organic teas now heh. Ah well. The Prof pointed out that first or second flush teas are more likely to be organic anyhow, because pesticides are expensive and they don’t spray until the bugs come out… which is of course later in the season.
That was the end of it, sadly. It was a melancholy moment for me. But I really had to get going, as by the time I left class it was almost 10:30pm. We tea folk know how to partay.
Next up for me… a friend just gave me Turkish tea that she brought back from her trip! 500 grams I think. Oh dear. Should be interesting.

A nice comforting cup of pu-erh. Thanks to Sil for this sample of Golden Tips from China!
It has some nice cocoa, hay, and earthy notes in there. I could be wrong, but I feel like it’s a little bready as well. It reaches deep into my belly this one. I love that. Yum.
Rating would be 81, for now.

Herbal Traveling Tea Box

You know how restaurants tend to sell wine, beer or dessert “flights”? Small amounts of various items… well I made an iced tea flight. 4 little cups of 4oz of boiling water, 1 teaspoon of tea, steeped and then stuck in the fridge. I want to get the box out by tomorrow and this was the only way I could think to try everything I wanted to, without drinking too much tea (I tend to make 12-16oz at a time)!

Anyway,

Monterey Bay Spice Company Passion Berry Fruit Herbal
I’m getting a hint of passion fruit, but it’s mostly a more or less generic berry taste. The good part is I’m not finding it particularly bitter or sour, though there is a hint of that – so I didn’t need to add sweetener, nice to try, but not something I’d keep.

ESP Emporium Grandma’s Garden
This kind of reminds me of watered down fruit punch. Lots of different flavors, maybe a bit of cherry? Also reminds me of the Tealux Berry Picking Delight, though not quite as tart – at least I don’t think so at the moment.

Darlene’s Tea Port Paradisco Peach
This surprisingly tastes like peach without adding sweetener, but there’s an underlying tartness which kind of requires the sweetener. I’m one of those few people like hibiscus, but does every single herbal blend have to include it? At least with teas that don’t pretend to be something else, it’s fairly obvious, but who thought “oh yeah, some hibiscus sounds great” when trying to make a blend calls paradisco peach; must I place additional emphasis on the peach part, because… ya know, peach.. stone fruit; hibiscus, flower. Just no – other brands use apple – that probably would have been better. Would have loved this without the tart, but my guess is it’s being used as a cheaper filler in this blend. Sad face.

ESP Emporium Vanilla/Cream
Slightly scared of this one, but intrigued enough to make some. So it kind of tastes like hibiscus plus cream. [slight edit since I found it on the website] guess what the ingredients are? Apple pieces, hibiscus blossoms, rose hip peel, flavoring. Why? Can’t we just keep the apple and vanilla flavoring and call it a tasty, forever nuts-esque day?

Attempt #2

2 tsp Adagio Blood Orange tisane
1 tsp Tealux Blood Orange Rooibos
1 tsp Davidstea Alpine Punch

This is significantly better than my last attempt (I think it’s the lack of the Tealux Rooibos Vanilla which, no offense to anyone who likes it, is seriously bad, but not quite as bad as the Adagio one – but both tend to be decent mixers). Anyway. I figured that I would start testing out different options. This was better than last nights, not quite creamsicle, but I think it’s partially due to the fact that this is blood orange and not the sweet fruit juice type orange you would taste in a creamsicle. Also, I’m thinking of trying Davidstea Birthday Cake instead of the Alpine Punch next time (though I have a nearly empty pouch of the latter so I thought I’d use it in a creative way).

I think the magic recipe is making sure I counteract the 1 part of the item I mostly loathe with enough other parts of things I like to cover it up! Tea science!

I’m trying to get through some of my tealux rooibos blends (and I’ve noticed whatever rooibos they use isn’t my favorite) so I’ve been trying to come up with something palatable. This was supposed to be like an orange creamsicle but it really didn’t work. It wasn’t bad and I drank the full mug, but it wasn’t something I’d call delicious.

It was:
Tealux Blood Orange Rooibos 1 tsp
Tealux Rooibos Vanilla 1 tsp
Davidstea Alpine Punch 1/2 tsp (I thought maybe this would give some creaminess and it did, but the combo didn’t taste anything like an orange creamsicle).

Meh. Someone tell me never order 100 grams of these again, please.

Great Canadian Travelling Tea Box

I’m being lazy and not creating a new tea page for The TeaCupany Green Mandarin Orange. I brewed just over 1tsp in a 12oz mug, 175 degrees for 3 minutes which is pretty close to the instructions.

It’s not bad. Green tea is one of the few types that I can easily drink unsweetened (prepared correctly that is), but with that being said, none of the flavors really pop when I do that. I faintly taste lemon and maybe a little orange, but it’s an afterthought, not the main event. I bet I would taste more fruit if I sweetened it, but given that this is one of the few types of teas I can do without, I’ll sip the rest of the cup as is.

Given the general success with Teavana Spiced Apple Cider and random rooibos blends, I’ve been using it as a way to use up some of the vanilla rooibos that I really dislike on their own.

Yesterday I used the Adagio Vanilla Rooibos which tastes the same as the Tealux version (yucky). It mutes the cider just a bit but it still tastes like apple cider. I’ve been using 1 level teaspoon of the rooibos and 2 perfect teaspoons of the Spiced Apple Cider. You can barely taste the rooibos (or what smells and tastes to me like fake vanilla) and it imparts a nice creaminess at the end of the sip.

I’ve almost managed to get through my first 2oz of the Spiced Apple Cider. I have a feeling I’ll be drinking this combo all winter long. Maybe, eventually, I’ll use up the vanilla rooibos bags!

So I took the last bit of my Almond Rooibos by Cuppa’T Specialty Teas (sipdown!) and the Teavana Spiced Apple Cider. Together, they are a really pleasant cup! If you have the Teavana Spiced Apple Cider, and it’s a bit too much for you, I highly recommend mixing with another rooibos blend. I didn’t have quite enough of the Almond Rooibos for its own cup and it’s not really a favorite of mine, but mixed together! Perfect.

Once again, I took my Davidstea Bai Hao Yin Zhen with some freeze-dried banana. But this time, I added some unsweetened coconut flakes to the mix. It’s still super tasty but I think I prefer it with just the banana. Either way, my creativity is in full force.

I’m actually surprised that more tea blenders don’t use white tea for dessert-type blends. It adds the creaminess that black or green doesn’t give you without more additives. Given the prices, it seems more expensive but it seems to taste so much better than black tea + stuff.

So I was feeling a little creative this evening and I didn’t want anything with a high caffeine content, so I took some Davidstea Bai Hao Yin Zhen which I received as a sample with my last order and 2 pieces of freeze-dried banana which I roughly broke apart.

Put in my infuser mug and steeped for 5 minutes. I know it’s a bit sacrilegious to take an expensive tea and add fruit flavors, but it was so yummy. The buttery white tea and creamy banana. Perfection. Speaking of which, you can buy little packets of freeze dried banana in the grocery store for $1. I got two steepings out of it.

Since I probably won’t drink it again I figure I will rate this here. There is a Taiwanese bakery not too far from where my parents live, and they always have coupons in the newspaper for a free Assam milk tea with the purchase of 5 buns. So I got a cold one and bought 5 buns, 4 for us to have later and one for me to have with my tea.

The one thing I did not know though was that the tea was going to be southern sweet. I wasn’t even asked anything about sweetener and holy cow if I could have I would have toned it down A LOT. The first taste was clearly hearty Assam but then it was like being slapped with sugar. I thought maybe it was going to be in a Hong Kong milk tea style but the sweetness didn’t taste to me like it was coming from sweetened condensed milk. It also didn’t seem as creamy but who knows I could be wrong, it just felt like that sugar syrupy kind of sweetness.

Totally have to give them props for actually saying it’s Assam rather than just calling it black tea.

The one good thing though is if you’re familiar with Taiwanese buns, they’re always so buttery and not heavy on sweet flavors, so having such a sweet drink brought out more of the flavor of the bun, which was a “milk cream” type. It made a mess.

Not really sure what I’m drinking, but it’s a sipdown, which puts me at… where I was this morning before my cheesecake matcha sample showed up. (67, if anyone was wondering)

It’s one of those weird teas my grandmother brought from Russia, with a little bit of ceylon to make it enough for a cup. It’s kinda sweet and floral… if I recall correctly, it has pineapple and… saffron petals? safflower? I dunno, something cute and flowery.

It’s pretty good, actually. I hope it doesn’t end up haunting me forever because I have no clue what it is and I doubt my parents/grandmother remember…

I got a bottle of pomegranate lychee green tea at the supermarket today, because I was sad and had a sudden craving for lychee. I think I need to invest in some lychee tea…

Drinking a cold steeped blend of the autumn and spring harvest tieguanyins from Verdant. I’m pretty sure cold brewed tieguanyin is one of my favorite things now.