505 Tasting Notes

83

Spring 2018 tea
I steep my white teas hotter than most of them call for at 205F. I find I like them better at the higher temperature. Time 2-3 min each steep.
I like this tea, but it’s not very complex. It’s soft and thick, heavy in the mouth. I get creamy lemon and some vanilla. I really enjoyed the creaminess of the tea. Taste is consistent throughout all three steeps.

Flavors: Creamy, Lemon, Thick, Vanilla

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 30 sec
MadHatterTeaDrunk 5 years ago

I, too, like my white teas at a higher temperature. I only back off on the heat when I’m serving others. :P

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80

This tea is technically Jun Chiyabari – Organic. I don’t feel like adding another tea to the database. Purchased at the 2019 Midwest Tea festival.
I went through this tea quickly. I drank most of it at work. Solid black tea with no real distinct flavors that I remember. I wrote malt on the packaging? Sipdown

Flavors: Malt

tea-sipper 5 years ago

The harvest I had of this ages ago was the most complex and amazing tea but you have to drink it SUPER fresh. It seems like yours should have still been fresh enough though.

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91

I put off trying this tea for a few years because I though it was smoked. I hate the heavily smoked versions of this tea.
This one though is very good and I taste no smoke at all.

205F, 2-4 min, at work
Very fruit forward – cherry, berry, bright; little bit of malt, caramel, and smooth. I’m torn between savoring and drinking it quickly. Berry aftertaste lingers on after each sip. This was a great tea!

Flavors: Berry, Caramel, Cherry, Fruity, Smooth

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C
Show 1 previous comments...
Shae 5 years ago

I love smoked teas so I was surprised to find that this one wasn’t smoky when I bought it. What makes a tea Lapsang Souchong if not the smokem?

Shae 5 years ago

*smoke

hawkband1 5 years ago

I agree. If it’s called lapsang Souchong, I expect a smoked tea. Unless it’s marked as unsmoked.

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85

I broke this cake up last weekend hoping to add some variety to the tea I have at work. I’ve had this cake for maybe 3 years?
2X rinse, 205F water, 100 ml shibo, ~5g?
10s, 10s, 10s, 15s, etc… I need to remember to bring one of my strainers to work.
A hint of camphor and earth off the liquid. Early steeps – smooth, hint of dirt/earth, nut skin or shell, faint bitterness. No off flavors or weird finish. Easy drinking.
Later – still smooth, almost cocoa, some vanilla, earthy, but light.
I like it.

Flavors: Camphor, Cocoa, Earth, Nuts, Smooth, Vanilla

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80
drank Momo by Lupicia
505 tasting notes

Sipdown.
A solid peach flavored tea. Peach is strong on the nose, but the overall taste isn’t so overpowering. Very true taste, they do well with the fruit flavored teas.
Pretty good tea for the summer months and works well as a cold brew. I did drink most of this hot.

Flavors: Peach

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69

Sipdown.
The last few steeps of this went better than my initial review. It’s still not one that I would want to buy again. It was a weird tea overall. I didn’t care for the edible silver – it didn’t add anything to the experience and the silver leaf got everywhere! The pine flavor mellow out some (or I got better adding less).
I didn’t get any of the white tea flavor from this. It was drowned out by the jasmine.
Apple, pine, jasmine, glitterfest = silver everywhere in the tea, stuck to my strainer, in the cup, etc…
I bumped my rating a little as it was a little better flavor blended in the following cups.

Flavors: Apple, Jasmine, Metallic, Pine

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82

Sipdown.

This is a solid black tea. Good and malty, with sweet notes. Just a good tea of this style. Not a whole lot to say here. It can get a bit strong when overleafed. Very forgiving of time and temperature.

Flavors: Malt, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 30 sec

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80
drank 2013 Baimudan by White2Tea
505 tasting notes

Today this was a little more medicinal. Still sweet, but with a tangy kind of sour flavor throughout. I like it a little bit less than the previous time. This the second packet of the two I received from the White2Tea club.

Flavors: Sour, Sweet, Tangy

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88
drank Black Beauty by Mandala Tea
505 tasting notes

Sipdown.

I drank this whole packet very quickly and I would love to order more of this. Continued to be chocolate and sugar and yummy. Re-steeped well and was forgiving of varying times and temperatures.

Kawaii433 6 years ago

Just had that yesterday as a latte. It was so good :D

hawkband1 6 years ago

I bet it would be pretty awesome with milk. Play up the hot chocolate angle.

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87

Sipdown (backlog)

I really like this tea and would like to order it again when my cupboard is more manageable. Comforting, almost hot chocolate like without the excess sugar.

Flavors: Chocolate, Malt, Sugar

gmathis 6 years ago

I’ve had the opportunity to sample this and I concur wholeheartedly on the chocolate vibe!

Bluegreen 6 years ago

It is a very good tea and very affordable too.

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Profile

Bio

I started my tea journey with Stash/Celestial Seasonings tea bags years ago. All loose leaf, unless I’m sick or traveling.

I like black, oolong, white, herbals, and raw/ripe pu’erh. I don’t drink green tea often.

I play video games, read, and do pottery. My current favorite tea mug is one I threw and glazed.

I generally review teas twice – initial and final steeps.

My cupboard is mostly up to date.

Ratings
85-100 are teas that I loved and want to keep in stock.
71-84 are teas that are good. I may or may not get them again. Source for daily drinkers/work teas.
60-70 are teas that I didn’t like. I’ll finish what I bought.
Anything less than 60…nope.

Location

Iowa

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