248 Tasting Notes
Had this earlier today, got it as a sample from my last order. I love it when free samples are included!
This was alright, not a favorite though. Definitely did taste like strawberry and a bit vanilla/cake-y. My cup was cloudy though, not sure why or if that’s normal. Wish I had a chance to try this cold, but I used all my sample up. :(
Preparation
Got this in a swap with Emilie, thanks again!
This smells fantastic, mmm chocolate covered strawberries. The liquor it’s a really pretty deep orange-red.
Really lovely flavor, dark and delicious. Definitely a cocoa taste and not just a “we dumped chocolate syrup in it” taste, which is great. The strawberry mingles really well and I pick it up as a bit of an aftertaste. Yummy!
Preparation
No rating for now, I think I messed up on the times here. Brewed a gaiwan with boiling water, but kind of all over the place with times here. Will try again sometime and then rate. :)
Note for me: someone on teachat recommended: "Boiling or near-boiling water (I like to let it come to a boil and let it sit for 1-2 minutes), a heaping teaspoon of tea (which usually covers the bottom of the gaiwan just enough so I can’t see the bottom), and probably 2-3 mins on the infusion – partially just to let it cool down a bit. "
Easy iced tea this morning, bought these in the pouches for convenience.
I was pleasantly surprised that I got a total 2 quarts of tea out of one bag! Steeped in a mason jar for 5 minutes with 16 oz of water, then moved the bag over to another mason jar and did the same. Added cold water and stuck ’em in the fridge. No sugar added right now, I prefer to go the simple syrup route so everyone can add their own amounts.
Both brewed up a nice dark amber color with a nice light sweet mango smell. The taste is nice, nothing too extraordinary but a really good everyday iced tea that pleases a wide audience. The mango is light and sweet and allows the black base to still shine through. Yum. :)
Preparation
This is growing on me a bit, especially since this was the last of the sample. Can’t decide whether to add this to my “to buy” list or hold off for a bit…
Anyway, nice to have this after a long day’s hike up to the very tippy top of Sharp Top Mountain at Peaks of Otter (once thought to be the tallest point in VA blah blah). It was exhausting to say the least. Short hike, a couple of hours, but pretty much all up hill.
Nice to come back and relax with this, I think with the shorter steep time I can taste the white base more, which is nice. The peach, while naturally flavored, came on a little strong the last time I had this. 3 minutes, whereas last time I did 4. We’ll see what the second steep brings…
Preparation
Where to start! First off this was two days ago! This was my first puerh and my first experience using a gaiwan (no spellcheck, I don’t mean Taiwan). It was amazing, even though I’m quite sure I did a lot wrong. :) It felt great to just set aside some time to really drink tea and enjoy it. Not that I don’t enjoy tea normally, but I usually just make it and then grab the cup and go do something else (like write about it on Steepster!). Anywho…
I did a quick rinse of the tea and then moved into the first infusion. This tea is nice a smokey (I love a smokey tea). The leaves smelled very smokey after the first infusion, but this lessened as the session went by. I have some awesome pictures I’ll link to later! So back to the first infusion, smokey and earthy, very smooth and maybe a bit creamy (not sure if this is the right word). The liquor was a really pretty deep straw color. I got about 10 infusions out of this but I don’t think I did the increments right, not long enough. However, I only used a bit of my sample, so I will try again tomorrow!
Also, I’ve been reading about “cha qi/chi” and I think that it may have occurred/the tea may have it? (Or it’s all in my head! :P) I’m not sure what the proper way to use the word is, but the Tea Masters blog says it nicely:
“You may feel the Chi because your whole body feels warm and you start to sweat. And/or your mouth will be secreting saliva because it tells you it wants more of that tea. And/or your mind will feel crystal clear, as if you had breathed very pure and fresh air.” (http://preview.tinyurl.com/d5mtomu)
I’m a little hesitant to rate this, only because I have no other puerh experience to really compare it too! However, I really enjoyed it so a high rating it gets. :)
Preparation
It’s been an Earl Grey day!
I’ve had this a couple times now and it’s very tasty. I love that there isn’t any bergamot oils/flavorings, but just the bergamot itself. I can’t really remember what else I thought about this! I’ve been very bad at logging teas today, in any case it was tasty!
Could the cloudiness come from the brittle pieces? They probably melted up in the heat.