Lindsey Send Message

Got a sample of this from a swap with QueenofTarts. Thanks!

These leaves are interesting; skinny little guys, aren’t they? Not getting much of a chocolate smell, but that could be due in part to fact that I’m still getting over a yucky sinus thing and can’t smell much of anything.

In terms of taste, I actually found the flavoring to be very subtle. A malty black tea with a hint of chocolate notes, rather than “WHAM! Chocolate!”. (Although, again, still getting over a sinus thing, so that may have played into it a bit.)

I enjoyed it (2 steeps – one sweetened, one not) and will happily finish off the sample, but it’s not likely to be a purchase for me.

Thanks to QueenOfTarts for this one! Apple pie is a favorite of mine. (Okay, okay, all pies are a favorite of mine.) So I was looking forward to trying this one.

The dry leaf smelled very strongly of apple pie filling; like apples, cinnamon, & other spices (nutmeg, maybe?). Steeped, it’s a little more of a sour apple scent, but I can still get “hot apple pie” from it.

Taste during the sip is a light green tea with spices. After the sip, I’m picking up more of a real “apple pie” taste – well, specifically the filling for an apple pie. Reminds me of the version my Grandmother would make. Quite yummy.

Not getting any crust-like flavors, but still a pretty good approximation of homemade apple pie!

Finally getting back to Steepster after a week away… Blueberry Black makes for a nice morning cuppa. A medium flavored tea, that – as long as you’re careful not to over steep – doesn’t have any bitterness.

See previous tasting note for review.

Haven’t been on Steepster in a few days because I’ve been sick. But I really wanted a cup of tea today, so here I am.

Unfortunately, I’m still sick and I can’t taste anything. It’s like drinking a cup of hot water. Which, while still soothing, does not make it possible for me to write up any sort of tasting notes.

So yeah, this is more of just a “I had this tea” note and not a “here’s how this one tastes” note. Sorry, Creme de Lemon; we’ll have to rendezvous again some time.

The dry leaf smells heavenly. Lots and lots of blueberry notes bursting out of the package. The blueberries in this blend are small pieces, unlike the big, full blueberries in DavidsTea Blueberry Jam (the DT version is still my favorite blueberry tea, to date.)

The steeped smell is different, however. There’s almost something…perfumy? about it. Maybe a little floral? I’m not sure what it is, but it doesn’t make me think “blueberry” like the dry aroma did.

Without additions, the taste is certainly Blueberry Black, with the emphasis on black. It does taste like blueberry, buts it’s not like the IN YOUR FACE blueberry of Blueberry Jam. But, I also picked-up some blueberry sugar (it’s sugar mixed with dehydrated blueberry puree) when I was at the TSTE, so it’s time to try it out!

Now that it’s sweetened, the blueberry really pops. Each sip is awash with the taste of juicy blueberries. Much better. And it’s even better as it cools. My cup’s lukewarm at this point, and blueberry is now at the forefront.

The base tea is good; no bitterness detected at a 2.5 min steep (and I’m especially sensitive to bitterness) and it sits nicely with the blueberry flavors.

ETA: Wow, I used the word “blueberry” a lot in this note. Blueberry.

Quick note & then back to work!

I requested a sample of this one with my last order because the description lists Huangshan Mao Feng – the same base that’s used in Potato Pancakes & Apple Sauce. This has a similar thick mouthfeel, but it doesn’t come across as ‘starchy,’ like it does in the PP&AS. (Which is good, because that would be weird in an eggnog tea.)

Sipdown! Finished off the last of my sample from KiwiDelight today.
This tea is very bananas and a little nutty (heh, I made a pun and I didn’t even mean to). Still not sure why they call it ‘Mudslide’ since that makes me think of Kahlua, Bailey’s, and cream (none of which taste like this tea), but it’s tasty!

See previous tasting notes for details.

So, apparently, my 100th tasting note came and went without my notice. I had wanted to use this tea for it since, well, you know… cake. Oh well, I’ll just have to have cake to celebrate my 102nd tasting note, instead :-)

Right. Back to the tea. The dry leaf of this smells great. Like tart raspberries and black tea. (What? It does. I can’t help it if that’s an inelegant description; it’s accurate.) Steeped, it still smells of raspberries, but not as strongly. Kind of like the bags of frozen raspberries you get when they’re out of season: the scent’s still there, but it’s not quite as sharp as it is with the fresh berries. Liquor color is a dark amber.

Taste: I think I over-steeped it. (I should have known better than to go with the label directions. I’ve yet to find a black tea that I can let go for longer than 3 minutes.) Now the base is a little bitter, and it’s distracting me from the tart berry flavor. It’s like I’m aware that there are strong berry notes, but I can’t get the bitterness to shut-up long enough for me to really listen to them. Shall edit and rate after trying it for my standard 2.5 min steep.

How is this possible? Seriously, it should’t be possible. I mean, there’s no way I can love this tea more and more every time I taste it. Sigh, but I do.

I’ve got to give it a 100 because it’s the only tea that continues to impress me every time I drink it. I seriously crave this stuff.