New Tasting Notes

Alright, it’s time to review something I finished earlier in the year. I finished this tea sometime during the spring. I had no intentions to drink it when I did, but I accidentally tore the side of the pouch removing it from the box it arrived in, so I immediately started working my way through what I had of it. Oddly, Nilgiri black teas do not often do a ton for me, yet the ones that impress me really impress me. This was one of those impressive offerings for me.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 197 F water for 5 minutes. I did not rinse the leaves prior to infusion nor did I attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of straw, blueberry, cream, orange zest, raisin, and strawberry. After infusion, I detected aromas of apricot, plum, honey, cherry, and brown sugar. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of straw, cream, apricot, plum, honey, baked bread, roasted almond, strawberry, raisin, malt, orange zest, blackberry, blueberry, red apple, cherry, pear, and brown sugar that were balanced by hints of butter, vanilla, and fig. Each sip then finished in a smooth, malty, creamy, and very fruity fashion.

I may be alone here, but I found this to be a knockout Nilgiri black tea. I loved its robust fruity notes and the smooth, mellow finish of each sip. What-Cha has been knocking it out of the park for at least the past year or two with their Nilgiri offerings. Each one I try ends up serving as a reminder that I need to devote some time to trying more Nilgiri teas.

Wuyi Origin’s MLX is more bitter and woody than average I’d say. It’s really nice, one of the most memorable things about it is the very sweet and long-lasting aftertaste.

When dry, the aroma is fairly standard, but also very pungent. You get stone fruits, honey, pumpkin seeds mix there. The tea remain fragrant throughout the session, with notes like vanilla, green pepper, and flax flowers present in the wet leaf aroma.

The mouth-watering liquor is juicy and has a vegetal bite to it. There is a quinine-like bitterness as well as mild woody sweetness. At times, I also get a peppermint note in the aftertaste. Mouthfeel is generally warming, bubbly and a little chalky, while the cha qi is of the sedating/defocusing kind.

Problem with having a home studio is that I’m home and my entire household knows where I am. They have access to me for every little question, need, meandering moment or argument they have. It’s Sunday and my hopes of unwinding this morning with a cup of tea IN SILENCE after a week or more of poor sleep is dwindling with every interruption. I want to shrink down and climb into this tea, floating like I’m Gary Oldman as Beethoven floating in the water with the night sky reflected into my cup listening to Moonlight Sonata in my head. There is such a comforting caramel orange flavor to this tea that I could sink into at the moment. There is an almost chocolate/burnt sugar note to the finish. I don’t think I was crazy about this tea when I first got it, but I’m growing to love it. Good impulse buy, 2019 Dustin.

This was either my last sipdown in September or my first sipdown in October. I can’t remember which is the case. I finished a bunch of teas right around that time, so my confusion is perhaps understandable. Anway, I’m normally not huge on Yunnan bi luo chun black teas for whatever reason. Even when I like the regular loose leaf/bud offerings, I often find myself less impressed by the formed versions. I’m also normally a huge fan of Feng Qing black teas, and though I am not sure whether or not there is an unrolled/unformed version of this offering, it is still almost always the one regular Feng Qing black tea offering to which I have difficulty warming up each year. That trend continued with this spring 2018 tea. It was not bad, but it also just did not excite me all that much.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of rolled tea buds in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 18 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea buds emitted aromas of malt, pine, cocoa, marshmallow, and smoke. After the rinse, I detected aromas of sweet potato, honey, cream, and sugarcane. The first infusion brought out aromas of caramel, baked bread, butter, and banana. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented delicate notes of malt, cream, butter, sweet potato, cooked green beans, and cocoa that were backed by hints of cinnamon, caramel, baked bread, roasted almond, banana, and sugarcane. The majority of the subsequent infusions brought forth aromas of roasted almond, eucalyptus, orange zest, and earth. Stronger and more immediately notable impressions of roasted almond, baked bread, caramel, and sugarcane appeared in the mouth alongside notes of marshmallow, minerals, cocoa, and orange zest. I also picked up on hints of smoke, pine, honey, eucalyptus, grass, earth, and horehound. As the tea faded, the liquor served up notes of minerals, cream, cooked green beans, malt, marshmallow, and butter that were chased by lingering hints of baked bread, honey, orange zest, roasted almond, sugarcane, and sweet potato.

This was a very sensitive and subtle tea. It seemed to not react well to infusions that were conducted in rapid succession. It also seemed to hold back a lot throughout each session I conducted with it. Though the body and texture of the tea liquor were nice, the tea’s bouquet was a little more simplistic than I expected, and it was a bit too stuffy and reserved in terms of the way it expressed its flavor components. In the end, this was a pretty good tea, but it was not the sort of Yunnan black tea I typically enjoy. Out of all the regular Feng Qing offerings, this is the one that I will continue to look forward to the least each year.

Here is a slightly more recent sipdown of mine. This one came from either early or mid-September. Considering that many of the reviews I had seen were mixed, I did not expect to like this tea all that much. Well, it ended up surprising me. I found it to be an excellent offering overall.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea buds in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 17 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea buds produced aromas of baked bread, hay, malt, sweet potato, sugarcane, and chocolate. After the rinse, I detected aromas of roasted peanut, roasted almond, and banana as well as a subtle camphor scent. The first infusion brought out more camphor on the nose. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of baked bread, malt, cream, butter, sweet potato, hay, sugarcane, and roasted almond that were chased by hints of chocolate, roasted peanut, maple syrup, brown sugar, and banana. The bulk of the subsequent infusions coaxed out aromas of black pepper, cream, butter, eucalyptus, honey, clove, red apple, red grape, and orange zest. Stronger and more immediately notable impressions of chocolate, roasted peanut, and brown sugar appeared in the mouth alongside mineral, black pepper, camphor, earth, eucalyptus, red apple, pear, honey, plum, clove, orange zest, and red grape notes. As the tea faded, the liquor continued to offer up notes of minerals, malt, roasted peanut, baked bread, roasted almond, butter, and orange zest that were balanced by lingering hints of sugarcane, red apple, pear, hay, honey, sweet potato, chocolate, and black pepper.

For me, I think the biggest issue with this tea was its name. There was a honey aroma present, but I found the tea’s overall bouquet to be nuttier, creamier, spicier, and more herbal. The honey aroma was not particularly consistent or dominant. I have that complaint a lot with so-called “honey aroma” teas. Ignoring that quibble, though, left me with a very pleasant, balanced, and complex Yunnan golden needle black tea. My advice to anyone interested in this tea would be to ignore the name and do not expect an overwhelming honey aroma. Approach it like you would any other golden needle black tea, and you will likely find it to be a tremendously rewarding offering.

Okay, people. It’s time for my weekly wave of tea reviews. This is one of the golden oldies that I have been meaning to review for some time. I recall this sipdown coming from late August. Unlike a lot of the Yunnan Sourcing teas I had tried up to that point, this one was entirely new to me. I had missed out on all of the previous productions. I’m kind of sorry I did because this ended up being a very respectable offering.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 17 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of straw, cedar, malt, honey, baked bread, and cinnamon. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of roasted almond, grass, and pine. The first infusion introduced aromas of roasted peanut and butter. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of malt, butter, cream, straw, baked bread, pine, and roasted peanut that were balanced by subtler impressions of oats, roasted almond, grass, smoke, pear, honey, and cedar. The bulk of the subsequent infusions introduced aromas of smoke, oats, cream, chocolate, black pepper, orange zest, and green bell pepper. Stronger and more immediately evident impressions of oats, grass, pear, and roasted almond appeared in the mouth alongside notes of cinnamon, red apple, minerals, orange zest, plum, earth, and green bell pepper. Hints of black pepper, chocolate, beeswax, and brown sugar were also present. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized impressions of minerals, malt, butter, cream, grass, straw, green bell pepper, roasted peanut, pear, roasted almond, and baked bread that were balanced by fleeting hints of beeswax, red apple, honey, orange zest, oats, and cinnamon.

This was a very approachable and likable Yunnan black tea. As anyone familiar with this offering knows, this tea was processed in the Taiwanese style, and it did a good job of approximating the character of many Taiwanese black teas. I could see it being a good stepping stone into the world of Yunnan black tea for Taiwanese tea drinkers. I also could see it being a good option for fans of Taiwanese black tea that are searching for a value offering capable of standing up to both rigorous gongfu preparations and basic daily drinking.

This was my morning tea as I got caught up on all the things happening with the Mi’kmaq fishery crisis since yesterday.

This tea is always a great choice, a light, yet flavourful and smooth drink. And perfect for the chilly and snowy morning.

I have again prepared this wonderful tea, and although it is year and half old, it is still one of the most perfect orthodox tea I had and still have something left. I guess next year, if availbable, I will order another.

It’s mild, but still the black tea notes are present. The maltiness, some of citrusy notes (I finally noticed them). And some stonefruits. I really like that even preparation grandpa isn’t bad thing for this tea, as it just remains mild and never bitter. Not even the end of the cuppa!

I see I had this tea, when I was writing tasting note 200. Now I am on 760 (my house number, what a coincidence) and I just… I just don’t care about the number. I just like seeing the “likes” and some comments now and then.

I was positive that I wrote a review on this, but obviously that’s not the case. I really love this one. It’s one of the rare earl greys that I find myself enjoying these days. The blackberry is the most prominent flavor- so juicy and authentic tasting, much like other 52Teas blackberry blends. The bergamot is subtle and works with the blackberry so well. I ended up buying another small pouch because I was missing it.

Wow, this is chocolatey. Not the synthetic chocolate flavor you so often find in tea blends, but a rich, melted chocolate. I find the cherry more in the aftertaste. Added some oat milk, and it made for a pretty decadent drink.

Really tasty, distinguishable pear flavor that lacks in other pear teas. A bit of cream flavor, but no discernible amaretto.

Sipdown!
This was a perfectly lovely black apple tea. I brewed it a touch too weak for my last cup (my down darn fault), but it was still sweet and apple-y and nice.
As I am in the mood for all the apple teas right now, this was well recieved.
I should be getting my next yarn and tea club shipment soon! I cannot wait to see it!

Good balance of flavours. Hibiscus is not too overpowering in the blend.

This Ai Lao sheng sold by Farmerleaf is decent, albeit not spectacular. It has a green, burly leaves, a fairly well-balanced character, and a smooth mouthfeel.

The aroma is herbaceous and sweet with cooling forest notes, wet earth, walnut, hot hay, bone broth, celery and seaweed scents. Taste, on the other hand, is buttery, nutty, bitter and fragrant, followed by a very floral aftertaste. The aftertaste is kind of funny in a way. It feels like it should be sweet with its high floral fragrance and a sort of honey like character, but in fact it is more bitter than sweet.

Tea profile is grassy, reminiscent of a freshly moved lawn. There is slightly astringent notes that help to fill out the tea’s grassy body. The nose is herbaceous and misty while the tail is clean and clear with no aftertaste and a emerald green liqueur.

A note about this tea, it is a green although unlike typical green teas, which are brewed between shrimp eye and crab eye, this is brewed to dragon water. As such, the tea should be flash steeped. Any longer and the liqueur will quickly brown, the tea will overstep and the umami will be lost.

Lastly, if you can try to brew it over binchoutan or lump charcoal. If you are unable to, then try alchohol and if that is not possible an infrared element. The charcoal brings the most flavor out of tea in general and penetrates the leaves more thoroughly than any other fuel method.

This is my last sachet of this flavor.

I really enjoy these fruit barley teas, the coffee-like deep roasted barley has such an interesting interplay with the sweet fruit flavor. In this case it’s a crisp green apple, and it’s sort of similar to a Jolly Rancher. But for some reason, it works for me. There’s a clear sweetness from the barley, which also helps temper the roast a little bit. Such a nice cozy and satisfying tea for the evening…

I don’t feel the need the restock this one, as I prefer some of the other flavors – namely the watermelon, lychee, and pineapple versions. And I have plenty of those from my Lupicia panic order. XD

All I’m getting from this tea is smoke and maybe a hint of burnt sugar.

I’m not sure if it’s because it has a “best by” date in 2019, or if I’m just not a fan.

Either way, meh.

My package of this tea was mislabeled which means I was brewing this blindly. However, I do know that 52 Teas rooibos blends tend to be steeped at a slightly lower temperature for a long period of time. So, with that in mind, I put about 1.5 tsps into a tea bag and tossed it into 10 oz of 190F water. I meant to leave it for like 10 minutes but I started playing Crash Bandicoot with my brother-in-law so this steeped for closer to 30 mins. Oops.

With all that said, something went wrong somewhere. It’s fine but surprisingly bland for the long steep time. It’s got a sort of strawberry-ish but mostly generic fruit note which is super subtle and a touch of the rooibos base. It isn’t bad but it isn’t necessarily good either.

For a tea that has ‘spice’ in the name, it’s really lacking in the spice department. It’s more like Christmas orange. The prominent smell/flavor is orange. Like cooked orange peels. There’s some rose, and a tiny bit of almond as well. But, mostly orange.

This was very generously included as a sample in my order. Unfortunately, I really did not care for it. Very, very buttery. The rooibos and coconut are also extremely strong, which are not flavors I generally enjoy. Luckily, my boyfriend really liked it. So, he got to enjoy a few cups of it.

I have a drawer full of old Bird & Blend subscription packs. I just signed up for it again, so I’d better get cracking on drinking them! I love grapefruit and this smelled amazing in the pouch, so I pulled this one out to try.

It’s pretty good. The grapefruit flavor is nice and tastes accurate to me. But what keeps it from being amazing is a little too much hibiscus. I can appreciate that hibiscus makes sense here, since grapefruit is sour, but I would like this blend a lot more if there was about half the amount. And the green tea is a little pointless, I can’t taste it at all, but I suppose they need a base for the flavoring.

Still tasty enough though!

I normally don’t make caffeinated tea in the evening, but this just sounded so much like what I wanted (an apple-flavored genmaicha) that I gave in. My sampler is ridiculously old (seriously, what tea do I own that isn’t at this point?) but still sealed, so hoping it isn’t totally trash green tea at this point. If it is, there is always cold brew, I suppose…

The aroma mostly smells like the nutty, toasted rice aroma of the genmai, though I am picking up a wiff of cinnamon as well. The flavor… hmm. I can taste notes of apple, cinnamon, and possibly if I squint some clove, but the flavors are quite light/delicate. Mostly, the roasty genmai is taking such a strong center stage its drowning out those other flavors. Not sure if its just the age of the tea, the fact I tend to go pretty leaf-light on greens to avoid bitterness, or if the blend is always like this. The sampler is large so at least I can experiment with more leaf than I typically use for greens and see if that brings out the apple more… but honestly, I just imagine that then I would get more genmai into the scoop and probably end up with about the same sort of flavor.

This is a wonderful concept… the apple just needs to be much stronger. I can taste it, and I’m tasting it just enough to want so much more of it combining with the warm comfort of toasty genmaicha. It isn’t quite what I was hoping for, but still warm, soothing, and satisfying on an autumn evening as my pure black cat does her best corpse impression in front of the oil heater. I’d go check if she is actually still alive, except that I can hear her snoring across the room.