Featured & New Tasting Notes

I used to drink this tea at our weekly tea and conversation gatherings in my hall at college, so it’ll always have a fond place in my memory. The flavor is simple, but warming and pleasant. It’s mostly chamomile, though the sweetness is accomplished in a way that’s different and interesting. I don’t like honey generally, but it works in the flavoring here. I enjoy all the chamomile offerings from Celestial Seasonings, but this is my favorite.

Additional notes:  I don’t think I tried the 2018 sample I bought yet.  After this, it might only be the Bailin Gongfu.   I have most of Teavivre’s teas in “stock” but in most cases it’s a sample or two.  I’m very appreciative of those bigger pouches that Teavivre has, I love putting samples in them (for example, by tea type, greens or oolong).  (Well, Teavivre ships samples that way too, which is awesome… so I’m usually reusing those silver pouches for other tea samples.) 
This one is so comforting today.  Again, this might not be as complex as a fresher golden tea… I really need to drink these types in particular much fresher, but I could just drink this tea all day.  Surprisingly a smoky flavor I don’t remember in past harvests, but then a sweet cocoa flavor that is the best today. 
Steep #1  // 1 1/2 teaspoons for full mug // 20 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  // 10 minutes after boiling //  2 min
Steep #3 // just boiled // 4 min
Harvest: 2018
Another great calming band for these times: Dr. Dog!  I’ve just been shuffling their songs all day.  I also made a mango smoothie today. Smoothies are a great way to use older matcha.

Additional notes: How the heck is this still SO TASTY?!?! There are coffee beans in this and these are at least six year old coffee beans. But this cup is fantastic. I’m pleased as punch since I still have a LOT remaining in this pouch. Coffee, vanilla, ripe puerh, perfect. Raising the rating from 83.

Hello, Steepsterites! I wish I was back under happier circumstances but you know there is nothing like Covid-19 temporary layoffs and chronic illness flare-ups to get one back to the basics and appreciating the little luxuries in life (hello, tea).

The floral traits of the tieguanyin smooth out the tangy dark berry notes. Blackberry is the dominate berry flavour here but the flavouring can also go in interesting directions, like blueberry or black currant. The cream note rounds this tea into the pastry-like category.

We will see how it holds up to re-steeping.

Additional notes:   Tea #7 in my Teavivre keemun test. Hmm, so far this is the lightest one, therefore not my favorite.  It hardly even has any of the keemun flavor notes.  If anything it has a slight bakey, sweet flavor, almost like a cookie.  The look of the dry leaf is gorgeous though: pitch black shiny leaves with hints of gold throughout, slow to unravel.   The leaf definitely looks different than the Superfine Keemun Mao Feng, which is smaller and has more of the golden fuzzies in the package.  Doing the math between the 50gram/100 gram prices, this is actually the most expensive keemun that Teavivre carries, and probably my least favorite, as it isn’t very distinct at all.  Keep in mind, I’m steeping this two years after the harvest date, so it could have been more distinct while it was fresher, but the other keemuns seem to be holding up well enough.  Also, as I have steeped all of these Western, they could be better steeping them with other methods.  The second steep thankfully blooms into more flavor, but again, nothing I would notice as distinctly higher quality.  The flavor takes more of a traditional keemun profile, with a hint of dark fruit on the back sip.  But I’d prefer even the Grade 2 over this one.  I’m not picky, and Teavivre’s lowest quality teas are probably other tea shops higher quality teas.  At least when I’m steeping up the lower priced teas, I don’t have to question if I’m steeping them incorrectly.  Now the rating might be 78.
Steep #1  // 1 1/2 teaspoon for full mug // 20 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  //  just boiled //  3 min steep
Harvest: 2018

*OVERALL for the keemun test: * Yeah, these harvests seemed very different from past harvests.  But really the ratings only shifted a few points and I think the keemuns stayed stable in my rankings from past harvests, even if they are considerably tasting different now. The Imperial was the biggest decrease in rating. None of them had any smoky characteristics and a lot less chocolate notes when I LAST did a side by side comparison six years ago (oh my gosh, I can’t believe that was six years ago.)  In order of preference, I would say it’s Grade 1 & Premium Keemun Hao Ya which are so similar to me I can hardly tell there is a difference in flavor.  The Grade 2 & Aromatic Snail are tied for second place, depending if I’m in the mood for strong flavor or a more delicate flavor. Though I do admire the basil fragrance of the Aromatic Snail. The three higher quality Keemuns probably taste better when they aren’t steeped Western.  But try them all yourself — find the one you like best!  Also, this tasting note dump just put me over 3,000 tasting notes! Woohoo.

You don’t know what you have until you miss it … normally at this time, I’d be in a room we’ve dubbed the Warehouse with 11-year-olds pecking at me like chickens, showing off their phones and dumb photos, telling me about their pets, and asking me if I’ll play a game with them. Our church staff has been fabulous—sending videos and video challenges to our kids; we’re getting ready to connect virtually in a few minutes; our kids’ pastor did several neighborhood drive-by’s, and I’m keeping a steady stream of snail mail headed their way. But, oh, how I am counting the days until they’re driving me nuts again!

However, virtual church has its benefits—like its proximity to a whole pot of this gentle strawberries-and-cream blend. The black tea base is really nothing but a base, the flavors are so pronounced. Authentic sweet strawberry pie flavor; doesn’t taste artificial at all.

Most of you know my husband prefers to drink oolong, green, or white tea. He likes black but has always needed milk and sugar to enjoy it so he asks for tea that he likes plain to keep it simpler and healthier.

Then I showed him the article about black and puerh tea extracts having efficacy against corona type viruses in a lab setting, just because it was interesting. But he has been super cautious because he is essential personnel and helped oversee setting a quarantine facility for the military as well as a drive through Covid testing site and has to keep working. Two coworkers got sick and were tested but no results have come through. He had little contact with them and isn’t worried, but a nine day hospitalization with near fatal pneumonia years ago has left him cautious, so basically I make black and puerh tea constantly while he is home.

While I am glad he is drinking black tea sans additions now, a wonderful wonderful takeaway from this situation, I was getting the screaming Mimis for something OTHER THAN mild black. So for supper last night, I made this.

I have two sample packs of it, and I desperately hope they still sell this because it was amazing. We tried to order Chinese food just to support the little family at our local restaurant but they have closed for now to stay safer, so I made mushrooms, onions, and red bell peppers in a veggie and soy sauce stock with Asian noodles. Basically it was a veggie lomein. It was delish. I love mushrooms, though, so…

The baked flavor was there, but with food it seemed only mildly roasted. It might be different if it was paired with sweets or served alone. The floral aspect was somehow heightened and oh my goodness, it was silky smooth and easy to guzzle. The food wasn’t heavy but it was substantial in texture and flavor, and yet still the tea managed to shine through and take a starring role in the meal. Definitely a re-order.

This and Peaches & Cream by Sloane Tea are the two teas my sister owns. Compared to my 320something. DAVIDsTEA won her over on this one with their tea lemonade recipe. Alas, she was prediabetic and now being pregnant, she has been told to be extra careful of her sugars. So, when I made her this tea, I told her we were sharing the 16 oz to limit her lemonade intake.

It does make for a nice raspberry lemonade flavor. Sometimes a touch too sweet given the added sugar but that’s why it pairs nicely with lemonade. This is not something I need to own but a cup every now and then is pleasant.

Thanks so much for this, Meowster! I don’t love the flavor of this, so this won’t be a very inspired tasting note. The green tea is a little seaweedy at this point, so I’m sure the supplier just added peppermint oil to disguise a subpar gunpowder. And I wonder how peppermint flavoring is cheaper than actual peppermint leaves? I drank the cup but it was a rare occasion when I didn’t re-steep the leaves. It’s interesting (to me) I’m at 25 sipdowns for the year when I’m aiming for 100 sipdowns for the year. Now that we’re at the beginning of April and a quarter of the year is done, that means I’m on track!

Additional notes: Tasty yet old. With coconut. Not much to say, otherwise, but it’s aging nicely!
TCM is having a Toshiro Mifune 24 hour movie marathon today! It’s his 100th birthday today! I wish he were still around to enjoy it. His movies have certainly been a help to me, I’m a fan, so I’m glad they are featuring his movies.

This tea’s best before date is 36 months after harvest. It’s harvest date is Spring 2017. As such, I have it as best before March 2020 since that’s when Spring officially starts. That means this tea has sat sealed for 3 years and isn’t getting tried until after its best before date has almost passed. I am sorry tea for neglecting you!

This is a nice enough black tea. Smooth and no astringency. Slight malt and a touch of caramel. It’s not in your face flavorful or particularly memorable but that could be the age. Also, I steeped it slightly lower than it should have been steeped and on the shorter time of the suggested range so it could be that at play too.

Additional notes: I’m enjoying this good one from a long ago teabox. I have so many little amounts of teas everywhere! It’s amazing I can keep track of them.

I think I mentioned Jonathan Wilson’s music here before, and he has a new one out. All four of his albums are solid. And here is a lovely calming song I forgot about for a while: Sin Fang – Down:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_2tm6rLihQ&list=OLAK5uy_kGZlzT-mmgXLXYJzk_VWRGbDv4_m-sgoU&index=9
Hope you’re all doing okay out there.

I made it through another week at work. It was stressful and exhausting. I said
a lot of things I probably shouldn’t have. All in all, it really was an ok week given the circumstances. Today is a day of continued spring cleaning. I’m melting my brain with Spongebob in the background because I do what I want.

In the process of sipdowns, this has been my daily driver for the work week. This Yunnan yellow tea basically has little life left with 3 years of age. It’s now very mildly fruity and sweet with subdued umami. Is it oxidation that has brought out more of the mellow malty and chocolate tones? A butter-cream flavor and thickness has developed on the swallow. Other than the swallow, the body is much lighter than it used to be and the astringency has nearly disappeared. The minty cooling effect is still prominent and felt throughout my whole body, especially the underboob :) Sustained caffeination. The dry and wet leaf and bud sets are a beautiful sight.

Do yourself a favor and consume quickly your yellow teas. I can’t emphasize how mild this is compared to when I first opened the bag.

Additional notes: I’m revisiting this because Kawaii433 mentioned it yesterday! Sadly, the new harvest of the tin I bought isn’t QUITE the magic of the last harvest, but possibly I brewed it differently. I will try to make it exact the next time. This one seems like Ceylon was thrown in, but I doubt it. It just has more of the flavor profile of a Ceylon IMO. However, it’s still malty with that hint of sweet fruit.

Gong Fu Sipdown (327)

I won an instagram giveaway and got a $40 voucher for a company whose teaware I’ve been eyeing for a while now. I definitely spent over the $40 but ended up with a bunch of new lovely teaware, including a lovely new tea tray, a glass gaiwan, and a cute monkey teacup. Pictures: https://www.instagram.com/p/B-N1BobAOo-/

The teaware showed up and of course I had to break it in and this tea just ended up standing out to me. I got about 8 steeps with the main flavor notes being cocoa, leather, and malt. At times, it got smokey. At other times, some raisin came through and in the last steep, even a touch of baked bread. It was smooth and full-bodied and quite a nice session of steeping while watching the Masked Singer on Wednesday.

I wanted a latte and this is pre-2019 (just barely since it’s from December 2018) thus in my sipdown box(es and drawer) which is where I usually check first when I’m not sure which tea I’m looking for.

This one always smells so awesome when steeping and while my cup was good, it wasn’t as good as this usually is. The flavour was just a bit more muted than usual but that brought out the bergamot a touch more than usual as well. It was still very enjoyable and didn’t take long to drink down.

I need to try this next to Earl Grey Cupcake as those are my preferred Earl Grey teas now that Marshmallow Snowflake Earl Grey isn’t a thing anymore. It would be interesting to determine which I actually prefer thus I can focus my voting efforts for things like the 12 Teas of Christmas appropriately.

Sipdown (840)!

Finished off as my first tea of the day right when I got into the lab this morning. I didn’t enjoy this as much as I first did when trying it with the advent calendar, but it was still good. The cardamom and violet pairing is so strange but weirdly perfect; I like the sweet florals and sweet, warming spice. The violet, unfortunately, was pretty soapy in this cup and I don’t remember it tasting that was at all when I first had this – but it wasn’t undrinkable.

Lowering my rating a little bit from the 92 I had it at, but I still think this is a tasty and very unique matcha overall and I would still consider repurchasing it after I sipdown some of my VERY big matcha hoard…

Additional notes: Steepster is being slow today. I’m just thankful it’s still with us! Thank you wizards behind the curtain!
This tea was weaker at 1 1/2 teaspoons but it’s a little better at two teaspoons. I think I’d prefer to steep it like this in the future. It’s more chocolatey and deeper. A perfectly calming hot chocolate type tea this way. OR I should have saved this for Easter… it tastes more like a chocolate cream egg candy. At least it doesn’t taste like alcohol! So uping the rating from 74.
My sore throat seemed to go away after about a week. It was the mildest sore throat.. could barely tell it was any different than usual, and I wasn’t coughing or sneezing, so not sure if I had Covid19 or not. But I’m in the NY state crazy zone so it’s a possibility right after going to the store/post office. I was/am isolating myself anyway. I found a new calming band today: Dreams We’ve Had. I hope everyone is doing okay out there! Please stay safe in these crazy times.

I haven’t had an LS in such a long time that I can’t actually remember.

Oh heavens, yes.

That is literally all I can find to write about this right now.

Or maybe more something along the lines of, yaaaaaaaaaaaassssss!!!

I so needed this.

From huge bags, so old.

Probably age has indeed affected the taste. It was nice, bit chocolate like base tea with malty notes, but linden blossom? It was there, but very weak and almost non-present. Such a shame.

Overall, quite okay. I have expected more linden notes; as dry bag it was very aromatic, but… when brewed, it’s not.

I set this up to cold brew last night and even then it smelled sort of waxy and artificial. Today that is coming through in the taste with a lot of acidic apple and some citrus. It’s tolerable and I’ll likely finish the cold brew today but I won’t be seeking this out again.

A tea inspired by an Almodóvar film, with a disjunct combination of ingredients- how very typically August Uncommon. Not saying it’s a bad thing! Just very much their style. I’m actually loving this blend. The cocoa, clove, and rose are all distinct, without fighting with one another. It smells absolutely divine as well.

Good morning :) I realized today I hadn’t made a bacon and eggs breakfast since moving from the city. I flipped my egg and it flopped under the range grate. What the heck? At least the smokey bacon covered up the smell of burning albumin on the grate. I ate the egg anyway.

Been a while since a song pairing.
The Diamonds — Little Darlin’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysVLzXWnTzA
The share timer function on youtube isn’t working for me. 1:38 is where it starts.

This group came up at work Saturday after one of my older coworkers received a phone call Friday from Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers to chat about the pandemic.

Needed a sweet tea to pair with a salty, savory breakfast. You wouldn’t think mushrooms would be the solution but these are candy cap mushrooms. Pure maple syrup without the sugar. The aroma is so dense and penetrating, I had to store the swap from ashmanra (thank you!) in a mason jar. No added flavorings to create what smells like a maple syrup soaked buckwheat pancake. As for the taste, I honestly don’t think I could paint a better picture than Brenden (the owner of Whispering Pines) did in his description for this tea. It’s more a malty and mineral cleansing taste perfect for cutting the bacon grease. The aroma gives an impression of strength in sweetness but it’s actually lightly sweet. Cocoa-vanilla hangs out up by my sinuses. Notice the cherry on the swallow after it cools down a bit.

This is how you do a maple-flavored tea.

Hope y’all are doing ok today. Two of my friends are ill, one in Ohio and one in Seattle.

Have another song, why not.
Red Hot Chili Peppers — Tear
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OzjUuB3WHo

This is a very basic pu-erh: wood, decay, a bit sour, a bit sweet. No complexity and the flavors do not blend well. I can’t find anything outright bad, but also nothing good or just memorable. Also, I failed to see any signs that it will get better with time. Well, at least it lacks any fishiness.

There are many inexpensive shous that are more interesting and enjoyable. I still have an almost entire cake of it left and it will probably be a slog to finish.