Featured & New Tasting Notes

50
drank Deep Blue Spirulina by DAVIDsTEA
5272 tasting notes

Cold Brew Sipdown (331)

I cold brewed this and while I’m glad the coconut hasn’t gone rancid despite being almost two years old, that’s the only thing I’m glad about. It’s not bad because it’s really not much of anything. It’s sorta fruity water and that’s it. Meh.

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drank Juniper Joy by DAVIDsTEA
10238 tasting notes

Mellow morning in the Strange household today…

I’ve been breaking out really badly all week, probably a combination of stress/anxiety and less fresh air that normal combined with the fact I’m just prone to breakouts in general. So, I just finished applying a really nice face mask that’s supposed to be good at reducing redness and I’ve made myself a mug of tea and now I’m just sort of… lounging.

Much strawberry. Much jammy. Much good.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

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85

Additional notes: Sipdown of this one. I kind of wanted to finish it just so I could forget it was INSTEAD of my beloved Peachy Keen blend in the vote or something, if I’m remembering correctly. This one doesn’t hold a candle, IMO. Nothing special about it while Peachy Keen is amazing stuff. I guess I talk about it too much!
Edited to add: And I’m noticing now I rated this blend 85. But NOPE. I guess I love PEACHY KEEN too much!
2020 Sipdowns: 22 (AprTea – Zhang Ping Shui Xian Oolong Tea Fragrant Orchid Grade One + TeaRevv – Golden Turmeric)

Here is a new special earworm that seems fitting for these times… I had given up on anything Weezer since the Green album, BUT this is The Avalanches with River and this song is lovely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsjQ3Gblzys

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52Teas 5 years ago

I hope I did not mislead you with anything I said before – but this one wasn’t blended instead of Peachy Keen. Peachy Keen didn’t carry enough votes to get in the box or reblended as part of our reblend month. I’m sorry. This one won – with a sweeping victory – in overall votes across the entire poll – I just didn’t blend it for the holiday box because I didn’t have all the required ingredients at the time I was blending for the box.

52Teas 5 years ago

I’m sorry if I indicated otherwise. :(

tea-sipper 5 years ago

No, that is what I meant, that Raspberry Almond Cookie won over Peachy Keen in the vote. :D

tea-sipper 5 years ago

I don’t know… I went to the store on the 18th, now have something going on with my throat, so now I’m freaking out. Despite using hand sanitizer and being a usual germaphobe. My hands are dry from washing them so much. Could be allergies or something. sigh.

tea-sipper 5 years ago

But everyone should remember, there are still the normal colds/flus. But jeeze… I have been CAREFUL for a while now.

52Teas 5 years ago

I hope it turns out OK. I hope everyone is being careful and washing their hands and doing what they can to stay safe and healthy! Please do keep us updated if you learn more, I’ll be thinking of you.

tea-sipper 5 years ago

I’m sure it’s nothing, but thank you for your concern. I don’t even think I’ve been sick for decades other than the occasional sore throat.

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36

March 2020 subscription.

Artificial aroma, full of chocolate; alcohol liquor of the dry blend.

Brewed 4 grams / 96 °C water / almost 4 minutes.

Not only the brew was weak. It was kind of strange in taste as well. It reminded me mostly Milka milk chocolate which I am not fan of. Then some vanilla notes and… again some alcohol. Sherry maybe? It wasn’t that bad as I was afraid reading Amada’s tasting note, but… it wasn’t that enjoyable as I have hoped. Now the pouch is really strongly alcohol like when I smelled it. Brew was really sweet for me as well.

I don’t know, I never had a cream egg. But I suppose it isn’t alcohol like?

Flavors: Alcohol, Chocolate, Vanilla

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 45 sec 4 g 10 OZ / 300 ML
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Martin Bednář 5 years ago

Hey. So bad tea for tasting note #500? Sad :/

Ilse Wouters 5 years ago

Have you ever tried Cadbury´s Cream Eggs? I think Bird&Blend´s intention was to make a tea tasting like that. I personally don´t like it, but I think it´s a typical sweet British are fond of…foreigners not too much, I reckon ;-)

tea-sipper 5 years ago

I LOVE cadbury cream eggs. I wish a tea could recreate that flavor. Also, Martin – since the blend is so fresh the alcohol flavor might fade over time and taste better.

Martin Bednář 5 years ago

Ilse Wouters: Nope, as they aren’t available here. Or I just missed them? I don’t know.
Tea-sipper: I will hope. It was quite nice when I smelled it (when it came), then I smelled again after few days – was artificial, now… it is alcohol based.

gmathis 5 years ago

I have one Cadbury egg in reserve for an emergency. Came close to breaking into it last week, but the barrage has temporarily passed ;)

ashmanra 5 years ago

Two of my daughters love Cadbury Cream Eggs, but one swears along with other people I have heard from that the ones in the US are not as high quality as the ones in the UK. But I hear the same about Twinings tea….better in Europe than what is sold here. BUt surely it is the same?

tea-sipper 5 years ago

I’ve probably never had the UK Cadbury egg, but I think the quality slightly changed in the US version a few years ago, so I don’t doubt that the UKs are better.

Ilse Wouters 5 years ago

@ashmanra : it´s not unlikely to have different formulations for same brand in different country, as sometimes they are locally produced under contract. Please look (small print) on the wrapping, as it should specify it. But I doubt this is the case for the tea though. As a Belgian, in about everything chocolate related, I´m not exactly keen on the overly sweet milk chocolate Cadbury offers, but prefer a cacao butter based chocolate as is usual in Belgium and France. Which reminds me that this year, I won´t be having traditional easter eggs, as I have changed my travel plans :-(

amandastory516 5 years ago

I definitely believe the US vs. UK cream eggs are different! Other Cadbury varieties taste infinitely better in the UK (the Fruit and Nut bar in particular).

Martin Bednář 5 years ago

Only recently they started to sell Cadburry stuff here; and it is really pricy as well, so I have no idea. And although Easter season is in the shop, I haven’t seen Cadburry Cream eggs at all. Only some Milka chocolate eggs.

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A week ago I ordered a new supply of breakfast tea, but it hasn’t been sent yet. Presumably this is to do with the pandemic and so I’m not going to pester them for the time being.

In the meantime, we bought a box of this. Emergency rations, guys. Our supermarket only carries Twinings in bagged form and Husband finds one bag for a pot of two large cups is fine. Whereas my instinct says one bag for a cup and two for a pot.

Probably as a consequence it’s rather thin. I feel like I’m drinking hot water with milk. It’s not good. I have asked him to try and make the next pot either with two bags, or with a significantly longer steep, just so we can at least find out if it really is that poor and lay the dosage discussion to rest. (I’m pretty confident in my two bag theory, though)

On a different note we are both healthy. Husband is working from home for the foreseeable, whereas I still have to go to work. (I work in a hospital lab. We are important for diagnostics, and so essential personnel.) The Outside, on my commute, is nearly deserted. Looks like I’m travelling in the middle of the night. Otherwise we are staying in and being careful. As an introvert, I feel like I’ve been training for this my whole life.

teapartyfortwo 5 years ago

I can so relate to your post! My work shut down on Thursday but I didn’t go in all week as it’s a non-essential store. I too am practicing self-isolation. Like you, I am also and intovert and am not living much differntly than I usually do! Stay safe and stay healthy!

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drank Dandelion Detox by Rishi Tea
10238 tasting notes

Steeped at work.

My first mug of this was really unpleasant so I took a lot of precautions when brewing this one. I used less leaf, cooler water, and a shorter/more monitored steep time. Made a world of difference, and this cup was deeply smooth and earthy with chicory, cinnamon, ginger, and citrus rind notes and then an undertone of sweet, floral geranium leading to a beautifully delicate finish. It’s a weird tea, but this was an excellent cup of it!

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drank Rocky Road by 52teas
720 tasting notes

My boyfriend is really enjoying this one and we finished it up today. It definitely tastes like Rocky Road ice cream- a bit of dark chocolate, some nuttiness, and a sweetness that I would say is marshmallow.

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78
drank Strawberry Matcha by DAVIDsTEA
5272 tasting notes

Yesterday I returned to London to get my stuff which meant I now had matcha in my possession again. Then today, my DAVIDsTEA order showed up with this matcha. I decided a strawberry white chocolate matcha latte sounded good so I decided to give it a try.

For the first time, I followed DAVIDs steeping parameters for matcha. Usually I use a half a tsp per 8 oz but this called for 5-7 matcha perfect spoons (which I assume is close-ish to a 1/2 tsp). While steeping the matcha in 8 oz of water, it smelled very grassy so I panicked and used the same 1.5 oz of white chocolate I used in the chai latte the other day. I then topped that with 8 oz of frothed milk.

There was definitely too much white chocolate again. Between that and the strawberry, this is very sweet. Not cloying but trending that way. It’s creamy and a bit grassy but it’s heavy. Also it tastes a bit like a strawberry milkshake made with strawberry syrup so it’s sweeter than it should be. I think the raspberry matcha might be interesting to try this way because I’m hoping that one will be a little tart or just less sweet than strawberry

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88

I have quite a bit of different Dan Cong tea from Yunnan Sourcing. After trying most of them, and other vendors as well… I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not the vendor but Dan Cong tea just isn’t for me. It’s far too flowery, perfumey-like for me. So please note that in my rating. You may find it to be a 95 if you love Dan Cong oolong. ^^

Setting that aside, hehe, the tea has large leaves that have a roasted aroma. The liquor is a deep clear brown with the aroma of stonefruits, honey. It has a thick mouthfeel, rich flavor, fruity with hints of stonefruits (peach, apricot) and apple notes. It’s quite flowery, has roasted seeds notes with notes of the sweetness of honey. There is a very long lingering taste of orchid at the end, a floral finish.

6g, 212℉, 110ml, 8 steeps: rinse, 10s, 15s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 60s, 90s, 120s

Stay safe out there!

Flavors: Floral, Flowers, Fruit Tree Flowers, Fruity, Honey, Peach, Perfume, Stonefruits

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 30 sec 6 g 4 OZ / 110 ML

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85

Another tea from derk! Thank you

Again “simple” day – simple drinks as peppermint tea.

I let the bag in all time, so really long steeping time.

Another very fresh and refreshing peppermint. I can’t compare it to Czech brands, which are weak and dirty in taste.

Very tasty, long mounth-feel. Highly drinkable. If I have to compare with Celestial Seasonings, it’s bit worse, but still highly recommended!

Preparation
10 OZ / 300 ML
derk 5 years ago

You’re welcome.

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Backlog from March 11th:

Disappointed in this one, since it smelled so good before steeping. Now it’s bitter. I get the chai spice flavors but there is something hovering over it. It’s tangy or something, I don’t know.

It’s getting better as it cools, thank goodness.

Flavors: Bitter, Clove, Fruity, Spices, Tangy

Preparation
7 min, 30 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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21

I got this in my March subscription from Bird and Blend. This is honestly not a tea I would’ve purchased, because chocolate teas are just a bit too hit or miss for me, and there didn’t seem to be anything too extraordinary about this one. I made most of the sample as a cold brew in almond/cashew/pea milk (which is still in the fridge), and the rest hot (with nothing added). Hot, it’s pretty gross. It has that awkward thinness that so many chocolate teas suffer from, and that dreaded synthetic flavor. It’s just not good.

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AJRimmer 5 years ago

Yeah I love Bird & Blend in general, but their chocolate teas never seem to work for me.

Martin Bednář 5 years ago

Yep, received in subscription as well and this one I am not really sure if I want to drink this one. I smelled it and it was quite artificial. But who knows, maybe I will like it?

Shanie O Maniac 5 years ago

I absolutely adore cream eggs. Even if this one tasted exactly like a cream egg, I don’t think I could drink it. I’m too loyal to the original.

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78

Hmm. No tasting notes and rated? What is happening here on Steepster?

Admins!
If there’s something strange
In your website
Who you gonna call?
Admins!

Ehh, I guess not.

And tea? It was like drinking “Winter is coming” again. It was pretty same, with one exception. It was more smoky – because Lapsang Souchong here. Well, even the ingredients are almost same. Bit more spicy.

Took this tea to cut down as well Christmas-related teas. Same rating as Winter is Coming. Prepared grandpa as well.

Flavors: Smoke, Spicy, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 2 tsp 11 OZ / 330 ML
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tea-sipper 5 years ago

Well, at least we know you HAVE seen Ghostbusters. You can’t miss all the great 80s movies. :D

Martin Bednář 5 years ago

Exactly tea-sipper.
“I’m a Mog. Half-man, half-dog. I’m my own best friend.”
or some quotes from Police Academy I could not recall right now (mostly because I found out it is so stupid movie)… haha.

Shanie O Maniac 5 years ago

So you’ve seen Spaceballs. Good. Would hate for you to miss out on that one.

Martin Bednář 5 years ago

Spaceballs are my fav Shanie! It’s that kind of humour I enjoy (and British one).

Shanie O Maniac 5 years ago

The funny thing is that the movie has been on my mind a lot in the last year or two. Somewhere along the way, my lovely Mezzo-Soprano singing voice turned into a Contralto and that scene where the princess is singing in the prison cell? That’s basically what I sound like when I sing these days. And every time I’m in my car trying to sing, and the only thing in range is the baritone male parts, I think of that scene.

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drank Dragon Eye Oolong by Revolution Tea
2252 tasting notes

We jokingly call Revolution varieties Truck Stop Teas because we first found them at the local Flying J/Denny’s and were surprised to see such a sophisticated selection rather than food service grade stuff.

Revolution has made this one deliberately fruity and peachy. I have often compared the flavor of good oolongs to Juicy Fruit chewing gum, but this one is so sweet, I’d call it Fruit Stripe Gum flavor — you know, the 30 seconds of flavor you get until it goes away. Very tasty and pleasant.

This, however, does not make the husband cut. Way too fruity. His oolongs must be toasty and oversteeped enough to bite your tongue. So far, his only consistent request is for inexpensive Bigelow bagged oolong. Eh, I tried.

Elsewhere, a friend of mine has been posting “daily joys” as a reminder that there is still joy to be found when you ponder it. Mine yesterday was a few hours of bona fide sunshine to walk in and watching neighbors try to pose their six-week-old husky pups for a photo session. I’ll be watching for yours.

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ashmanra 5 years ago

Daily joys! Yesterday I made myself tear away from news and take pictures of tiny, tiny weeds blooming in the yard. It felt so good!

My husband is working non-stop since last Friday to prepare quarantine facilities at the military base. So it stays on my mind a lot. I am working on the whole “keep calm and have a cuppa!”

Many of my music students have opted to cancel, so I have more time on my hands, too. but it will all pass!

Martin Bednář 5 years ago

Daily joys? Does it count I was productive and did few pages of my semester thesis?
Drank some few nice teas?
Did not went mad?
Actually the last one was toughest one. As everybody else is working from home, there is not much space to study. Moreover I felt like I am nanny of the house. Do cleaning up, vacuum the carpet in the living room, bring some food, cook – like I am having a holiday, but I am not!

gmathis 5 years ago

Productivity and a clean house—definitely!

derk 5 years ago

I repaired a new coworker’s bicycle Wednesday. Thursday I don’t remember anything. Friday night I read a long and loving email from ashmanra (yours is in the making, gmathis). Between yesterday and today, I slept 16 hours. Today, I wrote a letter that needed to be written for months.

gmathis 5 years ago

Sunday—one laundry basket full of teaching supplies that had been blocking my hall closet for (ahem, a while) now somewhat sorted and dealt with, although I still zigzag at that particular spot even though there is nothing to zigzag around.
Monday morning—-SUNSHINE!!!!!!!!!! I was running out of yellow clothes.

gmathis 5 years ago

Wednesday serendipity: on my route to work (yep, still here)—two young deer standing in a fence row next to a field of Bradford pear trees in full white bloom.

Martin Bednář 5 years ago

That must be wonderful view gmathis. Kind of I envy you :)

gmathis 5 years ago

We’re right on the borderline between prairie and the Ozark foothills. Ten miles north and west you get flat pastures and wheatfields; Ten miles south and east you get gentle, rolling mountains which should be covered with dogwood flowers in a couple of weeks.

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61

This smells incredibly chocolatey, to the point where I had to check if there was something added to it. Flavor-wise, it’s not nearly as chocolatey (which was a bit of a disappointment). There’s an underlying bitterness that’s coming through no matter how I steep it.

On a side note- this coronavirus situation has become quite scary. My store has closed for at least 2 weeks (I’m very lucky to still be getting a paycheck during the closure), and my boyfriend’s show was already on hiatus. So, we’ve been staying home with our cats. I’m picking up a foster cat today as well. I’ve been drinking lots of tea as a distraction.

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AJRimmer 5 years ago

I was supposed to cat sit, but the person ended up staying home, so coronavirus even cancelled my cat time :P

tea-sipper 5 years ago

When you say “show” and you live in LA… Do you mean TV and what does he do? I’m curious now. :D

amandastory516 5 years ago

@AJRimmer- oh no! Perhaps there’s a kitty at a shelter that needs a foster for the time being!

amandastory516 5 years ago

@tea-sipper- He’s a union Assistant Editor! He’s most recently been working on a DC show :)

tea-sipper 5 years ago

Oh cool, the same DC shows I watch maybe? :D

amandastory516 5 years ago

Legends of Tomorrow! :)

tea-sipper 5 years ago

Ah! My favorite one. :D

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84

It’s been a crazy last few days and before I get into the tasting note I just wanted to write a small personal Corona Virus update because I’ve had a few people reach out to me asking if I’m still working and things like that.

As things with the Corona virus are rapidly escalating, what’s been going on with work has rapidly been changing. As of today, all of the retail locations have been temporarily closed and sadly all the retail employees have been laid off – along with probably about ninety percent of the office staff. I have conflicting feelings about this – obviously it’s good for stores to not be open to minimize the spread of the virus as much as humanely possible but my heart aches for everyone who has been laid off. Thankfully, it is a temporary lay off and when everything settles everyone should be hired back on. While being laid off is scary, I do think it’s the best call for the most part? I spoke to my brother who works FT at an Olive Garden – so, retail industry. He’s in a spot where their store is still operating, but have DRASTICALLY reduced the amount of shifts/people being scheduled. They’re not penalizing any staff that choose not to work/are taking sick time for self quarantine but at the same time in not actively laying off their employees many of them are having their income massively decline – my brother included. I was initially very frustrated that all the retail staff at DT locations weren’t kept on, but my brother telling me how being laid off would be BENEFICIAL to him changed my opinion. He would be able to collect unemployment insurance, which calculates how much you’re paid based on the average hours you’re working – if retail employee’s hours taper off to a minimum then they actually will make less in most cases than what they would on EI…

As for me, I was part of the small selection of staff that wasn’t laid off – for which I am both very grateful, and left feeling highly guilty about. The majority of staff who were not laid off will be working from home until further notice, but because it’s not possible for me to do my job from home I am continuing to come into the office for the time being. I’m obviously taking a lot of precautionary measures, and aside from the commute there and back I’m self isolating. There are actually less than ten employees now who have access to our office, many of them being lab staff, so it’s pretty safe at the office all things considered – it’s empty enough we can all be in completely different rooms and never interact if we don’t need to/want to. We’re working reduced hours to minimize the time we need to spend away from home; and to avoid high traffic periods on the metro.

So, that’s what’s going on with me.

I hope all my friends here on Steepster are doing well and taking precautions/working from home where possible and self isolating. I’m thinking about you all. And enough of the sappy stuff, time to talk about the tea…

I made this cup with some peppermint agave, which may initially sound like a weird pairing but this white tea blend has mint in it already so it really just exaggerated the cooling/refreshing notes that were already present. It also had the added bonus of adding some brightness, juiciness and general life to the watermelon notes. It was delicious overall, and an improvement upon how this normally tastes without additions.

mrmopar 5 years ago

Thanks Ros, you all take care too.

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86

It is part of the five pounds of pu-erh that I ordered to get me through the virus-forced extended working-from-home period.

The reviews by HaChaChaCha and Rich are on point:

- a clean, powerful taste without any funk or bitterness
- thick and viscous, with a strong cha qi
- main flavors are wood and chocolate, with some undertones of barnyard and berries
- not responsive to differences in the brewing time
- not a lot of complexity.

Now, it is well-packed, but not excessively: it could be broken with a knife fairly easy and without dust. This is a no-fuss shou with punch and character that could be enjoyed on a budget. Good stuff.

Flavors: Bark, Barnyard, Berries, Chocolate, Wood

mrmopar 5 years ago

Love how they press the factory symbol in these things as well.

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78

I don’t know how to feel about this tea. It’s tasty, but like something is missing there.

Prepared three teaspoons to DIY tea bag. It’s very sweet in aroma and coconut makes its part too. Blend itself looks very pretty, instagram-like, ready for bite. Brewed in boiling water for quite long (they suggest 4+ min) , I did maybe 8? But as it is rooibos, moreover with lots of other ingredients, I thought it won’t hurt to make it strong.

The aroma of brew is very similar. Coconut! But creamy and cake-like. I have enjoyed the aroma of brew very much. The taste is bit different though. It’s certainly creamy, some notes of coconut there as well. But I am missing some depth of it. It’s creamy coconut, but I have not noticed roses at all, I wonder how fenugreek is in matter of taste, quite distinctive rooibos base (but not woody flavour of it).

Maybe I am just kind of disappointed.

Flavors: Cake, Coconut, Creamy

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more 3 tsp 10 OZ / 300 ML

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I noticed this tea is approaching its expiration date so I decided to concentrate on drinking it down. I have a LOT of it because it was soooo good and then I got distracted by other teas and let it languish. Time to fix that.

I had a very weird lunch of leftover barbeque (NC vinegar style from CookOut) and waffles with maple syrup. I told you it was weird. I had the bbq first and then made the tea and waffles.

My first sip reminded me why I bought so much all at once. Even though this is nearing its expiry date, it is still good. Tea needs to “cut through” the thick sweetness of the syrup for me, and this one did. Keemun does it by its raspy cocoa dryness, but this one was silky and sweet, with enough flavor contrast to make itself known through the maple.

I think it paired awesomely.

Has anyone seen this article? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1142193/

It was about SARS which is a coronavirus, but basically what it says is that black and puerh tea did have an inhibitory effect on the virus by disrupting an enzyme, 3CL protease. Green and oolong not so much, as the tannins and theaflavin were the helpful bits! Well, any excuse to drink more tea, plus I am hoping the heat of the beverage makes my throat a less hospitable environment for viruses in general!

There are no confirmed cases in our county yet, though there are some in our state. Not worried too much about getting sick as we are taking reasonable precautions, but wondering how supplies of food and other necessaries will hold out with people hoarding.

Praying for all our steepsterites to stay healthy and well fed!

Sorry! Forgot to paste link first time around! It has been added.

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derk 5 years ago

Thanks for the link

ashmanra 5 years ago

You’re welcome! I don’t know enough chemistry to truly interpret, but the tl:dr seems to be that components in black and puerh tea are good at bashing coronaviruses. They also acknowledge that the catechins in green tea are also great antioxidants, but not as effective against viruses as the theaflavin and tannins.

Bluegreen 5 years ago

Those are in vitro studies. Most of them do not translate well into clinical findings. However, the antiviral effects of tea have been documented in both clinical trials and epidemiological studies.

Given that and the fact that I am about to receive a package with four pounds of pu-erh I am going to take your study as gospel and act accordingly.

Martin Bednář 5 years ago

Interesting study! Honestly I don’t really think it can help too much, but a little can be better than none.

Ilse Wouters 5 years ago

At least it won´t do any harm, especially when having a common cold (also from corona family)…and it´s a good excuse to drink more tea! As a matter of fact, I´m in quarantine (in Madrid since 4 days), and it´s a unique opportunity to drink more tea and empty the shelves a bit.

tea-sipper 5 years ago

Oh good, another excuse for me to drink my puerh and black teas. :D

Martin Bednář 5 years ago

Exactly tea-sipper!

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90
drank Uva by Basilur
770 tasting notes

Got a tea bag in my huge bags section and… as many of you know, I kind of adore Basilur brand for price-quality ratio.

This tea is exactly what I expected from it. Full bodied taste, very malty but it have got character – it is not one-dimmensional as some are. I notice notes of tobacco, cherry wood, bit of smoky as well. Steeping for three minutes was enough to have all of this!

I am not sure if I should look for loose-leaf version. It’s worth to have even teabags!
As for tea bag – I have to rate it that high. I feel I am lover of Ceylon teas – they “speak” the most for me.

Flavors: Cherry Wood, Malt, Smoke, Tobacco

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 300 ML
gmathis 5 years ago

I will have to go back to our Tuesday Morning store to see if any new Basilur varities have landed there!

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drank Babusca by Carstensens Te-handel
1351 tasting notes

Hey, I never wrote about this when I got my latest lot of flavoured teas and made a return to the site. I must have forgotten. I’ve had it several times since then, I believe, and whenever I see the tin in the cupboard Kate Bush starts singing in my head.

This is a citrus-y one. Although it does contain bergamot oil, I would say there’s not really enough of it for this to qualify as a member of the EG family. It also has lemon, lime and orange blossom, and maaaaaybe a bit of orange flavouring as well? I’m not sure.

The result is sweet and citrus-y, with a creamy sort of texture to it. I feel like lime is the most dominant flavour here. I suspect the bergamot oil is actually working to temper the tartness of the lemon and lime. This is also why I think there might be some orange flavouring added to it apart from just the blossoms. It feels too sweet for there not to be anything to balance it out.

I’m quite happy with this one. It’s delicious as a post-lunch tea.

I also rather enjoy Kate Bush on occassion, but I could live without the earworm. :)

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ashmanra 5 years ago

Ah, Kate! Breathing is a favorite of mine. So many good ones, though.

Angrboda 5 years ago

See now you made me go and listen to that song. :)

ashmanra 5 years ago

Did you know it already? That and Wuthering Heights and…and…

tea-sipper 5 years ago

I JUST listened to a Kate Bush song minutes ago. I love them all. All of them.

Angrboda 5 years ago

Oh yes, I know that song. I have a weird weakness for The Dreaming as well. That whole album, to be honest, but particularly the title track.

ashmanra 5 years ago

Its so nice to run into Kate fans! They are rare where I live.

Angrboda 5 years ago

I don’t think I’m familiar with a sufficient quantity of her work to really call myself a fan. It’s a bit like Tori Amos. Something that I get reminded exists every now and then and then pull it out to listen to for a bit.

tea-sipper 5 years ago

I’m 1,000% also a Tori fan.

Angrboda 5 years ago

I suspect there’s generally a lot of overlap with those two. :)

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First tea from today, and honestly probably the best one!?

Out of all the cake teas from my giant seventeen tea line up, this is probably tied with AQ2T’s Red Wine Apple Cake for my favourite and I think it was almost definitely the favourite of my coworkers from the tasting I organized. Of course, we all have at least a little bit of bias though…

I just enjoy how smooth this is, and the flavour was very caramelized citrus. Not too sweet though, which is important for something that tastes caramelized.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Kittenna 5 years ago

This sounds good. I hate online exclusives!

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74
drank Ceylon Ivory by teakruthi
3141 tasting notes

I’m hoping everyone stays safe and healthy! Scary times.
Thanks for the samples, Teakruthi!  These leaves must be the largest that I’ve seen even in a white tea!  Impossible to measure with a teaspoon so I just threw a ton of leaves in the infuser.  Probably a small handful in my smallish hand.    I’ve tried this a couple times using different parameters.  The scent of the dry leaves is like the sweetest pile of hay in sunshine. The flavor is very light, so light it is tough to describe: light, full of minerals, smooth.  It’s like a blank slate of a tea, more than most teas I’ve tried, which can be a good thing or not depending what you’re in the mood to drink.  If you are simply craving a lovely white tea, this is a good one to try.  I had to steep it the way Teakruthi recommended, and really this is impossible to oversteep.  I will dock some points due to the comparisons between price & simpleness of flavor, however.
Steep #1   // 39 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  // 16 minutes after boiling //  1 1/2 min
Second steep session:
Steep #1   // 28 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  // 16 minutes after boiling //  5 minute steep
2020 sipdowns: 19 (David’s Glitter & Gold)

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88

Sipdown. Sad now as I’ve got 3? Teas left. I really need to find time to go place an order or two or pick up and drop off teas with variaTEA. That being said, even if I order it’ll take a while for things to get here. I’m sad to see this one go as it was quite nice, especially when steeped at a lower temperature. I’ll likely pick it up again the next time I order from YS.

Outside of tea…anyone else just stressed about the craziness that Covid-19 is causing? I’m much less worried about running out of toilet paper than I am about food. Grocery stores here have line ups to get in, low to no stock on shelves. I worry for the more senior folks in our area who won’t have access to basic things they might need to self quarantine. I hope this brings out the best in people as it continues. I know our mom group is already trying to make sure everyone has what they need to get through at least the next week or two.

Stay safe and helpful people.

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Martin Bednář 5 years ago

See my Flapjacks from W2T tasting note. Indeed it is causing craziness. My father is in risk group, so I am in kind of quarantine as well. No university lectures. All is on self-study.

Luckily so far it seems everything is still available, but facemasks, disinfectants and respirators. Those will be delivered only by Ministry of Health.

Shanie O Maniac 5 years ago

I’m also most concerned about having enough food. Nobody local that I know seems to care one bit about what’s going on and they all refuse to try and plan ahead. My parents at least have a deep freezer, but my other friend rarely ever stocks any supply of food at all. He’s at the grocery store every dang day. When the virus inevitably hits here, I fear for all of us as we’re all in risk groups. I’m diabetic, my parent’s are seniors, and my friend is chronically ill. I want to plan ahead but I can’t convince my mother (who controls my finances) to give me any extra money to go buy supplies. I fear that we’re all boned and it will be their fault.

Sil 5 years ago

i hope you have support from friends that can help if you need it shanie.

@martin – i’m all for quaratines/social distancing but people need to stop hoarding and start helping one another. :)

Martin Bednář 5 years ago

Tell me about that. Again, shop here: Let’s take all the pasta, cans, rice, chinese noodles, what if…
They are hoarding. Government sucks. I have no other words for that. I am starting to be afraid. Not because of family members, but even for myself.

tea-sipper 5 years ago

Things will hopefully calm down as long as people aren’t hoarding four years worth of toilet paper, etc. sigh.

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