Featured & New Tasting Notes

Another from StarFevre!  THANKS SO MUCH!  I’m now not surprised at all by the 85 Steepster rating here (edited to add: and my rating just kicked it up to 86). I did take some of this out of the big teabag and steep this hot, wrapping up the rest of the teabag for later.  I always wanted to try this and it is still sososo sherbety!  And I’m very glad.  I love it — very distinctly exactly like sherbet.  Equal parts – lime, orange, and raspberry. Yum yum yum.  It is fantastic on this hot day with this rich CTC black tea.  How could it have been even better when it was fresh? Wow.  A second steep tomorrow…  I will be very sad when this is gone. 
Steep #1 // 4 minutes after boiling // 40 second steep
Steep #2 // 2 min after boiling // 2 minute steep

Sipped down the last of my sample from MissB this morning while I was doing some of my online courses. It’s a nice mint chocolate black, and I appreciate that it’s sweet already though that might put some people off. It’s good for drinking black when I want something a little sweeter, but I do have to remember that if I’m not in the mood for added sweetness. I have more from my advent calendar that I purchased through Marzipan, and I might use that sample to make a latte. One thing I’m not keen on with this tea is that the chocolate flavour seems quite artificial – overall I think I prefer Santa’s Secret, which has a similar vibe but without the artificial chocolate note. Both are nice, creamy mint black teas with some sweetness and no astringency meaning they’re great for drinking sans-additives. This note is probably super unhelpful and disjointed, but I’ve been really busy all day and I’m super tired so I’ll just have to do a better job next time. I was trying to cram in enough work that I could have the day off tomorrow, but I think I’ll probably still have to do some. Oh well, it’s not like I have big plans for a quarantine birthday anyway…

This was included as a random free sample from Bee’s Soulteez. Thank you!

This is a pretty standard chocolatey mint tea, and has a smooth and satisfying After Eight profile, but more natural/less candy-like than some of its peers. It definitely hits the spot after overeating (Final essay stress + butter chicken = max, possibly unhealthy, level of indulgence. Whoops). The creamy-fresh peppermint aroma alone seems to help right away and provides a soothing back-drop to (hypothetical) writing and plotting. Off I go, I guess, while most of the “jitterys” are subdued. lol

I tried this first straight up, but it’s even better with milk. Amplified the creaminess.

Had this mixed into a banana mango smoothie this morning. Glad it’s back in my “cupboard”.

Taken with milk.

This one is pretty nice, with a satisfying combo of pineapple, coconut, and malt notes. The coconut is a little baffling, because it’s not a listed ingredient, but I swear you can taste it; the nutty element may be attributed to the sunflower, as well as my brain’s tendency to pair pineapple with coconut! The tea also delivers on the booze, with an aggressive astringent nip.

All in all, I enjoy this one, even if I wish the base was something more special! I enjoyed the far sweeter Buttered Rum from David’s Tea+, and the more perilous but fancier One Night in Rio! from Camellia Sinensis (always scared coconut will expire and become soap), so not too surprised I like this one as well. I’m going to play around, and potentially make it into a Rum Hot Toddy or a Sweet Tea Rum Punch (Note to self: https://food52.com/recipes/77603-sweet-tea-rum-punch).

+Buttered Rum: A spider (Edit: probably wasn’t a spider as ashmanra points out) somehow made it’s home in my last tin. Needless to say I didn’t get to savour my remaining 40 grams, because.Webs.Everywhere. I’m still heartbroken but at least we have other rum teas!

TMI or TW: If bugs make you uncomfortable you probably won’t want to read the comments on this note!

Leave it to tea-sipper to both perplex me and brighten my day :)

First cup gone. Steep second for 5 minutes or so. After I pull the basket strainer from the cup, little oil blobs rise to the surface of the tea, burst and spread into iridescent splotches. When I take a sip, they disappear obviously into my mouth. Set the cup down, the blobs rise again. bloop.

By the way, this is stuff is really quite nice. Prettiest blend I’ve ever seen. Soft and flowery taste. It’s almost like a glazed lemon loaf. Probably the only Butiki tea I will ever get to try.

Another chance (and pretty much random choice of flavoured blacks).

It is decent for sure, base tea is nice and aromas are pretty much cherry and pineapple, but flavour is lacking. It was slighly fruit and that’s all. The base dominates so much! Hints of florals now and then.

Life part: Still haven’t got any information about summer-job which is pretty much upsetting. Maybe I will do inventory checks even during summer? Argh! Maybe I will ask for first week in July for checking the premises for my Bachelor thesis. First week I have my nieces around so I need something “to do” — unless I want (I don’t at all) to spend time with them. Panic attack triggers.
Tomorrow I have exam from Algorithms and programming. It is maybe a month since I tried to write some program, so I am not really sure how much succesful I will be, moreover it really depends on the teacher as well and his mood. Time flies faster than I want (not only: to admit). It is two weeks-month since Covid started, right? :)

This is my 600th tasting note! The last 100 passed really quickly, it doesn’t seem very long at all since I hit 500. I’ve been meaning to try this iced for a while now, because I really thought it would make a great iced tea. I finally got around to it, and I’m… underwhelmed. It’s more bitter than I expected, and the sharp hay-like note of the shou mei is the most dominant by far. There’s an ever so slight hint of the sweet, crisp apple I expected to dominate right at the front of the sip, but it’s quickly overwhelmed by the base. I drank the first cold steep last night, and when the liquor came out deep and bitter I threw the leaves back in to steep a second time, hoping it would mellow out. It did, and the apple note is definitely slightly more noticeable, especially in the scent which is now all fresh green apple, but the hay still dominates. Never mind, I’ll just finish this as a hot brew.

Additional notes: SAD sipdown. This is delish. Creamy lime on brisk black tea. Tea Haus doesn’t have it anymore. I asked TeaGschwender who also sells it if they were getting it in stock and then they added all their summer teas to the site… so ask and you shall receive. HOWEVER the price is $12+ for 100 grams which is way more than their international site… so I don’t know if I’m in love with this tea THAT much. But it really held up in the thin sample baggie they put it in and I’m sure it was old. Maybe another tea shop is sourcing it under a different name? Anyone know who else has TeaGschwendner/ Ann Arbor Tea Haus teas?
2020 Sipdowns: 46

It has been so blessed hot lately. Normally we have around 10 days a year in the 90s. In the first 16 days of June we’ve had 6 days in the 90s. Ugh! Even th air conditioner does completely cool the apartment on those days. But i suppose 82 is better than 92!

Made a jug of iced tea using this leaf. Wow, excellent flavor, no bitterness or astringency, and almost sweet on its own. Some straight black tea are just icky iced because they are so bitter/strong. Those benefit from a splash of flavoring or lemonade or even sugar, altho i avoid added sugar. This one is lovely. Didn’t even need additives to be drinkable.

For a company that basically just does wellness/detox/beauty blends, cotton candy seems like a really bizarre flavour choice to me – but I suppose the idea is that wellness teas can be fun, sweet and indulgent and still “give you benefits”. What benefits this tea is supposed to be giving you, I don’t know…

In terms of taste alone though, I thought it was pretty good. It’s definitely very strongly cotton candy flavoured but it’s guilty of the same super weird flavour combination that I find DT’s Unicorn Dream has – rich cotton candy coupled with a lot of citrusy lemongrass. It doesn’t totally work for me as a pairing, and it kind of pushes the flavour into more of that Froot Loops territory.

However, it was fine overall.

Omg. Cold brewed this tea is totally transformed. It smells like vanilla coke, and it has a hint of cola about the taste too. The lavender is the strongest at first, making a massive change from the hot brew where it doesn’t come through really at all, and as I sip the spearmint becomes slowly stronger. The vanilla is present, but still not particularly strong, and the guayusa is earthy and herbal-tasting in a pleasant way without overpowering the other flavours. It’s hard to describe accurately, but this is nothing like I expected it to be. Cold brewing is the way forward with this one! Upping my rating from 67 because, wow. what a change.

Another from StarFevre!  Thanks again!  Sadly no tasting notes on Steepster for this one.  It’s pleasant enough for being so old.  The black tea is on the tiny side – probably Ceylon, but it has the flavor and dryness of something like Darjeeling mixed with Ceylon, and Darjeeling sounds dreamy enough paired with raspberry.  There is still some remaining flavor here, raspberry but on the side of tasting slightly like hibiscus.  The second steep is a bit too brisk, but the flavor isn’t faded from the first steep which is what I expected.  I bet it was really great when it was fresh.  As it is now, I really just want to drink it right down.  If I had to compare it to a tea, I’d say Bird & Blend’s Mrs. Claus’ Raspberry Prosecco.  I don’t think this tea shop is around anymore.  I don’t think I’d ever heard of  this shop before StarFevre generously sent over a couple of their blends. I don’t think much of Steepster heard of them either.  A shame.    I hope everyone is staying safe!  Just because it’s summer, doesn’t mean Covid went away (which I’m sure none of you lovely Steepster people need to hear it from me…but I must throw it out there anyway. Trump is going to make so many people sick for the simple fact he has never worn a freakin face mask… why why why ((vanity)) )
Steep #1  // 1 1/2 teaspoons for full mug // 20 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  // 3 minutes after boiling //  3 minute steep

I steep this one for a really long time to make sure I get a strong flavor from it – like 20+ minutes. The resulting flavor is pretty tasty! You get both the banana and maybe some light nuttiness. It creates a thick sludge in the bottom of the cup, so watch out for that on your last mouthful. The second steep is pretty good too. It definitely tastes more like banana chips than fresh banana, but I’m just glad it tastes like some form of real banana. I don’t think I’d go out of my way to purchase this one since its weight means you don’t get much for your money. But I would always say yes if it were offered in some sort of magical free method.

Steeped up a little cup using a cupping set earlier today – it was pretty nice and drinking it in the more concentrated cupping method brought out some unique and interesting flavour notes as well. A mix of yeasty bread/grass/nutty kind of elements as well as a fermented red fruit type of flavour too. Unique, distinct, and pretty nice as an afternoon cuppa.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09bAUwzODfI

Additional notes: The flavor in this is sadly already fading… It’s certainly very spicy yet! It’s already four years old though?!!? Yikes. I’m very proud of myself for hardly buying any teas this year. The collection will never get this out of hand ever again. Fresh fresh fresh is key. But I do enjoy the older blends anyway. Next time this is a sipdown which will be sooner rather than later…
Merry Juneteenth!

Sipdown (911)!

Finally finishing this off – it wasn’t a bad cup but I wonder how much of that was just the excitement of getting the sample out of my cupboard. I don’t think I’ve had a sipdown in a long time…

I think it’s a shame that, when I first tried this tea, I really adored it and then I could never really get it to meet the experience I had with the first infusion. I’m currently sitting at a rating of 85, but I just have to lower it because this was just a sort of sour sweet loosely champagne flavoured blend with a weird strawberry note that just felt dull…

This made an awesome iced latte. No chocolate syrup or whipped cream needed.

This tastes very similar to almond black teas I’ve had in the past. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I might be growing tired of this sort of tea. The almond flavor is nice, if a little weak. There’s also not much tea included in the leaf, so this is a low caffeine version. The resteep tasted similar to the first. I don’t taste any hint of pistachio, only almond. Anyway, this tea is nutty and largely what you’d expect if you’re imagining an almond tea. Eventually, I decided to embrace its almondness, and now I drink it with almond milk. It’s much better this way. Now I won’t drink it without almond milk.

ohhh myyy godddd.

I love this tea. Honey, nuts and cinnamon are all things I love, so it’s no surprise that I like the tea when those flavours dominate the cup. It really is reminiscent of a baklava! There’s a hint of apple and cardamom towards the end of the sip and even though I don’t like cardamom as a general rule, here it adds to the overall profile rather than detracting from it. It’s definitely a busy tea with a lot going on, but I’m okay with that. This is going to be a short tasting note because I find myself wanting to gulp the tea down and savour it without really thinking about separating out the flavours and breaking down the experience in my head. It’s really, really good though. This is probably one of my favourite DAVIDsTEAs, and one I would stock up on if I could. If my boyfriend and I ever make it to Canada (it’s a big trip for us and will be a few years from now in all probability), I might try to find a Davids to stock up on this and Pumpkin Chai.

Sad sipdown 231/400.

Even though I’m not the biggest green tea fan, I think there’s too little of it in this blend. The majority of the blend is made up of rice, so the cup turns out a very light colour with light toasted rice flavour and not much backbone. It’s not a bad genmaicha though, just not really my thing.

Thanks for the samples, Octavia tea!  I’m trying to get to the last couple!  This is an oolong that I would guess without knowing the name is a very long leafed black tea, mainly because I’m not usually drinking this type of oolong, so it would be at the back of my mind.  But Octavia sent it along and I’m happy to try it!  The dry leaf has an aroma of very tangy peach and after a rinse, that is exactly what it tastes like.  Very tangy peach.  The second steep is much less peach and more of a roasty earthy mineral flavor with an aftertaste of peach.  The third steep is almost a combination of the tangy peach first steep and the roasty second steep.  The first steep was my favorite.  I’m glad I used two teaspoons.  If I had to compare this to another tea, it would be Teavivre’s Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Ancient Wild Tree Black which is one of my favorite teas, so that is saying something for this tea, though this oolong might not be on the same level as the other.  But this is very good if you’re craving this kind of tea!
Steep #1  // 2 teaspoons for full mug // 19 minutes after boiling  // rinse // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  // 15 minutes after boiling //  2 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled  // 2 min

This blend of wild purple black tea and lapsang souchong has a character that is deliberate —purposefully rustic yet refined. It reminds me of a gentleman from a world forgotten sitting in leather saddle in command of his horse. The lapsang souchong pulls the reigns on the wild purple black tea’s unrestrained energy and guides it into a respectable trot. There is a full flavor and body in the sip followed by cleansing tannins on the swallow but it seemingly cannot be oversteeped. Intriguing, buoyant mix of flavors with campfire, jerky, leather, wildberries and muscatel, dry grass, cocoa/cocoa butter and lemon-citrus. There’s certainly a lot I’m missing, like once I think I have a grasp on a certain flavor, it gets pulled back into the fold. The smokiness is moderate. It feels like that found in wild teas, rather than a heavily smoked lapsang souchong. The aftertaste lingers and I think that is where my imagination begins to unfold.

I like when a tea can both prod at my mind’s eye and be a functional, energetic brew.

Adagio’s Perfect Carlos mixed with DAVIDsTEA’s English Breakfast. Pretty nice! Mostly a malty EB-type tea with a hint of sweetness and nuttiness about it. I’ve been busy with fixing my broken wardrobe for most of today, so this was really the only tea I had before I got going on that. I also drank a cold steep of 52teas’ Graveyard Mist, but sadly that was contaminated by fridge taste and not particularly enjoyable.

Not at all to do with tea, but I also tried my hand at making an Amaretto Sour for the first time tonight and it came out really well. I was a professional mixologist for a time, but that’s not ever a drink I got to make at my job. It is one I like to get when my partner and I go out for drinks, though, so I was looking forward to trying a homemade version. My mam was a big fan, and drank a lot of it before I could take it back from her, but my dad not so much. I really enjoyed it though and will be making them again. I’m thinking after this quarantine is over and I can finally see my boyfriend again, I might suggest a cocktail-making date night. That would be fun!

59 for the Perfect Carlos + EB blend. 28 for the fridge-y Graveyard Mist.

86 for my Amaretto Sour if anyone wants to know. (: