348 Tasting Notes
I tried this twice this morning. First decided to brew at 90 degrees instead of boiling, because golden/tippy teas seem to like gentler handling. It was decent, malty and fairly smooth with just a hint of bitterness that wasn’t unpleasant. It was kind of weak, though, and the second steeping was even weaker. So I tried it again, same amount of leaf, same temperature water, but steeped for 5min instead of 3. Better! Rich and malty, starting to feel more like a decent breakfast tea. Bumping my rating a bit.
Preparation
Thanks to OMGsrsly for the sample! Mmmm, this is delicious. I started drinking it without reading the description and I was thinking that it tasted like some sort of caramel dessert. Now that I’ve seen nougat in the description, I’m going back to it and realising that really is what it tastes like. I added milk and sugar to the 2nd half of my cup, which really brings out the desserty-ness of this tea, but it was pretty delicious plain as well.
Flavors: Caramel
Preparation
Thanks to OMGsrsly for this sample. :) I actually did try it back when I first received it, but I was coming down with a cold and worried that everything was going to taste weird. I do remember thinking that I could taste cocoa and grain notes, as well as something else that I’m guessing is the “dirt” flavour OMGsrsly gets from this. I liked it! Mmmm, yummy dirt. ;)
So today I decided to brew it along side the Jin Pin Zhenghe Gongfu tea by Tao Tea Leaf. Western style, 2.5g in 10oz of near-boiling water for 3min. The leaves of these two teas are actually really different: the TTL one is mostly long, black, twisted leaves with just occasional golden tips; this one is small, curly leaves with lots of golden tips. :)
Today I’m getting mostly grain and malt, with a bit of sweetness and a bit of sourness or acidity. Not much cocoa or dirt today, lol. I think I might have underleafed it a bit though – usually I go for 3g in 10oz, not sure why I went with 2.5g today. By comparison, the TTL one has a richer flavour, more malt and more cocoa and less acidity. I don’t think I’ve figured out the optimal brewing parameters for this yet, but happily I still have more of this sample to experiment with! :)
Mmmm, this is really good, I think it’s one of my favourite flavoured rooibos blends. Nutty, creamy, cinnamon-y, with just a bit of apple. I made it a bit stronger this time, and it’s even better this way – extra sweet and creamy. Kind of reminds me of an oatmeal cookie, which is a bit random, but in conclusion: YUM.
Preparation
Mixed this with cinnamon rooibos chai again today. It’s ok, I still like the combination of smoky and spicy, but there’s something not quite right about it. Not sure if it’s that the lapsang base doesn’t have enough flavour underneath all that smoke, or if the flavouring in the chai is bugging me. Or maybe my tastebuds are just messed up from this cold. :)
I made this on the stovetop, which I think makes it extra spicy. Started with 1c. water, 2 tea spoons of the tea, brought to a boil then turned down to simmer x 5min. Then I added 1c. milk and 1 tbsp honey, stirred constantly until it came back to a boil, then took it off the heat and let it sit for another 5min. Strained into a mug and added a bit more honey. Yummmm.
I decided to make this one tonight in the hopes that the licorice root might soothe my throat. I think it’s helping a bit! Either that or all the honey I added is helping a bit. :) Anyway, I finally went and got my strep throat diagnosed and got some antibiotics today, so hopefully you guys won’t have to put up with my complaining for much longer.
I mixed 1 tsp of this with 1 tsp of guayusa this morning in an attempt to wake myself up and make myself feel better. I added a generous dollop of honey (all I want when I’m sick is tea with honey) and it tasted pretty good and perked me up a little. Still not convinced there’s anything particularly healing about it, but who knows. :)
