305 Tasting Notes
Thanks to MRAWLINS2 for letting me sample this tea with her today. I was completely amazed at the appearance of the leaves. Long, rolled leaves with a matte black color. The smell of the dry leaves had a scent..is that cocoa that I smell? We brewed this in my Ingenitea and watched as the leaves unfurled and danced around…way cool! A nice amber brew in my cup. Now for the first sip, black tea with a nuance…an earthy tone. Where have I tasted this before? MRAWLINS2 is right, it reminds me of a dark oolong. This is one tea that could go for several infusions. I agree with Ricky, this is a must try for all black tea lovers. Lots of layers to this tea. The smell of the wet leaves reminds me of a robust Ceylon, could that be? This is one tea that deserves another tasting note in the near future. I will be watching for MRAWLINS2 review with anticipation:)
First, let me start off saying that I am not too fond of green teas. MRAWLINS2 keeps telling me that Japanese greens are better. Today we tried this tea. The smell in the bag is like burnt popcorn. The taste in my cup is Butter popcorn. Very filling tea that would make a great afternoon snack. I am currently at 3 infusions and will probably push this to four before the afternoon is over. I am really surprised at how much I like this Japanese green tea:) Thank you for sharing your tasting of this tea with me today:)
This was actually the very first tea I ever purchased. I had recently added this to my shopping list and today in the mail was this sample! The tea bag smells wonderful. The brew is light and refreshing. I am not a big green tea fan, but this is doable for me. I always tend to gravitate to ginger and peach flavor profiles. I like it:)
Preparation
Sinharaja. I have missed you in my cupboard. Opened the brand new tin, inhaled…smells like tea, really good tea and I proceeded to brew a pot of tea. Boiling water and 4 minutes later, I am in heaven with this one.
Simple. One taste. Pure enjoyment. I did add two soup spoons of milk to my 12 ounce cup. It looks like velvet. I have never noticed this tea being bitter or astringent. I drink it morning, noon and night. Multiple brews are possible, although I have never had much luck going past two infusions.
I am glad the mail came today:)
I was craving a dessert tea tonight. After rummaging around in my tea cupboard, I chose this bagged Chai. The smell in the dry tea bag is spicey and sweet. After a 3 minute brew, the color in my cuppa is a nice amber.
Added a wee splash of milk and viola, a dessert in my cuppa. My mouth is filled with the spiciness of the brew. The black tea base is nice, not bitter. Adding the milk made the tea creamy and NOW, I can really taste the vanilla popping in my mouth. This is simply delicious and exactly what I was craving tonight.
The best part of this tea is the price point: $2.50ish a box for 20 tea bags. Bigelowe remains my favorite grocery store brand bagged tea. My cupboard has never know a day without this tea and while I took a “vacation” from this tea, I am reminded today that this simple, inexpensive tea is still in my top 10 list.
Since I ran out of Sinharaja, this tea has been my go to tea for the mornings. This is a mild, tea with no bite. It does not take milk well…so I was thrilled when my hubby gave me a $25 gift certificate to purchase tea!!! This is the BEST gift…I ordered Sinharaja and the two teas from Harney that were on my shopping list:) Florence and Vanilla Comoro
Let me know when those come in and I’ll bring my half of the cash…as long as you’re still willing to part with some of the loot…
I’m almost out of Sinharaja as well! Nooooo! It’s okay, I have English Breakfast from GM as a backup. And I just oredered from Harney! Florence + Vanilla…. I added the wrong item into my cart… it was suppose to be a tin of Vanilla Comoro! Not Vanilla! Argh…
Don’t you just love Sinharaja?! I thought I could do without it, but soon discovered that I missed it in the mornings.I can hardly wait to get my Harney order. I have read so many great reviews on both teas. Let me know about that vanilla, I have yet to find a good vanilla tea.
I do I do! Do you want me to send you some vanilla tea? I have a four ounce tin. I don’t think I can finish it all.
Trying this tea again tonight. Better than last time. I used 3 scoops for my teapot and brewed for 2 minutes. You can really taste the bite of the ginger. I am not too fond of the grassy smell coming from my cup. I am wondering if this has too much other stuff in it…I have discovered that I like straight black teas better, mayber I woul like green tea better plain.
My daughter came by today and started brewing this tea up. At 3 infusions, the orange begins to shine through. At four infusions, the taste changes to a Japanese green tea. This tea has multiple personalities! She did all this in my Chatsford, which I have NEVER done, because I thought the leaves needed more room..but once again her fearlessness shines through with tea:) She began brewing at 3 minutes and increased each subsequent brew by one minute.
I think you were right about this tea…it seemed to taste better in the Chatsford. But it could also be due to brewing for only 4 minutes instead of 5. I don’t know.
I have discovered that some teas do better in the warm belly of a Chatsford teapot. It helps them to open more and thus you get a better cuppa:)