109 Tasting Notes

75

I get mainly orange blossom honey from this tea. Not too much in the way of sweet potato, malt, chocolate or spice.

Verryy citrusy actually! Almost as if it were blended with an essential oil, even though it’s really just pure tea. I can see why it is the base for their Wild Grey blend, where bergamot oil is actually combined with the Dian Hong.

It’s not my favourite but if you love a citrus note without actual added citrus, you’ll love this tea.

Daylon R Thomas

I’ve only had the Wild Grey version, and it is good. “Chocolate” is a weird tasting note anyway. THere’s only a few straight teas that have actually had it.

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83

Drank this to wake up. Not thinking too much about it.

It’s doing the job and tasting like hot chocolate minus milk. Me likey. Yay.

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85

Sipdown.

I came to appreciate this more and more when it’s night-time and I want a creamy, indulgent drink without sugar. I steep this five minutes in boiling water and add milk. It is reminiscent of coffee but not quite, and is made of barley so caffeine-free.

If I’m ever low on no-caffeine teas and near a Lupicia store, I will definitely repurchase this.

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91

November 2015 Harvest

5g in 100ml porcelain teapot, gongfu style.

Dry leaf smells rather light. Can’t detect much aroma at all. That is, until I throw them into a prewarmed teapot and WOW is this tea leaf or warm cherries dipped in chocolate? This is before I even add water, by the way.

Verdant says this has notes of chocolate, cherry, sandalwood and vanilla. These flavours absolutely spot on.

A huge reason I bought this is because cherry is listed as one of the main notes. I haven’t had access to something like that since Cocoa Amore by Whispering Pines (will that ever come back?)

Laoshan Roasted Oolong is my Cocoa Amore replacement. And at a much better price point too.

Recommend recommend!! I may even buy a yixing pot just for this.

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94

My favourite chai in the world, tied with Melbourne-based Prana Chai.

T2’s organic version tastes much better than the standard one. However, all my experience with this blend has been with packages produced before the Unilever takeover. (I feel like some of their products have gone down in quality since the takeover, probably for the Unilever profit margin.)

The flipside of that, is T2 expanding past Australia to become a global operation which means the rest of the world has one more giant offering. (If anything, T2 does have quite the range.)

Small saucepan, brewed stovetop for seven minutes on medium-high heat. 3 – 5 teaspoons of chai (depending on how cold the weather is..) with one cup cold water and one cup So Good Vanilla Soy Milk and 1/4tsp of New South Wales White Box Honey.

Literal perfection.

Only reason this doesn’t have a score of 100 is because I haven’t tasted it straight without any additions yet. But that’s because it is just simply too good the way I’ve always made it.

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74

5 for $5 deal.

Despite the controversy surrounding Verdant, I’ve decided to base my purchasing decisions upon how much I enjoy their teas. After all, that is what tea is for. However, I do take all claims about origin and age with a grain of salt.

Unfamiliar with their steeping parameters for Western – always thought it would be a minimum of 2 minutes but Verdant recommends 20 seconds + 10 per extra infusion at 5g per 235ml. My Western teapot strainer is positioned in a way that I have to fill the water to the top, so at 350ml I am aware that there is too much water for too little leaf in this particular brew.

Buttery, grassy, floral, seaweed. Texture is slippery but a bit drying in the mouth.

Website does not specify which style or harvest this sampler is from. I only assumed it is the Traditional Tieguanyin. But as the site states graham cracker, caramelized banana, violet and cinnamon in their tasting notes (of which I can’t detect any of) – I may be wrong.

Why do they not specify this??

Enjoyed although it wasn’t all that exceptional to me. But I’m more of a roasted oolong kind of gal anyway.

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87

Sad sipdown.

This has always tasted like marshmallows to me. Not the artificial, powdery Pascall kind, but the all-natural handmade ones which are super expensive from a boutique patisserie.

Slightly crushed leaves at the bottom of this old, old packet. Made for a bit of an oversteeped taste but I just added a splash of water and got it tasting like it should (minus the effect of age).

Will I ever see its likeness again?

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82
drank Koto No Tsuki by Ito En
109 tasting notes

Like many of my teas… this one is also past its best before date.. by like, more than an entire year.

This is what happens when you buy at a much faster rate than you can drink, and you live in Australia where there aren’t enough people to gift or swap tea with.

Anyway, this was a Japan souvenir from my boyfriend. First time I made it, I followed a website’s directions to use water ‘just below boiling.’ I assumed this to mean 90-95C and it turned out very bitter with no froth.

Gave this another shot at 80C recommended elsewhere, and it was perfect! Beautiful foam, no bitterness at all. Light and smooth, with vegetal and herbaceous flavours. Slight umami quality, most likely more intense if this wasn’t past its best before date by a year.

Reminds me of my own time in Japan, attending a tea ceremony tutorial in Kyoto. The quality of this matcha is not too far off from the ceremonial grade quality used by my hostess and teacher. Not quite, but not too far off.

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73

I am wary of teas that claim to do spectacular things for your health. This tea was gifted to me and the packaging seemed to convey that it would help remedy cold & flu. Can’t attest to its medicinal properties but it definitely is a soothing blend and enjoyable to drink. Says it can be resteeped 2-3 times which I found to be absolutely false unless you like some extremely weak flavour in your coloured water.

This tasted good enough, but would not purchase for myself as it didn’t really blow me away. Then again, I don’t think I’ve ever really been blown away by a herbal tea.

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84

This sample must be nearly 3 years old..

In the dry leaf I smell tobacco, leather, smoke, red wine, cocoa and sweet potato. Underleafed by accident so the brew is a bit light but all the scents translate into the liquid quite harmoniously. The texture is smooth, the finish is very clean.

Enjoying this very much.

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Profile

Bio

Australian tea drinker from Sydney.

I enjoy all kinds of tea except rooibos. Black and roasted oolongs are my true lovers while green tea makes me a little dizzy. Pu-erh I have yet to explore, despite being gifted several cakes. On the look-out for a great herbal tea and also getting the matcha madness.

Have yet to add everything to my Steepster cupboard, but would be interested in an Australian tea swap in the future!

The variety here is not as extensive as other places due to import regulations and the cost of shipping but I own and like stuff from Harney & Sons, Lupicia, T2, Teavivre, Butiki, Mariage Freres, Verdant, Yunnan Sourcing and Whispering Pines Tea Company.

Location

Sydney, Australia

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