61 Tasting Notes

80
drank Ayame Kabuse by Kettl
61 tasting notes

(1st steep: 45 sec) All kinds of seaweed and salt water goodness in the aroma of this tea. I love the bright rich green of the tea leaves themselves. Along with the ocean flavors there is a slight mineral undertone along with a slight grass note. The tea finishes with a creamy butter mouthfeel that is a little unexpected. Overall the tea is well balanced.
(2nd steep: 1 min) The aroma has shifted to be more mineral and salty. There is still an underlying flavor of seaweed that blends well with the mineral and saltiness. The grass flavors are also more predominant in this steeping. A pretty nice post lunch and into the afternoon tea. However, I could see myself settling down and drinking this in the evening after dinner.

Flavors: Dry Grass, Marine, Salty, Seaweed

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 0 min, 45 sec 1 tsp 6 OZ / 177 ML

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75

(1st steep: 4 min) This tea is sweeter than I was expecting. You do get a slight warming from the ginger. I imagine this would be a great tea during the winter when your sinuses are acting up. You get more citrus zest in the tea than citrus fruit flavors. My first guess would be orange. A good amount of spice from the ginger with a little bit of pepper. I am hoping the ginger spice is present in the second steeping.
(2nd steep: 4 min) This tea is a good deal less intense in the second brewing. If you are thinking of a second steeping, I would recommend increasing the time by a minute to a total of 5 minutes. There is still some spiciness from the ginger, but it is more mellow. More of the sweetness from the citrus comes through in this steeping. I feel comfortable in saying that it is orange zest flavor. However, it was better in the first steeping.

Cautionary note if you are using a plastic steeping vessel it will get dyed yellow from the turmeric. I recommend using stainless steel for this tea.

Flavors: Citrus, Orange Zest, Spicy

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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85
drank Baozhong Oolong by Steepster
61 tasting notes

(1st steep: 1 min) This tea is pleasant. There is less floral notes than I was expecting, but they are present. There is a slight mineral flavor and some slight butter in the finish and mouthfeel. There is a slight sweet fruit at the end that I can’t quite place. All in all a nice enjoyable post-lunch tea.
(2nd steep: 1 min 30 sec) One thing that I enjoy about oolong teas, besides that they taste amazing, is that they change while not changing over multiple steepings. This tea is the same. I notice a much deeper fruit flavor. I want to say it is plum or cherry. The floral and mineral components are still present and balance out the fruit. There is a refreshing quality to this tea that is hard to describe in any greater detail.
(3rd steep: 2 min) This steeping the flavors have shifted again with the butter being the first one experienced. Floral and mineral are both present with the sweet fruit finishing out the tea. This is a tea I can see myself coming back to again and again.

Flavors: Butter, Cherry, Floral, Mineral, Plum

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 1 min, 0 sec 8 g 14 OZ / 414 ML
Teaave

Hi James,

This Is Tea Ave, we are about all things Oolong- www.teaave.com, we plan to launch our site on November, 1st, 2014. Here we can see that you are enjoying sipping some Oolongs yourself.

We invite you to follow us back, so we can send out an inbox message with more information on Tea Ave. We would also like to invite you to try out some of our Oolong samples including BouZhong, Tie Kwan Ying and some floral scented Oolongs before launching.

So, if you’d like, please feel free follow us back and sign up the from we will send you to your inbox , just remember to include your Steepster ID, and we can catch up from there :)

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80

(1st steep: 2 min) I have been looking forward to this tea all day. Luckily, I was not disappointed. The blended aroma of cut grass and toasted rice grains is solidly presented in this tea. The cut grass carries over into the flavor, and is well balanced with the toasted grain and bread flavor from the rice. Also, there is a brightness brought to this tea from the matcha powder. It adds weight and a chewiness to the tea which makes it filling. I would be happy drinking this tea any time of the day.
(2nd steep: 2 min 30 sec) There is less of the grassy notes in this steeping. I believe this is due to the lack of matcha powder in this steeping. However, the toasted rice has taken on a malted barley aroma. It is sweeter than the first steeping. Some of this sweetness carries into the flavor, but not enough to where I can be more specific. The flavor in the tea has turned more herbal than grass. However, I am having trouble placing it due to the toasted notes from the rice. As the tea cooled, the herbal flavor is clearly similar to seaweed, and goes well with the tea.

Flavors: Grass, Roasted Barley, Seaweed, Toasted Rice

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML

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75

(1st steep: 4 min) This is the most unusual Darjeeling I have ever tasted. I had to go back an reassure myself that it was indeed a black tea. It looks and smells like many of the Japanese green teas I have had and enjoyed in the past. The aroma is very grassy and vegetal with a a very slight sulfur finish. These aromas carried over into the tea’s flavor. Very solid cut grass and green leafy vegetables, like spinach or kale. The is a slight pine and orange pith finish. Very interesting and unique. I am looking forward to the second steep.
(2nd steep: 4 min 30 sec) Much of the cut grass aroma is toned down, but there is still a solid vegetal presence. I will say that the flavor of the tea has changed and reduced the cut grass flavor cute a bit. It and the strong green leafy vegetable have been balanced with a malt and slight chocolate flavor. Which doesn’t sound like it should taste good, but it is quite pleasant. The tea finishes smoothly with almost no drying in the mouth.

Flavors: Chocolate, Grass, Kale, Malt, Pine, Spinach

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 14 OZ / 414 ML
The Tea Snob

You must try the Castleton First Flush and Margaets hope First flush.
A lot of the flavor depends on the flush as well.
Iam sure you will love the First Flush since it is more flavory, nice in leaf appearance and light n colour.
hmmm you can try them at udyantea.com they provide it at very competitive prices.

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85
drank English Breakfast by Steepster
61 tasting notes

(1st steep: 5 min) There is a very distinct aroma to an English breakfast teas. That is my first thought when smelling this tea. There is all of the usual aromas of a black tea along with a slight breadiness. I imagine as it cools some sweeter fruit aromas will appear. The first flavor I pick up from this tea is biscuit followed by a slight tart bitterness. It reminds me of an almost ripe strawberry or blueberry.There is a dry mouthfeel to this tea, but it doesn’t seem to dry the mouth. I believe in all the English breakfast teas I have tried this is the second on I have liked. I am curious as to how the second steeping will turn out.
(2nd steep: 5 min 30 sec) The aroma is the same as from the first steeping, but the flavor has changed slightly. There is still the dry mouthfeel which I enjoy. However, there is less biscuit flavor. Taking its place is a slightly sweet fruit flavor. It is subtle and doesn’t remain long. I would love to have more of this tea to enjoy on a daily basis.

Flavors: Bread, Tart

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 14 OZ / 414 ML
Tea Pet

The tea is actually available in the shop, if you’d like more!
http://steepster.myshopify.com/collections/all-teas/products/english-breakfast

James

That Steepster has begun selling their teas was one of the best comments and emails I have received. Thank you for sharing.

Tea Pet

You are very welcome! :)

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90
drank Rare Orchid Oolong by TeaSource
61 tasting notes

(1st steep: 4 min) There is a nice floral aroma to this tea that makes me glad I saved it for an end of the work day tea. There are some subtle fruit notes in this tea. I want to say it is close to melon due to the subtle flavor. It could be because it is summer, but I am thinking watermelon. Additionally, there is a honey flavor which pairs nicely with the fruit. All in all a great tea for a hot summer day.
(2nd steep: 4 min 30 sec) Almost no floral notes from before are present in the second steeping. The fruit and honey are actually stronger in the second steeping of this tea. There is a lovely watermelon flavor when you first taste the tea. This changes to a subtle honey flavor as the tea cools and remains for a short time after the tea has swallowed. I will be coming back to this tea in the future when I have more time to do additional steepings.

Flavors: Honey, Melon

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 7 OZ / 207 ML

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70

(1st steep: 3 min) I was a little shocked at how light this tea is. There is almost no aroma in the first steeping. Once the tea cooled a bit, I was able to pick up a strong mineral taste. I wasn’t able to pick up much else, and I believe that is because the water to tea ratio is too high. I am planning to cut from 16 oz to 12 oz in the next steeping. Towards the end of the cup, I was able to pick up a subtle floral aroma and flavor, but not strong enough to say what they might be.
(2nd steep: 3 min 30 sec) I reduced the amount of water in this steeping to 12 oz and still increased the time. Both mineral and floral aromas are present and are pleasant. It is an interesting tea, but I don’t believe I will make another steeping.

Flavors: Floral, Mineral

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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75
drank Yame Shincha #3 by Kettl
61 tasting notes

(1st steep: 45 sec) There is a nearly overwhelming amount of grass and vegetable aroma coming from this tea. I had a feeling it would strong from the green of the tea leaves. The first flavor you get is cut grass with a slight corn flavor underneath. The grass lingers for quite a while after the tea has been swallowed. Given the strength in aroma and flavor of this tea, I wonder if a second steeping will tone it down a little.
(2nd steep: 1 min) The aroma is toned down quite a bit in the second steeping, but is still much the same as the first cup. The flavor has not been toned down much. However, the corn undertone is not present in this steeping. It has been replaced with a more vegetable flavor. I am having trouble picking out what green vegetable, but if I had to guess I would say broccoli. Despite these subtle changes the tea still has the long finish present in the first steeping.

Flavors: Broccoli, Corn Husk, Grass, Vegetables

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 0 min, 45 sec 1 tsp 6 OZ / 177 ML

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85
drank Jasmine Pearls by Steepster
61 tasting notes

(1st steep: 2 min) Still fighting a little bit of congestion, but the floral jasmine aroma cuts right thought any issues. The aroma and flavor are exactly what I would expect from a jasmine green tea. Much like spring captured in a tea. I have to agree with the tasting notes that this tea has a soft mouthfeel. I don’t think there is a better way to describe it. There are the usual floral notes that you would expect from a Jasmine along with the subtle grass flavor from the green tea. It is a well balanced and flavorful tea. As the tea has cooled, I am picking up what I can only describe as honeysuckle. I am looking forward to see how this tea evolves during the other steepings.
(2nd steep: 2 min 30 sec) There is still a strong floral aroma from the tea, but I believe I made a mistake increasing the steeping time. The tea has taken on a metallic aftertaste. Many of the flavors from the first steeping are still present including the honeysuckle. However, most of the pleasant notes are displaced by the metallic finish. I am going to attribute that metallic finish to my over-steeping the tea.

Flavors: Flowers, Fruit Tree Flowers, Grass

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML

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A software engineer who secretly wants to be a history professor, but can’t give up the technology profession just yet. When not coding or working on computers spend most of my free time drinking tea and reading books.

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Sandy Springs, GA

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