865 Tasting Notes

68

A surprise from rabbysmom! I love jasmine tea and I love green tea, although this is my 1st jasmine green. Whoa… I instantly get hit in the face w/ jasmine. I actually move my head back a bit.

After 3 min of steeping (1 bag/6oz water), I’m shocked at how dark orange this is. Ah, crap. I forgot to weigh this. If someone has this and wouldn’t mind weighing it, that’d be great:) Even though I don’t know the weight, the liquor leads me to believe that 3 min may lead to over steepiage.

The aroma is lighter than I expect. It’s still strong, but doesn’t cause a physical reaction. Unfortunately it’s all jasmine and no green tea though.

As expected, the jasmine aspect is very strong. I can; however, detect a hint of green tea that reminds me that this isn’t pure jasmine leaves. It’s not nearly enough though. It’s also slightly bitter. Yep over steeped. This definitely has the potential to be a good tea, but 3 min at 180 just let’s too much of everything thru. I think I’ll tweak the temperature before the steeping time. Mom was right, too much of something isn’t a good thing.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec
AmazonV

hey, we’re apparently on the same wavelength!

Cofftea

2nd infusion, 1 min. Liquor is just barely lighter, but the aroma is pretty consistant. The flavor isn’t weaker, but the flavor profile is completely different. The bitterness is all but gone and is replaced w/ just a hint of astringency leaving the jasmine much more blanced. Moving this up from 58 to 68.

Cofftea

3rd infusion, 2 min. Liquor and aroma of infusion 2. Another differen flavor profile, less sweeteness, more green tea, slightly more astringency, consistant jasmine flavor.

AmazonV

really, you got 3 infusions? wow, i trashed mine at 2 as i found it a bit weak (keeping in mine that’s 2 12 ounce)

Cofftea

Yeah, and I’m about to do a 4th- you started w/ 1/2 as much water, that’s why:) I probably would have gotten even more if my 1st steep would have been shorter.

Cofftea

4th infusion, 4 min. Much lighter liquor. Almost smells like a peach jasmine tea now. Yum! Much lighter flavor as the liquor indicates. This is the last infusion I can get, but it’s still very much drinkable.

rabbysmom

Glad you had fun with this one! I had a variety pack and knew you’d like getting a couple of surprise greens :)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

62

I got this from Jillian:) This is only the 2nd detox tea I’ve tried, both of which have been bags.

I didn’t even have to take the bags out of the ziplock before smelling the rooibos… uh oh. Oh well, I’ve been surprised by rooibos before. I way the bag and am not surprised when it reads 1.3g. All of ROT’s bags that I’ve tried have been extremely light, but fortunately that doesn’t mean I’ve wished for more leaf. I steeped 1 bag in 6oz of water just below boiling point for 7 min. Another uh oh, I can smell the rooibos even stronger the second the bag hits the water.

7 min later I take sip. Holy rooibos! Well at least it doesn’t taste like licorice. The almond and vanilla do sweeten it and I can taste the sarsparilla as well. Actully it tastes like a lighter, sweeter version of the Rootbeer Rooibos Fava Tea Co. sells.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 7 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

98

This is by far the thickest preparation I’ve made so far. 1 heaping scoop and 3oz water. Wow! It also froths a lot more… so maybe my frothing problems are due to the thickness. The 1st thing I notice is the astringency. This isn’t an overly sweet matcha, although it’s by far bitter. Definitely more of a wake me up vs “oooh this is comforting” preparation. All formulas are delicious!

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

78

Double cup using premium sencha perameters- 1 TB tea/4oz water. As this is steeping it almost looks like a layered jello salad. The leaves are laying on the bottom of my ingenuity under the cloudy liquid which is topped by light green foam.

HOLY ASTRINGENCY! This definitely has pucker power. My tongue literally folds over on itself adding to the mouth feel that the matcha gives it. This would most definitely wake you up in the morning!

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 1 min, 30 sec
Cofftea

2nd infusion, 180 degrees steeped 30sec per their suggestion. There is definitely some astringency left, but there is also some matcha which gives it a thick mouth feel like the 1st infusion.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

99

YAY!!! So I took ROT’s Get Clean! off Jillian’s hands and when I opened the package I was ECSTATIC to find this as well!!! I’ve been giving this some thought and this is a chocolate pu erh w/ spices so I wondered how this would taste w/ milk. Then I wondered if I’d be committing some form of Chinese tea crime… which gave me the absolutely hilarious mental image of an old Chinese woman chasing me around w/ a cast iron frying pan for my assult on a wonderful pu erh. LOL! Ok, anyway…

I notice the spices are stronger in this bag than my 1st. Last time I could only smell the nutmeg, but now I can smell the cinnamon as well.

1 bag steeped in 3oz water. I could have added the milk right away, but I find it easier to get water extremely hot (but not boiling) than water. I also plan on resteeping this so I wanted to keep the bag clean). After removing the bag, I added 3oz milk and heated for 40 sec and stirred.

This is definitely worth risking getting hit by a cast iron pan. The chocolate is strong and the spices come thru just enough to add smoothness, depth, and complexity to the chocolate. The spice level is not that of a chai, but it makes a very comforting adult version of hot chocolate. I’ll definitely prepare it this way again.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec
Cofftea

So it turns out maybe I won’t get hit by that cast iron pot after all. Here’s a recipe Numi has a recipe for a latte using one of their other Pu Erhs and this:

Iced Emperor’s Pu Erh Latte:
3 bags Emperor’s Pu Erh
2 bags Chocolate Pu Erh
1/2 c. milk
1 TB agave/honey

Fill 1/2 of a mug w/ boiling water. Add tea bags and steep 5 min. Add agave/honey and stir. Fill w/ ice and add milk. Add tea mixture and stir.

Cofftea

I was craving breakfast food, which is very strange for me, so I had this w/ my chocolate chip waffle and breakfast sausage links. Steeped 6min. Yummm… Still a very strong taste. It has a thicker mouth feel, almost like making drinking choclate w/ water, and is slightly spiced. I can get at least one more infusion out of this!

fcmonroe

5 bags of tea sound like a lot for one mug of latte!

Cofftea

That’s what I thought!

mpierce87

@fcmonroe: I was thinking the same thing.

Cinoi

I am currently rationing the bags I have left of this, but the next time, I am going with your steeping instructions with the milk! Sounds wonderful :)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

98

Made this even thicker than last time. 1 scoop (1.5g) and 5oz water. Next time I’m only gonna use 3oz. I love tasting and feeling the flavors pop more and more as I gradually prepare it thicker!

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

51

This came from Stephanie today! The package was more than I expected. Along w/ 2 bags of this, there was also a beautiful card and 2 bags of Mighty Leaf’s Organic Spring Jasmine. She was also very thoughtful by cutting out parts of the box w/ info on it and sending that as well. The only thing that was missing was the steeping suggestions so I steeped 1 bag in 8oz water in just under boiling water for 5 min.

Uh oh… Maybe sending the box clippings wasn’t a good idea after all. I wasn’t aware there’s both licorice and star anise in this. Oh well, I’ve been surprised by liking teas that have both before.

My positive thinking isn’t working… it smells a lot like both licorice and star anise once steeped. But it doesn’t taste like licorice candy so I’m good.:) It still tastes like licorice, but it’s also very sweet- I’m assuming mainly because of the stevia (which I also didn’t realize was in there)… almost too sweet. I’ve never had an unsweetened tea that was too sweet before.

Conclusions: Really glad I tried this and extremely greatful to Stephanie. I was also not nearly as displeased w/ it as I thought I might be when I saw the ingredients. That being said, I’m looking for a tea containing only echinacea.

rabbysmom

Glad you got to try it! Licorice isn’t my favorite either, lol. If you find a pure echinacea tea let me know, b/c I really think this tea helped with a cold in the past and I can only imagine what 100% would do:)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

70
drank Green Champaca by The Tea Farm
865 tasting notes

2nd steep (3g/8oz water) after using the 1st to flavor matcha. I’m still shocked at how dark the liquor is w/ this infusion considering the small amount of green tea in the portion size. Still floral, there’s also a strong sweetness to balance it out.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Cofftea

3rd steep, 5 min. Nearly identical in liquor and flavor as the 2nd. A bit sweeter.

Cofftea

4th steep, 6 min. Less floral this time. Very good.

Cofftea

5th steep, 7 min. Same flavor as infusion 6 only a smoother mouth feel.

Cofftea

6th steep, 8 min. Mostly a sweet, smooth green tea w/ just a hint of floral.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

100

Finishing this off today, and it went out w/ a bang. Flavored it w/ http://steepster.com/teas/the-tea-farm/8736-green-champaca: 4g green champacha steeped in 180 degree water for 3 min, then decanted into my chawan, added 1 scoop matcha, and whisked w/ my chasen. Adding the matcha definitely improves the green champaca tea. The thicker mouth feel and more vegetal flavor definitely cut down on the floral aspect of the green tea.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C
Ricky

Aww, so long Kiri no Mori! It’s been good knowing you!

Cofftea

Yeah I have enough for about 1/2 scoop left so I just dumped it in my organic matcha.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

70
drank Green Champaca by The Tea Farm
865 tasting notes

Good to flavor matcha w/.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

Are you a company or tea blender on sites like Adagio that would you like your tea reviewed? If so, please e-mail me @ [email protected].

What I most enjoy from obtaining samples from companies to review is that it helps me to better learn to drink and review teas from a more objective perspective, meaning more of the “This tea is…” point of view rather than the “I like/don’t like” this tea. I feel objectivism in tea reviews is EXTREMELY important because no two tea drinkers tastes are exactly the same. I’ve also been extremely surprised by several teas. I love recieving a sample I think I will be only writing an objective review on, only to completely fall in love with it upon tasting it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are you interested in redoing or starting your own tea related website or adding Search Engine Optimization? If so, please contact me at my work e-mail address: [email protected]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tea tastes:
I will ALWAYS pick loose leaf over tea bags. I only drink bagged tea if that’s my only choice or I find a flavor that I can’t find a loose leaf version for. When I do drink bagged; however, I always weigh my bag and am constantly curious as to the weight/flavor ratio- sometimes I am quite surprised by the flavor punch of light bags.

I have a preference for organic and fair trade teas (preferably both), but would never pass up an amzing tea just because it isn’t organic and/or fair trade.

I love savory teas.

I’m currently searching for a chai flavored soy powder or a soy based chai mix (either already mixed or a recipe).

I hardly EVER sweeten my teas. I feel that sweeteners (unless flavored like tea honeys, brown sugar, ice cream topping syrups, flavored coffee syrups, etc) do not add anything to the flavor profile of tea- in fact, I’ve found that they dumb down the flavors.

I NEVER serve my tea over regular iced cubes- I always make tea cubes.

I LOVE cooking w/ tea and making smoothTEAS.

I LOVE tea blending.

I rarely drink herbal teas unless they are mixed with true teas. My favorite herbals to mix with true teas are: spearmint, peppermint, lemongrass, rose hips, and gingeroot.

I can’t stand anything w/ fennel or anise. Hot black teas (except orange pekoe bagged tea that you get when you go out to eat and chai teas) tend to upset my stomach.

I drink matcha daily and love flavoring it. I’m also in a constant search of preflavored matchas.

I’m constantly searching for information on how to prepare tea authentically according to its country of origin.

My Tasting Notes Ratings (edited 8/8/10)
1: I can’t even stand the raw leaf enough to make this (I’ve never owned a tea w/ this rating, but I’ve smelled some before buying resulting in me NOT buying them that were that bad)

2: I steeped this tea but couldn’t stand the aroma enough to get it past my nose

3: I immediately gagged at the 1st sip and spit it out.

4: I manageed to get the 1st sip down, but I tossed the rest.

5: I drank the 1st cup but I can’t bring myself to resteep

6: Made it thru the entire set of infusions but I can’t bring myself to tinker w/ the parameters and won’t be making it again.

7-10: Does not taste anything like the ingredients or name suggests (i.e. Adagio’s Sour apple)

11-25: I can taste some of the ingredients, but the flavor is severely lacking

25-49: Teas that I would not consider bad in their flavor profile, but certainly below average

50: Average.

51-69: Teas above averge, but I wouldn’t go as far as calling them “good”.

70-75: Very good, but still room for improvement

76-85: Above average flavor profile

86-90: REALLY good flavors

91-99: Almost PERFECTLY achieves the goal of the ingredients and name of the tea.

100: Abosolutely perfect teas!

Other Interests: GOD! and all things pertaining to Him and His children, my dog Madison, travelling, and coffee.

Favorite Music: ANYTHING Christian. I don’t normally listen to secular music, but I do love jazz and swing.

Favorite Movies: Romantic comedies mostly. My Sister’s Keeper, P.S. I Love You, Fireproof, National Treasure Trilogy (I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE 3rd ONE TO COME OUT!), Night at the Museum 1 & 2, Sister Act 1 & 2, Yes Man, Bruce & Evan Almighty, rarely watch animated movies but LOVE anything 3D.

Favorite Books: THE BIBLE!!! & My Sister’s Keeper

Favorite Quotes: “A sad soul can kill you far quicker than a germ”- John Stienbeck "

Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing”- Aristotle

“You should always carry burdens, but they should never be your own”- me

“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” ~ Winston Churchill

“Mom was right, ‘because I say so’ is enough- at least when it comes to God.”- me

Favorite Foods: fried calamari, lemon chicken, anything w/ buffalo sauce.

Favorite Places: WA state, Switzerland, Orlando

Places I Want to Visit: Hawaii, Africa

Anything Else: I was born with a birth defect called Spina Bifida which is the failure of the spinal column to close en utero. Because of this I am a parapelegic and use a manual wheelchair.

Location

Oshkosh, WI

Website

http://www.adagio.com/signatu...

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer