1430 Tasting Notes

drank Alpina by Jasmin
1430 tasting notes

My sister brought me back this herbal from Slovenia. I had a lot of fun trying to translate the ingredients with the help of Google (shudder). Roughly, this herbal blend consists of a bunch of berries, berry leaves, and tiny pink flowers. The easiest flavours for me to pick out are the blackcurrants, and the pomegranate. It’s a very juicy tea with a subdued floral note. I think this would make a nice iced tea.

My sister brought me back some strange, but fun, stuff from her travels this time, including some chocolate with tea leaves on top. It gives me a good case of wanderlust. I want to go places too!

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more
Fjellrev

Awesome that your sister was in Slovenia! Hope she enjoyed her trip.

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100

Backlog: after making some of this without really having time for it the other day, I opted to pour it in my timolino travel mug and hope for the best.

Turns out this fairs amazingly well in the timolino (at least, it was a lot better than I expected it to be). The plastic didn’t drown out any of the subtleties- The rose is the dominant note, with some amaranth and cream. This made a comical archaeology lab awesome. Looking forward to having many more amazing timolino adventures with this tea.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 30 sec
OMGsrsly

Don’t you know that archaeology is srs bsnss? :D (How to freak your classmates out: If your tongue sticks to dry “wood”, it’s bone. I swear this is legit, although it sounds absolutely preposterous.)

OMGsrsly

I actually tasted rocks in the rock lab too. My prof just shook his head at me. I guess that’s what happens when you take mineralogy BEFORE point identification.

Plunkybug

I wish I could also “like” OMGsrsly’s comments too. :P

Crowkettle

I agree with Heather (I’ll have to find the right time to test that), although I’d probably abuse the ability to an annoying degree.

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85
drank Lime Chiffon by Della Terra Teas
1430 tasting notes

I’ve gotten to the point where I’m just drinking the same tea over and over again. I want more old friends around (in manageable amounts), as opposed to non-committing strangers (which I’ll take by the cup where I can). I’m sure I’ll change my mind and move on, but I need to get sick of some of favourites first.

This citrus-cream rooibos will forever remind me of summer, family feuds, cheap, “Motel 8-esque” style accommodation, Disneyworld, and.. Butiki’s Taiwanese Assam. Yes, this tea reminds how much I love a completely unrelated tea; it’s part of the pleasure in drinking it.

Flavors: Cream

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 6 min, 30 sec
Courtney

I just went through this phase. It’s always good to have the favourites. So comforting :)

Crowkettle

I’m glad to hear others go through this. :) I feel like I need to get back to my basics.

OMGsrsly

I’m trying to get back to basics. Really. I think I’m at about 195 again, but have to go through every single tea to check.

Crowkettle

Oh, and that number will go up even more when I bring you your Bellocq teas.. and potentially some matcha. :)

OMGsrsly

And after I order this weekend, although about half of what I’m getting will be going to my parents and brother as gifts. Still. That leaves half for me!

TeaLady441

Basics are nice. I’m leaning more towards big quantities of great teas, and less of the risky samples. That makes it easier to restock too. :D I’m not opposed to trying new teas, but I no longer feel OMG I NEED IT TOO like I used to.

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95

There’s never enough of this tea.. so hello Friday sales. No. 29.

This guy comes out better when the temperature is exact but it doesn’t taste completely terrible if I miss the mark by a degree.. or 20. Ok, there’s probably more tart “citrus” notes then there should be but it’s still good.

I wish my favourite types of teas (dragon well, silver needle, tieguanyin-like oolong, and this) weren’t specific lower temp. steepers. It makes it hard to get by without a fancy kettle, or something, for measuring temp.

Preparation
4 min, 0 sec
Courtney

Hahaha 20.

Fjellrev

Ha, I so agree. Maybe that’s why dragonwell hasn’t been my best friend. I always have to guess on how long to let the water cool.

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drank Alpine Punch by DAVIDsTEA
1430 tasting notes

This one takes me back! Alpine Punch was probably one of the first rooibos blends I ever tried, back in 2011 (that’s when I still bought giant tins of everything I tried). In hindsight, buying 136g of this wasn’t the smartest idea. While it was delicious during the winter months, I lost interest when things started to warm up. RIP, 100-some grams of this tea. I have no clue where you are now.

Er, so this is a new tiny batch from this year. It’s full of as much Christmas-y coconut goodness as I can remember. Fruit cake and angel food cake vibes galore. The rose and the pepper are new for me, and I quite like what they bring out.

Yeah, I’m OK with this seasonal blend. I think we have some nice days ahead of us this cold season.

Also, yay for Doctor Who! I’m going to watch that very shortly. Maybe with a cup of this (or maybe a couple cups of this because it’s over an hour long).

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 15 sec
Nxtdoor

It’s funny how we all bought a lot of everything in the beginning. I remember dexter3657 telling me not to buy 100 grams of everything and I remember thinking “why not? I’ll drink it all the same” . Oh the foolishness of “youth”!

TeaLady441

Hahha. Yeah, it took me a year to get rid of my 100g tins. /0\

Plunkybug

I haven’t had any this season yet, but it is one of the few rooibos I like.

Crowkettle

lol, Cavo, now you’ve moved on to 10oz, right? :P Although, there are a couple of teas I’d do that with too..

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78

Sis brought this back from London. She has it set in her head that my favourite thing in the world is green tea. It’s not, but I like to keep some around for a full moon when I turn into a veggie craving monstrosity. Sometimes green is good. Like when I’m sick and reaping the consequences of my procrastination.

It’s so typical of me to get cold-like symptoms at this time of the year. Bleh! I need something to help me keep calm and focus right now, and green tea is one of the few things that works.

For whatever reason, I find tea steeped in teapots, particularly green tea, tastes better in little cups. It doesn’t fly so well in this huge mug however, although it’s passable.

This is vegetal, smoky, and somewhat buttery. The slight astringency tells me I need to steep for a shorter amount of time. and steal a variable temperature kettle.

Preparation
3 min, 0 sec
yyz

I find I like my greens in smaller cups too!

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With 1%. I think I’d probably prefer this one without the chocolate, or the marshmallows- I can’t tell which one is giving me this old, soggy graham cracker flavour profile.

The best things about this tea creeps out around the finish and aftertaste, in a kind of snowball effect. Those best things are the pumpkin spices and caramel flavour. Delicious, gooey caramel.. I can almost believe you’re actually there.

Despite not being a fan of some of the components in this one, I’d still easily pick it over David’s 2013 rendition of Pumpkin Chai. I’m just not digging the stew of citrus notes and spices it seems to have this year.

Edit: I want to add that the empty cup has the aroma of a melted, lightly spiced, caramilk bar. Also, this has so much more flavour when I steep it for +6min and use two teaspoons.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Fjellrev

What’s your favourite pumpkin blend, by the way?

momo

wow if I hadn’t already plotted salted caramel chai for an attempt at work on Friday I’d go for caramel pumpkin chai NOW. I didn’t even know this was a tea though maybe that was a good thing!

Crowkettle

At the moment it’s the Pumpkin Pie matcha from Red Leaf. It mixes well with ice cream so it automatically wins. It’s not a very subtle blend flavoring though. I might come to love Butiki’s more subtle Pumpkin Milkshake, but I don’t seem to reach for it too often.

Momo, both of those ideas sound amazing because they have caramel in them. :)

Plunkybug

This has everything I love in it. I’ll have to try some, sometime.

TeaLady441

Oh, I second that – it’s amazing. I haven’t mixed matcha with ice cream though – what a fool I’ve been!

MissB

Matcha with ice cream is AMAZING. Seriously. I usually do my matcha’s as smoothies/ice cream shakes, although you can just as easily do them when making your own ice cream. I just add a spoonful into the mixer while it’s churning, although the bubble tea place I like just dusts it on top of the ice cream.

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85

Backlog. I drank a whole pot of this last night and it kept me good and wired until about 7am. Funny how the coconut all fell to the bottom of the bag; as I work my way through 80grams it becomes more distinct.

What I’m actually drinking right now: Black coffee. I tried to log “coffee” on here a few minutes ago and then had an epiphany! My brain has apparently turned to mush.

OMGsrsly

Good one. I almost tried to do that earlier this morning… :)

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88
drank With Open Eyes by Butiki Teas
1430 tasting notes

My essay beverage (aka-stress management tea) of the semester.

It’s that time in November again where almost everything school related just sucks, sucks, sucks. This tea and Kuchar’s rendition of Shostakovich’s Gadfly Suite are helping me rationalize my existence as it stands right now, and help me forget that I must neglect Three-Day Road in order to finish this sad paper.

You know, I’ve listened to this so many times over the years without ever looking into the background of it. I’ll have to read The Gadfly someday when I have a life again. I want to read so many books that aren’t related to school right now, it’s not even funny.

Preparation
3 min, 30 sec
Courtney

Haha there is definitely a correlation between the amount of school work I have to do and the things I suddenly find interesting that are not related to school work that’s due.

Fjellrev

Ugh, sorry it’s sucking for you. We’ll be finished in a month. But it’ll be a loooooong month, I’m sure.

Plunkybug

It’s times like this that I’m glad I’m out of school. ;) But surely you’re making time out for the DW 50th anniversary special on Saturday, riiiiight? ;)

Crowkettle

Thanks Incendiare! It’s all my fault really as I did exactly as Courtney implied. :P I hope your workload is month is more smoothly set out than mine (can’t wait for winter break)!

Ah, Heather! By this Saturday almost all of my due dates will have passed and I can enjoy being lethargic again. I’m so stoked for the anniversary special.

tea-sipper

I definitely can relate to the too-many-books-I-want-to-read-right-now problem!

Crowkettle

After not having one for years I got a library card at the beginning of the semester. Turns out that was a huge mistake. I have a pile of fifteen books beside my bed just begging to be read.. and it’s paper season!

Plunkybug

I’ll be at the Odeon showing at 11:50am…super excited. Also, Vic High is doing a fundraiser at The Vic Theatre Friday night…

Fjellrev

Geez, I haven’t read a book in years. Never time for that.

But I can’t wait for the break either!

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drank Winter Fire by Butiki Teas
1430 tasting notes

Never for a moment did I think this would live up to the heat of its listed ingredients, even with the little “spicy” warning on the label. There have been too many disappointing run ins with “chili” teas that have all the spice of well boiled bell peppers stuffed with white bread.

Then there’s this, which is just like taking a shot of cayenne sauce and cinnamon. Um, wow! I think my roommate was even taken aback for a moment (the joys of shoving “mystery cups” in front of people and making them drink). She usually has a higher spice tolerance, with all her Indonesian cuisine, so the slight reaction was impressive!

It’s almost like that first sip of Fireball that burns.. Once you get accustomed to it the drink starts to taste sweet, although this is nowhere near as cloyingly sweet as Fireball.

Thanks for this fun sample, Stacy! It arrived just in time to help me stay awake for this paper.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 6 min, 0 sec
JustJames

lol….. excellent review! you had me chuckling away…..

Stephanie

I’ve been wanting to try that one! I like spicy stuff :)

Butiki Teas

I like to double the amount to a tablespoon to make it extra hot. This one is works wonders for me when my sinuses are stuffed.

Crowkettle

Glad you were amused, James. :)

Yes! I thought how perfect this would be during a bad sinus infection. I’m also tempted to pick up more just so I can mix it into things that should be spicier. I really appreciate that this exists.

Butiki Teas

Thanks! Our secret is the Bird’s Eye chilies ground up with seeds and the cayenne. There are 2 things that I do that help out with the sinuses with this tea. I keep a small jar full of the dry leaves and just inhale until I start sneezing like crazy. Sounds weird but it helps. Also, I make the tea extra strong and put my face over it and inhale then take a sip then inhale and I keep switching it up. I also think the caffeine helps too. It’s not a popular blend but we will always make it so that I can keep it around my house. That’s an interesting idea to use it to spice other things up

tea-sipper

Yes, this is my go-to tea for sinus problems. :D

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Profile

Bio

I started my Steepster loose leaf adventure back in 2012. I can’t say I’m completely new anymore, but I still view oolong as a magical, extraterrestrial creature that unfurls in water.

My favourites are teas like Milk Oolong, Silver Needle,and Japanese Sencha/Gyokuro, or fruity and floral flavoured ones. However, I generally enjoy ALL the teas, including a good old cup of Earl Grey or Breakfast blend.

FAVOURITE INGREDIENTS/NOTES:

DESSERT FLAVOURS
Vanilla, Maple, Caramel, Butterscotch, Cream, Toffee, Nougat, Marzipan, Butter

FRUIT & BERRIES
Citrus Fruits, Passionfruit, Banana, Pineapple, Melons, Blackberry, Raspberry, Currants, Elderberry, Persimmon, Rhubarb..

SPICES
Ginger, Turmeric, Clove-forward chai, Cardamom

AROMATIC & HERBACEOUS NOTES
Sandalwood, Frankincense, Juniper, Eucalyptus, Mints

FLORALS
Lavender, Jasmine, Rose, Lilac, Violet, etc.

VEGGIE/GRAIN NOTES
Spinach, Grass, Hay, Cucumber, Rice, Sweet Potato

Less Preferred Flavours/Ingredients:
Stevia, Apple, Cocoa Nib, Almond, Licorice, Cinnamon-forward blends, Chinese Sencha

Subjective Rating System:
I don’t give a lot of low ratings out, since a) I tend to grab tea I know will appeal to me, and b) I don’t have a lot of strong dislikes.

90-100: Favourites. The Desert Island Teas.
80-89: Loved teas. Possibly staple-worthy.
70-79: Good teas, but I’m less likely to repurchase. Minor quibbles.
60-69: Ok teas. Likely a few preference and/or quality issues.
50-59: Cup of meh. Will do in a pinch.
11-49: Varying levels of undrinkable tea.
1-10: Nightmare tea from the chaos realms. This tea is the embodiment of the primordial swamp, an unholy abomination. It’s very gross and I’m almost positive it doesn’t exist.

Location

BC, Canada

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