1711 Tasting Notes

drank Euphoria by Kusmi Tea
1711 tasting notes

Huh! Interesting little sewn muslin for a tea bag! That is kind of charming. Holy smokes! The orange in this is like the bright fresh oil from the peel! The chocolate is in there somewhere, but this tea is all about the orange. The aftertaste is like I just had a sip of OJ. As it cools, the chocolate hides even more. The first cup was so flavorful that I didn’t need sweetener. Not sure if it would have helped the chocolate come out some more. I sweetened the second steeping, which is weaker, but still delicious. This tea is amazing and I would like to have more of it someday!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank Cucumber Mint by Tea Forte
1711 tasting notes

I want to like this. Cucumber and mint sound like an excellent combo, but what is coming through is chemical like. It smells a little like perfume and some of that comes through in the taste. It is flat, the flavors don’t seem to dance well, there is a walnut aftertaste and my skin doesn’t feel any smarter (advertised as a skin smart tea). I just can’t get over the gross. Mmmm, and dry mouth to top it off. Nice. : [

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank Honey Yuzu by Tea Forte
1711 tasting notes

Ehhhhhh…. Tastes a little of honey, I guess. Leaves my mouth dry. That is about it. Bummer.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Stephanie

I was not impressed at all with Tea Forte :/

Dustin

Yeah, I think I’m there with you. Drinking my 3rd sample from them and all have been on the gross side.

darby

It’s sad, I haven’t found one I like from them either!

CHAroma

I personally enjoyed their Black Currant and Chamomile Citron.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank La Route Du Temps by Mariage Frères
1711 tasting notes

Having this tea again and coming to the same conclusions as my first tasting note. The tea is nice enough, but kind of mellow and a little boring for the price tag. I do wish they had added something to make this tea spectacular like apricot, honey, cream, mango, chocolate… There is really a lot that pairs well with ginger, so why stop with just ginger?

I tried adding honey, but the honey from my yard was too flavorful and overpowered. Maybe store bought honey? I tried adding powdered goat milk (my go to for cream flavor) and sugar, which was good, but I think it was too much milk. I’m determined to find something to make this tea more exciting. The quest goes on!

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Whoa there is a lot of stuff in this tea! I’m surprised by the five minute steep time, too. I’m tasting mostly cherry in this cup. A little lemon grass in the beginning of the sip. This is interesting! And is that a strawberry aftertaste?! I bet this would be great cold brewed and iced!

Thanks for this sample VariaTEA!

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 5 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank Miz by Nina's Paris
1711 tasting notes

Thanks for this sample VariaTEA!

The flavor in this tea is on the lighter side. I can taste cherries, but not an impressive amount. It is more of a dried cherry taste as apposed to fresh cherry. The base is nice enough, smooth and not overwhelming the flavor. It feels like it is lacking something to really pop. It’s good, but is getting an “eh”. I’m happy to have tried it though!

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec
VariaTEA

They can’t all be winners. Now you know for sure it is not for you and that is what counts :)

Dustin

Exactly! It would be a bummer if I found out after I bought a tin!

VariaTEA

For sure. That is the beauty of swaps. Try before you buy :)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank Mango Black Tea by Trader Joe's
1711 tasting notes

Wow, I gave this a 41 last time I tried it?! It has been sitting in my cupboard for quite some time now. My husband has been wanting iced tea lately since it is heating up here in Texas, so I threw several bags in a pitcher with some water and sugar and put it in the fridge. This time it tastes exactly like the Paradise tea I was hoping it would be! Have my tastes changed? Had this tea aged well? Is the secret in the cold brew? Who knows! Once I added ice it was a little watered down, so I may toss in a few more tea bags. This tea has redeemed it’s self and just when I was about to give up and toss it to make room in my cupboard!

Preparation
Iced

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank Caramel Matcha by Red Leaf Tea
1711 tasting notes

I read VariaTEA’s tasting note on this the other day about drinking it after a bite of salty peanut butter and was inspired to try adding a touch of salt. Wow! I used over 1/4tsp matcha with some sugar, a pinch of salt and whisked it in a small amount of hot water. Then I added milk, ice cubes and shook. Holycrapit’ssogood! I decided to add a tiny bit more salt, which wasn’t bad, but wasn’t as good as the lesser amount, so there is a fine line there. It was just enough to get that salty caramel taste. I then took my mug outside an pulled prickly weeds for a half hour with no gloves on. My hands are now screaming mistake, but my taste buds are quite happy!

Stephanie

I’m totally doing that next time. Perhaps tomorrow for breakfast!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank SoHo Blend by Harney & Sons
1711 tasting notes

Chocolate and coconut?! Why do I not, in my obscene amount of tea, have a chocolate and coconut tea?! Thanks to VariaTEA for this sample!

The first sip was heavy and left a chocolate aftertaste, but there was no coconut to be found. Sweetening it a little… aaaah, the coconut hides in the creamy flavor! I am really liking this tea, but I do with there was more coconut to compete with the level of chocolate. It almost has an alcohol scent to it. Maybe a rum? I like it! I have a few more cups worth to decide if it is a must have.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Stephanie

Chocolate and coconut are fantastic together :D

Dustin

I know, right?! So how have i missed this in tea form for so long?!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank Boston by Harney & Sons
1711 tasting notes

Cranberry and almond?! I would not have thought cranberry and almond from a name like Boston Blend! For some reason I would have expected something coffee related. Is Boston even associated with coffee?

Anyways, a little bitter at first and much nicer after the addition of sweetener which makes sense since cranberries are so tart and bitter. It is really an interesting mix and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Almost perfumy for a second in different parts of the sip. I get more cranberry than I do almond. I have to admit I’m not a huge cranberry fan, but I had never tried it with almond which sounded intriguing. Tiny bit of cranberry tartness in the after sip. I think I can sum it up as an interesting experiment in flavor pairing, but not a winner for my tastes.

I almost ordered a sample of this on Harney’s website a month ago, but ended up swapping with VaraiTEA instead. Thanks for the chance to try this!

P.S. I still have a faint taste of cranberry in my mouth 20 minutes after finishing this cup! I bet this tea would go great with turkey!

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
__Morgana__

I’m not aware of Boston being associated with coffee. I lived there for a few years (admittedly many years ago) but mostly it was associated with baked beans. But Massachusetts has a lot of cranberry bogs and is definitely associated with them. Not sure about the almond piece.

Dustin

Hmmmm… confusion with coffee beans and baked beans then?
I didn’t know about there being cranberry bogs there! I never even thought about where cranberries might grow.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

My name is Dustin and I like tea.

I’m an added flavor kind of tea fan, but have had a growing appreciation for plain. I want my tea to remind me of cookies and cakes with coconut and almond slices with a hint of chocolate drizzled on top. I want dancing ponies and flying monkeys shooting off fireworks! And no hibiscus. Hibiscus is the devil.

Location

BA, CA, US

Website

https://www.instagram.com/dre...

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer