239 Tasting Notes

30

So, I’m drinking down some of the less palatable-sounding teas I have today. They have the added bonus of being caffeine free, which I am going to need if I am heading to a tea party this afternoon.

This isn’t as repulsive smelling as the last one. Maybe it will taste okay. It’s extreme fake strawberry combined with sweet fake yogurt. It kind of reminds me of strawberries and cream granola.

But as it’s brewing, I am disturbed by the bright red color and the fact that I can smell it from 6 feet away. My entire kitchen is fake strawberries now. I took the tea out of the kitchen and came back 2 minutes later, and the kitchen STILL reeked of fake strawberry. A bit much?

It’s very sour, very fake vanilla, a little nutty. If I liked lemon juice in my tea, I may like this.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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33
drank Coco Chai Rooibos by DAVIDsTEA
239 tasting notes

Still busy, still working, still writing, but still here and still drinking tea!

I don’t think I can handle many flavors anymore. This smells like a candle used for smelling up the house of a person very different from me. No.

It’s spicy. It’s fake. It’s oddly pineappley? A little sour like an apple. Then there are the spices of course. No thank you.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec

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63

Another one of those reviews I am not going to have a lot of time to write for. I imagine this is going to be a trend for a while, what with deadlines and all.

It tastes like nothing but roast. There might be a bit of hazelnut, but the flavor is mostly roasted almond skin. I can’t tell if this is because it’s not a good tea or if I just don’t have a palate for the roasted oolongs. I am guessing the former, based on the other reviewers.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
eastkyteaguy

Yeah, I didn’t care for this one either. I kind of doubt either scenario you presented above to be honest. For a medium roasted oolong, I found the roast to be nearly oppressive. It may just be that the roast was heavier than anticipated. Plus, I have had the light roast version of this tea and I found it to be pretty much excellent. It’s totally different. You can actually pick up the spice notes a lother more clearly. If you haven’t tried it, I would recommend it.

Hoálatha

Verdant is pretty hit or miss for me, with hits mostly with the He family and misses being outside. You’re right that this was probably just not a good tea.

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92

I’m very busy, so this will be short and sweet.

Kind of like a cross between a taiwanese black, jingmai wild black, and bi luo chun? There’s smooth vanilla caramel in here along with some malt and chocolate, depending on the steep. It’s fairly good, but you can certainly get better for a better price.

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 80 ML

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67

I think I added too much water to this…thing.

Tastes like watered down fermentation. Drinkable, which is more than I was expecting, but nothing to write home about. I will definitely go for less water with the 2009.

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more 20 OZ / 591 ML
Matu

I must say, “watered down fermentation” sounds like one of the more unpleasant tasting things I could imagine.

Hoálatha

It got worse as I got further down. Thick, creamy, bitter fermentation. Had to throw it out!

Matu

D: the horror!

Fjellrev

Ugh, that’s rough.

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93
drank Mei Zhun by J-TEA
239 tasting notes

The dry leaf of this tea doesn’t do much for me, but then again, it’s been sitting in a tin with a bunch of other samples. Thanks, by the way, to the tea friend who sent me this to try!

The wet leaf…I’m going to just stop smelling the wet leaf from now on, since it doesn’t really have much to do with the flavors of the tea. It kind of smells like Vienna sausages and flowers, one of the more odd combinations I have come across.

But the brew is where it’s at! It’s very thick and buttery, as described before. As you probably know by now, I never really get fruit from a tea unless it’s the dominant flavor. So I’m not getting the fruit that daylon mentioned. I’m getting butter and a mid-level floral of some kind that reminds me a bit of duck shit oolong. I’m also getting a bit of astringency.

My favorite part is the spice out the nose…nutmeg? Cinnamon? Something a little Christmasy that reminds me of a Taiwanese oolong. So is this an oolong green?

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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89

The dry leaf to this one was most interesting. There was the typical wood and bark aroma, but it was also mixed in with eucalyptus, menthol, and mint. I kind of want to order a soap in that flavor now.

There is still a bit of menthol and eucalyptus in the aroma of the wet leaves and the brew, but it has taken a back seat to the wet, woody smell.

The eucalyptus menthol is completely gone in the flavor of the brew. All that’s left is a cool tickle out the nostrils, but honestly, that could be my allergies at this point. What’s left is what I taste in all shous: that mossy, woody, tangy smooth flavor. It’s a pleasant experience, but I am starting not to be able to tell the difference between the different shous I am trying.

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec
mrmopar

I like this one a lot.

Hoálatha

I think I did too. Not as much as 2000 Old Warrior, but pretty up there.

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82

I have NO idea where I got this tea from. I only have 10g of it, so I am betting it was a gift from a tea friend. I’m sorry I forget who you are.

The more I drink oolongs with a high roast, the more I think I prefer greener and medium roast oolongs. I might even prefer Taiwanese oolongs.

This has a high roasty flavor. It has a bit of walnuttiness and some of that bitter walnut skin flavor.

It’s a good tea, but nothing I’m jumping up and down over.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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89

Thanks to my tea friend for the sample!

This reminded me of the unsmoked jin jun mei from Yunnan Sourcing. There’s a light, natural smokiness that isn’t at all overwhelming like a smoked lapsang. It’s sweet, with a bit of cocoa on the finish. There’s a pretty strong molasses flavor in the middle of the palette, which I think is what reminds me of the jjm.

Lasts a good 3 steeps western, so not bad! Lovely warming black tea with a thick, sweet, sappy mouthfeel.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

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88

This was surprising. I pulled this out thinking it was a green tea. It brews like a green tea. It tastes like a green tea. I didn’t find out it was herbal until after I had looked up the brewing instructions.

It’s warming this morning, buttery with a little peas and rice kind of flavor. There’s an earthiness that kind of reminds me of a white potato? It’s really, really pleasant.

The only disappointment is that there’s no caffeine! Guess I have a new go-to herbal though.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 12 OZ / 354 ML
Daylon R Thomas

I think the same way with amacha and oolong, only amacha is a little bit more like splenda to me.

Hoálatha

Amacha is too much for me. LP gave me a sample of his new blend, and I wasn’t expecting that sweetness. Too strong! And yes, it’s oddly a little fakey tasting to me.

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