1146 Tasting Notes
We went to Kyuramen for a belated birthday lunch today and TIL that they’ll bring you free barley tea if you ask! It’s definitely roasted and strong, steeped a bit long today, but I liked it. My brother, not so much, I think in part because he had been expecting a caffeinated tea and also had never had barley tea before. So I just don’t give a lot of weight to his perception here as being relevant to my own decision-making, even though it’s valid for him.
Sipdown! Eight years ago, I rated this a 91 and apparently quite liked it. I didn’t specify at the time but I suspect that I had the sachet version. It would not be the first time that there’s been a noticeable difference between the sachet and loose leaf versions of a Harney blend (thinking of the Pumpkin Spice blend in particular). This sipdown is for the loose leaf version, which seems to skew more heavily towards the mint. Most of the time I didn’t get much of a lemon or citrus note at all. It was a perfectly serviceable peppermint tea, but I found that it mostly fit a utilitarian purpose for soothing migraines and stomach aches rather than being a blend I reach for when I’m craving peppermint. I just have better versions in my stash now.
Drinking this while catching up on tasting notes. This is a tea we picked up in Taiwan, and I’m drinking it Western-style out of an 8-oz mug I also bought in Taiwan. The lychee aroma and flavor here is so head-and-shoulders better than any other lychee tea I’ve ever had that I’m almost at a loss for words.* The moment you open the wrapper, a spot-on scent of perfectly ripe and juicy lychee wafts up. Even my partner, who thinks most tea smells and tastes like stump water, was into this. I bought this in sachet form – my guess is that’s the only format it was available in – so I liberated the leaves and brewed them up in with a wide metal steeper. I’m now on my third steep and about to go for a fourth. The ripe, juicy lychee flavor is still going strong. It was definitely the strongest in the first steep, being the most prominent note in the cup, whereas in later steeps it’s more like half-lychee, half-base tea notes. The base tea itself is a medium oolong with some nice heft. It’s sweet and a bit floral, with almost a buckwheat note that somehow complements the lychee rather than clashing.
*Not that all the other lychee teas I’ve had have been bad, there have been some very tasty ones! The flavoring on this one is just exquisite.
Finished my birthday with this minty delight. I got it in a Tea Thoughts countdown box a while ago and have been carefully rationing it ever since. Most peppermint teas are basically the same, but this is actually one of the best peppermints I’ve ever had. It’s this and Kiani’s that come to mind when I think about truly great peppermints that are a level above the rest. This one has the classic cooling menthol taste and sensation, but also just a hint of natural sweetness that you usually don’t get.
Another tea I busted out for my birthday! I loved this one in last year’s herbal advent so much that I ended up buying some for myself AND asking for it as a gift. It’s just a perfect combo of rose, lemon, and vanilla that ends up strongly evoking the flavor of a delicate, perfectly executed macaron. Love love love this one. Don’t love the staticky plastic bags – why, Plum Deluxe, why? The hassle and annoyance is not worth whatever they’re saving by going with plastic instead of foil.
Dipped into my stash from our Taiwan trip for my birthday! I’m really a victim of my own excess here – I brought back so much tea that we had to store it separately from the rest of my stash because there isn’t enough space, but then I don’t drink it because it’s off in a corner in a different room and when I’m poking around my tea stash to decide what to drink I forget to go look in the other room. Thankfully they’re almost all oolongs so they’re still in great shape.
I went with this one because I love rose teas and rose oolongs specifically. They’re surprisingly hard to find stateside so I made a point of picking up a few different ones while we were in Taiwan. Unfortunately, I think I may have overwatered this one! I went with a Western brew because I didn’t want to go back and forth to the kettle, and there’s so much leaf that I thought a 16 oz mug would be ok. But it came out just a wee bit lighter than I’d expect. Definitely still floral and rosy, on a lightly oxidized base. Next time I’ll try it in a smaller mug – I think that will give better results.
Time to make notes for the teas I drank a few days ago for my birthday!
I started the day off with a favorite coffee-substitute oat milk latte. This also happens to be a blend made in my home country for ashmanra’s sipdown challenge. I didn’t realize it would be a sipdown when I went to make it, which is a bit of a bummer, but I still have some Not Coffee Vol. 1 and some Teeccino left so it’s not so bad. And I sent this one out in style – made in a favorite mug and savored to the last drop. The nutty roastiness of the chicory works so well with the cinnamon and nutmeg! Oat milk adds a creaminess that really brings it all together (probably washes out the vanilla but is a plus-up overall so I’m willing to make the trade).
Flavors: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Roasty
Happy belated new year! I’ve been absolutely slammed at work this week, so this tasting note is a few days late, meep!
I’ve started a low-key tradition of beginning the year with a gyokuro. I have no idea how I got into that habit but I like it. Something about a brothy, deep, green brew just fits conceptually with both the dead of winter and a fresh start. I didn’t take adequate notes on this one and unfortunately it was a sipdown so I won’t have a chance to take more, but one thing I specifically remember being struck by is that it wasn’t quite as thick as some other gyokuros I’ve had. Not the thinnest, but also not the richest. Very middle of the pack in that sense. Enjoyable though!
I was a touch nervous about the Greek yogurt inspiration for this one, because I don’t like the tartness and acidity of Greek yogurt. Mostly I took a flyer on it because of the vanilla flavor and because my stomach’s been acting up so I’ve been trying to work more tummy-friendly foods/drinks into my diet. Thankfully it’s not tart or acidic at all! It’s just silky vanilla. There’s an almost apple-y note as it cools, but it doesn’t tip over into acidic.
I like the flavor of this, health benefits or not! And Kelly I think you made the right call going for a more “simple” flavor profile for a health tea. It’s the kind of flavor that lends itself to being enjoyable in a wide range of weather, being blended with other teas, being latted, being used as a base for a shake, etc. Which hopefully will make it easier to drink consistently!
Flavors: Apple, Silky, Vanilla
ok no. Steepster MUST have eaten my tasting note on this tea. Right? Am I losing my mind? I could swear I’d already written a note for this. Which is why I didn’t take notes when I did a sipdown of this earlier today. Just know that I liked this one a lot. Coconut is a good combo with the marshmallow genmaicha flavor profile. Overall just a nice creamy, roasty drink on a cold day.