1379 Tasting Notes

85

I decided to ice the last of this tea so it would be ready for this morning. While I was sad to see this tea go I thought icing it would be a nice send off.

This morning I served this tea with a slice of lemon. It’s a deep red/orange colour that is cloudy. It looks stronger than it actually tastes but admittedly I did make it a little stronger for a boost this morning. It’s wonderful, slightly sour which is enhanced and sweetened by the lemon. Lightly smoky from the thickness and a date fruit finish.

Why didn’t I ice more of this? If I knew how nice it would be I would have done it more often.

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75

I tried this tea hot last night and mentioned it would be nice iced, so after I wrote the review I got my ice tea bottle and prepared some. I left it in the fridge overnight so I can have it in the morning. While it’s not as hot as yesterday it’s still going to be a scorcher.

I feel like I steeped this a little too strong but it’s probably right on. Raspberry notes are more sour and it’s floral with a perfumed after taste. Slightly dry too. It’s refreshing and hydrating in this mornings heat.

Out of the two I think I prefer it iced, so now I know what to do with the rest of my stash. I think I have around 40g of this left so that is a good few batches of iced tea.

……………..

On the cat front, the new stray I have rescued (called Misty) is a little more settled today. It’s still less than 24 hours but she loves her fuss and has finally had something to eat. The litter is another story, I will have to see if she uses it. I haven’t seen her go at all so far but she may have in the night.

I’ve had a feral cat before, Honey became my best friend over time. She took almost all of my patience over the first couple of years but she settled and became happy. She died earlier this year but she was going to be put down without my care, and I feel the same with Misty. She may be younger than Honey was when we got her but no one wanted her and RSPCA refused to take her in. She would either die outside from the dangers (heat, foxes, dogs etc) or someone nasty would find her and hurt her. I still think I am doing the right thing. My other cats are not sure what to make of her but it’s early. And my husband is grumpy…but at least I can sleep knowing I’m trying my best.

Rasseru

Im pretty jels of your cat stories.. I really want a kitty but i’m single/not settled & I dont know if I should have the responsibility – I’m basically still mourning the loss of my (still young) cat a couple of years ago

Rasseru

Also really enjoy hearing them, so keep us updated on Misty :)

KittyLovesTea

I know all too well what that feels like. Honey was fairly old (roughly 13 years…she was a rescued feral cat) but that doesn’t make her passing any easier. A few years ago I had a newly turned 1 year old cat die from a sudden heart attack. The vets didn’t pick anything up on his physical a few months earlier but from what I described his last moments they revealed a heart problem. We have his brother from the same litter and he still looks for him at night time.

Misty has moved into my bedroom now, there is a good hiding spot in my wardrobe. She tries to get outside which makes sense as she lived on the street for a few months. For now I will give her space and visit her from time to time for fuss and bonding. Hopefully she will fit in well with my other cats.

Rasseru

awwwww. give her a hug from me if thats possible

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75

What a crazy day! It’s a heat wave with highs of 33 degrees c (which is 91.4 Fahrenheit) and because work is a glass building I had to work outside in the heat. I have also got a new cat now to make number 5. This morning when I pulled in to work someone near by said she has a cat living there and no one wants her. She is black, fairly small and lives in a hedge. I have been talking to my husband all day and after some arguing I brought her home anyway. She has been here for about an hour and half, she’s in my living room with my other female cat. Though they are not seeing eye to eye Cassie is being patient and gentle, the perfect introduction I think. My boys have had to be kicked out of the living room as they stalk her, she needs to be introduced slowly. For now she has no name but I am thinking Misty.

So for a change of my usual tea taste (which has been black and Sheng) I pulled this out of the cupboard. Originally I wanted a green tea but saw the osmanthus in this and thought it was perfect for the heat.

This smells very sweet and floral, the osmanthus clinging to my nostrils like perfume. The steep revealed the leaves are not great quality (some discolouration and holes) but it tastes nice enough. It’s sweet with a slight sourness to it like raspberry and the Oolong is light and milky. On the whole it’s only mild strength and the osmanthus doesn’t last long in the after taste.

Further steeps remain consistent, even the raspberry quality. Essentially it tastes like creamy raspberry tea which is not a bad thing on a hot day. It was 50g for around £3 so I didn’t expect much from it, needless to say it is nicer than I expected. I can see myself using this for iced tea in the near future.

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100

I’ve spent approximately 8 hours hunting down Pokemon thanks to the official release of Pokemon Go in the UK today. I’m pretty thrilled with my Meowth which I found lurking in my house…with 4 cats here already it makes sense another would find it’s way here. I will have to put more effort in tomorrow, today I have been too tired to walk around much.

I have had this tea before but didn’t get around to reviewing it. Frankly everything about this tea is amazing. It’s a good quality Baozhong with butter, cucumber and sweet floral notes before a juicy watermelon after taste that lingers freshly in the mouth. There is nothing about those flavours that is not to like, at least to me. Cucumber and watermelon are two of my favourite foods ever and having them in such a pure and delicious tea form makes it amazing. Not to mention the Baozhong base can be re-steeped successfully a lot of times so it’s a case of having as much watermelon deliciousness as you can handle.

Yay I just caught another Pokemon while writing this review. It’s a good night!

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82

My husband is out with work friends and I almost regret offering to give him a lift home. His problem is time escapes him and before he knows it the bar will be closing and he stumbles into the street at 4am. I have work in the morning and it’s already 10:30pm, hopefully he phones me early so I can snuggle in my bed. I got a teddy bear soft sheet that Oliver kitten loves, he has a thing for sucking soft wool things. Apparently wool sucking in cats and kittens shows that he was taken too early from his mother and he is trying to find a way to bond with her. I had him when he was 4 months, he was the one found on the street and so I took him in. I do worry about him sometimes, does he even remember his mother? What about his siblings? I can only pray that they are alright.

Anyway, back in the world of tea I am drinking this in the hopes that it will keep me busy to help me stay awake. My eyes are feeling heavy and a little droopy but if I’m not clear minded I cannot drive. Enter some purple tea in a beautiful cake form. I’m three steeps in and am impressed by it so far. It tastes like you expect for Sheng but it’s darker in colour than you would expect, of a normal Sheng that is.

It’s sweet and smooth with earth, musk and floral notes. On the whole it’s easy to drink and would make for a nice everyday tea. The cake was $8 for 100g which I feel is a very good price. Usually I cannot stomach cheap Pu Erh, it’s either too strong, too sour or it lacks flavour altogether. This may not be top quality, but it’s certainly nice enough to make me want more. I think I’m going to steep the shit out of this tea!

BTW steep three in a teapot was large enough to open the leaves fully and for the most part they are whole. I love seeing the leaves after, it’s a reminder that I’m drinking something natural.

I will be here, steeping and waiting for a drunken phone call.

Youssef

It is commonly instinct for cats to remember their mothers feel, but they don’t remember their mothers at all and won’t get depressed missing them (unless they were taken a few days ago and are really too young). This is why when cats get on a blanket that is really squishy they start to kneed it because they mistake it for their mothers!

Youssef

So no need to worry at all, I used to live on a farm where kitten’s mothers often got killed by coyotes, and the kittens will really miss their mothers for the first month or two, but after this they will be normal and treat you as if you were their mother.

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83
drank 2016 A&P by white2tea
1379 tasting notes

First Steep – 1 minute

Tea Colour and Scent – The colour is burnt orange and it bares a thick, malt scent.

Tea Flavour – This has a lot of flavour for a one minute steep. It has both malt and dry wood attributes with sour cocoa that transcends into chocolate for the after taste. Some sweetness though mostly sour and with a rich mouth feel.

Second Steep – 2 minutes

Tea Colour and Scent – Red colour with a sour malt scent.

Tea Flavour – Thick and rich with sweet malt dominating a sour wood undertone. The aftertaste is cocoa like and sour but smooths out quickly. Also slightly drying in the after taste.

Third Steep – 3 minutes

Tea Colour and Scent – Orange/red colour with a sour wood scent.

Tea Flavour – It’s toned down but still thick in malt and sourness. Whilst still sour it has at least relaxed and it doesn’t last for long. The after taste is just as thick but evermore drying. Perhaps my favourite steep as the balance is better.

Overall – A thick and flavourful tea which is more like a classic black, albeit better quality than average. It’s a good quality everyday black tea which has it’s pro’s and con’s. I found it became sour very quickly but I did enjoy the richness of it.

The processing tastes more like a classic black tea and what I am more familiar with, so this method must be quite common in production. It’s also my usual preference in a black tea, I like them strong and rich.

It says that this tea should improve with age and I am very tempted to test that theory, given that it’s a new tea it should smooth out in a couple of years. If I can leave it alone for that long!

Pics and more information: http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2016/07/13/white2tea-club-july-2016/

looseTman

“It’s also my usual preference in a black tea, I like them strong and rich.” +1

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86

My small YS order arrived yesterday and this tea was in it. I bought the easy purple clay gaiwan set for me to use at work and thought this tea would go well with it. I will go on record and say that for the best part of my tea drinking exploration I have disliked Pu Erh. I kept trying it over the years and found it either too bitter or too soft. There were a few exceptions but for the most part everything I had I disliked and I felt that perhaps Pu Erh was just not for me. That was until this year I decided to perhaps explore even further. I believe I was getting tea from the wrong places, and the cheap grade Pu Erh is not worth it. Some came without certificates and some deals were too good to be true, it’s no wonder I disliked them, you get what you pay for. Now I will only buy Pu Erh from dealers that I trust.

That leads me to this tea, purchased from a trusted place and a nice quality. The golden tips are beautiful! Full of downy hairs and shine, with a musty smell that is sensual and peppery. I’ve come a long way to even willingly drink Shu let alone describe it as sensual.

I’m not keeping time of steeping times and this is a relaxed review, something I do for personal enjoyment. Sometimes there is no fun in having to start a timer.

In flavour this is soft, smooth and very easy to drink. While it’s subtle in flavour the creaminess makes it very enjoyable. Earth mixed with raw sugarcane and an aftertaste of dry, light musty wood. No impure flavours or scents.

A few steeps in and it remains consistent in flavour and strength.

I’m writing this when I’m supposed to be doing my white2tea club blog. I should really get back to that. Until then I will be drinking and thoroughly enjoying this tea.

mrmopar

I agree. Sellers that taste what they sell is the best way. Having the good ones that you can trust is a bonus all the way around.

Rasseru

I spent a year saying ‘dont like shou’ as well, until I managed to try some good stuff & realised that I had been drinking cheap rubbish. Thas since been thrown in the bin, it really is night & day difference.

Now I have the lovely opportunity to drink coffee-like tea when I fancy it, as have some amazing cakes that get me enough into that area but dont give me the jitters, which was why I started on this (wow, 10 years now!) tea journey..

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Profile

Bio

I’m 34 years old from Leicester, England named Kayleigh.

I started off many years ago drinking herbal and fruit teas which over time peaked my interest in trying new types. Eventually I began to import and sample many different teas and cultures which I still do today. My life goal is to try as many teas and ways of having tea as possible.

Tea wise my cravings change constantly from pu erh one month to jasmine green to the next and so on.

I also enjoy watching Japanese Anime and horror films.

I am always up for tea swaps so if you see anything in my virtual cupboard then please contact me.

A short list to help swapping with me easier though honestly I am not fussy and am willing to try anything. Plus the notes below are usually, sometimes I love a tea that has an ingredient I tend to dislike and other times I hate a tea that I thought I would love.

Likes: Any fruit but especially melon and orange, vanilla, all tea types (black, green, white etc), nuts (any), flowers, ginger, chai.

Dislikes: Licorice, aniseed, clove, eucalyptus, lavender.

My rating system
I have my own way of rating teas that makes each one personal. I have different categories, I rate each tea depending on what it is made of. For example: I rate green teas in a different way to black teas or herbal teas. So black, white, green, Pu Erh, Rooibos, Oolong, blends and tisanes all have their own rating system. That way I can compare them with other teas of the same or similar type before for an adequate rating. And when I do give top marks which is very rare I am actually saying that I would love to drink that tea all day, every day if possible. It’s a tea that I would never turn down or not be in the mood for. So while I agree that no tea is 100% perfect (as nothing is) I am saying that it’s as close as it comes to it. After all, in my book the perfect teas (or close to perfect anyway) are ones that I could drink all the time. That is why you will find a high quality black or Oolong will not have as high a score as a cheap flavoured blend, they are simply not being compared in the same category.

Location

Leicester, England, United Kingdom

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