71

Observation 1: The tea is individually wrapped. Yay freshness!

Observation 2: I did not brew it, my boyfriend did. I did not get to check for initial aroma. To my knowledge, 2 tea bags were brewed in a 32 oz Amsterdam teapot for at least 3 minutes, resulting in a clear tawny solution.

Observation 3: Post brewing. I was greeted with the gentlest sweetest jasmine aroma I have crossed paths with in a very long time. Like the old friend and guardian of the evening I used to smell on nights when I could not sleep, I felt myself smile and immediately relax.

Observation 4: My first cup I prepared my favorite way, with “Irish” cream and sugar and the tea did not stand out very well with the cream (I am noticing that green teas do not stand well against whiskey). Still yummy and sweet, I enjoyed my cup. My second cup of tea, I only added sugar and was presented with a very smooth and moderately intense green tea flavor with not much jasmine taste detectable. My third cup was tea without sugar or cream. There was the smooth green tea taste I mentioned before along with a much stronger jasmine presence.

Overall: What a delightful green tea! I would not drink this tea if I desired a jasmine tea, but as far as green tea is concerned I daresay it is one of the most agreeable green teas I have had.

Boyfriend’s remarks
“I thought that it was a little too much green tea, but not enough jasmine for my taste. I would have liked for it to have a bit more jasmine taste.”

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

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Bio

A casual tea drinker since my childhood; I recently began to truly explore international tea culture in my search for the perfect tea ritual in my extremely hectic lifestyle. I am a young pantheist college student pursuing the science of medicine with a minor in bioethics (philosophy) and I firmly believe that having a ritual for relaxation and meditation is crucial to physical and emotional wellbeing. I recently hosted my first afternoon tea party and hope to assemble a routine arsenal of tea and literature enthusiasts to share my teatime. My tastes are international and I embrace styles and ideas of different cultures across the centuries. I look forward to tea and literary recommendations from you all!

So I know there is no proper way to truly gauge teas as the best or the worst, but like with education, a standardized rubric system is very important to communicate certain aspects of a quality before one has a chance to read in-depth reviews.

It is with this in mind that I strive to follow the proceeding guidelines and rubric:

1. I shall not provide a grade based upon an improperly brewed tea. This includes: experimental blending, scalded leaves, oversteeping/understeeping and insufficient amounts of leaves provided.

2. All rated teas must initially be steeped in accordance to the guidelines provided by the tea company. Addendum/reevaluation may occur if properly documented.

3. I shall try my very best to leave personal preference out of the scope of grading. However, I shall endeavor to be very clear of my opinion of the teas that I rate.

Grading Rubric
100 point scale:

- Clearly and concisely conveys the flavors of the artist’s intent with no supplemental explanation if the flavors are within the taster’s experience (20 points)
- Requires menial ingredient adjustment (i.e.: milk, sugar, stevia, etc.) to achieve the flavors intended by the artist. (15 points)
- Is completely consistent in flavor and quality from batch to batch. (15 points)
- Requires little to no adjustment to preparation (sans accounting for regional differences in altitude, airpressure, etc…) for a full flavored steeping (10 points)
- has a very high quality tea base that compliments the blend (note: does NOT require whole leaves)(10 points)
- Re-steeps at least two to three times strongly if able. (if bagged, re-steeps twice well) (10 points)
- Stores very well (No flavor diminishment when stored in a dark, cool and airtight space for short periods of time). If bagged, is packaged promoting optimal infusion, ease of use and freshness. (10 points)
- has a clear explanation of ingredients, allergens and preparation instructions. (5 points?)
- Is very well priced in relation to the quality of ingredients and quantity provided. (5 points)

Location

Los Angeles, CA, USA

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