41 Tasting Notes

80

Before I get into my tasting notes, I would like to thank my good friend History Laced for going halfsies on tea with me! This is my first puer. It was a freebie given to us for making a purchase over $30 at the Lupicia tea store near us. I also want to publicly thank her for very cool journal she bought me for Christmas to write my tea notes in; I never get anything for Christmas, so I am super giddy about this. :D

Observation 1: As usual, I am at the kitchen table gossiping shamelessly as my boyfriend prepares the tea. He steeped the tea for 2 minutes in boiling water. The tea was not placed in an infuser, we used a tea strainer instead. It is a very pretty deep amber liquor.

Observation 2: The tea straight is very light flavor that I am assuming is the puer with the merest hints of a strawberry aftertaste. I do not taste any of the black tea in this blend, nor do I taste any chocolate.

Observation 3: With sugar to taste, I now begin to notice chocolate notes in the forefront. To me, it tastes as though I just had a cup of chocolate milk and followed it with a cup of strawberry milk.

Observation 4: With milk only, the chocolate and strawberry flavors are very muted; I only taste what I my brain is logically deducing as the puer.

Observation 5: With milk and sugar, there is a very light taste of chocolate with a much stronger strawberry presence. It is very smooth with no bitterness detected.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience. A fan of boisterous flavors, I am not sure whether or not the delicate notes of a puer is really my cup of tea. Next, I think I would like to try a puer without any extra bells and whistles and really figure out what puer itself tastes like. There’s still so much to learn and try and with my handy dandy journal, I should be belting these out like rapid fire, that is unless I end up turning it into a rant-book like I do every other miscellaneous scrap of paper that accidentally crosses my path. :)

Boyfriend review: Goes good with milk and sugar, it is very light otherwise.

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec

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80

WARNING: another non-detailed review.

This is becoming a late night favorite in the small but growing world of herbal teas that I like. Get some scones, butter em up and add some jam, we’ll see how it goes. :D

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89
drank Bossa Nova by Zen Tea
41 tasting notes

Tried to resteep a rose tea that I fogot to store properly. FAIL! Not wanting to waste perfectly good water I threw in what was left of my Bossa Nova Zen Tea sample and Oh My God everytime I drink this tea it is so delicious. I am an oolong fan for life. Its so nutty and vanillaliscious! Some might be wondering why this isn’t a technical review, well a few reasons:

1. I wrote one already and it’s at my boyfriend’s waiting to be posted, bf review and all!
2. It was a spur of the moment and I am just enjoying this the way I like it, no scientific tasting today!
3. Its finals week next week and I am giving my boyfriend the week to cram so I wouldnt/couldn’t pick up my notes if I wanted to.

Lady 0f Spaydes

Tasted remnants of the rose tea at the end of the cup. Very interesting!

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58
drank Raspberry by Ambiance
41 tasting notes

Im sitting here on my mom’s laptop trying to get into the zone to work on my novel and failing. I try to make a bit of ambiance by listening to a Pandora station I made inspired by Portishead but the obnoxiously loud television my dad is watching and the noise my brothers are making (they make music blargh!) manage to only foster an ambiance of environmental schizophrenia. Im also out of cigarettes and trying to keep it that way. Soooo I’m not in the greatest mood, but I will aim to be unbiased.

Observation 1: More borrowed tea. I am drinking this because I have a little tasting party to attend with my good friend and boyfriend on Saturday and I wan’t to not devour my tea samples and whats left of what I bought from Jupicia (50 grams does not go a long way… its like 3 or 4 days of tea; still cheaper than buying a pack of cigarettes every other day) so that I can bring them with me.

Observation 2: I did not notice a scent at all when I opened the package. I frowned a bit, I wanted a tea not an herbal, but you know the whole beggars and choosers… It was individually wrapped so yay freshness!

Observation 3: I steeped 2 teabags for 6 minutes in a 32oz teapot. The color is very pretty, a deep red orange, the kind of colors that make me long for the color changes of leaves that we don’t experience here in California. There is a heavy sweet scent with a light hint of raspberry. I wish there were more raspberry aroma.

Observation 4: I tried it first with sugar. There is an explosion of raspberry and then an aftertaste that I cannot describe as anything other than sucralose. That has always been a nuisance to me concerning fruity teas. I don’t know if it is something they put in them or what, but there’s always an artificial sugar aftertaste.

Observation 5: I tried it again without sugar. It tastes like not-quite-ripe raspberries; it is mildly tangy.

Overall, it’s not my cup of tea, but I am making due with what I’ve got. I have never been the biggest fan of fruity blends myself, but it tastes pretty standard. I probably would purchase this for tiny guests to have something to drink that isn’t a soda, but I doubt I would drink this again myself (unless I run out of tea again. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen).

Preparation
Boiling 6 min, 0 sec
Shelby

Lady of Spaydes, where did you find Ambiance teas? I’ve had the Caffeine-Free Raspberry tea at a restaurant and loved it. Can’t find it anywhere. Might you know where to buy it?

Lady 0f Spaydes

I will ask my mom where she found it and get back to you!

Shelby

Thanks much!

Shelby

I heard that Smart & Final sell it.

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80

No notes yet. Add one?

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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88

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

Observation 2: My boyfriend made the tea, not I, so I have no notes on the uncooked tea. To my knowledge, 2 bags were steep for 3 minutes in a 32oz tea pot with boiling water.

Observation 3: Once steeped, the tea has a very spicy pear scent and is a clear deep tawny solution.

Observation 4: My first cup of tea was with sugar. There is a very spicy pear flavor and the tea tastes very bright. It definitely perks me up at first sip.My second cup was without sugar. Alone the tea is very spicy and the pear is very subtle. This tea is all about the ginger.

Overall: I love this tea. Its ginger and pear and a great morning pick-me-up. I will be repurchasing this tea.

boyfriend review:
“I liked it. I put too much sugar but that was fixed with more tea creepy giggle

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
Sil

haha the boyfriend review makes me smile

Lady 0f Spaydes

Yay! He doesn’t mind me doing it and its always funny to me; I’m glad someone else ejoyed it!

Sil

My other half just won’t drink tea lol unless he’s sick

Lady 0f Spaydes

PMine prefers stuff like boba and chai lattes, but he drinks hot tea just to be social since its a big past-time with my friends. He makes a much better pot than I do anyway since I’m constantly sending him in the kitchen to make tea so I figure he should speak his mind. That and I love the nearly paraphrased way he always says what I was thinking (he doesn’t get to see my review before he says anything, its weird!). Its like my review went through a guy filter.

Besides, there’s nothing more amusing than watchin a giant heavy handed guy try to hold a fine china teacup. :P

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88

It’s GINGER AND PEAR in a WHITE TEA!!!! What more could you ask?! :D

Seriously, I’ll post a thorough review when I make my next pot of this tea. I will be buying this tea again soon, I am running out.

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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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36

1st observation: I drank the very last of my jasmine tea and really wanted tea so I asked my aunt for tea. She gave me 2 bags of Ambiance’s orange jasmine green tea and 2 bags of Ambiance’s caffeine free raspberry tea. I was craving jasmine so I gave the jasmine tea a shot. After all, beggars cannot be choosers.

2nd observation: The packaging is aluminum and individually wrapped, so yay freshness! Upon opening, I was greeted with a very interesting scent, the tang of citrus along with the sweet scent of jasmine lightly intertwined. My first scent-sation was that of dread. It did not smell nice.

3rd observation: I steeped the tea in a teapot, 32 oz with 2 tea bags for 3 minutes. After steeping, the tea was a clear amber color and smelled only of jasmine.

4th observation: Still apprehensive, I added cream and sugar. My first taste impression was that of both releif and dissapointment. It tastes just like any standard run-of-the-mill jasmine tea. I was hoping for something to blow my mind. It did have a tangy aftertaste that reminds me of orange zest.

5th observation: I cleared my palette and tasted the tea again without sugar or cream. It tastes like a bitter jasmine tea and I will not be drinking this without cream and/or sugar at all.

Overall: I was hoping for something a bit interesting and ended up with a fairly plain yet drinkable tea. If I want a jasmine green tea, I think I’ll find a better blend.

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Profile

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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