139 Tasting Notes

92
drank Chai Apricot by Tea Desire
139 tasting notes

GCTTB DAY 3

I actually had this tea yesterday but I didn’t get a chance to write any notes for it. I remember that I really loved this tea. All the flavours were very balanced and harmonious. I actually was a little apprehensive because it’s labelled as a chai, and most chais tend to be too overpowering, smack-you-upside-the-head-with-spices to me. This one was very pleasant, the spices mild enough to allow for the apricot flavour and green tea base to come through nicely. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable evening cup! Another keeper. :)

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54
drank Apple Crumble by Pluck
139 tasting notes

GCTTB DAY 3

Had this one with dinner (which was actually more like breakfast for dinner) and it actually paired pretty well. I made some fried ham and eggs sunny side up with toast and avocado, and the tea complimented my meal quite nicely. Although I enjoyed the pairing, I can’t say the tea itself was impressive. I should have probably known better just from the description and ingredient list on the package, but it was too tart for my liking. Not only that, but I felt like that flavours of was unbalanced and I competition with each other. The tart apple pieces and hibiscus only managed to bring out more tartness and bitterness in each other, while the cinnamon was rather heaped onto it as if trying to cover up a huge mess. Honestly it wasn’t that bad, but that was the general impression I got. My first try of a Pluck tea, hopefully the other one I want to try (ice wine) will be more successful.

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70
drank Rummy Pu by Liquid Proust Teas
139 tasting notes

GCTTB DAY 3

Unfortunately I haven’t had the time to try many teas today, but hopefully I can get at least one more in before bed. It’s already 6pm and I’m just sitting down for the day so it will have to be a tisane, but I’ve got a few lined up that I want to try. :)

I’ve heard so much about rummy pu and have definitely stalked it’s Steepster page before that when I saw his in the box I knew I had to try it. Hard alcohol and tea are my two favourite things, and this tea holds them both up surprisingly well! I have no idea what it is about puerh tea that allows it to produce this flavour but it is intriguing, and also quite pleasing. It has a strong body, with a slightly stinging aftertaste that reminds me of the liqueur. It smells and tastes slightly sweet and faintly earthy (puerh type). Puerh is still not a tea I can see myself reaching for very often, but as far as puerh goes this was so far the best one I’ve tried. I steeped it with a teaspoon of leaf for 3 minutes in just under boiling water.

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70
drank Romanoff by American Tea Room
139 tasting notes

GCTTB DAY 2

Second tea is the day. I must say I didn’t smell much from the dry leaf, but the name interested me enough to give it a try. Arbitrary choice, I know, but I don’t regret it! It’s a full bodied, slightly smoky black tea with an earthy aspect. Reminds me of a very mild lapsang souchong. It’s actually quite satisfying, I found myself sighing with contentment.

Evol Ving Ness

Glad that things are looking up. :)

Evol Ving Ness

Interesting that so many of us are drinking smoky things in these cold days.

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65
drank Wuyi Oolong by Rishi Tea
139 tasting notes

GCTTB DAY 2

Morning tea for today. This was a familiar and easy going oolong tea. Slight tabaccoey aroma, earthy medium body. Not one of my favourite varieties but was good to try.

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90

GCTTB DAY 1

Fourth (and probably final) tea for the day. Since its late now I opted for a herbal tea, and immediately reached for this one. I’ve been eyeing it all day (but drinking caffeinated teas while I could), since it was the first tea I smelled when I opened the box. It smells just heavenly! I made a pot for my roommate and I while she was packing up to leave on a camping trip for the weekend.

Oh boy, this was definitely my favourite of the day. The delicious banana cherry aroma wafted from the dry tisane, enough to almost make me eat it. I brewed a tablespoon in 1L for about 7 minutes in almost boiling water. It was perfect! You know, even without instructions or prior experience with a specific tea, I think I am getting really good at knowing and recognizing general tea profiles and how a new tea would best react to specific brewing parameters, at least for my own personal tastes. (Insert heroic pose) Hooray, a useless skill!

This tea was very very tasty. My roommate also thought it was delicious. The dominant flavour was definitely the cherries, but the sourness was mellowed out by the faintly sweet banana notes, and I thought I detected a hint of cinnamon and apple as well. Not too sour, not too sweet, bursting with flavour and great balance. I think this is a keeper!

Kristal

Yay! This is one I contributed. I didn’t put specific steeping times in case of possible cold brewing. Glad you liked it :D

MrQuackers

Omg you reminded me of the banana ice cream with cherry bars of long ago. They went together sooo well with the chocolate on the outside

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78
drank Strawberry & Kiwi by Basilur
139 tasting notes

GCTTB DAY 1

Third sample tea today, and I finally got lucky! Mm, this one is quite yummy. I knew pretty much as soon as I sniffed he dry leaf that I was in for something good. The strawberry and kiwi are not overpowering to each other but are nice in combination, fresh and lively. The Ceylon base is a little bold, I’m glad I didn’t steep it longer than a couple minutes. It’s just on the border of getting too astringent, but thankfully still on the delicious side! Quite happy with this choice. Tasty afternoon treat!

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15
drank Salted Caramel Mate by Stash Tea
139 tasting notes

GCTTB DAY 1

Second tea I’m sampling today, this one caught my attention because I like Stash teas but I’ve never seen this one being sold in store. The concept sounds intriguing, and I figured the salted caramel theme might be appropriate for the holiday season. I only left the bag in for about 2 minutes because the tea turned dark quite quickly and I can smell a slight herbal bitterness to it (the mate?) so better safe than sorry.

The aroma does smell like caramel, but it’s mixed in with that strange ashy note that I can only assume belongs to the mate. It almost reminds be of the earthiness of puerh, but not the same type, if that makes any sense.

I couldn’t really taste the salted caramel in the tea. It was overpowered by the earthy/herbal notes that gave off a slightly ashy aroma. It was faint, and only in the background. Overall it just wasn’t for me. I didn’t really expect the flavour of mate to overwhelm everything else. I’m glad I at least didn’t leave it for be recommended 3-5 minutes!

Evol Ving Ness

Arggh! I hope the rest of your tea experiences are stellar after this rough start.

Jillian

That was pretty much my take on that tea

Mookit

No worries, there is literally more tea in the box than I can probably go through in a week! I’m sure there are some great ones just waiting to be sampled.

Roswell Strange

Oh no! I’m sorry you didn’t like this one; it was one I added in.

MrQuackers

Davids tea has a salted caramel rooibos. I had it the other day. I think rooibos is a great base fir a caramel tea. It was really good.

MrQuackers

Correction toffee rooibos

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drank Brazilian Fruit by Mighty Leaf Tea
139 tasting notes

GCTTB DAY 1

Whoot, it was definitely an exciting day to find a box of teas waiting for me at home when I returned from work! My roommate couldn’t believe her eyes, she thought I had bought like 20 lbs of tea for myself, lol. I had to explain the concept of her travelling tea box to her.

It was rather overwhelming trying to decide which tea to sample first, my breakfast ended up getting cold! I chose this one on a whim, was looking for something black but with twist. Brazilian fruit sounded pretty good. Unfortunately I’m not getting much from it. It might have been a bit older, because I didn’t get much in the way of dry leaf aroma either. The tea has minimal favour and body, and has a slight soapy aspect to it. Not the greatest start I suppose, but there is so much more to try!

Now I have to go buy small ziplock bags to add my own tea, I wonder where I can find some. I’m thinking a craft store like Michaels?

Evol Ving Ness

Hurray—it got there in record time! Do let us know where you find those tiny bags. And have fun with the teas.

Mookit

Yeah I was really surprised! The tracking number indicated it might be arriving on the 12th, so it really was record time.

Kristal

I was really surprised how quick it got to you, especially since places out west have had snow storms!

Dustin

A lot of people buy these fancy scent proof bags for sending and storing tea which are kind of nice. A bit pricier than regular plastic zips, but they are great for tea!
Longest ebay link ever!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/50-Black-3-5×5-Aluminum-Foil-Pouches-Mylar-Zip-Seal-Bags-Food-Grade-Smell-Proof/131533534243?trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D38530%26meid%3Df2677ee215674d0bb6562129e0d18d4c%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D291970383641

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90
drank Joy by Teavana
139 tasting notes

Oh joy! Joy Tea is back at Starbucks! This is one of my faves, so I went before work this morning to see if I could grab a whole box of it to take home. Apparently I am not the only one who loves this tea, as they were all sold out. So I got some made in-store – my craving was pretty strong today. The lovely barista girl gave me an extra tea bag on the side because they were all out of the take-home tea! How kind of her, it made me smile first thing in the morning.

The morning steep was a little on the bitter side because I had to walk to work with the teabag in there, and as it was pouring rain I did not feel inclined to stop on the way and take it out. However, my afternoon bonus tea was simply delicious. The tea smells slightly fruity, floral, and wonderful. I really like the balanced mix of black and jasmine green. A dusting of vanilla and cinnamon (?) helps the tea smooth out to a decadent finish. It’s the little things in the holiday season that make it super awesome (not to mention the beautiful lights being put up everywhere)!

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Profile

Bio

I joined Steepster Nov. 2/’15. I am an aspiring law student, currently studying for the LSAT. Meanwhile, I drink a lot of tea, work as a legal assistant and watch Netflix in my down time.

Ever since joining Steepster, I have tried a whole bunch new tea, met awesome people, and learned quite a lot! I am still expanding my tea horizons, currently working on exploring the oolong and puerh territories. Oolong has been a pleasant journey so far, while puerh is more rocky and uncertain. I shall keep trekking on!

My favourite teas are blacks and greens, both flavoured and unflavoured, and I have a few staples that I drink all the time.

I love to try teas that I would otherwise not have access to, and therefore I am always looking for people to trade samples with. Send me a message if you are interested!

My Wishlist is teas that I would like to restock (as a note to myself). My ratings are mostly arbitrary. Generally, anything above 90 I will likely restock. 70-80 I enjoyed, but will not go out of my way to get again. Anything below 70 was not that great, and the lower the mark the less I enjoyed it.

Location

Vancouver, Canada

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