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Ok. I want to start this by saying I have never really been the fondest of straight green tea. However, I have been told by many these days that my experience is skewed because I am used to grocery store green tea. So I bought a bunch of green tea samples to try from across the board to see if what I am being told is right or not. This is one of my first (non-jasmine) attempts. Here goes.

Ok, right off the bat this isn’t starting out well. This tea tastes slightly smoked, which is definitely NOT my favorite flavor. The weird thing is I didn’t notice the smokey flavor till the bottom of cup one. Resteep is smokey right away though. Definitely getting those green tea flavor notes, but it isn’t overpowering. If I had to describe it I would say smoked spinach. There’s almost a meaty flavor to it as well, kinda like jerky. I don’t know if I didn’t prepare this right or what but I’m getting a different flavor profile than everyone else on here. It kinda tastes like… dinner. Like beef and potatoes and veggies dinner all mixed up in one. Not the worst thing I’ve ever tasted, but certainly not good either. I think I will have to pass on this one and try a different one next time. Oh well.

Flavors: Meat, Smoke, Spinach, Vegetables

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 30 sec
Mastress Alita

I’ve tried many different Pi Lo Chun from several different vendors and don’t think I’ve ever had a smoke note from any of them yet (I don’t like smoky green teas, either). I’ve never had Uptons, though. Meat and veggies are typical flavor notes I’ve picked up on, though! I’ve had a bacon-like taste and scallops/shrimp sort of meaty flavors, and grean beans very frequently. I really like it… but I’ve also never had a smoky one. If I ever had a smoky one, I’d certainly pass on it. I also only steep my greens 1-2 minutes, as I don’t like them getting astringent. Not sure if that would make a difference or not?

Shanie O Maniac

Well, judging from the fact that when I poured the water in the cup there was tons of visible steam coming from it, along with the dark color of the liquid, makes me think I burned the leaves. I tried to use lower temp water but maybe it wasn’t low enough? That may account for some of the smokey flavor. I could try again with lower temp water and only a 1-2 minute steep and see if it helps. I didn’t mind the meat and veggies taste nearly as much as the ash flavor. I suppose I can give this another shot. I will take your advice into account and try again sometime later this week.

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Mastress Alita

I’ve tried many different Pi Lo Chun from several different vendors and don’t think I’ve ever had a smoke note from any of them yet (I don’t like smoky green teas, either). I’ve never had Uptons, though. Meat and veggies are typical flavor notes I’ve picked up on, though! I’ve had a bacon-like taste and scallops/shrimp sort of meaty flavors, and grean beans very frequently. I really like it… but I’ve also never had a smoky one. If I ever had a smoky one, I’d certainly pass on it. I also only steep my greens 1-2 minutes, as I don’t like them getting astringent. Not sure if that would make a difference or not?

Shanie O Maniac

Well, judging from the fact that when I poured the water in the cup there was tons of visible steam coming from it, along with the dark color of the liquid, makes me think I burned the leaves. I tried to use lower temp water but maybe it wasn’t low enough? That may account for some of the smokey flavor. I could try again with lower temp water and only a 1-2 minute steep and see if it helps. I didn’t mind the meat and veggies taste nearly as much as the ash flavor. I suppose I can give this another shot. I will take your advice into account and try again sometime later this week.

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Bio

HELLO! My name is Shanie and I love tea!

While I have always loved various types of tea, for a very long time it came exclusively from a grocery store. It’s only been a year or so now that I’ve gotten into loose leaf. As such, there will likely be tasting notes I do for bagged tea as well as good quality (and not so good quality) loose leaf teas. I’m still learning as I go so have patience please!

Right now, I am on a massive Earl Grey kick. So if a ton of my notes are just various varieties of EG, that’s why!

Some of my favorite flavors include: Cocoa, Malt, Bread, Honey, Earthy, Sweet Citrus, Caramel, Apple, Spices, and Cinnamon.

Some flavors I don’t like: Licorice, Coconut, Bitey Citrus (like Citric Acid), Licorice, Sour, Smoke, Overpowering Fake Vanilla, Stevia, and did I mention Licorice?

NOTE: I am Type 2 Diabetic. As such, I can really not have sugar added to tea without suffering problems. This prohibits me from using either plain sugar or honey. Instead, I use Splenda as I found my system can handle it well and I like the flavor. I try to avoid stevia as I’ve found it often ruins the flavor of tea. However, not all teas require sweetener, and some are better without. Because of this, if I add sweetener to a tea, I will mention it in the tasting note and say what kind and how much. Usually, I sweeten flavored and herbal teas but leave true teas unsweetened. There are exceptions, but this is a general rule of thumb to go by.

Almost all of the tea I brew is western style. I occasionally do grandpa, but pretty much never Gong-fu. I do own a Gaiwan, but it never gets used. Considering I don’t have a “sip setting” when it comes to beverages, it’s really hard for me to get into any sized amount less than 8oz at a time. I know that probably makes me a tea-heathen, but so be it. I like my mugs.

I have decided to try and make a scale for my ratings. So here goes.

As of January 2020.

100-91: These are my go-to favorites. I will likely go out of my way to always keep these on hand, including going on third party websites to obtain out of season.
90-81: This is a tea I really did enjoy, and I will likely purchase again. However, I wouldn’t go to the ends of the earth for it, and it isn’t my all-time favorite.
80-71 This is a tea that, while I may have somewhat enjoyed, something is holding me back from making it a mainstay. Maybe the flavor profile isn’t the best. Maybe there is an offputting aftertaste. It varies. But while I did like it and will continue to drink it, I don’t absolutely need it in my life, and while I will likely finish what I have, I may or may not get more.
70-61: This is a tea which I drank, but I didn’t like it. However, I didn’t hate it either. It wasn’t bad enough to dump, and if it is the only thing available to drink, I would likely drink it instead of plain water. But in the end, this is just not my literal cup of tea and I will likely not get this again.
60-51: This is something that I didn’t like much at all, but for one reason or another, refused to dump. If I squint hard enough and use my imagination, I can almost BS myself into thinking they are decent, and I suppose I can choke it down and not waste it. These are teas that I will not be buying again, and may not even finish what I have.
50-41: Yeah, whatever this is, I there’s a good chance I dumped it. At this level, it’s pretty bad stuff with either weak flavor, nasty flavor, or all the wrong flavors, It has few redeeming qualities, and I likely won’t reach for this one again. On the bright side, it isn’t sewage water, so there’s that.
40-31. On it’s best day this tea has no redeeming qualities. This not only got dumped but the package it came in either got thrown away, traded, or shoved to the back of the cupboard to never be touched again. Not the worst thing I’ve ever tasted, but darn sure close.
30-Under: The worst thing I’ve ever tasted. This not only has no redeeming qualities, but it is gag-inducing. “Teas” in this range are so bad I not only will never drink them again, I really don’t feel like offloading them onto anyone else because they are just that bad. Actual sewage water.

Location

Pennsylvania, US

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