2410 Tasting Notes
Only very brief notes as today’s workday was a busy one, but for this session I used approx 6g of 2024 “Rock Spirit” which I received as a free sample with a resent YS order. As usual, I started with a 10s rinse.
1st steep (10s) – smooth, savoury-sweet, brothy, raw wood
2nd steep (15s) – ditto
3rd steep (20s) – ditto, developing creaminess
4th steep (25s) – creamy and sweet. Brothy/woody flavours diminished
5th steep (30s) – ditto
6th steep (40s) – ditto, liquor paling
7th steep (50s) – ditto, liquor paling and creamy sweetness also diminishing
8th steep (60s) – watery
Overall impression; pretty nice, didn’t last quite as long as I expected it to before the flavour faded, but I’d be willing to give it another go sometime. I enjoyed the more savoury notes in the initial steep, which were a nice change of pace from the sweeter shous I’ve been drinking lately.
Cold brewed in lemonade! This method of preparation seemed the obvious choice, and has worked well for other B&B fruit blends, so I figured why not and I wasn’t disappointed. There’s loads of candy cherry flavour to be found here; think cherry drops in liquid form. I’m curious to see how well it works hot, so I’ll give that a try at some point. Otherwise kinda sad this is a limited edition blend as it’d be really nice to have on hand for pitchers of iced tea in the summer…
Finally got around to a shou session now the workday routine is back in place post-Christmas! This came to me as a free sample with a recent Yunnan Sourcing order, and sitting there by the kettle it was calling to me today. I’m using around ~6g of leaf (approx. half the sample). As usual, I started with a 10s rinse.
1st steep (10s) – softly earthy, smooth, hints of cream.
2nd steep (15s) – ditto. Also some light astringency, and hints of raw wood.
3rd steep (20s) – ditto, astringency diminished.
4th steep (25s) – softly earthy, smooth & creamy, sweet; crystal sugar.
5th steep (30s) – ditto
6th steep (40s) – ditto
7th steep (50s) – smooth, creamy, sweet. Diminishing earthiness and overall flavour.
8th steep (60s) – liquor beginning to pale. Smooth with delicate sugary sweetness.
9th steep (70s) – ditto
10th steep (80s) – liquor very pale, flavour much diminished although still smooth and delicately sweet.
Overall, a pleasant and inoffensive shou. with a really enjoyable creaminess. Great for beginners, and also as a daily drinker that doesn’t require too much thought. I would consider purchasing more in the future.
Inspired by one of my favourite Supernatural episodes, Mystery Spot. For me today is indeed actually Tuesday, but since Heat of the Moment didn’t play this morning I can at least be reasonably sure that tomorrow will be Wednesday! This blend has prominent blueberry notes, a hint of jammy strawberry, and lots of caramel cream. Delicious, much like the breakfast options (and Sam’s choice of short stack) at the diner.
Cold brewed in lemonade. As a preparation method, pretty much perfection for this one, imo. The raspberry is sweet, tart, and super juicy, there’s a touch of “dryness” that is reminiscent of wine/prosecco, plus the muted fizz and additional sweetness from the lemonade. Really pleased to have this one back in my cupboard.
Here’s to the most important car – in fact, the most important object – in pretty much the whole universe. It wouldn’t be Supernatural without a blend for the Impala – just as much a character as the human characters themselves.
Dean’s Baby is an earl grey cream with lots of lavender; sweet, smooth, and distinctively floral. There is just the faintest hint of orange also, but it’s by no means a prominent flavour. I do enjoy that this blend has a more robust base than a lot of EGs, and so stands up to milk perfectly which enhances the creaminess even further. The creator says that the flavours were inspired by the impala as a both a “zesty spirit and a comforting home” which I get, but to my mind these flavours would be better suited to a character like Mary or Mrs Butters. Baby needs more of a leather flavour at the very least, and left to myself I’d probably have gone for something pu’erh based.
This is a pleasant blend to drink, but my search for the perfect fandom Baby blend continues!
On to Dean’s blend today. This makes a great morning cup, being strong and malty with its assam/Irish breakfast base. There’s lots of chestnut, which adds a rich sweetness, and just a hint of smokiness from the gunpowder. All of this perfectly accented with notes of cinnamon and apple pie. Really pleased with this one; it captures the essence of Dean’s character AND tastes delicious to boot!
Working through my Supernatural themed custom fandom sampler from Adagio! Heaven’s Missing An Angel is inspired by Castiel, and is pretty perfect for him – strong, sweet, a touch rebellious. At its heart it’s an earl grey cream, but with loads of chocolate chips and an added twist of almond. I swear I can taste a tiny bit of orange too. It’s very smooth and a little decadent; a really nice dessert tea (or after-work treat, in my case!) The only downside is that the chocolate chips make the mouthfeel quite oily, but overall I’m really pleased with this one and would definitely purchase more.
This one hits the mark in terms of complexity; fruity and malty with all of the underlying sweetness that implies. Notes also of honey, molasses, raisins, and cocoa. Perhaps just a hint of smoke. Lots going on here, so definitely an interesting cup to sip on as I ponder my afternoon’s work. Second steep is just as good.
Sipping down some Teavivre samples today whilst I decide which larger bags to add to my next order. This one I found underwhelming; it’s smooth, sweet, and malty with hints of raisin, but somehow seemed quite flat and generic. I guess I expected more complexity from an “ancient tree” variety. It’s absolutely pleasant and very easy to drink, but I don’t prefer it to the other Teavivre Dian Hongs I’ve tried, so it’s not one I feel the need to add to my cupboard for the longer term.
