314 Tasting Notes
I’m finishing the last of my pouch and I have to say that I think this tea was just alright. I don’t think I’ll purchase it again.
It really smells luscious but the caramel and fruit flavors are very faint and “watery”. The black tea base is pretty docile as well—not much “kick”.
The taste is faintly like powdery Smarties…..or fruity Mentos.
Preparation
Just jotting down some quick impressions:
Citrus rind. Lime-like. Orange pith. Grape-notes. Champagne? Milk or cream?—not much. Slight potpourri-ness. Grapefruit.
I guess I sort of like it? …it’s very delicate with an unusual non-bubbly “effervescence”…..but it’s a bit bitter and slightly sour. :(
Preparation
Faint floral with a toasty aroma and taste. Hints of green and gardenias. Steamed roasted grains juxtaposed with an essence of tropical humidity. Then there’s something that reminds me of macadamia nuts.
Smooth, no bitterness, just a whisper of astringency. Refreshingly warm and soothing.
A lovely oolong overall. A very pleasant cup.
Preparation
The scent is definitely Cherry Coke!! I can even smell the fizziness! Amazing.
The taste is fizzy cherry cola. This is one of those rare teas where the aroma matches the flavor.
I’m not a huge, huge fan of cherry cola but I can’t deny that this is delicious and refreshing.
And I love honeybush. I find it so calming to drink. I’m a nervous person by nature but honeybush never fails to calm me down, somehow.
I’m really liking this flavor. It’s totally true to its name. And it’s yummy and soothing warm in a tea like this.
Preparation
Slight malty flavor. Hints of flowery honey. Seems to be a more “delicate” black tea? No astringency. Very smooth and mellow.
I think this would be perfect as an afternoon tea time tea. Complete with scones, clotted cream and marmalade!
Preparation
This tastes like mango jelly on rye bread!!
The flavor is full of malt and breadiness. Very full-bodied and “chewy”. And there’s this grain-like “tartness”—similar to rye or pumpernickel. Overlaid with a candied dried mango taste—which not very strong but it’s definitely noticeable and lends a fruity lightness.
I’m surprised how how good this is. It doesn’t taste synthetic and all! And I love the bready flavor. So (like I’ve said before about bready teas) it’s like freshly baked bread without the bloat!
Yeah, this is pretty delicious.
Preparation
Smells like polenta!!
As for flavor, this does indeed taste like corn! Freshly shucked corn. Very yummy. I love corn.
Also has a nutty undertone, like acorns. And grains—like oatmeal. Fresh and soft too—not earthy or dark at all—sweet even. With an underlying sappy green-ness.
This is delicious. I love it.
Preparation
Hmm…this is okay.
Kind of earthy, malty, a little sour. Has a biscuity, grainy aroma. Smooth. Not much bite. Soft.
Overall, very drinkable but no “wow”-ness.
Preparation
I read Harney & Sons catalogs like other people read fiction, and have always loved the description of this one. (Of course, making that statement here on Steepster probably describes most of us. The rest of the people in my world think I’m a little nuts.)
Yeah I also love the little tea stories and descriptions. It reminds me of the old J. Petermann catalog!
Simple, sweet, uncomplicated and straightforward. Good caramel flavor, a bit maple-syrupy and biscuity. No astringency.
Kind of stale, though. Other than that, it’s still pretty good for being over a year old and stored in a ziploc baggie. Poor mistored tea!
Preparation
An interesting tea!! Very unusual. I think I love it. :)
I know I didn’t brew this perfectly. I just felt like I needed to try this today and so I threw it in my bag to try at work. (So my impressions are based on roughly 1 teaspoon of tea and 190 degree hot spigot water in a 12.75 oz travel tea mug):
It smells like freshly peeled corn husks!! With slighty sappy, crisp evergreen and watermelon-like notes.
Tastes delicate and sweet, yet somehow has substance. No strong floral notes or spice—maybe a wisp of clover and grain with a sprinkle of sugar.
I love the scent the best and I also feel very calm and centered while drinking this.
It looks like a full-size order of Late-Winter Budset Yabao is in my future!
Preparation
I too love this tea! The beautiful thing about this tea is that it is almost impossible to brew it incorrectly. It is so forgiving. Good description of it, too!
Yay! Thanks Nathaniel! I especially love teas that I don’t have to “baby”. This one is practially perfect in that way.
Ditto Nate’s comment. This tea is so ridiculously forgiving! I’ve definitely just thrown leaves (buds?) into a cup at work, and let them sit in water all day as I refilled with hot water.
The only way I wouldn’t recommend this tea is putting it into a fill-yourself tea bag. The ones I tried, at least, were made of a linen-y paper, and they ended up absorbing and masking a lot of the sugar-crystal sweetness and replacing it with..paper. Also, since the buds are so big, you don’t fit as much into a bag as you probably really need.
Glad you enjoyed this one! This kind of pu’er was the very first sheng I fell in love with, and my gateway drug into pu’ers. It’s so pleasant and forgiving; there’s no way to do it wrong, and everyone who tries it invariably enjoys themselves.
I’ve heard that Verdant is trying to bring in some Yabao pressed into bricks and much older than what they have already. If they ever do (fingers crossed!), I’d recommend you try some of that, too.
Hi Spoonvonstup (such a great name…how come I never thought of it??) I agree with you about forgiving teas! I think puerhs are forgiving in general, since they’ve had so much time to “mellow out”.
I don’t have much time for temperamental teas nowadays. So, to a tea, I say: “Just let me throw you in my tea mug and let’s see how you hold up!” ;).
I loooooooove Ya Bao. Lemoniness and sheng pu-erh. What better combination.
