72
drank Green White by Ito En
2036 tasting notes

We tried a new salad spot today. New to us, anyway, not sure how long it has been around. It’s a sort of trendy, shi shi place with (supposedly) healthy food, in any case clearly attempting to appeal to the upscale but natural foodsy university crowd.

The kids were past their melting point and so I didn’t have a chance to peruse the many, various RTD tea offerings in any detail as I was attempting to keep them from either killing each other or running aimlessly up and down the length of the restaurant. I basically grabbed this off the shelf because in an uncharacteristic fit of short term memory absolute recall, I remembered that I had had the one right next to it before, the Pure Green, and liked it. I also noticed a selection of Mighty Leaf tins at the ordering counter, but as I was attempting to keep the 4 year old from walking backwards into a klatch of coeds who were craning their collective necks toward the menu (which was hanging what seemed like about 30 feet over the counter) and didn’t see him at all, I was unable to ascertain what Mighty Leaf teas were on offer.

In any case, this tea was very nice and I wish I had had a quieter experience with it. As it is, I sort of had to chug it to keep up with what was going on at the table. I did notice, however, that the white tea flavor was quite prominent. Though this can likely be explained by the fact that I was tasting for it, I found it quite easily. It had gave the tea a nutty flavor, particularly in the aftertaste. I am not sure that the green tea added a lot, not sure I really tasted it much. Though I often find that if I’m not tasting something it’s accomplishing something else, like making the taste of some other ingredient stronger, milder, etc.

I think I may prefer the True Green, but it may also be that the True Green paired particularly well with the salad I had at Whole Foods when I tried it. This Green White seems more like the sort of thing one would do better to drink on its own, at least for an initial tasting. Today I had a salad called “Howdy” which had marinated tri-tip and sharp white cheddar in it among other things. Some fairly strong flavors, which may not have been the best pairing with the Green White.

Preparation
Iced 0 min, 15 sec

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Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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