788 Tasting Notes
Steep Information:
Amount: 1 heaping tsp
Water: 1 Zarafina cup
Tool: Zarafina Green-Loose-Medium
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: like cucumber melon hand lotion (not in a bad way, I always think they smell good enough to eat)
Steeped Tea Smell: Mostly cucumber, hint of melon and hint of vegetal
Flavor: cucumbers and melon and green tea, not really blended but in a dance of layers
Body: Light
Aftertaste: slightly vegetal but a pleasant way not bitter or astringent
Liquor: translucent nearly clear yellow-green
Next time i want to try with sweetener or iced.
Resteep:Zarafina Green-Loose-Strong weak, bitter, still cucumber melon, next time will try medium
Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/52teas-loose-leaf-green-tea-cucumber.html
Steep Information:
Amount: 1.5 heaping tsp
Additives: 1 teaspoon raw honey
Water: 185°
Tool: make your own paper teabag
Steep Time: a little over 4 minutes
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: cherry, fruit
Steeped Tea Smell: cherry, fruit, tea
Flavor: slightly bitter, vegetal, cherry
Body: Light
Aftertaste: vegetal, bitter
Liquor:
This tea is a mellow, light, fruity tea. the flavorings are slightly more than subtle. I enjoy this tea but always wish it had a little more punch to the flavor. On the other hand it smells divine.
I had this tea while visiting my mom, being a fan of subtle many of her teas are whites, greens, and subtle flavored.
images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/teavana-loose-leaf-white-tea-snow.html
Preparation
Steep Information:
Amount: 2.5 tsp
Water: 2 zarafina cups
Tool: Zarafina black-loose-medium
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: campfire
Steeped Tea Smell: campfire, sweet
Flavor: sweet smoke, black tea
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: black tea
Liquor: translucent orange-brown
MilitiaJim was a little excited to have some tea, and grabbed a random Golden Moon sampler pack, so I don’t have pictures of the loose leaf.
The reason I do not like lapsang souchong is not the flavor, but the constant fear and anxiety they give me – I keep looking for the fire and panicking that we need to evacuate.
Overall the tea is a sweet smoky smooth black tea with little astringency.
Resteep: Zarafina black-loose-strong = a very weak cup of black tea with smoky hints
Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/golden-moon-tea-loose-leaf-black-tea.html
Steep Information:
Amount: 1 tea pyramid
Water: 6 ounces filtered
Steep Time: see notes
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: Cinnamon, hibiscus, licorice
Steeped Tea Smell: Cinnamon, hibiscus, licorice
Flavor: Cinnamon, hibiscus, licorice
Body: Full
Aftertaste: tart licorice
Liquor: deep dark red
So first time I tried this I assumed I oversteeped, threw it out. Not sure how long it was.
Next time I went 5 minutes, still way too strong, let MilitaJim have it, he enjoyed it luckily.
Did one at 1:30 – still too strong for me! I have decided I do not like the combination of hibiscus (tart) and licorice. Probably the same reason I did not like the rishi blueberry red iced tea this morning.
I like bold flavors usually so I think it’s just the combination I do not like.
Made one cup hot and put in the refrigerator to try iced, will let you know how that goes.
Resteep: 5 minutes was dark pink color but no flavor.
images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/tea-forte-teabag-herbal-tea-flora.html
Steep Information:
Amount: 4 tsp
Water: 22 ounces filtered water
Tool: Cast Iron Teapot with Mesh basket strainer
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet, almonds
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet, almonds
Flavor: black tea, almond, smooth
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: astringent
Liquor: translucent dark reddish-brown
A generous sample from Doulton!
It was a nice black tea, but not amazing or WOW!
I could see getting it along with an order but not as the reason for an order.
Post-Steep Additives:
+German rock sugar – sweeter, nicer cup of tea, more flavor less black tea
+Almond milk – overpowered the tea, not recommended
Resteep: 3 minutes, just as flavorful and delicious as the first round
images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/california-tea-house-loose-leaf-black.html
Preparation
Steep Information:
Amount: 10 tsp
Water: 4 measuring cups filtered water + ice
Tool: Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker
Served: Cold
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: lemon, berry, floral
Steeped Tea Smell:
Flavor: berry, hibiscus
Body: Full
Aftertaste: bitter, licorice, BITTER
Liquor: dark reddish-orange
I got this from Lena or Meghann M, oh my I’ve lost track, sorry!
Smells fabulous!
Taste at first sip is good, hibiscus berry, and then at the end of the sip TART LICORICE TART bleh bleh!
I like licorice, and have been known to gnaw on a licorice root, i like hibiscus, i like berries, and i like rooibos, but something about the combination is bad.
images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/rishi-tea-loose-leaf-rooibos-tea.html
Steep Information:
Amount: 3 tsp
Water: 22 ounces filtered boiling
Tool: Cast Iron Teapot with Mesh basket strainer
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: green tea, vegetal
Steeped Tea Smell: green tea, vegetal
Flavor: sweet, vegetal, green tea, followed by astringency and a touch of bitterness
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: slightly bitter and astringent
Liquor: translucent yellow-green
The steeped mate doesn’t look too different from the dry mate.
Really similar to green tea, only you don’t get the same fast caffeine high and crash after – it’s more a little bit of energy to keep you going. However, I don’t suggest this as a wake up cup because it doesn’t kick you awake and say FUNCTION! I do think it would be an excellent follow up cup(s) after your wake up brew.
images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/teas-etc-loose-leaf-mate-tea-yerba-mate.html
Preparation
I need my first cuppa to kick me awake too.
yea…it’s hard to get going with a mellow cup of tea
Don´t use sugar to drink it!!! it tastes horrible with sugar!
@Cecilia what about honey? it seems to need a little extra something and i think milk would hide the flavor completely
Hi I’m Cecilia, I have this profile too. I don´t recomend any honey neither but try it out. When you prepare yerba mate with hot milk it’s called mate cocido and children can drink it too, they say it´s delicious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYYHmskxpa8&feature=related
Watch this video it explains how yerba mate is supposed to be drank!
I don’t have the gourd but can certainly try the wet then steep – and i have a filter straw
So is this a whole different taste than Teavana’s My Morning Mate??
the green mates are not roasted and very much more green tea than the roasted ones – sort of like how black tea isn’t green tea…
Steep Information:
Amount: 1 tsp
Water: 1 zarafina cup filtered water
Tool: Zarafina black-loose-medium
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: hazelnut, orange
Steeped Tea Smell: hazelnut, almond, chocolate, orange
Flavor: smooth orange black tea with hints of nuts as you swallow
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: a hint of chocolate and nut
Liquor: translucent orange-brown
This sample was from the wonderful Doulton who was kind enough to include two servings, I must assume she is a details person and the other one is for my mom!
This came bundled up with my Dammann Freres (which Doulton was kind enough to arrange, and has thus far made my mother very happy and me kind of sad at French subtlety).
I find this tea a little subtle, but enjoyable. This is not a first cup of the morning wake up drink however.
Resteep: Zarafina black-loose-medium
a slight bit astringent, otherwise just as good
It’s yummy, not craving it, but I will not turn down more, and would consider tossing some of this in an order if I were already placing it.
Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/o-dor-loose-leaf-black-tea-photo-de.html
Steep Information:
Amount: 1 loose tea single steeps packet
Water: 12 ounces hot spigot water
Tool: kati loose tea system
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes, well maybe more like 20 minutes?
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: peppermint, mango, licorice, sweet
Steeped Tea Smell: licorice, mint, ginger, hints of sweet
Flavor: bitter (not a surprise with how badly over steeped it is), minty, light ginger taste
Body: Medium/Full
Aftertaste: bitter and minty with hints of sweet
Liquor: translucent orange-brown
I blame Kristin and TeaEqualsBliss – because I saw them both review and decided to jump in the fray.
I blame Steepster for my oversteeping of tea, so much to read I forgot about the tea steeping under my nose! the 3 minutes became 20 since the application didn’t beep.
NOTE: The Tea Forte iPodTouch application will STOP when the screen saver kicks in and hence STOP counting and then doesn’t beep. I believe this is a failure of the iTouch itself to not be able to mutli-task and auto suspending everything when it locks up. To help with this issue in the future I changed my auto lock to 5 minutes instead of 1.
For all I butchered the preparation of this tea it is refreshing and nice. I don’t taste the mango though. The peppermint ginger is really interesting and fresh.
images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/tea-forte-loose-leaf-green-tea-green.html
Preparation
The Teavana iPodtouch/iPhone app doesn’t stop and does sound an alarm…if it’s the iPod Touch with built in speaker (anything other than the first model brought out 2.5-3 years ago). I use the Teavana app on my phone and the timer lets you use pre sets or set your own times.
i have cough 7? different tea timing applications, including teavana – i try to match the tea company to the app to give the tea it’s best chance – i should write a review on all the free ones
Ohhh this cuppa looks nice in the kati and all! :)
Nice, who else makes tea timers? I’ve only seen knock off tea timers not made by tea companies. But I suppose I haven’t really searched.
ok, that does it, apparently it would be a useful blog post….gimme a few (i’ll at least start a free timer list, with notes to review each one in another post)
Oh no Meghann don’t give AmazonV another reason to blog!! LOL ;P
I have reason to believe she doesn’t need much of an excuse to create a blog.
LOL. Sorry SoccerMom, too late! Thanks AmazonV for reviewing them! I love having new apps to play with, especially useful tea timing apps!
Ooh, liking your new app post, AmazonV! I think I have at least two…! Can’t wait for your reviews!
http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/teaforte-tea-timer-ipod-touch.html first one! umm…let me know what else ya’ll want to know about the applications, i just kind of told you what is in there.
I have to say, I am very impressed – you just produce these reviews so fast!
For a specific tea timer,e.g., teaforte, are there only times for their teas? are there general/popular teas that teaforte doesn’t have loose but are provided steeping times or is it specific to teaforte teas only?
Would an example help at the end of the post?
I am making flora herbal tea
I open the application and click;
Teas – Herbal – Flora – Timer – Set Steep Time
I could have short cut the process and when I opened the application clicked;
Timer – Herbal – Set Steep Time
However I get there I am told;
For infusers: 1 infuser, 5-7 min 208
for loose tea: 1 tsp per cup, 5-7 min 208
Click “Set Steep Time”
Then I am presented with “7:20” which I can then adjust, and I do adjust it to “5:00” and click “Start Steeping”
(all timers really are for any tea you like, company specific ones just are nice to tell you what kind of tea the tea you have is)
