3226 Tasting Notes

drank Brennnessel by Sonnentor
3226 tasting notes

SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 11

Well, I can say with great relief that this tea tastes better than the teabag smells.

I didn’t know what Brennnessel meant. But after I opened the pouch and smelled it I needed to know what I was getting into. There was a lovely story on the wrapper about vanilla but this was not vanilla scented. So Brennnessel means nettle.

It smells like Sucrets according to Ashman. It smelled like fishy puerh to me. With a hint of Sucrets. Ashman smelled no fishy musty odor. Until I steeped it. Then he agreed there was something going on.

The taste is not bad at all, though. As I sip I still get the fishy aroma but the flavor is just herbaceous. This isn’t an herb I would normally go for unless I really needed it for a specific medical use.

Martin Bednář

Oh dear! I haven’t realised it is that bad. But same here, nothing to enjoy, but good if needed for medical use.

derk

Nettle can smell like fish food flakes to me, nutritious.

Michelle

I used to drink nettle for my knees, but I find that strengthening the knee muscles is more effective. So it’s the stair master for me. I always thought nettle had a nutty and grassy taste.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

FORTNUM AND MASON ADVENT DAY 11

Ashman is off today and likes strawberry black so yay for getting to share a pot of advent tea for breakfast! The strawberry aroma was so strong and sweet when I opened the tin, and smelled so fresh in the steeped tea.

He liked it, drank a lot of it, and then asked what kind of tea it was. When I told him it was strawberry, he said, “Well, it is very MILD strawberry if it is strawberry.” So he had pretty much the same reaction I had to the apple tea, but I really didn’t feel like this one was too light.

Now I want him to try the apple tea and see if he thinks the apple is strong or weak…

Even if he didn’t think it was fruity, he did think it was good. He did not add milk or sugar and drank at least half of the giant pot.

It is smooth and goes well with breakfast, not too astringent or brisk.

Cameron B.

Ooh yay, I hope I see this one tomorrow! :P

Crowkettle

Mmm.. This is a favourite from F&M.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

I am loving the little notes the company put on every teabag wrapper! Martin has typed them all in his reviews, but reading each one as I prepare the tea really adds a nice little peaceful touch with a little extra Christmas magic.

This one has spearmint which I generally prefer over peppermint. I thought the thyme might make it overly savory but really even the mint was light. Spearmint and chamomile were the main flavors I tasted. I have felt stressed for some reason today and I don’t know why, so I welcomed this tea and its gentle soothing!

Thank you, Martin!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank Assam Superb by Fortnum & Mason
3226 tasting notes

FORTNUM & MASON ADVENT DAY 10

Ashman is off today so we had an everything bagel and tea in front of the fire. I forewarned him that this would probably be a milk and sugar tea for him and put some on the tea tray. He added it without tasting first. To get an idea of his tastes, he prefers white, oolong, green, and puerh plain and likes Bailin Gong Fu without additions but most other black tea is too astringent for him.

I drank it plain as long as the bagel lasted and found it to be a good tea for breakfast, with good flavor that held up even under the assault of the seasonings on the bagel. It didn’t feel too drying and it wasn’t sour. After the bagel was gone, the astringency was definitely noted and it was really drying my tongue, so I added milk and sugar and enjoyed the last bit quite a lot that way.

Ashman said it was fine, but he felt the body of the tea was not as creamy as he likes it to be when he adds milk and sugar. He said it felt a little watery to him, not in the ratio of leaf to water, but in the actual taste and body of the tea. He said he prefers to add milk to teas that already have a creamy body. He did drink two decent sized mugs of it, so he didn’t hate it. He said he didn’t find it too astringent, but he was having milk in it so probably wouldn’t have picked that up.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 9

I saw that today’s tea is the first TEA rather than herbal blend, so I decided to have it early as I was feeling sleepy this afternoon.

I steeped it at 185F for three minutes and it is a rich, deep, golden color. The taste is pretty much what I would expect – hay and a tiny hint of sweetness from the floral notes. It was a decent bagged white tea and certainly produced a stronger cup than expected. It perked me up to stay awake for the afternoon, but now I am sitting in front of the Buck Stove and feeling mighty dozy….

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

FORTNUM & MASON ADVENT DAY 9

I was so excited to see that my first fruit tea is apple! I loved Little Women from Harney and Sons which is an apple flavored green tea and imagined this to be the black tea version.

I was a little surprised that the dry leaf doesn’t smell like apple. I was more surprised that the steeped tea didn’t taste like apple.

The leaf pieces are bigger in this blend than yesterday’s Ceylon and the Chinese black tea base is really good. Is something wrong with me? I can not detect apple! If anything, I would call this a hint of pear if I really closed my eyes and thought hard about pears while drinking it.

Maybe it needs a stir? Maybe I am not good at tasting things. Maybe English apples have little flavor. Maybe they put the wrong tea in my tin.

It’s good tea, I just never would have pegged it for apple.

Cameron B.

LOL! So you, me, and the other person I know who has this advent all have different teas today. XD

ashmanra

I think we have only coincided with two? See if they put my apples in your apple tea! Ha ha!

Cameron B.

I have this one today, yay! :D

Cameron B.

I agree that the apple is very subtle. I do get a hint of crisp green apple though!

ashmanra

I will tey it again this weekend and think really hard about apples when I drink it and see if that helps! I agree it is a really good Chinese base and I enjoyed it!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank Guten Morgen by Sonnentor
3226 tasting notes

Sonnentor Advent Day 8

Yesterday I said that these herbals were much the same. Only one has had really noticeable tartness from hibiscus and rose hips.

This one seems to have a little more flavor than last night’s tisane, and although it touts itself a morning blend, it went nicely with bedtime snack and I know it will not keep me awake. Many of these blends have been chamomile forward, but not this one.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

FORTNUM & MASON ADVENT DAY 8

When I first started drinking loose leaf tea, I drank a lot of Ceylon before discovering that I really prefer Chinese black tea. I have always liked low grown Ceylon but just don’t have it often now. My favorite was a pricey one from A Southern Season and the leaves were absolutely ginormous. My second favorite was Kenilworth Ceylon, whether from Southern Season or Harney.

The leaf bits in this one were quite small but I was hopeful because it says it is low grown with just a little high grown mixed in.

It steeped fast and is quite dark. Classic metallic and honey Ceylon aroma, taste was pretty good and didn’t require milk and sugar. It was better with food than without, but overall pretty good.

After breakfast, I did get the stomach burn that often follows tea from India, but not too bad and it stopped quickly. The remainder will probably become iced tea.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 7

Here I was so happy about night time herbals, didn’t check the translation (I knew Hol Dir but not Schwung) and made this only to discover that it means Get Some Momentum. Ha ha! I am pretty sleepy so hopefully it isn’t going to work like an energy tea tonight. Clearly I should have had it this morning!

It has chamomile in it, so maybe they were counting on the spearmint and hyssop to pep people up just by the minty freshness, but I find mint calming most of the time and the chamomile will probably just amplify my already drowsy state.

Tastewise – honestly lots of these taste much the same, this one being a little drier than some of the others, but chamomile kind of makes itself known in a blend in a big way and my tastebuds are not keen enough to get a huge difference. It is definitely minty, too.

Again, a pleasant final evening cuppa to sip on as I read my last chapter before bed.

Martin Bednář

I hope it doesn’t woke you up at all.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Fortnum & Mason Advent Day 7

My first darjeeling made me think I hated darjeeling. I made it like any black tea. Much later I discovered that cooler water and shorter steeps made them drinkable for me. I know people who adore darjeeling, and I am probably in the minority not caring for it much. An exception is Sakura Premium from Lupicia, which has all the very best bits of darjeeling and is just arresting to drink, even though my heart still belongs to Chinese black tea.

I made this one at 185F for three minutes and it was just okay. Not offensive, it tasted like an inexpensive daily drinker that was nothing special. But Fortnum should be special, even if it is their lower grade.

I made another cup a little hotter with a slightly longer steep and got more of the classic darjeeling strength, briskness, and fruitiness. It is not as good as Lupicia’s but was better than some other darjeeling I have tried. I will drink it, but I won’t seek more. Went fine with breakfast!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

I am a music teacher, tutor, and former homeschool mom (25 years!) who started drinking loose leaf tea about fourteen years ago! My daughters and I have tea every day, and we are frequently joined by my students or friends for “tea time.” Now my hubby joins us, too. His tastes have evolved from Tetley with milk and sugar to mostly unadorned greens and oolongs.

We have learned so much history, geography, and culture in this journey.

My avatar is a mole in a teacup! Long story…

Location

North Carolina

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer