104 Tasting Notes

83

For some reason I was craving this tea this morning. And then I nearly over-steeped it. Need tea timer with a nicely annoying buzz/beep/whatever.

Preparation
Boiling 6 min, 30 sec

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71
drank Rose by Blue Teapot
104 tasting notes

Backlogging from yesterday.

Thanks go to Jillian for the chance to try this tea :)

I have got to say, I love the color of the liquor: dusty, antique rose. The disparity of the primarily rose aroma and hibiscus taste threw me a bit but it was still enjoyable. Pleasantly tart with a lingering aftertaste of roses, it made me want some candied rose petals to munch on. I’ve never had candied rose petals but I suspect they would go perfectly with this.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 15 sec

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87

I followed a link from the Miscellaneous Sales thread, because who here is NOT interested in checking out new-to-them tea companies? And while browsing the black tea selection I found a word I never thought I would see associated with black tea outside of my own blendings: JASMINE. A BLACK TEA with JASMINE. I was amazed. I love blending my green jasmine teas with my black rose and chocolate teas but I never thought I’d see a TEA COMPANY blend JASMINE with a BLACK TEA. Can you tell how amazed I was? And then I got to TASTE it…..blissful sigh

1st infusion: 4 minutes, boiling water
The color of the steeped liquor is a brown-ish amber, nothing spectacular, but the FLAVOR…mellow, malty, jasmine. Actually, it reminds me of the Black Locust trees that are currently in bloom, the full, white, fragrant blossom clusters buzzing with bees and butterflies.

2nd infusion: 6 1/2 minutes, boiling water
The color is the same, the flavor just a bit mellower.

I think I can get another infusion from this. Will update later if I do.

Preparation
Boiling

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85
drank Rose Tuocha by The Tao of Tea
104 tasting notes

Backlogging from yesterday.

15 second rinse, boiling water

1st infusion: 2 minutes, boiling water
The color is a deep, deep maroon. It was so dark I couldn’t make out my spoon at the bottom of the cup. A lovely color but I’m afraid I might have over-steeped. But when I went to take my first, hesitant, sip my eyebrows flew up and my eyes got wide. It wasn’t over-steeped at all! In fact, it was rather pleasant! The liquor had a mellow, earthy flavor with a hint of apricot. It reminded me of a sun-warmed woodland floor, complete with moss, ferns, loam, and crumbling dead-wood.

2nd infusion: 2 1/4 minutes, boiling water
The color is the same but now I’m getting something like…almond? And an unpleasant sour-bitter taste. I think the extra 15 seconds were too much at this point.

3rd infusion: 2 minutes, boiling water
The color is still the same deep maroon, the almond note and bitterness have disappeared and the apricot is much more prevalent than before.

4th infusion: 2 1/2 minutes, boiling water
The color is perhaps a tad lighter and the flavor is definitely lighter. Now it’s more like fresh-harvested hay or wheat with a slight raisin note.

5th infusion: 3 1/2 minutes, boiling water
Definitely a lighter color now and the liquor tastes a bit like plum.

6th infusion: 4 minutes, boiling water
The color has lightened to a lovely peachy-brown and the wheat/raisin flavor has returned.

I probably could have gotten another infusion or two out of this. I must say, this is much better than my first pu’erh experience. I’m glad I still have four of these little touchas left.

Preparation
Boiling

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93
drank Lilac Pearl by Custom
104 tasting notes

We have another winner here.

1st infusion: 3 1/4 minutes
The liquor of this is pale gold, though not as pale as the blend I did with the Long Jing. The flavor…exquisite. Soft jasmine melding seamlessly with delicate lilac. Like a chord played by a single instrument rather than a duet.

2nd infusion: 4 minutes
Contrary to expectations the color of the liquor this time is actually a BRIGHTER gold with faint green tones rather than the same or lighter. The flavor is the same floral melding as in the 1st infusion.

Mel

I LOVE lilac, and was looking for teas with it. This spring, I will attempt this. It seems to be tasty!

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81
drank Lilac Dragon by Custom
104 tasting notes

Backlogging from yesterday.

Yes, more lilac experiments. Having done the two extremes I decided to start exploring the middle regions of the tea spectrum and chose Life in Teacup’s 2010 Pre-Qingming Da Fo (Great Buddha) Long Jing first day harvest. After steeping, the liquor was the palest of pale green-golds (oxidizing to a slightly darker pale gold by the end of the pot). The lightly vegetal, acorn-like flavor was a perfect compliment to the delicate lilac note.

Preparation
3 min, 0 sec

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80
drank Golden Lilac by Custom
104 tasting notes

Backlogging from this morning.

One day you are walking through the woods. It’s a sunny day, new growth deciduous trees, past season’s leaves covering the ground in layers of leaf mold. A faint whiff of something floral wafts past you on the light breeze. Following the scent you come out into a clearing to discover an abandoned house, crumbling into ruin, with a giant lilac tree abutting the remains of a stone chimney, roots pushing through the age-softened mortar of the stone foundation.

Yeah…it’s kinda like that.

1st infusion: 2 minutes, boiling water

2nd infusion: 3 1/2 minutes, boiling water
The lilac note is barely noticeable this time.

Preparation
Boiling

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86
drank Silver Lilac by Custom
104 tasting notes

I have been longing to try some lilac tea…seeing as I have a lilac bush right in my backyard I decided to try making it myself! I wasn’t sure how delicate the flavor would turn out so I picked the lightest tea I had which turned out to be the perfect choice.

1st infusion: 3 minutes
The liquor is a pale gold, almost shimmering, with a delicate lilac note and a lightly vegetal aftertaste.

2nd infusion: 5 1/4 minutes
Same color but the flavor is a bit lighter.

I still have lots of lilac left…wonder what I should try blending it with next.

Jillian

Cool, my parents have a lilac bush – maybe I should try that. :)

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70

Steeping time: 7 3/4 minutes

I got so caught up in making my breakfast I totally lost track of time…and I can’t even say it was the kids this time! I really need to buy a timer. But for all that there isn’t NEARLY as much bitterness in this as I had expected from the over-steeping!

This is definitely a fruity tea, but having never tasted a passion fruit I hardly consider myself fit to judge whether this tastes like one or not.

Preparation
Boiling

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74
drank Grapefruit Oolong by Adagio Teas
104 tasting notes

Many thanks to Jillian for this :D

I can definitely tell this has an oolong base. The deep amber liquor has a woodsy, citrus flavor with a bit of a…ginger kick? There’s no ginger listed in the ingredients though. Interesting. And if I didn’t know this was supposed to be grapefruit I don’t think I would have been able to tell. Overall, a nice oolong with a bit of a surprise in store for those who don’t read tea reviews XD

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 45 sec

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Profile

Bio

I prefer loose-leaf teas but I do like to keep some tea bags around for travel. I prefer black teas (especially Yunnans), dark oolongs, and pu’erh. My #1 favorite is Jasmine Golden Yunnan from thepuriTea.com.

Location

Bar Harbor, Maine, United States

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http://instagram.com/katlyntje

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