243 Tasting Notes
Drinking this now, absolutely delicious. Prepared hot with no additives.
The dried blend smell nutty and sweet. Note: I would not call them leaves, because there are large pieces of candied fruit and pieces of nuts. Steeped for full three minutes and the aroma filled the kitchen: a sweet and nutty aroma with a touch of cinnamon.
The flavor is fantastic, I can taste cardamom, cinnamon, hazelnuts and almonds, coconut and pineapple on top of a smooth oolong (with a touch of rooibos) blend of tea. With so much going on, it might seem TOO complex, but it actually blends very nicely, needs no additives or variations.
Preparation
The dry leaves smell extremely sweet. The brewed tea (hot, no additives) also smells sweet. The flavor is not as sweet as it smells, there is a sweetness up front which blends very well with the oolong flavor. I think this oolong is enhanced by the sweetness as I am more easily picking up the dates and orange blossom flavors.
Very good, another success for Golden Moon .
Preparation
Second Infusion: Resteeped the sample packet, added 1/2 teaspoon of Rock Sugar, steeped longer (7 minutes). Might have over steeped it here or it might just be because it is the second infusion, but lost much of the undertone flavors from previous brews. The orange blossom is mostly gone, I have completely lost the chestnut and date flavors and even less of a hint of cedar at the end. However, this is still a very good oolong, just now it is very plain.
No complaints, just saying is all.
Preparation
Sometimes I recommend doing the second infusion for a shorter period of time when it comes to Oolongs. Generally speaking, the first infusion is more to open the leaves, beginning moistening them so that the flavors they hide will be more accessible in the following brews. With a Formosa Oolong I generally steep it like this : 4mins, 2mins, 2.5 mins, 3 mins, 3.25 mins etc.
The theory behind that is that oversteeping the second rinse will release too much caffeine and theanine, masking any subtleties you may have originally found. Also, as you continue to steep the tea, it takes more and more to release the flavors, thus the later steeps require more time. I really wish these chat boxes were bigger so reviewing my text would be easier…
I think I brewed my first cup of this for 4 minutes and my second for 5 1/2, or something, and it was still quite good. I was tempted to try to resteep this morning because it was so tasty, but resteeping leaves that have been wet all night still freaks me out a little.
That’s a nice recommendation on the oolongs, too. I’ll have to try that with some of my favorite ones. (Also, what the heck do we call you, H&STS? Your staff uses this to write tasting notes, right? You’re like some kind of hive mind account! I feel like I should be referring to you awkwardly in the plural, or something.)
@H&STS – I will keep that in mind with resteeping oolong. I usually do not have any issues resteeping and I usually find that I need to go longer because the flavors I was looking for were all in the initial steep. Next time I will definitely steep less with an oolong. And yes, the boxes should be bigger :)
@sophistre – I couldn’t agree more, the teas last night were delicious, but steeping leaves that I used last night creeps me out.
Haha.. hive mind! My name’s Emeric, I’m actually a 3rd generation Harney. I Steepster it up during the evenings sometimes, but during the day my employees use the account to put up tasting notes on what we call “teas of the moment” :)
The leaves are long and definitely silver tipped, very pretty presentation. The fragrance of the leaves is really very simple: oolong tea. I brewed this hot, with no sugar for only three minutes (the package said five, but I felt it might be too much). The flavor is very clean: oolong tea, with a hint of orange and chestnut and date, then a slight cedar aftertaste. I wish that the cedar and date flavors were a little stronger, but I might achieve that with a longer brew. I drank most of the tea hot, but forgot about the end of my cup and wound up enjoying it, very much so I might add, cold.
Very good, will try steeping for longer or maybe adding some sugar to try and boost the flavors a little.
Preparation
Backlogging: I will not lie, I do not know what a starfruit tastes like. I have a feeling it’s bitter and goes will with citrus. Needless to say, this tea did not help me find out what a starfruit tastes like: the tea was mostly chamomile with a slight citrus afternote. I was really hoping for orange with mystery starfruit and chamomile, but instead got mostly chamomile.
It depends on how fresh they are when you get them, but generally they’re very tart and vaguely citrusy, yes. :) The more ripe they are the less tart they get, but it never completely goes away.
The ones I’ve had didn’t really have much taste at all. Even the one I bought fresh from the produce stand was just kind of blah.
So then, there might have been starfruit flavor and the blah-ness of it was just washed away by the chamomile.
Very decent brew. Had the full sample pouch brewed hot with a pinch of German Rock Sugar for 5 minutes. The aroma is definitely tea, so I added milk because this is usually how I have breakfast blends. The flavor is good, a little malty with a touch of fruit flavoring.
Overall, good, I enjoyed it very much.
Preparation
Brewed hot, no sugar, 6 minutes, added milk. This was good again. The leaves are still very fragrant and smell strongly of raisins. The brewed tea has a diluted raisin scent. The flavor is raisin, with cinnamon and the milk helps to subdue the buttery taste and make it more of a creamy tea.
Overall, decent.
Preparation
Loving this tea right now. It smells smoky and woodsy like a campfire or fireplace on a cold winter night. The tea flavor is different though: there is a sweetness unfront, which melds into a piney-woodsy flavor. This is definitely a love it or leave it tea.
This was drank hot with no additives. I hope that my sample lasts for a few more infusions :)
Preparation
Today, I drank this blend cold. I made the blend last night: (2 teaspoons Rooibos Chai with 2 teaspoons Matevana with 1/2 teaspoon of German Rock Sugar) in my glass cylindrical tea carafe. I filled it half way with hot water, allowed it to steep for five minutes. This brew is dark, almost black right now, maybe I let it steep too long? Anyway, filled the rest with cold water and put in the fridge overnight.
This morning I poured about half of it out into my travel mug. It was still dark, but it was very good. So I kinda like this Chai cold, odd.
The flavor is complex: you have a tea flavor, but then a hint of almonds and cocoa, followed by the chai spices. The is what is most complex; it is contrasted by the temperature of the tea. This does not make the taste more intense, but it makes it a sensation, you have the blend of flavors and mouth feel combining to make a total experience.
Preparation
I love this blend. The Rooibos is mostly lost, but the slight spice from the chai along with the chocolate notes from the Matevana make for a delightful cup of tea.
This is best hot, sweetened or not it is fantastic. I am making a cold brew for lunch for tomorrow, we’ll see how that turns out.
Note: This can almost always be found as one of the samples at Teavana, so you could try it and see what I mean.
