Liquid Proust Teas

This tea is still one of my all time favorites. I have three balls left, and one to drink. I steeped it for less than a minute in six ounces of 192 F water, and I pour over this clear liquor glimmering transparent white gold. It was not dark at all and translucent, and when I took a sip, a sweet floral and creamy vanilla flooded my tongue with a cinnamon toast crunch cereal sugar quality at the back of my jaw.

I have a lot more to write about Liquid Proust’s newer blends, but that will be later.

I’m on brew two, and know that I am very happy right now.

The best thing about this tea is that it can come back from the dead….yuuuuuuuummmm.

Had one of the old one, another of the new batch. The old ball was lucky-it had just the right amount of vanilla and the perfect caramel notes of the dian hong. I brewed it six times, leaving the ball in and drinking the changing taste of the tea. I was sweating as I downed the boiling water because it was so good. That one would be a hundred.

The newer one had a stronger vanilla flavor. Thank you Andrew for leaving the bean in the bag. Anyway, the vanilla lasted three steeps and became a ghost of the forth. The natural notes of the dianhong itself was faded, but that again might be due to water quality and brewing errors. However, there was a bread and maple syrup aftertaste making it more like French toast.

Remains as one of the best vanilla teas that I’ve had, not that I’m biased.

I see why this is the best seller. Honestly, this tea was what I imagined Golden Orchid tasting like, but was sorely disappointed when I had that Whispering Pines tea. This one did not disappointment me at all. The vanilla is smooth and sweet, but compliments the natural cocoa, nutmeg, and yam notes of the Dianhong. There’s no bitterness, no astringency, and no to little dehydrating effect for me. The entire tea is naturally sweet, it’s perfect straight. I was also able to steep it four times (I used the entire pearl. It was best in the first two steeps and still great in the last two, going up to boiling in the latter.

It’s one of Liquid Proust Tea’s more expensive selections, but considering that the quality of the Dian Hong is comparable to some of the higher end ones I’ve had, this is worth it. I almost bought some of the Imperial Bud from Whispering Pines for my morning routine at school instead, but this is close yet unique and beyond good enough for me to have. My mornings are now infinitely better.

Like a few other people have said, I’m not getting the bread notes from the Dianhong too much and not sure French Toast is the right name. Random ideas that popped in my head were Vanilla Pearl, Liquid Dessert, Pearl Dessert, or The Black Pearl, which are probably throw outs. (Though Black Pearl partially makes sense if Captain Jack Sparrow decided to trade some vanilla from Tahiti or Madagascar, or if the base was mixed with a woodier tea that makes you think of a boat). I smell the toast in the dry leaf and see how it’s close with the vanilla and nutmeg notes. I don’t think that’s a bad thing that it does not have the bread notes, and it wouldn’t be bad with them either. I think that this tea on its own serves as a desert tea which also serves my diabetic needs.

This is the updated version with more Oriental Beauty. Fall leaves with the smell of lavender and a cream puff is right. The greater emphasis on the oolong brings out the earthy and woodsy notes more making the tea a tad bit darker, but oddly enough, the vanilla and the lavender are much smoother. It’s somehow also turned into a more European tea for me personally which is odd. This was great for volunteering this morning, and it goes well for 3 grams in the 16 oz tumbler, but I found myself curious to add cream and sugar. Funny enough, two of my students smelled it and wanted to try it, and they were able to handle without sugar for a little bit. I added sugar afterwards, but they genuinely enjoyed it enough to come back to drink the rest of it in another class. Keep in mind these kids are twelve to thirteen years old

The 100 rating is more personal than anything else because this was a time of need and comfort tea, but I still think this tea deserves a high rating because it is a unique blend. I typically get three brews out of it western and I personally prefer to go light between 2 and 3 grams. This tea really is for specific circumstances like taking a bath, but it does its job well. If you do not like lavender, vanilla, or dryness-or anything that reminds you of soap like lavender, then stay away.

The first tea that I’m giving a 100 to. There is a specific reason for that. Yesterday, I had a really crappy day: car broke down, and I have to move back to school much later that I wanted to. So, I was stressed, this had lavender, and then, I recovered. Lavender and vanilla is what I needed. I actually steeped this cup five times and both the lavender and the vanilla were there with me although the liquor became light. I was able to sleep because this relaxed me despite it being a darker oolong. It had good chi (a distinclty purple one that I could easily imagine; lavender=sixth chakra), and helped with the headaches that came with my stress. Some of you might roll your eyes at this, but it really helped me in a time of need. For those of you deciding whether or not to get this, look at my prior review (the Show More tab under the reviews).

Oolong Spa is a great name. I imagine a Middle Eastern bath house and a dark haired, almond eye woman rubbing her hands in a lavender massage oil while burning vanilla incense…

Lavender is the dominant taste and smell, having the calming, relaxing effect that it should, at least for me. The vanilla is also really nice, sweetening and accenting the lavender rather than overwhelming it. I’ve had several lavender teas before and they have one of two problems: they are grassy and weak or they taste like a Yankee Candle soap bar. This one, though, is really well balanced. As for the formosa, I’m getting some fruitiness and woodiness, but it’s mostly fused into the lavender and vanilla like an incense that I imagine. They are not that noticeable, and this is a sweeter, more fragrant tea.

I was able to resteep it about four times, and it’s fairly consistent. Like Andrew says, this is really up to preference. If you like lavender and want some rejuvenating peace, I recommend Oolong Spa. If not, then this tea is probably not for you.

I tried 7 Oolong Blend again today, and as with any mixture of different tea leave varieties, this one changes from day to day depending on the leaves I get. There was more osmanthus , roasted oolong, and Tie Guan Yin in this one making it significantly more floral and sweeter. The Li Shan’s and Dong Ding were there, but not nearly as prominent as TGY and a part of me preferred the TGY dominance.

Oolong. Just seven oolong tastes in one cup. The name is exactly what it describes. It’s a blend, a shapeshifter in every sip and every steep . I brewed it three times, first two minutes, then second near to four, then third near to six. The most oolongs were in the first steep, tasting the Tie Guan Yin, Tung Ting, the nutty Charcoal Roasted Oolong and the Osmanthus. Steep two, I got more of the Lishan, Dong Ding, and Roasted. Three, more of the osmanthus and dong ding and spinach.

Anyway, it suits my oolong needs though it’s not my favorite. A little too light, but an oolong lover is sure to enjoy it for subtleties.

There are very few teas that come remotely close to this one in taste. Yes, there are Osmanthus Oolong’s out there, but very few with the full profile that this one packs. I was really curious to try this one. I’ve only had a roasted oolong with osmanthus flower petals, and even so, I’m not quite sure what osmanthus tastes like. I admit that the cream flavoring made me a little hesitant, but when I looked online, most osmanthus teas were blended with creamier teas like Jin Xuan and Tie Guan Yin. And if the cream is upped in flavor, I know that I’m going to be able to taste it. The problem I have with some Jin Xuan and Tie Guan Yin is that they can be too light and too fainted. This was not going to disappoint me, and it certainly didn’t.

The smell dry leaf reminded me of sherbet. It is creamy, but sweet like orange blossom or honeysuckle, probably coming from the osmanthus. The same goes for the taste after two minutes and a half: sweet, creamy, light, and full of that sherbert flavor. the first steep was strongest, but the sherbert sweetness is there in each steep: second after 3 minutes and 15 seconds, third after five. It’s almost peachy to me (Elixer #9 was one of my favorites by the way). Peach blossom? Bottom line, floral, sweet, creamy, and fruity.

I’d recommend this one to a lot of people, but I’m not sure who. Either way, it’s an incredibly unique tea that I think more people should have. It’s sweet enough for newbies but not overly sweet in the least. I also think that the peachiness is coming from the oolong itself, which I might guess it’s a Formosa, Dong Ding, or Huang Zhi Xiang (probably wrong on all accounts, but the Huang Zhi is described as having an orange blossom fragrance)? If you are looking for peachy, floral, creamy, and sweet, this is it. This is by far one of my favorite floral green oolongs yet.

Had this today and yesterday and it is still great. I can enjoy the energy jolt I need for a workout and the taste of coffee without the jitters thanks to my friend, L-Theanine. I’m also really glad that this has been getting decent reviews.

I’m so excited to try all of the awesome blends that I bought from Liquid Proust! I had a REALLY hard time deciding, so I opted for the most breakfast-y blend I got. I smelled the coffee and the grapefruit immediately from the bag. It reminded me distinctly of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee (Yes, I’m an EX-coffee snob, though I indulge in Kona every now and then.) So I brew this up at boiling, not exactly sure the amount of leaves I used, but I had at least 2 big grapefruit pieces and maybe a teaspoon and a half of the black tea mix. I pour over the water and smell the same things and then HAHA a cocoa note in the smell! Oh, Yunnan Dianhong, you sneaky delight.

Finally getting to drink it, it tastes exactly like an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe with the exact same notes. My mom also liked it, but she LOVES grapefruit…and so do I. As it cooled, it changed. I tasted more of the cocoa profile from the Dianhong and the Keemum, a little bit of coffee, and the grapefruit came through more with the Pu-Erh as the earthy background. Grapefruit is dominant, but again, it tastes like coffee. This is slightly lighter than coffee in terms of body, but it’s pretty damn close to being a lighter blend of one.

The grapefruit was a really clever addition to this one. It makes the tea taste like breakfast, like a cup of Joe and grapefruit with a spoon. It’s also really clever because the grapefruit makes the mouth feel and taste considerably acidic and the same as coffee. The black teas blended together makes this even closer to coffee-all of them are smooth bodied teas; pu-erh has an earth base like coffee; Dianhong can be subtly sweet like coffee; and keemum has a chocolate note that isn’t quite chocolate note like coffee.

Steep two, I taste all three black teas more though it’s coffee light: the Dianhong, the keemum, and the pu-erh with the grapefruit now in the background. Dianhong comes in more now with that weird malty sweet potato-I probably wouldn’t know that if I hadn’t tried a Dianhong before.

Now, the consensus-it’s a really good tea and the great breakfast tea in my opinion, though that may change as soon as I try the French Toast. This is the perfect tea for coffee lovers, hands down. More experienced drinkers would appreciate the Chinese black teas, and younger ones will have to figure out their preference on it. Sugar and cream probably would work for it in an unexpected way, but I like it as is.

Also: notes are starting to get too pretentious for me in tea descriptions. I am going to figure out a better way to describe it without being too vague or over descriptive. There are some things like cocoa, chocolate, and fruit that are definitely there to me, but to someone reading this, they’ll either think “WTF is he talking about” or “Chocolate? GIVE ME!” then “This didn’t taste like chocolate. WTF!”

I’m in a loopy mood today…

Up late sipping some goodness :)
I been running low on tea cuz moneys tight and Andrew from Liquid Proust Teas sent me some goodies to drink, a bunch of oolongs and some puerhs and this one Yay!! I loves Fuijan black teas, Thanks a million Andrew you are Awesome!
This one is Yummy to me just like some others that I’ve had, dark chocolatey, malty, roasty sweet goodness :)
This is the kind of tea that makes me happy so it gets a straight up 100 score from me.

Anybody else try this one? I’m curious on what the flavor is. . Real curious.

This was a nice berry flavored green tea-strawberry to be more precise. I really liked it but only got the berry flavor because of this ick sinus issue I have going on right now that is making everything taste muted.

Flavors aren’t popping right now. Not sure what creative concoction he created for this one. Sad. I should have waited to try this but I needed a tea that wouldn’t let me down last night and so far I haven’t been let down by any of Liquid Proust’s offerings.

Sipdown #17!

http://www.cuppageek.com/index.php/2015/08/28/mysterious-tea-from-liquid-proust-teas-sipdown-17/

So, yesterday I went to my Rheumatologist to lament my problems to him, basically to tell him how the original plan of lowering my medicine caused me to have legit seizures. Side story, my whole life I have had these weird, as I call them, seizure things, and none of my doctors have taken them seriously. I dread them (they are not terribly frequent, once or twice a month at the most) and have felt more than a little crazy because they are not the dramatic ‘normal’ tonic-clonic seizure that is more commonly known, so I have been scratching my head and doing a bunch of research. Ever since I lowered the dosage (it was a tiny lowering too, I cut one of the pills I take three times a day in half) and had the closest to a tonic-clonic seizure since I had a bad reaction to a different medicine five years ago, I have had a seizure once to twice a week. What does my medication have to do with this? Gabapentin, my Fibromyalgia medicine, is also an anti-epileptic medicine. It took no time at all for my doctor to put the pieces together and say ‘you probably have epilepsy’ and set me up with a neurologist. It is so refreshing to have a doctor that doesn’t suck, and if a problem arises works to fix it rather than just write it off…too bad my allergy doctor was not like that (insert a pile of sneezes to punctuate my point.)

Much as I do not like starting off my blog as a medical drama, I feel it is only fair to let my tea friends know what is up with me, the last couple weeks I have missed blog posts because (if you follow me on twitter you would have seen) I felt awful, well, this what was going on with me. Wish me luck that my referral goes through swiftly, but enough of that, I want to write about tea now! Specifically I want to write about Liquid Proust Tea’s Blueberry Sandstorm Genmaicha, a blend of Genmaicha, Sencha, Freeze Dried Blueberry Powder (never heard of it, but I want it in droves) Cinnamon pieces, Apple, Rooibos, and Blueberry Flavoring. This tea intrigued me immensely, see I am a sucker for quirky takes on Genmaicha, and I am practically the founding member of Blueberry Addicts Anonymous (maybe? it is anonymous after all!) So this tea is definitely something I want to try, and the starting test is with the nose, and yeah, it smells good. It is like blueberry rice crispy cereal with a touch of spice, maybe more like blueberry granola rather than cereal? Since usually those blueberry flavored cereals smell like candy, and this just smells like spicy dried blueberries and toasty rice. Not getting much in the way of a green aroma, except as a tiny touch of broken leaves.

Into my steeping basket the tea went, for a nice steep in a dainty teacup. True true, I should have steeped this in a kyusu, but most my gear was packed up when I was tasting this tea. Sad face. The aroma of the wet leaves is definitely blueberry cereal and spice, super sweet and a bit grainy from the rice. Never really thought of making spiced blueberries, but it works in the nose. The liquid is blueberry popped rice, really intense blueberries, someone stuffed blueberries up my nose and I couldn’t be happier, truly I have an unhealthy addiction to them.

The taste is a strong explosion of blueberries, at first that was all I was getting, but after the initial blue bomb on the tongue I start to get warm cinnamon and roasty notes of popped rice. The blueberry is awesomely sweet, not one of those tart blueberry teas (really I hate those, they just feel insulting, much like biting into a tart blueberry) and tastes more like cooked blueberries/ dried blueberries in a cereal than candy. The spice is mellow, not overwhelming, just gentle warmth that accents the rice really well. When the tea cools a bit there is more of a green note, like broken leaves and grass, accenting the blueberries. This was a fun tea, the blueberry addict in me approves!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/08/liquid-proust-teas-blueberry-sandstorm.html

A sample from Roswell Strange. I’ve read a lot about Liquid Proust’s teas on here, and I’ve been intrigued by them for a while, so it’s great to have the opportunity to try one! I’m not a particular fan of Earl Grey purely because bergamot scares me a bit – but I do like peach. I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 3 minutes in boiling water. The resulting liquor is a medium golden-brown, the scent strongly peachy.

I have to say that I’m really impressed with this one. The initial sip is almost entirely peach, and it’s a fresh, natural, realistic-tasting peach. I’d be hard pressed to tell this from peach juice initially, truth be told. The bergamot emerges in the mid-sip, and fortunately it’s at a really pleasant level. Not too weak, not too strong. A kind of goldilocks bergamot for me! I like the pairing of peach and bergamot much more than I thought I would – the bitter orange vibe contrasts really well with the sweet peach, and takes this tea to a whole new level. It’s neither bitter nor sweet, orangey nor peachy, but somehow wonderfully suspended between the two.

The other surprise here is the formosa oolong base. I’ve never tried an Earl Grey with an oolong base before, so this is a new experience for me. My first impression is favourable, though; the fruitiness of the oolong works well with the peach, and provides an extra depth of flavour without being overpowering. I think on balance I actually like the pairing of bergamot and oolong more than I do bergamot and black tea, which is a bit of a revelation.

In my opinion, this one is really well done. It’s an inspired pairing, and so unique – I’ve never come across anything like it before, and I doubt I will again. Pure tea alchemy! On the strength of this one, I’m definitely up for trying more Liquid Proust blends – thanks again to Roswell Strange for introducing me!

From Here’s Hoping TTB

The dry tea Smelled like French toast, but the tea really didn’t taste like much other than a very nice Dianhong. I wish I hadn’t added sugar (I usually sweeten flavored teas, and figured French Toast should be sweet. It may also have been a mistake breaking the ball. It was 3 grams and I usually only use 1.5 grams per cup. Perhaps the flavor is all in the other half?

Resteep without sugar: Just a good Dianhong Yunnan.

Sorry if this review offends you, but I need to just review it as if I didn’t create it:

The concept that someone made a blend for their birthday is quite interesting so this appeals to me. I saw LP playing around with hibiscus and blue pea flower a few days before creating this blend; something about trying to make a purple tea. For whatever reason, hibiscus did not it into this blend though which is something I should inquire about.
Looking at it causes curiosity: This blend will never be scooped out consistently. My one scoop came with 5 jasmine pearls and two blue pea flowers: http://postimg.org/image/vgahu8a9z/
I’m sure that brewing a different amount of either two of those ingredients would change the taste which makes me wish that this blend was put into tea bags as the blender wanted the tea to be tasted.
For me, the powerful taste that the blue pea flower has takes awhile to get use to. I’m not much of a floral tea drinker, but during the spring/summer I end up finding myself drawn to them.

I’m curious if cold steeping this might lead to less blue pea flower ‘power’.
While the brew has a tint of blue that is pretty cool, I think there needs to be some balancing on the blenders side of this tea or at least some sort of advice for the user (but that would be unfair…)

I think I am living in the wrong part of the country…ok, stop rolling your eyes, I kinda like it here now, I just also think I am addicted to rain. It has been an especially wet spring and summer, one of the reasons we are having such a hard time moving, EVERY house we have looked at has a horrid mold problem, and if I can’t breathe in the house, well, it is a problem. Although it would be good for cultivating rare and exciting basement fungi! Anyway, what I am getting at is it has not rained in like three days and that makes me sad! I keep stalking accuweather for signs of rain and get so excited when there is a chance of storms and rain. Yeah, I need to move somewhere with steady rains!

So, it is time once again to return to Liquid Proust Teas, this time for Mate Nectar. Honestly this tea had me at the word nectar, I am part hummingbird, I swear! This is a blend of Brazilian Mate (one of the Ilex plants that is naturally caffinated and native to the Americas, the others include Guayusa and Yaupon), Green Rooibos, Rock Candy, Apple, Marshmallow Root, Beet Root, Strawberry, Carrot Flakes, Flower Petals, and Flavoring. Quite the list of yummies! I was told by the creator himself that this tea is good cold steeped, and well, tis the season! The aroma of the pile of yummies before I toss them in my steeper is super sweet! Lots of berries and sugary goodness, a touch of grassy hay and vegetation (hello Mate!) and a finish of apples and carrots. The name nectar really is fitting, it smells like pixie food. Kinda looks like pixie food too!

After an overnight steeping, the travel steeper that I used now looks like a sunset, the beet root at the bottom turned it a lovely red that gradients up to orange. Giving it a shake mixes it all up, but it is quite pretty. The aroma is super fruity and sweet, cane sugar, marshmallows, fresh sweet apples, and strawberries waft out of the steeper. A hint of honey and fresh hay bring up the tail end of the aroma, so much sweetness though, which I am totally ok with.

I have a confession, usually I am not much of a Mate person, I don’t dislike it but I rarely go out of my way to seek it out. This brew might make me a believer…in fact maybe I just don’t like Mate warm, tastes like lawn clippings (and not the clean clippings like you get from a freshly mown lawn, this is the stuff from the next day that you get a mouthful of when you trip on wet grass and fall into the grass clipping pile) not a taste you want warm. The crisp hay and clover flower notes from the Mate when cold are pretty fantastic. Toss in sugar cane sweetness, lots of sweet apple and strawberries, and oh yes delightful marshmallow at the finish with a slight almond nuttiness as the aftertaste. This truly is nectar like, sweet and cold on a hot day, well, I am in a happy place. In theory I should try this hot, but I don’t wanna! Bravo my tea blending friend, I think I found a new favorite hot day drink.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/08/liquid-proust-teas-mate-nectar-tea.html

I had four request to resurrect this tea. The reason it died is because I am not a fan of black teas in general so my own taste buds said to me, ’don’t make any more of this’ but others disagreed which is awesome because it means I did something right.

I’m going to do something weird and sell this as a personal blend for now as I am figuring out Etsy. With that being said, I have no idea what this actually cost me nor do I care so I’ll just do a flat $5 per ounce if anyone is interested.
Wait, what if this tea sucks??? No worries, I can send free samples in the case that an ounce might drive your taste buds crazy; I don’t want to be part of causing an internal battle between one’s mind and taste buds :p

So, the Keemun I used is roughly 3x the size of the last leaf (though that means little). I also put less oolong in it since it is a black tea blend.

I think that’s about it. This is a Steeperster blend for my friends :)
https://instagram.com/p/6akwvQRYFs/

This Keemun is BS

This wild blackberry taste that I put into this tea is a bit confusing as far as figuring out the flavor goes. Honestly, I remember flavoring the white bud by itself over a month ago and realizing it went well together; but then I added flower because it looks pretty :)

I’m curious if this berry flavor mixture would work on jasmine pearls… I am already thinking the answer is no. Jasmine doesn’t sound like it would mix with a tart fruit.

Thank you Liquid Proust for this sample!

Tasting #1 – Steep Time 2 Minutes
Very light aroma at this point, just a hint of sweetness over the scent of tea. The flavor is very similar to the aroma at this point.

Tasting #2 – Steep Time 4 Minutes
More sweetness in aroma now and rich in color. The flavors have melded together now so the sweetness and the tea are in balance.

Tasting #3 – Steep Time 6 Minutes
Very sweet aroma, similar to a peach now. Not sweet like candy, but ripe and nutritious. The flavor is more in the preference of tea and the sweetness is in the aroma rather than the flavor.

I’m always reserved about flavored teas, they smell great but I don’t need any added flavors. This tea doesn’t compromise the natural flavor of the tea leaves but adds a light complexity with peach flowers. Kinda like a silver lining in your tea.

If you bought this, don’t read unless you have drank it.
Anyways, I guess I lie a lot… I said I would drink this on my birthday but I changed my mind and dank it today because I received tea from a few Steepster members as a gift so I would like to drink those on my birthday instead :)

Anyways, here’s my few words on this tea: https://liquidproust.wordpress.com/2015/08/08/tasting-nostalgia/

P.S. it’s also this tea https://instagram.com/p/6IHb6wRYGr/

Sipdown (132)!

Thank you Liquid Proust for the sample! I’m pretty sure the spelling of “Fuijan” is a typo and it’s meant to be “Fujian” but since it’s a typo you seem to have made across the board, I’m leaving it as it’s displayed on your Etsy page.

I even did a Google search before writing up the review just to make sure this isn’t a common variant spelling and I was being a dunce but I can’t find anything that points to that.

Dry, the leaf looks a little broken up and doesn’t really give off much of a scent. Perhaps a little bit of a cocoa aroma, but I could also be grasping at straws with that observation. I steeped this up hot and plain and using the recommended steeping directions on LP’s Etsy page as a guide.

I’m enjoying this cup of tea. I don’t love it as much as I do a good Assam, but it’s a nice change of pace. Mostly it tastes like a good baker’s chocolate with a little bit of bitterness – which is a welcomed flavour when it comes to baker’s chocolate or dark chocolate. I also has some smokier top notes which wasn’t what I was expecting to taste, and a sweeter, fruity and honey like finish. There’s not really much more to go on about though; this is a simple enough tea with some basic flavours that I’m finding enjoyable to sip on.

In my opinion, it’s not the best offering from Liquid Proust Teas – and to be fair it’s the only straight/pure tea I’ve tried from the store but I’m probably not making a grand leap to assume that Andrew’s strong suit is probably his blended/flavoured teas which display a greater level of creativity than this tea does.