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85
drank Oksusu Cha (Corn Tea) by Puripan
248 tasting notes

Having another cup of this today. It’s very nutty and almost has a coffee bean taste.

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85
drank Oksusu Cha (Corn Tea) by Puripan
248 tasting notes

Very yummy! My first time having corn tea, but I really do enjoy it. Of course I’m seem to be very partial to grain teas and grain-blended teas to begin with.

takgoti

Oooh corn tea? That sounds good.

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83

Well, I wasn’t a fan of this before, but this brewing has softened my opinion a bit. I made it in a gaiwan while playing around on the computer. Oddly enough, after over two years of tea exploration, this is my first time picking up White Peony… It’s okay.
Though I don’t have a means of comparison to other Peonies, I trust Puripan’s selection, so I’ll use this as a base for a general idea of what White Peony tastes like until I get some more experience. It’s… okay. As far as white teas go, it’s better than many I’ve had, but it still gets blown out of the water by a good Silver Needle.
There were a lot of stray bits of leaves, so I had to use one of those little circular mesh strainers (is there a name for them?) while pouring it from gaiwan to decanter. In the vessel, the leaves didn’t seem to sink much, even after three infusions. This made rather obvious the presence of stems in this leaf. I guess the Imperial Method of picking wasn’t used…
Nice color, though. Okay, it looked a BIT like urine, but it was still a nice color. A bright, clean and clear, dark-yellow.
It tasted better as I brewed it – maybe that just because of successively better jobs at infusing. But, at the very least, it help up fine through three infusions, and that’s good. Perhaps I’m getting used to the white tea taste that turns a lot of people off. Maybe I’ll make some Silver Needle tonight… do I have any? I have Jasmine Silver Needle from Adagio… I guess that’ll do.

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drank Mugicha (Barley) by Puripan
74 tasting notes

Shoot me.
I made this tea with bottled water.
Long story.

Nothing special about this cup, made it around 2AM. Of course, I mixed this with corn tea…
Know what? Forget the review of this tea.
Frustrated story time.

I’m having a small water crisis. All my jugs of clean water are empty, and I avoid using tap water for my good teas, because it ruins the flavor a bit. I also don’t like using tap water in my boiler
(this is it, by the way. Gorgeous machine, perfect element for my teatime)
http://www.capresso.com/water-kettle-frother-h20-plus.shtml
The main problem here with getting more water is that, as I’ve mentioned in a previous log, my sleeping hours are way off. Because of this, I’m generally not up and awake until around 9ish (PM), when everything closes. This means I can’t get to the clean water store – very annoying. Especially when a gallon of water costs only 25 cents. And while they technically have slots outside that actually vend water 24-hours a day, all my water jugs are gross – one of them has green junk on the bottom.
So, the other night, ‘round midnight I believe, I put on my family’s kettle with some nasty tap water, with the intention of making the very tea I’m reviewing – the kernals, in fact, were in the cup. While I waited for it to boil, I sat down for a moment at the computer and tried out a flash game. Nothing special, but pretty fun, so I keep playing. Eventually, my sister, with her childbirth-enhanced sense of smell, calls downstairs and asks if something is burning.
So, I’m down a kettle.
Still wanted tea. So I put a bit of tap water in my H2O boiler thing… watching it slosh into my glass kettle, with all the stuff added into our water becoming increasingly visible… I just poured it all out, losing my entire appetite for tea.

The next night, (technically yesterday morning) I was getting bored sometime after the witching hour – watching late-night television and taking care of my decrepit dog so he doesn’t wake everyone else up can only hold me for so long – so I took a trip to get some food and spend some time in front of this fence. Yeah, a fence – I’m not going to explain the whole story, but it’s a really special spot for me. So, I consulted the fence for advice.
It told me, in short, to stop being so lazy.
When I got home, I wrote out a hearty “to-do” list for the day, though I had to wait until the world woke up to do anything. I had things, like “set up appointment at DMV”, “take donations to Good Will” and “contact Alex about gig with the newspaper”. I was going to keep myself awake, too, and maybe even get onto a normal sleep schedule.
In the end, I fell asleep around 4 while waiting for my mother to return with the car so I could do stuff, and I didn’t check a single thing off my list. Including number 2, “Get Water.”

I made this tea this morning, the kernals still in the cup from a previous night, with bottled water.
Shoot me.

takgoti

Oh wow. Have you considered a Brita pitcher? I use mine so much it should be considered abusive.

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drank Mugicha (Barley) by Puripan
74 tasting notes

Mixed with Oksusucha, as usual, I put this tasting under Mugicha, because I used a larger proportion of it – probably 3-1.
Some people try to find teas that work with meals… While that may work with alcohol, it’s my philosophy that tea should compliment your day, not your dinner.
While the day is relatively young, it’s only 10AM, I’ve been up for about four hours, and this was a nice mugga (as opposed to cuppa) to have on my balcony while playing solitaire and listening to light techno. Had a few cups of coffee with breakfast at a diner I’ve been visiting lately, and I guess I wanted something kind of similar, what with the roasted flavor. Diners are nice places, really. They’re friendly and talkative… and I stand out a bit, usually being the only person younger than 50. And to emphasize that, I have a facial piercing, now XD
( what do you guys think? http://imdead-goaway.deviantart.com/art/A-bit-high-brow-143080726 Got it monday :) )

Anyway, a splendid tea for complimenting those… lethargic moments. The ones where you just sit, think, and if you want, you can even get in tune with your own heart beating. I like waking up really early, having a few hours of solitude, and getting breakfast at the diner – maybe I’ll come across some roses to smell. The sky is blue now, with a nice mix of clouds, and the palm trees add a nice touch (oh, California…) Okusucha and Mugicha, left to freely steep, make a nice undertone for it all.
But, alas, I have class in less than an hour, and I should head down to campus soon so I can copy the homework from someone before the professor arrives.
I’m in a good mood, so I’ll wish splendid sippings to you all. May all the teas you encounter today steep well, and treat your taste buds kindly.

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drank Mugicha (Barley) by Puripan
74 tasting notes

Hmmm
Steepster should have a way to address mixtures of multiple teas simultaneously.
This is a mix of Puripan’s Mugicha, and their Oksusucha (Corn). I never bother straining this tea – I just leave the kernels in the cup. No real worry about it oversteeping.
Things are tending to go awry today, so I felt I needed a reliable tea that wouldn’t turn on me. This brew was loyal as always, and so I’ll do it the favor of a good review.

As the corn and barley are both roasted, this tea bears a great resemblance to coffee. I can’t really say how it compares to finer coffees, but it’s sure better than the stuff we have in the campus dining hall. It definitely lacks the ickiness of coffee (I say, perhaps, with an underdeveloped tongue towards coffee), and it won’t leave your breath stinking, or your teeth yellow!
I can’t really say how this tea takes milk, cream, or sugar… I drink my coffee black, and I take my tea straight. (usually.) Maybe I’ll experiment someday, and come back to you on that.
The corn here gives a subtle, sweet base, while the barley brings in bitter complexity. I like having these two herbals separately, but they work best as a team – they bring out the best in each other, underneath the umbrella of roasted flavor. It’s good to keep the ingredients unmixed before brewing, of course, so you can tip the ratio of sweet to bitter to your mood – today calls for extra barley.
It makes an agreeable background cup, when you’re just relaxing at the computer, or you’re thinking and you need a pleasant drink that won’t distract you. Perhaps the only thing that wouldn’t pull an avid coffee drinker from their usual drink, would be the complete lack of caffeine in this. I tried mixing some mate in once, but… It’s too much work, and while it’s drinkable, it’s not as good. Maybe I’ll experiment with a base of black tea…

If you’re interested in this tea, you don’t need Puripan. From what I hear (and have yet to experiment with), any Korean market has roasted corn in barely, often in bulk. Also, if you’re visiting a Korean restaurant, there’s a good chance this mix, or one of the two parts, is the tea they’ll be serving. Keep an eye out – it’s a good drink.
Also a side note – it’s good iced, too. It’s a water substitute, apparently. Very refreshing, hot, iced, or room temperature. It’s the Rooibos of Korea!

Preparation
Boiling
takgoti

DUDE. So THAT’s what we get at Korean BBQ. I’ve always liked it, but now I know what it’s called. The last time we asked them what something was the waitress was like, “AHHH! PIG’S FEET! HAHAHAHAHA!” and then she laughed at us for the rest of the night and I didn’t want to ask anything else. So, thanks. I’ll have to check next time I’m at an Asian mart.

JMKauftheil

That sounds like a traumatizing experience. XD

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75
drank Lotus Leaf by Puripan
74 tasting notes

It’s been a long night, and my fingers smell like tobacco. I spent over an hour on my balcony, taking things apart, and piecing them back together. I went through three cigarettes, which, as I’ve mentioned before, I detest. I make a habit to drink this tea whenever I smoke, because it’s a detox for the nicotine.

I bought this tea for college, because I knew I’d be taking in a lot of tobacco and alcohol. I started smoking right before I came here, and my roommate is 25 – and more than willing to bring into the dorm anything from beer to sake into the dorm.
This isn’t a very tasty herbal. In my first experience tasting this tea in the Puripan shop, (don’t bother searching for a local one unless you live in Korea or the San Francisco Bay Area), I found it a bit repulsive. But, as the need came, I bought it, and, like most peculiar flavors, it’s a taste you acquire.
I’ve only got a cup or so left of the stuff. I’ll need to buy more when I go back home for thanksgiving.

I smoke to remind myself that I’m a hypocrite, and that I do things that are in no one’s best interest. I drink Lotus Leaf tea, because I want to clean up and fix things. It’s a hard taste to get used to, and it takes time. Gradually, I’ll make the confrontations, admissions, and apologies. For now, I continue to make smoke clouds, and look for repentance in lotus leaves.

takgoti

I don’t want to get preachy on you, because I used to be a social smoker. [Now, the smell of cigarettes, when noticeably pungent, makes my gag reflex start to quake.] But, seeing as how you’re someone who seems to value his palate, I want to gently point out that cigarettes are not very forgiving to your sense of taste and smell over time. I’m not going to mention all the other shit it does to you because you seem to be aware. It can be a difficult thing to drop, once you get around to wanting to do so.

Perhaps another vice might be in order? I found photography. I’m not saying that it’s necessarily something you’d be interested in, but I’d let you borrow it if you want.

Carolyn

I have wondered whether other people who write here smoke since I often find teas flavorful that others describe as not tasting like anything and find some teas overpowering that others find just right.

My experience with smokers on other taste issues has been that their palates are not as sensitive as mine, so I try to discount the possibility of smokers when I read tasting notes here. Of course, not knowing who is a smoker and who is not means that I must simply give all teas the benefit of the doubt, which I suppose is overall good.

JMKauftheil

I appreciate and understand the concern.
Fear of losing my sense of taste is why I never got my tongue pierced.

I smoke lightly. Very lightly.
A three-cigarette night is a rare one for me, and a day with a smoke at all is uncommon.
But, alas, I am a poet before I’m a teaist, and thus exploration of the self, destructive or otherwise, takes precedence.

I’m also waiting for someone to force me to stop. Or to distract me enough that I don’t have reason to smoke. I live mostly in the hours between sunset and sunrise, and those times get particularly dull and lonely sometimes. So I make clouds of smoke to pass the time. Voila.

Jillian

Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re ‘fixing’ the damage done by smoking. Nothing can really mitigate the effects of the smoke/tar/nicotine on your body. Tea is a much better, and healthier addiction I find.

JMKauftheil

Oh, of course I know that.
You read too literally into what I say.

Sarah

Mate, this is a tea forum and tasting notes, not Dr Phil

JMKauftheil

Not looking for support or understanding.
Just expressing my experience and connection with this tea.

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75
drank Lotus Leaf by Puripan
74 tasting notes

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75
drank Five Taste by Puripan
26 tasting notes

The name of this tea describes it perfectly :) There are different taste sensations. I can taste all of them except the “bitter” taste. It is nice hot and iced. A very unique herbal tea.

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