ZenTea
Edit CompanyPopular Teas from ZenTea
See All 60 TeasRecent Tasting Notes
#tiffanys2021sipdown Tea #80 overall / Tea #47 for February
Saturday 2/27 so my bucket list has a visit every MLS stadium for an away game against my team the Columbus Crew (men’s professional soccer team). In fall of 2018 I went to Atlanta and got a bunch of teas from ZenTea in Atlanta Georgia. This one I got in mind for my boyfriend since he loves, blueberries. Alas he’s not a black tea fan. Anyway found enough to have one hot plain cuppa and I’m brewing it up now.
#tiffanydrinkstea #tiffanys2021 #tiffanysfaves #tiffanyinthe614 #tiffanysteasipdown #sipdownchallenge
I received this sample in the last Here’s Hoping Teabox, so thank you to tea-sipper for organizing and to all who contributed! This is apparently from ZenTea but not that ZenTea (the one that became “zentealife.com” and started selling teaware instead of tea… I’m fairly sure I’ve tried a tea of theirs before, long ago…) as this ZenTea (zenteaco.com) still has an active webpage and appears to be a mom-and-pop teashop out of Georgia.
Fair warning… I’m not a pu-erh person. Not sure why I decided to brew this today, other than the fact I have a lot of pu samples sitting around that aren’t getting drunk, and I keep thinking, “One day, I will get all the amazing tasting notes that I keep reading about in everyone else’s pu reviews instead of just dirt and swamp water.”
100ml shiboridashi | 5.5g | 205F | Rinse/10s/15s/20s/25s/30s/35s/40s
Threw the entire 5.5g sample in my 100ml shiboridashi. After the rinse, the leaf just… had that same marshy swampy smell I seem to always get from pu-erh. Here we go again. Am I broken, guys?
Same earthy/wet dirt/marshy sort of flavor I seem to always get from puerh. I’ve definitely had some that felt a little more abrasive in that flavor than this one, as this isn’t leaning as heavily in that marshy/vegetal realm that I usually get and instead is more like a damp, rank cave, which… is still not my favorite, but preferable to me between the two. It steeped for a long time, but the flavor notes never changed for me. Ah well. Will it ever happen for me? Dunno…
Flavors: Earth, Mineral, Musty, Vegetal, Wet Earth, Wet Moss, Wet Rocks
Preparation
You aren’t broken. You just don’t enjoy pu-erh. I don’t like shu too much as well, but sheng are my cup of (pu-erh) teas.
Or maybe some better teas are waiting for you!
If you’re ‘broken,’ then you may very well be in a majority of those who are as well. For years, the enjoyment of pu erh escaped me. I amassed a large collection of it, read about it, was gifted with it from some of the nicest and most knowledeable people, and always found it to be like that old Peggy Lee song-‘Is That All There Is?’
I don’t like wine. I grew up in the years when the really cheap stuff-Boone’s Farm, Annie Green Springs, Pear Ripple, Mateus Rose’ was popular, then spent several decades living in the ‘wine state’-Californa and trying to cultivate an appreciation of the grape. I’ll take a glass of tap water over a glass a wine any day. Your taste is YOUR taste and there’s nothing wrong with that.
I am just starting to explore Pu-Erh teas and discovered these mini cakes while at my local ZenTea. On first steeping, the tea has a robust flavor and is as dark as a cup of coffee. The flavor is earthy and rich. Distinctive and not for everyone, but enjoyable. Also tried a second steeping and found that flavor slightly less earthy but still worth drinking! I will note I did NOT brew this in a gaiwan.
Flavors: Dirt, Wet Earth, Wood
Preparation
There was a grassy first impression, most likely from the lemongrass. The spiciness of the ginger is not overbearing, giving a nice pleasantness. The aftertaste is a beautiful refreshing mint. It was nice feeling all that is part of the tea; the lemongrass, ginger and mint. I did try it out with a bit of sugar; it downs the grassy first taste and brings out more a milky mint taste.
Flavors: Ginger, Grass, Lemongrass, Milk, Mint
I found this tea quite interesting. The color was a lovely reddish brown. It had the smell of spices and cinnamon. The taste quite that spice flavor, but a little calmer than the aroma. Oddly, it gave me a numbness feeling to my mouth (I don’t tend to drink chai, mind you). I did put a little bit of sugar in it, and surprisingly gave it a milky flavor, which was quite pleasant, actually.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Milk, Spices, Spicy
I loved this tea from the first I tried it. It’s smoky, woodsy smell is just so distinct, giving you the idea of a warm fire. The taste is equally pine and oak taste, very full-body, smooth and turns slightly sweet in the end. The aftertaste lingers pleasantly for a while, reminding you of this beautiful elixir long after you finished drinking. The smell and taste reminded me of my mother country, Mexico, when food is cooked in charcoal and wood, very lovely~.
Flavors: Oak, Pine, Smoke, Smooth, Sweet, Wood
I tried this tea at the Zentea house. On the nose, it was sweet with the slight bitterness of a black tea. The flavor was more bitter in the beginning and the after taste is the sweet creme brulee taste.
Flavors: Sweet, Vanilla
Preparation
The flavor was extremely mild, in my opinion, but the earthy-floral aroma helped make up for that. I ordered it with some berry scones during one of my visits to Zen Tea. The scones definitely helped bolster the flavor without overpowering it with too much of a sweet taste.
Flavors: Floral, Green, Roasted
I tried this in house at Zen Tea House. It’s one of the best Oolong teas I’ve ever had, and I didn’t feel the need to sweeten it at all. It was more of a green taste with a hint of floral to it.
Flavors: Floral, Green, Sweet
Preparation
The one is quite lovely: true vanilla and a hint of almond. Rich smooth rooibos base beautifully carries the flavours. Like a vanilla almond creme caramel.
What a shame that Zen Tea Life is no longer selling teas! This is one that I’d like to have more of.
Flavors: Almond, Vanilla
The cinnamon is very strong, and the rose adds a special kind of sweetness. The two work as a wonderful compliment to each other. There is a nice balance of different kinds of sweet. The apple is very subtle and provides a nice balance for the drink. The flavor of the green tea is somewhat lost, but I didn’t mind. I still recommend the drink.
Flavors: Apple, Cinnamon, Rosehips, Sweet
Preparation
The bitterness of this tea is not very pronounced, and it took me several sips to find it. The strawberry flavor is subtle, too, and it offers a little sweetness. It could use more of that sweetness. I recommend this tea for those who want something different from the standard black tea.
Flavors: Bitter, Chocolate, Strawberry, Sweet
Preparation
This is a solid green tea blend. My only complaint is the strawberry isn’t strong enough; the papaya flavor is very dominating on my tongue. I could still smell the strawberry. I would recommend this to any green tea or papaya lover.
Preparation
I write here again because I really love this tea~. It has a beautiful full-bodied, earthy taste. There is the slight fermentation taste with rice accents. It is a great choice during the cold-weather, being a warm-nature tea. For people who are trying to cut down on coffee, it is a great start. I have been brewing this tea for many friends, and they have all enjoyed it~.
Flavors: Earth, Rice, Wood
I have just been introduced to Pu-erh 3 months ago, and it was shocking. A good shocking, to be more precise, because it has such wonderful aroma and taste. The color is such a beautiful deep red. The smell smooth and calming, you can smell the fermentation and woodsiness. The taste is equally smooth, not bitter, woodsy, musty, rice taste that transforms to sweetness. I do hold the pu-erh compacted more to my preference than loose leafed, but it is still very enjoyable and great to make multiple brews.
Flavors: Musty, Rice, Sweet, Wet Wood, Wood
Preparation
It was quite a shocker to me, actually. Not at all in a bad way, but just in a way that I had not experienced before. I am quite used to green and black teas, so the nuances of this tea were very new to me. It had many flavors, including the hint of chocolate. To me (and m sister who tried it out with me) reminded us very much like wine, an alcoholic scent. It had some spicy hints, and then turned sweet. Not to bad, to recap.
Flavors: Bitter, Red Wine, Rooibos, Spicy, Sweet, White Wine
The smell was tart and sweet, the raspberry very present in the scent. The taste was first a bit bitter and tart, but then turn to a smooth sweetness, which was a nice relief from the first surprise. For someone who has a sweet-tooth, this would be good transition tea.
Flavors: Bitter, Raspberry, Smooth, Sweet, Tart
It had a beautiful nutty and tarty smell, nothing too overpowering. The taste was just as good, a bit smoky and woodsy, with the almond accenting very nicely. It was smooth, again nothing overpowering and left a nice sweet aftertaste. I will definitely have to drink it again.
Flavors: Almond, Nutty, Smoke, Tart, Wood