1403 Tasting Notes

85

Total plagiarism ahead.

Yum. Fruity malty Assam. :)

Flavors: Fruity, Malt

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

70

Found this in my bag from Sil and thought I might give it a whirl as my second tea of the day.

My first tea of the day is the one which I place high expectations on. I am far more willing to gamble with the second one of the day.

That this one has an oolong base comes as a surprise to me given that it is from Sil. As for flavour, well, not really. It is mild and buttery caramel. It needs far more leaf due to the popcorn and fruit bits. It is pleasant though, reminiscent of DT’s Caramel Corn. Not a tea that leaves much of an impression aside from being an easy drinker with lunch or chocolate or something when you are not expecting that cup to shine brilliantly on its own.

There are times when you want something mild, something that doesn’t intrude; this is a good cup for those moments.

Thanks, Sil, for giving me a chance to try this.

Flavors: Caramel

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Sil

heh this one is technically from MissB through me :)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

100

Yep, I really like this one. I think it is perfectly fine as is, subtle but glorious. A bit of glazed donut comes through, as does a bit of vanilla. I am sad that my sample of this is coming to an end.

Flavors: Honey, Pastries

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Fjellrev

Oh man, I didn’t need to know about this.

ashmanra

Blast! Now I want the tea AND a doughnut.

shezza

Ah, I love this one too!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90
drank Vanille by Dammann Frères
1403 tasting notes

Thanks, Sil, for sharing this one with me, especially given my fondness for vanilla teas. I like this one a lot—possibly the scent rising from the steaming cup even more so than the flavour coming through in the sips. The scent really is intoxicating. Yum. The flavour seems to round out more nicely as the tea cools a bit. Nice one. I wonder how it compares to my favourite vanilla black.

Flavors: Malt, Vanilla

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

100

I reached for this as tea of the morning after a hectic day of running. Thankfully, my health has been accommodating the past few days for which I am so grateful. Hectic days are not usually within my capacity, so truly truly truly yay!

The first sip of this tea hits you with a kapow, followed up with the bready smoothness. Nice malty scent rises from my cup as I inhale the deliciousness. Delightful.

Thank you for the sample, Sil.

Flavors: Black Currant, Bread, Malt

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Sil

Glad you get to try these :)

Evol Ving Ness

You and me both!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90
drank Lychee by Mighty Leaf Tea
1403 tasting notes

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

100

I had woken up this morning in the mood and with the need for a punchy tea. This is the one I packed up in two travel mugs for the day, along with another cup or two of other teas—yeah, it was a long day out in the world.

I quite enjoyed these longan/lychee/rose/cocoa flavours that accompanied me in my day. Really nice with a bite or two of bittersweet chocolate.

Indigobloom

this sounds lovely!! is it very floral?

Evol Ving Ness

I wouldn’t say that it is floral in the sense of a floral oolong, but it is floral in the sense of strong floral fruit perfume notes layered onto a feisty black.

Evol Ving Ness

More juicy than floral, in my opinion. Certainly not as floral as the French teas that I’ve tried. (That though, has been a very small collection so far.)

Indigobloom

So many lychee teas I’ve tried have been overly floral. I’m a bit cautious!

Evol Ving Ness

I would say the nature of lychee itself is floral. It is difficult for me to separate the fruit from the floral qualities of the tastes.

Indigobloom

same here. I tend to stay away from lychee teas for that reason as it easily overwhelms me

Evol Ving Ness

In that case, I would stay clear.

Indigobloom

good to know. thanks!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

This is delicious. That said, I prefer the third steep because the first two are far too much in your face, far too perfumed. Perhaps I am using too much leaf though I use just as much as I would for an oolong, way less than half of a DT’s spoon. I drink it black. Maybe that is the problem. Either way, my experimenting continues to find that immediate perfect cup. And the next and the next.

Daylon R Thomas

I had the same problem. I do not know if this would help, but I typically drank 2-3 grams in 16 ounce tumbler at about 77 C. It is an awesome blend despite my desire for it to be Apple Cider Panna Cotta.

Evol Ving Ness

Thanks, Daylon. Yes, I wanted it to be Apple Cider Panna Cotta too. In fact, I order all the QTT jade oolongs with the same hope.

Daylon R Thomas

LOL dido but you probably read my notes X

Kittenna

Sounds like this Apple Cider Panna Cotta is a must-try!

Daylon R Thomas

It’s seasonal…

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

85

Delicious Yunnan black concoction with perhaps a bit of the Darjeeling peeking through. The Ceylon in this cup totally hid behind the Yunnan, or perhaps that’s all the dry leaf my teaspoon picked up. Or maybe my travel mug tampered with things as I was on the go all day. Ok, ok, it was only four hours but it felt like all day. Damn delicious.

Thank you for the share, Sil, and for giving me enough in the sample to have more of this at home in a proper cup or at least not covered up in a thermos-like container: like the context nature intended tea to be drunk in. Preferably wearing flannel pyjamas.

And hurray that the notice feature appears to be fixed! Yay! Thank you, Jason! We appreciate you.

Flavors: Bread, Chocolate

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

A monk sips morning tea

A monk sips morning tea,
it’s quiet,
the chrysanthemum’s flowering.

- Basho

(1644-1694)

Note to self—-you do not actually need any more tea.

My real tea obsession began in February 2015.

Not, sadly, when I had been living and working in China, though I very much enjoyed sampling a variety of teas during my travels there as well. No, no, that would have been far too sensible.

I am a reformed coffee drinker. I still enjoy a long double espresso with a good quantity or milk or cream from time to time, but for now, tea is my thing. All day.

*note—this is way out of date, so if we are doing a swap and you are checking to see what I like and dislike, mostly never mind what you find below. One of these days, I will update this. In the meantime, check what I’ve been drinking and use your own judgement. I like all the teas. Well, I am open to trying all the teas.

I tend to drink black, green, or oolong tea in the morning to early afternoon. Rooibos or
Honeybush or herbal in the evening. And perhaps some sort of sleepy-type tea in the wee hours.

This year, I’ve been discovering flavoured teas, so it may look like that is all I drink although that would provide a false impression.

Not a big fan of chocolate or mint in teas, but I will try them and, from time to time, have been pleasantly surprised. Also, usually I dislike a prominent cinnamon flavour, if untempered with other things, in teas. Again, I say usually, because there are exceptions.

Also, please note that haven’t quite gotten into the habit of updating my tea cupboard on Steepster, and it is unlikely that I will do this on any kind of regular basis.

I drink my tea black and unsweetened. If there comes a rare moment that I add something to it, I will mention it.

Finally, while I thank large and successful tea companies for tantalizing and beckoning me to the world of tea, I prefer to support independent ventures with real people, real enthusiasm and commitment, and real dreams.

Currently, I am researching monthly tea subscriptions. Perhaps it will keep me out of tea shops.

And here is Shae’s rating scale— which I am using with permission, of course— which more or less describes the way I have been rating teas. I am going to make more of an effort to stay very close to these parameters now.

Rating Scale

1-20: By far, one of the worst teas I’ve tasted. I most certainly will not finish my cup and will likely “gift” the rest to my sweet husband who almost always enjoys the teas I dislike (and vice versa).

21-40: This tea is not good but if I mix it with another tea or find another steeping method I might be able to finish it.

41-60: This one is just okay. I might drink it again if someone were to give it to me, but I probably won’t be buying more for myself.

61-75: This is a consistently good tea. It’s reliable but not necessarily special.

76-90: This one is a notch above the rest and I would gladly enjoy a cup of it any day of the week. I’ll likely be keeping this in my cupboard, but it isn’t one of my all-time favorites.

91-95: One small change and this tea would be perfect. I’ll definitely have a stash of this in my kitchen if you come over for tea.

96-100: No words can describe this tea. It’s an experience, an aha moment. Closed eyes, wide smile, encompassing warmth. Absolutely incredible. Perfect.

Location

Mostly, but not always, Toronto, Canada.

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer