1403 Tasting Notes

Dexter passed this unopened packet along to me in her surprise box of tea sample gifts. Thank you, Dexter! (Come back!)

Beautiful Ceylon veering in the direction of Darjeeling with those lovely rich caramel raisin notes. And citrus, of course.

It has been making a tired challenging day much better.

And thank you, teabento, for your generous and delicious samples!

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drank Root Beer Float by 52teas
1403 tasting notes

I’d like to comment on the Root Beer Float Black tea which I drank the other day, but Steepster refuses to let me comment on that page. The page has a different appearance and the review tea clickie takes me to the Steepster sign in page. So there’s that.

Leafhopper

Have you tried clicking on Edit, saving the tea description, and then clicking Review? I had to do this once and it worked.

Evol Ving Ness

It worked! Thank you, Leafhopper! Now, if I can only remember this trick the next time this happens.

Leafhopper

Yay! Glad it helped. I had to think about it for a while before I remembered what to do.

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Currently on day three of drinking this and this is what I’ve got to say for now.

I continue to love the base and I prefer the cups in which the cucumber is a subtle cool lusciousness in the background.

The pepper spice is really gentle so far. I’ve been shaking the pouch regularly. I hope that despite my efforts the peppers are not all crowding each other at the bottom of the bag.

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This wasn’t one that I was especially looking forward to because I somehow assumed that it was going to veer in the chai direction, but WOW! I love this. The base blend is completely my thing—Assam, Yunnan, Ceylon: sturdy, frisky, and a bit bready. The flavours are mild enough that the combination strikes me as a savoury one with no one taste predominating. I could get used to having this one around as a staple.

52Teas

We still have 4 of these in stock. :)

Kawaii433

Evol Ving Ness: Nice. Maybe that will be my choice for tomorrow’s sipper.

Evol Ving Ness

I will look forward to your perspective.

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drank Bananas! Black Tea by 52teas
1403 tasting notes

I edited this tea in Steepster. And how did I edit it? I added an exclamation mark because that is how it appears on the packet and rules, yanno.

Still deciding as this in my first try with this blend. It’s good. But it is not Banana Pudding.
(Although Anne’s Gone Bananas and a bit Coconuts Too was truly a fine one too.)

To be continued.

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90

Well, this wee pouch is from the beginning of Anne’s reign at 52Teas. However, it has kept very well indeed, especially for leaf containing coconut. This last cup was just stellar. All the chocolate had settled and added to the wondrous thing that this tea was: vanilla, strawberry, cream, and cacao. Beeeeea—-uuuuuuu—ti—-ful!

I would most definitely like to see this one come my way again.

And it’s a sip down!

Sipdown 66

(6 of 2019)

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drank Tetley Tea Bag by Tetley
1403 tasting notes

Daily, I cart three to four steeped travel tea mugs full of tea wherever I go. Yesterday, I had a full day meditation thing and as usual, I brought my tea.

When we have tea breaks, my meditation place sets out three or four big teapots of various bagged teas for the meditators.

Usually, the pot of black tea is Red Rose, but yesterday, it was Tetley black which to me tastes pretty much like Red Rose. I poured myself a cup and added a hefty glug of milk.

Despite being a tea snob, at meditation days, this and Red Rose taste like ambrosia. I carted my travel containers home, full as they were when I arrived.

I’ll just go with that.

tea-sipper three to four mugs at the same TIME?! Whoa. haha
Evol Ving Ness

Usually when I leave the house, I am gone for several hours or all day, so three or four mugs are much needed. It seems crazy to me to purchase cups of mediocre tea out in the world when I have mountains of the good stuff at home.

tea-sipper

OH that makes sense then. :D

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This unopened three-year-old sample bag of tea magically turned up yesterday as I was heading out for a day of meditation. Oh hurray and happy days! I love this one and the smoky cardamom spice worked beautifully on a bitterly cold day. All the flavours are in perfect balance. Exactly what I needed. I am currently on day two of this and enjoying it immensely. A profound help in dealing with the kid shrieking next door intermittently throughout the day.

Have we discussed tea and mental health?

Also, why don’t I have more smoky teas? They are such a delight to have on hand when needed.

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drank Celebration by THEODOR
1403 tasting notes

From my samples basket. I can’t recall who was kind enough to share this with me. Perhaps it was Sil way back when?

This black tea has what I’ve come to think of as a French undertone—whatever that might mean to you . To me, it means a particular type of base and an intricate overlay of flavour. And then there’s a delicate nutty chocolate. Light and delicious.

Thank you to the person who shared it with me. It has been an enjoyable cup.

And it’s a sipdown!

Sipdown 65

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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.

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