328 Tasting Notes
I got one of those $3 samplers from Samovar. And what is frustrating about those samples are the size: they are soo tiny so only one shot to try it. In my inexperienced view, I am not sure how I feel about this compared to the raves and price.
This IS a peppery and bold yunnan. Reading other tasting notes, maybe it was Liberteas’, this tea’s third steep was sort of like a darjeeling. In fact, I would imagine if this tea were oversteeped, it could be astrigent. But I have to agree w/Ricky (even though we are well in the minority), this was sort of OK. But then what does a high quality yunnan taste like? The others I have tried have been mild and sweet…
It’s okay to say that a Samovar tea is okay. They all can’t be perfect! :) Maybe they forgot to put crack in this one! ;)
LOL, I felt guilty about not being terribly thrilled with their Four Seasons Oolong after everyone had been raving about it.
True! But then I feel like my taste buds are off?! And Jillian , I think the 4 seasons was a boring /too mild of a tea for me…
I am not sure if I like this this blend or if I even like non-roasted plain mate. This tea is accurately described by Samovar as bittersweet, and vegetal and those flavors do dominate. Let’s put it this way, anytime a tea is flavored with licorice, the licorice flavor predominates. But not in this tea at all…The licorice is a background note providing just a touch of sweetness…
I have always thought I liked Yerba Mate but now maybe I don’t. I have always had the roasted kinds (52 teas Malted chocomate, Teavana’s MyMatevana) ; the only non-roasted one I tried was Kusmi’s Detox, but maybe, in the Detox blend, the Mate was second-fiddle to the lemongrass and green tea.Like Auggy described earlier, this tea blends up a cloudy, brackish, brownish , grassy green…
Aw :( Did you buy a whole tin, or just a sample? Maybe it will grow on you :)
It may yet grow on me…I bought the small tin which I think was less than $10 . At Samovar, the sample is $3 and is soooo tiny , so sometimes a better deal to splurge for the tin. If I try it again and still don’t like it, this may be a “Take it away” giveaway (along w/Samovar’s hibiscus herbal tea). I usually like Samovar’s offerings though..
I couldn’t tell if I liked this one either. It’s a very confusing tea!
I still can’t decide. But it sure must have some serious caffeine as it does provide some extra- energy boost. Tomorrow I will try Samovar’s peppermint yerba mate
Lori, Mate has a lot of caffeine.
LOL about the caffiene content…Britt- I have decided this was just blech…
Thanks to Soccer Mom for this sample. In fact, I have been SOOO CURIOUS to try this tea to be honest as I have heard so many good things about this Da Hong Pao/Big Red Robe-
But after tasting this, I would say this is a “Dawn-lite”…
Honestly, Soccer Mom’s review is on target. When compared to Dawn, the cocoa flavor is not as strong. In fact, it is only noticeable after swallowing the tea. While the liquor is in my mouth, I mostly detect a toasty flavor and certainly not smoky. No astringency so no sugar is needed. This is not bold enough to be a morning tea but great drink for after work. Not sure if I will purchase this as Dawn is soo much better
This is a refreshing tea for the summer. After coming home from a sweaty jog, I was suprised to see my Leafspa package arrive …Anyway, I needed something cooling and this did the trick.
I only detected a slight – very slight pear and not much apple. But I did taste honey…yum..
