Maddy Barone Send Message

A while back I supported a Kickstarter campaign for Dachi Tea. I kind of forgot about it to be honest. I’m not an Oolong lover. But I figure I want to support new tea ventures, because TEA, right? Well, today i received a package of four 10 gram samples from Dachi, sent all the way from Taipei City in Taiwan to Fargo in North Dakota. I received this one, Iron Goddess, Frozen Summit, and Honeysuckle, and this one won.

My description might be awkward and amateur-ish, because 1) I have no sense of smell and thus don’t taste much and 2) I am still pretty new at drinking high quality teas. So, please bear with me as I try to tell you what this tea is like:

The dry tea is greenish, black, and golden brown leaves rolled into irregularly shaped pellets. I think these are called pearls? I put 6 pellets into a T-Sac and steeped in almost boiling water for 2 minutes. The resulting tea is very pale and delicate in color. The tea tastes (and again, please remember I can’t taste much because of no sense of smell) smooth. There is no sourness or bitterness in this tea. It is not cloying or sweet. It seems to have light body to me and a pleasant mouthfeel. I really can’t bear bitterness, sourness or astringency, so this tea passes my personal test for a good tea. I am really interested in hearing what a smelling person thinks of this tea.

I’m still feeling a bit cold, and I’m dying for a Mountain Dew, so I reached for an old favorite this afternoon. I like this one so much better than the Ginger Pear tea. I ought to like the Ginger Pear, because I love pears, and I love ginger. But, there you go. Since I’ve been drinking soda pop and eating girl scout cookies for the past week I gained a pound. So, strictly back to tea.

I haven’t had this one for a while, so I decided to make a cup this afternoon. Again, I’m a little disappointed. I put in significantly more this time, carefully observed the water temp and the steeping time, but it still doesn;t have much flavor. That might be me, of course, with my lack of smell and sense of taste. The second cup was better, a little stronger, a little sweeter, but still not going to be a favorite.

I accidentally left the window open a crack when I went to bed last night, and the temp dropped to -5F, so it is a bit nippy in here today. I had a two cup pot of black tea with breakfast, but I decided I NEEDED more tea! I pulled this out of the cabinet this morning for my mid-morning cup. Delicious! The elegantly understated spices make it especially warming. I think I’ll have another cup, maybe with a few drops of maple syrup.

Nice, warm tea, with no bitterness. I like this one a lot. Nothing fancy, no added flavorings. not that there is anything wrong with added flavor, but right away in the morning I want a good black tea to wake me up. This one did the trick for me this morning.

Wow! I’ve been putting off trying this because 1) I’ve been sick (the doc confirmed today that it is bronchitis, but I’m getting over it just find on my own. No antibiotics needed, just drinks lots of fluids, take robitussin DM, and use a humidifier. She even suggested tea, particularly herbals. Nice to have a doctor that knows me so well!) and 2) I’ve never had green rooibos and I was afraid I wouldn’t like it.

Not like it? ha! I love it! The first two mouthfuls I wasn’t sure of it. But as it cooled, the sweetness came out. This is going to sound odd, but some artificially sweet or flavored teas have a narrow, sharp feel to them. At least to me. This tea has a mild, broad flavor that just seems right to me. Now I’m worried because I have only 50 grams of this. I will need more for the summer so I can drink it iced!

I had a hankering for a simple tea this morning. The nice thing about this tea is I always like it. I mean, it’s hard for me to screw up. Not quite the quality of Whispering Pines and Tippy’s Tea’s dessert-like teas, but satisfying none the less.

The second of the bergamot tea samples sent to me by Nicole. The dry leaves are joined by little purple buds of what must be lavender and some little off white buds. It brews up to a rich, dark amber. I like this one! The base tea is hearty, with only the faintest hint of bitter. The floral bergamot is only a distant flavor on my tongue. I won’t go out and buy 50 grams of this, but I certainly would drink it again if were a choice at a restaurant. (although, sadly, I’ve never yet had tea of this quality at a restaurant.)

Had this after supper while writing. I still really like this one. Smooth, creamy, and almost sweet. I’m so glad I’ve found Steepster and was directed to so many fine teas! Now I’m going to re-steep and settle in for a little knitting before bed.

I am still sick and getting pretty tired of it. I am better, though. I don’t have stabbing pains in my back when I cough any more at least. The cough lingers though, along with too much mucus and a completely clogged nose. I have to breathe through my mouth, so I decided this was the right tea for tonight. I really want to try that Golden HoneyDew from Lupicia, but why bother? Anyway, this is a great tea for when you’re sick. A friend had some and he said it tasted medicine-y to him, but I don’t mind the taste. When I can taste it just tastes sort of minty to me. And since I like mint, that’s a great taste for me.