74

Pulled this to replace a recent sipdown and serve as my Ode to Tea K entry! This tea was provided to me way back in 2018 from Meowster during a cupboard clearout, thank you!

Brewed 2.8g in 350ml 195F water with a 3 minute steep. Didn’t have any time to drink before work so I had to throw the tea in a thermos and jet off, and it is hard to smell much that far down the container (I didn’t even have time to brew a full thermos…) The only thing I can say for certain is “bready” until I’m able to make this tea at home, in a cup, with the proper time to drink it…

An hour later of my thermos sitting on my desk with the cap off and this is finally cool enough to drink (these Contigos don’t mess around). I’m getting a bit of malt, a wheat/rye baked bread, spices, a hint of smoke, and an indistant citrus note that leaves the tiniest tang at the end of the sip. Some sips are slightly grapey, others aren’t.

I have no idea how old this tea could possibly be by now (it could’ve already been quite old by the time Meowster de-stashed it, and I’ve added another three years onto that…) but this is perfectly servicable as a first-of-the-morning-hot-caffeine-infusion, despite the age.

Flavors: Bread, Citrus, Malt, Muscatel, Rye, Smoke, Spices, Wheat

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 g 12 OZ / 350 ML
tea-sipper

I almost had this one a couple days ago, also from Meowster. I’ll keep it in mind for ‘K’.

Mastress Alita

I’m still working on the sipdown and drinking a cup right now (daily drinker until it’s gone!) For an Indian tea, it is reminding me a lot of the subtle smokiness of a Keemun.

tea-sipper

Looking forward to (finally, sigh) trying it!

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tea-sipper

I almost had this one a couple days ago, also from Meowster. I’ll keep it in mind for ‘K’.

Mastress Alita

I’m still working on the sipdown and drinking a cup right now (daily drinker until it’s gone!) For an Indian tea, it is reminding me a lot of the subtle smokiness of a Keemun.

tea-sipper

Looking forward to (finally, sigh) trying it!

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Bio

Hi! I’m Sara, a middle-aged librarian living in southern Idaho, USA. I’m a big ol’ sci-fi/fantasy/anime geek that loves fandom conventions, coloring books, simulation computer games, Japanese culture, and cats. Proud genderqueer asexual (she/they) and supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. I’m also a chronic migraineur. As a surprise to no one, I’m a helpless tea addict with a tea collecting and hoarding problem! (It still baffles me how much tea I can cram into my little condo!) I enjoy trying all sorts of teas… for me tea is a neverending journey!

Favorite Flavors:

I love sampling a wide variety of teas! For me the variety is what makes the hobby of tea sampling so fun! While I enjoy trying all different types of teas (pure teas, blends, tisanes), these are some flavors/ingredients I enjoy:
-Dessert/chocolate/vanilla/caramel/cream/toffee/maple
-Sweet/licorice root/stevia
-Vegetal/grassy
-Floral/lavender/rose
-Spices/chais
-Fruity
-Tropical/pineapple/coconut
-Bergamot (in moderation)
-Roasted/nutty
-Tart/tangy/hibiscus/rosehip

Disliked Flavors:

There are not many flavors or ingredients that I don’t like. These include:
-Bananas/banana flavoring
-Hemp/CBD teas
-Smoke-scented teas/heavy smoke flavors (migraine trigger)
-Perfumey teas/extremely heavy floral aromas (migraine trigger)
-Gingko biloba (migraine trigger)
-Chamomile (used in blends as a background note/paired with stronger flavors is okay)
-Extremely spicy/heated teas
-Medicinal flavors/Ginseng
-Metallic flavors
-Overly strong artificial flavorings

With the exception of bananas and migraine triggers, I’ll pretty much try any tea at least once!

Steeping Parameters:

I drink tea in a variety of ways! For hot brews, I mostly drink my teas brewed in the western style without additions, and for iced tea, I drink teas mostly brewed in the cold brew style without additions. Occassionally I’ll change that up. I use the https://octea.ndim.space/#/ app for water-to-tea ratios and use steep times to my preferences.

My Rating Scale:

90-100 – Top tier tea! These teas are among my personal favorites, and typically I like to keep them stocked in my cupboards at all times, if possible!

70-89 – These are teas that I personally found very enjoyable, but I may or may not feel inclined to keep them in stock.

50-69 – Teas that fall in this range I enjoyed, but found either average, lacking in some way, or I’ve had a similar tea that “did it better.”

21-49 – Teas in this range I didn’t enjoy, for one reason or another. I may or may not finish them off, depending on their ranking, and feel no inclination to restock them.

20-1 – Blech! My Tea Hall of Shame. These are the teas that most likely saw the bottom of my garbage can, because I’d feel guilty to pass them onto someone else.

Note that I only journal a tea once, not every time I drink a cup of it. If my opinion of a tea drastically changes since my original review, I will journal the tea again with an updated opinion and change my rating. Occassionally I revisit a tea I’ve reviewed before after a year or more has passed.

Inventory:

My Cupboard on Steepster reflects teas that I have sampled and logged for review, and is not used as an inventory for teas I currently own at the present moment. An accurate and up-to-date listing of my current tea inventory can be viewed here: https://tinyurl.com/xjt9ptx3 . I am open to tea trades (within the United States only!) at this time. Note that I will not trade teas that I currently have in a quantity less than 50g (samplers, 1oz packages, etc.) or any teas that are currently still sealed/unopened in my cupboard.

Contact Info:

Feel free to send me a Steepster PM, or alternatively, check the website URL section below; it goes to a contact form that will reach my personal e-mail.

Location

Idaho, United States

Website

https://teatimetuesdayreviews...

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