1216 Tasting Notes

70

Todd gave me one of the pre-sealed packages of this tea he got from his China trip. It’s… very strange. When you open up the package, rather than having a teabag inside, it’s this solid square that looks like a solidified honey-like substance with one dried lemon slice and one dried kumquat enclosed inside. The instructions say to drop it in cold or room temperature water, though I could find no information on exactly how much water one “cube” is for… I used a liter knowing it might be a bit watered down since I was guessing. The cube dissolves in the cold water very quickly, and leaves the lemon slice and kumquat floating in the water. I couldn’t really find any information on the ingredients… one source said it was instant jasmine green tea? If so, I definitely don’t taste anything remotely like jasmine or green tea in flavor. It just tastes like lemonade, albeit waaaaaaaaay less sweet (which I prefer). It is bright and citrusy, and while I think it tastes fine with the amount of water I used, it would probably be a bit stronger and punchier at a half-liter, instead.

So, it’s basically like an instant cube of dissolvable lemonade. It’s a bit fun, definitely refreshing, but not particularly exciting. This would be incredibly convenient for travel, but obviously not very accessible in this part of the world.

Flavors: Citrus, Lemon

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more 1 tsp 32 OZ / 946 ML
ashmanra

Neat! And what a cool gift from Todd! I wonder if Superanna might be able to get these in Japan?

gmathis

Interesting! Don’t you love tea friends that share their odd discoveries with you?

Todd

Huh, I had no idea it would be like that inside, as the one I opened from Bestore had a pyramid teabag inside. I’m glad it was good!

Mastress Alita

Are you sure you aren’t just thinking of the peach one? I can find no information anywhere online about Bestore having a Kumquat Lemon tea that is tea in a teabag. Every source shows the instant cubes with the dried fruit inside.

Todd

Oh I’m talking about the peach one. I haven’t opened one with an instant cube inside yet, and it sounds interesting!

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76
drank Mint Olympus by DAVIDsTEA
1216 tasting notes

I’ve been working through my package of this for the last couple of months, and really enjoy it in the evenings. I have a lot of GI issues and rather than just avoid the foods I know cause me issues, I’ve been chasing those meals with this tea to help soothe the tummy instead, heh.

I’m a big fan of Greek Mountain Tea, though I’ve only had it straight and not in a blend. When I had it before, it was big, fluffy flowers rather than sifted like in this blend, and the flavor I got was really fruity, a sort of floral honey and apple with a bit of citrus, hay, and mint in the background. I’m not getting any of those notes in this blend, aside from citrus and mint, but considering the amount of peppermint and lemon myrtle in this blend, I suppose that makes sense. It’s really minty but lacks that strong menthol aftertaste of most mint teas… instead it leans closer to tulsi in flavor, in that the mint is a little peppery and citrusy and some pleasant basil notes.

I prefer the flavor of Greek Mountain Tea more on its own, but I also like the extra flavor notes in this minty tea that would be lacking from drinking plain peppermint. It’s nice, and it really is great against nighttime acid reflux.

Flavors: Basil, Citrus, Mint, Pepper

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 1 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML
ashmanra

As someone who was up from 3:55 am to 6:15 am with horrible reflux and a wretchedly burning throat…good to know.

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80

It’s Thanksgiving morning (edit: this was written yesterday when the Dash was down yet again), and I was greeted by our first snowfall of the year. Boo! I needed tea therapy after shoveling the slushy walk, and when I was looking through my older selections the word “maple” caught my eye and I realized I was really hankering for that flavor.

Steeped according to the package. The spent leaves had a strong woody aroma, not too unlike houjicha, while the steeped cup smelled strongly of maple and butter. That is pretty much what it tastes like, too: sweet maple and a bit of buttery creaminess on a roasted and slightly nutty backdrop. I may try a subsequent cup as a latte with sweet almond milk as I suspect that will make the maple pop even more, but it is perfectly satisfying as-is. Fits the “suddenly it’s winter!” weather.

Flavors: Butter, Creamy, Earthy, Maple, Nutty, Roasted, Sweet, Walnut, Woody

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 30 sec 2 g 12 OZ / 350 ML
Martin Bednář

First snowfall here today morning (and yesterday it was freezing, so I naturally fell on dirty pavement).

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Rating: 82

Todd gifted me some Chinese green teas from his trip to China last month. I don’t have any information on these teas aside from translating the type, and this one is a Long Jing (Dragonwell). No steeping instructions, so I just defaulted to my norm for green tea, of 2g/350ml 175F water, steeped for 2 minutes.

The aroma off the spent leaves was roasted nuts, and while I get a little of that from the cup, I also smell more vegetal notes, like peas or green beans. The liquor is pale yellow and very slick and warming. There is a little earthy nuttiness there, but mostly the flavor is very buttery greens. It’s been a long time since I have had a Dragonwell, and I’m really enjoying it. It’s very relaxing and feels good on my sore post-dental-surgery mouth.

Flavors: Earthy, Nutty, Vegetal, Peas, Green Beans, Butter

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85

I’ve been really enjoying this! Nice, roasty hojicha with those cozy woody and nutty notes, with a nice caramel sweetness. The caramel is really popping for me, leaning almost into a maple flavor with the fruitiness of the apple. This will be missed when I finish off the bag. Shame flavored hojicha blends are so uncommon, I haven’t had many but seem to really like the ones I have stumbled upon.

Flavors: Apple, Caramel, Fruity, Maple, Nutty, Roasted, Sweet, Woody

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 1 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML

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70

I’ve been sipping through a pouch of this has my morning tea for a bit. I see some of the reviews say it’s “all Pumpkin Spice, no Earl Grey” but my batch (or maybe just my tastebuds) are having the complete opposite. The bergamot is coming off very strongly for me, and I don’t taste any of the desserty pumpkin pie/cream/vanilla flavoring that is apparently in this. The only other note I’m picking up on aside from the strong bergamot is the cardamom; I suspect the slight citrusy notes of cardamom are being amplified by the citrusy bergamot, but the other spices, like the pumpkin flavoring, are drowned out in my cup. So what I’m left with isn’t Pumpkin Earl Grey, or even Pumpkin Spice Earl Grey, but rather Cardamom Earl Grey.

I will say I do like the flavor combo of the cardamom and bergamot and think I would really like a Chai Earl Grey if the flavor balance was more even between the berg’ and the spices. But when something has “pumpkin” in the title and I get none of that, I still feel a bit disappointed.

Flavors: Bergamot, Cardamom, Citrus

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML
AJRimmer

My first bag of this was so tasty that when I finished it, I ordered another one for me plus one for my sister, so I hope the new batch isn’t too different from what I remember!

Mastress Alita

This bag was purchased in September 2021.

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73

This has been a pleasant dessert tea… it doesn’t really taste like pumpkin or creme brulee to me, but I do like it. I mostly smell and taste the cocoa, on a sweet appley base. There are some nutty and toffee undertones, but the chocolate flavor dominates too much to read those as a caramel or burnt sugar note for me. It’s very sweet, but is nice for an evening sweet tooth craving. I also really enjoyed it as a latte with vanilla almond milk.

Flavors: Apple, Chocolate, Cocoa, Fruity, Nutty, Sweet, Toffee

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 1 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML

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80

I really enjoy this. I’m a Nutella fan, and the flavor is pretty spot on here. The chocolate note is rich and fudgey and hits first, with a sweet nuttiness filling out the end of the sip and lingering on my tongue. I’m not a big fan of pu’erh, but find that most of the aspects of it that I don’t like are lost in this blend — I don’t get any unpleasant dirty flavors but it definitely creates a richer, mouth-coating base which is really working for me. It would probably make a nice latte, but I’ve been enjoying it plenty straight-up.

Flavors: Chocolate, Earthy, Hazelnut, Nutty, Rich, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML

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72
drank Cookie Dough Chai by 52teas
1216 tasting notes

Now that the weather has cooled off and I’m drinking hot tea again, I’ve been craving chai, but pretty much have none left in my collection (I haven’t purchased tea outside my smoothie matcha for… two years now? Maybe three?) But I found this and decided to brew it up.

It has a very chocolately aroma. I get a stronger chocolate flavor earlier in the cup, but as the tea cools the spices dominate over it a bit. I taste the allspice most, with a bit of cinnamon, and as my tea cools I taste more cardamom and clove.

Sweet and satisfyingly cozy-spicy rather than hot-spicy. More of a light chocolate chai than anything that would read as cookie dough to me, but pleasant in the work thermos on a cool fall morning.

Flavors: Allspice, Cardamom, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Clove, Spices, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML

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77
drank Cranberry Pear by DAVIDsTEA
1216 tasting notes

My cups of this have been a bit hit or miss… it’s hard for me to get consistent cups with a good amount of both black tea and chunky fruit, so some cups have been very underwhelming while others have been quite nice.

The steeped aroma is very pleasant. It’s sort of a sweet cream with some fruity undertones on the nose. I steep this on the longer side for me with blacks, due to wanting to let the fruit have a chance, so the black tea has been coming out a bit more metallic/tannic than I personally prefer, but it isn’t bad. A little malty, a little coppery, and a little more autumn leaf. The fruitiness is there, but mostly comes out as a generic and very sweet “fruit flavor” than distinct fruits — I’ve had a few cups where a pear note popped a little more for me, and I could almost make out cranberry in the aftertaste (cranberry being a notoriously hard flavor for me to ever taste in tea). Most of the time I just get a sweet “pear mascarading as bubblegum” vibe.

Enjoyable, but not something I think I’ll miss once I’ve finished off the last few cups remaining in the bag.

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Bubblegum, Cranberry, Cream, Fruity, Malt, Metallic, Pear, Sweet, Tannin

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML

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Profile

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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