126 Tasting Notes
It smells great and tastes good too! Berry and black tea are balanced very well, not one overpowering the other. I didn’t think there was any need for sweetener of any sort, it tasted sweet with out being overly sweet. They say it’s only good for one infusion, and they were right. That’s maybe the only thing I can say is a negative. Otherwise, it really is a good “warm me up” on this sunny but cool morning. A good way to start the weekend, after calling in to work for a “mental health day” off. :-)
I got one of those Zhena’s Gypsy tea samplers from World Market, four flavors in a cute stackable metal tins, one lid. Yes, I am a sucker for packaging. But I also thought it was a good price to try four flavors of tea from a company I haven’t tried yet. It included Ambrosia Plum, Raspberry Earl Grey, Italian Chamomile, and this one. I’m done with the rest of them, so I am trying to finish this up to use the tin for other goodies!
It’s mint. I’m not a fan of hot mint drinks. The only mint I consume is breath mints. Well, and the mint leaves in a mojito, but I’m not really consuming the mint leaf, just its juices as it’s crushed in the glass for my drink. So in that sense, mojito is almost a mint tea, just cold with some added “enhancements”.
Still, I don’t like mint teas. It smelled okay, like Doublemint gum, but it tastes like mint tea to me. Even oversteeped, I didn’t taste a bitter note, and the mint aftertaste does linger on the tongue. It’s not unpleasant, I just don’t care for mint tea.
But I will say, Zhena’s has a great little container here.
This one tastes…mushroomy? Is that right? Not that it’s bad, just reminds me of mushrooms. Is that called “muscatel”? Anyway, smooth, beautiful color liquor, kind of sweet, in a mushroomy kind of way. I like it, I don’t know about all the time, but I like it. It reminds me of when my mom would rehydrate those black mushrooms all day for that night’s dinner, the whole kitchen smelled like those mushrooms. I always wondered what she did with the water, and if it was flavored, or if you could actually cook with it for flavor. Hmm, I wonder if this keemun is what that mushroom water would taste like…
I’m a big Keemun fan, one of my faves. I have never thought of it as mushroomy. Interesting description. I’ve not spent much time with dried mushrooms either. I think of a good yummy keemun as piney with a hint of smokiness… not ashy like in a Lapsang Souchong but a pleasant sort of way. As for the muscatel, I don’t think that fits. That is usually a description associated with Darjeeling teas, like a 2nd flush.
This smells divine, like fresh lemons.
It tastes divine, fresh lemons, a hint of ginger, and lemongrass. The oolong is perfect for this blend, mild, not overpowering.
I could drink this hot or cold, all the oolong day! :-D
Not a perfect rating because I don’t know if I can ever get this again. :-( Good thing I bought the big 4 ounce bag!
I got this from a co-worker, I saw it on her desk and was interested, she was nice enough to give one to me.
It’s very fruity smelling, very sweet. Once steeped, it smells like hot fruit juice. It’s a beautiful dark red color, like the color of the package. And despite the smell, it doesn’t taste sweet at all. There was perhaps a faint hibiscus note, a slight tang hiding among the berries. I tried it with a little sugar and that really did make it taste like hot juice. It’s alright, not great, not something I would get again. I was a little disappointed, I hear so much about acai berry, but have never really tasted it, and if this is what miraculously healthy tastes like, hmm, no thanks.
I stopped into Teavana looking for a gift for a friend, she saw some cup there she really loved, but I couldn’t pick it out from the ones there today. Anyway, while I was shopping, I had them make me a matcha since I had to go straight to work. I was curious about their matcha. They did not tell me which matcha they used to make my tea, and I didn’t ask because they seemed like there was only one.
It tasted funny at first, had a real bitter taste to it, and it wasn’t a “normal” bitter taste. (Not that matcha has a bitter taste, I mean an abnormal bitterness, abnormal even for bitter.) Weird. But after that, it tasted fine, not great. That could be because I am rushing around and not wanting to go to work, and I don’t have time to sit down and really relax and enjoy this. Well, so it’s really thick, gets really clumpy toward the last third of the cup. I am able to add hot water to this at work and still get a thin-ish matcha. Not once more, but twice more. Then, while there is still some matcha left, I add a tea bag of Tazo’s Lotus and add more water. And let me tell you, Lotus matcha is FANTASTIC. Calming, tasty, sweet, aromatic, just plain good! My first “on the fly” tea blend and I am calling it a success!
The score is more for the Tazo Lotus then the matcha, but I think because there is more matcha than Lotus, I need to give it to Teavana.
Wow they actually made it for you? Score!=D And thanks for the flavoring suggestion- DOUBLE SCORE!
What do you mean? It’s on their menu. $4 for “specialty teas” including blooming and matcha.
I’ve never been to a Teavana so I thought it was just a place to buy tea that maybe had a couple premade for you to try- if that was the case I was quite impressed one of them was matcha. $4 for matcha though?! There’s a place an hr north of me that has it for $2.50/bowl
Oh okay! Teavana has tea and accessories to purchase and they have many samples for you to try in the store. Usually two at the door, two or three amongst the teapot/teaset displays and two at the counter. And they are kinda expensive, which might account for the high price of the matcha. Also, since I live in California, then it’s probably just more expensive anyway. The tea shop I love in town that is closing, they charged $4 for a bowl of matcha also, but they made their high grade Samurai matcha. Like I said, I have no idea which matcha they gave me. I will say, the cup size is decent, like maybe 12/16 ounces (?), so I don’t think it’s a bad price really, for what I’m used to paying for.
And do you really want to drive an hour away to save $1.50? :-)
That is if there were a Teavana close to you.
Holy freakin crap… a 12 or 16 ounce bowl of matcha? I’m assuming they put in more than the 2 scoops I would so that’s a lot of matcha. My nearest Teavana is an hr and a half away (in a very large city). I’m not sure I ever want to go to Teavana based on what people have said about the sales people. The place where I’ve gotten matcha (which I’ve only gotten to once) is much better cuz they have killer food. I can purchase tea anywhere but it’s nice to be able to get a bowla w/ my meal.
I think Teavana put in more than 2 scoops because of the consistency.
I did feel like I was cohorting (I don’t know if that is the right word) with the Devil, I hate Teavana, not only because of the sales people, but also because they don’t have basic things I think a tea shop should have. I don’t want all of my teas to be flavored, much less fruit flavored. But my friend I was shopping for is like my sister, so I went for her.
I think around here, anywhere you go for tea (besides fast food) tea is about $3 dollars. Yes, almost as much as coffee. Every once in a while I can find tea for about $2, but that’s rare and the tea is usually Lipton or something. I noticed when I was in NYC a few years back, that I couldn’t find brewed tea anywhere, only bottled. I thought that was odd, as there is a lot of brewed tea in small cafes and fast food here, but once again, Lipton usually or something comparable.
What basics are they missing? Matcha for purchase might wash over a lot of tea sins for me lol!=D
Just things I think are basic for a “specialty tea” shop, like a lapsong. The salesperson there said they had gotten rid of their lapsong and was coming back with a flavored lapsong. I asked for some other things too, a pu-erh, and they didn’t have that either.
I didn’t look to see if they had those online, but I just thought that they should be in the store, you know?
Also the salespeople are horrible, even the one that made my matcha for me, and their prices are lame. I can go to the Japanese or Asian supermarket in town and get jasmine pearls for a fraction of the price they were charging. I think both of those markets carry those and then I can also trust the quality too.
A flavored lapsang souchong? Odd… I can’t wait to read a tasting note on it. No pu erh? I see tasting notes on flavored pu erh blends all the time. Or are you just looking for a straight, unflavored pu erh?
Straight unflavored! That’s when I found the one at World Market, and I recently got one at Hina’s. I think I am stocked up on pu-erh for a while now! And the lapsong, I will have to order out, probably from Lupicia, since I’ve been to their store.
I’m considering a Lupica order… $15 for 100g of matcha makes my wallet happy but also makes me concerned about quality. I’m also interested in their flavored matcha au laits… but I don’t like milk w/ my matcha so I’m concerned that there may be powdered milk in them like in a chai mix.
I haven’t gotten matcha from Lupicia yet. There is only one store near me, and it’s in SF. They are from Japan and there are only three stores in California. I have been very happy with their quality, their salespeople, and their prices!
Yeah… but that price for matcha is just too good to be true… I think…
You never know until you try it. Or I can buy it and try it for you! :-D
bought my first matcha at teavana,first visit there, spent $140. all non-aromatized teas. happy, matcha is very invigorating. smooth. greentea x 10
Tastes of chamomile and a hint of hibiscus. But mostly chamomile. Maybe a faint mint in there. Licorice, but I think I usually get a little hint of licorice with any chamomile. Nice flavor, very smooth. Not totally outstanding though, but a nice wind down kind of tea for the end of the day.
From my Christmas sampler pack.
Mangoey, in smell and taste. Kind of like real mango, but also like dried mango. Maybe closer to the dried mango side. Light colored tea, the green tea is not showing through a lot. It’s smooth though, very mellow green. It’s good, kind of like that mango coconut tea from Stash. Sweet enough on it’s own.
