38 Tasting Notes

34

This is a note for a tea I’ve tried recently, while on the subject of chais. I thought this was really rough! Not so much the spices as the tea itself, which was strong and bitter. I tried it on the stovetop and in a pot. Both ways were undrinkable, no matter what I added. This tastes just how I imagine an Indian trucker’s tea might taste.

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78

This is a note on the caffeine-free version, which is in fact tea-free. There’s another caffeine free version with rooibus. I’ve just brewed up 2 quarts of this on the stove top. It has whole spices and big stringy pieces of ginger. The flavour is dominated by ginger, and it is hot!!! There’s something lacking though, oh yes, tea!

I read somewhere that you make this then heat it up and use it instead of water for black tea, avoiding the stewed tea effect of boiling tea leaves. I’ve just used Darjeeling that had already been steeped 3 times, and it’s obviously not robust enough to handle this heat. It needs a strong tea. But there are only so many hours in the day to drink caffeine. What to do? I may try this with a vanilla honeybush. That might be lovely.

Actually I’ve tried and prefer the black tea version of this. The spices are very forceful and easily mask the stewed black tea flavour, but the black tea gives body, which this lacks.

My favourite caffeine-free chai is Numi’s Ruby Chai, which is not as firey but has more nuances of flavour. When you want hot, hot, hot, this is great though! I’ve haven’t added milk or sugar, which would tame it somewhat.

Edited to add: now I’m drinking this with Teavana’s honeybush vanilla and it’s really good. Plus, the spiciness seems to have given me a big endorphin boost!

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94

This is delicious. Beautiful small green and brown leaves and pieces that do the dancing in the pot thing. Mild, mellow, and honeyed, but it’s got a little sharp kick hidden in there. Downside is that it’s pricey. I’m going to try the same estate and harvest from elsewhere to compare. Otherwise, this is excellent tea.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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94

The more I drink this, the more I like it. I’m trying gaiwan style. Delicious.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 45 sec

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I plucked up the courage to try this last night. It smells of forest fire and tastes surprisingly mellow, considering. I nearly set fire to my kitchen though. I was busy exclaiming over the burnt smokey smell of the tea, and didn’t noticed the burnt smokey smell from a pan which had burnt dry in the kitchen. Ruined pan, ruined dinner, good pot of tea. I won’t rate this yet as I haven’t drunk LS for ages and can’t compare it with anything. I added some to my breakfast tea this morning though. I think I’m going to really like this.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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91

I went out shopping today looking for something smokey. I keep reading great reviews of smokey teas, and I’ve been enjoying Brioche, which has a slightly burnt flavour. I found a tin of Alberta Street Chai, and a tin of Lapsang Souchong, also by Townshend’s Tea Company.

I used to drink Lapsong Souchong as a child, but that was in England, and maybe we have a more domesticated version there, maybe smokey like an indoor log fire, cozy and safe. I definitely don’t remember it being like these teas!

This Lapsang Souchong is described as “having an aroma and flavor that brings to mind a campfire.” It really does smell of the American outdoors, and this isn’t RV camping, it’s hunters, woodsmen, maybe cowboys. I think this campfire turned into a raging forest fire though. I smell devastation! I haven’t dared taste it yet.

The Alberta Street Chai doesn’t taste like a traditional chai. It tastes like this Lapsang Souchong smells. A fire in the woodshed at the very least. I added some cream and it’s delicious! I’m about to make a second pot.

I may have to have a fireman on standby before I try the other.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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drank Wei Chi Cha by Samovar
38 tasting notes

So far I don’t like this. It tastes too strongly of hibiscus and stevia to me. Next time I try it I’ll try a much shorter steep time.

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91
drank Orange Ginger by Samovar
38 tasting notes

I’ve got through several tins of this. It’s my before bed tea. It’s warming, soothing, and doesn’t stain my teeth like a rooibus. (No chamomile. Many people, myself included, are allergic to chamomile.) I steep it 2 or 3 times. The first steep is very sweet and tastes strongly of licorice. The second steep is more firey with ginger. The third is a more gentle ginger. The orange lingers and is more like a Lemsip citrus to me. Again, soothing! Tonight I’ve added a little Wei Chi Cha, which I don’t really like on it’s own, but here it’s adding even more sweetness and warmth. I’ll be fast asleep very soon.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 6 min, 0 sec

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91

This is definitely an acquired taste, and I have acquired it! I wish I would acquire a taste for something cheaper. This is delicious, not burnt or bitter as I first thought. Not at all.

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94

I moved my tea into a small tin. That brought lots of tiny pieces of broken leaf onto my spoon tonight. It seems stronger, maybe because of the broken leaves, maybe because I went back to the 3 minute steep. I was craving that roasty peachy taste. This is addictive.

Apart from the broken leaves, the dry leaves are long, dark, twisty and beautiful, and brew up an orangey pinky colour.

I think this is a really good tea!

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