New Tasting Notes
I’m giving up. I don’t know what happened with my perceptions last time as its nothing like what I taste now, which is back to what my previous notes read.
I give up. I regret spending the money on it. I’ve tried mixing it with Tangerine Tuxedo in an attempt to mask its harsh flavors, but even that isn’t working. I’m going to wait til I want the tin for something else before I dump it, but I’m pretty sure this is just heading for the trash can.
Of course, I had to get all of the maple teas I could find from Murchie’s, because maple is delicious. :P
This is basically a maple-flavored black tea. The description mentions fruit because there are a couple of apple and cranberry bits sprinkled in, but they’re certainly not contributing anything to the flavor. The maple is the same as their Canada 150 blend – buttery, creamy, and sweet without being too cloying. Reminds me a bit of that maple & brown sugar instant oatmeal, actually. The black tea is quite light actually, and I don’t get much in the way of astringency, despite Ceylon being in the mix. I taste more of the woody/earthy notes of the Keemun, which is nice.
It’s honestly not that different from Canada 150, given how light the body is. Both are enjoyable though, very tasty maple flavor!
Flavors: Brown Sugar, Butter, Candy, Earthy, Maple, Smooth, Sweet, Thin, Vanilla, Woody
Preparation
Had this hot with a little bit of milk – nice and strongly brewed. It was a very nice English Breakfast with a lot of really rich, robust malt and biscuit type flavours and almost a caramel-like undertone. Made me think a little bit of Lotus Biscuits, like what would traditionally be dunked in a nice cup of tea – but, like, “pre-done” in tea form. Really hit the spot.
Cold Brew!
Currently drinking this while working on tasting notes – it’s very yerba mate forward which means quite a bit of a more grassy and earthy taste, though light and refreshing. I think it works very well with the clean, crisp notes of lemon. Though I don’t get a whole lot of mint (perhaps it’s just faded from age), the small amount of that flavour is very nice too. Overall I would call this well balanced and fresh feeling!
75C
1st infusion:
- A very similar profile to their Thé du Louvre, when hot this tea is much more subtle, but the flavors are extremely superficial, and just like the Thé du Louvre, there’s a slight acidity that lingers in the aftertaste.
2nd infusion:
Hot, this tea now keeps this acidity, it’s not as bad as Thé du Louvre, but it’s definitely noticeable and I don’t get any of the white peach, kiwi or watermelon. Although that could the source of the acidity.
3rd infusion:
Now the acidity, just like in the Thé du Louvre, has completely destroyed this tea.
Nothing to get out of it unfortunately,
What a shame.
Preparation
I hadn’t been planning to open this tea yet, but my cat bit a hole in the bag for some reason, so I emptied it into a tin. The flavor doesn’t remind me of red velvet in any way. I taste mostly rooibos and some murkiness. It’s not bad, but I love red velvet, so it’s disappointing. My subsequent cups tasted mostly like strawberry and rooibos. Strange.
What a great Masala Chai, paired with milk (50:50 ratio) this is definitely one of the best ones out there.
Nothing much to add, the cardamom and ginger overpower the pink pepper, but that is to be expected from a Masala chai. I made myself some Karak Chai with it too using concentrated milk.
Flavors: Cardamom, Ginger
Preparation
If you’ve been looking for Earl Grey with a touch of wet dog, this is perfect for you.
The red rooibos is prominent here, so if you don’t like that, skip this. I will say an Earl Grey rooibos is not something I’ve come across before, so it gets some points for uniqueness. It seems to be a good quality blend but personally, there’s no overcoming that unpleasant red rooibos note. I’d choose a decaf Earl Grey if I wanted the taste without the caffeine.
Flavors: Bergamot, Citrus, Wet Dog
Preparation
the weather may be really nice outside, but my colleagues made the lab feel like the arctic, so… earl grey to warm up!
(I literally have chicken skin right now, but I also forgot to bring a jacket :D )
Preparation
made this to sip on while giving my thesis one last look through before handing it back to my advisor before leaving for Paris!
the weather is really nice, sunny and slightly warm (yesterday it got HOT, we went up to 28C!)
it feels weird to be almost done with my thesis; on one hand, it is my own flesh and blood and i love it so very dearly; on the other, it is a monster I created, as though I’m frankenstein and this is my monster, it has ruined my life, it is an aberration, and i hate it with every bone in my body
Preparation
A well-deserved and long, long, overdue sipdown. There are only hints of lemon left and the rooibos has started to taste barky. But what flavor’s left is in keeping with my Granny’s-tonic-and-detox theme for the week, and I can pretend it’s helping me feel more sprightly.
I love fig, so when I saw Compagnie & Co offers an oxidized oolong with fig, I couldn’t resist. There are even fig pieces mixed in!
Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite live up to my expectations. It does have a syrupy dried fruit sort of note to it, but it doesn’t taste specifically of fig to me. It’s in the ballpark, but reminds me more of perhaps golden raisin or even dried apricot. There’s also a sort of floral note to the flavor that I don’t love. The oolong itself is nice enough, smooth and woody without being too roasty or strong. Perhaps next time I’ll try more tea with a shorter steep to see if I can get more of the flavoring to peek through…
Flavors: Apricot, Brown Sugar, Burnt Sugar, Dried Fruit, Floral, Mineral, Raisins, Smooth, Sweet, Syrupy, Toasty, Woody
Preparation
Sipdown
I am a bit shocked, honestly. I didn’t realize this one was so close to a sipdown. It is a shelf staple, but I am going to wait until I have a few more sipdowns to replace it. I drink this alone because Ashman finds it too strong except with milk and sugar and he likes to avoid adding those. He prefers Bai Lin Gong Fu black for straight black tea, or even Darjeelings.
If I am very careful, I might even meet my goal for the year this year!
I would definitely repurchase this. It’s the Queen.
This one is a bit strange…
It’s their version of a pumpkin spice black tea, but it’s very savory? I definitely get pumpkin, and also specifically pumpkin seed (which makes sense given there are pumpkin seeds in it). Very squashy overall with no sweetness whatsoever, and no discernable spices.
It’s not bad, per se. It’s just not what I was expecting from “pumpkin & spice flavors”, and it’s a bit odd to have a tea that kind of tastes like a pumpkin soup ha ha. Probably going to put this into my rehoming box, maybe someone else will enjoy it.
Flavors: Butternut Squash, Nutty, Pumpkin, Pumpkin Seed, Savory, Smooth, Squash, Vegetal
Preparation
Loose black tea leaves, I have the one from 2023. Chocolate smell from dry leaves, the tea has malty cacao notes, it completely lacks the honeysuckle flavor a Jin Jun Mei should have. The wet leaves smell like a floral black tea, no burnt notes, they are roughly 0.5-0.75 in long, very skinny.
This is one of the better samples from the Introduction to Jin Jun Mei Black Tea Sampler but still not a real Jin Jun Mei. Tastes fine though.
Sold for $7.25/ 25g
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What a delight to have a connection in Paris and be able to visit a Dammann Frères boutique in person. Their “Quatre Fruits Rouges” blend, marrying black tea with notes of strawberries, cherries, and raspberries, conjures the essence of a fine red fruit jam. Its profound, rich flavour envelops the palate, making each sip a delicious morning ritual.
Flavors: Red Fruits
Preparation
“Xiao Ging Gan Shu Cha”
I cannot find “Hong Tea China’s” webpage on their IG. After checking messages, we exchanged conversation and I ‘ordered’ off the Excel file that they had sent for their teas. They are a small farmer that I met and conversed with for a few years now. 2023 was the first time I became curious about their teas (I was playing around with the idea of starting a small business to build the local tea community via Tea Bus, but this will not be a feasible venture for a few years once I’ve adjusted to my surroundings and we complete a few projects that will soon begin) and made a dash at obtaining several samples; which now find themselves on the sipdown pile.
Essentially, these were 3 grades of puerh stuffed inside a tangerine. Grades “A,” “AA”, and “AAA.” From my understanding of Yan’s notes, the grades were based on the leaf material. On the back of the packet, I made notes as I sampled the teas.
A: Orange, mild earthiness from the puerh, and a little fishy. 5/10
AA: Orange juice with a mild earthy note; not fishy; leather. 7/10
AAA (the most recent): Reminds me of the fruit leather Target sells – sweet, citrusy, tangy, and the puerh has a nice earthiness with a hint of nuttiness. 8.5/10.
“2017 Heng Bang Bulang”
This was from a sample swap years ago from a friend who has now dipped from the tea community. As I sipped down the last session, I began to wonder how they were doing. I understand the need to leave the noise of social media…I’ve been off Facebook for 9 years! However, IG, Steepster, and YouTube are my ways of staying in touch with my tea peeps!
The note on the card didn’t have the vendor and I can’t track where this may have come from on Google. Yunnan Sourcing has one listed, but it’s a brick form, and this sample I had was rounded, similar to a tea cake. The tea was a little bitter and had some bite despite the 7 years on the tea. I didn’t have much else noted on this final session…Sometimes, I will spend time with the tea and my thoughts, quietly meditating on memories and such.
Another from the tea swap…This is a backlogged session from Monday morning. I had the intentions of sitting at the computer type my thoughts as I sipped, but I began playing Palworld on Steam and caught up on a letter to a tea friend.
I had hoped for this tea to taste wonderful on the account orange and spice mixtures are one of my favorite mixes in a tea blend. This was too weak in the spies and orange, and nowhere close to the Orange and Cinnamon that Twining’s offers; which is favorite during the Fall/Winter seasons.
