Featured & New Tasting Notes

95

Oh my this is super tasty!!!
Sample is courtesy of Jalam Teas and Jeff Fuchs – thank you!
I gave this one a five second rinse and I think it was a good idea. Washed away some dust. Not that there was much.
The TEA! There are fresh mineral notes, stone fruit, molasses and honey, with something bakey hiding in the aftertaste. And something that reminds me of wood. Did you ever get a mouth full of wood chips while horsing around as a kid? That is precisely what it reminds me of, but without the dust, and in a most positive way. Only the first steep so far, and I’m quite looking forward to the next one!
I love the consistency. Rich, like a typical fermented Puerh, but still refreshing.

EDIT: Oh my goodness. Rating bump!! Second steep, I accidentally left it brewing for maybe five min. I forgot to set the timer!
Anyhow, I figured it’d be ok, being that puerh is difficult to oversteep… and I was right! This is amazing. Creamy, sort of like a jin jun mei, and oh so smooth, with a slight burn afterwards, almost as if its been spiked with whiskey. The flavour reminds me of super smooth coffee when its hot, and then the cedar chip, and other standard puerh notes emerge.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 0 sec
Terri HarpLady

Sounds interesting!

Indigobloom

Mmmm indeed :)

Indigobloom

Terri, I think you’d like it!!

Terri HarpLady

OMG, I just checked out their website! Looks like a fun tea club!

Indigobloom

It is!!! I’ve been meaning to join one day as a splurge, but then I’ll end up with half a dozen barely sampled cakes LOL. I guess they can age awhile heh

Terri HarpLady

I’m doing it!

Indigobloom

Oooh yay!! Can’t wait to read all your notes :D

Terri HarpLady

I also ordered samples of some of the previous offerings.
You know me, no self-control.

Indigobloom

Ahhh I am so jelly. Did you get this one as well? I have some left if you wanna try it!

Indigobloom

(for some reason I thought I’d finished it, but that was the other tea I had today lol)

Sil

bad terri! bad!

Terri HarpLady

Indigo, I did order a sample of this one too.
Sarah, I know…sigh…

Terri HarpLady

That just gives me more tea to share with you, LOL!

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Dry leaf – all golden colored fuzzy large buds with malt scent.
Method – Western style at 190F for 3 minutes.
Wet Leaf – very large buds, all uniform, very nice, smell like caramelized sweet potato with brown sugar.
Liquor – deep amber jewel with caramel scent.
Flavor – lots of sweet potato. Caramelized sweet potato with a bit of malt in the aftertaste.

6/14/14
Brought these pure buds down to 175F Western Style today for 3 minutes. Liquor was a more golden yellow color with prominent malt scent.
The flavor was more refined and there was not a dominance of sweet potato. I think a lower temp for these pure buds treats them with respect. This has a lovely flavor and I think I could have even steeped it longer with such a low temp. This temp brings malt, sweetness, honey, and a subtle sweet potato note.
___________________________________________________________________________
6/30/14
Brewed Western style at 175F with 1 tsp per 8 oz water. Brewed two cups at a time in a classic oval teapot and steeped for 4 minutes this time.
The liquor is very golden colored and smells like sweet malt. The flavor is sweet malt as well. Next time I’m gonna try 185F. This one is very good but I want to find that sweet spot with brewing it this way.
____________________________________________________________________________
7/11/14
Brewed this one Gong Fu style today at 185F in a 5 oz ceramic pot.
-immediate rinse
-6"-4"-6"-8" Delicious!! I found the sweet spot,,it is 185F. Liquor is golden & clear.
Flavor is sweet, malt, and not as much sweet potato,,,which I like.
___________________________________________________________________________
7/30/14
Brewed a cup Western style today,,,,190F for 3 minutes. Delicious honey, malt, and sweet potatoes!! It’s best brewed Gong Fu at 185F but I was in a hurry today :)
___________________________________________________________________________
8/20/14
Western style at 185F for 3 minutes. Heaven!!!!!

Flavors: Honey, Malt, Sweet Potatoes

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
caile

Sounds yummy. And the leaves look so pretty in the picture!

Lee

You gotta like sweet potatoes to drink this one lol. I will go Gong Fu with it next time to see what I can taste :) Leaves are gorgeous!

Terri HarpLady

Yeah, this one is really nice!

Lee

I have some sweet potatoes in my fridge and now I want something else to eat bc I had sweet potato this morn lol

Terri HarpLady

I eat a sweet potato pretty much every day, sometimes more than one, LOl

Lee

Oh wow!!! Great for your skin! Yum yum

Terri HarpLady

I love them!

MzPriss

+1 for sweet taters!

Lee

I baked them anyway and will eat tonight lol :)

Terri HarpLady

I have one in the oven as we speak :)

Lee

AWesome!!

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79

A huge thanks and thunderous round of applause for Cavocorax for sending me a package of teas to try out! Such an exciting thing to find in my mailbox today, especially since I hadn’t had my morning tea yet.

As I’ve been wanting to try some A&D teas and she was kind enough to send some samples along, I thought this would be good for breakfast.

So I have no idea what sort of teas this is comprised of, but a smokey note is mentioned.
I did get a tiny whiff of something when I smelled the leaves, but nothing scary.

So I brewed this up at 100 degrees for 4 min, and let it cool, then had a sip (you’re welcome for the play by play – during this time I also had a piece of leftover bacon out of the fridge)

….not sure what to expect, but I ended up enjoying this!

It’s definitely slightly smokey, but in a good way! I especially notice the flavours in my cup after I had a few mouthfuls of breakfast then went back to it. Definitely a hint of astringency at the end, but nothing off putting.

I don’t think I need to own this one, which is good because it’s not cheap and it’s a massive tin!

But thank you to Cavo for letting me try this :)

Terri HarpLady

You know what’s really good? Leftover bacon dipped in guacamole…just sayin’

MzPriss

@Terri – you are wicked. I want that. Except there is a phrase there that does not make sense to me: “leftover bacon”

Terri HarpLady

Right! The secret is to cook extra & then force yourself not to eat it. :)

ohfancythat

Well there’s only two of us so if we polished off an entire pack of bacon every Sunday we’d be in trouble :)

Bacon and avocado…mmmmmmm

ohfancythat

Uhhh I guess there are three of us now but the baby hasn’t been introduced to bacon yet :)

caile

aaaah, I have guacamole! And bacon!

Terri HarpLady

I don’t eat bacon & guac all the time, but it does make a good substitute for tortilla chips.

TeaLady441

“A thunderous round of applause”
D’awww. :P Glad you’re enjoying them, and that you’re figuring out what you don’t need to order! :D

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I’m drinking my next to last serving of this tea.
It is still just as wonderful, & a part of me wants to continue with the hoarding, but little terri’s Ultimate Sipdown Extravaganza is drawing to a close, & there are still so many teas in my cupboard that have been there for awhile, & although I want to savor the final cup of each of them, the final cup of this one, which I’ll most likely drink later this week, will be especially bittersweet, because it is irreplaceable.

looseTman

Terri, What currently available tea will you likely brew in it’s place?

Terri HarpLady

Good question, but no real answer. This is not the only tea that I love, it’s just the only one that is no longer available! I still have LB & Zhu Rong, and Yunnan Sourcing as so many amazing black teas that I’ll survive quite nicely! Their Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong (not a smoky lapsang) has been especially awesome. Did I send you some of that?

looseTman

Yes, thank you and I’m looking forward to tasting it!

MzPriss

I have some of the Zhu Rong scheduled to come to me. I can’t wait. I’ve been wanting to try it for a while.

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78

Sipdown (162/168)!

So much tasty hazelnut!

I think this tea triumphed as the best one I’ve had today (although, I really didn’t do a ton of tea drinking today) so it’s a perfect one to end the day on. I paired it with a couple coconut macaroons which I bought today on my “outing” to Postal Jail and now I’m just winding down for the night while I paint my nails and watching Whose Line outtakes. It’s a simple nirvana.

I added milk to this cup and I think that just revved up the hazelnut and took it to a whole ‘nother creamy, dreamy vanilla playing field. And, I just have to note how happy I was that there _wasn’t_ any chocolate notes in this cup: I like the “Nutella” pairing a fair bit – but hazelnuts can more than stand on their own too.

Goodbye; thanks to whoever passed this along to me and to Sil for passing it on to them! I’ll remember it fondly!

Flavors: Cream, Nuts, Vanilla

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89
drank Phoenix Pearl by Zen Tea
493 tasting notes

My recent purchase from Zen Tea. Actually this tea is the main reason I placed an order . i really like this tea. I made it gongfu style.
1TBSP 150ml gaiwan 205F
rinse/10/15/20/30/45sec etc
this tea is wonderful malty,chocolaty some grains. Like brownie if you add some sugar. No sugar for me, i prefer to drink it without additives. if you a fan of Laoshan Black by Verdant tea i think you would like this tea as well.

Flavors: Chocolate, Malt

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 2 tsp 5 OZ / 150 ML
yyz

I do like this one as well. I don’t drink it as often as I should.

Virginia

Buying this. Right now. Lol

TheTeaFairy

Glad you liked it :-) did you get your new Yixing as well?

boychik

Guess what, i seasoned my new pot with shu. David Duckler youtube video is very helpful. So easy.

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86
drank Fresh Bamboo Mint by Steam Tea House
15006 tasting notes

Sipdown #2 for today. 5 may be pushing it believe it or not. lol This was again from courney and i have to say i really like this one. it’s not one that i could drink every day given it’s a green tea, but when in the mood for a fruity strawberry tea, this one would hit the spot!

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96
drank Special Dark by Mandala Tea
359 tasting notes

Beautiful Mr. and Mrs. Mallard are chilling on my lawn this morning. They’ve been here for a couple of days now. They sit under the pine tree or go for a swim in the pond.

Mr. Mallard’s iridescent and lustrous green plumage is just stunning to look at, it never gets old. Of course, just like most bird species, Mrs Mallard’s feathering is a lot more subdued. (Totally unfair!!)

I got out of bed super early and already knew I was going to drink Special Dark. (I read Cavocorax’s note last night and got inspired!)

Chocolate in the morning? Yes please! This is rich decadent liquid gooey chocolate, with burnt caramel sprinkles on top, yum. It’s also creamy with vanilla notes, that makes it round and silky in the mouth.

This has none of the heavy earthiness often found in shou. It’s a very “friendly” pu’erh, smooth and accessible to everyone, but complex enough to please the more experienced tea drinkers.

The more you steep it, the more condensed the flavour gets. Just superb.

Happy Sunday everybody :-)

ohfancythat

So sad I just can’t taste any of these things :(
This tea is mushroom soup to me :(

TheTeaFairy

Whatshesaid, you are so cute! So what? Mushroom soup is awesome, I love it, wish I was getting some of that as well :-) have you tried brewing it a little stonger maybe?

ohfancythat

I tried 20 seconds, 1 min, 2 min and 3 min, lol.

gmathis

How lucky to have “live” duck yard ornaments! Was excited this morning on the way to church—saw an almost fluorescent goldfinch on the way to town; a bona fide bluebird (not blue jay) on the way home.

TheTeaFairy

Never thought of it this way gmathis, “live duck yard ornaments”, love that :-)
You had some very interesting encounters, is it possible you saw an indigo bunting? I saw one only once, so gorgeous.

http://www.planetofbirds.com/Master/PASSERIFORMES/Cardinalidae/pics/Indigo%20Bunting.jpg

gmathis

Nope, this one: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qo2qpwne2oU/UBTq40Ei4PI/AAAAAAAAX_s/UTe83apvFtE/s1600/Bluebird+(Eastern)-9491.jpg Officially, bluebirds are the state bird of Missouri, but we really don’t see them often here in the SW corner.

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80
drank Paradise Green by Lupicia
303 tasting notes

An Agatha Christea mystery in two sentences:

First there was a cold-steeped pitcher of this…

…and then there wasn’t.

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more
TheTeaFairy

Easiest mystery to solve ever ;-)

Anna

You just go around the room, jiggle people and see who’s the sloshiest.

caile

Hahaha

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This morning, courtesy of Terri HarpLady, I’m pleased to review Tiger Assam by Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea, Western style: 8 oz / 1 tsp (2.3g) / 212*F / 4 min. without sweeteners, milk, or cream.

Leaf: Thin twisted chocolate-brown, with some gold 1 cm or < in length.
Fragrance: Mild
Liquor: Clear, amber
Aroma: Malty and sweet
Flavor: Malty with a mild sweetness

4-min: A very smooth, bold, rich, mildly sweet, malty Assam. After drinking ½ a cup of this bold Assam on an empty stomach (I know better!) I had the sense that I should eat something right away. A slice each of Wegman’s Marathon Bread and Ancient Grain Bread with Cranberries toasted with Smart Balance Heart Wise Light margarine helped. I then enjoyed two slices of Vermont Bread Co. organic soft multi-grain bread with margarine and Crofter’s Raspberry Organic spread. There was zero bitterness and a very mild sense of astringency. A rather invigorating morning cup

Re-Steep:
4-min: Smooth but not yet full-bodied, so I let it steep longer.
5-min: Light-bodied
6-min: Moderate body
7-min: Moderate body
8-min: Smooth, moderate-bodied.

Impression: A very smooth, bold, rich, and invigorating morning cup to enjoy with your breakfast. Well done!

Thanks to Terri HarpLady for sending us this gracious sample.

Method:
RO water re-mineralized with an Aptera filter http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39532-puregen-aptera-alkamag-water-filter
http://steepster.com/teaware/teavana/39311-perfect-tea-spoon
http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/37731-my-weigh-durascale-d2-660-digital-scale
Brewed western-style conveniently in a tea mug with a brew basket http://steepster.com/teaware/royal-albert/45581-old-country-roses-afternoontea-mugs
http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/29177-finum-brewing-basket.
http://steepster.com/teaware/teavana/39312-perfect-preset-tea-timer

Flavors: Malt

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Terri HarpLady

Glad you like it. As a general rule, I can never drink Ceylon or Darjeeling teas on an empty stomach, or green, white, or puerh teas either. Sometimes I can get away with an Assam, but usually not.
I think that’s one of the reasons I love Chinese blacks so much, as they don’t usually have that effect on me.

looseTman

Yes, I did. Thanks! Agreed, Chinese black teas appear to be much easier on the stomach. I’m now having a cup of Raspberry Greek yogurt to further settle my stomach.

looseTman

I’ve now reached my first Steepster milestone – 100 tasting notes.

MzPriss

Congrats on 100!

looseTman

Thanks MzPriss!

Terri HarpLady

Yay for 100 notes!

looseTman

A drop in the bucket compared to many of you all!

caile

100 notes – yay!! Your reviews are always great!

looseTman

Thanks caile!

mrmopar

Woo HOO! Congrats brother!

looseTman

Thanks brother! With 4 elderly parents from 85 to almost 96 years old, it’s taken awhile to rack up the first 100, but they make sure we’re not bored!

boychik

I like reading your notes. They are very precise. What do you do for living? You must be a scientist.

looseTman

I have over 10 years experience in cardiovascular ultrasound research.

boychik

My admiration for you. Saving people’s lives every day.

MzPriss

I like the notes as well. Very detailed.

looseTman

boychik, My experience focused on preventing cardiovascular disease as opposed to physicians who routinely save lives.

looseTman

Thanks MzPriss!

TheTeaFairy

Congrats on both the notes and what you do for a living :-)

looseTman

Thanks TheTeaFairy!

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94
drank 1989 Suncha Blend by Butiki Teas
15006 tasting notes

admittedly i probably should have brewed this gong fu style but i just don’t have the patience today to do so. So i opted for stacy’s other recommendation for a longer steep.

Let me tell you, courtney should stay away from this one. lol while the other stacy tea i had was fruity, this came out of the bag and i was like WOOD! SMOKE! WOOD! forest? lol It has a VERY strong smell but to me, it’s the sort of smell that evokes memories of being up in the mountains, cross country skiing and coming back to the lodge….or camping in the fall. i love it! I also want more. I prefer this one to stacy’s 2009 Banchang that i also tried, though i did enjoy that one. This just screams winter, maple, relaxing in the sun as the day grows longer to me.

This is not an overly in your face tea though. It’s very smooth and mild in it’s deliciousness. I’m not sure i’d call the after taste sweet, but there is no bitterness here or jarring notes to interrupt the flow of this one. i think stephanie’s tastnig note really captures the essence of this tea and i’m looking forward to buying more and having a few gong fu sessions with it…but western brewed? so doable and really a great start to my day. thank you for finding this one Stacy!

Terri HarpLady

I have a bit of this one, which I’m looking forward to sampling once my sipdown extravaganza is over.

TheTeaFairy

Mmmmmm….

Sil

I resteeped the leaves again this morning and it’s still delicious..even as a western brew so i am a huge fan!

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77

Yesterday was a heavy drinking session with my brother in laws which has left me misty headed today. Luckily they have all gone to London for the night to watch the Championship play-off finals (football/soccer) so it means I can recover in my own time and just relax in peace and quiet for the day. It’s 1:34pm and I have only just got myself a pot of tea, until now I just couldn’t stomach any. In desperation for something vanilla or cream I found this tea from my Black Friday hoard and grabbed the pouch as if it was made of gold. Orange & cream may not be the nicest tea ever but when you want something light, sweet and creamy it tastes pretty darn good.

Sil

sounds like a fun time :)

TheTeaFairy

Damn hangovers!! Too bad fun has a price to pay ;-)

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87

I only made one evening tea tonight upon returning home from work; mostly because I took the time to have a night shower (I usually shower before work in the morning, not at night) – but I made it count!

I feel like I’ve shared this with lots of people but not really enjoyed it myself as much as I should have. I very much like it though; it’s a simple but INCREDIBLY smooth, malty black with the faintest hints of cocoa that just add to its subtle depth. Tonight I had it with milk and it was just splendidly divine.

Sadly next cup is a sipdown – and I don’t have a clue how I would go about getting more of this. Boosting my rating, because a “76” seems rather low…

Also just gonna plop this link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCpsusTta4w

Trust me, you want to watch it!

EDIT: OMG! The flavours list is updated! When the fuck did that happen!? I went to type in Malt and “Marshmallow” popped up and I just thought “Was the always there!?”. But there are so many new options! Ah! I’m totally freaking out right now! I just want to go drink more teas so I can use more of the thingers! So. Damn. Giddy.

Flavors: Cocoa, Malt

Tea Pet

Hehehe… I updated the flavors and ingredients list last night! :) There are still a lot more to go, though!

Tealizzy

Lol! That video’s hilarious!

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85
drank Peppermint Patty by Butiki Teas
6444 tasting notes

This is THE chocolate mint tea. Seriously, if you want chocolate mint, nothing quite compares. It is minty but not in a harsh way with creamy milk chocolate and fluffy marshmallow leaf to lighten everything up. Truly amazing!

Suziqzer

Ok, ok.. It’s on my list to order when I place a Butiki order. :). I Love mint & chocolate, but so many good sounding Butiki blends it will be hard to choose.

Ubacat

I figured this would be a black tea but it’s not. That’s fantastic! It’s going on my wish list!

VariaTEA

Nope. It is a caffeine-free herbal and better than the black tea versions I have tried.

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85

Backlog!
What a pleasant cuppa tea. I quite enjoyed it.
Funny, lately I’ve come across a lot of 1st flush Darjeelings, so when I brewed this up, it slipped my mind that it wouldn’t have those crisp delicate notes. Took me by surprise, I tell ya.
After I got over the shock, I found it very tasty. Muscatel in nature, with a nice depth to it, and a very slight tangy edge. I’m looking forward to having it iced over the summer!!

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100

This is my last cup…all out. The good news is that I’m waiting for the arrival of a new supply, yay!

I made this last cup a little stronger and this time I even get more sea salted caramel if that’s possible. Chocolate and dates/plums also very present.

It’s a very fruity cup, with toasty and nutty accents.

Hopefully, my order will arrive early next week so I can continue my journey with this fabulous gem of a tea!

Non tea related:

It’s girl’s night out tonight! 10 good friends of mine have organized a party for me. Some of them I haven’t seen in over a year due to some unfortunate circumstances.

Going for dinner to a nice Italian restaurant first, and after, heading to a lounge bar, hoping to catch up with each other’s lives…

(There’s only one tea drinker out of the bunch, maybe I’ll bring some Whispering Pines teas with me and try to make converts!)

caile

Have fun! :)

ohfancythat

Amuse-toi bien :) (I hope that says what I meant it to…haha)

Dexter

Yay girls night out!!! Have fun!!!

TheTeaFairy

Thanks guys, it was awesome!
Whatshesaid, I’m impressed with your Français, that was perfect, A+ ;-)

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drank Shooting Starfruit by DAVIDsTEA
513 tasting notes

It’s been a while since I’ve written any tasting notes, but i’ve been drinking a lot of tea. I’m going through this odd phase where I sort of drink tea automatically—haphazardly choosing a tea from my collection without giving it much thought, drinking it without really noticing it, and not really feeling inclined to write deep tasting notes with all my feelings and interpretations. But then I also think that one of the main reasons I update on steepster isn’t necessarily to explore all my feelings about a given tea, but mostly to feel connected to people who love what I love. And withdrawing from my various networks is never really a good indication for me, and so I’ll make more of an effort.

Random thoughts on this tea:
1. It’s wonderful iced; I haven’t even tried it hot.
2. I’m really into making my teas iced now, and I find I’m actually preferring them iced to hot now. I never thought I’d be saying that. Oh, and I really like the instant cold-brew method (that of steeping in a bit of hot water before topping up with ice) to letting it brew for hours on end, but that’s because I’m impatient.
3. This tea tastes like a conglomerate of tropical fruits, with perhaps the slightest hint of white tea at the end of the sip. I know this combination of fruit is meant to taste like nothing else, but you could probably tell me that this was a tropical papaya and guava punch and i’d believe you. That being said, I’m actually going to buy some more iced tea packs of this tomorrow because I still really, really like it.
4. I love that DT sells pre-packaged iced tea packs. People can carry on endlessly about how they can measure it out themselves, but if anything exists to support my laziness and reliance on all things convenient, I’m all over it. Besides, DT’s website says that iced tea calls for eight perfect spoonfuls of tea for each pitcher (and omg I got the blue and green pitcher and love it!), but each package seems to have far less in it than that but still yields a fairly strong and flavourful brew. So what gives? who knows. But yeah, packages are where it’s at.
Ok bye

Indigobloom

I’ve been there!! Drinking all the tea but not logging it. Especially when I don’t have many new ones to try

keychange

Oh yeah, I have a ton of tea I have yet to try, but I just can’t seem to generate anything worth writing down.

Cheri

I’ve missed your reviews, so I’m glad to see you’re here. :)

I completely agree with the laziness and convenience bit. Absolutely. I’m all about making things easier.

keychange

aww, thanks cheri! I’m glad to be back too :). And yes, convenience all the way.

Roswell Strange

Glad you’re back!

TheTeaFairy

I also miss my “partner in crime” ;-) but I understand that phase, I get that often…but that part where you said «to feel connected to people who love what I love» is what keeps me coming back here…
Glad you’re back!

MzPriss

wb keychange

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93

Queued post, written April 20th 2014

Four red fruits! This is a flavour that I am quite partial to, but for some reason rarely buy. This is a sample that Courtney shared with me.

This one smells strongly like cherries. Unlike many of my co-Steepsterites, I was never as a child subjected to fruit-flavoured medicines. The only time I ever had any illness that required antibiotics as a child I was an infant and therefore don’t rightly remember. It was probably given intravenously then anyway. Other than that, the closest I come was some cough medicine that my father once bought. It was the sort where you put a tablet in a glas of water and it goes psssh-pssssh-psssssh and disolves. Supposedly it was supposed to taste like raspberry, but it was not like any raspberry I’d ever come across then or since. It didn’t really taste like anything other than medicine and it didn’t help the cough much either. Other cough medicines were usually strongly licorice flavoured because they contained licorice extract, but that hasn’t stopped me from eating licorice with great relish.

So for me, a strong note of cherry is not a turn-off and it’s difficult for me to imagine how it could be for anybody. I mean I can understand why it is. But I can’t imagine it.

I feel like I’m picking up some raspberry and strawberry in there as well, but it’s muted by the cherry. There’s a feeling of something a little tart as well, which fits with red currant. A 4RF where I can smell all four fruits! This bodes very well indeed.

The flavour is very close to the aroma. Primarily cherry, with the other three under the surface, but still without masking the base completely. I can even pick up some grain-y notes from it under the flavouring.

This is very good and very well balanced. I like that the emphasis is on the cherry as opposed to the raspberry and strawberry, because usually in these blends the cherry is the flavour I have the most difficulties picking up. The red currant is not very easy to find, though, but I think that’s for the best. If it was stronger, the tea would have been very tart.

keychange

To clarify, Courtney and I loved the banana flavoured medicine we were subjected to as children, so it was actually quite a lovely childhood experience! :)

Indigobloom

Yes! Banana medicine was the BEST :P

Dexter

Four red fruit, heavy on the cherry – I think I would like this. Need to look into getting some Nina’s teas…

Courtney

Yes, keychange, banana medicine was the BEST. But cherry-ish cough medicines and grape tylenol was a nightmare. To this day, those scents make my stomach turn.

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75

So this is a tasting note for my second steeping on WP’s Apple Cinnamon Oolong. I don’t typically bother to resteep things: more often than not I’d rather have something else and enjoy as many flavours as possible in a day. However, I do make exceptions often for oolongs and WP’s comment about this being especially good with subsequent steeps made me hold onto the leaf to give it another go…

I’m glad I did: this is much better the second time around! I’m wondering if that’s in part because I added on another minute to the steep time? However, all the flavours are much more front and center which was my biggest complaint yesterday so cheers for that! Most impressively is how strong the apple-y flavour has become! It’s almost cider like, but without that kind of tart “tang” to it.

Definitely an improvement and I’m so happy I resteeped (maybe I’ll do a third tomorrow?). I’ll be increasing my rating now…

ohfancythat

I agree with wanting to have lots of flavours in one day over resteeping!

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94

Oh yum. Thank you Terri HarpLady!

This is super rich and fruity! Very complex. This is something I would totally drink again. Sweet stuff. There are notes that remind me of a Dancong oolong. I loves me some Dancong. It is like a cross between a Dancong and a Yunnan black! I love the lingering stone fruit taste it leaves in the back of my throat.

Terri HarpLady

This one is an interesting one, eh?

Terri HarpLady

I think I ordered the newest rendition of this in my YS order.

Stephanie

I think the only purple teas I’d had before this one were purple greens.

mrmopar

The Wu Liang Ye Sheng puerh cake from them is pretty killer too, as well as the 100 gram brick.

Stephanie

Way to temp me with some sheng, mrmopar :)

Terri HarpLady

Mr M, I’m not allowed to look at YS’ site for awhile…lol

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100

First, thank you Brenden for including this sample in my order, I appreciate it.

My inner girly girl is really pleased when she looks at this blend. So delicate and pretty.

If the Bear is sleeping on a comfy cloud made of these mellow pine needles and this fragrant aromatherapeutic jasmine green tea, I’m afraid it will never wake up!

Since I had only one shot at making this cup as delicious as it should be, I followed Brenden’s parameters to the letter and it turned out perfect!

What a nice flavourful combination this is. It’s not an in “your face” piney taste, but rather a very subtle essence, rounded by the beautiful jasmine green floral notes. It is sweet and very soothing.

I’m listening to some music for the Gods while sipping , Viktoria Mullova playing Bach’s sonata…perfect afternoon.

http://youtu.be/o31krGIe-Xs

(Oh, I really wish this hadn’t been out of stock when I placed my order…)

Whispering Pines Tea Company

I can not WAIT to harvest the next batch of white pine for this! I’m going to give it a slightly longer oxidation and also work on bringing out more of the buttery flavors. Harvest time should be mid-June :)

TheTeaFairy

Yay, that sounds amazing, I will definitely return for it :-)

mj

That sonata was beautiful! Thanks for sharing :-)

TheTeaFairy

Mj1851, as much as I love modern music, I also need my classical… glad you enjoyed, Bach is my favourite composer :-)

Virginia

Aw! I almost bought this, but chickened out because of the pine. Now I know :)

Terri HarpLady

I love a little of everything, but grew up playing classical, & still love to return to it often.

TheTeaFairy

Virginia, I don’t think you will regret buying this one, now i’m sad I don’t have more!

Terri, I think classical is the only music that will bring me to tears. I,m mostly a fan of soloist work though. I love melancholy, big happy symphonies are not my thing…

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70
drank Florence by Harney & Sons
652 tasting notes

I still have sooooo much of this. I never loved it.

I enjoy it now more than before, but 4oz was way too much. And I have to drink it.

Not sure if I just don’t LOVE H&S’s chocolate flavour, or maybe that the hazelnut in this one isn’t striking me the way it should, I definitely don’t get “Nutella” when I drink this tea.

I think the hazelnut just has a bit of an odd taste to it or something. I will keep drinking it though, I have no choice!

Anyone want some Florence?
Haha

ETA Oh yeah – forgot to add that I’m officially starting a sipdown mission of my older teas. I was doing it unofficially but now it’s crackdown time on account of the massive load of new tea I’ve got coming to me in July.

ETAX2 this was my 300th tasting note. D’oh. :/

yyz

Good for you! I’m turning some of my older flavoured greens into ice tea and I’m icing some of my Oolong’s or I’ll never get through them ( though I might experiment with reroasting some of them).

TheKesser

Yaaay for 300!

boychik

congrats on 300. very impressive. Good luck on official sipdown mission;)

TheTeaFairy

Great mission! And happy 300th :-)

OMGsrsly

Yay 300! :)

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85

This tea is not in what I would have called my tea wheelhouse. I’m not a fan of black teas, really, unless they’re flavored. But I ordered a sample of this one just based on the inspiration from the website. (Seriously, read the whole description of this tea. I mean read it. Traverse City, Mackinac Island, bridges (although I have to point out that you can’t take the Mighty Mac to the island), yes, this tea is supposed to remind me of a trip Up North.

So I added this sample, because I’ve been wanting and needing a trip up north (we’ve got one scheduled for next month, but that’s sooooo far away!)

And wow, you nailed this one. It is sweet, almost like a cherry, not quite, but yes, and chocolaty, like good dark Mackinac Island Fudge. I love the malt in this one. Not too malty, but just enough.

This mug really makes me want Northern Michigan all that much more. If you’ve never been, I suggest you go sometime. It is peaceful and laid back in a way that I just can’t explain. And beautiful. I love Michigan. I love Up North.

I’m really enjoying this tea. Like I said, it’s not my normal tea, but it is nice. I would like to have this one occasionally, when I need an escape Up North.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 15 OZ / 443 ML
boychik

you convinced me. I’m going ;)

Whispering Pines Tea Company

I’m finally moving back…in a week! I can’t even contain my excitement!!!

Whispering Pines Tea Company

I’m so glad that you get the references in my descriptions…I feel like a lot of people don’t TRULY understand Up North. I know that before I lived there, if you had told me that the most beautiful place in the world is northern Michigan, I would have laughed in your face ;)

Cheri

I’m sooo happy for you! If I could live way up there, I would, but my spouse’s job does not allow for telecommuting most of the time. (Mine does, so I can work from anywhere he needs to be.)

I’ve been to both of these places, and I just love it up there. At least it’s only a “short” drive to Traverse City or the UP and we can make long weekends or even week long get aways.

yyz

Yay, to returning to a place you love Brendan! Up north, what a term… Growing up, up north was anywhere North of Barrie(less than an hour from Toronto). I don’t know why because I’d been to Wawa on Lake Superior a number of times when I was little, but the ridiculousness of my perspective didn’t hit me until I worked in Chapleau for two summers and experienced the 8-12 he drive up there and entered the Arctic watershed while watching the seasons regress that my perspective changed and even then several members of Steepster live in places much further north than that. I lived in a Crown Game Preserve and experienced worse culture shock coming home than when I returned from India. There is something amazing about being surrounded by life! The furthest North I’ve been is Iqaluit but only for a short period of time.

Cheri

In metro Detroit, the term Up North is loosely interpreted as anywhere “north” of here, although it can also mean west in some cases. It’s getting out of the Big City and into the “wilderness”. Where I grew up, Up North was my family cottage 45 minutes away, about 2 miles north, mostly to the west. But it was on a lake and out of suburbia. Interestingly enough, that’s now mostly suburbia out there as well, so I’m not sure it counts as Up North anymore.

yyz

It’s always changing isn’t it? How awesome to have a cottage only 45 mine away. My cousin’s is in a beautiful spot it’s on a finger bay off Georgian Bay. It’s private enough that it seems to be on a private lake but they have easy access to the Great Lakes watershed. There is a wildlife reserve on one side ( The first time I was there, I went jogging and saw a bear), but it’s @2.5 hrs to get there.

Whispering Pines Tea Company

Yep! I don’t think I could consider any larger cities “up north”. I’m moving to a city of 450 people (White Pine, MI) right next to the Porcupine Mountains. Now THAT’S up north ;)

Cheri

I haven’t been to the Porcupine Mountains, but it’s on my list of places I want to go in Pure Michigan.

Whispering Pines Tea Company

Well if you make it up to that area, let me know and we can break out some of my reserve teas! :)

Cheri

Definitely!

mj

LOL I grew up in Florida, so up north was anywhere north of the mason-dixon line.

Cheri

Funny you say that. I have a friend from Florida who is coming to visit later this summer, and he said that it’s his “first trip up north because it’ll be the first time [he’ll] be north of the mason-dixon line.”

mj

That is funny! He definitely picked the right time of year to visit “up north”.

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75

Thanks 221tea for the sample! I think this is officially my first blend from Whispering Pines? I hope I made a good choice, heh…

The amount of cinnamon chips in this intimidates me a little bit to be perfectly honest: I like my cinnamon in moderation and this looks like it could potentially be fairly overwhelming. Steeped up though it seems harmless enough, inviting even.

Taste wise this is much more mellow and gentle than I was bracing myself for. I almost wish it packed a bit more of a punch because while the apple, cinnamon, and oolong components can all be checked off and marked as present they’re sorta those classroom “ruffians” who sit in the back row where the teacher can’t notice them as clearly. And, when that’s the way all the flavour notes in the tea are behaving it doesn’t really work too splendidly. Someone has to be in the front.

I guess if I’d have to name a more dominant flavour it would be the apple? It’s slightly more noticeable than everything else in the aftertaste as you swallow the liquor: but only fleetingly.

So to summarize: I’m finding this a touch weak and it’s not what I wanted or expected but it’s still pretty good – definitely drinkable. I have one more cup left and since it’s about the same leaf amount as this one increasingly the leaf to up the flavour isn’t as viable an option so I’m probably going to see if I can push the flavour out a bit more by slightly extending the steep time.

Anna

Cinnamon really terrifies me in tea, sadly. I love cinnamon, it just doesn’t work in teas. Do you want ALL cinnamon in moderation, though, in (for example) baked goods as well?

Whispering Pines Tea Company

You can get 5+ infusions from the one :) also, i not sire if you knew this, but the apple notes are natural notes coming from the oolong, which is why they aren’t more intense.

Whispering Pines Tea Company

^To add. Try steeping for 5 minutes instead of the recommended 2

Whispering Pines Tea Company

Wow, my not-out-of-bed-or-awake yet comments are totally not helpful. Haha :)

What I meant to say is that because the apple notes are natural notes in the oolong, increasing the steep time would be a great choice because these notes will be accentuated by the longer steep time :)

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