Featured & New Tasting Notes

Finally, a decent cup of tea!
(breathes a sigh of relief)
Here is my story…
I enjoy incense, but NOT in my tea, as is evidenced in my reviews of the Earl of Anxi. I didn’t get to drink very much tea yesterday, & this morning I have to get ready for a wedding, so I won’t get to drink much either, so imagine my unhappiness when I started sipping my first cup of the day, Lord Petersham, & it tasted of perfume. WTF????

I dumped it, incredulous that it wasn’t the beloved lord of tea that I was looking for.
I made a cup of Persian Princess…same problem! !#)%&$^@)P$#KUW)R!@%$TPQL???
Then I realized there was some fine brown powder on the table, (I’m not very observant when I first wake up) & yes, it was incense power, as if somebody opened a box of incense there & didn’t bother to clean it up. Right next to the towel on the table where all my little tea pots, cups, spoons, strainers, & other paraphernalia await me while I sleep. Except for my yixings (thank god!!). They all live in my office.

So now, finally, I’m enjoying a cup of something that doesn’t taste like perfume. I love Nag Champa, but not in my tea! I brewed this cup in my office, with my office electric kettle, & later today when I get home from the wedding, I will be on a cleaning rampage, washing all my tea stuff that’s in the vicinity of the desecration, soaking them in baking soda water too.
Speaking of baking soda water, some of you might recall that about a month ago the mother of one of my students gave me a beautiful stainless steel tea caddy. Unfortunately, she must have stored something other than tea in there, as it reeked of perfume. I ignored it for awhile, but yesterday I decided it was time. I soaked & then washed it in soapy water, then I soaked & rinsed it in fresh water. It was sparkling clean, but I could still smell a perfume smell. So I soaked it in baking soda water for the rest of the day.
The good news? It smells like…nothing!!!
Except it’s on that towel on the table, but it’s upside down, so hopefully it won’t smell like nag champa.
I will probably let it dry for a month before I actually use it, just to make sure it’s really dry!
Anyway…This is a tasty & welcome Assam, & I’m grateful to enjoy it.

Butiki Teas

Oh no, incense contamination!

ohfancythat

I cannot imagine how nasty that would taste!

carol who

LOL I’ve herbs get into my teas but that is not usually as pungent as a perfume/incense smell. Baking soda (like the simplest thing ever) does a wonderful job on cleaning so many things. So often, I forget about it except as something to stick into the back of the refrigerator.

Terri HarpLady

The good part is that it wasn’t in the bag of tea itself, although I still can’t figure out how it contaminated my cup.

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82

Sipdown (165/169)!

Woke up at the crack of dawn this morning.

Ok, not really. I woke up at nine: but that was a full two and a half hours earlier than I was expecting to wake up/the alarm was set for – and I felt surprisingly well rested despite going to bed at like 4 AM. Anyway, it gave me extra tea drinking time so I finished this one up in some cold milk while catching up on the new Whose Line episodes.

“What can you say about your house, but not your girlfriend?”

Mmm! The coffee/chocolate was pretty well balanced today and everything whisked up well. I think I’ll miss it, actually. Definitely considering whether I’d want to add it into an order…

TeaLady441

There’s new Whose Line episodes? Really? :O

TeaLady441

I wish they were on Netflix… SO BAD.

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72

From the queue, written March 23rd 2014

This came from the EU TTB, round 2. I’ve never had this flavour in… anything before, so I definitely wanted to try it. I’ve had elderflower, I believe, but not champagne. Certainly not together. I greatly enjoy elderflower cordial, so it was a natural pick for me.

It smells like rooibos and elderflowers. It’s quite a sweet smell and reminds me strongly of aforementioned cordial. Or rather, if one had steeped dried elderflowers in some straight rooibos. Equal parts elderflower and rooibos here. I’m not really getting much in the way of champagne, except perhaps a slight sour-fresh twinge here and there. Nothing that really screams bubbly, though. My primary thought is that this is a good thing.

The flavouring seems quite subtle. It’s closer to unflavoured than flavoured if you see what I mean, but it’s not unpleasant. Unpleasant as in I don’t really care for unflavoured rooibos. As it cools a bit, the elderflower and champagne flavouring comes out more, but it still strikes me as somewhat subtle. Unlike in the aroma, it’s the champagne that dominates and the elderflower that takes the background.

I have to say I was expecting more from this. I’m a slightly disappointed, but again, it’s not actually boring and it’s definitely not unpleasant. It’s just… not what I imagined.

Hello.Kiki

May be better as a cold brew?

Angrboda

I might try that. We’ve got the right sort of weather for it this weekend actually. Good idea.

Jillian

I’m laughing at the name

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76
drank Duchess' First Love by Tay Tea
1598 tasting notes

Interesting! Not one I would have bought directly but it’s good. It’s only partially an EG with subtle bergamot notes and creamy caramel and rooibos woodiness. I think of creamy lemon custard even though that may all just be in my head!

It’s Friday, you guys! Friday!
(170)

Sil

Friday makes me sad…..

TeaLady441

Awww. No more vacation?

Sil

Last day, but man it was effing amazing!

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drank Laoshan Black by Verdant Tea
1440 tasting notes

I woke up before the sun (4:45am) this morning to look over my notes a bit more before my exam today.

This is such a great morning tea. Well, it’s great anytime, but not every tea works in the morning. The chocolate and barley is my favourite. So unique. I also decided on this one as a wee celebration because the tracking tells me my new stash of LB will be delivered today (instead of Monday), yay! I’m not completely out yet, but it’s nice that I can unpack it and place it in my cupboard before we leave.

In a few short hours, six more courses will be behind me. YES.

Veronica

Good luck, and congratulations in advance!

Angrboda

Good luck with the exams!

yyz

Good luck!

__Morgana__

Good luck from me, too!

ohfancythat

I got mine today too!

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68
drank Love Tea #7 by DAVIDsTEA
15575 tasting notes

Damnit I lost my tasting note! Fuck.

Anyway: made a cup for me and one for Tre when I got home from work today. He sweetened his, I had mine straight. I thought it really hit the spot tonight: lots of chocolate and just enough fruit. And he said he enjoyed his, so that was good too I guess.

Work today was ok I guess. We have a new manager and she’s pretty old (borderline elderly), and pretty conservative. The conservative nature of her personality would be ok, but the keyholders, myself included, are noticing it kind of treads on the line of racism. She’s been really rude to all employees but me and another older guy named Doug. Coincidentally, the two of us also happen to be the only other “white” employees other than herself.

Some of the other questionable things she’s done/said include referring to someone as a “little native girl” and complaining all the Indian employees stink and need to be spoken to about their hygiene (and no one else feels this way but her). So we’re keeping an eye on it, and if it progresses then I guess we’ll contact HR and formally file a complaint.

Sigh.

Courtney

Oh wow. That sounds like it should be interesting. :|

Tealizzy

Wow, that sounds really unprofessional. Good luck!

OMGsrsly

Oh, good luck.

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78

Birth Day, Verdant and Teavivre orders arrive, and sipping this while watching Awkward and waiting for my hair to dry after stripping the color (currently, it’s flurorescent orange). It’s a good, fun day. :)

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
OMGsrsly

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

caile

Happy birthday! : )

Sami Kelsh

Happy birthday! :)))

Sil

I wanna see pics of the new hair!! Happy birthday lady! Hope it’s the best damn day ever

Terri HarpLady

Yay! Happy Birthday!

VariaTEA

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Hope it is amazing :)

Flyawaybirdie

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! =)

tea-sipper

Happy Birthday!

Ubacat

Happy Birthday!

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Now this is what I’m talking about. I just got settled in for a day full of studying for my one last exam tomorrow, and this tea is perfection. The chocolate notes never cease to amaze me. I’m so happy to have a cupboard full of Butiki teas again (note to self: never go so long between orders again).

Also, I just placed an AE order and I ended up saving just as much as I spent. Best.

ohfancythat

Is AE a tea company I’ve never heard of or is American Eagle having a sale? Haha

Yes, nothing like that satisfying cup of a tea you’ve already established you love!

Courtney

Haha, American Eagle. Sorry, perhaps I should’ve clarified. They are having a sale and I had a discount code in my email. Do you ever just have things in your online cart for ages – adding more and taking off a few things, until finally the discounts are good enough?

This tea is such a delight.

ohfancythat

Oh yes, been there!!

I can’t remember if I tried this tea or not, I get two of them mixed up all the time

Courtney

I checked the notes and it looks as though you did haha. This one is amazing! And Taiwanese Wild Mountain Black is to die for. I saw someone described the TWMB as waffle-like a few months back and that is bang on.

ohfancythat

Oh I think the TWMB is the one I always get it mixed up with, lol
I might order both and just do a huge order when the time comes!

Courtney

That sounds best haha. I always try to hit the free shipping threshold. :)

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97

It has been way too long since I drank my first and favorite sheng. SO GOOD! I need to drink this more often. I also need to order another cake before they are gone! Guess I need to work on another Mandala order soon :)

boychik

new cakes are coming, you know;)

Stephanie

Do you like sheng as much as you like shu? Have you tried very many? I’ve only had a handful so far!

boychik

Nope, just a few. Some bitterness i just cant tolerate. Wild Monk is my fav.

boychik

i can tell you what i like (at least for now): i like shu that has sweet profile, dried fruits and leather is good combination for me. i would like to sample some sheng even if it has some bitterness, it would be tolerable and i could control with lower temps and super short steeps

Stephanie

I would very much like to try more shengs as well :)

Garret

Hello, you two! Wild Monk 2014 is here (though not on site yet, but we can always accomodate)! Also just in is a new cake (and mao cha) we call “Autumn Song”, also a sheng pu’er. Reviews in store here so far have been great. The 2014 Wild Monk (autumn 2013 picked leaf) does not have near the smokier sweet of the 2012 version but is truly delightful. I’ve already had several sessions with both.

The 2012 Wild Monk will soon be a thing of the past. We are going to hold on to 28 cakes for further aging in our vault and that means we probably only have a few weeks left of them at the rate they are going. Sad, but true…

And BC… I love both shu and sheng and you are right about water temps and shorter steeping times. With younger sheng, alot of our customers brew with water at 195 and slowly up the water temp through the various infusions. So fun to experiment. My favorite thing about great sheng, no matter how I brew it up, is that is always leaves me feeling really wonderful and open. I love that. I love tea :)

Stephanie

Thanks for the info Garret, I will definitely order one more 2012 cake before they are all gone! Hopefully I will have time to do so sometime today or tomorrow. I’d love to sample the 2014 version for comparison!

Thanks for being such a great purveyor of tea, and sharing your knowledge and love of it with us here on Steepster! I love tea, too :)

Garret

My pleasure, my friend! When you place your order, just shoot me an email at the same time and remind me to send along a sample of the 2014 Wild Monk! My email addy is [email protected]

And thank you, for being such a lovely spark here on Steepster! Always a pleasure.

Sil

Oh no! I need to order another cake! Ack! I hope there are stroll come left by the time I get back from vacation…

mrmopar

I just put an order from Mandala tonight. Sure to get me in trouble…

@ligongsf

a naive question: what is the difference between Sheng (raw) and Shu (cooked). I know the Chinese words, but don’t know what they mean in terms of puerh…thanks

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drank Birthday Cake by Butiki Teas
2291 tasting notes

Om nom nom. Tea. And it’s my birthday, happy birthday to me.

The other teas I had today were matcha macaron with white chocolate too-soft-ganache at breakfast, and a green tea latte at sbux.

Yep.

I am so stressed about this whole moving thing. So after I got a (ridiculous photo and) drivers license update, I came home and chilled before painting my nails and remembering about tea.

Nails are a dark navy shimmer with gold and black glitter on top. Yeah! Go me! I really like them but the polishes aren’t playing nice and it’s still not set. Hopefully it doesn’t get too messy while I sleep.

Tea is delicious as always. Very gentle, vanilla and sweet. Yum yum.

yyz

Happy Birthday!

jump62359

Happy birthday!!

Roswell Strange

Happy Birthday :D

KittyLovesTea

Happy Birthday!

mrmopar

Happy Birthday!!

Veronica

Happy Birthday!

Suziqzer

Happy Birthday to you!

oddree

Yay! Happy Birthday, drink all the things with the sprinkles!

Nightshifter

Happy Birthday!

Sami Kelsh

Happy birthday to you!!!

Butiki Teas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pov2sK_C3sY!!!! Hope the nails come out, they sound cute!

OMGsrsly

Thanks, everyone!

caile

Happy birthday! : )

Butiki Teas

Cute, very night sky-ish. :)

OMGsrsly

I really want to do galaxy nails. I just did this in about 10 min last night, though. Maybe next week I’ll take the time and get all fancy!

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drank Jin Pin Black Tea by Yezi Tea
437 tasting notes

This is the second Jin Pin I’ve had and I’ve come to find that I am quite fond of these teas.

This tea has a strong roasted scent in the first steep before it settles down in the background. It has consistent tones of cocoa and butter toffee, and longan.

The initial steep had a fruity top note of longan and peaches with cocoa over roasted grain notes,and a butter toffee where the candy has been slightly overcooked giving a stronger browned butter note and a little bitterness. The tea has a soft and slightly powdery texture.

In later steeps the peach dissapears, leaving only longan, the cocoa transitions to milk chocolate than Ovaltine and a nutty roasted cashew type note appears. As well a malt note becomes apparent. I steeped it 4 times( 20, 35, 50, 90s).

Quite enjoyable. Special thanks to Dexter3657 for the sample!

jump62359

Oh dang. This tea sounds great!

TeaExplorer

That does sound really good. Added to wishlist :)

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Whoa, I’ve been so very lazy about checking the in-depth details of my tea before drinking it lately and was not expecting this to be the way it is! It tastes more like an oolong than a black tea to me (perhaps not surprising given the source…oh Taiwan, you and your wonderful oolongs!), with a steeped color that reminds me a bit of the old fashioned Formosa Oolong from Harney, not dark and not light, in between. The overwhelming “whoa!” note that hits me immediately is apple cinnamon. Not tart-then-sugary apple juice-like teas (which I hate), more like eating homemade, still-chunky-firm applesauce made with rosy apples, a a variety with a lot of floral aroma. I’m so busy being surprised and enjoying it I think I’ll return to this note later. Tea! I love how you tempt me and flirt with me, how just when I think I’ve got you all figured out and we’re comfortably married and middle-aged in our relations, you go put on a new dress or I find out you can fix an engine or something I had no idea you were capable of. You sexy thing.

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

Sexy indeed. This is beautiful to me.

MissB

This is more than a like for this tealog, it’s definitely a love. :)

TeaExplorer

I need a tea that can install a kitchen sink. Going to give this one a try ;)

DeliriumsFrogs

This is all so fantastic…..

Anna

Oh, best note ever.

ifjuly

hahaha, TeaExplorer! let me know when you find one that does. :D

(thanks guys!)

Dag Wedin

MUST try this tea!

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94

I originally made Hattialli Golden Paw this morning, but all I was getting was smoke. I quickly read the description and notes and saw no mention of smoke. I had a horrid sleep filled with nightmares of my upcoming spring class, and I have an exam this morning, so I dumped that and made this one.

I knew this awesome tea would both refresh and comfort. The combination of orange, chocolate, and marshmallow is amazing. I can’t believe I only just tried this. I already added a bunch to my Butiki cart online because this will be a cupboard staple.

P.S. My wellies left Germany yesterday, hit 4 US cities yesterday, arrived in Calgary this morning and are already out for delivery. So excited!

Butiki Teas

Sorry to hear about your nightmares & stress. Glad the tea could help, even if just a little bit. :)

Courtney

It totally did. :) Your teas always come to the rescue haha.

Stephanie

Courtney, quit it! You’re making me want to order more! ;)

Courtney

Hehe! It is so good!

ohfancythat

They’re coming from Germany! Wow

So you didn’t enjoy the golden paw…hmm.

Courtney

I was having a rough morning though whatshesaid, and I really didn’t have time to fool around with tea so I made the executive decision to wait until I was more relaxed and rested to try again. There’s no mention of smoke, and Stacy is great at putting every single flavour in her descriptions, so I’m hoping it was just me.

ohfancythat

I was reading the description and I wonder if it was the “oak” note
Hopefully your second try will be better! :)

Hope your exam went well! Or goes well…. It’s 1:25 here

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75
drank Stanley's Blend by Harney & Sons
2816 tasting notes

Good morning Steepster. I was up early and I’ve already had a pot of Kangaita OP and a fruit smoothie with cheesecake matcha in it. I thought I’d revisit the rest of this sample I got a few months ago from H & S but first I had to use a nasal spray and now I cannot taste anything.

I am sorry Stanley — whoever you are — I guess my previous tasting note will have to suffice.

Sami Kelsh

And here I am all curious about this tea because when I hear the name Stanley, all I can think of is Stanley from the US version of The Office, and so I’m picturing a tea that tastes of crossword puzzles and indifference.

DeliriumsFrogs

I just laughed out loud, Sami Kelsh. Lol

TeaBrat

ha, I never really watched that show but now I may need to ;-)

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64
drank Women's Tea by Pekoe Tea Lounge
1500 tasting notes

Just okay. I consider this a medicinal tea, and thus, it suits for those purposes. I can definitely taste the orange, fennel and herb-like stuffola in here.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 6 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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94

Butiki is here, Butiki is here!

This one came in an awesome wee tin, and therefore it was the easiest to pop open for a sniff. Well, the scent settled it. This was the first tea to try.

I’m really enjoying it. The orange is more subtle in taste than in scent, but it’s unmistakably there. The chocolate tastes like dark, dark chocolate which is wonderful. And the marshmallow seems to provide a subtle creaminess to the whole experience. There is a sweetness here but the darkness of the chocolate keeps it from being sweet. Delightful.

I see the recommendations mention sugar is also awesome, so I’ll have to try that next time.

Stacy is there a specific reason this one comes in a tin?

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
ohfancythat

Oh I really enjoy this one!

Courtney

I just went to check out your note on it. I feel the same about not ordering it sooner. I always just scrolled past it on the website, never giving it a second glance. Silly, silly. At least I have it now.

Stephanie

This was one of my first Butiki purchases…I drank a whole tin!

Daisy Chubb

Oh man I almost cried when I had my last cup of this one. Watch out – you’ll crave it, lol

Courtney

I love the tin! I guess I’ll have to watch out, sounds like it’s a sneaky tea that makes you love it before you realize it.

Butiki Teas

Courtney-Yes, there is a reason. We made this tea for a local shop. We made a tea that represented all 3 of the owner’s personalities. They loved the tea and asked if we could make the packaging special, so we decided these tins would be perfect. They wanted the tea to stand out from the other teas since it was their blend.

Suziqzer

After a nice sample of this one it is on my shopping list when I finally place an order from Butiki. Hubby doesn’t like marshmallow and sneered his nose when I told him about this blend. The other day he pulled it out of the sample box and really liked it.. He forgot about the marshmallow and was fine with it even after I reminded him about it. Way to go Butiki ! You sold him on this one :)

ohfancythat

Good to know the reason for the tin!!

VariaTEA

Suziqzer, there is also Two Friends (though I believe you have to specially request it), that has just Chocolate and Orange.

Suziqzer

Thanks VariaTea! I’ve seen a tasting note come across for the Two Friends blend. I might look into it if I get the Three Friends & he changes his mind about it. I think it’s mostly a texture thing for him .. He will eat rice crispy treats but not smores or Peeps.

Plunkybug

It’s a really nice tea!

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68
drank Three Wishes Tea by DAVIDsTEA
652 tasting notes

I don’t get why DT put 98 degrees as the recommended steeping temp for this, considering the green tea. I did 92 as a compromise but probably would do closer to 85 or so next time.

I mean, if there was a next time, but I don’t think there will be.

I bet this tea would be amazing iced, or even hot for someone who likes fruity teas which apparently I no longer do.

It’s very peachy, it’s kind of hurting my teeth. I also just recently within the last hour realized that I have a mild headache, and I can’t help but associate that with drinking this.

Sooooo, another one for the pile!

Drinking lots of teas I don’t overly care for lately, and it’s sucky.

I find myself unsatisfied.

Courtney

Aw :( When that happens I always go for one of my favourites so I feel better. I know what you mean. When I decide I’m getting through teas and it just seems like one icky one after another it gets tiring.

ohfancythat

Yeah, your last review makes me think a Butiki tea is in the cards next :)

Courtney

YES. Butiki is always so reliable. And the natural flavours help me out after a ton of not so natural flavoured teas. I’m so finicky when it comes to even the tiniest bit of unnaturalness, or god forbid chemical-ness. Shudder.

Courtney

P.S. Butiki is here! That means your swap is ready for the post. :)

ohfancythat

I feel like it’s the “flavoring” in this tea which gave my my headache. Now the smell of the dry leaves is making me cringe.

So you’re right, natural is so nice!

And YAY!! I know I’m going to love them, I’ve got a shopping cart all loaded up and ready to go, I’d be shocked if I decided to take anything out!

Courtney

I remember trying this one when I first discovered David’s and thought I enjoyed it. It only took a few cups before the scent turned my stomach. Ooh, what else do you have in your cart? I wish I lived home or somewhere near other Steepsterites so I could participate in joint orders. One day!

ohfancythat

I agree! Joint orders would be nice.

I loaded up a cart on the MF website and with everything it would be like $205, haha. Not including the customs fees you’re no doubt charged at the door

Somedayyyyy. Sigh.
Those heritage gourmet ones are killer.

However! My Butiki cart has these:

Caramel Vanilla Assam
Hello Sweetie
Taiwanese Wild Mountain Black
Lemon French Macaron
Hattialli Golden Paw Assam

Courtney

Such excellent choices. Sadly I could never get Caramel Vanilla Assam to work for me. I did mix it half with PTA (the base tea), and I much preferred it. Have you tried White Rhino?

ohfancythat

No, I haven’t tried that one, is it good? I could ask for a sample maybe

Courtney

That one is amazing! I love it. LOVE.

ohfancythat

Are you a white tea fan? I haven’t found them to have much flavor on their own for me!

Courtney

Not at all. It’s a white tea, but it’s exactly like a black tea. It’s very sneaky. I think I have enough to send you some in our swap if you’d like?

ohfancythat

I would love to try a cup! I was just reading the description and the reviews, it does sound exceptionally delicious for a white tea

I wish I had something to send you! Gahh

Courtney

Haha, no worries! I really, really do not mind at all.

ohfancythat

You’re the best! I’m going to work on beefing up my collection in a classy way as I figure out what I love and then I will get you back :)

Courtney

Haha sounds good. I’ve been doing the same thing. It’s been ongoing for months. My tastebuds have decided I ultimately prefer higher quality teas, for the most part, which is delightful but also hard on the wallet.

Sil

White rhino = yes. Also black lotus is a nice morning tea imo

ohfancythat

Having a certain number of higher quality teas that you KNOW you love sure beats having a crap ton of cheaper, overly flavoured blends that you’re “meh” about!!

Quality over quantity for sure

Sil

I like crappy flavoured average blends….that are not David’s tea lol for when I just want to drink tea without thinking about it. Tgn I have my higher quality flavoured and my higher quality straights…and life is good. So good.

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35
drank Apricot Vanilla Creme by Tazo
303 tasting notes

This is the second Tazo tea I picked up. It was actually the smell of this that made me look more closely at the box… because it smelled so strongly of artificial orange candy that I suspected for a moment I’d misread completely.

Who writes this copy.

Who are you people.

This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read. It’s so over-the-top pretentious it’s offensive. Also sucky, sucky prose; please enjoy this gem: “Explore lemongrass lawns, carpets of chamomile and the living history of your ancestors.” I guess someone graduated from Alliteration U summa cum laude. And whose ancestors would that be? Are they somehow connected to the great tradition of child slave labour on tea plantations? So lofty! So spiritual! Let’s all pose in First Nations headdresses and bindis together!

The tea is… not quite as bad as its product copy. The vile orange is mostly gone in the cup, but Tazo’s apricot flavouring leaves a lot to be desired. The promised vanilla is nowhere to be found and there is a weird, filmy aftertaste that makes me think of Tang powder.

No.

Tazo, I think I have some random tea bags I’ve picked up here and there, but when I’m done with those, I’m done with you.

[Picked up at Whole Foods in NOLA, March 2014.]

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec
TeaLady441

OMG. That is the most inane thing I’ve read. Wow.

Anna

Remember, Cavo, that each cup is a story, unfolding with every sip! I guess low-grade bagged tea is like a really really short story, then – like a haiku?

Anna

I offend your mouth
with my deceptive presence
of non-apricot

ohfancythat

Hilarious.

Veronica

I can’t stop laughing. I’m horrified and amused at the same time!

DeliriumsFrogs

Hahahahaha!!

mrs.stenhouse12

LOL thank you for this review, best part of my day so far :D

Anna

Haha, aw! Thanks, guys – you make it completely worth it drinking bad tea.

TeaExplorer

Thanks for stepping in front of the bullet on this one Anna. The Steepster community is in your debt. Also loved your tasting note. That was the best laugh I’ve had in days :D

mrmopar

Too funny!

Tea Pet

As someone who earns part of their living as a writer and writes content for teas on almost a monthly basis, thank you. Thank you, Anna. This is the funniest thing that I have read in weeks! XD Now, whenever I beat myself up over my writing ability, I will think about the ‘lemongrass lawns’ and ‘living history of my ancestors’ and ROLFCOPTER!!

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drank Paris by Harney & Sons
513 tasting notes

Wow. So I woke up yesterday morning with a bit of a sore throat. I thought it was odd, because it wasn’t really accompanied by any other symptoms, so I just went about my day. Not even a few hours later, I had a raging fever, was shivering as though i was naked in the arctic, and felt as though I was swallowing razor blades. I just can’t believe how quickly this all set in. I loaded myself up with drugs and went to bed. Of course I was alternately hot and freezing in the middle of the night (I distinctly remember tearing my clothes off only to scramble under the covers shivering a few minutes later), and needless to say was not in any shape to go to work this morning. But of course you know I considered it. You know, to stumble in all stuffed up, cracking voice and clammy face to be like “I’m a good employee! look at me! I’m here even though I’m about to keel over!”. I quickly realized how ridiculous that was, but still wish we lived in a world where we didn’t feel loads of guilt any time we couldn’t fulfill a commitment because of being sick. I think the key to dealing with that is to work on organizing your priorities. recovering quickly>worrying about how someone will perceive you in a split second, only to move onto other thoughts because let’s face it: we rarely matter nearly as much as we think we do when things like this happen.

Anyway, I have a bit of backlogging to do, but I had this tea when I finally crawled out of bed an hour or so ago. It felt amazing on the throat, and is such a gentle tea. I’m actually really proud I remember having it. It’s one of the few bergamot teas I really, thoroughly enjoy. I think I might get the loose-leaf version of this tea next time I place an H & S order.

Anna

“I’m a good employee! I’m here to sneeze goo on your documents!”

Feel better, sweetie.

Courtney

So true about feeling guilty about commitments. I do hope you feel better quickly. :)

Marzipan

I’m liking this in solidarity, not because I’m happy that you are sick.

__Morgana__

Feel better!

keychange

Thanks, guys! I feel as though if I can manage the fever, everything else will follow. and yeah Courtney, I hate those feelings of guilt. Maybe we should be self-employed in order to avoid this LOL.

Cheri

I know exactly how you feel about going in to the office while sick. Presenteeism is actually much worse for an organization than absenteeism. Remember that. You’re not getting anyone else sick that way. And yet, even though I know this, I still will try to come in while sick, and even though I am able to work remotely.

Feel better, take a few days off. Drink lots and lots of tea and other clear liquids. Get some sleep. Feel better!!!

keychange

It’s really unfortunate that we often feel as though we should force ourselves to work when sick. and despite how many times we’re reassured that it’s ok to stay home, there’s that lingering guilt, because there’ll always be that ass hole who can make you question yourself because they’ll come in with their kidney hanging out of their body or something.

Courtney

I agree. I often go in when I’m sick anyway, unless I’m full-blown, can’t even roll out of bed on my own sick. There is always someone that comments! “Oh, you look totally fine now.” Thank you, for making me constantly wonder if my supervisor thinks I use sick days to play hooky.

keychange

I know! If anything, we’d go in when really sick to prove that we really are sick and aren’t just effing off randomly. It’s just such a messed up system.

Anna

I hate when people turn up at the office, kidney flapping loosely in the wind. No manners. None.

keychange

I know! what is this world coming to? people wanting to be all revealing and stuff!

caile

Hope you’re feeling better soon!!

Courtney

Anna I am dying. Laughed aloud, sitting along in my house.

Hello.Kiki

Paris always seems lovely and reliable. I hope you start feeling better!

Rosehips

Feel better soon!

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I thoroughly enjoyed these pearls today. They are sweet & malty, just what I needed!

MzPriss

I want to love these more than I d, especially since I have a whole tin. Maybe they will taste better to me another day.

Terri HarpLady

I always used more pearls than recommended. Today I think I went with 6 pearls for 3 minutes. I meant to resteep for 5min, but got sidetracked, & by the time I realized it, the cup was cold :\

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I haven’t had many Keemun’s one I had was quite smokey and another was bright, fruity and almost menthol. This one is quite nice, it reminds me of a slightly more savoury and less sharp tasting version of another favourite tea of mine. Many thanks to Angel at Teavivre for selecting this sample for me to try. I quite enjoyed it and can easily see why it is a staple for many.

I steeped 1tsp in 200ml at @90°C for 4 steeps (1, 1.3, 2, and 4 min).

The dry leaf smelled of rye bread dusted with icing sugar and a hint of cocoa. The leaves were tightly twisted with occasional reddish golden brown tips.

After, the first steep the scent of the tea was lightly smokey roasted notes, citrus/longan, sweet potato, a bright citrousy floral, hint of cocoa, a peppery nasturtium note, and the upper notes of malt. Overall the effect was quite savoury.

The flavour of early steeps had a sharp longan top note settling into a grainy note that instantly develops into a honeyed floral cocoa note over roasted sweet potato, quite lovely and light, yet rich, smooth and creamy in the mouth. The floral note is a combination of spicy clover and carnation.

Later steeps were slightly sweeter and deeper with grainy notes becoming dominant, with lovely peppery, cocoa, grain notes, mixed with floral notes. Eventually the sweetness subsides in later steeps leaving prominent grain notes.

I really enjoyed this tea and am glad it is regularly available as I could see it being a nice replacement for one of my favourite aliexpress teas which I may not be able to buy again. Thanks again Angel!

caile

Such a nice review – I want to have a cup of this right now. ;)

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93

I purchased this with my last Butiki order because I like assams :)

This is the 2nd time I’ve tried this and it’s quite unlike any assam I’ve had before. It does remind me a bit of a golden monkey. It’s malty but a lot lighter in body than your typical assam and without any pungent notes. I could actually drink this plain but it’s good with soymilk too.

This has some definite sweet notes, like that of a sweet potato, but I’m also getting raisin in here too. I’m really glad I got to try this one, thanks for making it available Stacy. I think I’ll need to be getting more of this soon. It makes a gentle breakfast tea but really would be good anytime.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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79

I’m drinking this today instead of A&D’s Assam because I’m trying to rotate it out before it hits the 1 year mark. I’ve had it 9 months now and I don’t think it’s lost any flavour at all, but sadly, it just can’t compete with my Tiger Assam. It has a Tiger on the tin! I’m suggestible and that gives it extra BAM for that.

Still this is a nice cup, and doesn’t require anything to enjoy it!

221tea

I am a former design student and I am also a sucker for packaging. I want to collect all of the labels for the Sherlock teas even if I don’t drink them. I want to wallpaper my tea cabinet with them.

TeaLady441

Glad I’m not the only one! I’m happy I kept my old Tiger Assam tin – I divided my new order between the two tins nad now I have one Tiger for work and one for home. :D

I love the Adagio tins too, but I don’t know what to do with mine once they’re empty… :|

donkeyteaarrrraugh

can you still get tiger assam? if so, from where?

TeaLady441

You can! A&D sell it here: http://damnfinetea.com/
It’s a little expensive, but it’s good.

looseTman

The Zen Tea Assam Mangalam Second Flush FTGFOP1 is an excellent Assam and a terrific value compared to A&D at $80/LB!

TeaLady441

Yeah, there’s nothing wrong with it. It was an excellent introduction to Assam teas when I first starting drinking loose leaf. I just don’t enjoy it as much as I do the A&D one. (and not just bc of the pretty tin)

looseTman

What do you like most about the flavor of the A&D compared with Zen Tea?

TeaLady441

It’s been a while since I had them back to back, but I did a comparison earlier and this is what I wrote:

“So in summary, I think the Tiger Assam is preferable. Although I said I expected it to be stronger in my other post, it does taste stronger than the Zen Assam, while being slightly less astringent – both good things. Zen’s Assam is still good though – I’ll drink it on days where I don’t need quite as much kick.”

looseTman

Cavocorax, Thanks for your comparison!

TeaLady441

You’re welcome :D I should probably do an updated one sometime before I finish the Zen Assa, but that might not be fair since the A&D tea is brand new, and the Zen has been around for 9 months (sealed, but still?). Zen Tea is nice because they offer some really great sales so you can pick up a lot for a really good price.

donkeyteaarrrraugh

thanks for the above discussion….I’ve ordered the tiger (as I got free shipping) and will find a reason to order from Zen as soon as I have a bit of spare change for tea again. Can’t wait to compare!

TeaLady441

I hope you enjoy it! It seems to be a popular one so I’m sure I didn’t steer you wrong. :D

donkeyteaarrrraugh

As long as it takes milk well, I doubt it will go to waste! I also ordered the ltd. spring Keemun from them…. Here’s hoping it’s interesting!

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100

I’m skipping the queue with this one because THE TIME HAS COME! I have opened the tin. I have sniffled it. Happy birthday to me! (I thought that would be an auspicious day to try it, don’t you?)

I should make some preliminary introductions to this one and tell why it’s so extremely special to me that I had to have it, shipping fees be damned. This tin right here was the very thing that made me order from JW at all. Everything else that I got to taste from the company was purely coincidental and taking advantage of the fact that I would be paying shipping charges anyway. I’ve been looking at the unopened tin of it for weeks now, simply just enjoying that fact that I had it. Petting it now and then and enjoying looking forward to it while waiting for the right time to taste it for the first time.

As you all know (or ought to know at this point!) I’m partial to a Chinese black, and if it comes from Fujian, it simply cannot go wrong. Fujian is my most favouritest tea growing area in the world and has been for a number of years now. My very very favourite tea is Tan Yang. It is the benchmark of fabulousness to which all other black teas must measure up. Another favourite type is Keemun, usually grown in Anhui. Life-giving and delivering a solid cup of tea every single time.

What we now have here in this tin is both a Keemun and a Tan Yang, and it is not a blend. It was grown near the Tan Yang village in Fujian, but the bushes are the Keemun variety transplanted there from Anhui. The very idea of this awesome on an epic scale!

The leaf smells both Keemun-y and Fujian-y. It has the Fujian cocoa note and the Keemun-y grain. Mind you Fujian usually also has a lot of grain in it, but I tend to find it more prominent in Keemuns. There’s something else in here that reminds me vaguely of some kind of tart berry or something. Perhaps one which has been dried. Like dried cranberry, I think, but not nearly as sweet as those are. If I take a little leaf in my hand and breathe on it before sniffing, I get a strong note that reminds me of when Husband makes beer, just at the point where he puts the hops in.

Okay that it, I can’t wait for Husband to start cooking breakfast (full English, yay!). I need to make a pot of this NOW!

After steeping it doesn’t smell so beer-y, but rather more like freshly baked rye bread. Courtney understands this note fully. I suspect Marzipan does as well. It’s grain-y and dark and also somewhat sweet. There is some of the Fujian cocoa notes there as well, but they are under the grain and so I have to really look for them.

I’ve started sipping way too soon. It’s far too hot still and I can barely taste anything. I did, however, pick up the fact that it’s a strong tea we’ve got here. It even seems to have a rather smoky note to it, which ♥♥♥♥♥

I can sip a bit more now. It’s quite cocoa-y with grainy notes underneath and a fairly large amount of smoke and then finally quite sweet on the swallow. I can definitely see the characteristics of both types in this. It’s like the best qualities of one combined with the best qualities of the other. It’s hard for me to even come up with anything to write at this point.

Oh yes.

Mind = blown.

kisses tin

Marzipan

I have a funny rugbrød story! My husband misses it terribly, so I decided to make some for his birthday. I contacted one of his sisters, who is trained as a cook, and she sent her recipe. I started converting it to English and non metric, and found that the ingredients were just CRAZY – ten pounds of rye flour for example. So, I broke down and asked Karsten for help.

I had converted it correctly but it was a recipe that made many many loaves. We cut it down and I started making the bread.

It was still huge. But what I wasn’t used to is that it doesn’t really rise at all. The mass that you have is pretty much the mass that you bake. Most of our bread wishes until it’s double so I was pretty worried about the malty, slightly sour enormous mass of dough I had. It turned out fine and he loved it. Reading this it isn’t as funny as I remembered. Now the story where I tried to find hjortetaksalt and thought I was going to get arrested…..that was funny.

Marzipan

Wishes= rises. I can’t edit my comments?

Angrboda

Then you are intimately familiar with the way it smells just as it comes out. :) My mother would bake some for Christmas but during the rest of the year it’s just store-bought. :)

Marzipan

I miss leverpostej and Anthon Berg the most. :(

teataku

Happy birthday, indeed!

Angrboda

I know how you feel. We can’t get baked beans here for scratch. Heinz is the only proper brand, but it’s hard to find. We’ve tried a number of other ones that are available but they all range from meh to nearly-if-you-squint, so… :/

Angrboda

Thank you, teataku. :)

looseTman

Yes, Happy birthday to you! Excellent review!

Angrboda

Thank you (on both counts)

Marzipan

American/Danish birthday song. Happy fødselsdagen to you, hurra hurra hurra! I dag er Angrboda’s fødselsdag, tillykky med birthday to you! ♥ ♥ ♥

Marzipan

Darn it, tillykkE

Angrboda

Gosh, Danglish! O.o

caile

Happy birthday!! I’ve been looking forward to reading your review on this – I’m glad it skipped the queue for your special day!

Angrboda

Thank you. :) I was looking forward to writing about it. :p

I’ve had three (Western-style) steeps on these leaves so far and am wondering if a fourth is worth the bother. The third steep was a bit on the thin side.

caile

Maybe best not to do a fourth then; it could just be disappointing. Three steeps is great though! :)

caile

Although…for experimentation sake, it wouldn’t hurt to try the fourth steep just to see how it turns out. :)

yyz

Happy birthday! Lovely when a tea becomes an instant favourite!

MzPriss

Happy Birthday! This makes me want to bust out my sample of this. Maybe for breakfast tomorrow.

Joseph Wesley Black Tea

sorry we’re late to wish you a happy birthday, but we’re in China for this year’s harvest. Anyways, better late than never so: Happy Birthday! (and thank you for taking time to write such a nice review.) Cheers!

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