Featured & New Tasting Notes
Thanks so much to Marzipan for a sample of this tea!
I actually have one of the Butiki Educational Traveling Tea boxes right now as well, but today is my last day of work for the week, so I’m planning to spend some time with the box when I’m home and can do a proper comparison tasting :D
Anyway, this is a wonderful, assertive, exciting breakfast tea! I would consider purchasing some in the future, if not for me then for my friend who absolutely loves Irish Breakfast teas! YUM!
Preparation
I met Marzipan in real life today, and she gave me some of her special 52 teas blend! THANKS! :D
I’ve never had one of Franks white tea blends, this is exciting! I am drinking this unsweetened right now but I think I’ll probably add a little sugar to my next cup to up the jammy qualities. It has a nice raspberry flavor! The white tea is somewhat bland, but I think some sugar would really make this one pop. I’ll give it a rating next time when I taste it that way, but so far I do like this one.
Thanks again Marzipan!
I know! I was so excited! My first Steepster meetup! We figured out that we live in neighboring cities :) Wish I could meet more of you guys!
I’ve met three Steepster people before, although two were brief. Kittenna, Janelle, and Lala (I had tea with Lala). It was very cool! It’s especially neat to me since I don’t live in Major city, so I was very surprised to find people in my area :) @Keychange, if you ever get the chance I totally recommend doing it!
Back in December, Roswell Strange sent a package to my Thornhill address so that my sister could get it and bring it to me in Florida. That didn’t pan out and yesterday, as I was unpacking and organizing my room, I found the package hidden on my dresser. So, as per the suggestion if multiple steepsterites, I set this up to cold brew. I have no idea how long it steeped for but I believe it was about 11/12 hours.
This is definitely better as a cold brew than hot but still isn’t what I hoped it would be. The base is strong with a bit of vanilla sweetness. At the end of the sip, the carrot cake flavors come through, albeit subtly, and just sit on the tongue. Good, but not something I am heartbroken I won’t be able to get again. Nonetheless, thank you Roswell Strange for the chance to try this again!
So your giant box of tea showed up today! I’m curious what’s in the unmarked Nina’s Tin? In smells like an EG to me…
It is EG. I don’t care if you sell it or trash it or swap it or drink it, I just thought the tin was cute and wanted to share. Btw you should feel honored because green is my fav color and I parted with it just for you :P.
No gongfu session this morning, as I have things to do. So I’m changing it up a bit, starting with a cup of this assam. I’m drinking a 5 minute resteep of the leaves right now, & although it doesn’t carry the full richness of the original cup, it’s still smooth & better than anything I would get in a teabag. Not bitter in the least, nor astringent, just memories of malt, dark chocolate, & a lingering tanginess like plums.
Morning cup. First off I just noticed this is Bolder Breakfast not Boulder Breakfast like I spelled it on my blog a while back. Had to fix it. Second, I didn’t feel like searching to post, so I typed bolder breakfast into the search. There seems to be at least 3 different listings for the same tea. Such is Steepster in the morning. My blurry head tastes chocolate, something mildly spicy, and pu’er. That’s all I got until I wake up. I recall it being awesome from last time.
I put some of this in a small tin and I wrote up the label as Boulder Breakfast. The Tea Spot does have a tea called Boulder Blues, but this one is just Bolder.
Oh goodness! I adore this tea. The dry leaves look like soft little pillows. Adorable. The infused tea is delicious. The taste is very slightly like steamed veggies. There is also a salty buttery note and a fruity finish. I feel like I am explaining this tea so poorly because the description sounds weird, but the taste is amazing. I’ve never tasted anything like it before, but I am loving it. It also resteeps incredibly well. With the second steep there was more fruit. With the third and fourth steeps there was a nice mix of salted butter and fruit. Good stuff!
Thank you Angel and Teavivre for the chance to sample this tea. Between this tea and the Dragonwell you have made a green tea lover out of me!
Preparation
I’m so glad this tea exists! I have such a horrid allergy/sinus headache. This tea is absolutely perfect for when I need something strong yet flavorful. Loving the burned chocolate, bergamot, and bread notes right now. Now if only this headache would go away. I’m trying to drown it out in caffeine and Excedrin.
In other news, we have been pretty darn busy. In case you missed it we added the following new teas:
Kenya Obsidian-wonderful Kenyan black tea
Baked Ali Shan-Lightly oxidized and lightly roasted
Fu Shou Shan-Lightly oxidized, very high elevation, very flavorful
Taiwanese Bi Luo Chun-very fresh, flavorful
Hong Yun Black-tastes like PTA & Mi Xian Black crossed paths
Lattakajoon Assam-Chocolatey Assam
Organic Sourenee Black Blossom-Like a chocolatey cross between Darjeeling & Assam
1994 Aged Bai Hao-Like a honey drizzled on top of baker’s chocolate. Another lovely leafhopper bitten tea
Blackberry Lime Guayusa-Steph’s idea for our Custom Blend Contest
1989 Suncha Blend-Mostly shou but some sheng. Very flavorful and smooth
Still to go-
Kenyan Silver Needle-Incredibly buttery, creamy, flavorful!
2009 Banchang-heavy Apricoty notes. This puerh has quite a story behind it. Rare.
Blueberry Purple-back soon!
Added back-
Birthday Cake
Crimson Horrizon
Whew! We certainly have been busy in the last 3 week!!!!!
Also, if anyone is interested we are only asking for shipping charges for these lovely wooden display cases: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1470625936506048&set=a.1383480678553908.1073741827.100006759666084&type=1&theater
I’m so sorry, Excedrin doesn’t help me w/headaches:(. I’m on Zurtec for abt 2 months. If I skip for any reason it’s a nightmare, I feel suffocated. So excited about your new teas. Feel better;)
I’m all over that Banchang as soon as you add it! Sounds way up my alley! And I will have to order more blackberry lime, too :D
boychik-Thanks! :) Excedrin Migrane is the only thing that helps but only sometimes. I’ve been going to an allergist since I was 8. Have had to take some kind of allergy pill every day. I’m usually ok except when the seasons change. Then all hell breaks loose.
Steph-Thanks! :) The Banchang is delicious. There is a bit of a story behind it but I just don’t have enough room in the description. I might do a separate blog post for it. In the region of that jungle that it comes from, over 78,555 tea trees are more than 100 years old, and 9,412 are over 800 years old. It is a super interesting tea and pretty rare!
I’m so sorry about the allergies!!! I was super close to an allergy induced asthma attack today in the office. Gods, Spring sucks. Have you tried taking Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen at the same time? That sometimes helps me with my migraines and sinus headaches. Aside from that, I have a prescription medicine that immediately helps! I can PM you the name. Please feel better!
Side note: That Bai Hao…. ::drools::
If it’s allergies why aren’t you taking a antihistimine? like reactine or benadryl? as for teas that help I would say anything with licorice root, or dandelion root. They open up the airways and make it easier to breathe. Mint works really well on headaches if you rub the leaves on your temples the oil helps. Or just drink a mint tea. Hope your allergies leave you alone soon!
Thanks, Tea Pet! Spring is brutal. I’ll have to try that trick. For now, I’m trying to avoid prescription meds. My doctor prescribed some but the side effects are making me hold off on trying them.
Helena-I’m just taking Allegra daily. I might give licorice root a shot. Thamks for the suggestions!
I hate licorice and all licorice flavored things, but I can do licorice root as part of herbal blends! Just adds a sublte sweetness, I find.
First off, I invited http://steepster.com/lyssakitteh to Steepster today, and she could use some friends if you can follow her!
Second, holy fritos I can’t believe how many samples Just Organic sent me. I had offered to sample/review two of their teas, and they sent TWELVE samples. What a nice surprise!
You know I like my Earl Greys, so this was the first one I pulled out of the pile. They included enough or a good sized cup (maybe a teaspoon and a half, which is perfect). I like it a lot. It’s heavy on bergamot, but that’s…my cuppa tea (had to get it in here somewhere). As another reviewer said, there’s nothing fancy in here like mallow flowers, just black tea and oil of bergamot. It’s really working for me on this nasty, rainy afternoon.
Really impressed with Just Organic so far!
Preparation
ooo! I am so looking forward to trying their samples. This makes me excited for what might be in my mailbox when I arrive home from work today!
They were from this post, looks like it’s closed though :( http://steepster.com/discuss/7372-free-spring-samples-closed-thanks-for-the-reviews-just-organic-tea
Sorry for my lack of posts over the weekend. As some of you may have read I attended my cousins wedding on Saturday and it was an all day event, the ceremony was beautiful and it was nice having the family together. Unfortunately as occurs at most weddings there were a few drunken incidents…embarrassingly my husband came off the worst. He ran face first into a tree which resulted with a bad black eye, cut up nose and fat lip. Worst of all I didn’t even get to see it :/ Would have been a sight!
Long story short my weekend was recovery for both of us, I do love my red wine. This Darjeeling Earl Grey tea is the only thing I can stomach right now and we’ve had copious amounts over the last few days. A splash of milk and sprinkle of sugar really brings out the bergamot in this blend and smooths it nicely into a silky liquid easily gulp-able.
Oh well, at least my cousin and family will have some amusing stories from the wedding…albeit this one at the expense of my very silly husband.
Preparation
The after party was outside in a large marquee and all around were fields and beautiful gardens. I told my husband to get some fresh air while I get him some water and he ran off saying he’s fine, well my mum and uncle followed him to bring him back and it’s then that he ran into the tree. I asked him once he sobered up the next day why he ran and he said it was to prove that he was sober enough to keep drinking. Evidently not the case. At least it’s a wedding we will never forget.
Cold steeped this in milk overnight a la Courtney!
I do think I prefer it this way to just shaking it with cold milk and drinking it immediately. Seemed more evenly mixed. Plus it was less work first thing in the morning, which is always good.
Good breakfast!
i just finished the last of this, finally. i am sad to see this go =0(
lovely as a latte, lovely clear… entirely unique, bright and fresh….. hmmm i have 3 14 week classes that have to be accomplished in 7 weeks apiece. (the rationalization begins…..)
yeah- it’s about that time. thinking of you, btw- ordered in some matcha, chucking it into smoothies every day. dropped 12 pounds! =0)
always on the search for more ginger teas – especially non caffinated ones, i picked this up while at bayswater. I was originally going to get the ginger pineapple, but when i smelled this one, i knew it was the way to go. This is like lime gelato from david’s tea but less sugar and more spicy kick! Again, i could handle more ginger but on the whole, this is a really tasty one. it’s got just enough ginger to satisfy me and accompanies the lime really nicely. So glad i opted for this one over the pineapple since i think that wouldn’t have been as nice.
I’m adding teas to my shopping list, even though I am not allowed to go tea shopping for many many months at this point. :)
I went a little crazy, but those are the only two shops i’m going to. 12 new teas and $80 down. Eep. OMGsrsly, I noticed Pekoe Tea en route to Bayswater – have you been?
MissB has gone to Pekoe tea – she sent me a few. Of the ones i’ve tried, i’d be more inclined to do bayswater. Only 12 teas…sheesh…try harder! :)
omg – happy to send you some as well to try. I still have the bolder breakfast set aside for you too
Courtney, Pekoe carries Steeps teas, and some from other suppliers. They measure into tins. Some are good, some are terrible, and the service really depends on the staff as it is more of a cafe.
Sil… :P
I’m too overwhelmed with life right now to deal with more teas. :) I haven’t had any today again… I made more coffee this morning.
OMG…next time you’re at steam tell him your vacationing friends were sad they got no samples and had to get 100g….
Gah, I know 100g was so much! For Maple Seduction it’s fine, but I didn’t really want 100 of the other two haha. Good to know about Pekoe too.
Try harder :P I’m not up in the hundreds of teas like you Sil, and I need to keep it that way haha!
Good job! Hehe, I have zero cupboard space as it is, and my teas have now taken up another drawer. I think the issue is, all the teas in my Steepster cupboard are actually decent amount.
Bear with me guys, this will be a long tasting note!
I was lucky enough to be one of the first to try this fine new puerh offering from Butiki. Not sure I’ve ever had a blend of sheng/shu before! Also this tea is from when I was 8 years old. WOW!
I took time today to steep it gongfu style, and took notes on each steeping! Puerhs can be so subjective, really, so take my notes with a grain of salt. 1 tablespoon of tea, 4oz gaiwan.
Steep 1- Only about 15 second steep. I didn’t rinse it, this puerh is so old and precious I didn’t want to waste a drop! The wet leaves immediately smelled a tiny bit smokey, with faint damp earth, pine and cedar notes. I can tell there is some sheng in here.
Steep 2- 20 seconds. The smoke is already almost completely gone. It is richer, and almost creamy now. The shu elements are starting to emerge and take over.
Steep 3- 20 seconds. The leaves are really “opening up” now. There is a distinct pleasant woody flavor. Maybe like if tea could be made from a freshly carved branch of oak? The taste is round, and very open. Mild and gentle sweetness.
Steep 3- 1 min. This very much makes me think about the forest, but there is zero dirt or moss. It is like the essence of a tree. I’m drinking a tree! :D
Steep 4- I think the leaves are getting tired, but there is a wonderful energy about this tea and I don’t want it to quit. I think after this steep I’ll leave them in some boiling water for several minutes and walk away and see if anything happens, haha…
Anyway, to sum up- This is wonderfully woody! Not a single off flavor or dirty vibe. Very sweet and good! I’d consider purchasing more for special occasions.
Preparation
I don’t think I tried anything older than 2005. Wow, I’m so curious. I have to try it, TeaTiff send it to me in that surprise package fr Butiki. I just don’t have that special time to fully appreciate this rare tea.
Stephanie-Real interesting to see your notes on this! I can definitely see the “essence of tree” notes! I was contemplating adding a smoke note to the description but it ultimately left it out since it was hardly noticeable on the first steep and with some rinses I wasn’t even getting a smoke note and I didn’t want to turn people away from trying this puerh. Glad you enjoyed it! :)
boychik-How long are you planning on steeping it? If you want to do longer steeps 30 seconds, 2-3 grams should be sufficient.
I never measure anything when I gongfu brew. Mostly just eyeball the amount of room the tea is taking up in my gaiwan.
Short steeps. I think I’m bad when measure my tea. Since I don’t have a lot and I want it to be perfect that’s why I’m asking. My thinking in general that there is no bad tea, I just didn’t make it the right way…
I picked up an oz of this in my Butiki orer, & it’s tasty! I’m never had a Macaron, but this tastes like a light pastry with lemon & vanilla creaminess. Works for me!
i justcleaned up my cupboard and found homes for all the recently purchased teas….. i REALLY shouldn’t buy anymore until i get a few more down…i have no more room since i’m trying to stay out of the kitchen lol
Dexter3657 was so kind to have sent me some wonderful surprise samples of teas that I like as well as teas that were on my wishlist. Thanks so much!
This Fujian black is AMAZING!. The smell of the dry leaf is very thick and malty, almost as if there was a bread-y quality to it. The brewed tea smells very similar to the dry tea but with the addition of scents of wild honey. The brewed tea tastes like any Fujian black should. It is thick, with a thick malt. Some notes of wild honey. It is bold but I am getting no astringency. It is very smooth. I think Fujian blacks are my favorite. This one does not disappoint.
As a sidenote for anyone that was following my ridiculous tasting notes/stories yesterday, my company came down, got ridiculous drunk and threw up all over the bathroom, and spilled Burger King poutine all over my couch. Is now sleeping so I have to be dreadfully quiet because I am scared to wake “the hangover”. Yesterday I angrily proclaimed that I was not going to be the one that was cleaning the bathroom, and all I got was giggles in return. So much for my recluse weekend. Next time, turn off phone, close windows and blinds, lock doors, don’t respond to any attempts of contact, and hope no one calls the police because they are scared something happened to me.
Preparation
Sadly it is a member of my family, but that being said I do agree Terri. More like with family like that, who needs enemies? :P
Yikes, sounds like a miserable night. Just show them the mess in the bathroom and reinforce that you are not cleaning it haha, hopefully they help out a bit!
I think this tea was, surprisingly, the best one of the day…
I had it in the timolino with some milk, and I think part of what made it so good was the fact I underleafed and understeeped (plus the milk). It was light and creamy with a still apparent black base and a light “tang” in the aftertaste that must have been the cheesecake flavour finally coming out!
It was nice!
Work was good today; The Witch Carel, my manager, went home early and the night progressed very smoothly. We even finished closing paperwork/coin counts 15 minutes early! Tomorrow will hopefully be good too; Carel isn’t working but I’m doing a nine and a half hour shift (open to close), and our District Manager might be coming in for an evaluation of the store.
Cross your fingers for me!
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.
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.
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…
http://whoselineonline.org/nav/season-10/ Go crazy :)
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.
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)
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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
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
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.
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!
I’m glad you like it, I love this one. Every day when I make myself try something else, I am guiltily looking at MIB because it knows (and I know) that I want it instead.