New Tasting Notes

Finished off a 15g bag over the last few mornings. It’s lovely and bright, and has been a really nice tea to wake up with. It’s very forgiving for the first 5 steeps or so, but starts to get bitter quickly after that.

Spring 2023: Keemun black tea is a touchstone for me, as it is the first style of tea that I really fell in love with. Over the years I have tried various grades, and I really haven’t found any Keemuns that I don’t like. I’m always looking forward to a cup of this old standby.

In this offering from Yunnan Sourcing, I find that rose is the most prominent note, with some oakiness to back it up, and some hints of dark chocolate. Not super complex, but rather the tea seems more refined, clear, and clean – probably reflective of its higher grade. There is also an oily texture to the tea, which coats the mouth and lingers.

Really pleasant! Maybe I’ll try a 4min steep tomorrow, as this seems a bit.. weak? I played it safe today because last time I tried it for 3 and it tasted entirely too bitter, almost like an English Breakfast; then again, I think that last time I poured boiling water directly into the leaves, instead of using 90ºC :)
(I’d try 95, as that seems to be the best temperature for most black teas, however, my kettle only works with 10º increments, meaning I’ have to guess what temperature the water is at, and I’d rather not burn the leaves)

This is much closer to what I was expecting it to be, as it has the citrus and softer black tea base

Tangy redberry shou. Lingonberry jam on walnut bread. Raspberry dark chocolate ganache. Cranberry sauce with chocolate-chip pancakes. Surprisingly light, clean, and tangy, with an aftertaste like faint cranberry juice. Somehow Christmassy. I bet this would age beautifully… I should get a cake…

A thoughtful birthday treat from a friend, and a welcome one—it’s unseasonably warm today and a little stuffy in the house, so chilled tea is the order of the day. (Way too early in the year to kick on the AC. We’ll rough it.)

Normally I avoid bottled teas because of the nasty citric acid that hits you first. This one uses ascorbic acid instead, which doesn’t curl my tongue quite so much. Along with preserving the drink, it bombs you with some nice healthy Vitamin C. A healthy shot of anything is appropriate when one … is no longer 21. As to the flavor, it’s a solid workhorse green base that reminded me a little of barley tea—somewhat toasty instead of vegetal.

Gotta text the friend and find out where she got it locally…this is worth a repeat.

Taking advantage of the weekend to sip on a tea brought back from our trip to Taiwan. This one is so enjoyable – gorgeous sweet honey notes on a malty black base, with no tannic quality or astringency at all. Just sweet and smooth.

Sipdown! I’m surprised I don’t already have a note for this one! I finished off the last of it yesterday, getting two solid steeps out of it. The lemon and vanilla are definitely more prominent than the hint of rose. Altogether, it’s an airy, cakey effect that I really enjoyed. This is a blend I’d happily have again.

I picked this up one after seeing it in an email from MS. I was immediately intrigued because I miss the ocean daily and love all things ocean-related. There is a definite marine-esque flavour at the forefront here — not fishy, but like seawater. The taste transforms into a light milkiness (like skim milk) towards the end. The tea is very light and steeps up a beautiful pale colour. Really fascinating!

REGENERATIVE ORGANIC AWAKE ENGLISH BREAKFAST is a reformulation of this blend. Guess Tazo rolled it out in 2022, but I only noticed because of the new packaging. I’m not sure how different it is from the original blend, I definitely have had this before the changed it as Tazo is common in many of the restaurants near me.
I’ve been drinking this for the past month and now matter how I steep it, it comes out too bitter so I generally do add some milk and sweetener to adjust. The malt is strong with this. I know it’s pretty caffeinated but I’ve never noticed my body reacting to caffeine. I’m going to try to pay attention this morning. But I have a feeling the sunshine might get me moving more than the tea.

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – April 2024 Tea #4 – A pantry staple  

This must be the coconut tea with the most longevity!  Amazing flavor and I THINK this is seven years old?  So this is definitely a coconut staple for me. As such a simple blend, the coconut really needs to be the star.  Take note of this blend, green rooibos or coconut fans.  Luckily a few more cups left and I think they will taste just fine.  Will be restocking!

While this rich peaches-and-cream blend is tasty hot, I’ve been waiting for warm weather in order to try it iced. Stellar. My only regret is that I used it for a lawn mowing tea, which means I was getting mouthfuls of dust and leaf mulch as well.

I usually shy away from dessert-flavoured puerh blends. I know there are some great blends out there, but the first puerh I ever tasted was a odd fishy dessert concoction that has made me hesitant ever since. Pistachio cream flavoured things trumps my prejudice though; this particular blend turned out to be a great way to combat the hard southern California water too.

My mom, who won’t go near puerh, was lulled into drinking this with a lot of milk. There is a bit of puerh earthy funk that I don’t love, but mostly is tastes like a pistachio-creme filled chocolate thing – so, easy to enjoy and sipdown with the family.

The weather was so favorable this morning that I had no choice but to agree with its prediction for the tone of the day, which calls for a very special tea indeed and can only mean one of a few from the selection in my cupboard. I have had this tea for two or three years and have quite simply been too excited about the prospect of drinking it to dare crack it open, but sitting down to an episode of ‘Murder, She Wrote’ after a leisurely drive through sunny and verdant scenery, I could hear this tea crying out in indignation demanding to be tasted.

First impression unsealing the bag: delight. The scent wafting to greet me is nothing short of a summer day spent over a pitcher of sugary-sweet grape Kool-Aid, but the complexity of the flavors really blossom in the cup, where the artificial grape candy flavor assumes a muscatel character and the rich depth of warm jelly that takes me back to a delectable Polish blueberry jagodzianka. Even a pervasive effervescence seems to emulate the crackle of a delicate pastry glaze, but it pulls me in a few different directions: on one hand, it’s giving the crispy candy shell of grape Nerds candy and the scintillating spark of sourness that follows it, but on the other hand, the intermingled strawberry notes point me toward a bubbly rosé. A little astringency cuts the sweetness to perfection. I have no choice but to be obsessed.

Harvested November, 2022 (not sure if the vendor changed source for the October 2023 harvest?).

3-stage filtered L.A. water just off the boil into my white/brown “turned” Jingdezhen gaiwan, then into a Pyrex measuring cup, then a small porcelain cup.

Dry leaf is sweet and distinctly tropical with papaya/guava notes with some hints of chestnut and hay.

Saffron to xanthous gradient. Some tropical notes remain in the liquor’s aroma, though joined with river stones, wheat, and floral scents. Potent and complex over multiple infusions.

More prominent baked flavor balances the fruit and floral notes on the palate, though there is never a hint of char in the roast. Linear, lengthy finish. Rounded, smooth and slightly nutty.

Very good red oolong, strongly aromatic but with delicate flavor.

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – April 2024 Tea #3 – A tea that reminds you of a garden  

WOW, no dashboard stall for this weekend?  It has been a while since a weekend has been free of that!  This was buried in the ‘soon’ pile of teas, for around Easter, then thought it was perfect for this prompt.  Too on the nose?  Why not.  What ISN’T “a rabbit’s garden”? They eat everything, bark too. The flowers don’t have a chance. These poor old peas and corn kernels here.  Still mostly a flavor of peach.   And old green tea….  next time, a sipdown.

TTB tea! Actually, this is quite hearty and tasty. With sugar and milk, it’s not bad at all. A nice plain black tea!

The name on this one is very apt… all gentle spices and warm, rich maple. This is the last maple-flavored tea in my current stash, so I’m sad to see it go, but it is delicious. It is the most prominent flavor note, with the spices playing a softer role. Of the spices, the cinnamon is the most dominant and paired with the maple really gives indulgent breakfast feels. Using up the very bottom of the package, the nutmeg is really popping, too. Package recommends 3.5g, but I prefer 5g. Cozy indeed!

A note on the overall mini-tuocha variety pack experience!  At this point, all of these tuochas in this Mandala sampler are probably ten years old now and they are aging WELL!   I think I have tried them all.  Most of them are VERY delicious.  The lowest rated is 83 and another is the rice flavored — I don’t think that type ages well.  Most of the others are in the 93-95 range.   I think I fully trust in Mandala’s options of mini tuochas and that whomever is curating them shares the same taste in shou that I do.  We are on the same shou wavelength!  The fun thing is, if I ordered the Mandala sampler today, it would be mostly different tuochas!  But I know they would be great.
What I found in the sampler:
Temple Stairs 2014 mini tuocha – 95
Drawing of Sunflower wrapper – 94
Drawing of Brown circle with clouds wrapper – 93
2005 Langhe ripe – 93
Gold ingot mini ripe puerh – 87
Lao cang ripe mini – 83
Sticky rice – 74
So I will set the rating for this entire sampler at 93! Very thrilled I was able to try this. VERY happy with most of these tuochas!

So this might be the last tuocha from the OLD Mandala sampler that I need to write a note for!  The ones I can identify anyway.  I doubled up on this tuocha, two for one mug, as the last time I had one in a mug it was too light for me and a little one note, bland flavored.  Two is PERFECT.  A really great level of richness, like coffee.  No negative qualities. The first steep WAS a little bland and light, but probably because the tuochas were crammed in the infuser side by side on that first steep.  But the second, third, and fourth steep were amazing!  So delicious.  It seems I lost a note of “berries” though in only having one tuocha, reading my original note for this.  SO maybe I should keep using one tuocha to notice the berry note.   But I will miss that depth of flavor! The rating for two tuochas would be higher than the 83 I originally gave this, but I think it is only fair to give a rating for one tuocha.  I have really been enjoying shou all winter, now into Spring.  
Steep #1  // 2 tuochas for full mug // rinse // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 //  10 minutes after boiling // 3 min
Steep #3 // just boiled // 4 min
Steep #4 // just boiled // 12 min

Sipdown

This is actually a sharedown. I had this one apparently and didn’t make a note. I think it must have been a latte.

Today we had a pallet of sod delivered and our next door neighbor came over to help us get it in place! He has been trying to find a green tea he likes but has been unsuccessful so far. It was really hot and hard work, so I went inside and made him a mason jar full of this, just 3/4 teaspoon or so shaken with ice in a jar of filtered water. He loved it! I sent him home with the jar, instructions, and the rest of the tin. He was promised a refill as well, because I have lots more matcha and I am so grateful for the help!

Sipdown and Backlog

Sipdown & Backlog

I was working while sipping this down, so the notes will be brief. “A light black tea base with a sweet lingering allspice aroma/flavors.”

From the W2T club (not sure which – Feb or Jan)

There are not a lot of notes regarding this one. I wanted to believe that it was going to amaze me, but it fell short. There’s not a lot of flavor and a slight leathery note in the back of the throat (aftertaste). Otherwise, it’s nothing too special.

Sipdown (2588)!

I’m worried this might not actually be a sipdown because, at one point, I did have two bags of this and I can’t remember finishing off one of them before now. I also didn’t see a second bag when I went to look for it though, so maybe I did drink it all??

Anyway I really enjoyed this final cup. I made it at work, and I guess I’m pretty desensitized to the intensity of most Lapsang/smoked teas because I had a few coworkers who commented on how smokey smelling the area around my desk was. However, I love it. Reaallllyyyy intense and aromatic with almost a peaty whisky vibe, and then the finish rounds out with cool, crisp peppermint notes. I would miss this tea more, but it’s also definitely something I can recreate with other teas in my stash.