89
drank Nirvana by American Tea Room
4169 tasting notes

An Ode to Tea challenge – N

  From a looonnng ago teabox! Sipdown next time. I think I’ve had this blend from another tea shop before.  I can’t remember which.  A bit of searching and it’s Tealyra/Tealux’s ‘Sencha Berry Fig’. It looks like Dethlefsen & Balk sells it, but I don’t think I have had any of their teas before (directly under their name anyway). I do love the idea of the fig with the kiwi?  It doesn’t seem like it would work but this blend does.  However, this sample didn’t have any of those big luscious fruit pieces like the photo indicates should be here. Also rose and berries – none!  The blend looks like plain sencha.  Plenty flavor though.  But maybe that just proves some tea relies more on added flavoring than actual fruit flavor.   Funnily enough, first steep was mostly fig, second steep mostly kiwi, all on a buttery lovely sencha base.  I wouldn’t mind having this stocked up, especially if the big fruit pieces are actually present in more than just a sample (but this was an official sample from American Tea Room that hadn’t been opened yet, so it really should have been more than just sencha.)  It’s a decent  fruit tea and the flavor lasts for years anyway. The Tealux blend got a 94. This now will get 89.
Steep #1  // 1 1/3 teaspoons for full mug // 34 minutes after boiling  // 1 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2  //  33 minutes after boiling //  2 minute steep

Mastress Alita

Dethlefsen & Balk are a big wholesaler, they only sell to other teashops, not direct-to-consumer.

tea-sipper

Ah, well that’s why I haven’t had any of their teas under their own name then.

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Mastress Alita

Dethlefsen & Balk are a big wholesaler, they only sell to other teashops, not direct-to-consumer.

tea-sipper

Ah, well that’s why I haven’t had any of their teas under their own name then.

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Bio

Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.

Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandala
verdanttea.com

Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas

My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.

Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!

I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.

My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors

My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again

I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)

Happy sipping!

Location

USA

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