Happy Juneteenth! I’m glad it’s nationally recognized now. Bout time. I have had this one a while, tried it a couple times. But it also isn’t the ideal Jin Jun Mei for me. I want dark. I want murky. The scent of the dry leaves with only the faintest hints of gold, is very like a spicy BBQ sauce. Maybe a bit smoky until you notice the spice. But this isn’t really in the flavor. The flavor is mostly sweet, with the tailend of the second steep tasting like root beer, which I suppose could be a cousin to BBQ sauce if you really think about it. But again, it’s a lighter black tea (not quite the color of root beer)… and I really wish it was deep and dark. I’m also just noticing this one has “lapsang” in the name and I would say it is smoky in scent and not flavor. That’s fine – didn’t really want this particular tea to be smoky but other tea drinkers may be disappointed. I will find that perfect Jin Jun Mei ONE day (I hear the What-cha daily Jin Jun Mei would be a good one to try!) Also, I’m at least thankful that the flavor here is very different from the other Jin Jun Mei I ordered from Tealyra (that mainly tasted like tomato soup). I hesitate to write a note because I can hardly notice distinct flavors, but I also really don’t want to wait until the tea is OLD.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for full mug // 22 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep
This is You :-D
Profile
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
