171 Tasting Notes

50

We have been brewing this up, then icing it. It has a strong berry flavor which overpowers the green tea, buts its not a bad thing. It’s OK for a bagged version of a flavored green.

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70

It is guaranteed that this tea, brewed up and iced, is always in our fridge.

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69
drank earl grey tea by Trader Joe's
171 tasting notes

This is a one of the better Earl Grey teabags I’ve had. I occasionally use it to flavor a second or third steeping of my loose leaf green tea, and it compliments the green tea flavor very nicely. It’s good on its own, too.

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55
drank Green Tea by Trader Joe's
171 tasting notes

Can’t beat the price. This was my very first green tea. And I wish only to log it as such.

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65

Too bad this tea was discontinued. We still have a few bags in our cupboard. It is very tasty.

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55
drank Blueberry Merlot by Tea Forte
171 tasting notes

Based on two experiences: my wife’s and my own

Experience buying from Tea Forte: Good. Website is very colorful and easy to navigate. Given free samples after responding to Steepster invitation. Package came in reasonable amount of time. Other than sending my address, no e-mail or phone contact.

Age of leaf: Unknown. Steeped within a month or so of receiving.

Packaging: Creative: a grayish somewhat transparent plastic bag with five smaller “Single Steeps” packs attached to a colorful paper backing describing each tea. The tiny tea foil packs themselves are the most colorful and most professional-looking tea packages I have ever seen.

Dry Leaf: Strong, rich smell, definitely has a berry scent to it. Very colorful looking tea (blue, light and dark red bits).

Brewing guidelines: (package states 12 oz. I used closer to 16 oz.) Two steepings: 1st: boiling, 3mins. 2nd: boiling, 5 mins. (the next day). Small amount of Stevia added. Basket strainer inside ceramic 16 oz. cup.

Aroma: smelled like berries.

Color of liquor: 1st steeping: Beautiful, deep purple-red color, just the way I would imagine a glass of red wine would look! 2nd steeping: not quite as colorful.

Wet leaf: smelled somewhat like candied berries.

Flavor: 1st steeping: Strong berry taste. My wife really liked it, but I felt it was a little too tart, and had some off flavor, almost like it was stale. 2nd steeping: about the same as the first, but not as strong, and the tartness and staleness was muted.

Value: Free sample, but their price on their website is more than I would be willing to pay if I purchased it.

Overall: Overall, it is a fun tea to experience, but the flavor was not very well balanced for my tastes. I enjoyed drinking it once, and I would drink it if someone offered it to me, but I don’t think I would buy it.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
IllBeMother221B

Thank you for the reminder I still have to review two more of these!

SimpliciTEA

Your welcome.

btw, I like your name change, as I also like cats. : )

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80
drank Bi Lo Chun by Harney & Sons
171 tasting notes

Experience buying from Harney & Sons http://steepster.com/places/2779-harney-and-sons-online-millerton-new-york

Age of leaf: Lot #11196 (brewed about six weeks after receiving sample).

Dry Leaf: Sample size (roughly four generous teaspoons); a mixture of light and dark green, curly, and somewhat fuzzy, small leaves. There was a very thin sprinkling of ‘down’ on the spoon I used to measure it, and on the walls of the small glass jar I temporarily stored it in. Strong, roasted, vegetal, sweet smell.

Brewing guidelines: Glass Bodum pot with metal strainer/plunger. Four
8-ounce cups of water used. Stevia added to compliment flavor.
Steepings: 1st: 172, 2’
……………..2nd: 175, 2.5’
……………..3rd: 178, 3’
……………..4th: 182, 4’

Aroma: Mildly vegetal.

Color of liquor: Pale yellow.

Wet leaf: Dark green, fresh appearance; smells slightly roasted. Lots of nice-looking small buds and bud-sets. No fragments. A few dark shriveled pieces.

Flavor: Mild and pleasant (somewhat similar to the H&S Anji Baicha I had recently). Slightly roasted taste which comes out more when cooled. No astringency.

Value: Good for a sample ($2). Their price for two ounces ($20 USD) seems to more reasonable compared to at least one other vendor I know of who stocks it (Seven Cups).

Overall: My wife and I both thought that this was a pleasant tea enjoyed without any typical green tea astringency. Flavor held up through four steepings (flavor very mild on the 4th). What I will most likely remember most about this tea is the fine downy covering left behind on anything the dry tea came in contact with, a subtle testament to its authenticity (which I believe is due to its being harvested in early spring).

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35
drank Cherry Cosmo by Tea Forte
171 tasting notes

Based on two experiences: my wife’s and my own

Experience buying from Tea Forte: Good. Website is very colorful and easy to navigate. Given free samples after responding to Steepster invitation. Package came in reasonable amount of time. Other than sending my address, no e-mail or phone contact.

Age of leaf: Unknown. Steeped within weeks of receiving.

Packaging: Creative: a grayish somewhat transparent plastic bag with five smaller “Single Steeps” packs attached to a colorful paper backing describing each tea. The tiny tea foil packs themselves are the most colorful and most professional-looking tea packages I have ever seen.

Dry Leaf: Strong, fresh smell (a little like amaretto to me).

Brewing guidelines: (package states 12 oz. I used closer to 16 oz.) Two steepings: 1st: boiling, 3mins. 2nd: boiling, 5 mins. (about 20-30 minutes later). Small amount of Stevia added. Basket strainer inside ceramic 16 oz. cup.

Aroma: smelled a little like canned cherries.

Color of liquor: 1st: Beautiful, deep red color. 2nd: a little darker.

Wet leaf: smelled a little like cherries.

Flavor: 1st steeping: OK. A little too strong on the cherry flavor? 2nd: Not as tasty as 1st, has a kind of ‘off’ flavor to it, almost stale, and even a little — I’m sure how to describe it, but I believe the correct word here is — tart, since I am experiencing some dryness in my mouth.

Value: Free sample, but their price on their website is more than I would be willing to pay if I purchased it.

Overall: Awesome start, disappointing finish. I love everything about the tea but the taste: as to that we both felt it fell short. I didn’t feel a need to finish the first steeping, let alone the second (my wife didn’t even want to try it). Unfortunately, we would not buy this tea. :(

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
Ashley Bain

I felt the same about this tea, unfortunately. The only tea I liked out of the sampler was the Mojito Marmalade, which I would purchase.

On another note, I really enjoy your bio. I’ve started practicing yoga and tea drinking for a lot of the same reason. Helps me stay focused yet calms my anxious, anxiety prone mind.

SimpliciTEA

Thank you for your comment.

We still have the Merlot and the Ginger to try (we also liked the Marmalade best so far).

I’m glad you enjoyed my bio. It’s good to hear others are practicing yoga. I practice it at least three times a day, for about 1.5 hrs a day, and have been doing it daily for over six years. It has done wonders for me. It’s an integral part of my daily life, and happiness. I have a few book/video/DVD recommendations; if you are interested, let me know.

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78
drank Yunnan Gold by jing tea shop
171 tasting notes

Updated on 10-22-11 after doing a second brewing session with it

Experience buying from Jing Tea Shop: http://steepster.com/places/2780-jing-tea-shop-on-line

Age of leaf: harvested spring 2009; received and brewed summer (and fall) 2011

Dry Leaf: Appearance just as shown on website: beautiful light and dark brown leaves. Aromatic, typical of other Yunnan red teas: malty.

Brewing guidelines: brewed a full six cups in standard ceramic teapot using 2” mesh cup strainer; three steepings, 1st a little of the boil and 2 minutes steep time, 2nd at boiling, 3 minutes, 3rd at boiling 4 minutes (brewed the next day, after keeping in fridge). Used a little Stevia to bring out the flavor. My second go around with this tea yielded three good steepings, and a decent forth.

Aroma: a mild malty aroma.

Color of liquor: Coppery.

Wet leaf: This leaf is amazing. There are very few broken pieces (probably from transport and handling) and it’s composed almost entirely of buds, with very few leaves, and a few stems. They are brown in color, where some have a light brown cast to them. The buds look very healthy (not withered looking as I have seen in some tea leaves/buds).

Flavor: Great! Sweet, similar to other Chinese red teas I have had, with the characteristic Yunnan malty flavor.

Value: Considering the quality of the leaf, and the flavor therein, the value is incredible! $5.99/100grams (currently sold out).

Overall: This is my second go around with this Yunnan red tea, and I was as impressed as I was the first time I tried it. Since the first time I tried it I have had a few other moderately priced Chinese red teas, and this one easily stands up to them. I iced some of it and it tasted wonderful! I warmed up some of it the next day, and it was still yummy. This is a beautiful looking, very reasonably priced and flavorful Yunnan.

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec

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65

Experience buying from Harney & Son’s http://steepster.com/places/2779-harney-and-sons-on-line-millerton-new-york

Age of leaf: Lot # 11124; production date: 124 days into 2011 (roughly early May). I opened and steeped the tea within a few weeks of receiving it.

Dry leaf: Advertised as enough tea for 3-4 cups (I estimate about 8-10 grams). Nice looking green leaves mixed with downy white buds that remind me of Silver Needles; sweet and smoky smelling.

Steeping guidelines: 1st: 1.5 mins, 168°. 2nd: 2 mins. 172°. 3rd:2.5 mins. 175°. 4th: hotter and longer steep time. Added Stevia. Glass Bodum pot with metal infuser/plunger.

Aroma: smoky, roasted.

Color of liquor: Very light yellow-ish color.

Wet leaf: Mostly bud or bud sets (lots of plump looking buds), with very few leaves. A few stem pieces, and brown coloring on the edges of some. A healthy green color.

Flavor: Sweet, smoky, vegetal taste.

Value: $2 for the sample. Not bad for a sample as it is normally about $8 an ounce.

Overall: This is my first Huang Shan Mao Feng. I was not expecting the smoky flavor (as it is not mentioned in the description), but I liked how it seemed to compliment the typical vegetal green flavor. Later steepings did not hold much flavor. What stands out in my mind about this tea is the wet leaves: I have never seen such a high ratio of buds to leaves and stems as I have with this one (other than one ‘bud only’ tea). Very impressive. The taste, not so impressive. Not worth $8/ounce in my book. Still, an interesting tea.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 1 min, 30 sec

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Profile

Bio

(Updated 6-3-2014)

After about three years I changed my avatar from the picture of a green teacup with steam rising (one I created using Paint) to this dragon gaiwan. This is one of my favorite gaiwans, although I haven’t brewed any tea in it as of yet.

You can call me, Joe.

What, How and Why I steep:

I typically expect, and shoot for, at least three flavorful steepings out of (just about) any tea I brew up.

I generally start at the times and temps below ( = minute(s), " = second(s) ), then add 5F and 30" for each successive steeping:
Chinese Green - 175F, 1’ ;
Japanese Green - 160F, 1’add 15F, then decrease by 15";
White - 160F, 2’;
Oolong - This varies;
Indian Black/Chinese Red and Herbals - a little off the boil, 2’; why do I start with such low temps & short steep times? So as to ‘spread out’ the flavor over multiple steepings. I have found this to work with every tea I have tried so far. Also, I am not looking for intense flavor in that first cup (i.e. Western style), I would prefer to taste it—and savor—it over many steepings.
Pu-erh - Beginning in 2014, I finally chose to dive into pu-erh! Standard parameters when I brew ripened pu-erh in my 150 ml gaiwan (I also own an 11 oz Yixing):
First I do a 15" rinse with near boiling water. Then for each successive steeping I add Stevia.
……….1st: Near boiling, 0.5’
……….2nd: Boiling , 1’
……….3rd: Boiling , 1.5’
etc. Until there is no flavor, or I ran out of time and energy.

I hope to ‘streamline’ my reviews going forward, so, hopefully, they are a little less technical and dry (and perhaps even stilted), and a little more organic and experiential (and hopefully, flowing); this somewhat new approach to reviews is a kind of metaphor for where my life is headed right now, and is one reason why I write reviews: as a kind of time-capsule of where I was in my life at that time.

Tea Rating scale:

1 – 29: There is no reason to even think about drinking this stuff again.
30-49: I may drink it if someone else brewed it up, but I would not bother brewing it up myself let alone bother buying any.
50 – 59: I like something about it, and I may brew it up if I already have some, but I would not buy any more of it.
60 – 69: I like a few things about it, and I may buy it if the price is right.
70 – 79: This is a tea I enjoy and would drink fairly regularly as long as it is reasonably priced.
80 – 89: A tea I will drink as often as I can, and will likely try to buy some when I run out (as long as it’s affordable).
90 – 99: This has everything I look for in the best of teas: beauty in appearance, a delightful aroma, and most importantly, depth and yummy-ness in its flavor.
100: Perfect.

My primary interest is in artisan loose-leaf Chinese green, red and ripe pu-erh tea, although I enjoy a white and an oolong tea every now and then as well. Here and there I brew a few of the other true teas and an occasional herbal.

Since I choose to live on a very limited income (‘Voluntary Simplicity’), I have to be very conscience about how much I pay for tea. In reading their Tea Enthusiast’s books, Mary Lou and Robert J. Heiss sold me on the wonders of artisan teas. Thankfully I have found that there is affordable, artisan tea out there; it’s just like anything else that has true value: it takes hard work, dedication and at least a little persistence to find it.

I came to tea out of a desire to find something to help calm and focus my mind as naturally as possible. My mind is very active, so to speak, and at times I find it very difficult to focus and keep myself centered. For years now I have been practicing Yoga daily along with others things to help me to stay relaxed and present, but I found I wanted a little something extra to help me start the day; the theanine in green tea seems to help me in this.

I have been enjoying loose-leaf tea since November of 2010.

I enjoy connecting with others about tea.

I drink Stevia with just about all of my tea (no sugar or artificial sweeteners).

I drink a pot of green tea every day in the AM (usually steeped three times over the course of the day), sharing it with my wife.

Each tea in my cupboard is carefully and colorfully labeled in a tin or in a jar that used to hold something else (I love to reuse things!) .

I have three teapots: a glass Bodum – I don’t use the metal infuser/press anymore (greens), a 16 oz glass Victorian (to brew greens and whites, and to use as a pot to decant other teas into), and an 11 oz Yixing (ripe Pu-erh only). (New in 2014) I also one a number of gaiwans ranging in volume from from 125 ml to 250ml.

I tend to be direct, straightforward and honest when I post anything to the discussion boards. I take the approach that everything I say is stated with the implied disclaimer: In My Humble Opinion (i.e. IMHO). I may occasionally emphasize this point, where appropriate. I view your comments in the same way. You are in no way obligated to read what I have posted. And I am in no way similarly obligated to you.

Sitting with my cup of tea I greet the day in anticipation of new discoveries along the way.

Location

Midwest, USA

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