1384 Tasting Notes
Day 6 of the Tea Thoughts summer countdown box. I enjoyed the other Amba tea earlier in the box, so it was nice to see another. This one is so pretty! It reminds me of the Star Trek Crystalline Entity for some reason, in a good way. I followed the recommendation and cold brewed at room temperature in a martini glass for… maybe three hours or so?
Unsurprisingly, it’s beautiful floating in the glass, with a pale gold-colored brew. 10/10 for aesthetics. Flavor is good too! Delicate notes of honey, peaches, and something floral – orchid maybe, or jasmine, or calla lily? Something in that general area. This would be a great option for a special event where you’re trying to do something a little fancy or elevated as an alcohol alternative.
Day 5 of the Tea Thoughts summer countdown. I had a rough migraine this morning, so I was excited to see a mint tea (and from a new-to-me company, too!). Alas, that excitement was premature.
Since this is the first time I’ve had a tea from this particular company with their exact proprietary technique of binding tea into discs, I’m not going to give it a recommendation or rating. (Though I’m also not totally clear on how or why binding the disc with cellulose is meaningfully distinct from a traditional compressed tea, except that you’re now making cellulose part of the tea.) I did not like this tea, but I’m allowing for the possibility of user error somehow. My biggest objection is just that it tastes like I’m drinking peppermint oil (presumably that’s the “natural peppermint flavoring” in the ingredients). Perhaps that wouldn’t be as noticeable if I had done a short steep, but in this cup it’s extremely noticeable and unpleasant. The leaves themselves look a little odd in the steeper once they’ve unfurled. The best description I can find is that they look mushy somehow. I thought it might be related to the probiotics, but DavidsTea’s probiotic blend doesn’t look mushy in the steeper. My best guess is that its from the cellulose binding. Would not drink this tea again, but would be open to trying others from this company to see if I like those better.
Day 4 of the Tea Thoughts summer countdown. I think at this point I’d be surprised if there wasn’t a selection from Octavia in a Tea Thoughts box. Genuinely not a complaint, I often enjoy them! Just something I noticed.
The tea itself very much hit the spot yesterday. The weather was very reminiscent of Taiwan’s so I was feeling wistful when I opened this. I didn’t really get “floral” from it so much as “light and creamy.” In a taste test, I would have guessed milk oolong. I made this gong fu style, with some steeps being a “correct” length and others being way too long (like 20 minutes on the last steep). It never got bitter or tannic or otherwise bad-tasting, which is nice. Gotta love a tea that’s easy to brew and hard to mess up.
Day 3 of the Tea Thoughts summer countdown box. I wasn’t particularly enamored of the last tea rod in a TT countdown box, so I went into this with low expectations. But actually it was quite enjoyable! Visually, it’s just fun because the leaves floof out and are entertaining to bob up and down in the water. Taste-wise, this might be one of my favorite earl greys. I’m not a huge fan of the genre because I don’t particularly like bergamot. But here the bergamot is present without being too strong or overwhelming. The base tea is hearty without being particularly tannic. A touch of honey complements the flavors here. Overall, this is a pretty smooth and pleasant drink that I got two steeps out of.
Happy Father’s Day to all who celebrate, and support to those for whom today is rough.
The Tea Thoughts summer countdown box started yesterday. Technically, I still have to make a note for day 7 of the spring countdown box, but I didn’t want to fall behind on the new box! Day 1 was a cute notepad and stickers. Perfect timing, since I was just thinking on Friday that I need to find a notepad this size (about the size of a postcard, great for lists).
This bai mudan is day 2. I’ve never seen such a detailed compressed tea shape – the little ridges really take it to next level aesthetically. Because it’s foil-wrapped and so distinctly shaped, for a moment I thought it was some kind of fancy candy! Probably for the best that I didn’t try to actually eat it.
I made this gong fu style. The first few steeps were pretty mild. Once the leaf really opened up, though, the flavor blossomed. There’s a gentle honey sweetness overlaying a flavor that I can best describe as round, savory, and cantaloupe-esque. Sort of like a melon-flavored pastry, maybe. I can’t quite describe it but I do like it. No astringency or bitterness at all, even with an oversteep.
Got a box of this for Passover so I’d have an herbal on hand. Unfortunately, this particular blend turned out to be pretty mid even with two bags for an 8oz mug. None of the flavors are even remotely strong. There’s a mild menthol cooling at the end of the sip. Otherwise, it tasted just barely of mint with a light ginger bite. I’ll probably finish off the box next year, but definitely won’t be restocking.
Sipdown of a tea swap tea or a sample for ashmanra’s sipdown challenge. I grabbed this from the recent TTB and it didn’t last long around here. This was kind of perfect for migraine days – better than the mediocre peppermint I keep on hand for when I’m not feeling well, but not as good as my fancy mint blends so I don’t feel bad about drinking it when I can’t fully focus on enjoying. So glad I got to try it!
Day 5 of the Tea Thoughts spring countdown box. Day 4 was a drink mix that was fine but neither tea nor particularly notable. I don’t always find the same tasting notes that the company uses to describe a tea, but in this case I think the description is spot on. They describe “sweet/sour orange, citrus flowers, [and] sweet grass” as the notes. Definitely getting sweet/sour orange, a bit of tartness, a mild floral, and a nice creaminess. Not so much the sweet grass, but two out of three is pretty solid! I had the day off so I made a full gong fu tea time out of this. There was one steep where I let it brew a little too long, and it did get a bitterness that I didn’t love. But on the steeps where I didn’t overbrew, I found this a smooth, cozy, and easy drinker.
Day 14 of the Inoki advent calendar. I screwed this one up! The brewing instructions say to use one flower/mug. But the flowers were so stuck together that I thought they were all one flower and ended up accidentally brewing up three! I did resteep them separately at least. Good news is that I got a solid second steep out of the flowers individually. I liked this best as an iced tea made with the second steep – that brings out the sweetness and anise notes in a way that’s refreshing, floral, and summery.
Day 12 of DIY Adagio advent calendar, which means I’m finally done with this calendar! Not the finest note to end on, unfortunately. The peach is very “peach gummy candy” rather than “fresh fruit” or even “juice/nectar.” The base is earthy and hearty, but that doesn’t really mesh well with the candy note. DavidsTea’s Peaches & Cream oolong isn’t a perfect comparison, because this blend doesn’t purport to have a creamy element. Still, I think part of why that blend works better than this one is that the base tea is lighter and more floral than this one, which is a better match to the fruity note. Luckily, this was just a sample, so the definition of low stakes.
