172 Tasting Notes
I received a big pack of samples from Azzrian today, thank you so much Azzrian. This is my first EVER matcha. I’ve been wanting to try it for so long, I’ve just always been put off from buying it by its typically high price tag.
I was a little worried that the results wouldn’t be great since I don’t have the proper whisk, but I managed to get it nicely dissolved and VERY frothy using a normal kitchen whisk. The flavor was very nice, it was the Japanese green flavor I’m accustomed to only smoother and with a very unique and full texture. It was very thick, smooth and vegetal. And now I’m getting a bit of that Japanese green euphoria and energy that I sometimes get. ;) Good stuff, thanks again Azz.
I won this in a contest on Della Terra’s facebook page, they frequently have these giveaways so I would highly recommend that you guys check them out.
I went into this with low expectations, but a lot of curiosity. I love s’mores but just wasn’t sure how well it would translate into tea. It really exceeded my expectations. With a little sugar, it was a rich chocolatey brew with hints of marshmallow and graham cracker and a little hint of smokey spice. Frankly, this was delicious. I went into it with low expectations but I came out of it with a new tea on my shopping list. You should check this one out.
Morning cup. It’s very unusual for me to be up this early as I’m a high school student in the midst of my summer break, it really only happens when I can’t sleep and that is the case this morning. But on the bright side, I’ve got lots of lawn work to do and this way I’ll have more time to do it – I just hope I don’t fall asleep on the job! I hate sleep deprivation…
This smooth yet brisk tea should help wake me up a bit. I’ve already got a list of things I’m going to buy with the money I’m going to earn from this work, and those things are… wait for it… TEA! But first I’ll have to explain that to my parents as they shake their heads in disapproval and tell me how much of a waste of money it is and yada yada. They’ll never understand. Well, good morning!
In the middle of trying to quit my ridiculous tobacco habit for what’s probably about the tenth time. Can’t even explain how bad I feel. I think tea is helping a little bit, this stuff’s certainly refreshing and a little calming. I just need to try to flush this toxic crap out of my system for good. Nicotine is EVIL, EVIL, EVIL. Argh.. :(
You can do it!!
Keep it up man :)
I smoked a pipe for many years, then “cut back” to cigars and finally to cigarettes. I too tried everything to quit. About three months ago, I picked up an ecig, and I haven’t had a cigarette since. I don’t even miss them. The ecig is giving me that something to do with my hands. It satisfies the oral fixation, and it gives me a little nicotine. I’m in the process of slowly cutting back the nicotine levels in the ejuice I’m using. I can not speak highly enough of the ecigs. I feel so much better, and I honestly don’t miss cigarettes or tobacco one bit. My doctor told me that the nicotine is not the BEST thing for me, but that without the 2000 other poisons that are in a cigarette, it is not much worse than caffeine. Anyway, I would absolutely recommend these ecigs to ANYONE trying to quit. (It’s also a MUCH cheaper habit than tobacco).
Hey Frank, would you have an ecig brand you’d recommend looking into?
I did a LOT of research, and it seems that the people who have been with it the longest end up going to a drip system as opposed to the cartomizers or tanks. There are lots of different “brands” but they all use basically the same parts. It seems the most popular is the eGo style—the batteries appear to last longer. The “passthrough” versions allow you to charge the battery through your usb cable WHILE you vape. In short, if I was just starting out again, I would probably go with something like this kit: http://www.empiremods.com/product_p/egopasskit.htm It’s also a really good price. Of course, then you would need some ejuice. Google could help you there. There are hundreds of flavors and configurations. You probably want something with a 50/50 PG/VG split. If this sounds like greek, don’t worry. There are tons of resources online for researching it, but the guidelines I’ve given here should get anyone off to a good start. Also on the ejuice, consider how much nicotine you want. You can typically find anything from 2mg to 24mg, maybe more. Depending on how much you smoke, start higher and if you want to, cut down later, but don’t push yourself and end up going back to “analogs” (real cigarettes—I love that term for them). You might pick up a few smaller bottles of different flavors in different nicotine strengths to see what suits you. I started with 24mg, and am now down to 12mg, but I may end up getting some 24mg to drip now and then when I’m really feeling the need for it. (Like my Dr. told me, without the other poisons, int he cigarette, it’s not the worst thing). Hope that helps. Another great source for information: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/
I actually have an e-cig, it’s one of the relatively cheap Njoy ones you see at gas stations. It seems to work well enough it’s just that the habit I’m accustomed to is chewing tobacco, so it’s a different kind of oral fixation. Believe it or not it’s really hard for me to get used to inhaling nicotine rather than oral absorbtion because I’m just so used to doing it that way. And for me, I think it’s important that I quit nicotine altogether because I have high blood pressure and a strong family history of heart disease and stroke.
By the way, thanks for the encouragement guys. I’ve kicked other, more serious addictions and this one is actually the hardest one I’ve yet to face.
Funny, that’s why the GUM didn’t work for me. I was too used to inhaling it. Maybe nicotine gum would help. In any event, good luck. Keep at it. It’s worth it.
Thanks for the info Frank. Apologies to * Scatterbrain* for hijacking your comments. :D
Full support for you Scatterbrain! It’s a daily struggle I know, but one worth fighting =)
Don’t give up!!!
Coldbrewed for twelve hours and sweetened. AMAZING. The blueberry flavor comes out even more, it’s vibrant and sweet and maybe a little bit tart (in a pleasant way). Contrary to what I expected, the creaminess was more subdued but it was delicious nonetheless. Coldbrewing intensifies the blueberry flavor and makes this an incredibly refreshing iced tea. And now I try strawberry zabaglione iced!
This one’s growing on me, I’m learning to like it for what it is. I expected it to be a complex yunnan but the truth is it’s a solid and bold breakfast tea, and that’s a good thing too. It manages to be bold and invigorating without being too brisk or bitter. It’s strong yet smooth and quite the eye opener, and its bready heartiness is quite comforting. Rating is going up, because this is actually quite a good breakfast tea.
Edit: This is Kwinter in case you were wondering. I just felt like changing things up. My new name is a reference to my favorite band.
Oh my. This one exceeded my expectations. I had the neopolitan ice cream SBT and enjoyed that but this one is even better. I mostly get lime and orange and there’s a definite creaminess to it, this is incredibly refreshing. I’ll definitely be buying more of this. As a side note, I’m finding that I’m getting better results with these SBT teas when I take the leaves out of the bag and cold brew like normal.
Right now, for my next experiment, I’ve got a jug of Blueberry Zabaglione cold-brewing in the fridge and I’m sure that’s gonna be great as well.
Edit: I just noticed it’s spelled “sherbet”. My whole life I thought it was “sherbert”… Haha
Five steeps in and I’m floating. Feeling the sheng energy within me. I love this stuff. So smooth and sweet, aromatic and smokey and a little fruity. Thick mouthfeel, swish it around in my mouth and then it goes down smooth and warm. Wonderful.
Edit: I just came down from my cloud after stabbing myself with the pu’er pick while breaking off more of the tuo cha, it hurt like hell but it’s nothing a bandage won’t fix. I guess this is what happens when you’re a newbie in dealing with breaking pressed pu’er.
Ow!!! That doesn’t sound like fun. If I ever acquire a pu’er pick I will be sure to be careful!
ouch! maybe floating isn’t such a good thing when your making pu’er
eeeeep, note to self beware of pu’erh picks!
This was a tough one!
Yeah it really is, very tightly compressed. And mine’s really small now which makes it even harder to pry off a piece.
YES, be careful with the breaking knives/picks. That particular pick that you are using is a sharp one, but the best I’ve found in my travels. The key is to move slowly, especially with the more tightly compressed cakes/bricks. In order to maintain the integrity of the leaf as best as possible, the process needs to be almost meditative, mindful, as you find the striation of the leaves an work slowly to gently pry the leaves apart, maintaining their wholeness. And never be breaking a cake if you are in a hurry – injury will follow. Be careful out there, people :)
YIKES! =\
Wow, I can’t believe 52teas has had a blend out this long without it being reviewed! I’ve been debating on buying this one for a while, it sounded intriguing but I was hesitant given the fact that you only get an ounce for $8.99, but I finally decided to go for it.
The white tea base is very nice and a little sweet, and the flavoring manages not to overpower the tea base. All the flavors are balanced quite well. I don’t really taste either bergamot or blackcurrant as separate flavors, they kind of morph together to form a whole new experience. It’s all very subtle and it works well, good stuff.
At first I thought this would be a black tea because of the ‘earl black’… but after reading your review and you talking about the white tea base, I actually had to look at the page for it to confirm that it was actually a white tea base, and not black as I had initially assumed haha.. the title totally tossed me for a loop
The same thing happened to me at first. :)
Haha okay phew! =)
Yep, same thing happened to me! Instantly dismissed it as a black tea, then later realized it’s a white, which interested me far more (but not enough to purchase).
Maybe it should have been named Earl Black & White?
Glad you enjoyed it! Hopefully I sent enough for a couple of cups! Enjoy!