Kiani Tea
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Backlog:
Roswell inspired purchase. My Jin Jun Mei collection kept on increasing, and I wanted to see if it stood up to White2teas.
I over leafed it a few times, but it’s got strong qualities. The profile swings between being close to a Keemum breakfast black to a softer Fujian one, balancing between dark chocolate and bready rye notes to dense malty but floral ones. Although a little too malty for me every once in a while, it’s forgiving and flexible. More importantly, it’s not boring for this tea snob. Not bad as a tumbler fuel tea either, though the subtle florals get lost in the malt that way.
I’ve only had one gong fu session, but I’ve mostly used it for work or on the move. I’m curious if I get more out of it if I take my time. Quite good, and a credit to Kiani’s sourcing.
Flavors: Chocolate, Drying, Floral, Honey, Malt, Nutty, Oak, Oats, Rye, Smooth, Sweet
Adventaggedon Day 25: Bonus Tea!
There’s always one advent that goes above and adds in a 25th day. I probably would be more enthusiastic except that it’s just awkward when 7/8 are wrapped up and then you have that one loose end. I steeped it up though and we are now officially officially done with advents for the year!
A shocker to no one; this is a glitter tea. I completely expected as much though because if you’re gonna use as much glitter in the advent as we’ve already experienced then of course there’s glitter on the final day. It’s a no brainer.
The EG itself is fine. I feel like the bergamot is a nice quality and as a nice level as well. Not as mild as I would personally prefer it to be but also not too intense to make the cup unpleasant for me. In an advent of mostly straight teas it does feel weird to be finishing with something flavoured but I guess the idea is that Earl Grey is a nice classic – especially for North American and UK based tea drinkers. If I was back home with family this Christmas I could very easily picture this being the kind of tea you steep up early in the morning while cozy in PJs unwrapping presents. So in that way, yeah it’s a pretty perfect pick.
Merry Christmas to all on Steepster who choose to celebrate it! And regardless of what you’re celebrating, may everyone have a safe and happy rest of 2021!
Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 25
Merry Christmas tea friends!
Here we have Kiani overachieving with a tea for Christmas day. I thought there had been an Earl Grey earlier in this advent, but I seem to be mistaken. I must be confusing it with the ones from the Fortnum calendar or something…
Anyway! This is glittery, big surprise. Otherwise it’s a tasty Earl, and the bergamot is strong but not overwhelming. It doesn’t taste like perfume, and actually there’s an interesting sweet, fruity note to it. The base tea seems unremarkable, as I can’t taste much of it behind the bergamot. It’s a touch earthy and very smooth, but not much else.
An interesting choice to end the calendar with, I would have maybe chosen the icy blue tea since it was a bit different from the rest? But all in all, enjoyable.
Flavors: Bergamot, Citrus, Earth, Fruity, Smooth, Sweet
Preparation
Adventaggedon Day 24: Tea 3/8
Oof.
This tea was just like getting sucker punched in the gut two times in a row. I was so excited to see a smoked Lapsang Souchong for today. I even said to myself, out loud, as I opened the packaging “it’s a Christmas miracle”. However, then I opened the package and saw the glitter. That was punch one because it meant I was decidedly not brewing this in my Lapsang yixing pot.
Punch two was that, upon closer inspection, it didn’t appear to be smoked at all. No smoky smell no matter how close to the glitter bomb of a packet I got as I huffed away at the tea leaves. I decided to abandon my gongfu plans and steep this Western style instead while watching my all time favourite holiday movie: Olive The Other Reindeer! It was definitely not a ‘classic smoky’ Lapsang at all but drinking it with the movie made me feel a little better and it was still tasty.
I honestly think it’s just a double up of the unsmoked Lapsang that was already in the advent but with glitter. That was a nice tea though, so it was great tasting it again – I just wanted a smoked LS, y’know?
As an aside; I feel like I’ve been really harsh on this advent’s very liberal use of the glitter dust. I just want to say clearly that I’ve enjoyed this advent a lot overall and I understand that there definitely are people who would want all the glittery teas! Like, I follow a few people on IG who have been thrilled to see all the fun and gorgeous glitter blends – especially people who bought this advent as a way to sample/try straight and traditional blends they wouldn’t have otherwise. It makes teas (like a smoked Lapsang) that might otherwise have been intimidating feel a little more fun or accessible, y’know?
It’s like Mariage Freres with the blue teas or even DT with the stevia – it’s not gonna work for everyone but ultimately the companies do it because it does work for a lot of people. We can kind of get lost in our bubble here on Steepster or on IG and because we see people who share the same opinion as us over and over it’s easy to forget that for the most part we’re kind of all outliers.
The average tea drinker? Definitely not as exposed to the quantity of teas that we are or drinking that many teas daily. So the gimmicks like glitter and butterfly pea flower don’t feel so exhausting or over played.
I don’t know – it was just something I thought about today as I opened up the packet and groaned at the glitter. It’s not for me but it is for someone!
I spoke to her on Instagram and it sounds like it was a mistake and it was supposed to be a smoked Lapsang. But the glitter was intentional.
I would’ve been fine with just a few glittery teas, I just felt like the number was too high. Plus glitter on a straight tea is also a little odd to me ha ha. But the teas certainly all tasted lovely, and I suppose that’s the point!
My mom, who is not a tea-drinker, has been repetitively charmed by Mariage Freres use of blue pea flowers. Her continuous joy made it easier to swallow seeing it too often. So, I hear you. :)
I’d have felt the same way about getting a smoked Lapsang by mistake as you did about getting an unsmoked one! As for the inordinate amount of glitter, I guess none of their clients are in the habit of steeping their straight teas gongfu.
I’m all for glitter but maybe not in everything all the time. And probably also because I haven’t actually had a glitter tea yet. I keep debating about the Glitter Matcha but I’m just not that into flavored matchas. I’ve been thinking about just getting some Brew Glitter and adding it to my tea when I’m in a sparkly mood or want to wow someone with the glitter but not having to deal with it all the time. I’m a little worried it’ll end up like the shimmer ink in my fountain pens, though…lingering sparkle no matter how thoroughly I try to clean things afterward.
Excellent point about teas with added visual elements to entice a customer base who value such treats. It’s not what I would likely choose a tea (or coffee) for, but I’m far from typical in all too many ways. I’m getting a bit of a laugh at the idea of k-pods squirting out glitter. So it has actually brought even me some joy.
My personal preference for the glitter probably would have been three times: once at the beginning, sometime random in the middle, and then once at the end. For me, that feels like good cadence. But I appreciate what they were trying to do.
I did the Mariage Freres advent last year – there were quite a few blue teas but I think less than what was included in this year’s. I did also get sick of the gimmick after a while but I remember thinking that for a company as traditional and, let’s be honest, not necessarily ‘modern’ in their innovation that it was impressive they had actually branched out into exploring such a trendy ingredient even if it was gimmicky. I think, because Mariage Freres is such a ‘legacy brand’ and positions themselves as such a high end boutique that they sometimes actually have struggles acquiring a younger or less, err, ‘affluent’ audience – so the branching out into more visually appealing ‘blue’ teas actually felt sort of smart for them from the angle of wanting to stay on top of tea trends resonating more with younger tea consumers.
Anyway, just saying that ultimately I understand the angle/perspective from the other side even if it got old for me personally.
I appreciate the reminder that we ARE outliers, and I am thankful for my steepster community!
Yes, I love our community here so much! :)
Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 24
So… This is the name of the tea listed for day 24, but the tea inside the pouch is decidedly unsmoked. It does seem like an unsmoked Lapsang to me though. Plus there’s glitter (again). sigh
I mean, it’s a lovely Fujian black tea. Thick, malty, bready, with oodles of caramelized dark brown sugar and molasses. There’s a prune-like dried fruit note as well that really lovely. Perhaps dried cherries as well, though not quite as tart. It has that trademark (to me at least) Fujian caraway/rye note as well.
It’s a yummy tea, but 1) I was looking forward to the smoked version, and 2) why glitter whyyyyyy?! :|
ETA: Forgot the jam! For Day 24, it was Orange-Cinnamon Spread and I was surprised by how much I liked it. I’m not generally a marmalade fan, I find it simultaneously too sweet and too bitter. But this version didn’t seem bitter at all and the cinnamon really added a nice accent. Very festive!
Flavors: Bread, Brown Sugar, Caramelized Sugar, Caraway, Cherry, Dried Fruit, Malt, Molasses, Prune, Round, Rye, Savory, Smooth, Sweet, Thick
Preparation
I was unaware of the glitter problem until reading of these advent tea adventures. Perhaps a glitter factory exploded in a major tea province? There’s no getting rid of that stuff once it’s spread about.
Ha ha, for some reason she just decided to be very liberal with the luster dust in this advent…
I mean, glitter in a straight tea! Come onnnnnn.
The tea sounds great. The glitter, well, you already know my opinion.
Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 20
So I was hesitant to drink this one after seeing Roswell Strange’s very unfavorable note. Plus glitter, again.
But I’m not having the issue with it that Kelly did, so not sure if my sample is just better or what. I’m mostly getting a gentle toasty cacao flavor with a subtle sweet orange note. Overall, it’s somehow reminding me of chamomile a bit? Which is odd, but not unpleasant. It has a sweet honey aroma to it as well, maybe that’s why I’m thinking of chamomile.
Anyway, I’m finding it pleasant as an evening cuppa. But of course, the glitter is a bit uncalled for, especially in this amount…
Flavors: Cacao, Chamomile, Honey, Orange, Sweet, Toasted
Preparation
Adventaggedon Day 23: Tea 2/8
Cold Brew!
Like Cameron B. I was a little confused why this was called Frosted Jasmine Silver Needle aside from, potentially, it just being a more fun and wintery sounding name. Unlike Cameron, I did not have that question answered until well after I finished my tea.
You see, I made this cold brewed in a small mini tumbler and I has just dumped the whole packet (minus the little quote) into a paper sachet and then plopped the sachet in the compost without looking at it right before I left for my commute in to the office later in the day. Not once while drinking the tea did I actually see the liquor so imagine my surprise earlier this evening when I was watching TeaWithJann’s vlogmas video and it was blue! I know the blue didn’t affect the taste, but I sort of feel like I missed out on a part of the experience of this tea!?
It did taste really good though! I was feeling soooo tapped out on jasmine earlier this month but I think I had enough of a pause that getting one today wasn’t as frustrating as it was earlier this month. I thought the taste was super fresh and clean with crisp sweet notes of jasmine. Really elegant and kind of ethereal and relaxing to sip on as I walked through the snow dusted streets this afternoon!
Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 23
So I was wondering what was inside this packet, because I could hear something making a very un-tea-like noise when I shook it. Turns out it was some little blue crystals that made the tea steep up icy blue! I guess that explains the “frozen” part, heh.
Otherwise, it’s a lovely jasmine silver needle. I assume it’s the same one that I had with luster dust earlier in the month? Very sweet and creamy jasmine dominates the cup, with a slight peachy note as well. I do wish I tasted more of the silver needle, but it’s such a delicate tea that it really gets overpowered by jasmine. But it does make for a lovely light base for the jasmine.
Would love to see a plain silver needle in this advent, but there are only two days left so I suppose it’s unlikely. :P
Flavors: Creamy, Floral, Jasmine, Nectar, Peach, Smooth, Stonefruit, Sweet, Thick
Preparation
Soooo I made my tea cold steeped in a travel mug and I missed the crystals when I was pouring the tea in to my filer… I completely missed the colour change and genuinely thought this was just a plain jasmine silver needle up until I saw Jann’s video tonight.
Ha ha well it doesn’t make much difference I guess! At least it wasn’t glitter. :P
Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 21
Playing a little bit of catch up with my Kiani advent, happily it’s just two teas that I skipped. I’m not big on shou puerh, but it’s also been a while since I’ve had some so we’ll see how it goes!
It’s okay. Quite earthy as you might expect, with quite a bit of hay as well. And then there’s also a hint of umami that’s reminding me of fish. But there’s also a pleasant creaminess to it. Maybe a hint of chocolate?
Not a huge fan overall, but probably just because it’s shou heh heh.
Flavors: Cocoa, Dirt, Earth, Hay, Smooth, Sweet, Umami, Wet Earth, Wood
Preparation
Adventaggedon Day 22: Tea 1/8
Gongfu!
I think this is one of my favourites teas from all the advents overall! I’ve been sitting on this cool sage infused cheddar with this green marbling for a few weeks now waiting to do a tea and cheese pairing and the perfect tea for the pairing just hasn’t shown up yet. I realized today that I very well may not get a chance to find something better to go with it in these last few days of advents so I just went for it…
I’m glad I did because it was a wickedly delicious tea and actually a pretty unique pairing! The tea itself is so sweet with notes of rich golden honey, freshly baked and slightly toasted French bread, jammy red fruits, cocoa, malt, and candied citrus peels. Would have been completely excellent on its own, but also worked quite well with the cheese. It was creamy and a little sharp but mostly what stands out is the distinct note of sage (which, well, duh) which helped temper a bit of the sweetness and complimented the very dominant honey notes.
So much deliciousness all wrapped up into one tea session!
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyILXTpssU4&ab_channel=EarlyEyes
oooh… I’m a massive cheese fanatic. Now you have me wanting to start pairing teas and cheeses. I just had a great wine-soaked goat cheese earlier tonight. Last night I tried Dubliner for the first time. My goal is to try every type of cheese I can get my hands on. So far the only one I hated was the apricot-wensleydale. That one got thrown out. But the rest I have either liked or loved.
Do you have any other good suggestions for tea/cheese parings? I’d love to hear them!
Some of my favourites have been very creamy chevre/goat cheese paired with Gyokuro, fresh ricotta and honey with a more refreshing/vegetal leaning Bai Mu Dan, and also blue cheese and an aggressively smoked Lapsang! Baked brie with a bit of jam is also good with more astringent Darjeelings (especially those 2nd flush with some bite to them), and very sharp cheddar tends to go well with Chinese blacks like Keemun.
Also, what I was initially hoping would show up in my advents to pair with this cheese was a good Sun Moon Lake with some nice wintergreen notes.
WOW for these cheese & tea pairings.
Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 22
So I’m a bit behind on my Kiani advent, just because the last two days have been teas I wasn’t excited about (glittery chocolate orange tisane and a shou puerh) and I’ve been busy. But I’ll try to fit them in when I have time over the next few days I guess.
Anyway, this is a yummy Yunnan tea. It’s smooth, bready, and satisfying, with a good balance between sweet and savory and a nice dollop of sweet potato. A bit of an earthy undertone as well, which gives a nice foundation. And just a hint of dark cocoa and apricot skin.
It’s very appreciated this evening after a long day of shopping with my mom and sister. :)
Flavors: Apricot, Bread, Cocoa, Creamy, Earth, Malt, Round, Smooth, Sweet, Sweet Potatoes, Thick
Preparation
Adventaggedon Day 21: Tea 8/8
Gongfu!
Truthfully this is not the nicest shou pu’erh that I’ve had but I’ve also had so little pu’erh during the month of December that my palate was excited to be drinking any pu’erh. Also, I checked but it doesn’t look like Kiani specifies what province this pu’erh comes from. As soon as I tasted the first steep my brain immediately jumped to Menghai and I kind of badly want to know if I’m correct. If I am then, well, I’m incredibly impressed with myself for getting that correct!
I was rushing to get through all my advent teas today so I didn’t quite steep this until it was dead but the four infusions I brewed up were all lovely! Very smooth and even tasting throughout with a deep dark and thick liquor. Quite earthy but sweet too with notes of brown sugar glazed dates, a sort of starchy oatmeal kind of taste, and a bit of blackstrap. Heavy, dark, brown and rich! Loved how coating the liquor was across the palate and the lingering wet earth/potting soil notes after the swallow.
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeqcQ2dM4gQ&ab_channel=anjimile
Adventaggedon Day 20: Tea 5/8
Oh… no. Nope. Uh uh. Hell no.
So, this was another gold dusted tea which I didn’t love but I at least expected that from the name. However, I think it’s the first tea out of any of my advents so far that I truly found undrinkable. I’m really interested in hearing with Cameron B.’s experience with it was like because I knew immediately from the moment of opening the packet that something was off here. The orange smelled really acrid and pungent like stale fruit that had sat in a sweltering hot car for an entire afternoon.
I hesitantly took a couple sips after steeping and immediately the taste made me feel gross and my gag relfex kicked in. Something about it realllyyyyy reminded me of cardboard or wood shavings – that was the half of the taste that just gave off really stale kind of flavour notes. It was the better half because the rest was a deeply off putting rancid sort orange pulp and bitter pithy orange rind taste. I always feel really bad throwing out a cup of tea and I usually try to drink the ones I like for educational purposes if for no other reason. I simply couldn’t make it through the cup of this one…
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUl23t6Oago&ab_channel=SubPop
Adventaggedon Day 19: Tea 1/8
So this is a Gunpowder green tea.
Maybe a controversial opinion but I sort of believe that a ‘good’ gunpowder tea just doesn’t exist. Within the industry, it’s a style of tea that just ISN’T taken seriously. Like, I know it’s a style of tea that definitely has appeal to some people and there’s a sort of commercial recognition to the name and story of Gunpowder Green tea – and the visual of the leaves is definitely pretty. But, well…
With all of that said, I find that even the ‘nicest’ gunpowder teas just taste very flat. That was kind of my experience with this one. It’s not that it has off notes but the taste is incredibly boring and there’s just not a lot of interest going on. Perhaps the most interesting/unique thing about this tea type aside from the visual of the leaves is the supposed like smoky vegetal note that’s meant to come out and even that was just sort of boring here…
Taste is of course highly subjective and I know there are people who will enjoy this tea; but it just doesn’t do it for me. Not even close.
Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 19
Ooh, a gunpowder green today from Kiani Tea. And no glitter in sight, hooray! \o/
There was probably about 1.5 teaspoons in the packet, and I waffled between using 12 or 16 ounces of water, but ended up with 12. Seems the correct choice, as it’s not overly strong or anything like that.
I will say it’s a bit more dimensional that I generally find gunpowder tea. It does have that mineral, slightly earthy, slightly smoky thing going on that warrants the name. But there’s also a lovely creamy nuttiness underneath, and bit of lightly grassy sweetness. The description mentions almond, and I think that’s pretty spot-on for the nutty note.
I wouldn’t rush out and buy it or anything, but I’m finding it quite good and very satisfying on a cold day here in Austin.
P.S. – In case anyone is wondering why all of these Kiani teas have two names, for some reason the name listed in the advent is almost always different from the name on their website, even though it’s the same tea…
Flavors: Almond, Creamy, Dry Grass, Earth, Grass, Mineral, Nuts, Smoke, Smooth, Soybean, Sweet
Preparation
Adventaggedon Day 18: Tea 2/7
This was quite lovely! I debated brewing gongfu but I just wasn’t totally in the mood for that kind of session today so I just made it as a Western steeped tea instead. The flavour is incredible though – lots of cocoa notes, honey, toasted brown bread, white Springtime flowers, cooked peach notes mingled with more subtle hints of cassia, molasses, and medjool date. Leans very sweet but with just a hint of umami savoriness and the finish was super clean. Mouthfeel is also rich like velvet and super smooth!
This is definitely one of my favourites from Kiani so far!
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d8ZV78aHgg&ab_channel=honeywhip
Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 18
Ooh, what big beautiful golden needles!
Wow, this is so sweet. And super malty, like warm freshly made bread with a drizzle of honey. There’s also a creamy cocoa note adding a lovely smooth richness. So a bit like a lightly toasted thick slice of yummy bread with honey, cocoa powder, and perhaps a light smear of apricot jam. Nom! The natural sweetness is amazing, and it lingers on the tongue long after the sip.
Overall, a scrumptious tea. It’s a bit light, but also satisfying at the same time. Gotta love Yunnan teas!
Flavors: Apricot, Bread, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Cocoa, Creamy, Honey, Honeysuckle, Malt, Nectar, Round, Smooth, Spring Water, Stonefruit, Sugarcane, Sweet, Thick, Toast, Wheat
Preparation
So many of these teas sound incredible!
Definitely enjoying the straight teas from this advent! But then there are all of the glitter ones…
Haha yeaaah, the glitter could perhaps be cut back a bit. But I’ve added a few straight ones to my wishlist. :)
Agreed, some of these Kiani teas sound really good!
I think her teas in general seem really good, I’ll have to order some samplers one of these days.
Do the samplers come with glitter too? :)
Ha ha she actually doesn’t normally do glittery teas! :P
A saving grace that
Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 17
This is a very interesting one.
The leaves are a beautiful green, but it steeped up a pale golden color. The flavor reminds me a bit of Long Jing, nutty and a bit creamy with a buttery note. But there’s also a rich squash-like flavor to it, or maybe sweet potato. There are subtle hints of mineral and smoke as well, and a touch of stonefruit at the end of the sip. It’s somewhat vegetal, but in a creamy edamame sort of way.
Overall, a yummy and very rich tea! It almost tastes like some sort of fusion between green, white, and Yunnan black teas.
Flavors: Apricot, Butter, Creamy, Grain, Mineral, Nutty, Smoke, Smooth, Soybean, Squash, Stonefruit, Sweet Potatoes, Thick, Vegetal
Preparation
Adventaggedon Day 17: Tea 7/8
I decided to brew this grandpa style in the middle of my day, to try and cut through some of the richness of the other tea and sweets I had been enjoying, and that might not have been the best brewing method because it got very bitter very, very quickly and I just found myself turned off by the bitterness and astringency. Though, there was a slight floral quality at first that I didn’t mind!
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipHq0GFlSRg&ab_channel=MDSHCoffeeHouse
Adventaggedon Day 16: Tea 2/8
Back to back gold/luster dust teas made me sad today – especially because the other rose tea in the advent was also luster dust coated. However I do really love rose teas and at least I hadn’t planned to brew this gongfu so I wasn’t as let down as I’ve been in the past! I steeped it up in a teacup this morning and it was really nice, though incredibly soft and delicate. Rosebuds definitely don’t steep our strong but if you like that hint of rose it can be a really nice moment of calm.
Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 16
So today’s tea is rosebuds with luster dust.
I’m setting it aside to swap or put in a TTB, because I don’t like rose and I know I won’t enjoy it. Seems a waste to steep it up only to inevitably dump it, when someone else might actually like it.
But still writing a note just so I’m not missing one! So there!
Love the note anyway!
This happened to me with a B&B tea as well!
I didn’t want to look back and wonder why I was missing a note, lol! Plus I find it interesting to hear about what was in other advents, so maybe my fellow Steepsters do as well.
Very true! I have a note planned for the one I skipped as well haha.
I read the first line of your post and swore.
Ha ha, I appreciate that Ness! XD
:)
Adventaggedon Day 15: Tea 3/8
Welp, another luster tea.
I think Cameron B. and I are on the same page of just being a bit over them. My main issue is that I saw the name of the tea when I opened my advents this morning and I saw nothing in the name that would have led me to believe this was going to be a sparkly tea so I got really excited about the possibility of having two teas I could brew gongfu today! So it was just so much more disappointing opening the packet and realizing that would not be the case. I’m just not at a place where I’m willing to introduce luster dust to my gongfu teaware…
Very similar to Cameron, what I ended up doing was steeping this one Grandpa/lazy style while I washed some dishes earlier this evening. I’m also having a hard time reconciling my frustration with the glitter alongside the fact I actually really enjoyed the taste of the tea. It was such a good level of jasmine; and also a really sweet and fresh leaning jasmine that perfectly complimented the more creamy and refreshing notes of the bai hao yin zhen base. Were it not for the mess it made in my cup and the disappointment I felt opening the packet… I would have enjoyed this tea quite a lot!
Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 15
So I was all ready to do a casual gongfu session with this tea, and then I cut open the packet and saw luster dust.
NOOOOOOOO…
But I was planning to use an inexpensive ceramic gaiwan that I can easily clean, so I decided to go ahead and try it anyway. I did a couple of steeps with it, and it tasted fine, but I found the amount of glitter residue everywhere (and the puddle of glitter at the bottom of the cup) pretty unappetizing, so I switched to grandpa style instead. Lazy mode, activate! Luckily, I think I’d rinsed a lot of the glitter off in those first couple of steeps… XD
I love jasmine, and I love silver needle, so this is lovely! The jasmine is sweet, creamy, luscious but not perfumey (at least, not to me). I will say since the jasmine is quite strong, it does overpower the bai hao yin zhen. So I don’t taste a whole lot of those lighter hay, grain, and cucumber notes that I would expect from a plain silver needle. Perhaps a touch of light hay in the aftertaste, but otherwise it’s all jasmine all the time! Lol. There is a bit of a stonefruit note, but not sure if that’s from the tea or the jasmine.
I guess I’ll hold off on rating, not sure how to reconcile my enjoyment of the tea with my disapproval of the luster dust… :P
Flavors: Creamy, Floral, Hay, Jasmine, Nectar, Round, Smooth, Stonefruit, Sweet
Preparation
Jasmine Silver Needle needs no added luster
I think this is like the fifth (?) glitter tea, so at this point the whole concept has sort of lost its luster if you know what I mean. :P
ONE luster tea, if that, per advent is plenty. Better yet, if you must include lustre, package it separately so that people who choose to can have a field day with it.
Yeah, I would’ve been fine with one or two but it gets old really fast… And yes, luster on the side!
Adventaggedon Day 14: Tea 1/8
Another day where I’ll just be powering through tasting notes because I’m so fucking tired. Honestly, it wasn’t so much that my day was busy but I’ve just felt like complete shit since my dentist appointment yesterday and my bite is still very weird and sore. So, I went through the day in a total haze that was just filled with headaches, jaw pain, and general soreness.
I was miserable and my tea drinking was rushed and not as pleasant as I would have liked it to be. I slept through most of the evening, and I didn’t fight it because clearly I needed it today. However the result is that I now have just over an hour to crank out all my tasting notes before midnight. That said, my tasting notes would have been shit today even if I wasn’t scrambling to write them so quickly. I just… was having a rough day.
I really should have been much more excited for this tea because I fucking love Lapsang in all its forms – smoked and unsmoked. I steeped this up gongfu with a few slices of ripe nectarine and it was good but, well, my heart just wasn’t into it. Even though the leaf wasn’t spent yet, I tapped out after three steeps because I needed to move on to the next advent tea and I was just feeling more tired trying to focus on the session.
Cameron’s tasting note is really good for this though! I got much of the exact same tasting notes as she did, but she’s taken much better time to phrase them/describe them.
Sorry KIani Tea – this should have been a favourite but the day was shit.
