teabento

A nice cup of tea, I definitely got the buttery green vegetables from it. So tasty!

A nice pleasant Jasmine tea which is perfect as the temperature just dropped below 0 today.

Ok, honestly, I don’t recall the details of this particular one, but I will say that I have very much enjoyed every one of the teas that I’ve tried from tea bento.

And it’s a sipdown!

#long time ago internet hiatus sipdown

This may have been in my box of treats from Dexter. If so, thank you for the sample!
It’s been a while now and I have no insights to offer. I will say though that I have enjoyed each one of the teas that I have tried from tea bento, so there’s that.

And it’s a sipdown!

#long time ago internet hiatus sipdown

Past sipdown – and another one I just don’t remember at all. Too bad.

Very tasty, I’m just finishing up the last of it. I’ll miss it.. but at least my tea stash will have gone down a little.

I admit I’m a sucker for a good Laoshan Black tea. This one is not only cute with it’s a little badger picture but also pretty tasty.

A very tasty tea. I just finished my stash of it. I would definitely recommend this tea to others.

I love all the cute names and pictures that Teabento has. It’s a really yummy black tea even I can’t describe the flavours I’m getting out of it. I blame the fact that it’s been awhile since I was drinking tea on a regular basis. Getting my butt back on the tea wagon!

It’s not my favourite tea, but I find it on the refreshing side of things.

Sample sipdown! Thanks again to VariaTEA for the swap. :)

Really enjoying this one this morning. I overleafed this last mug, not wanting to be left with a sad half-mug’s worth of leaf, and it took it very well without any bitterness. Because of that, it has a nice POW stick-to-your-ribs sort of strong flavor and body.

I am getting cocoa today, hooray! Along with the usual suspects of bread, caraway, oodles of malt, and a bit of dark, syrupy dried fruit. It has a very savory taste as well, which only adds to the thick & satisfying quality.

Nommy. Raising the rating a little, as I felt this one got better with each mug I made. Will definitely need to get some Golden Monkey into my cupboard on a more permanent basis once I’ve cleared things out a bit. (she says optimistically…)

My last teabento sample from VariaTEA. Thanks again for the swap! I figured after having a Ceylon, which is less to my taste, I would switch to a tasty Chinese black tea that I was sure to enjoy.

For some reason, I always have a hard time tasting chocolate notes in teas. I see chocolate mentioned often for Golden Monkey and Fujian black teas in general, but I never seem to find it unless I really look for it, and at that point it’s likely just me tasting it because I want to. And this tea has that same quality for me.

What I do get is oodles of malt and dark pumpernickel or rye bread. The mouthfeel is thick and almost chewy, which really sells the bread angle for me. There’s a faint sticky, raisiny sweetness contrasting with a more savory, earthy mineral note and a hint of smoke.

Could there be a more satisfying tea? I would consider Yunnan teas to be my favorites, but these Fujian varieties are great when you want a deeper, meatier tea that’s almost a meal in itself.

Another old swap sample from VariaTEA!

It’s been a while since I’ve had a plain Ceylon tea. A few years ago, I ordered a variety of samples of Assam and Ceylon teas from Capital Tea Ltd. and enjoyed trying the different estates. I may have to do that again soon, once I’ve emptied out my cupboard a little bit more.

This particular Ceylon is from the Amba estate in the Uva province, and tea flowers have been added. It’s quite brisk with medium astringency. It tastes similar to an Assam to me, with pleasant malt, tobacco, and raisin notes. There’s also a nice bready flavor and a touch of honey, and perhaps a bit of citrusy acidity. I’m not getting any floral notes, so I’m not sure which flavors, if any, are coming from the dried tea flowers.

It’s pleasant, but perhaps a bit brisk for my tastes. I’m sure this would take milk very well as a breakfast tea, though that’s not really my style. Not going to rate since I don’t really have a point of reference at the moment…

This is a swap sample, I think it came from VariaTEA? If not, I’m sorry to whoever it was! XD

I love my Teavivre Fengqing dragon pearls, so I’m excited to try this version. I used all of the pearls for my mug – I think it was 6? I didn’t want to be left with any sad abandoned pearls!

This is definitely different from the Teavivre version. It’s lighter, with some musty hay notes that remind me of white tea. There’s a bit of honey here too, rather than cocoa. The bread is there, but is more of a supporting flavor. And I taste a hint of a metallic earthy mineral note. Some raisin starts to poke its head out in the aftertaste, and as the tea cools.

Overall, it’s yummy and still very satisfying for breakfast. However, I do prefer my existing black dragon pearls. Which is good, because they are probably cheaper and this one is out of stock! Thanks VariaTEA for the share, sorry it’s taken me so long to get to it!

Sipdown (1184)!

Finished this one off Grandpa style after getting a new haul of comic books and manga to read. I started with the newest volume of Beastars and, aside from the fact I was just craving a black tea in general, I thought this was a fun combo because I got to drink a tea named for an animal while reading a comic about anthropomorphic animals. That amused me…

This was enjoyable, but definitely better fresher. The flavour was much fruitier than I had anticipated, with a sort of fermented red fruit flavour mixed with salted plum as the leaves sat in the cup as steeped. That would have been delightful on its own, but coupled with the wintergreen notes of the leaves I found the overall profile nice but just a tinyyyy little bit off enough to not be perfectly satisfying.

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHbcnSTgLzb/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17pyT9Klkbo&ab_channel=TheCriticals

There’s some really gorgeous looking dry and infused leaf on this one! It was delicious but quite different than any other Sun Moon Lake black teas I’ve had recently (or even just in general) – overripe plum and stewed red fruits, brandy, dandelion, hot hay bails, and rye bread with syrupy thick liquor!! I liked it, but man those first few steeps really through me for a loop because the strong dandelion and hay notes were drastically unexpected. It was like when you take a drink of soda and you expect Coke but it’s actually Sprite – it’s not the Sprite is bad but for a moment it’s the most disgusting thing because your brain is only registering that it’s NOT Coke and that makes it feel wrong…

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBtVcdSgrHc/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWnPUQU-Te8

Sipdown (1373)!

Finished this one off at the office earlier this week and it was just a nice and relaxing cup during a day that was filled with a lot of much more rich and overly flavoured/fruity teas. Didn’t really drink this grandpa style as I didn’t top up/resteep, but I did toss the leaves loose into a teacup. The leaves were beautiful and so downy that, when I finished the mug, there was an olive hued ring in my teacup from where all the down had sort of collected during steeping.

Loved letting this get thick and intense – it drew out this smoky baker’s chocolate notes and elements of leather, musk, and sweet potato that were so thick and cozy on top of being sort of playfully burly as well. Nice and full bodied liquor and a hint of astringency that complimented the heavy notes.

Gongfu!

Had this one today after work as a bit of a “wind down” and low key sloppy session; sprawled out in bed and trying to awkwardly read, pour, and not tip over the kettle. It all worked out in the end, though.

This tea is STUNNING – really, all golden bud black teas are, but I’m also a sucker for a good curly or twisted leaf and that (if the name didn’t give it away) is exactly what this is. It tastes pretty damn good too – sweet and full bodied profile of malt, leather, red fruit, prune, honey, and candied yams! Four steeps; not a tea with a lot of longevity, but nice while it’s still going.

Pulled a bunch of black teas to drink through over the upcoming weekend – definitely in a hong mood!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBRX9WNApRH/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgU5W7HccMA

(This is just feel good music, perfect for a casual afternoon!)

#adventageddon Day Twenty Four – 7/7

Officially the last adventageddon tea! I did it!!

I think it’s cool this was day 24 – in my head when I think of the teas carried by teabento this one is the one that comes to mind first. I know it was/is incredibly popular here on Steepster. I meant to Gongfu it today, but time just got away from me and I waited too long to do it. It’s ok though – I actually have this in my tea stash right now so I can revisit it some other time and still do it Gongfu then!

It’s a really damn good tea though! Super full bodied and rich, with a velvety smooth mouthfeel – almost like melted chocolate! It tastes chocolate-y too – the sort of dense chocolate that truffle-y and somewhere in between milk and dark chocolate. Not the cheap waxy kind but real cocoa heavy chocolate. It’s also quite nutty; I’m very struck by the kind of peanut brittle-y/roasted peanut notes I’m pulling from the mug. Other flavours going on are a pleasant kind of musk or leather type note, a hint of red fruit in the undertones of the tea, and a bit of a barley/grains type of flavour.

It’s complex, and I’m digging that! Definitely one of my favourite teas from teabento this month and I do really see why it blew up here on Steepster and was so popular!

$adventageddon Day Twenty Three – 4/6

- Steeped Gongfu!
- This was a really late night session for me and it kind of feels like it was a fever dream!?
- Short session w/ about five steeps because it’s late and the tea was fading fast too
- Don’t remember the finer details; just that the mouthfeel was a touch astringent
- And the taste was quite sweet and floral, with a buttery green undertone
- I wanted more of a nuttyness, just to tie in with the chosen name…

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6b—-RAmvL/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3g9US1aNN4

#adventageddon Day Twenty Two – 6/6

Gongfu!

This was really nice and I’d love to write more about it but I’m so tired right now and just really struggling at the moment to stay on top of writing advent tasting notes so I’m gonna keep it simple instead with some jot notes…

- Six infusions before flavour decline
- Full bodied and thick mouthfeel
- Notes of malt, plum, and warming spices like cinnamon
- With a touch of a woody note
- Delicious!

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHwPb2815AQ

#adventageddon Day Twenty One – 4/6

Gongfu!

Steeped this one up, along with some sweet odds and ends from around the house that I wanted to eat up before my vacation, this afternoon before finishing up my packing and heading to the airport! This was, shockingly, maybe the best osmanthus oolong that I’ve ever had!? It was incredibly fresh and sweet tasting with, obviously, plenty of osmanthus notes but also a really lively and bright/juicy peach and nectarine note! Paired with triple chocolate cheese, honey pomelo, and pumpkin brittle it made for a decadent and filling last meal in my apartment – at least for the next week, anyway!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6WOjK8A8QL/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppn7eQSBdJQ