314 Tasting Notes
Lewis and Clark TTB #8
This is a bit lighter than many Yunnans, but I really love the flavor. Wood and leather and a touch of earth. Rich and deep and complex. Smooth and round, with a long, deep finish. Another review mentioned bitterness; I am very sensitive to bitterness and didn’t detect more than a trace.
The taste corresponds perfectly with the price point on YS: between an ordinary Yunnan and one of the top (or should I say tip) “golden” teas. Fair value.
Lewis and Clark TTB #6
Try tea has strong almond aroma. It’s even more powerful in the cup. The almond comes close to drowning out the flavor of the tea, but it does peek through underneath. I like this tea, but that is because I really love almonds. Even so, it’s almost too much for me.
Preparation
Lewis & Clark TTB #5
I usually add sweetener to breakfast teas, but started this one plain, and I’m glad I did. It has a nice, understated nose, powerful flavor, and excellent, long finish. Slightly tart but not bitter. There aren’t a lot of extraneous flavors, but this is a perfectly balanced definition of what a Scottish tea should be.
Preparation
Lewis & Clark #4
Soft nose. Bold flavor. Classic first flush flavor with hints of stone fruit. Becomes slightly bitter at the finish, but not enough to spoil the taste. The finish is very long, adding depth to the following sip.
There was a discussion topic about Darjeeling a few weeks ago, and this tea sums up my feeling in the discussion. There are hundreds of good, solid Darjeelings out there; each one a pleasure to drink, but few can distinguish themselves enough to rise to the top of the ratings.
Preparation
Lewis & Clark #3
I’m really looking forward to this tea; I almost added it to my order last Month, but fiscal reality prevailed. The nose is surprisingly light; almost green in nature. The first sip started slowly but built inside my mouth until it was just huge. Big long finish.
I’m at a loss for words to describe the flavor. It is sweet, definitely smoky, but with an almost medicinal, herbal undertone. (after writing this review I read other reviews, and realize that “smoked meat” is fairly close. It sounds weird, but tastes good.)
The most interesting feature for me was that drinking this tea put me into a powerful meditative state, similar to a pu-erh with a lot of cha qi. I don’t recall seeing this in a black tea before. My rating is based upon this aspect of the tea. Were I judging on taste alone, it would be about an 85.
Preparation
Lewis & Clark #2
I need to start this review by stating that I didn’t follow the vendor’s steeping instructions. They call for a tablespoon of tea per cup and pre-packaged the sample into 4.5 gram packets. I decided to follow my usual steeping approach for black tea, which is 1.5 grams for a 6 ounce pot. It seems unfair to compare a pot that is three times as strong as the competition, especially when one of the selling points of the tea is its strength.
The nose was rich and powerful. Earthy notes dominated. The taste was dominated by what I call “forest floor”: a sort of damp woodsy taste, which I’m not overly fond of. I occasionally spotted a hint of fruit or chocolate, but for the most part don’t see all the flavors in the website description. The finish is good, but somewhat short.
Preparation
i had it yesterday. my parameters for black tea are 3g 8oz western.
I made a cup with one of the portioned servings and thought it was too strong.
He’s changed his parameters on the website to .5T from 1T.
Yeah, I changed them about a month ago. I’m glad people aren’t paying attention to the labeled parameters! I highly recommend to always check on my website for recommended steeping. I have detailed info for both Western and Gongfu on there :-) http://whisperingpinestea.com/the-jabberwocky.html#product_tabs_Brewing
I only noticed you’d changed it because I was trying to remember what you recommended for the third steep western style, Brenden. I generally look at what’s on the package because that’s in my hand when I’m making it, and my computer isn’t.
Yeah, I wish I could somehow let everyone know when I change them :-(
As I said in the review, I just think it’s fair to use the same baseline for all teas that I review. If I own a tea, then I can experiment, but for just one cup, I go with the baseline. I also like to use weight rather than volume, especially with teas that have large leaves.
I totally agree with that method. I do the same thing when sampling potential offerings :-)
very solidly compressed. 2 20-sec rinses, then (15s): Clean aroma; no earthiness. Woody with a hint of fruit; bitter at the finish. 2nd (15s): more fruit, hint of caramel in nose. Taste is mostly just woody, with a bit of earth, but less bitter than before. 3-6th steeps similar. OK but not much character.
Preparation
1st tea from Lewis & Clarke TTB.
Mild aroma. The flavor is a bit stronger than the aroma, but what stands out is the mouth-feel: it is rich and full. Also a long finish. The flavors are fruity; vaguely citrus, but I can’t really identify individual components.
I have to confess that I find it hard to get excited about most tisanes, and this one is no exception. It is nice enough but nothing to get excited about.
Preparation
I’m combining two different tastings for this tea.
The first was steeped at 175 degrees. I loved the smoky aroma, but the taste was just too harsh to enjoy. The taste was dominated by the smoke, with some grass hiding beneath the smoke. By the 6th pot it was starting to smooth out, but still harsh. The nose was always lovely: the best part.
I was disappointed, since I’d just bought 100 grams, but decided to try again at 200 degrees. This time 1st there was the same smoky nose and taste but not the harshness. Lots of cha qi. Powerful, closed-in, just a hint of bitterness. I had about 4 steeps and each one was fairly smooth and full. Good flavors.
I’m perplexed. A month ago I had a sheng that was terrible at 200 degrees, but great at 175. Now I have the opposite. A tip of the hat to boychik, who persuaded me to publish more tasting notes.
