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Evol Ving Ness drank Gold Thread Reserve by Red Blossom Tea Company

1403 tasting notes

I was awoken in the wee hours by two monster trucks on my street doing some sort of noisy ungodly what: monster hoovering it sounds like. I got up because it was impossible to sleep through this and it continues now for hours.

Clearly I need some sort of home totem god or goddess to protect the tranquility of my home and guard my sleep. Any ideas?

My first whirl with this sample from Dexter. The scent of the dry leaf is just chocolatey fab. The steeped tea is lovely chocolatey malt and then there’s a flavour that comes up that I don’t particularly like. I don’t know how to describe it. A bit metallic and a bit bitter. Perhaps I have used too much leaf.

The second steep, because I don’t give up, is chocolatey and yammy. The metallic aspect is gone. The third is also still delicious.

Thankfully, I have a bit more to experiment with. Thank you for the sample, Dex.

Flavors: Bread, Chocolate, Metallic, Yams

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Dexter
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“Clearly I need some sort of home totem god or goddess to protect the tranquility of my home and guard my sleep. Any ideas?” – Good quality ear plugs?
Not sure about the metallic that you are getting from this, but that’s what’s so fun about this game – we all perceive things differently. Hope you find others that you like better. :)

Evol Ving Ness
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hhehehe, Dexter. I tried three different kinds of earplug plus earplugs and white noise and nope. Same result. I suspect that I am so sensitized now by being repeatedly awoken over months that it doesn’t take much.

Tastebuds are interesting and it is so fun to try all the things. I liked the second, third, and fourth steeps a lot and the leaves are beautiful. I’ll try less leaf next time and see what happens.

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Dexter
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Evol Ving Ness
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A monk sips morning tea

A monk sips morning tea,
it’s quiet,
the chrysanthemum’s flowering.

- Basho

(1644-1694)

Note to self—-you do not actually need any more tea.

My real tea obsession began in February 2015.

Not, sadly, when I had been living and working in China, though I very much enjoyed sampling a variety of teas during my travels there as well. No, no, that would have been far too sensible.

I am a reformed coffee drinker. I still enjoy a long double espresso with a good quantity or milk or cream from time to time, but for now, tea is my thing. All day.

*note—this is way out of date, so if we are doing a swap and you are checking to see what I like and dislike, mostly never mind what you find below. One of these days, I will update this. In the meantime, check what I’ve been drinking and use your own judgement. I like all the teas. Well, I am open to trying all the teas.

I tend to drink black, green, or oolong tea in the morning to early afternoon. Rooibos or
Honeybush or herbal in the evening. And perhaps some sort of sleepy-type tea in the wee hours.

This year, I’ve been discovering flavoured teas, so it may look like that is all I drink although that would provide a false impression.

Not a big fan of chocolate or mint in teas, but I will try them and, from time to time, have been pleasantly surprised. Also, usually I dislike a prominent cinnamon flavour, if untempered with other things, in teas. Again, I say usually, because there are exceptions.

Also, please note that haven’t quite gotten into the habit of updating my tea cupboard on Steepster, and it is unlikely that I will do this on any kind of regular basis.

I drink my tea black and unsweetened. If there comes a rare moment that I add something to it, I will mention it.

Finally, while I thank large and successful tea companies for tantalizing and beckoning me to the world of tea, I prefer to support independent ventures with real people, real enthusiasm and commitment, and real dreams.

Currently, I am researching monthly tea subscriptions. Perhaps it will keep me out of tea shops.

And here is Shae’s rating scale— which I am using with permission, of course— which more or less describes the way I have been rating teas. I am going to make more of an effort to stay very close to these parameters now.

Rating Scale

1-20: By far, one of the worst teas I’ve tasted. I most certainly will not finish my cup and will likely “gift” the rest to my sweet husband who almost always enjoys the teas I dislike (and vice versa).

21-40: This tea is not good but if I mix it with another tea or find another steeping method I might be able to finish it.

41-60: This one is just okay. I might drink it again if someone were to give it to me, but I probably won’t be buying more for myself.

61-75: This is a consistently good tea. It’s reliable but not necessarily special.

76-90: This one is a notch above the rest and I would gladly enjoy a cup of it any day of the week. I’ll likely be keeping this in my cupboard, but it isn’t one of my all-time favorites.

91-95: One small change and this tea would be perfect. I’ll definitely have a stash of this in my kitchen if you come over for tea.

96-100: No words can describe this tea. It’s an experience, an aha moment. Closed eyes, wide smile, encompassing warmth. Absolutely incredible. Perfect.

Location

Mostly, but not always, Toronto, Canada.

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