592 Tasting Notes
This is the first tea that I’m trying from the Den’s Tea sampler and the first time I’m having houjicha to boot! When I first opened the packet, I was greeted by a fishy smell, kinda like dried anchovies, which scared me a little. However, after steeping (only 30 seconds, how strange!), the fishy smell went away almost completely and it now smells more like genmaicha to me. The taste is a nice roasted, savory-type tea, which is just what I needed now that the weather is getting cold. I can also detect a bit of fishy taste. I was afraid from the dry leaf smell that that would be weird, but it somehow incorporates nicely with the rest of it all.
If the rest of this sampler turns out to be as delicious as this one, my bank account is gonna take a hit. A wonderfully delicious hit.
Yay for herbal tea experimentation! When I smelled this in store, I was immediately drooling. Smells like baked goods with a warm, cinnamon-y, nutty smell. Apple is also in there somewhere. I kinda wanted to just eat some right then and there (it looks like trail mix!), but I resisted and waited to get home to brew it up “properly”.
Anyway, the tea smells the same but almost stronger. After the initial 5-6ish minutes of steeping, the color definitely was pink as the description promised. However, the taste was not as strong as the smell and I found it to be watery tasting. I still loved it, so I let it steep while I worked on stuff. Steeping longer definitely helped with the watery-ness, but then my tea had cooled off! Maybe next time I’ll double up and see what happens. I think this may be my new favorite herbal (although I find myself saying this constantly these days..)
This is my traveler tea of the day. I think I may have gotten some extra candied pineapple in my scoop because there is a very candy-like sweetness to the tea. The peach taste is a little subtler than before, but definitely still noticeable. It also is a bit bitter, even though I tried to be careful not to oversteep. It’s a bit finicky in that way. May or may not repurchase because of that when I run out.
I made my very first trip to a DAVIDsTEA store today, hooray! Anyway, I’m on a perpetual hunt for good herbal/low caffeine teas because I’m very sensitive to caffeine. When I smelled this one in the store, I immediately fell in love. I love pistachios and got a nice big whiff of it. There’s also another smell that’s hard to identify, so maybe it’s mulberry? I’ve never actually had mulberry before.
The tea does not taste quite as strong as the smell, but the pistachio definitely comes through. There’s also that mystery taste/smell again, which I’m guessing is the mulberry. It’s creamy, but not as creamy as I expected it to be. There’s an overall nice, natural sweetness to it, which is perfect because I don’t like to add sweeteners to my tea (but I also don’t like bitter teas). So far, it’s one of my favorite herbals that I’ve tasted! I’m going to have to go back to buy more before fall is over!
I’ve been so excited to try out these samples from Yezi Tea, so here goes another one! It’s the first time I’ve made oolong on my own, so bear with me. Forgot to smell the dry leaves cause it was so cold I just wanted tea right away!
First steep: Steeped for 45 seconds as recommended. Smells floral (maybe orchid like the description says, but I’m not good with identifying beyond “floral”) and a little buttery perhaps? Tastes sweet, smooth/buttery, and nutty to me. And one of the most important things to me, no bitterness through to the end of the cup!
Second steep: Not sure that my water was hot enough, but steeped for about 20 more seconds. Color is a lot brighter & greener compared to the yellow from before. A lot of the smooth/buttery taste and texture have gone away, but the other flavors seem similar to before. Oh, and there is a bit of bitterness that wasn’t there before, but not much.
Third/fourth steeps: Steeped 20 more seconds each. Pretty much same taste as second steep.
Overall, very tasty! I’m sad that the sample is gone, and I’m definitely considering repurchasing in the future.
My friends know that it’s no secret that I love myself milk tea/boba. When I moved from an area where I could find at least 3 places to get boba within one block to an area where I can barely find good boba in the city, I was crushed. One of my generous friends sent me a little milk tea/boba care package that included this tea to satisfy my cravings. And I gotta say, I love this tea! Definitely very sweet and creamy, not bitter at all. I love it hot, I love it cold. It’s not as strong as other milk teas that I’ve had, but I’m pretty happy with it!
PS I posted the pic for this tea and it somehow came out sideways.. Sorry about that, not sure how to fix it.
My mom had a bunch of Lupicia samples just lying around, so I rescued them and brought them with me to Boston! I’m not going to give this a number rating quite yet because I have no idea how old the sample is, but I’m loving it! I have a grapefruit scented shampoo that I absolutely love and always am tempted to taste a little even though I know it will be bad. This tea is kind of how I imagined the shampoo would taste, haha. Anyway, the grapefruit flavor does not taste very artificial, but also not as sour as eating just a straight-up grapefruit, which I like. The green tea is not as prominent in this one as other flavored green teas except maybe a little at the end. Definitely adding this tea to my shopping list for later purchase!
Edit: Just wanted to add that it did start getting quite bitter toward the end of my cup, but I’m still liking it!
I’ve been looking for non-caffeinated teas, so I bought on impulse at the grocery today. When I opened the box, I could smell a strong whiff of cinnamon, which kinda scared me. The tea definitely has a strong cinnamon taste, but I think it suits the cold weather today. The apple aftertaste is nice to round it out, too. It’s like a mix of cinnamon candies/gum, cider, and baked goods. I’m actually pleasantly pleased by this herbal tea, and I’m sure I’ll be reaching for it more often as the weather grows colder.
