199 Tasting Notes
Dry leaves smell like a delicious blend of white chocolate and raspberry. The tea brews up beautifully and tastes more of raspberry than anything else, but there are some definite white chocolate notes. I didn’t taste as much of the actual tea flavor, but that’s okay. This would be a great dessert tea!
Flavors: Raspberry, White Chocolate
Preparation
This is a delicious green.. The leaves remind me of Clouds and Mist. The tea brews up to a soft yellow/green (or Green Gold? heh). The taste of the tea is sweet, buttery, slightly vegetal… and amazing :) This is definitely one to restock!
Flavors: Butter, Creamy, Sweet, Vegetal
Preparation
The farm where this is grown is absolutely gorgeous! It was such a treat to hike up the mountain alongside a stream in order to get there. Once I arrived, I was invited into the Wang’s home where they made this tea, having just been processed the day before. Now when I drink it, I am transported back to the lovely day, the smell of the forest, the food, the tea. I’m so happy you are enjoying it.
With gratitude,
Garret
Super creamy and delicious! I used a lower temp than the directions recommended by Teavivre and it came out as a light yellow with a smooth milky taste. Absolutely no bitterness and it steeps multiple times (I stopped at three).
Flavors: Honey, Milk
Preparation
As a pu noob, this may not be a fair assessment.. I think I steeped it properly after completely botching this last night. I used 7g of tea in 16oz of 200 degree water for 40 seconds (adding 10 seconds for additional steeps). The tea color is a light gold. The taste is woody and smoky, dissolving into a subtle sweetness on the back end. I didn’t really taste a change in flavor over subsequent steeps, so it tasted very one-note throughout the entire process. I will try again with a gaiwan, when it comes in, and update accordingly.
Flavors: Smoke, Wood
Preparation
Dodo, you’ll need to try yours and tell me what it’s supposed to taste like
That’s a lot of water for short steeps. Usually in a gaiwan you would have 3 or 4 oz and do flash steeps.
^ agreed. I generally do ~6g leaf to 100mL water and start sheng at around 15 seconds after a rinse or two.
I was following the recommended “teapot” instructions on the tea’s page: http://theteakings.com/product/da-ye-5-year-aged-puer/
Should I have doubled the leaf and only done 8oz (~235ml) for 15 seconds? Is there a good way to brew it western style?
I didn’t really care for this blend. It seemed very unbalanced, which could happen in a smaller sample size. I found the ginger overpowering and the green tea flavor had a strange and almost bitter-y aftertaste. It wasn’t terrible, but I definitely won’t be purchasing.
Flavors: Ginger
Preparation
Wow, wow, wow.. Glad I saved this one to end my Happy Earth Tea samples on a positive note!
The dried leaves smell heavenly! I was in the Steepster chat when brewing this and I commented that the leaves “smell like lemon hay” (that’s not a bad thing :P). I had never had a darjeeling before, so thanks to Marzipan and Corvuslunar for the steeping instructions :)
I used 1tsp per 8oz (I made a whole 32oz pot!) and steeped it at 185 degrees for 2.5 minutes. The taste is different to me, since I wasn’t sure what to expect with a darjeeling, but it’s beautifully complex. The subtle peachy and grassy flavors bring me back for multiple cups, contemplating this tea. It’s not a “brute force” tea, but there’s something about it that makes me want to keep drinking.. The flavors don’t say “Here I am!” but rather they are warm and inviting, luring you into the liquor.
I steeped for a second round (3 minute infusion this time) and the tea definitely has a sweet note to it now, almost like a caramel without the overpowering sweetness of the actual candy. The peach flavor still lingers in the background, calmingly. It’s strange through, because I even wrote in my bio that I don’t like peach flavored tea, but.. yeah, it’s good here! All in all, a great way to end my day yesterday and finish off my Happy Earth Tea samples. Thank you Niraj! :)
Flavors: Earth, Grass, Peach, Sweet
Preparation
Ah I saw this just after writing a comment on your Nepal Autumn tea review. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I hope you will come back to visit us once the Darjeeling first flush 2015 is here. We are expecting to make it available around mid-May.
I know there are lot of great teas out there, but we still like to call Darjeeling, the champagne of teas! :)
Man, this really makes me wish the new flushes would come out already!
Steeped up my sample from Nepali Tea Traders this morning!
So, I decidedly love chai – the strong robust flavors, spicing hitting you from every direction.. Not so in this cup! This is a very mild black tea base with a subtle and non-bitter taste. The chai spices of cinnamon, cardamom, and clove come through just as gently, creating a full experience without the “in your face” impact of a typical chai.
I think the tea smells like a spiced hong cha, very gentle in the base tea. I brewed one of the pyramid bags in the sample in 16oz of 200 degree water for 3 minutes. The resulting brew color is a dark amber. The taste is strangely spicy with a certain sweetness on the back. The flavor does not cling to the tongue, creating a smooth finish with no lingering bitterness or astringency. Definitely an enjoyable and unique blend!
Flavors: Cardamom, Cinnamon, Clove
Preparation
Too be quite honest I think spicing that is not in your face is actually more authentic than the peppery taste we have for it in NA. This is only in reference to my experiences in North and central India. I do enjoy a hot spicy Chai, but the subtler ones are the ones that bring back memories.
