New Tasting Notes

Whoops, I took so long to finish my notes on the Tea Thoughts winter countdown box that the spring one is coming out in just over a week! I don’t remember the last time I had a Vietnamese tea, if ever. Thankfully this came with enough leaf to play around with. I made the last of it Western-style today. I enjoyed it, but I think I liked it better with a gong fu brew because the flavor was just stronger and more robust. Today, I mostly got malty, sweet, and jammy notes with a slightly drying effect at the end of the sip. Easy on the stomach, too. 

Another excellent countdown box from Nazanin. I’m still thrilled about the cute little tea tray, and there were some delightful and interesting teas in here. I think I’ve skipped maybe one of her seasonal boxes since I started getting them a few years ago. I can’t say enough good things about them, I’m just a big Tea Thoughts fan in general. I like the stickers, the jewelry, the washi tape, the sticky notes, the notebooks, the pouches… I use my Tea Thoughts tote bag literally every time I leave the house (the old version with the zipper and inside pocket). I use handwritten notes for a lot of things, so I justify the stationery as a practical purchase. So yes, I think it’s safe to say that I’ll keep getting the countdown boxes :-)

Sipdown

Somehow it wasn’t in my cupboard? I think I have had three packs of it so I must have removed it before they were all finished.

As soon as the water hits it, a sweet orange soda aroma fills the kitchen. So sweet, so good, so fresh and citrus-y. Perfect for summer, or for wishing summer were already here.

Thank you Marshall for the trade! I am comparing this to the sencha I had before and wow. Having an eye to determine the difference between these two is absolutely amazing. Now when it comes to taste I am getting closer to being able to tell the difference without being told which is which first. Still, I’m in awe of the farmers.

Dry Leaf: Umami!
Appearance: Long (mostly) needle-shaped leaves. Glossy, dark green with a few vibrant greens mixed in.
Mouth Feel: Very smooth.
Flavor: Lots of umami.
Infusing tea: Slight fresh melon notes. Fresh-cut grass. Umami.

This one is lovely.

This has Earl grey vibes. It’s a little lemony and creamy. It goes well with milk and sweetener. I think it tastes best cold. The final time I had it, I mostly noticed spices that hadn’t been present in the rest of the cups – I guess they had all settled to the bottom! I never noticed the strawberry.

Sipdown

This is a pretty tea to look at. There are red safflower petals and when you pour the water over the leaves a layer of tiny red bits floats to the top of the infuser. I smell almond, not nearly as strong as their plain Almond Black, and vanilla. It does smell sweet and cookie-like.

It is very good and I think Ashman would prefer this one whereas Almond Black just slightly edges over this one for me. Both are great and if I didn’t have both on shelf right now I would think they were very similar, more similar than they actually are.

As a latte, I bet this one would be straight up dessert cookie.

A Bit stronger than I remember their “standard” Lapsang from several years back, but good.
medium-dark brew, slightly smoky /peaty smell. A bit lighter on the “tea” flavor.
I’ve had better, but its OK.

Sip Down & Backlog

Aroma: Fruity – nearly citrusy, peachy, & floral.
Texture: Thin, not much body.
Color: Yellow / light gold
Tasting Notes: Peach, florals (Jasmine?), astringent, & slightly bitter.
Added Notes: This sheng was perfect for a midday pick-me-up. It helped elevate my mind and feel giddy. The tea lasted about 9 infusions each time, but I think I could’ve managed to pull more from the sessions, had I cold brewed or overly steeped the tea. I’m likely to grab a cake of this soon.

Sip Down & Backlog

Reviewed on 02/01/2025

Aroma: A bit earthy, sweet, chocolate, & vanilla.
Texture: Soupy, creamy, & thick mouthfeel.
Color: Dark red – not as dark as other shou.
Tasting Notes: Vanilla & earthy.
Added Notes: Nothing too complex. More expensive than most shou cakes I’ve had in the past, yet somehow less unique than even the cheaper ones. It was overall pretty average.

I’ve almost given up on finding good roasted oolongs, but decided to try this one anyway since Ethan said that like me, he doesn’t enjoy prominent roast or charcoal in his tea. I steeped 6 g of leaf in 120 ml of 195F water for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds, plus some long, uncounted steeps.

The dry aroma is of roasted nuts, butter, caramel, orchids, and other florals. The first steep has notes of grain, honey, roasted nuts, minerals, orchids, and soft florals. Steep two is quite floral, with orchid, honeysuckle, and spring flowers. The tea is rounded out with notes of grain, roasted nuts, butter, grass, and faint roast. The next couple steeps double down on the roasted nuts (walnuts and chestnuts, maybe?) and have more notes of caramel, grain, butter, and roast along with the florals. It’s worth noting that this tea hasn’t become overly roasty or sour. In subsequent steeps, the tea finally starts getting some sourness from the roast, though it’s nicely balanced with nutty, grassy, buttery, and floral flavours and some minerality. The final steeps are more noticeably roasted, but still hang on to the floral, nutty, and caramel notes that make this tea enjoyable.

This oolong is a pleasant surprise. While it’s definitely a roasted tea, the roast is nicely balanced with the floral qualities of the Alishan oolong in a way that complements it rather than overwhelming it. While I wouldn’t say it’s as magical as the sample of Dong Ding Derk gave me from Song, it’s a lot more affordable. It only goes to show there are good roasted teas out there if you are lucky enough to find them.

This ‘Rooibos Pecan Pie’ blend greets us with a warm embrace of almond essence, redolent of decadent confections. Indeed, it bears a resemblance to David’s Tea’s ‘Alpine Punch,’ a perfect winter rooibos nestled amongst snow-capped peaks. The taste, while undeniably charming, offers a fleeting indulgence—a delightful dalliance for the present moment, though perhaps not a blend I’ll buy continuously.

Day 3 of the Inoki calendar! This was a more elaborate blooming tea than I expected. It gave me fond memories of the first time I visited my partner when he was living in Taiwan – I drank so much blooming jasmine tea when I was there. I was just starting to get into tea and I would drink the bloom grandpa-style, just topping it off periodically. This is obviously a different floral note, but it has that same balance of floral note to vegetal green. Three solid steeps from this. The rose is definitely present but it’s not overwhelming the base. This was such a nice stroll down memory lane!

This raw/ripe blend definitely presents its ripe character over the raw, which was very subtle. Absent any astringency or bitterness, this yielded a very smooth & creamy infusion, with undertones of petrichor and fresh autumn leaf litter. No fishiness or dank wet basement notes. Inexpensive and quaffable, this would be a nice base for further blending with fruits, berries & nuts. Or just sip with your morning granola. Lots of caffeine hit me within 15 min of finishing my first cup, so beware (or take pleasure). Although from an “iron cake”, it was easy to flake off large leafsets. I used 5 g leaf in 8 oz boiling alpine spring water and discarded the first 10s wash, then steeped 30s, followed by 60s re-steeps. In my opinion, solid & inoffensive, but unimpressive since I got no special flavors out of it — not even of the tea varietal itself. I’ll rate this blend at 40, since my benchmark for 50 is Lipton teabags which at least offer some character of their base tea. I recommend you spend your money on something else.

Sipdown

One of my favorite Jasmine green teas, this was a gift from Melissa.

This goes great with food. It has just the right amount of palate clearing briskness without being sour or astringent to the point of making you pucker if you drink it on its own.

The strongest flavor is licorice. It’s quite sweet. There might be a bit of other stuff in there, but it’s really mostly that licorice. It’s not bad, but not something I would choose. It doesn’t need sweetener. Since this one is a bit boring, I find myself choosing it when I just need hydration and am not paying attention to flavor. I unsubscribed from their subscription box a while ago, and I think this was the last tea I had to finish!

What a superb tea! My bag of The Roaster’s Red is of the June 2024 harvest. And I brewed it western style, using much less leaf than directed. I look forward to a gongfu session to explore the progression of flavors, but there was plenty to unpack even here. The first impression was to notice the (not smokey) roasted character that comes from charcoal roasting. It was interesting and, since I dislike smokiness in tea, a relief. The roastiness soon gave way to very strong and smooth almost oolong floral flavors, with an extended finish lasting several minutes. As I read the description by Song, I did, indeed, sense the notes of blackcurrent, which then gave way to a long sensation of peach. This all from the first mouthful! The aroma in the cooling cup had potent notes of brown sugar, which matched the smooth, sweet sensations in my mouth. As the infusion continued to cool, the roastiness intensified and the fruity finish seemed to linger longer on the palate, suggesting that this might also make a terrific iced tea. I found that my first infusion of only about 1g leaf in 8 oz boiling spring water for 2 minutes was fruitier and smoother than my second session of 2.5g dry leaf, steeped longer. The longer, stronger session intensified all the flavors and aromas, becoming almost too roasty. I haven’t yet had the courage to brew it exactly as directed, which would be 5 g leaf in 5 oz water. The tea isn’t cheap, but its potency makes it a luxurious value. I’ll rate this as a 95 and highly recommend it!