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Another TJMaxx tea. This is another backlog. “Light but still has great flavor.” I guess I’ll have to explore this one as that is kind of vague. It gives, perhaps, a sense of an airy tea that is not dense like a dark tea but I could use with a better sense of what light means.

Tjmaxx purchase. Back in those days, I used to shop there more and buy weird things. Found some unique teas there. This one was interesting. I feel like I need to retry it now though. My palate has definitely changed.

If you want to develop a palate for certain teas or terroirs you really have to stick more so to that grouping. When you wander too much your palate really can’t pull the distinctive notes that it needs to. Or at least that is what I’ve found. In order to determine the subtle differences you really have to batten down the hatches. But it’s difficult…. because I want to try all the things! This has been sitting for a while. I keep meaning to try it but I’ve been on a Japanese tea binge. I am glad though that I seem to be tasting some subtleties that I thought I would miss. This is a nice one.
Dry aroma: Strong ‘typical’ pu er aroma. Dried, aged wood. Slight cherry wood.
Dry Appearance: Tightly twisted but more of a smushed and pellet appearance. Some stems. Dusty. Dark brown.
Quick rinse.
Wet Leaf aroma: 1800s house. I love that scent. Slight smoke. Sweet and leather.
Flavor: Cream. Dark wood, smoke. Old wood in an old house. Makes me want to hope on Ancestry! Its my other passion.
Mouth feel: Smooth with a slight astringency
After tasteCharcoal wood.

Dry aroma: Very similar to jasmine. Soft and fragrant
Dry appearance: Mix of dark and olive greens. Tightly ball rolled.
Inital steeping aroma: When you walk off the plane in Hawaii (in the smaller airports like LIH) you are greeted with a sweet scent. This scent. Paradise…
Flavor: Different from jasmine but some of the similar qualities of tropical fruit and plant notes. The pomelo holds earthier notes with a slight bitterness.

I’ve come to realize that I have holiday anxiety. It also doesn’t help that the last two years have been filled with drama between my sister and I but that is a whole other mess. Hope you all made it through and are able to calm with a bit of tea.

Note: Currently as of 2024 they have two different matchas. This one and the premium version.
Dry Aroma: Chocolatey.
Appearance: Unripe Bartlett Pear. A nice green. An average color for a ceremonial grade.
Liquor Aroma: This is going to sound really stupid but it smells like matcha. To me, this is very nice and relaxing. Earthy, slightly leafy.
Mouth Feel: Very smooth. Slight silt.
Flavor: Nothing needed. Creamy and vegetal. A bit earthy. Very nice.
I could really go for a side of wagashi… maybe a nice warabi mochi

Got this one in a TTB and decided to keep it because it is really nice when you’re feeling under the weather. The Greek Mountain tea flows nicely with the rest of the ingredients. I also just tried it as a nitro and it is very good.

The dry leaf has a rich chocolate color that matches the beauty of the Andes mountains. It is twisted. A mix of mainly leaves with a few twigs. A few fuzzies to be seen as well. The aroma is a hint of raisins and very slightly woody.
I believe the instructions are for mug-style brewing but I just couldn’t bring myself to do that. You can immediately tell that the terroir for this oolong is different. Not at all like its Taiwan and China counterparts. It has more Muscatel notes and while it does have a bit of minerality, it leans more toward bitter rocks. The barley notes are a mix of Canadian and Japanese types. The mouthfeel is very smooth. There is a fair amount of sediment. The wet leaf also has an interesting almost fishy note that reminds me of a young sheng pu er. This area should definitely experiment with dark tea. (They can’t legally call it up er because Pu er can only come from the Yunnan region in China)

Went to a lady’s high tea with my mom and daughter. The food served was decent. Pretty typical for American fare. The chicken salad looked amazing but I couldn’t eat it due to my almond allergy. They only served one tea. This one. Most of the table consisted of coffee drinkers. They seemed to enjoy it. It was good to try one but not one I would seek out. The liquor aroma reminds me of brandy. And the after taste is brandy mixed with different artificial stuffs. The flavor has a bit of cream that is nice along with some odd citrus notes. Just not my thing.

Well, shoot. I’m starting to feel a bit run down. Besides elderberry and a multivitamin, I’m also doing plenty of tea. Sunshine in a cup sure but also tastes like “kick whatever this is in the pants” in a cup as well. Plenty of lemongrass and a mix of happy.

If tea were music this would be a classical piece. It’s a bit too subtle for the pieces like L’Éloignement but I don’t know if I want to be cliche by saying the rose flavor matches with Vivalid’s Four Seasons Spring. Granted I really do love that piece. If you’ve ever been to Delos, Greece you will especially love this: https://archive.org/details/live-from-delos-vivaldis-the-uncertain-four-seasons

First brew: In a mug. 195F.
Liquor aroma: Creamy. Warm milk with a hint of some type of spice.
Flavor: Woody notes swirling with rose. Hint of cacao.
After taste: Sweetwood.
Mouth feel: Smooth. No astringency.

Gong fu: Currently on my second infusion. My first edit of this post got erased on my phone. _ I will tell you that I do like this tea better as gong fu but both are still very enjoyable. Great woody notes highlighted with rose.