thanks again for the samples, Just Organic Tea! I’m especially up for trying a new assam. JOT’s instructions are 195 degrees. To be honest, their sample sizes look smaller than the teaspoon that I would usually use, so I thought of using less water as I was pouring too much water. :D The cup was delicious anyway! Not too light, not too strong… Even before I took a sip, I could tell this would be one of those assams that are pure tomato soup taste. Even from the fragrance! I finished off a tea recently that tasted this way: Steven Smith’s No. 49 Assam, even though the first cup I tried didn’t taste like tomato soup at all (though that had been six months before the second time I tried it.) I’m thinking my taste buds changed in those six months. Though I’d prefer to have my assam have notes that aren’t tomato soup, this is actually a very enjoyable cup (if there is one thing I can’t stand – it’s tomatoes, but tomato soup is much better.) This cup is rich but not too rich, it’s still very sweet, no astringency at all. I would swear it’s tomato soup made with milk. It almost has that consistency. It’s on the verge of being almost minerally like a volcanic oolong and it tastes a bit like iron. I never brew a cup with less than a heaping teaspoon of leaves, and I don’t usually steep black teas at 195 degrees. But this cup is so perfect, maybe I’ve been going about brewing my black teas all wrong. The second steep is nice too, just a little less tomato soupy. I could crave this once in a while.
Steep #1 // 10 minutes after boiling // 4 min steep
Steep #2 // 10 minutes after boiling // 4 min (just half a mug of water)
This is You :-D
Profile
Bio
Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.
Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandala
verdanttea.com
Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas
My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.
Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!
I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.
My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors
My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again
I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)
Happy sipping!
Location
USA
