Experience buying from Culinary Teas http://steepster.com/places/2981-culinary-teas-online-milford-indiana
Date of Purchase/Age of Leaf/Date of Steeping: I bought this in late 2011; there is no harvest date available; I steeped this in March 2012.
Appearance and Aroma of dry leaf: Smells roasted, vegetal, fresh (better than another Young Hy-son I tried in a local shop); standard appearance for an inexpensive green tea: dark green, curly leaves with a few lighter green and light brown leaves mixed in.
Brewing guidelines: Glass Bodum pot, leaf free to roam; stevia added; 6 tsp dry tea = 6 cups water.
……….1st: 160⁰F (OOPS! I was shooting for 170F); 1’
……….2nd: 170⁰F; 1.5’
……….3rd: 185⁰F; 2’
……….4th: 183⁰F; 2.5’
Color and Aroma of tea liquor: Light, yellow-green color; vegetal aroma.
Flavor of tea liquor: Not much flavor on the first steeping, but that’s probably because the temp was too low. On the second steeping I accidentally used too much water (a series of unfortunate events!), so it was weak tasting, but it still had a reasonable amount of flavor, with some sweetness; the third had mild flavor, and the forth had very little. I’ll have to do this one again with better temperatures and amounts of water!
Appearance and Aroma of wet leaf: Interesting to watch as there was lots of movement while steeping; there were a number of stems, only a few buds, and the color seemed a little faded, but almost all of the leaf was whole; standard aroma.
Value: This green tea is a great value at $7.05 for 4 OZ (That’s well under $2/OZ).
Overall: There are very few inexpensive green teas that I have come across that have what this tea has to offer: smooth, sweet flavor in the cup and leaf that is from a decent pluck (not too astringent tasting or too chopped as many green teas as this price range seem to be). I can bet this would blend well with other green teas. A final note about why I like this tea: I can buy some of it to help us get over the free shipping hurdle when we buy our next round of flavor-added black teas from Culinary Teas!
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But…when you drank it did you like it?
Very good question. I looked back over my review, and I can understand why you would ask that. Yes, I liked it (what I remember best about the taste was that it was slightly sweet), but I am still uncertain as to how much I will like it when I brew it properly. I speculate it will taste even better, but I could be wrong. Thank you for asking me to clarify. I guess I spend so much time on the data and trying to be as objective as I can that I sometimes I forget to include my own perspective! I hope that helps answer your question. : )
Thank you and yes. Having worked as a Systems Analyst…I do appreciate technical detail oriented people. I tend to do the opposite and review how the tea tastes and just go on and on about my day in a touchy feely way. Must make people like you gag! Ah well. Pour another cuppa and add something stronger to it!
“… review how the tea tastes and just go on and on about my day in a touchy feely way. Must make people like you gag!’ Not at all. There are all kinds of ways to write reviews, and I think the best ones are when we write using our strengths to honor what we find most important about our experience (I find that some of the best reviews are those when someone opens up about their day and how they are feeling). My adding the more technical stuff is often times simply done out of habit, and not necessarily because I want to. That’s why I appreciate it when others ask me questions that tend to force me to look a little differently at what I am doing. I understand many may not be interested in the technical details (which is fine to me) and thus skip straight to the Overall part in my review (one person even told me she does that). It seems to be in my nature to analyze things (I was a software engineer decades ago), and especially for samples, the details may help me to make a decision later on whether or not to buy it, and/or they help me the next time I steep a tea (especially the really finicky ones, as green teas often are). I really appreciate that you are interested enough to exchange your ideas and thoughts (and feelings) with me! : – )
But…when you drank it did you like it?
Very good question. I looked back over my review, and I can understand why you would ask that. Yes, I liked it (what I remember best about the taste was that it was slightly sweet), but I am still uncertain as to how much I will like it when I brew it properly. I speculate it will taste even better, but I could be wrong. Thank you for asking me to clarify. I guess I spend so much time on the data and trying to be as objective as I can that I sometimes I forget to include my own perspective! I hope that helps answer your question. : )
Thank you and yes. Having worked as a Systems Analyst…I do appreciate technical detail oriented people. I tend to do the opposite and review how the tea tastes and just go on and on about my day in a touchy feely way. Must make people like you gag! Ah well. Pour another cuppa and add something stronger to it!
“… review how the tea tastes and just go on and on about my day in a touchy feely way. Must make people like you gag!’ Not at all. There are all kinds of ways to write reviews, and I think the best ones are when we write using our strengths to honor what we find most important about our experience (I find that some of the best reviews are those when someone opens up about their day and how they are feeling). My adding the more technical stuff is often times simply done out of habit, and not necessarily because I want to. That’s why I appreciate it when others ask me questions that tend to force me to look a little differently at what I am doing. I understand many may not be interested in the technical details (which is fine to me) and thus skip straight to the Overall part in my review (one person even told me she does that). It seems to be in my nature to analyze things (I was a software engineer decades ago), and especially for samples, the details may help me to make a decision later on whether or not to buy it, and/or they help me the next time I steep a tea (especially the really finicky ones, as green teas often are). I really appreciate that you are interested enough to exchange your ideas and thoughts (and feelings) with me! : – )