323 Tasting Notes
The Bai Mu Dan is strong with this one.
//bad Star Wars reference.//
I’m not a big Bai Mu Dan fan. Too earthy, too woodsy. The blueberry in the smell is beautiful, but it’s overpowered in the cup.
It’s okay. It came as a gift from my friend. I’m open to swapping.
Edit: Second steep better. Not as fuzzy. More blueberry.
Preparation
Prebagged impulse by at the David’s store.
Hum.
Interesting. Strong smell of coffee and chocolate. Brew is a little bit weak but I’ve been finding that David’s are better with more tea, so that might have something to do with it.
I don’t dislike it, but it’s not a huge favorite.
Preparation
I’ve also been finding that using more tea is beter with David’s teas. I used to notice it at the end of a sample, when there’s more than usual left, but not enough to leave behind, so I would just dump it all in.
Yeah, definitely. I was in the store, and the guy was pitching the Perfect Spoon, which is ~2.5 tsp, I think. And he said one of those was good for a cup… which is about twice as much as I use per cup.
i’m pretty sure the perfect spoon is 1.5 tsp. i use that for my mugs and q-teapots which are 12-14 oz. but maybe i’ll try using it for 8 oz and see how things change! hmmmm. interesting.
That’s what I thought the perfect spoon was, and that’s what Teavana’s perfect spoon is, but the guy in the store said 2.5. He might have been wrong though. No idea!
Ooh, I love this one. One smell and I was entranced. I SO wish I’d bought more than an ounce of this. At this rate it’ll be gone tomorrow.
Incredibly rich, pure vanilla smell comes through in the dry leaf. The orchid is predominant in the first steep, and it’s more of a vanilla-smelling oolong, but on later steeps the floral dryness backs off and there’s more of that sweet, sweet vanilla. Delicious. Definitely a new must-have.
Preparation
entranced is totally accurate! the smell of this tea will stick in your brain! mmmmm
I agree -delicious! This is one of my favorites
Michelle, I think it’s the only newbie from DT I actually liked in a long time! It renders such a lovely natural vanilla creaminess , mmmm!
I don’t really get the Earl Grey in here. It’s a bit perfumey, especially in the smell, but when brewed with milk it tastes sort of like any other perfumey black blend. It’s good, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t get anything specifically bergamot or jasmine in it.
I went into Teavana looking for the Swiss Vervaine, and I managed to snag the last pound of it that my store had. Success! I’m really sad to see that one go – I can see why it might not have sold well, but it was definitely my go-to sick tea. I wanted to smell the CocoCaramel Sea Salt, because it just sounded so weird, but they were all out of that one for the holidays, so the associate asked if I wanted to smell this one instead. Sure, why not.
It smelled good, so I got 2oz of it and took it home. I finally got around to brewing it – and there’s hibiscus.
I don’t smell it, I don’t really taste it, but in a blend that is so almondy and caramelly, it’s downright bizarre that the drink is pink. On top of that, I had a feeling that this would be best with milk, so now it looks like Pepto-Bismol. If I don’t look at the tea while I drink it, it tastes good. But I just can’t get past the pink liquor. It’s like green ketchup. I can’t do it.
Edit I was lazy and didn’t actually look at the ingredients… Turns out its not The Hib at all. It makes sense. It’s beetroot pieces. Still weirdly pink though.
Preparation
It took me years to learn to like salsa verde for the very same reason!
Get a dark mug so you can’t tell?
It certainly sounds interesting, though.
I love Swiss Vervaine and I too was sorry to see it go! I’m glad I stocked up. I’ve made THIS tea several times and it’s not always pink; I guess it depends on what bits of stuff end up in the brew. I really do like it, though. I have taken it to cat shows and now a few friends are hooked on it. There’s a new one for spring, BERRY Almond Amaretti. I’ll try that one too, eventually.
This came in my swap box from TassieTeaGirl! Everything she sent me is so unique – I never really thought about American flavors v. Australian flavors. It’s delicious. I love how it’s a Christmas tea that isn’t especially spicy. Instead, it’s really warm and almondy. The black tea is smooth. I didn’t try it with milk or sugar, but I think it would be really creamy and desserty that way! Resteeps well.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Preparation
Another delicious sample from Azzrian!
Rainy days are oolong days. This one is deliciously sweet, but still tastes natural and oolongy :)
Brewed Western style, 2tsp/16ish ounces.
Preparation
Really good: creamy and sweet and a little bit floral. I’m really sad to see the end of the bag – I still have a few more steeps left, but still.
(yay bad Star Wars reference)