323 Tasting Notes
This came in a holiday sample box from Azzrian. Thank you Azz!!
It smells so decadently vanilla. The aroma is authentic and strong. I steeped 1tsp/8oz/4minutes. The black base is strong, but the vanilla is really creamy and sweet. A little bit of agave and milk and I’m in heaven. A lovely way to start the day after a late night :)
Preparation
This came from Azzrian – thanks so much!
It’s been awhile since I’ve written, since honestly I haven’t been drinking much tea. But I’m back, baby, I’m back.
I’ve been wanting to try Vintage TeaWorks ever since I heard about them, and I was delighted to find a sample of this in the package from Azzrian. Being 19, I can’t really comment on the accurateness of the Chardonnay, but I feel fancy.
I’m always really a little skeptical of flavored teas, because I want to be able to taste the tea itself. Fortunately, I can here. The oolong is rich and kind of dark, and the fruits compliment it incredibly well. It’s definitely a blend of flavors, with the oolong primarily but with a strong supporting cast.
Delicious!
Preparation
Really light and sweet. I think I’m going to steep a pitcher of this for my Creative Writing class to try tomorrow. I’ve got to bring some of them over to the Dark Side…
(In other news, we used this tea because of its color to stand in for the whiskey in the show I just did!)
Not especially surprised that this one’s been discontinued.
It’s okay, brews a pretty gold color, but it’s a bit flat when it comes to flavor.
After that last mishap with the Sugar Cookie tea, I’m still feeling lazy, and so I reached for a bag.
It’s delicious when drank in combination with a Three Musketeers bar!
Oh that sounds really good. Have to try that one. Usually I have a ginger cookie with malty black tea, and dark chocolate with pu-erh sometimes…never a three musketeers with lapsang…yikes!
Ooh yum! Definitely try this, it’s great :)
That does sound good … now I want a three musketeers bar!
Hum, I haven’t figured this out.
The smell is strong and spot-on.
The taste is lacking. Maybe it’s that I’m used to the punch of loose-leaf now, but it was just kind of weak. Last night I put 2 teabags in my 16oz mug with a bit of milk and agave, and it was weak. Today, I put 4 teabags in the same mug, with milk and agave as well, and it’s strong, but not sugar-cookie strong. It’s not sweet enough. Maybe I didn’t add enough agave for the 4 teabags.
If I can figure out how to make this perfect, though, it’ll be delicious.
Preparation
My friend gave me a little sample of this to try. Her grandfather bought it apparently at a restaurant in New Mexico. He has since passed away, and neither she nor her father has any idea of how to find it again. She asked me what I thought, and based on her description “smells like the inside of a spice drawer,” I pointed her in the direction of a masala chai.
I was wrong, way wrong. In the sample she gave me, the leaves appear mostly homogeneous. They are rolled into little balls reminiscent of a gunpowder, but they look black. The scent is definitely very strong cinnamon.
When I brew it, it brews a light golden color. The smell isn’t necessarily cinnamon anymore. I suppose it’s still there, but what it really reminds me of is bonfire. Not Lapsang bonfire, but something more… like the smell of fresh wood and wet ground and maybe a little bit of smoke.
The wet leaves have unrolled, first into long strings, and then into full leaves. Just looking at the leaves in strings and fully unrolled, it reminds me of a Wuyi oolong.
Tasting it, it also tastes kind of like that. I do get some cinnamon in the taste, but it’s not as prominent as it is in the dry smell. I wonder if it is some cinnamon-scented Wuyi. I don’t think it’s a black, although maybe it is.
It’s a mystery! I wish I had something to recommend her that was close, but I’m really puzzled. Any idea, Steepsters?
