White Ginger
White Ginger is exactly what the name says, white tea with ginger root chunks.
This isn't a strong tea. The flavor is very subtle. I was initially worried that the ginger would completely overshadow the tea. But, instead, they meld into what I can only describe as gingerbread.
It's not a strong taste of gingerbread. But that's the resulting flavor. It would probably rock my socks with a larger sample size. It's just not strong enough, as is.
Second steeping is washed out. Which isn't surprising.
Sinharaja
Today's tea is the exotically named Sinharaja.
It's strong and rich. There's a roundness there. The taste lingers for awhile, but not unpleasantly. This tastes exotic, but I can't really pin-point why.
The official description mentions ripe berry notes and a caramelized finish.
I'm not getting that. But it does have a really good complex flavor.
Second steeping is much like the first. Good and strong. The flavor is still much the same.
I don't see this as a tea I'd drink all day long. It's more for an occasional exotic treat.
Sugar Caramel Oolong
Sugar Caramel Oolong is simply oolong tea with sugar-caramel flavor
added.
And, gee, that's what it tastes like, too. I was a little apprehensive when I first saw the sample. I wasn't sure how well sugary flavors would go with the tea. (Maybe that's because I don't sweeten my tea with anything. I started drinking tea to get away from sugared beverages.)
It's a nice complement. The tea has a good amount of flavor, with the sugar-caramel adding just a touch of additional flavor. And it's really adding flavor rather than sweetness. This doesn't taste sweet. Just caramelly. And just a little bit. It's good.
Second steeping tastes much like the first. I was worried that the sugar-caramel flavor would all end up in the first steeping. But it didn't. The second steeping is also still balanced. Nice.
Interestingly, the online description says:
The fanciest silver-tipped leaves provide a remarkable durable blend good for many infusions without a loss of flavor.
And, indeed they do.
Orchid Temple Oolong
While still a little nauseous from the Twizzler Tea, today I'm giving Orchid Temple Oolong a try.
It's good. Grassy, or maybe more like straw? Basically, you know your basic Chinese Restaurant Tea?
Well, this is what it tastes like if it's really good Chinese Restaurant Tea.
I'm not actually a big oolong fan. But I still like this just fine. I wouldn't go buy myself a bunch of it. But an oolong fan might.
Holds up well under a second steeping. A little weaker, of course. But still tasty.
Twizzler Tea
Today's tea flavor is Twizzler Tea. It's made with red Twizzlers rather than black. I think that's a wise decision. Using black Twizzlers would have made it too similar to the Licorice teas I've already tried.
Instead of large pieces, the Twizzlers are ground up pretty fine. I suppose that makes it easier for the essence of Twizzler to enter the water.
It brewed up a pleasant reddish-amber hue. There's a nice, but not overwhelming, scent of Twizzler rising from the cup.
The flavor is well-balanced. The Twizzler doesn't overpower the tea, but there is also no mistaking that this is Twizzler Tea. The dissolved Twizzler also gives it a wonderful mouth-feel. It almost coats the throat as it goes down. This would be an excellent tea if you had a cold.
The second steeping was disappointing. The Twizzler flavor was gone. Apparently, the very fine grind means that it gives its all in the first steeping. I wonder if including some larger pieces would help extend the flavor to subsequent steepings?
Overall, this is an excellent tea and I would buy ginourmous quantities of it, if only it existed.
Vanilla Mint
In a continuing effort to find a flavor that Anne likes, today we're taking a shot at Vanilla Mint.
There's a lot going on in this one. It's a mix of black and green teas, plus mint and vanilla.
The end result is a strong flavor. But, oddly, one I don't like. There's something oppressive about it. As if the mint flavor was plastering itself to the roof of my mouth. It's kinda weird.
The second steeping was much better. The mint mellowed out and was more in balance with the other flavors. Much, much better.
White Persian Melon
Today we have White Persian Melon. It's a white tea with some melon essence added.
As a white tea, it's certainly not a strong one. It's not supposed to be. The melon works well with it, adding a bit of flavor without threatening to overwhelm the white tea.
Again, I'd really like this quite a bit stronger. But that's going to be true for all these samples.
This one didn't hold up well to a second steeping. The second one tastes like mildly flavored warm water. That's not really a criticism. That's just the nature of white tea.
White Licorice
White Licorice is simply a mix of white tea with star anise and perfumed with a deep far-eastern essence of licorice,
whatever the hell that means.
I mean, licorice isn't mentioned in the ingredients, just in the description. Did they just wave some licorice at it?
Oh well, doesn't matter. It does indeed smell like licorice.
I was a little worried because this sample seemed to contain even less than the others. But it came out just fine.
Think of it less as a white tea with licorice added and more as a licorice tisane with white tea added. In either case, it's pretty good. I'd like it stronger, of course.
It's an interesting flavor blend. Usually, I see licorice flavors added to strong teas in order to smooth them out. In this case, the white tea is used to smooth out the licorice, resulting in a nice smooth brew indeed.
This is one I'd like to buy in larger quantities, to give it a real tasting.
It also holds up pretty well to a second steeping. I'm a little surprised by that from a white tea.
Tippy Earl Grey
You might just know Earl Grey tea as the tea that Captain Picard orders up. Of course, it's been around long before then, even before TOS!
It's basically black tea with bergamot oil. Bergamot is a citrus fruit, basically a bitter orange.
But there's a problem. I loathe Earl Grey tea. The bergamot rubs me the wrong way. I've never met an Earl Grey tea I liked. But maybe this one will be different.
Nope, don't like this at all.
But don't take that as a comment on the tea itself. It's very fragrant and has a flavor I would image would appeal to someone who doesn't loathe the very ground in which bergamot grows.
So, yeah, it was kinda pointless for me to try this one. But I said I would try each and every one of the 31 samples.
Kashmiri Chai
I can't really make a proper judgement on Kashmiri Chai. The reason is simple. Chai should be made with milk. I don't have any milk. So I'm making it with water. And, frankly, I'm doing the tea a disservice.
That said, it tastes pretty darn good, even made in water. Chai is about warm spicy goodness, and this stuff has some warm spicy goodness.
But, like I said, you gotta make it with milk to really judge it, and I ain't got no milk. So I'm giving it a thumbs up, keeping in mind the limitations under which I'm working.
For a similar blast of warm spices, but in an herbal tea designed for water steeping, you can also try TeaSource's Margaret's Soother. It's good stuff.
