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Monstrositea - Batch Two
I'm a bit behind with posting about my tea adventures. I'm also a little amused to discover I'm behind with actually drinking the tea. There's a batch and a half that I haven't even touched yet--six samples in total. But on to Batch Two!
I'm actually missing a photo of one of the samples. I took it to a friend's house and we drank it in its entirety without a single photo. Since then I have taken to trying a cup out myself before sharing it with friends. Each sample has enough tea for me to do this and still have plenty left to share.
The sample that's missing was called Afternoon Tea Blend. It was pu-erh tea with lychee and liquorice root. It didn't have as much flavour to it as I expected, tasting instead like a plain, good quality black tea. I suspect that the fermentation of the pu-erh combined with the heavy build-up of tannins in my friend's teapot to overwhelm the other flavours. It was, nevertheless, a very lovely tea and we had a wonderful afternoon drinking it together.
A bit over a month ago,![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
onewhitecrow and I had several discussions on zavarka. This tea is made to be zavarka. I don't own a samovar (to my eternal sorrow), but the local tea house sells glass teapots with tea light warmers which worked well enough. I've been using this tea very sparingly on days I'm struggling to get going because it has quite a caffeine kick. A little goes a long way and I still have plenty left of the sample.
This one is green tea with papaya and pineapple pieces, grapes, rose petals, raspberry and strawberry pieces. It had a wonderfully floral aroma but brewed up a little weak when I followed the instructions. It did better with a longer brewing time, allowing the rose flavour to emerge a little more.
I'm sure it astonishes no one that this has been hands down my favourite of all the samples I've tried so far. The smoky flavour dominated with the bergamot kicking in at the end and becoming somewhat stronger as the tea cooled. I was delighted to discover the tea company that provided the sample is an Australian company who always keeps plenty of this blend on hand because it is one of their most popular. I will almost definitely buy more when I can afford to.
I'm actually missing a photo of one of the samples. I took it to a friend's house and we drank it in its entirety without a single photo. Since then I have taken to trying a cup out myself before sharing it with friends. Each sample has enough tea for me to do this and still have plenty left to share.
The sample that's missing was called Afternoon Tea Blend. It was pu-erh tea with lychee and liquorice root. It didn't have as much flavour to it as I expected, tasting instead like a plain, good quality black tea. I suspect that the fermentation of the pu-erh combined with the heavy build-up of tannins in my friend's teapot to overwhelm the other flavours. It was, nevertheless, a very lovely tea and we had a wonderful afternoon drinking it together.
A bit over a month ago,
onewhitecrow and I had several discussions on zavarka. This tea is made to be zavarka. I don't own a samovar (to my eternal sorrow), but the local tea house sells glass teapots with tea light warmers which worked well enough. I've been using this tea very sparingly on days I'm struggling to get going because it has quite a caffeine kick. A little goes a long way and I still have plenty left of the sample.This one is green tea with papaya and pineapple pieces, grapes, rose petals, raspberry and strawberry pieces. It had a wonderfully floral aroma but brewed up a little weak when I followed the instructions. It did better with a longer brewing time, allowing the rose flavour to emerge a little more.
I'm sure it astonishes no one that this has been hands down my favourite of all the samples I've tried so far. The smoky flavour dominated with the bergamot kicking in at the end and becoming somewhat stronger as the tea cooled. I was delighted to discover the tea company that provided the sample is an Australian company who always keeps plenty of this blend on hand because it is one of their most popular. I will almost definitely buy more when I can afford to.
no subject
Hee...that or make ice cream.
? I like fasting and being made better, or at least able to drink something beyond slightly-flavoured water when sick...it is very frustrating to me not to be able to eat things the rare times my stomach takes against me. Plus the more I brew, the less of my stockpile is available to chew, no?
Ah! I expect so.
no subject
Mmm... ice cream!
My apologies. I know many people have negative associations with flavours they only taste while ill. I thought it might be the same for you.
And yes! Better brew than chew.