Sencha Gojiberry

My Tea Thoughts:
December 29, 2009

Look. I am blown away. Sencha Gojiberry has huge, long green tea leaves (wonderful!), plus all sorts of other stuff -- according to the package, it's "Pomegranate, Blueberry, Lemongrass, Cornflower, and GojiBerries." The tea is a clear reddish hue, a beautiful tint rarely seen in green teas!
Smell. The scent of Sencha Gojiberry is a strong, sweet berry note.
Drink the steam. This tea's steam is intricate and complex, best described as a meadowy flavor.
Sip. The basenote is a normal green tea with one difference: the lemony hint.
Slurp. Berries! Berries! Berries! That's all I can say about this exotically fascinating tea.
Gulp. Sencha Gojiberry's texture is smooth and silky. I'm impressed.
Think. This tea might be good iced, since it's fresh and flavorful. This tea was a gift from my uncle and my soon-to-be-aunt, his fiancee, so thank y'all so much! It's terrific!

Happy Sipping,
CoolCat

Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to wish all my readers Merry Christmas, and God's blessings! Remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season!
Happy Sipping,
CoolCat

Almond Biscotti Black Tea

My Tea Thoughts:
December 19, 2009

Look. Almond Biscotti Black Tea leaves look like normal black tea, with one important difference: the almond slivers. After brewing, it's a clear auburn color, with minimal sediment compared to some teas.
Smell. The smell of Almond Biscotti is almost unbelievably sweet, nutty, and luscious.
Drink the steam. This tea's steam is not very flavorful; I could hardly taste the tea quality of it. (Fortunately, steam drinking is not a very important step.)
Sip. WOW! What an incredible basenote. It's sweet but not too sweet, with a really good black tea as the main event.
Slurp. Slurping highlights the 'biscotti' notes. Almond and honey are a couple I can pick out.
Gulp. This tea's texture is smooth yet strong. I am in love.
Think. Almond Biscotti Black Tea could go well with real almond biscotti! I'll have to pick some up. This tea was a Christmas present, so thank you -- you know who you are.

Happy Sipping,
CoolCat

Snow Geisha

My Tea Thoughts:
December 8, 2009

1. Look. Before brewing, Snow Geisha is your average whole-leaf white tea, with one addition: dried cherries. This made me a bit nervous, since I don't usually like cherries. After brewing (probably thanks to those same cherries) it's a lovely clear pinkish-orange, with its only marring factor a large amount of sediment in the bottom. Does anyone know what this sediment is? I don't.
   
2. Smell. To me, Snow Geisha smelled like cherries, or worse, like artificial cherry flavorings. I could not smell the tea at all.
   
3. Drink the steam. Strangely, when drinking the steam, I detected hardly any cherry -- just a sweet white tea.
   
4. Sip. The basenote proved to be a sort of lemon-sour, fruity-sweet note, with little tea in the mix.
   
5. Slurp. Perfect! Strong cherries first, then strong tea. Will the two ever get combined?
   
6. Gulp. The texture is weak, non-assertive, and watery. Not necessarily bad, though, for a fruity white tea like Snow Geisha.
   
7. Think. Snow Geisha was fairly good, but a little too weak and wishy-washy. (Look at me, accusing a liquid of being too wishy-washy.) Perhaps if it was brewed longer than the 3:30 timing we went by, it would improve. Or it could be a good base for adding lemon, sugar, or cream -- perhaps a fine tea for a little girl's tea party, since it's sweet, not very tea-tasting, and would be good with the requisite "stuff" in it. Today was another Testaments and Tea day, so we read from Psalm 2. "Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain?" We are looking for Messianic OT prophesies quoted in the NT.
   

Happy Sipping,
CoolCat

Lavender Dreams

My Tea Thoughts:
December 4, 2009

1. Look. Lavender Dreams is a beautiful tea dry, with not only varied herbs but also dried fruit and even complete dried flowerbuds. Once brewed, it is a light and lovely yellow-brown, very clear, not at all cloudy.
   
2. Smell. It has a comparatively sweet smell, with many different floral, herbal, and savory notes.
   
3. Drink the steam. The steam is mainly sweet, but has a floral overtone.
   
4. Sip.The main note of Lavender Dreams is a fruity sweetness, but bright and clear. If you could taste the color orange, it would taste like this.
   
5. Slurp. I detect overtones of flowery notes, savory herbals (rosemary? chamomile?) and perhaps even the faintest hint of real green tea.
   
6. Gulp. The tea is smooth-flowing, but not very powerful.
   
7. Think. This tea would be best suited for brunch or lunch, in my opinion. While drinking it, I read some passages from the Bible as part of a new Advent tradition. My favorite verses from these segments: "Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones." ~Isaiah 49:13 "[to the serpent, Satan] And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your ofspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." ~ Genesis 3:15
   

Happy Sipping,
CoolCat

Thanksgiving Tea

Today is Thanksgiving, so my family and I celebrated the traditional way with a big meal (but not too big) of turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, and more! I was in charge of picking out the tea, so I designed a blend of slightly more than half Earl Grey and slightly less than half lavender. This blend was specially chosen to be strong enough to go well with a big meal, but gentle enough to sit well on the stomach. I just wanted to share this yummy mix with my readers!

The Seven Steps of Tea Drinking

1. Look. What color is the tea? What do the leaves look like -- are they plain leaves or do they include flowers, spices, or fruit pieces?
2. Smell. Put your nose right next to the tea. What flavor notes can you detect? Write them down or remember them, so you can compare them with the ones you taste.
   
3. Drink the steam. Pull a large amount of the steam through your mouth, and compare these flavor notes with the ones detected with your nose.
4. Sip. Only let a small amount of tea enter your mouth (even if it wants to flow heavily, don't let it!) and by no means allow any air in at this stage. This should help you establish the base note.
5. Slurp. About an equal amount of tea and air should come in now. This is the step that gets you funny looks in restaurants, but it strongly accentuates the overtones of the tea. After slurping, swish the tea over all areas of your tongue, which detect different flavors.
6. Gulp. Drinking a large amount of tea with no air determines the timbre, or texture, of the tea. This can be affected by water quality. If you have a small teacup, which is often best for tastings, you have probably drunk the last of it now.
   
7. Think. Compare the different notes tasted at each stage. Which one is the basenote, and which are overtones? Are there any 'undertones,' flavors percieved as darker or deeper than the basenote? What foods would complement this tea -- pastries or cakes? Or is it a more savory tea, one that would go with bread or cheese? Maybe it would be perfect with fruit. Did anything else stand out about the tea?

Happy Sipping,
CoolCat
P.S. I've decided to switch to the seven-step model for my tea reviews. Keep your eyes open for more posts!