Brand: Lupicia
Type: Flavored Black
Brew Time & Temperature: 3 minutes, boiling
Leaf Appearance: Small black leaves with bits of almond and yellow flower petals added
Color: Amber/medium brown
Smell: Light, baked caramel smell mixed with almonds; its very sweet
Recommended with/as: As is, milk, honey, sugar
Rating: 8/10
Tasting notes and thoughts:
Man, this tea smells great. The smell is very similar to Lupicia's cookie tea (one of my favorites), and doesn't smell artificial at all. On its own, the taste is not as strong as the cookie tea, but still pleasing nonetheless. The caramel flavor is strong and is complemented by the almond very well. The tea base adds a bit of earthiness to the tea, but isn't too noticeable. I prefer this tea with honey and milk, since the sweetness of the honey brings out the taste of the caramel and the milk mellows the entire tea. Overall, it's a very nice, smooth tea that has a sweet taste that isn't too overwhelming. However, Lupicia has better teas that are similar in taste, so I wouldn't recommend this too much (I like it though!).
Other notes:
Welp, I'm now technically done with the first month because 4 weeks (if you're going by the calendar, however, I'll be done with the first month end of next week). To be honest, I'm surprised I've stuck to this project for this long, and I'm actually pretty proud of myself. I'd say I've improved in identifying tastes (since I've read over some of my reviews, compared them to other people's reviews, and we've said similar things), but I'm not sure about my writing yet. Sorry if it's a bit boring right now (both the reviews and my life), but I'm trying.
Other than that, there's nothing much other than life becoming increasingly shitty these past few days (and its not just because of the girl thing). I won't go too much in depth about it since one of my life rules is "no matter how bad it is, someone somewhere has it worse than you, so just accept it and move on". It's kind of stupid, I know, but it helps.
Next on the 100 Days of Tea: Tsugaru Green
Showing posts with label Week 4. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Week 4. Show all posts
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Friday, February 20, 2015
Day 27: Chai Bag Ginger
Brand: Lupicia
Type: Flavored Black
Brew Time & Temperature: 6-7 minutes, boiling
Leaf Appearance: Small (CTC) black leaves with chunks of ginger added; there is other stuff added, but I can't really see it due to the teabag
Color: Light, golden brown (with the milk)
Smell: I'm getting a strong cinnamon smell, with a mix of various spices (imagine going into an Indian restaurant- that's what it smells like for me). Surprisingly, I don't really smell the ginger
Recommended with/as: As is, honey, sugar, milk
Rating: 8/10
Tasting notes and thoughts:
To make this chai, I followed the recipe given by Lupicia (short version below):
1. Boil 150 mL of water
2. Add tea bag and brew for 2 minutes
3. Add 150 mL of milk
4. Brew for 3 more minutes
Since this was the first time I've ever made chai, I have no idea if it turned out well. However, I do think that it had a really good color and it smelled great, so there's that.
I drank the first cup without any sweetener just to see how it would taste, and I'd say it's decent enough. It was a tiny bit bitter (the milk masked that for the most part) and tasted how it smelled- spicy. The ginger added a really strong kick to the end and stayed in my mouth a while after drinking, but it wasn't really noticeable in the actual taste.
As for the second cup, I added a bit of honey, which I think made it so much more better. It brought out a lot of the flavor and cut down on the ginger aftertaste. To be honest, I like it much more like this than unsweetened. Overall, I like it enough and I think it turned out well, but I think I'll just brew the next chai bag (I think there's 2 more) the usual way, add milk, and then add sweetener after. I can't really give this a proper review until I've had more chai, but it's not horrible and actually a bit nice (it's different!).
Other notes:
Nothing really, other than I think I've given up on trying to get that girl for now, at least. I've been trying to get closer to her (or at least be friendlier), but I'm getting nowhere and I'm getting the feeling that she doesn't feel the same way at all. I probably need to keep going at it (and stop being so damn awkward sometimes), but for the past few weeks I've been walking home alone and hating myself for the rest of the day for not doing more. I think I'm probably just going to take it slow right now, try to be more confident, and if anything happens, let it happen.
Next on the 100 Days of Tea: Caramele
Type: Flavored Black
Brew Time & Temperature: 6-7 minutes, boiling
Leaf Appearance: Small (CTC) black leaves with chunks of ginger added; there is other stuff added, but I can't really see it due to the teabag
Color: Light, golden brown (with the milk)
Smell: I'm getting a strong cinnamon smell, with a mix of various spices (imagine going into an Indian restaurant- that's what it smells like for me). Surprisingly, I don't really smell the ginger
Recommended with/as: As is, honey, sugar, milk
Rating: 8/10
Tasting notes and thoughts:
To make this chai, I followed the recipe given by Lupicia (short version below):
1. Boil 150 mL of water
2. Add tea bag and brew for 2 minutes
3. Add 150 mL of milk
4. Brew for 3 more minutes
Since this was the first time I've ever made chai, I have no idea if it turned out well. However, I do think that it had a really good color and it smelled great, so there's that.
I drank the first cup without any sweetener just to see how it would taste, and I'd say it's decent enough. It was a tiny bit bitter (the milk masked that for the most part) and tasted how it smelled- spicy. The ginger added a really strong kick to the end and stayed in my mouth a while after drinking, but it wasn't really noticeable in the actual taste.
As for the second cup, I added a bit of honey, which I think made it so much more better. It brought out a lot of the flavor and cut down on the ginger aftertaste. To be honest, I like it much more like this than unsweetened. Overall, I like it enough and I think it turned out well, but I think I'll just brew the next chai bag (I think there's 2 more) the usual way, add milk, and then add sweetener after. I can't really give this a proper review until I've had more chai, but it's not horrible and actually a bit nice (it's different!).
Other notes:
Nothing really, other than I think I've given up on trying to get that girl for now, at least. I've been trying to get closer to her (or at least be friendlier), but I'm getting nowhere and I'm getting the feeling that she doesn't feel the same way at all. I probably need to keep going at it (and stop being so damn awkward sometimes), but for the past few weeks I've been walking home alone and hating myself for the rest of the day for not doing more. I think I'm probably just going to take it slow right now, try to be more confident, and if anything happens, let it happen.
Next on the 100 Days of Tea: Caramele
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Day 26: Menghai Puer
Brand: Lupicia
Type: Pu-erh
Brew Time & Temperature: 2 minutes, boiling
Leaf Appearance: Curled dark brown and gray leaves of medium to large size; there are a few twigs but not many
Color: Dark rose, mixed with a bit of orange
Smell: Very earthy and fishy, with very light floral notes; it reminds me a bit of the smell of sushi or seaweed
Recommended with/as: As is
Rating: 8/10
Tasting notes and thoughts:
First off, let it be noted that this is the first time ever that I've had unflavored pu-erh. I've tried flavored pu-erh with chocolate and strawberries and I liked that well enough, but to be honest, once I smelled this tea I was kind of put off. The smell is super strong and a bit intoxicating, even though I only used a tea bag and a large amount of water (1-1.5 liters).
As for the taste, it surprisingly did not taste as strong as the smell. However, I found the taste pleasant, in a way. There is a distinct muskiness and smokiness to it, with a very strong salt taste (which isn't bad- it's more like ocean air). It has earthy undertones, and it finishes with a somewhat mellow aftertaste. There isn't much astringency either. Overall, I thought it was good (the flavor surprised me), but I think I need to try more raw pu-erh before I give this one a proper score.
Other notes:
To be honest, I have no idea what I will do for tomorrow. This will be the first time I'll be making chai (there's instructions on the back of the tea bag, though), so I don't know if it'll turn out good or not. I'll probably make a regular pot and use that to make the chai, rather than doing the recommended microwave way. We'll see, I guess.
As for school, there's nothing much other than tests. I've been getting scores lower than I would like recently, so I need to start working on that.
Next on the 100 Days of Tea: Chai Bag Ginger
Type: Pu-erh
Brew Time & Temperature: 2 minutes, boiling
Leaf Appearance: Curled dark brown and gray leaves of medium to large size; there are a few twigs but not many
Color: Dark rose, mixed with a bit of orange
Smell: Very earthy and fishy, with very light floral notes; it reminds me a bit of the smell of sushi or seaweed
Recommended with/as: As is
Rating: 8/10
Tasting notes and thoughts:
First off, let it be noted that this is the first time ever that I've had unflavored pu-erh. I've tried flavored pu-erh with chocolate and strawberries and I liked that well enough, but to be honest, once I smelled this tea I was kind of put off. The smell is super strong and a bit intoxicating, even though I only used a tea bag and a large amount of water (1-1.5 liters).
As for the taste, it surprisingly did not taste as strong as the smell. However, I found the taste pleasant, in a way. There is a distinct muskiness and smokiness to it, with a very strong salt taste (which isn't bad- it's more like ocean air). It has earthy undertones, and it finishes with a somewhat mellow aftertaste. There isn't much astringency either. Overall, I thought it was good (the flavor surprised me), but I think I need to try more raw pu-erh before I give this one a proper score.
Other notes:
To be honest, I have no idea what I will do for tomorrow. This will be the first time I'll be making chai (there's instructions on the back of the tea bag, though), so I don't know if it'll turn out good or not. I'll probably make a regular pot and use that to make the chai, rather than doing the recommended microwave way. We'll see, I guess.
As for school, there's nothing much other than tests. I've been getting scores lower than I would like recently, so I need to start working on that.
Next on the 100 Days of Tea: Chai Bag Ginger
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Day 25: Sencha 'Uji'
Brand: Lupicia
Type: Green
Brew Time & Temperature: 2 minutes 45 seconds, 70-75 degrees C
Leaf Appearance: Thin, rolled, dark green leaves of varying lengths- they are somewhat needlelike
Color: Light green
Smell: Grassy and vegetal
Recommended with/as: As is
Rating: 9/10
Tasting notes and thoughts:
A couple months ago, I actually gave 50g of this tea earlier before to my AP Bio teacher for Christmas and a tea cleanse without tasting it before- the Lupicia near me doesn't really have a good green tea selection, and I really like the appearance of these tea leaves.
Anyway, I really like this sencha! It starts off with a very light sweetness and grassiness, but quickly turns into a brothy, savory tea. It finishes with tart or somewhat sour notes. I don't know if it was the temperature I brewed the tea at (I had to guess the temperature) or if its just the tea, but there was a bit of astringency that left my tongue and throat dry after drinking. However, it's not bitter at all, and was very pleasant to drink. The price is a little bit on the high side (online, it's $13, but its a bit cheaper in the stores), so I'm not sure if I would drink this tea often. Overall, however, I recommend it very much.
Other notes:
Woo, 1/4th of the way done with the Book of Tea and almost done with the first month!
In other notes, apparently I'm sick again. Went to the doc since my lymph nodes started swelling, and (if, hopefully not) they get infected, I'll start having fevers and all of that jazz again. Woooo. Also, for the teas in Week 3- they'll be occurring on random days when I feel like it, or I'll just add them on at the end of this project (Day 100 + 1-3, or something like that).
Next on the 100 Days of Tea: Menghai Puer
Type: Green
Brew Time & Temperature: 2 minutes 45 seconds, 70-75 degrees C
Leaf Appearance: Thin, rolled, dark green leaves of varying lengths- they are somewhat needlelike
Color: Light green
Smell: Grassy and vegetal
Recommended with/as: As is
Rating: 9/10
Tasting notes and thoughts:
A couple months ago, I actually gave 50g of this tea earlier before to my AP Bio teacher for Christmas and a tea cleanse without tasting it before- the Lupicia near me doesn't really have a good green tea selection, and I really like the appearance of these tea leaves.
Anyway, I really like this sencha! It starts off with a very light sweetness and grassiness, but quickly turns into a brothy, savory tea. It finishes with tart or somewhat sour notes. I don't know if it was the temperature I brewed the tea at (I had to guess the temperature) or if its just the tea, but there was a bit of astringency that left my tongue and throat dry after drinking. However, it's not bitter at all, and was very pleasant to drink. The price is a little bit on the high side (online, it's $13, but its a bit cheaper in the stores), so I'm not sure if I would drink this tea often. Overall, however, I recommend it very much.
Other notes:
Woo, 1/4th of the way done with the Book of Tea and almost done with the first month!
In other notes, apparently I'm sick again. Went to the doc since my lymph nodes started swelling, and (if, hopefully not) they get infected, I'll start having fevers and all of that jazz again. Woooo. Also, for the teas in Week 3- they'll be occurring on random days when I feel like it, or I'll just add them on at the end of this project (Day 100 + 1-3, or something like that).
Next on the 100 Days of Tea: Menghai Puer
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Day 24: Sakurambo Vert
Brand: Lupicia
Type: Flavored Green
Brew Time & Temperature: 2 minutes, boiling
Leaf Appearance: Small, rolled (blade-like) dark green leaves with bright red peppercorns and long, yellow pines
Color: Light yellow-green
Smell: Grassy and like cherries (it smells especially like cherry pits, rather than the fruit as a whole for some reason); its very refreshing and the aroma has a bit of bite to it
Recommended with/as: As is, iced (cold brew would be amazing for this tea), honey, sugar
Rating: 8.5/10
Tasting notes and thoughts:
If I had to pick between this tea and Sakurambo (the black tea version), I would pick this tea hands down. The cherry flavor is much more noticeable and combines well with the subtle notes of the green tea much more than the black; as a result, it creates a very refreshing and fresh cherry tea. The tea base gives off light brothy and vegetal notes and has little astringency, making the tea very smooth. The aftertaste too is nice- it ends on a nice sour note, and stays in your mouth long after tasting. I really like it, but for some reason, I feel like I couldn't drink it every day (flavored greens just don't add up to a good shincha anymore).
Other notes:
I think I might start the retasting of last weeks teas (I have vanilla, sakurambo, and darjeeling the autumnal) tomorrow, since I have spares of the tea bags. I'll just post it underneath, probably in this section and make it quick and concise. Otherwise, I'll just put them in on random days when I have the time (probably the weekend).
Anyways, it went pretty good today. We got almost everything set up today for the experiment (just need to fix some more wiring for a control group and add the algae), made some awesome curry rice which almost failed because of no stove, my friend really liked the banoffee pie and banana bread, and I got some of the commercial filmed for Japanese. All in all, a pretty good day.
Next on the 100 Days of Tea: Sencha 'Uji'
Type: Flavored Green
Brew Time & Temperature: 2 minutes, boiling
Leaf Appearance: Small, rolled (blade-like) dark green leaves with bright red peppercorns and long, yellow pines
Color: Light yellow-green
Smell: Grassy and like cherries (it smells especially like cherry pits, rather than the fruit as a whole for some reason); its very refreshing and the aroma has a bit of bite to it
Recommended with/as: As is, iced (cold brew would be amazing for this tea), honey, sugar
Rating: 8.5/10
Tasting notes and thoughts:
If I had to pick between this tea and Sakurambo (the black tea version), I would pick this tea hands down. The cherry flavor is much more noticeable and combines well with the subtle notes of the green tea much more than the black; as a result, it creates a very refreshing and fresh cherry tea. The tea base gives off light brothy and vegetal notes and has little astringency, making the tea very smooth. The aftertaste too is nice- it ends on a nice sour note, and stays in your mouth long after tasting. I really like it, but for some reason, I feel like I couldn't drink it every day (flavored greens just don't add up to a good shincha anymore).
Other notes:
I think I might start the retasting of last weeks teas (I have vanilla, sakurambo, and darjeeling the autumnal) tomorrow, since I have spares of the tea bags. I'll just post it underneath, probably in this section and make it quick and concise. Otherwise, I'll just put them in on random days when I have the time (probably the weekend).
Anyways, it went pretty good today. We got almost everything set up today for the experiment (just need to fix some more wiring for a control group and add the algae), made some awesome curry rice which almost failed because of no stove, my friend really liked the banoffee pie and banana bread, and I got some of the commercial filmed for Japanese. All in all, a pretty good day.
Next on the 100 Days of Tea: Sencha 'Uji'
Monday, February 16, 2015
Day 23: Apricot
Brand: Lupicia
Type: Flavored Black
Brew Time & Temperature: 3 minutes, boiling
Leaf Appearance: Small, curled black leaves with yellow flower petals mixed in
Color: Dark orange/amber
Smell: Sweet and lively; it is surprisingly close to the actual smell of the fruit
Recommended with/as: As is, iced, honey, sugar
Rating: 8.5/10
Tasting notes and thoughts:
Unlike a few of Lupicia's teas, this tea actually really tastes like what its supposed to be. The apricot flavor is strong, and has an added kick with a little bit of spice. The tea base adds a bit of earthiness and astringency and is more noticeable for this tea, but it complements the apricot flavor nicely. Overall, it's a nice, mostly mellow tea and one of my favorite fruit teas so far (which is surprising, since I wasn't expecting much out of this tea at all). The apricot flavor is really good, and it makes me want to actually eat one sometime.
Other notes:
Surprisingly, I actually got a bunch done today (it helps that there's no school too). Woke up, got all of my homework done, downloaded a bunch of music off of my old iPod (it had a surprising amount of songs that I thought I had lost forever), went to piano class, and then baked banana bread and banoffee pie. I'm pretty happy about that, and I'm also super hyped about tomorrow since: I get to start a video project of the science fair stuff (for a scholarship thing), reset the experiment (aquariums broke, so we're switching them with jars), and eat the food I made (and make curry rice in japanese class!).
On another note, god damn the Welcome to the NHK soundtrack is great. I don't really like the metal/heavy rock tracks, but the other tracks make great music for chilling.
Next on the 100 Days of Tea: Sakurambo Vert
Type: Flavored Black
Brew Time & Temperature: 3 minutes, boiling
Leaf Appearance: Small, curled black leaves with yellow flower petals mixed in
Color: Dark orange/amber
Smell: Sweet and lively; it is surprisingly close to the actual smell of the fruit
Recommended with/as: As is, iced, honey, sugar
Rating: 8.5/10
Tasting notes and thoughts:
Unlike a few of Lupicia's teas, this tea actually really tastes like what its supposed to be. The apricot flavor is strong, and has an added kick with a little bit of spice. The tea base adds a bit of earthiness and astringency and is more noticeable for this tea, but it complements the apricot flavor nicely. Overall, it's a nice, mostly mellow tea and one of my favorite fruit teas so far (which is surprising, since I wasn't expecting much out of this tea at all). The apricot flavor is really good, and it makes me want to actually eat one sometime.
Other notes:
Surprisingly, I actually got a bunch done today (it helps that there's no school too). Woke up, got all of my homework done, downloaded a bunch of music off of my old iPod (it had a surprising amount of songs that I thought I had lost forever), went to piano class, and then baked banana bread and banoffee pie. I'm pretty happy about that, and I'm also super hyped about tomorrow since: I get to start a video project of the science fair stuff (for a scholarship thing), reset the experiment (aquariums broke, so we're switching them with jars), and eat the food I made (and make curry rice in japanese class!).
On another note, god damn the Welcome to the NHK soundtrack is great. I don't really like the metal/heavy rock tracks, but the other tracks make great music for chilling.
Next on the 100 Days of Tea: Sakurambo Vert
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Day 22: Matcha Kirara Rice Tea
Brand: Lupicia
Type: Green (Genmaicha blend)
Brew Time & Temperature: 1 minute 30 seconds, boiling
Leaf Appearance: Green tea leaves that look like blades of grass with somewhat large roasted pieces of rice, all covered in matcha
Color: Bright, light green
Smell: Strong smell of roasted rice with a bit of sweetness
Recommended with/as: As is
Rating: 8.5/10
Tasting notes and thoughts:
Despite my taste and smell not being what it used to, I still liked this tea relatively well. The roasted and nutty taste of the rice is very strong, and the green tea/matcha base is nice with little astringency. It's sweet with little bitterness, but I found that its a little hard to taste the green tea (genmaicha) in it, since the rice overpowers it. Overall, I really like it (especially since the loose leaf is super cheap- I might pick up a pack some time).
Other notes:
Nothing really happened again today other than 1. I interviewed my grandfather for a project, 2. got stuck waiting to film, which never happened because people, and 3. went biking. For some reason, I can breathe through my nose fine (for the most part), but I can't smell very well at all. Hopefully, this'll change soon since it's already been a week of me guessing or spending a super long time smelling a single cup of tea.
Next on the 100 Days of Tea: Apricot
Type: Green (Genmaicha blend)
Brew Time & Temperature: 1 minute 30 seconds, boiling
Leaf Appearance: Green tea leaves that look like blades of grass with somewhat large roasted pieces of rice, all covered in matcha
Color: Bright, light green
Smell: Strong smell of roasted rice with a bit of sweetness
Recommended with/as: As is
Rating: 8.5/10
Tasting notes and thoughts:
Despite my taste and smell not being what it used to, I still liked this tea relatively well. The roasted and nutty taste of the rice is very strong, and the green tea/matcha base is nice with little astringency. It's sweet with little bitterness, but I found that its a little hard to taste the green tea (genmaicha) in it, since the rice overpowers it. Overall, I really like it (especially since the loose leaf is super cheap- I might pick up a pack some time).
Other notes:
Nothing really happened again today other than 1. I interviewed my grandfather for a project, 2. got stuck waiting to film, which never happened because people, and 3. went biking. For some reason, I can breathe through my nose fine (for the most part), but I can't smell very well at all. Hopefully, this'll change soon since it's already been a week of me guessing or spending a super long time smelling a single cup of tea.
Next on the 100 Days of Tea: Apricot
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