I've noticed a trend in the signature blends. They are dominated by overwhelming flavor combinations. It is like we are creating teas that no longer taste like, well...tea.
Don't get me wrong. Even though I am a bit of a tea purist, I still like mild flavoring in my tea. I just don't like to drink a dessert (i.e. Birthday Cake) or whatever the blend happens to taste like. I need to know that I am still drinking a tea.
Am I going against the trend, or are there other people out there that want some mild blends to be created?
If you know of some blends that I would like that are not overpowering, please let me know.
Feb 20th, '10, 17:58
Posts: 59
Joined: Oct 8th, '09, 23:01
Location: Jersey!, the nice part
Re: Signature Blends - Can we get some milder flavors?
Why don't you make a signature blend of your very own? That seems like a surefire way to end up with something you like. Nobody can possibly know your taste better than you, right?
I, for one, am totally bonkers for dessert teas. It's what I look for in a signature blend.
I, for one, am totally bonkers for dessert teas. It's what I look for in a signature blend.
Feb 20th, '10, 18:44
Posts: 50
Joined: Feb 18th, '10, 20:04
Location: Emmitsburg, MD//Marlton, NJ
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Schrammy
Re: Signature Blends - Can we get some milder flavors?
That's what I like about them. If I want the tea flavor, I go for the straight teas, but if I can get a tea that tastes like birthday cake (which I can't eat), I'll spend my last $10 on it.beckynoel wrote:Why don't you make a signature blend of your very own? That seems like a surefire way to end up with something you like. Nobody can possibly know your taste better than you, right?
I, for one, am totally bonkers for dessert teas. It's what I look for in a signature blend.
Re: Signature Blends - Can we get some milder flavors?
I think a lot of people go for the signature blends so they can have the sweeter or fruitier or whatever flavor they want more of teas. But if that is not what you are looking for you should go for teas that have a higher percentage of a non-flavored tea like ceylon sonata, assam melody, or Irish Breakfast, etc. I personally own a blend called Pub Fight which is 50% Irish breakfast so it has a fairly mild flavor. There is another one called Red Dragon which is Irish Breakfast, Ceylon Sonata and Earl Grey Bravo. And a third one I found called Pu Erh Mambo which is just Pu Erh Tea and Mambo neither of these are flavored. So yeah most of the signature blend teas lean more towards the flavors but if you look you can find ones that aren't so flavored.
Re: Signature Blends - Can we get some milder flavors?
I'm not overly fond of super!sweet teas, either - and I'm glad to shamelessly plug my creations, lol - but I think, really the kicker in your case is that there's just not a good way to search by a flavor designation. You have to really do some digging to find the types of blends you're looking for...they're out there, though!
Good luck
Deidra H
Good luck
Deidra H
Re: Signature Blends - Can we get some milder flavors?
I agree. I guess I could create my own blend. I have about 10 teas that I enjoy right now in my kitchen. Maybe I could start there. It's like having my own tea laboratory.beckynoel wrote:Why don't you make a signature blend of your very own? That seems like a surefire way to end up with something you like. Nobody can possibly know your taste better than you, right?
I, for one, am totally bonkers for dessert teas. It's what I look for in a signature blend.
A few years ago, my wife and I switched from an obsession with wine (a very expensive hobby) to tea (somewhat less expensive, depending on taste). We actually took some of our practices with wine and transferred it to tea, i.e. writing down everything that we've tried and giving it a rating on a scale from 1-10 and description. We found that referring to our list helps when we go to buy new teas. Once-in-a-while we will purchase a tea that is outside of our norm, just to keep things from being too stagnant.
Thanks to everyone for their suggestions!
Mar 15th, '10, 11:14
Posts: 33
Joined: Jan 25th, '10, 23:52
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
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EleanorJustice
Re: Signature Blends - Can we get some milder flavors?
That's a fabulous idea, and it's oodles of fun. My tea-blending addiction...um, *hobby* is referred to in our house as "Mad Tea Science" because of all the measuring and note taking. A helpful heads-up -- you'll want to figure out a convenient way to store the sample tins, or you can quickly end up with a tribble-like infestation of them all over your kitchen. (We're building a new shelving system, but had been thinking of that anyway since there's so much tea in our kitchen. The profusion of tiny tins just cinched the deal :>)I agree. I guess I could create my own blend. I have about 10 teas that I enjoy right now in my kitchen. Maybe I could start there. It's like having my own tea laboratory.
Reading that made me happy -- the thought that folks are keeping tea journals, essentially, is ever so nifty. I added a Tea Blends tab to my planner recently -- the first time I'd ever bothered to use one of the blank tab stickers in umpteen yearsWe actually took some of our practices with wine and transferred it to tea, i.e. writing down everything that we've tried and giving it a rating on a scale from 1-10 and description. We found that referring to our list helps when we go to buy new teas.
[/quote]If you know of some blends that I would like that are not overpowering, please let me know.[/quote]
The Big Lebowski blend is very "tea-flavored" http://bit.ly/9DSNI3, as are a couple of others in that series. (Over The Line! comes to mind, although there are other flavor notes in it, it's still very green tea-flavored http://bit.ly/9DSNI3 )
Please forgive me for the crass self-promotion, but given your discerning approach to tea, I'd be really tickled to hear what your thoughts on my Southworth blend are, should you decide to give it a try. It's a strong tea, but it's not really a strong *flavored* tea, if that makes sense.Once-in-a-while we will purchase a tea that is outside of our norm, just to keep things from being too stagnant.
Anyhoo -- I'll post a reply the next time I make a subtle, clean blend. Thanks for the suggestion in general!
Mar 15th, '10, 14:26
Posts: 33
Joined: Jan 25th, '10, 23:52
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Contact:
EleanorJustice
Re: Signature Blends - Can we get some milder flavors?
Sometime when you have more than ten bucks, you should totally try Cakewalk (http://bit.ly/9RqqBz) -- it tastes like birthday cake. The peach, amazingly enough, is what brings the vanilla and caramel together into a freshly-baked cakey experience. *So* decadent! I'm not just saying it because it's my blend -- it's really like cake in a cup. Okay, that sounded kind of gross. It's better than cake in a cup sounds. I guess that's why it's cupcake and not cake in a cup. Anyhoo! It's cakey, and will make you happy. I promise!Schrammy wrote: That's what I like about them. If I want the tea flavor, I go for the straight teas, but if I can get a tea that tastes like birthday cake (which I can't eat), I'll spend my last $10 on it.