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Yesterday’s cup was so amazing, I was tempted to make another one, but I feel like I need to hoard this sample a bit, since I can’t justify another order right away. So I tried resteeping yesterday’s leaves, which I very rarely bother doing. Success! Only a very slight reduction in the intensity and complexity of the flavours. I drank this one with milk and sugar and it was awesome.

Sadly, I think these leaves are probably done – they’ve been steeped for nearly 20 minutes total already.

Oh my god. This tea!

Opening the bag, the smell is heavenly. This is one of the most rich, chocolately smelling things ever. Not just tea. Anything, ever. Have you ever had drinking chocolate that’s basically melted chocolate mixed with heavy cream, and it kind of coats your mouth and throat and is so rich you can only manage the tiniest sip at a time? That was my first impressions- a Mayan chocolate drinking chocolate with a hint of chillis.

Steeped this for 7 min, though only 1tsp for 8oz instead of the 2tsp for 180ml that they suggested.

The steeped tea smells incredibly rich, like the dry leaf. I’m almost bracing for disappointment in the sip, because it’s hard to imagine any tea living up to the promise of this smell.

Well, the sip isn’t as rich as the smell, but I think this is probably the richest chocolate tea I’ve ever had. What an amazing, interesting flavour. There’s thick dark chocolate notes, slightly sweet, slightly bitter, a really intense muscat Darjeeling flavour that incorporates the spiced, herbal notes typical to Darjeeling, and then some cinnamon and nutmeg supporting.

The mouthfeel is thick and smooth. There’s a strong mouth coating effect, but it’s the slightly thick, creamy, oily coating you get from letting good quality chocolate melt in your mouth. A touch of a powdery sensation that makes me think of cocoa powder. No astringency.

This tea is incredible. Totally unique and a really stand out chocolate tea. A fantastic variation on masala chai, and one I will definitely be restocking when I place another order.

I plan to try this with milk and sugar but it’s also just perfect on its own.

This cup is very interesting. The dominant note in both the dry leaf and steeped cup is fennel seed, with lemongrass and characteristic Darjeeling flavours in behind. Quite smooth and flavourful, this has a rather savoury quality to it, and is quite different from any other masala chai I’ve had.

The steeping directions recommended 2tsp per cup, but I used one and I’m not noticing any lack of flavour.

A sipdown and another excellent cup. I steeped the rest of my sample, which was about 1.5tsp (3g?) in 87C water for just over four minutes, then four, then five.

Strong notes of orchid, honey and apricot. A bit vegetal. Sweet, almost creamy body. Just awesome.

I will probably need to restock this some day. The honey note gets me every time.

The leaf is really green and silver – if I didn’t know better I would have guessed this was a green or white tea, not a black. Smells faintly of wet earth and flowers.

Flavour is a touch of malt with spices and herbs, and a vegetal tang. Quite nice.

Dry leaf is small dark brown curls with some golden tips and lots of gold dust. Smells amazing – this is the kind of tea I’d buy just for the smell – chocolate, caramel, honey, booze.

Steeped leaf brown, pieces, smells more earthy, loamy.

Taste is rich, stewed fruits, malt, cocoa. A bit more bitter and astringent than I wanted. Thick, heavy body. Hint of floral on the back of the tongue.

A lovely, complex Assam. I need to try a shorter steep to see if I can get rid of some of the bitterness. Otherwise, maybe milk and sugar next time.

My kitty’s mouth pain has magically (surgically) been transformed into wallet pain. $800 and six extractions later, her mouth is in much better shape than it’s ever been.

She was rescued from a hoarding situation with about 30 other cats, so she’s pretty inbred and had terrible health problems when she was taken out of there.

She’s had mouth surgery in the past to clean and remove teeth, as well as surgery to remove an eye that was too badly damaged by infection to heal, and then a few years ago was hit by a car and broke her pelvis. She’s an amazing, resilient little thing, just the most loving, tiny cat ever, and totally my fluffy orange baby. I’m hoping this will be the last big health thing for her for a very long time, though I would do almost anything for this cat.

So today was getting up super early and then three hours of driving to drop her off at the vet and then pick her up again, and I am dead tired. I’m at my sweetie’s house tonight to keep an eye on kitty post-anaesthesia, and had this tea with a friend who came over to visit.

I always enjoy this one – smokey, sweet and complex. Hints of coconut. Our friend was less impressed and thought it tasted like dirt. Lapsang is definitely an acquired taste for some.

Sipping down the last of my sample as a latte. It’s alright but not awesome this way. Pineapple is the only flavour that comes through strongly.

I was going to make this with coconut milk, but I didn’t want to open a whole can to make one drink, since it never keeps very long after being opened.

I might rebuy.

Dry leaf is your usual Darjeeling mix of small, twisted leaves ranging from black to pale green. There’s a light fruity smell, and that “black tea” smell.

Steeped, the leaf is medium brown pieces. Fragrance is tangy and spicy, less fruity that the dry leaf.

Soup is clear reddish brown, and fragrant. Notes of spice, tanginess, earth, a hint of muscatel but not much, and a bit of bitterness at the tail end of the sip. Finish is well spiced and fairly long.

Bit heavier body and weightier flavour than I’ve experienced with many Darjeelings. Not a bad breakfast tea.