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Lovely made grandpa style in my travel mug. Which I then just sat at home and sipped at, and forgot when I went out. :P

This is my first aracha.

I prepared it according to the package directions – 70C, 1 minute. The liquor is an intense, soupy green and smells sweet, nutty and grassy.

The taste of this is very delicate, an almost creamy grass at the start of the sip and then some sweet, bitter and umami notes towards the end and into the finish.

When this was hot there was a cooling, almost metallic sensation at the end of the sip, but this went away as it cooled.

This was a very nice cup, though probably not something I’d reach for too often.

I think this is my first Japanese black tea, and I’m excited to try it.

The dry leaf is dark, small and twisty and there’s a fair bit of orange dust in the bag. It smells earthy, musty and fruity.

This didn’t come with any steeping directions, so I figured I’d try steeping a cup at 96C. I set a time for three minutes, but after two it was starting to taste pretty strong, so I pulled the leaf out after 2:30.

The liquor is very dark brown and smells amazing. Intensely malty and fruity. The flavour is malty, sweet and has notes of ripe stone fruits. Ever so faint traces of bitter and astringency, and a touch of mineral on the finish, which dissolves to bread and plums. A fairly thick mouth feel, that’s coating, but not drying.

A second steep for 4:30 minutes provides another lovely cup.

I don’t think I need this in my cupboard – it’s delicious but not that unique.

This seems to be becoming my daily drink. There’s just something so soothing about a matcha latte, and this is just delicious with eggnog.

Since Yunomi is offering extra points for reviews right now, I figured I’d dig into my recent order, even though my original plan was to sip down a few other teas before getting into it. As a bonus, I ordered a sample size of this one, which was only 2g, so this is a sipdown.

I’m really into trying new and unusual things, so I knew I had to give this a shot when I saw it. This tea really is unique – I’ve never smelled or tasted a tea that’s even remotely similar to this one.

I followed the steeping directions to the letter – 350ml of boiling water for 4 minutes.

Smell of the liquor distinctly reminds me of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) with pork and shitake mushroom. It’s a very complex smell, that combines the filling ingredients with soy sauce, sticky rice and bamboo leaf.

On the palate, it’s a bit sour (but not nearly as sour as expected) and intensely savoury. The flavour is well reflected in the smell – shitake mushrooms, pork, soy sauce, umami, bamboo. Very broth like. This has a long finish with mushrooms and soy sauce lingering at the back of the mouth.

One of the recommended methods of prep is to use the tea to make rice porridge. I can definitely see how that would be delicious and a fantastic use of these flavours. I could see using this tea to make congee with dried shredded pork and preserved duck egg.

Drinking this feels more like a meal than a beverage. It tastes and feels like soup, and it’s making me crave my grandma’s cooking pretty badly.

I accidentally took a five hour nap after mu first cup, so I’m going to hang on to my leaves and have something else before I continue steeping these.

I don’t think I would reach for this tea very often, but it’s delicious and unique and I would recommend trying a sample.

Mm this is a lovely, bold tea. Super malty, a touch of smoke and ripe fruit, and a bit of a brassy character. A hint of bitterness and only the faintest trace of astringency – quite a smooth This would make a great morning blend – really easy to drink, with a bit of a kick.

Quite nice. A touch woody and nutty, very roasty. A strong caramel note without actually being sweet.

Thank you to TraceyC!

Tasty! Tropical and juicy, light tasting at first, but with a flavour that builds. Just a tint of tartness, with distinct pineapple and dragonfruit notes. A touch of earth.

I have been neglecting my old favourites so that I can focus on trying new teas, and while that has been lovely, this morning I’m reminded of why I love some of my old favourites.

For a while I was drinking this one every single morning for a while. It’s amazing. The dry leaf smells like fresh, juicy raspberry – sweet and tart and complex. The raspberry awesomeness carries through to the flavour, which is beautifully balanced with the Ceylon base. Hints of sweet, tart and distinct raspberry flavour. Subtle bitterness and astringency. Honey and floral notes.

I think my palate has evolved a lot over the last few months, but this remains a favourite. It restores my faith in flavoured teas, and it makes me happy to be drinking it this morning.

There is a good amount of mango and cream present in the fragrance and flavour, but also a bunch of hibiscus, which just seems unnecessary and out of place.

This isn’t bad or anything – as far as mango tisanes go, this one has one of the stronger mango flavours – but I’ll probably pass it on to my sweetie, who actually likes hibiscus in tea.