BTVSGal

Just received this today. I took off work early just to pick it up.
So I bought this from Amazon for $26.74, which was a steal. I had been watching it closely , it was $94.00 for a long time and then it dropped to $47.10. I had a gift card for $27.00 so I bought it. The description said that it had a few scratches but that was it.
Now looking at it, there is a tiny scratch, which is barely noticeable.
After looking at the reviews I have been wanting the Sorapot for 2 years now…finally got one at an incredible price!
The pot does drip a little and it pours slow then fast…but I can get over that:)

Having the last of my sample of this. Still love this blend. Although Samovar is a little on the expensive side I have never had a tea from them that I did not love.

Teasuce gave me a sample of this today. Really great dessert tea. I put a little almond milk in it and enjoyed. Next I will try it iced.

Having another cup of this. Maybe I should just add some matcha and real marshmallows to it.

I have been wanting to try this for some time now. When it first came out back in April I thought “marshmallow in genmaicha?” I could not see it. Then I read the reviews and wanted to try it. I missed the xmas box, so when it was blended last week I jumped at the chance. Of course I did not read the difference in this blend from when it was first blended. No matcha or real marshmallows…..:(

I opened up the bag and it smelled great. I brewed it and the sent from my wabi sabi pot was nutty, which was great since I thought the marshmallow root would over power the brown rice. Then when I drank it I lost the nuttiness and got more vegetal green with vanilla….
Hmm..I might grow to like this, but I wished I would have had the original blend with the matcha and real marshmallows…:(

Just did a cold brew of this. My first…one. The Bergamot comes out more with the cold brew, I enjoyed it :)

About to take a shower and I thought I would have this. Nice and refreshing. This was one of the two teas from the alchemy Blends that I did not buy. The thought of Bergamot with green tea put me off a bit so I decided to go with the Golden Earl instead of this. Well….I like this more then the Golden Earl.
The dry leaf smells like lemon and lavender with the Jingshan’s sweetness in the background. I can not make out much of the bergamot oil. I get more Lemongrass and Lavender with the green, which I LOVE, but I know the bergamot is the whole point of probably calling it “Lavender Earl Green.” Almost a cookie mint smell to the tea when brewed..:)

About to do a second steep…

David was nice and gave me a nice size sample that is enough of another go of this another night. Maybe even make it iced…..

The last of my San Lin Xi Oolong ends with this. It is a nice finish to a great tea. Seeing how a tea can change in the roasting process is a rare thing, from start to finish. Smooth and sweet. Not fruity like I thought it would be. The sweetness carries through nicely. A great tea.

I have been drinking this more lately,and my Steepster pack is very low. I will probably be getting more of this very soon. Going to have to up my rating on this..

I was not really sure about this tea. It is pretty to watch. I almost wanted to do a time lapse video of it. The smell is floral with a jasmine backing to it. It tastes just like jasmine bubble milk tea that I get from one of my favorite tea shop where I went to school. In the past I have not had great experiences with blooming teas, so this was a nice turn around.

I really do like this tea. I was not sure at first when smelling it, but it has a warmness to it. The description to me is right on the money. Although I get more spicy citrus then I do honey citrus. It is very smooth an not a kick in the face black tea. I would love to have this with a dessert. Like an orange chocolaty cake.

The first infusion down and the second to go..

I have never heard of this tea shop, or this tea. When I read the title I thought it would be long golden strands. This is why I love Seepster Select I gives me tea I would have never have thought of.

SO.. this is the next oolong. I decided to wait a bit before posting a tasting note. I had the “lightly” roster by itself and then had the “slightly” and the “lightly” together side by side. This roast is a little nuttier. Having them side by side I would say that this coats your mouth more, but the light roast is very buttery compared to this . I am drinking it by itself now and I getting a little different experience now. I will say that this is a great oolong. I just think I ruined the experience a little with it by not tasting it by itself. I only used a little of the sampler that I bought, and it keeps going and going. For oolong David has the best oolong hands down…:)

Having a cup of this tonight. After drinking this a lot lately I have realized that I like this chai when I want something light.
I have this chai,Samovar’s Chai, and Yogic’s Chai. To me both the Samovar and Yogic chai beg to have a little milk or almond milk to it. While this chai I think is best with nothing added. I have tried it with milk,almond milk, soy milk, and coconut milk. I love it plain…

Wow…David at Asha Tea House always delivers on the oolong. I am always amazed by the quality of oolong that he provides his customers. The dry leaf looks big and tightly rolled.I have never had a San Lin Xi Oolong before so this will be my first. So buttery! Smelling the wet leaf I could not put my finger on what else I smelled until I took a sip. Tasted like buttered cinnamon toast. I know strange…but thats what I got. Light and clean.

David has done it again for me. This is just the first of the San Lin Oolong, I still have the “slightly roasted” and the “charcoal roasted” to go.

About to start the second infusion…:)

No notes yet.

So this was the tea I wanted to try the most. Mainly because I still have some of the Sun-Dried Winter Yabao still left. I wanted to put them side by side and to taste them both. Yabao is a tea that I have been trying to find out more about. I have been to the Verdant website and read everything, but there is really nothing else that I can find on the internet about the tea. Different types? Health benefits?

I put the Winter in my gaiwan and the Silver in a tasting cup. Let it begin…

The dry leaf:
Winter- cedar with some spice
Silver Buds- sweet mustard

Wet leaf:
Winter- cedar
Silver buds-floral sweetness, marshmallow,baked peach.

Color:
Winter-dark yellow
Silver buds-Clear

1st steep:5mins, 2nd steep:10min, 3rd steep:20mins

Winter: woody and light, became sweet through the steeps.
Silver buds: marshmallow sweetness, became more floral after each steep.

I like them both, but the Silver Buds was the one that I would give to someone that is not a tea drinker and I wanted to show them something new and complex. I loved it! I ordered 2oz of the silver buds and Im glad that I did.

To bad I can’t add a picture of my tasting…:)

I just received my package today although it was "delivered"on the 29th, my apartment complex held it in the office.
I asked for a sample of this tea because I thought " why not sample both of the whites Verdant has to offer?" The jasmine Yunnan was great so I asked for this, this time.

Hmm.. I went on Verdant’s website to see what temp I should boil this at. I usually do it at 185, but the site said boiling and to use a tablespoon of tea. Instead of using my gaiwan I decided to go for the tasting cup instead.
I brewed it for about a min. It had a nice yellow color. The wet leaf had some floral notes, but I really could not smell more then that. The taste for me was even a little harder to make out. It was sweet at first then a little bitter. It had a floral note but there was something more.
After reading both of the tasting notes that were on here, I think I am going to try again with a lower temp. Maybe 175?
I will come back to this….

Yum! This was the first tea that I tried from the Steepster Select box. Love the smokiness from it. It reminds me of walking into a smoke shop filled with sausages. I have to cook with this.

Drinking this and watching the season finale of Dexter. I love roasted oolongs and this will be my first experience with wood fired oolong. I like this, but I can not make out more then just coal on the first two infusions. I’m on the third and getting some nuttiness from it….
My journey continues :)

I forgot all about this my Verdant box. The last of the Alchemy Label Blended adventure. I bought this because I love mint. I really love mint. I used to have a mint addiction that was serious and embarrassing. So embarrassing that people I work with used to hide their Altoids from me…lol. I have since kicked the mint addiction and have been off the white powder that is peppermint Altoids. I now only drink mint in teas or in chocolate.

Anyway back to the tea. Earthiness with mint. I did not really get the raw cacao form the Autumn Laoshan Green but then again I was consumed by the mint. The fennel was a nice touch as well. The wet leaf I smelled more of the chocolate earthiness from the Laoshan Green then when I drank it.
A great tea indeed. If you like mint, it is a nice refreshing cup of tea. I drank it for dessert.

I like this tea. I have drank it 3 times now and it is a nice tea to go to if you just want to relax. I purchased this during the black friday sale. I’m glad that I did. Sugar snap peas with a buttery finish.

I received this as a sample with my gaiwan that I purchased from Norbu. I almost missed this in the box. Very floral, it reminds me of Shade Grown Tie Guan Yin with a floral sweetness.

Thanks Norbu for the great sample.

This was one of the samples that David kindly gave to me to try. Wow. So far I have done 5 steeps and it gets more complex. I get grape jelly on the first steep and then clove. I might have to stock this in the new year.

Thanks for the sample :)

I bought this tea because I wanted to use it as a mixer for a few other teas. I was going to blend it with the Laoshan Black tea and a few of the pu’ers that I purchased. Before I did that I wanted to try it by itself. I did not make a big pot of it just did a nice sample size in my tasting cup.
The dry mixture was spicy smelling with a citrus undertone in the back. After brewing it, it reminded me of the times that I was sick as a kid. My aunt would chop up some ginger root and some orange peel and let it boil on the stove for a few hours. It would make the whole house smell amazing. She would add in some lemon juice and at touch of clover honey, and tell me to drink up as got ready to go out with her college friends. Being a kid with asthma this would make my chest and throat feel better in the long run . The fennel and saffron add a nice flavor to it as well. This reminds my of Samovar’s Orange Ginger Herbal Blend, with more kick.