Carolyn

It has a pretty chartreuse green color with a lot of fine particles of tea floating throughout. The fragrance is sweet and nutty and the taste is pleasantly delicate. The perfect tea for a meditative moment.

Another nice afternoon snack of Honey Pear tea and home-made creamer. I feel decadent and well-loved. Is it deviant to find love in a tea cup?

Remember when I said that the Chai Agni was a bit disappointing since it didn’t have enough heat and spice? Well that was apparently due to the sample. Perhaps it didn’t come with enough chilis. I ordered a full sized tin of it and the chilis are warming the cup quite nicely. It is a wonderful chai that balances the various spices perfectly. I can see that this will become one of my favorites.

The fragrance is marvelous, like mulled wine. However, the tea itself is somewhat weak with more tannin than I like. I probably won’t be getting more of this one.

It was a very hard day and night yesterday and I’m still shaky. So I’m having the Pu-Erh Chai, which is a very serious tea that speaks to me of being grounded on Earth and not burning up in flames of anger or fear.

This is the first Pu-Erh I’ve had that I truly do like. Mixing it with black tea and chai spices was inspired, I think. The earthiness of the Pu-Erh, which has a muskiness in this blend, is sweetened by the tea and spices. The Pu-Erh taste that is so upsetting to my senses when I drink it plain is moderated. The chai spices which can sometimes overwhelm the tea are damped down as well. It is a happy blend that makes all the parts better.

It brews up with a red-black liquor that has a complex fragrance of tea, grass, chocolate and toast. It has a nice sharpness that I don’t mind. I’m not sure whether that is because it is not just sharp but that the sharpness is part of a pleasant package of aromas and flavors or whether I am just in the mood for a sharp tea today. I don’t taste the hints of nutmeg, but it is a very rich tea.

I ran out of Silk Creamer last night so I whipped up my own creamer from raw cashew nuts, coconut milk, soy milk, and a drop of honey. It turned out quite nice. It made a thick soothing cream. The overtones of coconut complement the tea nicely.

This is one of my favorite teas. The sweet honey pear flavor perks me up in the afternoon. The sweetness of the black tea, the slight undertone of honey and the lush fragrance of ripe pears make this a perfect substitute for naughty afternoon snacks. Come to think of it, the tea feels a bit naughty. Sometimes it’s nice being naughty, even when you’re only playing at naughtiness.

This really isn’t my cup of tea. It is an Earl Grey with vanilla. The vanilla fails to mellow it and it has a sharp, unpleasant taste.

Richly fragranced reddish liquor. Strong tea taste but not bitter. It is nice, but there are black teas I like better.

The brewed tea is a pretty yellow color. This is the first green tea that I’ve actually perfectly followed the directions regarding both time and temperature while brewing. The flavor is mild and sweet. There is a slightly nutty fragrance mixed with something else, something slightly weedy. It smells the way dry flower-filled fields in Colorado smell.

I’m drinking the last of my Mélange de Chamonix. Fortunately I’ve ordered more. I really love the cocoa/tea taste and the delightful smell of cardamon and cinnamon.

The smell of apricots wafts from the tea lazily like fragrant blossoms on a summer afternoon. It is gently flavored and quite nice. The underlying tea is a good quality tea with no bitterness. It is decaf, but flavorful. Underneath the apricot scent the tea has a slight floweriness, like a Darjeeling. Good for before bed. The sweetness of the tea would be enhanced by adding a small pastry.

I didn’t sleep much last night so I’m hoping that Mélange de Chamonix will awaken me and sooth my distressed mind. I am almost out of the sample I received from Upton Tea Imports and the tightness in my chest when I contemplate living without this lovely tea tells me that I must order a full sized canister very soon. No more dilly dallying!

I’m pouting over something cruel someone said to my beloved. Chai Agni is helping me sulk in comfort. It is a very warming tea.

Very nice. The white tea is present and not overpowered by the Jasmine. The jasmine fragrance itself is very fine with subtle floral nuances. I accidentally over-steeped it and it was still lovely.

No notes yet.

I still don’t like this tea all that much. It is too strong and bitter for me.

It is my second experience with this tea and I’m struck by how ordinary the dry leaves smell and even the brewed tea smells ordinary. But then I taste it and it is out of this world. I brewed it stronger this morning and that gave it a little bite to go with the buttery smoothness. Mmmm.

Years ago I used to sit in a sushi restaurant, eating small morsels, writing, and drinking mug after mug of bancha tea. This bancha is similar to that long-ago brew. It brews up with a lovely red tan liquor. The roast is not as powerful as the bancha I used to drink, but the flavor and fragrance are more complex. The tea retains a bit of vegetal taste in addition to the comforting roasted flavor. Nice.

There is a strong cherry fragrance that is slightly artificial but it is primarily a fragrance and not a taste. The tea is nice without much vegetal taste.

It is very nice once it has cooled and would make a good iced tea.

A nice tea with a wine-like scent, nice flavor, and very little bitterness. It is a slow-sipper. It would probably go very well with a croissant or toast and pleasant company. It has very little complexity or drama. It is comfortable, like sitting down with an old friend.

Sharp and strong, which is good for the morning but bad for me at other times. There is a cocoa note that appears midway through the quaff and it is of the bitter cocoa variety. If I drank my tea with sugar or honey, this is a tea I would use it with.

The tea leaves are quite pretty with their hand-made spirals, but one cannot buy a tea just for beauty. Well, ok, I sometimes do. But in this case, I probably won’t.

It’s a nice, warming chai and it goes well with the Vegetables and Seitan in Indian Tamarind Curry Sauce we’re having tonight.

I must admit I’m disappointed. I expected more flavor and a sharp bite from the peppers. Perhaps I need to steep it longer. Don’t get me wrong, I like it and I need a good decaf for evenings. I will probably order more of it, but it could be so much more. I will have to try a longer, more intense steep next time.

What an incredible tea! As advertised, it has a lovely buttery flavor and no bitterness. There is a flowery note that is very similar to a Darjeeling. It claims to have smoky nuances and I can smell that in the dry leaves (which are truly beautiful with the little golden swirls) but it disappears once the tea is brewed.

This is going on my have to have list. It is one of those, “I didn’t know tea could taste like that!” teas

Second Steeping: It is still good (though weaker) in the second steeping and still no bitterness even though I had to steep it longer. It takes on a slight caramel taste in the second steeping.