Chrislovestea

I love black tea flavored with rose, but this is not it. This is hot rose water with the barest hint of tea color and flavor. This tea is more than 3/4 rose petals, and I couldn’t find enough of the black to to look at and figure out what kind of black tea it is. It tastes ok, but it is really dissapointing. This is my first Lupicia experience. :(

I brewed with double the amount I normally use, and still couldn’t get much tea from it. They would be much better off using less actual petals and instead using oil. I’ll go back and try them again at some point, but it will be a while.

This tea is complicated and high-class. I rated low because, to be a bit cliche, iti s not my cup of tea. I don’t usually go for the floral blends, and the lavendar in here throws me off. Also, I am not a huge fan of the citrus.

That said, the vanilla pulls thruogh nicely, and the tea underneath is clear and vibrant. I can taste the ceylon a bit, but whatever the Chinese black is, it comes through stronger. The first waves of flavor are the vanilla tones, followed by a quick burst of lavender, followed by the tea flavors, then some more lavendar. It is smooth and buttery, and the lemon really finishes strong.

I rated a bit lower than I might have because I don’t like it as much, but higher than I might have because it is clearly a nice tea.

After being scolded for using boiling water on a high-quality Assam, I am moving down to 195 degrees. Let’s see how it works!

The dry leaves are not just broken, but ripped. Lots of little pieces, but not dust like fannings, just small pieces. They are a nice dark brown, with lovely golden tips scattered throughout. Very pretty. They smell faintly of cooked peaches and berries. The wet leaves smell of your standard damp tea, with the barest, faintest touch of an indiscernible fruit.

The liquor is a deep, brownish copper, and gives off even less of a scent than the leaves. This is a remarkably smell-less tea for some reason.

It’s a quite smooth taste, almost more like a Chinese black than an Assam. It really doesn’t need any milk or sugar, which I normally use for my Indian blacks. It’s got a smooth start, almost slightly metallic, with a tiny bit of astringency in the middle tones, finished by that cooked-peach flavor. The aftertaste is smooth and buttery, with only a touch of the astringency following through. It’s got nice, full body.

This is a lovely tea. I would recommend it for those with a bit more experience in the tea world, because it is very, very subtle.

With a little milk, just for fun: the milk brings out softer notes of honey, completely removing the astringent pucker and helping me to find the earthy, malty, chocolaty Assam flavors I know and love so well.

I’m sad to say I’m not too pleased with this one. It has a lovely flavor, but it is too mild! Maybe my water should be hotter, maybe I should steep longer…I’ll try again later with some different circumstances and see.

It was very smooth, and had that nice, earthy Assam taste I love so much (malty with honey-notes), just not enough of it. I’ll update once I try it again.
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I tried it again at a rolling boil for 5 minutes, and it was marginally better. I think this tea is old! I can’t help but wodner if my friends at SpecialTeas (whom I normally trust and who usually send me GREAT teas) sent me stale tea from last year? It is just plain ol’ lackluster, with little flavor and none of that Assam POP that I love so. Sigh.

The dry leaves are slender and long, just like in the picture, and very dark. They don’t have much of an aroma beyond the normal black tea scent. Once they are wet the leaves unfurl nicely.
The liquor is orange-copper, opaque, and has a sweet bouquet. Very mild, very smooth. It sips very well. The first wave is immediate and strong, with just a touch of bitter astringency on the front end. The middle notes are mildly buttery, and the end notes are honeyed and sweet. Throughout the whole sip the overriding, strong “tea” flavor is present. This is a great cup of tea.
As always, I rinsed first with near-boiling water, but just for a few seconds. The above notes are without cream and sugar. After sampling and writing, I tried it with cream and sugar: the bite is gone and replaced with just the highlights that I associate with Ceylons. This is a great tea, especially for the price.
I’d recommend this cup for anyone, from new to seasoned.

This is the second brew:

It had lost much of its flavor, and has much less of the strong Assam taste (malt and honey and good, clean earth), but it is still better than most of the teas I have tried. I brewed it long, and could have brewed it longer, but since it is so expensive I wanted to get the most bang for my buck. All in all, still a great tea, even on the second brew. When I grow up and have lots of $$, I will get this tea on the regular.

The leaves are long and slender, and very fluffy. They are green and white with yellow hues, and covered in fine white down. They let off little to no aroma, though the smells that do seep forth are light, fruity, and very pleasant (observed before my stuffy nose).

The wet leaves are a little less fluffy, and the down is gone, but they retain the beautiful range of light greens, light yellows, and whites. I can’t describe the smell too well today, because I am stuffed up, but I bet it is nice!

What a pretty liquor! It’ a pale, delicate yellow. Very transparent. The flavor is very subtle. As with many of the lighter whites and greens I’ve tasted, the first thing I notice is the flavorless water base. Then, right as I think, “hey, is this tea or water?” the flavors blast in through the mid-tones. I’m not sure how to describe it other than earthy. It’s like the smell of rain, but in flavor, with freshly turned dirt. There are hints of sesame on the backside of the middle, and the sip finishes with an almost fruity essence and an aftertaste of backed apples. This is a crazy tea, and I love it. I would advise that more seasoned tea veterans go after this one, as it is a bit pricy, hard to track down, and is very, very subtle. I’ll definitely stock this again, if I can find it.

What can I say to describe this tea? The leaves are beautiful, like lightly toasted, spun gold. The liquor is a deep, rich red. I am a bit sock, and can’t describe the smell too well, though I recall the dry leaves smelling malty and earthy.
I normally take my Indian black teas with milk and sugar, and although this tea is no exception, I needed less sugar. It is naturally light and sweet, and almost airy for an Assam (somehow it is both airy and earthy…). This tea is a real treat, and I am happy to have had the chance to taste it. Thanks Harney and Sons!
I would say that this is a tea that even novices could appreciate, but that only experienced tea lovers could really understand. Maybe don’t go buy a ¼ pound, but I’d recommend that everyone try at least a sample pack of it.

First off, the temperature is not precise, which I know it needs to be for such gentle tea. Hopefully the experience wasn’t compromised.

The leaves are very pretty; they look just like the photo: delicate green needles coated in silver down. The wet leaves are a bit greener, and give off a faint bouquet of roasted nuts and peas. The liquor is pale yellow.

The tea itself is surprisingly sweet. It is very subtle. The first waves are blank, and the flavor doesn’t kick in until the middle tones. From there it very smoothly picks up into a barely vegetal taste, somewhat reminiscent of peas, which is rounded out with a sweet finish and aftertaste like I just finished a bowl of especial sweet peas. I like it a lot, and I am looking forward to comparing it with other silver needles.

This is a good tea for everyone, even novices, but I think that it would take a true connoisseur to appreciate the complexities of this cup.

First off, the temperature is not precise, which I know it needs to be for such gentle tea. Hopefully the experience wasn’t compromised.

The leaves are light green with some white down, though not as much as the silver needles. They are rather large and long. The dry leaves have a strong spell of canned fruit salad, and the wet leaves give off a damp apricot scent.

The liquor is a very light green-yellow, and it smells a lot like the dry leaves, but with added layers of freshly ground nuts. It is heady.

It starts off a bit stronger than I expected, though I may have brewed it a touch hot. The first notes are nutty, giving way to a mildly sweet apricot or citrus flavor, though without the tang, and finishes with a gentle grassy aftertaste almost like the edamame flavor of my most recent Lung Ching.

I’d leave this one to those who are new to tea and are interested in white tea, or to the sippers of other cups who know what they are looking for.

First off, the temperature is not precise, which I know it needs to be for such gentle tea. Hopefully the experience wasn’t compromised.

The leaves are very pretty; they look just like the photo: delicate green needles coated in silver down. The wet leaves are a bit greener, and give off a faint bouquet of roasted nuts and peas. The liquor is pale yellow.

The tea itself is surprisingly sweet. It is very subtle. The first waves are blank, and the flavor doesn’t kick in until the middle tones. From there it very smoothly picks up into a barely vegetal taste, somewhat reminiscent of peas, which is rounded out with a sweet finish and aftertaste like I just finished a bowl of especial sweet peas. I like it a lot, and I am looking forward to comparing it with other silver needles.

To put it simply: I hated this tea. One of the few cups I didn’t finish. I think I toasted it at 190, and need to give it another go. I will, and will report back, but in the meantime, YUCK!

As always with the delicate greens I try at work, this may be a touch too hot, but hey, what can you do? It still came out tasty, so I think it is OK.

The dry leaves smell deeply vegetal, like fresh cut grass. I want to eat them straight! There are a few stems. Wet, they unfold flat and loose some of that grass smell, instead sending out subtle edamame or asparagus scents. The liquor is a light yellow-green, leaning towards golden-yellow, and the cup send out just the barest hint of the asparagus scent.

The taste is strong considering the subtlety of the aromas. The thick, grassy flavors kick in early, giving way in the mid-tones to a more vegetal flavor. I can’t pinpoint what exactly, but suffice to say it is undoubtedly green. No bitterness, no acidity, but neither is it sweet. The aftertaste is somewhat edamame-ish, and very rich. It is a satisfying, savory treat. I would recommend this tea for all ranges of tea lovers, but especially those new to green tea.

I think I brewed it a bit long. I wasn’t paying attention. Also, the only water I can get is a bit hot. Still, I think it came out OK.

The dry leaves smell great. Very perfumy, very floral and fruity. Quite a few stems. The wet leaves open up nicely and spell much more vegetal and deep than the dry. The liquor is light and yellow-ish green-ish, with just a hint of brown. Fairly transparent.

The front end of the taste is fairly standard-the green tea base seems to be good, though not spectacular. The mid-ranges give way surprisingly cherry tones, and the aftertaste is strongly floral and fruity, again with the ghost of cherries on my pallet long after I finish sipping.

I have been looking forward to trying a Sakura Green for a while, and this delivers, though perhaps not with as much of a bang as I had hoped. It does leave me with that happy tea feeling afterwards. It’s a solid tea, maybe a little better than an “everyday” tea, if you like floral, fruity cups.

I’d say this is a good tea for people with a mid-range of experience. I’ll definitely brew the rest of what I have (about 50g), but I probably won’t buy it in the future.

Wow. This is a wonderful tea. I brewed it much cooler and I put in 3 teaspoons for two cups (leaning towards gong fu style). The dry leaves are only brown and have little smell. The wet leaves are brown and green, with some nice dark greens in the middle, and smell strongly of peaches.

Round one is light and airy, and very, very fruity. I taste peaches in that little cup.

Round two has a darker liquor, despite a shorter brew time (30 sec). Still peachy, though slightly less so, with that slight sesame taste I associate with oolongs. It’s all about the aftertaste.

Round three was a bit less exciting, but still great. Also 30 sec. Little peach, but a nice, complete oolong. It tasted of roasted sesame.

First off, I would have gone lower if I’d had better control of the water temperature. That said, I think it is still ok.

The dry leaves spell overwhelmingly of jasmine. It’s a bit heady. The pearls are small, and they are pale green and light yellow. They unfurl into an interesting bouquet of perfumy, almost bubblegummy jasmine mixed with a dark, vegetal aroma. The liquor is a transparent, light yellow-green.

As with most of the Chinese teas I’ve tried, this one starts off light and watery. This middle notes quickly transition into pure, liquid jasmine, with the jasmine aftertaste kicking in before I’ve swallowed. It finishes with a slightly vegetal taste, and the aftertaste is all jasmine. I almost want to call it a bubblegum experience, as with the initial spell. This tea is lovely, though not as complicated as I had hoped. I have yet to find a jasmine pearl in which the tea has more of a presence.

Overall, this is a lovely tea. I’d say that newbies would enjoy it, though I think that seasoned sippers might be a bit bored. It’s a good everyday tea.

I like this tea. It doesn’t blow my mind, but it is a solid tasting tea.

The dry leaves are a bit on the short side, but they have a nice golden down and there are a decent number of golden tips. The wet leaves open up nicely, with a faintly sweet smell that hints at spiciness with a deep earthy quality. Actually, I would identify it as the smell of wet leaves (wonder why?). :)

The liquor is a bright reddish-brown, and is fairly transparent. Its aroma matches the wet leaves. The taste is smooth and earthy, like a light pu-erh. The first note is fairly subtle, just good water with a little bit of the tannic tea flavor. In the middle notes, I almost taste some green tea flavor, like Dragon’s Well, for 1/2 a moment, before the tannic and strong black tea flavor pulls though. It is heavy-bodied and earthy, tasting almost like dirt or, again, wet leaves after a fresh rain. The aftertaste is a bit astringent, but not too much. I might have left it steeping too long (I’m at work and I wasn’t paying attention), but the water was cooler…

No milk, no sugar; I think they would ruin this tea. Overall, I like it, and I would rank this tea for intermediates and connoisseurs.

This is a top notch Earl Grey. It is sweet, I assume becasue of the white tips, so I use less sugar, and truthfully, it needs less milk too. It’s light, sweet, complicated, and lively. This is a truly wonderful tea.

I hate smokey teas, but have been on a quest to find one that I like. This tea is the winner. It is lightly smokey, more so I think than a Gunpowder, but less so than a Lapsang. I really like it.

The liqour is a dark brown, not too transparent, and the aroma is pure smoke. The flavor starts with a hint of smoke, followed by a medium-bodied tea flavor, then finishes with a stronger, but not overpowering, smokey taste.

I loved it without milk and sugar, but when I added milk and sugar it ruined the tea. I threw the rest out. Word to the wise: drink it straight up or with a little milk, but not sugar.

This is the first Darjeeling Second Flush I have had since I have really understood the difference between the flushes. I’ll say that this is a very good cup of tea, just not my cup of tea.

The liquor is light caramel, and highly transparent. Very pretty. The aroma is quite subtle, hinting ever so slightly towards cinnamon. The flavor is very, very peppery. The first wave of flavor is peppery, the middle notes are peppery, and the finish is peppery. It’s like someone added essence of green bell pepper to my tea. I am not fond of this tea.

I tried it with milk and sugar and without: with is slightly more pallitable, but I have a feeling I won’t be finishing this cup in record time.

This is a decent tea. It’s not great, but it’s not bad either. The vanilla is a bit strong for my tastes, but a bit of milk and sugar really smoothes it out. What can I say? It’s warm and soothing and it’s tea. As with many of the flavored blacks, this is a good gateway tea.

This is a solid Assam tea. Middle-to-heavy body, packed with flavor, and an after-taste that lingers for the rest of the morning. I love this tea.

This tea is pretty good. Decent black tea with coconut pieces and flavors. The coconut really coems through in the aftertaste. Good with milk and sugar.

This was a very disappointing Earl Grey. I can’t taste the bergamot at all, though I can taste something above the black tea. I’m not sure what it is, but I am fairly sure that I don’t like it. As per the tea itself: the Darjeeling is so-so. It is a bitter, bland, and overall bad tea. I am sad Peet’s.