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Golden Moon Tea Sample # 15 or thereabouts, selected at random

I was not surprised to see that other people have not had a fantastic experience with this tea. I thought the aroma of the dry buds, or pearls, was faint. The tea itself was virtually tasteless! I did a second brewing paying excruciatingly careful attention to time and temperature and amount of water, but again came up rather empty. I don’t know if the sample size is too small to match 4 ounces of water or if my tongue, spoiled by the strength of Lapsang Souchongs is just not willing to accept too much subtlety.

I would not buy this but I would try it again.

Thanks to LORI for sending me this sample. I wanted a late-afternoon tea with a strong flavour but not an overwhelming amount of caffeine and this seemed to be the perfect occasion to try Casablanca Twist. The dry aroma is pure mint. Steeped, the strong mint comes through very nicely. The Darjeeling is so subtle that I’m not sure that I would recognize it. I could be drinking a pure single-note mint tisane and would not know the difference.

Mint is among the tastes that I need to have in stock (along with vanilla, almond, chocolate) so I would certainly consider investing in a full load of this next time I order from Adagio. I don’t think it’s an earth-shattering revelation to me (as a tea like Maiden’s Ecstasy from Samovar was or Jackee Muntz) but I do think it would make a great member of the Reliable Dragoons of my teas—you know, those foot-soldiers who are essential back-up for the Admirals and the Generals. Why in the world I am thinking in military metaphor I don’t know unless the word “Casablanca” makes me think automatically of the WWII film with Bergman and Bogart and the wonderful Sidney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Claude Raines—-great cast all around. And Edward Gorey’s stepmother was the lady who burst into singing the French National Anthem! True, true, true!

In any event, I like this tea. I don’t know that Adagio has created a one-of-a-kind blend, but it’s good and it’s nice and it’s minty fresh. My rating reflects the fact that the Darjeeling is not the major player it’s advertised to be. Maybe it went AWOL to take the waters?

Golden Moon Sampler Number #13 or 14 (The numbers do not matter so much now because I picked out two or three of these to send to Angrboda!)

I liked this tea, but I was not blown away by it. I’ve had some first and second flush Darjeelings that are more memorable; I don’t think that this tea will be memorable. I don’t want to imply that it’s not memorable; drinking it was a good time. But I can find other Darjeelings that I would invest in before this.

Am I becoming a tea snob? I don’t really want to be, but if you drink enough tea willy-nilly one heads towards the realm of making discriminations and being discerning. Golden Moon has done better teas, in my opinion. I also would like to say that their sample package is a brilliant idea and has been one of my best tea money investments. I hope that more tea companies follow this lead in terms of offering a lot of samples without a huge financial commitment. When I am done with this adventure in sampling, I am almost certainly going to place an order.

Forever nuts? Forever nursery school! As a night-time non-caffeinated tea, this succeeds. I am, however, wondering if I will ever again be able to love a tea that seems geared towards a two year old audience. The bright cheery cherry red color (from beetroot) does not transform the fact that the beverage tastes like very very weak hot apple cider.

I could not detect the nuts at all. I purchased this tea as an almond-lover, but the tea seems to be all apple with a dash of cinnamon. If there is a nut taste (and I’ve strained to detect one) it might be a touch of walnut.

The more I drink tea, the more I realize that I’m just not suited for those concoctions that really are not tea at all. If I must avoid caffeine, then these sweet little beverages will not make me happy. I’d rather drink water.

This tea does succeed as what it is—not an almond tea but a nice apple drink. It’s refreshingly free of rooibos.

I hope that my lowish rating does not prevent those who really would like this kind of drink from making a purchase at David’s Tea. When David gets with the caffeine, he does an exceptional job.

Golden Moon Tea Sample #12 selected at Random

Dear RICKY sent me a sample of this so I knew what to expect. My opinion has not changed really; I think it would be nice to keep a rose tea in stock but I don’t know how frequently I would choose this. I could see getting this if I were inviting certain types of people over—-Anglophiles who would prefer that we were still in the Edwardian period, if not the Victorian period. It’s most certainly an evocative tea.

Thank you so much to LENA for sending me a sample of Samovar’s Breakfast Blend. The dry tea has a very pleasant and sweet aroma. It’s quite robust but the sweetness adds an appealing twist. This is a mannish tea with some real sweet soul.

The brewed tea is quite strong and certainly deserves consideration for anyone looking for a good shot of caffeine. It’s very malty. I added some milk and a bit of sugar and decided I prefer this tea with the additions. The sugar and milk seem to elicit more of the sweet overtones of chocolate and raisin and the milk cuts through the strength a bit to make the tea relax a bit.

I will certainly consider buying a full-size tin of this tea when I, inevitably, place another Samovar order.

It may be the end of April, but we’ve got frost here. That’s right: FROST! So I decided to try a tea that I might have otherwise saved. This holiday tea is a delight for a chilly morning. It’s not heavy-handed at all, as some holiday teas can be. It’s got some restraint with the cinnamon (how I deplore the unrestrained use of cinnamon!), and genial highlights of clove and orange. It’s nice to taste a “holiday” flavored tea that has such a good blend.

I think this is a good afternoon or evening tea and it would be great for festive moments. Right now I’m feeling about as festive as a lump of clay drying out on an unused and unloved potter’s wheel, so this might not be the moment but I can taste how the nose and mouth must be willing to meet the tea on positive terms. This tea is lifting me up a bit! Well-done!

Thank you so much to LENA who sent me this tea.

This is a very buttery and mild green tea. It’s utterly delicious, however. The liquid is medium yellow and the taste is vegetal but not as strongly so as some green teas. Overall, I think that this would make a great introduction to green teas for those who hesitate: it’s got some veggie but not too much; it’s got quite a bit of butter, and it’s not at all fishy. Overall, it’s delicate and discreet, but not a simpering wallflower.

I would most certainly consider this to be a go-to green tea and will invest in a larger size.

Golden Moon Tea Sampler #11, selected at random

I do like melon and was looking forward to this tea very much. It is not disappointing. I brewed only about 3.5 ounces of water because I didn’t want to flavour to get watered down too much. Am I the only person who uses a couple of tablespoons of loose-leaf tea for a decent sized mug?

In any event, I think I got the tea/water ratio spot-on; the water was boiled and then cooled somewhat (although I don’t know to what precise degree) and I set the timer for 4 minutes (Golden Moon advises 2-4 minutes).

So….I’m most certainly going to put this on my list for a “treat tea”. It’s a bit delicate for a morning tea and probably a bit costly for an everyday tea, but this is the first of my Golden Moon samples where I know that I will have to purchase the tea. I’ll wait to see what else becomes a “must”. This melon’s divine!

Thanks to MeghannM I had the opportunity to sample this tea. The black tea looks promising with the dried berries and the peppercorns, but there was not much of an aroma. I guess that unless the peppercorns are at least somewhat broken, they may be there only for decorative effect or to provide the smallest nuance of flavour.

The brewed tea is another example of what I would call a “pleasant” tea. A “pleasant” tea is certainly better than the average tea-bag but does not really stand out as a memorable experience. This tea certainly has some berry taste and perhaps a shade of piquancy but it’s no better than adequate. The more I drink tea, the more I realize that there’s no reason to settle for adequate when there are so many exceptional teas out there.

This might be worthy of a try for fans of strawberry for an afternoon refreshment.