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Advent Day 3

Dry this tea smells strongly of super potent ginger ale. This is labled as a pomegranate ginger blend, but ginger is the star here. I started drinking this cup when it was hot and it reminded me of a Mariage Freres green ginger tea. Walked away from my cup, came back to it cold and am doing most of my reflection on the cold cup. If I try really hard I think I can imagine pomegranate, but just as a slight tang. The ginger isn’t spicy ginger and has no kick, just a little tingle in the finish. It really is a super light non carbonated ginger ale. I wouldn’t say no to another cup, but I wouldn’t buy this either.

Advent day 2.

The bag smells very strongly of cinnamon and cloves. I go through waves of feeling like this is the smell of a pantry (the scent of all the spices muddled together and indistinguishable) and something a little more interesting than that. I feel like it was more recognizable as a spiced apple when it was hot and as the cup cools it goes round on the edges. Is it gross? No. Is it interesting? Eh? My feelings might be drastically different if the base wasn’t red rooibos, which I’m not a fan of. The rooibos dry mouth doesn’t kick in until late in the finish which is nice. I saw that there were a few rooibos blends in this advent (I’m a total cheater and peeked). Wish it were all caffeinated blends because I need all the go juice I can get this week!

Day 1 of the 2022 advent! There is no listing for this tea on their website and no entry in Steepster, so I’m having to barebones this.
I had a cup of this in the morning and drank it down while doing other tasks. I enjoyed my cup and it reminded me of something I’ve had before, but couldn’t quite put my finger on. The bag smells a little like an apricot granola bar. Or maybe Cliffbar. I’m resteeping it tonight and it’s still a nice cup. It’s an apricot yaupon blend. I don’t know that I’ve had blended yaupon before, so this may be a first. I think I ran into plain yaupon sample cups at a market in Texas ages ago, but wasn’t impressed by the flavors. There is cinnamon, chamomile, apricot and orange in this which is making for a very baked pastry like taste. It has a very warming taste and I can’t quite describe what the yaupon tastes like. It’s very well balanced. I don’t know that I love this blend, but if they had it on the website I’d be interested in grabbing some so I can feel out this curiosity a little further.

Having this late in the day. I’ve felt sleepy all day and I’m going out dancing tonight so it’s fine if this tea keeps me up a little later than I’d normally like. I added a little oat milk in this because I love a good creamy jasmine, but the jasmine flavor is a little light and the milk seems to wash it out a bit. I love the idea of jasmine on a black base since I so often find it on green or white AND I love the extra large pearls, but the flavor of the tea isn’t as strong as I’d hoped. I’m glad I used my frequent steeper points to try this because it was one of David’s pricier teas and I’d be extra bummed if I paid top dollar for this.

Got a sample pack of oolong from this company from a friend who knows I like tea. I’m not a huge fan of oolongs, which my friend doesn’t know. This is nice enough for a milk oolong. It has that creamy caramel like scent and taste. It’s very smooth and light. It’s a nice tea. I’d drink more of this, but I don’t know that I’d buy more.

I think this has to be a tea ordered from a larger company and repackaged. I’m pretty sure all the teas from this brand are in that category, which makes it easy to replace when a smaller distributor goes out of business, which is what led me to this brand to begin with.
I like this tea. It’s an enjoyable cup that has resteeped well and kept me company while I slog through the post holiday feast mess left in my kitchen. Sip tea, pick through the turkey carcass I put in the instant pot over night, sip tea, vacuum pack the extra salmon I smoked yesterday, sip tea, pack the smoker up, sip tea, do a load of dishes. I love the puerh base. It has a depth to it that I appreciate and the caramel toffee flavors pair well with it to make a smooth cup. I wouldn’t say it’s amazing, but at the same time I’m really appreciating it. Thank you tea for helping me get through this workload!

I met someone this summer who had lots of good things to say about this tea company, so I thought I’d give it a try. So far I’ve been mostly unimpressed. I was excited about a flavored puerh, but this isn’t as interesting as I had hoped. It’s kind of bland. The mint comes through more as a feeling than a taste. I can feel the cool tingle of the mint, but not really taste the flavor of it. The tea base seems very neutral too. I woudln’t have guessed this was a pu. The flavors all seemed muddled into an incomprehensible cup. Another into the reject bin.

I’m not feeling this one. I’m trying and have had cups multiple times, but it’s just not there. I had to add creamer to make the flavors pop a little. It’s like the wateriest of chocolate milks. Is milks the plural of milk? Anyways… this tea is trying, but really has nothing going for it. It’s easy to drink down the cup mindlessly because it’s in front of me, but it’s a neutral experience that I don’t pay attention to. Into the get rid of bin it goes!

Sipping down a small sample bag I got of this blend. It’s okay as far as H&S teas go. I get citrus and spice on the sip, chocolate notes in the middle of the sip and a hint of chocolate almond in the finish. It sounds like it should taste good and be right up my alley, but it’s not. I think it’s the weird chocolate flavoring that H&S uses that tastes like the smell of a chocolate scratch and sniff sticker. The balance of the tea is weird. It’s all high note in the sip and low notes in the finish, but they take turns instead of blending into one like my favorite teas do. There is also this weird tickle in the back of my throat that is building, which I blame on the chocolate flavoring. Dumping the rest of this cup and celebrating it being gone from my life.

Editing to add that my original review of this tea came up after I posted this and I had the exact same feelings and comparisons as last time AND I had promised myself and failed that it was going into the get rid of bin. Whoops. Should have done that straight off!

I bought the tiniest sample of this tea and it took me 3 years to sip it down! My tea management skills leave much to be desired! I’m really enjoying this cup and it’s surprising me. I figured that after years of sitting around in a wax paper bag I’d be tossing the cup after one sip. Instead the flavors have stood the test of time quite well! The smoke is the most prominent flavor, but the puerh seems to be adding depth. It’s very dark and earthy. The cedar and cypress add complexity and the feel of sipping on a forest. I’d love to have this tea again sometime, but I don’t know that I’m taken enough by it to buy it again.