Jes

Finishing this one up today. It is indeed minty. Feels kinda like I’m brushing my teeth. But in a good way, it’s quite refreshing.

My samples from Teavivre came! Yay thanks Angel!

The leaves are beautiful here, long and fuzzy. The smell out of the bag is subtle, grassy and a bit floral. So when I took my first sip, it was completely unexpected. Salt. hmmm.
I had to make myself try another sip, but it was well worth it. Not sure where the salt came from, but now it was wonderful. A bit like hay as others have mentioned, but soft and silky, with later sips giving way to notes of melon, savory grass, and a light, delicate, floral. This is only my second or third silver needle, but it has left me very intrigued. I love the subtle, delicate but complex nature of this tea. I look forward to trying more silver needles to compare.

So sad to see this one go. This is one of my absolute favorite green teas. It’s the perfect combination of vegetal and nuttiness, with a hint of sweetness. I could drink this everyday.

Thanks T.C.!

This is definitely my new favorite coconut oolong. It’s absolutely delicious. Oh man I’m going to have to get some more of this.

Thanks Yssah! I asked for this for my roommate who loves almond teas but I stole a little cup to try myself. I am very impressed with it. It tastes exactly like almonds. This is so wonderful, I’m excited to give her it.

Finished this off this morning. Such a special tea. I love both genmaicha and laoshan green, but the combination is even more amazing.

Thanks Laurent for this sample!
Yummm this is delicious. I’m not usually a big black tea fan, but the combination of green really compliments this. I was scared it might become astringent, like some green/black blends that I have tried, but it isn’t at all and the strawberry and vanilla work perfectly together (especially when paired with the red velvet cheesecake cupcake I’m having right now…). I can’t wait to try the other samples.

No notes yet.

I didn’t get much chocolate flavor here—mostly just the black base. Maybe I should have steeped longer? I’ve had bad experiences steeping for more than two minutes with this base though…

When I opened the bag, I got a full whiff of licorice. uh ohh.
But it’s actually pleasant, light, a little fruity. The flavoring is really very subtle (the bergamot is really undetectable) and pairs nicely with the white base. I wouldn’t order any more of it, but I am absolutely enjoying my cup right now.

Edit: as it cools I’m getting a stronger black current flavor with a sour aftertaste. Still not much bergamot though.

hmmm not my favorite. I’m fairly picky when it comes to lemon flavored things but I was hoping the marshmallow root would make it ok as I absolutely love marshmallow root in tea. Unfortunately, the lemon flavor was just too strong for me. I might have steeped it for too long though. I’m going to try again with a shorter steep time and see what happens.

backlogging from yesterday…

Yay the time is finally here! I have to say I didn’t want to like this one. I don’t usually fall in love with black teas and I’ve never really enjoyed cotton candy. However, I couldn’t help but enjoy it. The sweetness cut off the astringency from the black base while the base helped to balance the sweetness. The result was delicious! Can’t wait to try the rest of them

Fell in love with this when I first tried it. I cheated a little and opened this on the first day of hanukkah instead because I needed a little celebration to cheer me up during finals. It absolutely blew my mind.

I tried it again today and I definitely used too much leaf. The result tasted like bubblegum. I’m a little disappointed but I know it was my fault because it tasted so good last time. (rating it from my first taste)

very strong floral and honey notes just as is noted in the description.

Not a huge fan of stronger floral flavors but this is still fairly enjoyable considering that

Thanks Zen Tea for this sample!
I’ve recently discovered that I absolutely love genmaicha. I have tried quite a few different ones so far and this definitely ranks high among those. Its very toasty with a little bit of a sweet note at the end. A very solid genmaicha.

I received my massive black friday order from Butiki this morning! Despite having limited experience with eggnog (I can’t have dairy so my first and only time having it was yesterday when my roommate brought home some coconut milk based eggnog), I picked this one out first because of its delicious smell. And it is just as good as it smells. So creamy and slightly sweet with the perfect balance of spices. The flavoring really pairs perfectly with the Huangshan Mao Feng base.

I have since gave into my cravings and made another cup and my roommate had one too. This is completely addictive.

This is so good! I’ve learned not to get my hopes up with chocolate teas. They’re never quite chocolatey enough for me. But that’s not the case here. This is amazing. Such a true dark chocolate taste that melds perfectly with the chamomile and mint. I can’t believe it took me this long to try it.

Yum, I’m starting to realize that I really like green oolongs and this one is no exception. Light and floral, with a bit of fruity sweetness, and a surprising underlying darker spice as some others have mentioned. This was really enjoyable for me. Thanks Tea from Taiwan for the sample!

Thanks Sare for sending me a sample of this! When I first tasted it, I was a little disappointed. It didn’t really taste chocolatey or malty or really like anything at all, but it has gotten such good reviews here that I didn’t want to give up yet. I decided to add a little bit of sugar, which is something I never do, but it seriously made a huge difference. The chocolate was much more prominent. Yum.

No notes yet.

I’ve been searching for the perfect coconut flavored tea for a while now and I’m happy to say I’ve finally found it. I’m absolutely loving this. Thanks Zen Tea for the sample!

Can’t believe I forgot to leave reviews for the samples Zen Tea was kind enough to send. Just finished the last of my sample for this tea tonight. Its incredibly delicious, sweet and nutty, and the white base is excellent. Definitely going on my must purchase list.

Wow! Yum, this is delicious, thanks Kallieboo! The flavor here is spot on, so nutty and delicious. Perfect for a cold morning when you don’t want to get out of bed.

Thank you Pekko Teas for this huge sample!! I’m really happy I got this tea since its something I would never pick out on my own. I have very limited experience with Pu-erh and I’m still not used to the taste, but it’s starting to grow on me. This tea is very woodsy. The oak took the forefront in terms of flavor for me. I’m really liking it. It’s making me really want to go camping. Too bad the weather here just dropped to 30 degrees…

I only got to do two steeps of this and I know that Pu-erhs change with steeps so I’m looking forward to trying it again and seeing how it transforms.