Back to the Stash black needle Yunnan after a flirt with David’s Tea Black Needles while I longingly wait for my local teashop to get their supply of Yunnan back …
oh, sweet musky toasty peppery bliss. So clean. Winey. Very smooth.
397 Tasting Notes
Hoo ha! Sharp! Amazing lemon scent with hot ginger undertones. Delicious and soothing ginger heat to the mouthfeel and swallow. Have tried many lemon ginger teas before and been bored. This one uses a decent green base, not too assertive, and some smooooooth ginger and lemon. Three ingredients: organic green tea, organic ginger root, natural essential lemon oil. I bet Electric Lemon would be fabulous on a bitter cold morning or when fighting off a head cold, stomach bug or (shudder) flu.
I gave it a longish steep for a green and did not add any sweetener.
Incredible aroma of earth and cocoa and the faintest whiff of tobacco when I ripped open the bag. Using 1 TB for a 10oz cup, in a tea-sac, steeping 7 minutes — they recommend 4 to 7 minutes “or more for a darker brew” — boiling water …
At the 5-minute mark, gives off a scent of straw — clean straw. And earth.
Brews quite dark, looking like a pu’erh, if pu’erh released green and brown instead of red and brown colours.
The organic cocoa nibs add a very “healthy” aroma.
Not grassy like some yerba mates. (Mate and guayusa are cousins, both members of the holly family.) Reminds me a bit of some barkier medicinal tisanes with chicory or dandelion root in them. A slight sharpness to the aroma makes me expect bitterness, but I don’t get any. (I’m trying this first cup unsweetened.) Shares the slight nuttiness of some of the Japanese greens. Smooth if mild cocoa aftertaste; this might come out more with stevia.
I need more time with guayusa. But I’m definitely not sorry I tried it.
Will report later on the promised steady no-crash energy guayusa is supposed to deliver.
Tried a gentler steep with cooler water tonight … MUCH better. A decent jasmine green.
Malty and bright. Slightly sweeter than Barry’s but not as deep. As with Barry’s, not fancy, but certainly nothing to be ashamed of. I’d make this for guests who ‘just want a normal cup of tea’ without hesitation.
Solid and robust. Very good for a bagged tea. Deliciously malty. Can get bitter. Not fancy, but nothing to sneer at, either.
Probably the worst alleged Darjeeling I’ve ever tasted. Very disappointing. No muscatel. Just stale, weak tea.
Lovely aroma, but it gets bitter quicky.
An old favourite. Intriguing blend. Not one bit malty. Loose is better than bagged.
Meh. Some honey scent and taste. Zero Darjeeling taste.
Unbalanced. Too sweet. Not enough white tea in the blend to notice. Hollow.
A mistake. Why, oh WHY would one batter Darjeeling with a flavour as heavy as mango? Ceylon and mango, maybe. Assam and mango, sure.
And a fakish mango flavour at that.
Makes me wonder, looking back, if the Darjeeling in the blend was a bad quality.
Oh, how I miss this one. Looked weak in the cup, but the snappy ginseng gave me a lift. Could get bitter is steeped too long.
Tastes a bit like kuchika, a bit like chicory, a bit like roasted mate. Properly prepared — 10-15 minutes of covered steeping — it delivers a decent diuertic action that can help any PMS bloat, and, despite its odd taste, this tisane does soothe. I’ve only ever tried it plain, no milk or sugar. Definitely a medicinal tea.
Weak, even after a long steep — stingy amount of leaves in the bag. Mildly diuertic, and the rooibos will help one re-balance, but hardly a serious detox. I’d suggest brewing up your favourite loose rooibos instead and knocking back a good potful.
I keep a pot of this on the go all day long. Smooth China (?) black tea, not malty, with bright and sparkly real ginger. Warms you as you drink it. Excellent for an upset stomach or headache.
Surprise! Delicious balance of mint and warming spices. Refreshing. Makes me break into a light sweat, which would be great on a hot day for cooling off. I got a sample amount in a recent order from DavidsTea, and I may add this to my next order. I’ve drunk mint and mint greens before, but the sharpness and, well, playfulness of this blend is fun. I can’t taste the fennel, which is good. Love the cardamom.
Mmmmmmm. Mild. Biscuity, as the shop promises. No grassiness or astringecy. Slightly nutty mouthfeel. Clean finish. Not one of the cheaper teas, but not ‘Oh, do I gas up the car or buy tea’ expensive, either. Soothing.
Far away smoke on the fragrance, as of a distant bonfire. Some china black tea and rooibos taste, then chai with Indian black tea, then cinnamon and a light warmth from the chai, and, finally, smoke.
Warming. Sophisticated. No one aspect dominates. Harmony. A very special blend.
(I drank this once plain and one with light sweetening but no milk.)
Should up the rating on this one. Loose is much more flavourful than bagged. A really, really good Assam, malty but not puckery.
Tart! Lots of real lemon pieces in here, pith and peel, too. Not a strong vanilla taste, but it does temper the citrus. I like this one sweetened. Does NOT forgive a long steep; left too long, this one, even sweeted, becomes undrinkable.
I can taste everything they promise: first the strawberries, then chocolate and roses, then a pleasant China black. I’m not always in the mood for this one, but today it’s doing nicely as a PMS tea. Chocolate and roses, I guess. I prefer this one slighty sweetened.
Got this as a sample with an order …
I steeped it 4 min 30 seconds. It’s got a richness and a sweet coffee & chocolate-ish flavour, but it ain’t coffee.
Ain’t tea, either.
Like David’s Coffee Pu-Erh, a really intersting fusion.
Not sure if a sipper who does not already like coffee would like this coffee-laced tea. But it’s good. Better with every sip.
The owner of Britannia Teas warned me I would not be able to ‘go back’ to other (and less expensive) jasmine teas once I tried the Jasmine Dragon Tears. She was right. Not perfumey, not bitter, but certainly not weak … and the jasmine ‘hit’ lasts and lasts. Demand may increase the price of these hand-rolled tears, but I don’t care.
