Michelle Butler Hallett

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @98C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

The 4-minute steep is my new sweet spot with many black teas.

This Keemun has yet to disappoint. Robust in the oakiness with a winey, smokey finish. Light body. Beautiful dark copper liquor, no murkiness. Mineral, stone fruit, and honey notes. Superbly refreshing. Could get bitter if steeped too long.

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @85C, steeped five minutes, drunk bare.

I know, 5 minutes is long for oolong, but it works.

After a heavy supper, my body cried out for oolong. This is floral and crisp, with an exceptionally clean mineral finish. One of my favourite oolongs ever.

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @98C, steeped 5 minutes, drunk bare.

Liquor is very dark, almost like coffee, and a bit murky. Pu-erh and I have not gotten along; I am trying to change that.

No horrible fishy smell you get with some pu-erhs. I catch a scent and taste of rocks — this is very mineral. I also smell snow. It’s got that clean finish I pick up in Yunnan black tea. Still not sure if I like it.

4.5 tsp for 750mL water @ 90C, steeped 4 minutes, Breville basket cycle on. Drunk bare.

I’ve made this a tiny bit too strong, but that doesn’t matter. The blend of toasty oolong, mild black (China?) tea, jasmine and orange is astonishing. First scent is quite exotic, with citrus and jasmine notes. Some black tea fullness and a really toasty oolong that makes me think of Formosa oolong … oh, just soooo good. Really special. I tried this blend one years ago, before I knew different teas needed different water temps, and I scalded the hell out of it, getting only a bitter black tea taste. Not this time. Gentle fruit and flowers and oolong, with a Keemun-like body and finish. Lovely.

4.5 tsp for 750mL water @ 90C, steeped 4 minutes in a Breville One Touch with the basket cycle on.

I wasn’t crazy about this blend. Tonight I made it as much to scent my study with lemon and jasmine as to drink it. I’ve eaten a lot of sweet and heavy food over the past few days, so lemony-oolong seemed the way to go.

I like this better than the last time I tried it. Maybe making in by the pot, versus by the cup, helps. I might even use cooler water next time, maybe 82 instead of 90, because the citrus in this is slightly bitter. The jasmine is very difficult to pick up — no taste or scent of jasmine at all. I still don’t think this is a brilliant blend, but the oolong base is light. Much of the bag is filled with some sort of blossom; I’m not sure how much actual oolong is here.

1.5 tsp for 250mL water @98C, steeped seven minutes, drunk bare.

I find rooibos needs a long steep.

This tastes like mint plus milk chocolate plus rooibos, with a bit of vanilla. And it’s a decent rooibos base, not woody or, oddly, minty on its own. Decent, but not great; if the rooibos were separated from the other flavours, you wouldn’t taste much.

Fun to drink.

1.5 tsp for 250mL water @98C, steeped four minutes, drunk bare.

I got this in a gift pack.

It is good.

It tastes like red velvet cake, and like a mild China black tea. I don’t usually enjoy flaovured teas (though I keep trying one) but this one is lovely and actually satisfied my sweet tooth.

Whenever I make it at the office, everyone asks who made the cookies.

1.5 tsp for 300mL water @100C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

I got a Damn Fine package in the mail! Woot! And I ordered it just before they put the 3-pack on sale, weh. Not to worry: I wanted to snatch the Captain for one last tryst, so I got one of the remaining Hot Teas on High Seas sets … and a big ol tin of Double Knit.

The copywriting and design of A&D tins gets me every time.

Dry leaf smelled very Keemun heavy, and good Keemun, with oaky notes but no tarriness, plus some red winey notes. Big smiles.

Liquor is a medium brown. Body quite light, almost like a Darjeeling in mouthfeel. In fact, I’d swear there’s some Darjeeling or Nepal in this blend, giving a slight bite. Darjeeling and Keemun at least … mineral notes on the finish and a faint pucker — like a gentle kiss. Not a chewy black tea, but that’s what Assam is for. A really good blend, bright and thoughtful.

1.5 tsp for 250mL water @98C. Steeped 4 minutes. Drunk bare.

Pu-erh and I have never gotten along. Pu-erh often left me with an upset stomach. Guess what? I was doing it wrong, steeping wayyy too much.

I got Chocolate Orange in a gift pack. The scent is lovely: sharp orange, dark chocolate. Liquor is almsot coffee-dark. The pu-erh itself is quite mild (I’d tasted from horrible fishy ones). A harmonious blend, with no one dominant note. A pleasant surprise.

1.25 tsp for 250mL water @90C. 1st infusion: 3 minutes. 2nd infusion: 5 minutes.

1st infusion: A lovely genuine vanilla scent and taste here — vanilla bean, as several others have said. Something lactic, too — vanilla yogurt, again, as others have noted. I found the finish very clean, almost cool. I didn’t get much oolong.

Liquor is a lovely sunshine yellow.

2nd infusion: less vanilla, more orchid, more oolong. Clean and mineral finish. Much prefer the second infusion.

This 30g packet came to me as a gift from the DavidsTea fan who initially suggested this recipe to the company. She sent it in months ago, they played with it, then released Vanilla Orchid. Tea geekery!

1 sachet for 250mL water @90C, steeped 4 minutes.

A very strong scent of apricots or peaches when you first open the tin this year, but no peach or stonefruit flavour comes out in the tea. I treat this blend like an oolong and get some decent nuances, but this year’s blend is not as flavourful as last year’s. I still quite like it, especially the creamy mouthfeel coming from the blend of Darjeeling (just a pinch this year, I think) and oolong. Needs a careful eye on water temp and steep time, though, otherwise it becomes a bland mess.

1.5 tsp for 250mL water @ about 75 (guessing by appearance of water), steeped four minutes.

Ehhhhh …

I’m not sure what’s supposed to be special about this, what it is I’m missing. I tasted a slightly briny/scallopy medium-bodied green tea. Ttat was it.

1.5 tsp for 250mL water @ 98C (DON’T DO THIS), steeped 3 minutes.

I lost focus on the kettle here at work and poured boiling water on this beautiful tea. YUCK. I can still get some ginseng sweetness, but mostly it’s a bitter medicinal horroshow, like getting a powdery pill stuck on the back of your tongue. Totally my own fault. I put this up as a warning.

Generally, I find this tea good for at least 3 steeps of 3-4 minutes each, if the water’s at the right temp.

1.5 tsp for 250mL water @ 90C (guesstimate), steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

So my local DavidsTea was late getting their shipment of this one … and my husband bought me a whole bunch of the little sample packs to keep me going. Yes, it’s THAT GOOD. The first infusion is sweet and crisp; the second infusion gets more mellow, more oolong-contemplative. I’m greedy and steep the first infusion a good four minutes leaching out a lot of the ginseng right away. And it’s refreshing. Really refreshing. I really hope this stays part of the permanent collection.

1.5 tsp for 350 mL (I think) water. Made for me at a DavidsTea store. Steeped 5 minutes. Drunk bare.

First off, do not steep this tea as long as 5 minutes. I got stuck in a lineup behind someone buying those scratch lottery tickets. I should have hurried him along by slapping my wet teabag upside his face.

Oh, what a lovely rose black tea. Everything balances well. You can handily taste the black team which is pretty mellow — Chinese, I’m guessing — with a very subtle toast finish. I would hvbe liked this better steeped at 3 or 4 minutes; after 5, things get bitter and soapy. But I’ll put up with a lot for roses.

1 tsp for 250mL water @100C … with 1/2 tsp Tiger Assam added … drunk bare.

Yeeeaaaaahhhh. Oh, I love a smokey tea, and the first Caravan from Andrews and Dunham was one of the best I’d ever tried. Caravan Resurrected is very nearly as good, lacking only that odd, slightly salty note that made the original downright addictive. CR is strong and rich and quite smoky, but it’s not a powdery or choke-a-horse smoke. I added some Tiger Assam to heavy-up CR’s body, which tends light, as do many China black teas. Smoky but clean, with a crisp and slightly sweet finish. One of the best.

1.5 tsp for 240mL water @ 80C, steeped 3 minutes, drunk bare.

A sweet and spicy jasmine green … though there’s not a lot of jasmine on the go. This blend is a nostaglic favourite for me, one I drank a lot in autumns at university.

Liquor is a bronzing yellow. Lots of orange pith and peel in with the leaves, but it’s the clove and cassia that bring this tea up to its own weird and lovely level. If the water is too hot, this tea will get bitter and soapy.

1 tsp for 250mL water @100C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

RICH.

Lots of muscatel in the aroma, which is great. David’s Darjeeling had really disappointed me, being all earth and twig with not a hint of muscat, which, for me, is what makes Darjeeling tea so special. I only used 1 tsp instead of the recommended 1.25, because I’ve only got a little sample pack here and want to stretch it out. No fear: this Darjeeling is quite rich and fresh and easily forgives some skimping. Liquor is dark copper with gold. Aroma is redolent with muscat, as noted, and wood. Some honey and florals in the taste, a fair bit of earth — unusual for a Darjeeling, even a second flush. Dry leaves look a bit twiggy but also very tippy. I love Darjeeling and can be quite snooty about it, declining this estate over that. This one is really friggin good, provided you like the stronger second flushes. And muscat.

1.25tsp for 250mL tea @82C, steeped 1 minute 30 seconds.

Creamy for a green, though not the least buttery. Nutty. Slight mineral finish with a sweet aftertaste. Potent leaves are good for several steeps. A favourite.

2 tsp for 250mL tea @ 90C, steeped 5 minutes, drunk bare.

I feel terrible. I sat down with my family for lunch and nearly hurled at the table. Broke out in a sweat. Got dizzy. All round nastiness.

I knew I needed tea. I’m craving the new Ginseng Oolong from DavidsTea, but I’m in no fit shape to go out. Wuyi Rock is too dark for the moment, and the Tung Ting Vietnam’s buttery notes will just send me right over the edge.

So I made Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Makes no sense to me, either.

I’ve forgotten how much I like this strange, sweet blend. Normally I ice this one, but hot, it’s soothing on the stomach— probably the mint. The odd citrus thing this tisane boasts is distracting me from being nauseous. And the gooseberries give it a note that no other tisane’s got. I’ve been researching Elizabethan England and what they ate and drank; they liked to stew almost anything with fruit and berries. I think they might like this one, pun on the title aside, especially in winter.

This is a weaker tisane. The packet copy recommends 2 tsp for a cup, and yeah, you need at least that much. And a decent steep time. Herbals need a bit of coaxing.

1.5 tsp for 250mL water @90C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

I was hoping for a that high note, almost a fruitiness, but this Tung Ting tribute is more of a buttery oolong with a distsnt whiff of tart plum. And that’s fine. Sweet and steady but definitely buttery.

No notes yet.

1.5 tsp for 250mL water @ 90C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

I hardly know how to describe this one.

Sweet and crisp, as the write-up goes. Lingering. Almost floral — really hard to describe. Really good. This one shoudl be good for at least two more infusions.

Three pearls for 250mL water @ 94C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

The packet copy reccommends a 5-minute steep, which is probably worth trying … or using 4 pearks at a time. My first infusion here is a bit weak …

Sweet black Hunnan with a clean finish, and some gentle honey and jasmine notes. Not a ravishing jasmine, but refreshing, and a lovely change from a green jasmine. A slightly stale note on the finish, as if either the tea leaf or the jasmine got exposed to too much air. Not sure this one lives up to the hype, but it is lovely.