Mercuryhime

I realized last night that it’s been forever since I last had a gong fu oolong session. I love my green oolongs and they have been sadly neglected while I dallied about with dazzling new flavors and alluring Japanese greens. I’m sorry oolong. You deserve better. This Sunday morning is all yours.

I snipped open my sample pack of Alishan from Canton Tea and was greeted with the most seductive aroma. Honey and green and flowers. Oh yum.

First steep: This was pretty light, as is normal. The color was a lovely bright yellow and the taste was sweet and vegetal. The honey note is making a shy appearance here. Not too floral.

Steep two: This steep! Mmmm… The leaves are smelling like cooked bok choy and the tea so honey sweet and brothy. It’s lightly vegetal but mostly floral honey. The after taste reminds me of a juicy ripe plum. Did I really abandon my green oolongs for the savory oceanic flavors of Japanese greens? I guess they both have their merits… but nothing beats the complexity of a good oolong.

Steep three: Oh my! How that small handful of leaves has grown! I’m surprised every time. The smell is so intoxicating. Forget those fancy designer perfumes. Just dab some of this on your wrists and you’re ready to go. This steeping is, at the same time, honey sweet yet fruity and crisp. This might be the honey-like green oolong I’ve ever had. I love how the vegetal flavors are staying the in background for now. By the third steep, many oolongs are mostly vegetal and only barely floral and fruity. So delicious.

Steep four: This steep is possibly my favorite thus far. It’s more balanced and the flavors are more subtle. It’s still floral and sweet. Less honey. vegetal only in the after taste. It’s got a very crisp finish, yet a lovely flavor lingers in your mouth. Like apple skin. Very fresh.

Last cup for now. I’m getting quite hungry, and I’ll be needing more than tea to sustain me, I think. What a shame. :) I am very pleased with this oolong though. It’s invigorating, yet also calming. Gong fu brewing and tasting often puts me in a meditative frame of mind.

I finally purchased some honeybush blends from 52teas because of that promo code. I had barely the restraint to stop myself as it is. The promo just broke through my self-control. hah! Now I DEFINITELY have more tea than I need. More so than before.

Mint chocolate has long been a favorite flavor combo of my, much to my husband’s dismay. He seems to think that mint is vile except in toothpaste. Weird guy. Lucky for me though because it’s the only flavor of chocolate I can leave around the house and take my time to savor without worrying that it’s going to be gone the moment I turn my back. :D

This tea definitely delivers on the promised flavor too! Peppermint and dark chocolate pairs wonderfully here. Both take on a prominent role, though the mint is easier to find. The chocolate’s darker flavor tried to meld with the honeybush, but doesn’t succeed. Like the Grasshopper honeybush, I sort hoped for a creamier mouthfeel. Maybe some added chocolate chips would have done the job. I am grateful that it wasn’t added though since it would only be extra weight when I can easily add my own chips to the brew. Next time… :)

I think I may try this as a latte at some point. It tastes great as it is though.

Traveled for work again. This time I had different colleagues and the trip was much better. Much longer flight though. It’s a trade-off I guess.

I brought only this tea with me. Matcha is so easy. You just stir it into whatever water you have, be it hot or cold. Most of the time, I just added a some into my water bottle and shook the heck out of it. Frothy and delicious. I would have liked it better hot, but it’s still tea. Can’t complain. :) I also love the color of matcha. It’s such a lovely green. It makes you feel positively healthy. :)

Took the puppies out for a walk. Marveled at the budding greens of spring. Nibbled on a bit of wild garlic growing on my lawn. Came home with pups bounding before me only to notice a package by the door. Holy cow! It’s my Den’s Tea package! That was quick! And I was just getting thirsty.

I can smell the toasty cereal. There’s a hint of rice crackers. The brew is a brown and not beautiful to look at but comforting and familiar.

The taste? Hm… definitely roasty and honey sweet and a little grainy. It reminds me of a darker oolong and medicinal tea. It is also, very warming and soothing. Smoother than other houjichas I’ve had but not necessarily better. Unique and interesting, but not really that delicious. I may need time to adjust to this one. Hmmm…

THis time, I followed directions to used boiling water, but I think I might prefer it at green parameters. I’ll try that next time.

ooh, wow. It’s got one of those caffeine kicks that start you shaking.

I got a sample size of this and it was quite pricy. I mean, anything you buy in British currency is going to be pricy, but I guess this is also a yellow tea. Rarest of the rare. :) Still not entirely sure what makes this different from a white tea, though it doesn’t taste quite like other white teas I’ve had. This taste is very crisp and clean. Like salad. Yes, this reminds me of salad. Spring mix sans dressing. The flavor is also quite light, but it’s possible that I simply didn’t use enough leaf. Though with a caffeine kick like this, more leaf would probably have been a bad idea. Next time I drink this, I’ll have some food first.

This tea went for three steeps with me.

I think it’s crazy how my tea cravings change from week to week. Sometimes I want something fruity, other times, only dessert-y will do. Sometimes, I want pure and unadorned tea. I want to taste nothing but the leaf. Not too long ago, I would have told you that green oolongs are by far my favorite. These days, I’m having a renewed love affair with Japanese greens.

This particular tea tastes like grass and minerals. It’s full and brothy and also a bit drying, but not astringent. Sweet. The taste reminds me of summer somehow. I think I’ll cold steep the used leaves. Too tired for another cup now. :)

Mmmmm… this is delicious. I think this might be my favorite of the samples Teavivre has sent me. And of course it serves me right that this is currently out of stock since I took so long to get to reviewing this one. This will come back on stock soon, right? right??? Puppy dog eyes

I’m always surprised how flavorful the teas from Teavivre can be even when the liquid is so lightly colored. It’s a lovely light color though. Pale yellow-y green. Like new spring. :) The smell and flavor is like a cross between gyokuro and chun mei green. This brew is sweet and green and nutty with a overall sense of savory goodness. It’s completely smooth with no drying sensation whatsoever. It also complements my homemade spicy shrimp fried rice amazingly well.

Yum. So smooth and sweet and savory… Time for steep 2!

After my delicious experience with the Coconut Pouchong, I had high hopes for this one.

The dry leaf smelled amazing. It reminded me of the crust of a creme brûlée, one of my favorite desserts. After brewing, the tea seemed less like toasty caramel and more like roasty oolong with a hint of caramel in the background. I wanted a stronger caramel flavor than I got and the oolong was a bit darker than I preferred, but it was still pretty good. There’s definitely a nectary sweetness and roast flavor. I wouldn’t necessarily want this again, but it was enjoyable.

This tea is very tasty! And that’s high praise from me, a black tea novice. I’ve loved every other variety of tea, but black has mostly been meh for me. this one though! Tasty! I drank it without additions and loved the sweet buttery flavor. The rum is pretty apparent as well. It just reminds me so much of the holidays somehow. And the coconut is there in the background rounding out the flavors. I added a bit of almond milk and sugar at the end and it was meh. This tastes better straight. I’m thinking about ways I can bake with this though.

The tea leaves were surprisingly large. I loved the coconut peices and flower petals. Pretty! The tea base was unobtrusive and drying but not astringent. I wish I could say more but black tea is not my forte. This would be good with a sweet breakfast though! Like crepes! I haven’t made crepes in forever! Crepe party! My place. Sunday. Bring your favorite topping. :) I’ve got some speculatius spread and homemade kumquat marmalade!

I also want to add that the caffeine here is gentle but invigorating. I’ve had teas that kick you in the face with caffeine but this one comes up to you and gets to know you like a friend.

Erm, I’m horrible. I forget who sent this to me… I’m sorry! This tea is so delicious! The spices are well balanced and not too much fennel or anise or any of that licorice flavor. Bleh. The roastiness sort of gave this a caramel-like flavor. I need more of this. Better than rooibos or black base. There should be more kukicha blends out there.

I’m finally trying this tea thanks to SimplyJenW! I’ve been eying it for a long time now. I love cinnamon and caffeine free is always good since I like to have tea in the evening and tasty caffeine free teas are not that easy to come by.

The first time I made this, I used about the same amount of leaf as I normally would for a rooibos and it was STRONG! It was so sweet and cinnamon-y and spicy and slightly orangey. Tasty! I can see this working well in blends… I’ll need to think on it.

Tonight, I made it with half the leaf and it is much better! I can actually drink this normally because the flavor isn’t super intense. Still sweet and tasty and I think it’s actually making me a bit sleepy. :) Great evening tea!

No notes yet.

This was in my goodie bag from the NYC Coffee and Tea festival. I think I otherwise wouldn’t buy this flavor. I like mint by itself and when mixed with chocolate or vanilla flavors. Otherwise, mint and I aren’t really such good buddies. I guess they had to pick a flavor that would be ok for everyone since it was a free sample.

I quite enjoyed this actually. It was a mint tea with a dark earthy base. It is both refreshing and grounding. I wouldn’t buy it, but it was a decent drink to have when you’re traveling and the hotel seems to be passing off sawdust as tea.

The sample also came with $1.50 off Numi Pu-erhs purchased in a store. Don’t know if I’ll be using them since I have no stores near me selling Numi teas. It’s a pretty significant discount though.

I’ve had a very stressful week traveling for work. No sleep. Working with annoying people. Argh!

I took a bunch of tea with me to try. While I didn’t have ideal brewing conditions, I was still able to make a few awesome cups. This one was great! I produced a lovely murky green. And it tasted so rich and toasty. And smooth and green. Genmaicha has always been a homey comforting flavor so it’s hard to go wrong with it. This one however, is comforting and delicious. I usually prefer mine without matcha, but it works in this one.

Story time:
a colleague I had been traveling with had been eying my teas with distrust for days. I’ve been drinking super bright Japanese and korean greens. Finally, he commented that my tea was really green. I offered to let him try some but he declined saying that all teas were the same. " I’m having some right now." he show me the no name green tea bag provided by the hotel. I had tried it and it was truly terrible. How can you say all teas are the same when you yourself stated how different they looked? I am baffled!

I also room temp brewed a bunch while traveling. Easier than getting hot water all the time. My colleagues were so amazed. “are you just soaking your tea leaves?! The water is not hot.” they looked super skeptical when I explained about cold brewing. No one wanted to try any. Sad.

I got one colleague to try a coconut rooibos by adding cram and sugar. She liked it! Finally, a success story.

I got a huge amount of this tea from SimplyJenW. Thanks so much! I love having caffeine free options for night time since I find tea drinking so relaxing before bed. THis particular tea does sound luscious. I think nuts and chocolate are a match made in heaven. And pecans are definitely overlooked as delicious nuts. I make an awesome pecan pie. :)

I find that this tea tastes mostly like rooibos with a subtle flavor of chocolate and a hint of pecan. The flavor of this tea comes out most strongly once my cup has been emptied. WHen I sniff my empty cup, I even get a caramelly note. yum. I ‘d enjoy this more if the flavor was stronger in the drink, but overall, this is pretty good. I’m happy to have this large pouch of tea to drink through. :)

I mostly taste coconut in this, which is fine, as I love coconut. I was hoping for more of a desserty cakey tangy sweet taste. It’s still very yummy though. It reminds me of the Coconut Custard from Teas, etc, which is also very good. There’s a creaminess and a flavor of toasty coconut.

My favorite honeybush and cheesecake tea from 52 teas is still Lemon-Lime Cheesecake. If only Frank would reblend that, I’d be on it like a rabid raccoon. I guess I’m just a little disappointed when his other honeybush blends aren’t as awesome. But still, this is good. I’m definitely enjoying it.

Thanks SimplyJenW for the sample. :)

I’ve been holding off on buying this because I absolutely hate paying to ship a sample sized item. Then they had a free shipping thing and I went ahead and ordered a couple of samples from them. Next time I order from them, I’m getting a pouch of this. It’s fantastic!

I don’t think I’ve ever had pouchong unflavored, which is a shame because I happen to love green oolongs and I love how the base tea tastes in this. So buttery and green and slightly vegetal. Totally yum. And the flavor is absolutely coconut milk. Like someone toasted the coconut a bit before getting the milk from it. So luscious and decadent. I think this is the best coconut flavored tea I’ve ever had, and I"ve had lots! It’s so creamy! How do they do it? It’s also sweet. It makes me think of a coconut macaroon. And at the end, something a little like lemon rind.

I love the way the flavors blend with the tea base. I love the mouth feel. So tasty! There are few teas that I want to stock up on once I’ve had a taste of it, which is why I like to swap or get samples. This one, however, I will certainly be happy to make room for this to stay permanently.

Initially, I wasn’t too interested in this tea. I mean, vanilla oolong? Kinda dull, right? Well, as usual, the hype got to me. Lots of people seem to like this so I got myself a .5oz sample.

I’m must say, I’m surprised at the size and quality of the leaf. Usually, when I get flavored oolongs, the leaves are kinda crumbly or small. These leaves are large and dark green! Pretty! I also enjoyed the occasional orange petal of some variety.

When brewed, the vanilla flavor seemed pretty artificial to me. It’s like vanilla ice cream, but with a bit of a chemical background. The citrus flavors are pretty light and very enjoyable. Now that I think about it, it’s kind of similar to the Orange Blossom oolong I had earlier today. The other one was way better, possibly because of the jasmine. I feel kind of bad comparing the two but I pretty much had them back to back. :(

In the second steep, the oolong flavor came forward a little better and I could taste something floral and green. I’m really interested in how this tea tastes without the added flavor. I might light it better, to be honest, since the flavoring seems chemical-y to me.

Still, it is enjoyable. I’m going for the third steep where, hopefully, the flavors will have receded enough for me to taste the base more thoroughly. :)

A very tasty tea to start the day with. It tastes like orange and lemon rind and a spring garden. I never would have thought that jasmine and citrus would blend so beautifully. The flavors are made for each other. Like chocolate and hazelnuts, strawberries and cream, garlic and everything!

So few ingredients and such a beautiful melding of tastes. The oolong is very supportive, letting the citrus and jasmine shine, but it’s definitely noticeable and adds an intriguing depth. I also could have sworn there was vanilla in there. It was so smooth and somehow dessert like.

Thank you for a sample of this silvermage2000. It has certainly made a crappy morning a much better one.

Surprisingly, I don’t really like this. I love cinnamon and I love spicy so I have no idea what went wrong here. I brewed up a cup this morning and loved the bright yellow liquor that resulted. I enjoyed my first few sips from my giant mug. Tasted like Big Red gum, only sweeter and with a peppery kick. It wasn’t my fave, but it was okay.

Then I poured the rest into a plastic travel mug to take to work. This is where it goes wrong. In the mug, it became cloying and artificial. I had to chug the last bit just to get rid of it so that I could move on to something else. What happened? :( I love cinnamon! This was supposed to be awesome! Sad. Maybe it’s the travel mug. I’ll try it once more when I get home in a ceramic mug. If I still don’t like it, someone can look forward to it in a future swap. Lots of other people seem to enjoy this. There’s a lot of natural sweetness in this tea.

Holding off on the rating till I try this again.

I went to the other David’s Tea in Manhattan on 66th and 3rd to pick up a few more samples of stuff. I must say, I like the staff at Bleecker better. They seem so much more energetic. Then again, they had opened so recently at the time so maybe it’s just new guy energy. By now, the employees should be a little more jaded. haha I gotta go back to Bleecker and see how energetic they still are. :)

I also sampled Love Tea #7 while I was there, but I’m not going to write a review since it was obviously over brewed, bitter and astringent. I mentioned this to the person helping me, but she still gave a sample of it to someone who walked in later. hm…

Anyways! Late to the party, but I got some of Santa’s Secret since so many of you out there profess so much love for it. This is pretty tasty! I’m finding that I like what David’s tea does with mint. There’s also a sweetness dessert-y thing going on. Maybe like a vanilla mint pudding. And while I don’t much like black tea, I can appreciate the flavors here. They should make a decaf version!

I think I got this from Tamm. Not sure. I’ve been doing so many swaps lately and just tossed all my samples together. I suck.
The looks really pretty. Dark green against bright red. Lovely. I wasn’t expecting much from the taste since that was just too many dried berries in there. I added extra leaf so that I’d taste the tea. This tastes mostly like tart freeze dried raspberry… I think this is one of those teas that Teavana formulated so that it only tastes good sweetened. When it cools, you can detect the floral and slightly vegetal oolong base. It’s a shame about the berries because I think the oolong would be a lot tastier without them. And the berries would be a lot tastier in my cereal.
I may try this cold brewed for my husband. :) I think it would work better that way.

I love genmaicha! It’s really hard to go wrong with this type of tea. It reminds me of the toasted rice at the bottom of the pot back before my parents got a rice cooker. They would pour boiling water over the toasted rice to get it to unstick from the pot, which created a kind of toasted rice porridge, which was amazing! And my grandma would sometimes scrap up the toasted rice and squeeze it into balls like a toasty onigiri.

Obviously, I have very fond memories of toasted rice. :) The rice also hides whatever flaws exist in the tea. This particular tea is easily astringent, but the rice makes up for it. I could probably drink this for breakfast. It seems so filling even though it’s just liquid. :D

Thanks Tamm! I can always use more japanese teas in my life.

This is, indeed, a confusion of tastes. I love the idea of combining teas from all over the world, but my taste buds are so confuzzled. This gets astringent easily. It was sipping as the bag was steeping. One sip it was ok, next it was astringent. Ack! And I’m not at home so there’s no milk to smooth this over.

Then as I drink this, my brain wants to know if it’s black or green. It smells like both but I feel like it tastes mostly like black. I see no evidence of the matcha in the final brew. If I hadn’t seen the green dust all over the inside of the tea wrapper, I probably would have thought I was conned. I think I’d like this with a pinch of mint, but as it is, meh.