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A little goes a long way with this tea. SF Herb says its 4th grade dragonwell tea, and I’m not sure I could pick it out as tasting different from other dragonwell teas I have drunk before. Perhaps this tea only has a one note profile, and other dragonwell teas are more complex. It is fresh, green, tastes like cut grass. Its what I think a cup of chlorophyll would taste like. I’ve not gotten a bitter brew from these tea yet, even with questionably hot water (I get impatient). I added a dab of honey to the second steep and its quite a yummy cup to me. I do tend to reach for a black tea in the morning instead of a green tea, but I should drink more of this for a change of pace.

The cornflower in this tea is a bit overwhelming, the supposed malty tea base does not come through at all. Although there isn’t supposed to be any flavoring in this tea, somehow the cornflower leaves a fake aftertaste that I just don’t like. I added a dab of honey to the second steeping, and it didn’t bring out the malty base, but it did soften the cornflower aftertaste.

I got a sample size of this tea and brewed about half western style. The wet leaf smells like caramel and woodsy tobacco. The first steep brewed up strong, but its more of a subtle tasting tea. Its not an astringent, metallic, or robust black tea flavor. A bit hard to describe, the front of the tea is a toasty, slight tobacco flavor, and the end of the tea is a toasty, hay, caramel finish. I’m thinking this is more like a cross between an oolong and a keemun, with a bit more of a roasty finish. As this first cup cools, I’m getting more light chocolate notes. The second steeping is a watered down version of the first, rather weak tea.
It certainly is interesting, not sure I’d go out of my way to purchase, but I might be tempted to add it to an order.

I’ve been sipping down this tea for a while, and have finally gotten around to a review. I use twice the leaf I would for any other Lapsang, and the flavor is still not that strong. This is a decent tea and I tend to add lemongrass or other herb to make it taste a bit more interesting. Today I had it plain and the first steeping was smoky with a hint of licorice. No complex undertones going on here, and oversteeping to bitterness is not an option. The second steeping was a bit more bland. I will sip down the rest of this tea, but I’m not sure I’d buy again, there are better Lapsangs out there.

This Assam is ok. Its easy to brew too strong and get a bitter cup. Though when you get the right amount of leaf, its a fair example of a malty, coppery cup of Assam. It does have a bit of a metallic aftertaste that is more pronounced with too much leaf, but becomes less pronounced as a cup cools. On the whole, I’d call this drinkable but I wouldn’t rush to purchase or call it a daily drinker.

I’m not sure if this blend has changed, but I’m getting mostly grassy, yeasty Darjeeling in my cup with a slight metallic aftertaste. There’s not a whole lot of maltyness here or astringency either. I guess I expect a more bracing cup from a ‘Scottish Blend’, but what I’m tasting is maybe a bit fruity or floral, but I certainly wouldn’t call it bracing or robust. The second steep is just a weaker version of the first steep. I might try with more leaf, but I think this blend is not for me.

While this blend is an interesting mix of black oolong and lapsang souchon, it doesn’t bring out the best of each tea, but rather mutes the taste of each. In the first steeping the oolong lends a weird tangy aftertaste and the smoky lapsang is rather weak. What seems like a possible fusion to create a sweet yet smoky blend is not very complex and what I taste is a weakly smoky fishy cup of tea. The second steep isn’t any better, just weaker. Not a fan of this blend.

I can’t say I’m usually impressed with Assam/Darjeeling blends, but this one is very drinkable. It gets interesting coppery metalic notes from the Assam and has a nice sweet, honey-floral finish. It’s not a strong, bracing breakfast tea, but still good enough to call it a daily drinker. I wouldn’t call this complex, but a blend of the best of both types of tea. It stands up well to a second steeping and is the kind of tea I’d use to introduce to folks that think all black tea is bitter. Its not the best S&V has to offer, but I’ll probably purchase this again.

The dry leaf smells like honey and orange. The first steeping is more orange, but not a strong citrusy orange, more like a muted creamsicle orange. It’s rather creamy and maybe a clove note too. If you don’t like orange you’ll probably not like this tea. It’s grown on me a bit, I like it more now than when I first tried it. The second steep, however, is much more clove and not much orange lingering. I’m not sure I’d get this again, but I’ll try to enjoy the sipdown.

There is nothing subtle or delicate about this tea. It’s not very complex, astringency and metallic tastes dominate. Not any lingering maltyness going on here. But I like this tea for what it is, a strong robust cup when I want a morning jolt of caffeine and a taste that will standup to any spicy breakfast burrito. I’d call this a daily drinker though I’d certainly get bored if I drank it every day. I will continue to reach for this when I want a bracing morning cup as I know what to expect, it goes well with cinnamon and lemongrass too.