Pureleaf

This tea is very comforting and did help me unwind quite a bit after a long day. I’m gradually learning that I really LOVE barley tea!

First of all, the tea bags are HUGE! I didn’t realize they were this large, until after opening the package. I was expecting a bag for 8-12oz, but they are created for 2 liters! I’m glad there is only a small difference there between the sizes (a tad bit of sarcasm here;). It actually worked out, because the size of the bag gave plenty of room for a proper steeping.

You will find no bitterness with this tea, just a very nice roasted flavor. The liquid is smooth and thick -almost creamy. The aftertaste left a lingering sharpness, almost tart. Kinda hard to describe.

After infusion, I inspected the contents inside the bag and found a very dark roasted grain. Somewhere around 85% of the grains were whole, leaving only a small amount of pieces.

My next experiment will be following the directions on cold brewing this delicious tea. I’m sure that it will be very good. The hot brew was nice, but I could see this one being even better cold.

Thank you Teavivre for this great sample!

Pure chocolate-y goodness! Malty, thick and smooth, along with a tiny amount of good astringency.

The recommended time to steep was 1-2 minutes, of which I choose to go a little longer. The liquid was still much tamer than a bolder Assam, and had a medium brown appearance.

These nice sized pearls were delightful to watch unfurl. They seemed more to explode in slow motion, than unwind. There is a ton of great looking leaves in each of these balls.

The tea is definitely quality enough to steep a couple different times. The second steeping was very pleasing as well!

Thank you Angel at Teavivre for this sample!

For some reason, I really like the Frozen Summit Oolongs! This one is certainly no let down.

The smoothness is accompanied by the lack of fruity notes, resulting more of a grassy flavor. It resembles a light, more subdued Pearl Green Tea.

There is a mild sweetness to the after-sip, that leaves you satisfied. I will be coming back to this one a couple different times, I’m sure.

Certainly more smokier this time around. The water temp may have been a slightly higher. Nonetheless, it was a great cup of tea. Just what I needed to boost my mind halfway through the day!

Thank you Angel at Teavivre for this sample!

This Oriental Beauty is very complex. There are so many different taste and flavors that I really like! It’s smooth and chocolaty. Slightly sweet and a little malty. Buttery, with a small amount of saltiness at times.

The amber colored liquid and cocoa-like aroma, become much much mellow on the 2nd steeping. There is very little of the creamier and thicker taste, more of sheng pu’erh – in the way of a light hay flavor.

This tea’s aroma reminds me of a homemade coconut macaroon cookie!

There is some tartness to the liquid that provides a lasting, clean feeling to the tongue. The bite is medium, more acidic – in the range of fresh squeezed lemons.

There isn’t much detection of a white tea with this blend, more of a green – maybe, Chun Mee? This is purely what I think of while sipping this tea. If it is only the (2) listed ingredients, then that makes this tea even more of a mystery.

It is a nice tea, none-the-less.

Thank you, Epi Tea for this sample!

This tea has many different flavors and aromas that rise from the cup, that make it a tough one to breakdown. The cinnamon is certainly dominant, coupled with a marsh-mellow creaminess.

The sip is both smooth and thick, leaving a crave to try more. The aftertaste is minty, along with a small amount of dry astringency.

There is something missing, slightly, on delivering an overall impression of a chai tea. I will need to try this tea again with other variables, such as milk and sweeter to get a better grasp on it complete character.

This tea is noted as steering me to the other side of the tea world. Away from black tea bags from my early upbringing (of which was not the end of the world, it still was pleasant and exposed me to tea at an early age), to the wonderful experience of loose leaf.

For some reason, I love Sencha! Its hard for me to relate to the distaste that some have for the more grassy notes. That is one of the things that draws me to green teas in the first place!

Its nice sometimes to get away from the fermented, flavored and roasted teas. Back to the beginning and the basics, where one finds green tea with many of its fine qualities.

This tea does not disappoint! It may not be the highest grade in all of the know world, but it certainly isn’t the lowest either. Its a nice in between, everyday type of tea. It carries many of the beautiful qualities that you would expect to find while drinking a green tea. Smooth, certainly vegetal and will bite back if you forget about it and either steep it too long or use a higher water temperature. There is a definite clarity of mind and pure natural energy to give you the extra pep needed to finish the day.

There is no reason to overlook this fine green tea, if you are needing an economical cupboard filler for an everyday use! You won’t regret it.

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for this nice sample!

This tea has just the right amount of tartness from the lime and palate pleasing taste of the green tea. The lime doesnt ovewhelm the the tea leaves, which I’m thankful for. Very nice and clean – leaves you with a lift in spirit.

Thank you LiberTEAS for this sample!

This tea has plenty of great qualities. Its thick, savory and sweetly smoky. The aroma rising up from the wet leaves, is that of delicious collard greens (of which I LOVE). The liquid is thick and has only a slight dry astringent aftertaste.

The only other discovery after the leaves unfurl – several of the leaves are broken in half. This doesn’t seem to distract or diminish the quality of taste.

Very lovely tea!

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for this sample!

This sample could not have been more perfectly timed. One of my daughters accidentally broke my french press, which left me in a pickle for tea before work, so this was perfect for a cup on the go!

This was a very nice tea with a pleasant amber color, along with plenty of flavor. There certainly is no lack for peach in the cup, and there is a nice bonus of tanginess with each sip. This is a sweeter tartness, not bitter.

There are other really nice notes in this tea, such as red blackberries and freshly pressed apples, with a little touch of spiciness. These are only accents, as the peach is definitely the dominant taste. Very nice start to the day!

Thank you LiberTEAS for this great sample!

This is one fine Milk Oolong! It is a lighter creamy oolong, with faint fruity notes. Very smooth and relaxing. Plenty of depth and substance in flavor.

The color is a light yellowish color, and almost has hints of a fresh ripe honeydew melon in the end of the sip. There is not a noticeable bitterness with this tea, even with a longer steeping. This tea also takes a higher water temperature very well.

This is definitely an oolong that’s in a class of its own. Very delightful and delicious!

This tea is definitely different, but its also very good!

The liquid is sour at first, with a dry bitterness. Hold on though, it quickly changes into a sweet roasted corn flavor. This taste lingers for quite awhile. There are some similarities at first to Genmaicha, but you certainly can taste the difference of the roasted barley in this one (verses the rice).

Honestly, it reminds me a lot of Honey Smacks once you get past the first bite of sharpness of the sip. There is a lot of sweetness in this tea. No question – its worth trying!

Edit:

I forgot to add, that there is a small amount of black tea that is added to this Barley Tea. Just enough to blend a little extra goodness. I’m not sure what type of Black tea since the Barley is the dominant flavor. I will have to keep trying this one a few times, to possibly pick up more of the added black tea characteristics.

Stating this tea tasted earthy would be a huge understatement! I don’t mind though. I’m alone on this one. The rest of the family tasted only a couple times, and is now passing on further tries.

There is a great depth to this tea. I find myself even thinking there is a small amount of grit in the liquid (there isn’t, though). Fermented mulch, definitely mossy, but not a strong fishy taste, was my thoughts while making multiple steepings. There is some kind of foggy swamp aroma that keeps rising from the cup. I don’t mind any of the above mentioned notes. Guess I’m weird like that.

The leaves are midnight colored, the liquid is a light reddish amber. There is a small amount of astringency, if I go past 5-7 seconds on the infusion. The liquid does turn dark very quickly if I let it got to 20 seconds. Looks like I’m going to stop at 8 steepings, and feel that it could have doubled, if not tripled that.

If you are not afraid of tasting through the “dirtiness” of like Shu Pu’erh this can be a nice tea to taste. IF is the key there. :)

I want to thank the whole team at Fusion Teas for this sample!

This tea has a very strong cinnamon flavor, of which I like very much. The taste is real cinnamon, not an artificial one. There is plenty of spice, even a little touch of cloves or pumpkin. Its very smooth, with not much bitterness detected.

This tea takes milk really well! In fact, I highly recommend adding a little milk, of which creates terrific Chai tasting beverage. It also, reminds me of a freshly made Dulce De Leche Cheesecake. Very yummy!

This tea surprised me to it’s overall tastiness and quality. The dry leaf is molasses coated in fragrance. Not quite molasses, but they smell really nice and sweet. The leaves are long, slender and hand rolled, with an average length of about 1 1/2". There are several around 2" in length, plus the extra bonus of plenteous tippy golden leaves in the bag.

The liquid is medium brown and very smooth, with very low astringency. This Dan Cong has less of the stronger toasted notes, but an overall balance of roasted sweetness. Its very similar to walking in the warm breeze of late Indian summer day in the middle of Autumn. It’s refreshing and invigorating.

I’m pretty certain this stash will not last long. I can’t leave it along! :)

Thank you LiberTEAS for this sample and introducing me to this great tea!

Wow! That should say enough. Yes, its light and very smooth. Yes, there are faint vegetal and slightly roasted notes in this tea. The leaves are beautifully long and slender, but unbroken. The liquid is pale yellow and and has no detectable bitterness. But, there is much more. There is a story that is spoken through this tea. One, that would require much more time and space to fully record.

There is such a time stopping element to this tea. Its difficult to not be carried to a memory of a late summer stroll in a local pasture of my early upbringing in the South. You can almost hear the crunching of the parched grass underneath your feet. All you can do is close your eyes and sip away.

The final verdict: This is a very nice Sheng Pu’erh! I’m almost convince it would be my top pick, if you could only have one, and only one Pu’erh. Its that good!

It’s been quite awhile since I last had this tea, and was in the mood for something a little different. This particular pot I decided to make a pot of Moroccan Mint, of which the result was amazing!

Even after a couple hours now, I’m still thinking of making more of this delicious tea. There is something about adding mint to a smokier, yet smooth green tea that can get the taste buds, craving more.

My rating will reflect the green tea without the mint, which is a nice green tea. There is no comparison here though. Either I’m in the mood for a more mintier flavored beverage, or this is one of the greatest, small addition one can make to a tea.

BTW: My rating for this go around would be 96 – no questions!

I’m definitely picking up more of the fruitier notes this go around. There is a certain ginger and faint cloves flavor that’s emerging. One of the best parts about this particular pot, is there is no one to share! :) Sorry, there’s a lot of truth to that though.

This is a much lighter Kenyan tea than I’m used to, but that’s completely alright. It is very smooth and pleasant to the palate. There is only a small dry astringency on the top of the tongue – dead in the middle.

I still haven’t made myself cold brew or chill this one yet, but that review will come soon. Maybe later this week. In the mean time, I’ll grab a cup here and there hot. It’s dependably delicious!

Backlog: The freshly opened package and smell of the dry leaves makes my mouth water!

There’s plenty of toasted rice aroma rising from this tea. The added Matcha seems to include the right amount of refreshing vegetal notes. The rice swells up nicely after infusion, without separating and becoming mushy.

The poured liquid is smooth, almost straight water smooth. There is also a warming and comforting element to this tea. It certainly put me in a better mood after a long day at work.

I find this tea perfect to enjoy halfway through the evening, either before or after dinner. It’s not for everyone, in fact, only my son and I found it delicious in this household.

My stash of Kenyan Black Tea is running quite low, so I decided to grab some from my local tea cafe/shop and was very excited to find this one as an option!

There is a strong resemblance to Assam in appearance, with a good portion of golden tips. However, I find its flavor slightly reminiscent of a good quality Darjeeling.

This tea has plenty of complexity with its creamy, spicy and malty notes. The liquid is very smooth and savory with very little bitterness.

From what I see so far, this tea will work out very nicely chilled, sweetened slightly and served over ice.

This time around I thought there must be a way to bring out the more pronounced tone of the puerh. I certainly was not going to steep for 15+ mins as suggested as from the SA., however I found steeping it for 2 mins really gave this tea more life and character!

The strawberry peices taste a little artificial, but this is countered by the even stronger tea leaves when they are steeped a bit longer. I found that there is some nice tea here, if you are willing to break away from a traditional shorter brew.

I must reassess my original rating after this experience, of which I do gratefully. It’s always hard having to give up on a tea, because of perceived quality. I’m glad I gave it another chance!