Pureleaf

Thank you LiberTEAS for this great sample!

I must say this is one great green tea!

There is much more found in this tea than grassy notes only; there is a nice thickness to this one, as well. It seemed full and creamy even on my third steeping of these leaves. The fluid is smooth, slightly sweet and has great substance.

No wonder why this one is such a favorite among many of the reviews! I’m hoping to stock up on this tea in the near future.

The roasted and nicely toasted notes of the rice with the smooth vegetal tones from the matcha make for a very pleasant cup!

At first sip of this tea you find a soothing and very mild liquid, although there is no passivity in the flavor at all. The tea is captivating and controls the senses, demanding more indulgence of this fine leaf.

There is some sort of expectation that one may find some small bits of toasted rice hidden away somewhere in the cup; and strangely, the thought of possibly adding milk (of which I haven’t at this point – yet;), it’s such a likeable combination. It also gives me thoughts of eating a bowl of Rice Krispies, I guess this is where the thoughts of the milk come from.

This sample makes me desiring for more, which was unexpected. I guess it’s time to update the shopping list!

Thank you LiberTEAS for sharing this fine black tea in the sample you sent!

The leaves of this very nice tea is spectacular in color, which appears as the intermixing of rich dark chocolate shavings with a medium caramel drizzle. The cup is smooth to the taste and doesn’t really have a noticeable bitterness.

There are some complex sweet floral and malty notes to this brewed tea. Along the taste of almonds, wheat or some sorta granola bar combo are some of the favors I’m picking up.

Plain and simple, it’s a nice diverse tea that is easy to sip.

No notes yet.

Thank you LiberTEAS for this sample!

What a nice black tea! I find it being a little more toned down black, but it certainly produces a very nice flavor (whatever the 5 teas may be).

There is a little smokiness along with malty and subtle sweet notes. At times, I could promise there is a touch of cinnamon and cream added to these leaves. Even after allowing the leaves to steep slightly longer, the liquid is still very smooth with little to no dry bitterness. It’s nice to have such diversity in one cup!

I’m certain this tea suits my taste just fine, so I’ve chosen to remove the seasonal implications and remind myself everyday is a special day with a delightful cup of tea at hand.

Thank you LiberTEAS for this sample!

For the last tea of the day, next up was this deliciously delightful Pou Chong Oolong. This mildly fermented tea is perfect with it’s mood matching light and gentle tones.

There is a certain asparagus flavor, yet something more. It reminds me of Spring Bud Green tea with it mellow grassy notes with an added floral trailing fragrance.

It is smooth enough to try cup after cup, with no lingering bitterness. The aroma is gentle in the cup, then it completely transform into a more expressive tea as it hits the middle of the tongue.

Thank you LiberTEAS for this great sample!

These dark and full leaves produce a very nice cup of tea!

Smooth, slightly creamy and even a touch of roasted nuts. This tea is definitely on the lighter side, which is a great alternative to a bolder and more astringent breakfast tea. I find this tea could be enjoyed throughout the day, because of it’s more mellow tone.

This tea reminds me altogether of why I love tea! There is no question of my feelings towards Japanese Sencha and this tea provides plenty of answers to the inquisitive mind of any newcomer to green tea. Plainly put, this tea is delicious!

The leaves are beautifully deepened and darker in hue of green and the liquid is a wonderful green lemonade color. The taste of the first pour is smooth and resembles a quality spinach smoothie. The 3rd steeping is my favorite, as it brings out the sweeter and floral notes of the leaves.

As wonderful as this tea brews, it’s making it very difficult to move on to the next round of tea tasting for the day. Thank you, Den’s Tea and your expertise for this fine sample!

Backlog: This is not a bad tea for the buy, however I’m not very experienced in this style of flavored teas to rate this one properly. It’s much stronger smelling with the dry leaves, than the liquid it produces. The dark leaves are enticing, however it’s very bold aroma made me slightly leery of proceeding forward with.

I must say that I must taste other Earl Grey’s to adequately define it’s range of boldness and comparative qualities. Overall, this tea encounter was nice and fitting for a early evening brew of tea.

Decided to use this one for a stronger brew this morning. Added extra leaves and steeped 2X longer than last time, to ensure the amount of caffeine needed for this morning. I was fighting an urge to brew some french press java and felt I would only be disappointed, so a bolder cup of tea was the need of the hour!

I must admit that with this bolder cup, I did add a little turbinado sugar and milk. Please don’t judge. :) It was delicious and there is no regrets!

Completely captivated by the deep richness of this black tea. There is a deep dampness found in the dry leaves. The complexity of smokiness is what invites the participant to search deeper for the full discovery of these cultured leaves.

Tea Forte has it right describing it as,“large leaves delicately smoked over smoldering embers of local pines.” The quality of the pines brings depth, because you can smell traces of unmistakeable resin. This is so reminiscent of my earlier childhood in the deep south. Great ambience of centry old pine forest and dark damp swamps working harmoniously to refresh the weary soul and tranquility to the burdened mind.

The liquor is medium amber and there is only a small amount of dry bitterness. There is plenty of flavor and no lack of caffeine. This is a very nice tea that is certainly not for the faint of heart!

I finally get to leave a tasting note on this one!

After searching high and low for a reference in English (everything on the container is in Chinese), I found ONE place only with a listing; this place must have went under a while back, however they haven’t shut their website down just yet. Nonetheless, I’m very happy to now add this one to my cupboard.

Personally, I’ve drank more of this Monkey Picked Oolong than any other tea I own. It seems to be consistently dependable and reliably refreshing.

I have tried many different collections, regions and methods of production of teas…and I still come back for more. Maybe it’s because this one was a first love, as I started the switch over to loose leafs and liberation from the traditional boxed tea bag collections. Possibly, the fact that it’s vegetal with other mild floral notes and provides a smooth sip of nice tea. Whatever the reason, I embrace my enjoyment of this one and continue to restock it without question.

The dry leaves from this tea seem smaller and have plenty of visible stems both connected and loose. There is definitely a sweeter aroma prior to their infusion, however this is lost somewhere along the way. This is, of course, is dissapointing, but all is not lost since the tea is still pleasant.

I find this tea very similar to the Ti Kuan Yin from Shan Wai Shan and both are packaged very similarly; however this one is distributed out of California and Shan Wai Shan is out of Fuzhou, China. Nonetheless, they both are very nice teas for their own price range: <$10 for 300g (found on sale at local International Supermarket)

Regardless of how much was paid (which I do pay MUCH more for other higher quality teas), this tea is judged by what I taste and from knowing that I have reached for this one many times so far this year.

The leaves of this Iron Goddess are medium to darker in color, but they are distinctively more buttery and vegetal overall in flavor. I don’t really pick up many floral or fruity notes on this one. It’s not plain, but rather a nice basic oolong with a very nice amber colored liquid.

Usually, this is a decent option when I’m not really in the mood for something specific. The leaves produce lower amounts of astringency and there is a nice warm amount of energy after drinking it’s tea.

Thank you LiberTEAS for this very pleasing sample!

Wow, this is a very interesting black tea!

The leaves are very dark and are tightly twisted along with plenty of loose small stems. The liquid is medium golden brown, which resembles a ground Curry powder in color.

Once you place your lips to the cup, you forget altogether that what you are drinking is a black tea. It is sweet and fruit-like, yet mystical with it’s faint floral flavor and delicious pastry ending notes. My lasting impression makes me imagine a freshly baked blueberry tart.

This tea makes me continue to discover my ignorance with black teas. Previously, all my encounters with black tea was from the Indian tea-producing regions, which are not bad at all…however, this opens up a whole new world! I have to say that I truly appreciate LiberTEAS in helping expose me to the other sides to this more oxidized variety!

Thank you LiberTEAS for this terrific sample!

I’m guessing this one is charcoal roasted at a higher temperature. There is a lot of toasty notes that leaves me reminiscent of Houji-Cha. This may be partially because of my slightly higher than recommended brewing temperature; but is very enjoyable none-the-less.

Most of these tightly wound pellets are 40-60% larger than several of my most recent oolong tastings. This is very nice, because you still have plenty of unfurling action on your other infusions.

The overall cup is smooth, little astringency and gives you quite a rush of warm energy. It proves to be the perfect cup of choice for this early evening.

I will certainly be trying this one at multiple steepings, and am interested in finding if the sweeter notes emerge at a slightly lower water temperature.

Edit:

Ok, this go around I lowered the water temp by 10 degrees and found the sweeter and slightly milder side of this tea. You can still taste the toastiness, but now the cup evolves into a tad more complex.

Thank you LiberTEAS for this wonderful sample!

There is not much to add to the many others that have commented on this great tea. Plain and simple, it is a very delicious and delightful tea!

This tea is very smooth, even if you decide to steep it a couple extra minutes (of which I tried and found no strong bitterness; only a continued satisfying richness).

One finding however: It seems that a shorter steeping (2mins or less) produces an Assam-like flavored liquid – so I personally recommend steeping 4mins+.

Thank you LiberTEAS for this sample!

As previously mentioned, the leaves are slightly flatter than expected and not as tightly rolled, which seems to encourage the leaves to unfurl slightly faster. The quality of the liquid seems to make this a moot point, as it is produces a nice relaxing cuppa tea.

As many of the Milk Oolongs, there is plenty of the prominent floral and fruity notes, of which this particular one brings a very good balance of both. It seems to be a nice choice for one that is non-interested in a stronger fruity flavor.

There is a small amount of astringency, but not overbearingly bitter. I found this tea to work well shortly after breakfast, as this seemed to compliment my meal and smooth my palate.

The color in the cup is more of a melon to tangerine, but changes quickly to a darker persimmon juice visual. This doesn’t seem to change the taste and is still enjoyable, even if you aren’t able to finish the cup immediately.

Thank you LiberTEAS for this great sample!

This is my first tea from 52teas and I found it quite a treat! This is saying a lot, since I normally do not stray away from straight teas. I’m very pleased with my discoveries here, since this will open up more opportunities of experimentation and increase my tea options (as if I need more options or opportunities concerning my obsession of tea:)

The citrus fragrance is so powerful! You can smell it before you open the plastic sample baggie. I was prepared to embrace the full force of this pleasant smelling lemony Chun Mee, however the pour and cup was much more smoother than it’s fragrance indicated.

I found this tea to produce a very good cup even after multiple steeps (around 4 or 12 cups total) – think: liquid lemon creme cookie :) Also, it provides an excellent palate cleanser if you are having several different teas throughout the day.

After the first 4/5 cups of this hot, I decided to try it chilled as an mid afternoon drink for the family. It was a HUGE hit with the kiddos. I love it when it continues to be a family affair!

Thank you LiberTEAS for this Sample!

I find myself enjoying this one very much, as this being my first Keemun Black Tea. It certainly is a nice change from the traditional Darjeeling, Assam and Ceylon teas.

This leaf produces a pale brownish colored liquid with a nice smokey pine overtones, is coupled with some very nice buttery and faint citricy undertones. There is little to no astringency.

I’m very excited in trying other Keemun Black Teas, for this was a good experience. Thanks again, LiberTEAS for this great suggested sample!

Thank you LiberTEAS for this Sample!

It is difficult for me to ignore the complete complexity of this tea. At first sip, you discover a very smooth liquid with no bitterness and a range of sweet fruity notes. Fresh sun-dried raspberries is my first impression, but this quickly changes to a very distinct fresh squeezed mango flavor.

I find this tea to be very delightful and refreshing. This will become one of my near future purchases, as I feel this would be a nice addition to my growing collection of oolongs.

This amazing tasting Premium Kenyan Kericho Black Tea was gifted to me by a Kericho Plantation Production Supervisor family member.

The actual plantation is unknown, however the donor stated that is the highest grade outside of the “Queen grade” that that is produced there. She has it directly shipped to her and uses it seculively in her Kenyan Cuisine Catering company.

All of the specifics of the grade and origin, outside of what was stated to me, I can’t confirm; however, I’m 100% certain on the unbelievable deliciousness of this wonderful tea!

The dry leaf is sweeter in fragrance and richly darker in color than any Kenyan tea I’ve sampled in the past 17 years.

After a shorter steeping time of 2mins 15sec @ 205 °F, the pour reminds me of a malty & very smooth liquid molasses beverage, with no noticeable bitter notes.

My only sadness here is that I have no such connections of a direct ship! I really love this tea!

One last thing, I also made a brew along with a little added turbinado sweetener to put in the fridge overnight. The result = the most satisfying and soothing cold drink that I’ve ever tasted (no exaggeration:) Yes, this is a celestial cuppa tea.

Very engaging with it’s lingering essence of fresh cut grass flavor!

Smooth and a surprising cup of escape, that brings me back to some of my fondest childhood summer days.

This may not be for everyone, especially if you find yourself not liking some of the other grassier tasting green teas; however, it is an excellent leaf to have in the collection.

I’m still new to the Lung Ching green leaf(Drangon Well), but am very much a fan thus far.

*One discovery – I may have overheated the water on this pot @ 185°F. It produced a slightly darker brownish amber color after only 3mins steep. I will lower the temp a tad next time.

What a jewel of a tea, when you have the appropriate time needed to best serve this tightly hand-rolled leaf.

I find myself mesmerized by medium to premium quality artisan teas, especially whenever they are so delicately packaged for the pure beauty and entertainment of the audience.

Maybe it’s just the therapeutic qualities of watching these leave unfurl and release their distinctively vegetal, yet great floral notes that I love about this one. *(Not sure, somehow I feel I may need to continue my journey with this one to fully uncover and discover this drawing desire towards this tea:)

This is a very smooth and non-astringent green tea.

It’s also a great tea blended with Golden Jade Green Tea.