QuiltGuppy

This is an interesting tea. I, like others apparently, expected it to be an explosion of perhaps too many flavors meshed together, but it wasn’t. It’s sweet, but more of a banana type of sweetness. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t my favorite. I did think that the dried tea smelled really pleasant, though. Fruity and green.

Twice I opened my tea cabinet and twice this tea fell out and hit me on the head. A sign that it was time to try? Perhaps. I took it on.

First, I’m not at all a fan of orange in tea. (Usually not lemon or other citrus fruits either, but not always.) I received this as a sample from Chi of Tea. Frankly, if left to me, I never would have possessed this tea. The scent upon opening is almost an orange-mint scent.

195/2 min – I didn’t want this one too strong as I was concerned about the orange. I need not have been. Once brewed, the scent continued. Upon sipping, I realized that this tea reminds me of orange Tic Tac infused oolong! It was really good! I did end up enjoying this tea much more than I thought I would.

This tea smells really nice when dry. It’s kind of a roasted scent, but clean.

195/3 min. – I’m trying to up my oolong brewing time as I prefer a stronger cup.

After brewing, it smells as if I overdid it. It’s pretty strong, but when I taste it, it’s perfect! I can taste the roasted leaves. It’s very good. There is no fruitiness or floral taste to it, just a nice roasted oolong flavor. I liked this version much more than the Zealong Pure.

I tried this tea this morning as my wake up brew. The dry tea smells like berries (raspberries, blackberries, etc.) It’s very pleasant.

boiling 1.5 min – I went short on this one due to the frequent oversteeping I seem to manage on a fairly regular basis these days.

The aroma is deeper. I can smell the tea, which is vegetal and fruity at the same time. The taste is pretty good. I can still make out the black currant without trouble. It’s not overly sweet. The tea did become a bit too vegetal for me, but it’s not taking over the tea. It’s not an overly complex tea, which is nice.

I wasn’t certain what to do with this tea. The directions on the package definitely cause some confusion. First, the website mentions brewing at lower temps, but there’s no mention of this on the package. (Space, I know, but at least indicate there’s an option.) Being the rule follower that I am, well, except with reading the ending of books first, I went with the package instructions and, boy, do I regret it. (Lots of commas in that sentence.)

Dry tea smells really nice. Slightly toasty with a crisp scent.

Anyway, I followed the instructions on the packet. Boiling water rinse to “awaken the leaves” – yeah, they put it within quotation marks, too. Discard. Then steep with more boiling water. It started looking really dark, so instead of waiting the two to three minutes, I stopped at one. I’m really glad I did or it probably would have been undrinkable. It’s strong. It dries my mouth and makes my tongue feel picky. It tastes like boiled raisins mixed in vegetables. It’s not floral or sweet at all. It is interesting, though, and not as horrible as it sounds in description. There is complexity to it as well and I find myself still sipping. I think part of the disappointment is reading about a fabulous sounding tea, only to have it turn into boiled veggies. I really wish I had tried this at the lower temperature. It would be interesting to do a comparison.

I decided to try this one because of twing’s recent post on gunpowder. I hadn’t tried one, so I dug through my cabinet until I found something to fit the bill. The directions on this tea remind me that I really need to write down Celsius to Fahrenheit conversions and post them near my tea! It said to only heat the water to 60 C, which is 140 F, but as the Breville only goes down to 160 F, that’s what I used. (My tea thermometer is MIA and probably stashed in my daughter’s play kitchen. Hopefully.)

The dry tea smells just like leaves, fresh and grassy, too. 160/2 min. Now the tea smells slightly deeper. It looks very delicate with a very pale light yellow/green liquor. It’s very clear, too. The taste, as expected is delicate and subdued. I’m not tasting anything floral or fruity although I do sense a sweetness, but it tastes nice, just what I would expect of a green. I was concerned that at the higher than recommended steeping time, it would end up tasting like boiled asparagus, but it didn’t at all. It’s taste is fresh, too. There is no bitterness whatsoever and it’s very enjoyable.

This was my wake up tea today. The aroma upon opening the bag is fruity and grassy, as I’d expect from a flavored green tea.

175/2 min – Now, the fruit scent is more mellow and a bit deeper. Not as pineapple sweet anymore, but more like apple and melon. I can taste the fruit, except I don’t taste the pomegranate, but I can see pieces of it in the wet tea leaves. It is slightly tangy and very slightly bitter, but not overpowering. It’s a very pleasant tea and I imagine this would be a nice afternoon or early evening tea as well.

This tea was a surprise. I wasn’t expecting its intensity. First, the smell when dry. I’d say woodsy. Nice. Unremarkable, really.

195/2 min – The aroma has become deeper. It’s now more of a roasted scent. The color is a medium reddish brown. Very pretty to look at and very appropriately named! The taste is rich, deep and roasted. It reminds me a bit of barley. It’s a strong tea without bitterness.

I’m in tea heaven! Wow, Joy’s Teaspoon, this is amazing! I have found one of my favorites and the second and third steeps were just as delicious. (On the shopping list!)

Okay, first, the dry tea scent is sooooooo tantalizing! Fruity, fresh, begging to be brewed.

175/2 min… Ahhh… the scent, if possible, is even stronger. The taste is like the tropics. It’s tropical fruity, like pineapple and hula skirts. The green tea matches it so well. I love being able to taste both the fruit and the tea. It’s outstanding! Subsequent steeps were just as heavenly.

This tea’s scent is beautiful from start to finish. When I opened the pretty little vacuum sealed bag, the smell of the tea leaves reminded me of a preserved bouquet. It was very pretty, yet grassy. Not overdone or overpowering. Just pleasant.

195/2 min

Now, the fragrance of the tea is much more evident. I’m picking up on the bergamot scent, reminiscent of Earl Grey, but not scent the room strong. The taste is really subtle. I can taste the bergamot, but I don’t feel it as in the Earl Grey where it permeates all of your senses. Instead, it’s comforting and delicate. This tea is fairly light and other than a hint of toasty oolong flavor, it really does resemble more of a roasted green tea. I’m not picking up too much of a fruity flavor, just a gentle floral infusion.

I tried this one next in a frantic attempt to clear out some of my tea cabinet. I really like the fresh, earthy scent of this tea. It smells like the woods with fresh, clean leaves and twigs.

195/2 min. – The scent is still earthy, but has lost some of the freshness. The tea itself is a deep yellowish color. The taste is okay, not really what I was hoping for. I didn’t discern any notes of fruit or honey or anything sweet. It isn’t bitter at all, it’s just kind of plain. Not bad, but not exciting, either. No improvement on the second steep.

One thing to note, when I was emptying my strainer to prepare for another tea, I couldn’t help but notice all of the broken pieces of leaves stuck to the sides. The leaves plump up tremendously, but leave a lot of waste behind.

I ordered a small tin of these with about eight inside. They’re okay. Frankly, the tea taste is a bit harsh. These are more like candies than chocolate, but not really sweet. I think the ratio of the white chocolate to tea needs to be changed. More chocolate, less tea. There are bits of tea in it that add texture, but I really didn’t feel like they’re necessary. The green kisses are soft like white chocolate, but the taste is just off what I expected. It didn’t stop me from eating all of them in the course of just two days, but I wouldn’t repurchase them. Now, if they were made with genmaicha… :)

This smells sweet, with a spiciness. I can make out the almond, marzipan scent.

Boiling/2 min – Also, I went with 3g/8 oz of water, even though I normally use 3g/6 oz. It smells very strong.

Now, once brewed, it smells very cookie-ish and sweet. Just like marzipan, actually. The taste confirms that this tea is indeed marzipan flavored, and quite well. How do I know? Because I detest marzipan! I bought this tea for my husband. So, I’m rating it according to how well I think the actual tea reflects what it is supposed to be, and the truth is that I hate this tea because it is exactly what it claims to be. My son loves this. My daughter just asked for more. My husband is happy, but wants it to be stronger. I want nothing more to do with it. So, I’d say it’s a success.

I think that this would make a very nice winter holiday tea. It’s spicy, tastes like marzipan and tea (actually, the black tea flavor – not flavoring – is very nice and is not bitter or overwhelming at all.)

This is a little bizarre for me. I’m reviewing a tea I drank without realizing I had been drinking it.

I ordered from thepuriTea and received my order yesterday. I was looking forward to trying the Dan Cong, so I prepared it, took notes, drank it. Then, I looked at the sample packet. It was marked Dong Ding, as was the other packet of tea in the case. I looked at the outside case. It was marked Dan Cong. Someone put the wrong tea into this sample packet. Therefore, here’s my review for the right tea, Dong Ding.

It smells nice. It’s fresh, not fruity or sweet. More like a soft spring day freshness than woodsy fresh. (195/2 min) It smells grilled. It’s nice, though. Not roasted or smoky, but just grilled. Like the taste that vegetables get on the barbeque, but without the vegetal taste. The tea is a nice yellow color and very clear. The taste is really fresh, clean, grilled, slightly smoky flavored. It’s a bit woodsy, but very nice, not overwhelming. I’d say the elements are all nicely balanced. I’m really enjoying it.

Now, I just have to contact thepuriTea to get the sample that I had actually ordered.

Wow. Simply wow. On a recent thread, some Steepster peeps were discussing milk oolongs and a few companies’ names were thrown out. I decided to give the milk oolong from thepuritea a try. I placed my order just a couple of days ago and received it today. (Rats… my husband saw me bringing yet more tea into this house!)

Anyway, I decided to try this first since it really was the reason I ordered from them in the first place. Upon opening the bag, the scent is wonderful! It’s nutty and creamy and even fruity smelling.

I used ATR’s recommendations for their milk oolong 175/2 min. It came out a very light yellow color. Pretty. The scent is beguiling. Floral, fruity, nutty, creamy, lovely. And the taste is really outstanding! It’s really, really, really good and is now one of my favorites. I can’t believe this isn’t fruit flavored. It’s so sweet. I love this tea.

Oh boy. I’m not even sure where to begin with this one. It came in the mail to me through Golden Moon Tea’s Single Leaf Club (like a tea of the month club… I’m trying to broaden my horizons); however, when I enter the secret link to read more about it, the link doesn’t work.

So, kind of excited as I’ve never tried pu-erh before, I open the container and sniff. Now, if I were a farmer, perhaps this would have invoked a different reaction, however, the barnyard/dirt fragrance really turned me off. Would I actually try this? I had to question myself. Well, this morning I took the plunge.

I followed the directions almost exactly, but added a rinse first, hoping to shake some of that scent. 180/1.5 minutes…

Sniff… ack! Nope, now it’s wet barnyard that I smell. And something like feet. Seriously, this is getting worse and worse. But, I’m thinking to myself, I lived in France for years. Some of the cheeses that could condemn a home on odor alone were some of the best I’ve ever tasted. Besides, the color of the tea is very light yellow and pretty. So, I throw caution to the wind and take a sip.

I’m not a mathematician, but I’ve come up with an equation:

(scent of cheese:taste) ≠ (scent of Sticky Rice Pu-erh:taste)

I’m pretty proud of that and I have no words to describe this that wouldn’t fall into my mom’s “if-you-don’t-have-anything-nice-to-say, then-don’t-say-anything-at-all” category.

So, after a first failure to find fruitiness in a morning cup of tea, I’m turning to South Sea Magic from Joy’s Teaspoon. I only purchased the sample size of this one, but that little tin holds so much promise in its scent. It smells rich, like the black tea base it has, but also fruity and fresh and very tropical. (All good things in my quest!)

Boiling/1 minute

Mmm… still smells tropical! I’m getting excited that this tea may actually deliver a fruity taste, too. So, without further hesitation, I sip and it really is fruity! It’s truly a shared experience with neither the fruitiness (think mango, possibly papaya) nor the black tea overpowering the other. It’s very good. So good that I will most likely order a larger size of this and I’m not really a black tea kind of person.

This is one of the most beautifully scented teas I have come across. It smells of the tropics and lightness. It’s really pretty.

I wasn’t sure what to do with the steeping information. Should I go with black recommendations? Or should I go with green? I went with black. Boiling/2 min – Well, actually one, tasted, then dropped back in for another minute.

After steeping one minute, the scent was still there, only less tropical, more subdued. After the second minute, the scent of fruit was barely there and it smelled like black tea. Nice black tea, but not the fruity experience I’ve been searching for this morning.

The taste after one minute wasn’t very developed. I could most definitely taste a guava/papaya taste in the tea. The tea itself wasn’t very strong, which is why I tried another minute.

After two minutes, the fruitiness had mostly dissipated and I was left with an interesting tea flavor that was slightly bitter. It, surprisingly, wasn’t terrible, but as I’m looking for something else this morning, I’m not going to continue with it this morning. I’ll have to experiment more with this tea later. Temp, time… who knows what the magic combination is?

I really love this tea. Everything from the scent upon opening the package… roasted coconut, yum! To the scent once brewed… roasted coconut, yum! To the taste… roasted coconut… yum! It’s all delicious! The sencha makes a fabulous base for this tea, which adds a freshness to the flavor. It’s ever so slightly bitter, but not cringingly so. I might go a tad easier on the steep time. (175/3 min) The tea company says that there’s ginger in here. Without having read that, I’d say no, but now I’m tasting and thinking, perhaps… just a tad. It’s very light and doesn’t add spiciness to the tea.

The tea in the bag smells delicious! I can clearly pick out the mango scent among the black tea.

205/3 min (The minimum recommended time.)

Okay, I’m not really able to smell the mango as much, but it’s still present. Just majorly subdued. Mostly, I can smell the black tea, very vegetal. (Oh no.)

Taste… well, the vegetal smell is there for a reason. It’s very vegetal tasting, and strong. I’m wondering why it calls for a 3-5 minute steep when clearly it’s too much for this tea. (I don’t add anything to my teas.) All I can taste is the black tea, even though I can slightly smell the mango. It was smothered by the tea and the too long steep time. The tea is okay, but nothing that really stands out. It’s slightly bitter. Not too much, but enough that it makes drinking it a bit of a chore, and that’s never a good thing.

I don’t intend to purchase this again, but if I did, I’d most certainly go with about a two minute steep time to reduce the bitterness and hopefully reclaim some of the mango flavor that was lost in the steep.

Mmm… this one smells like ginger ale when you open the package. So promising! I’m not a huge fan of white teas, but I was looking for less caffeine as it’s nearing evening now.

185/3 min later… the smell is similar to the dry scent. It’s nice, fruity, but with a promise of spiciness. Then, the taste. Mmm… it’s really good. Bold for a white tea, due to the flavoring, I’m sure. It does taste like ginger ale to me, but no fizziness, thank goodness! It’s somewhat sweet, yet the spiciness picks at my tongue and throat. The tea is really mild, overcome by the flavors. It’s a nice pairing and really good tea and I’ll bet this would be delicious iced!

This morning, I decided to try Taiwan Sweet Summer Oolong for the first time. The leaves smell woodsy, kind of herbal.

I brewed it at 205 for 3 minutes. The leaves expanded tremendously! I think that surprised me the most. They completely filled the basket on the Breville.

The scent, once steeped, is slightly sweet, kind of like honey, but without the weight or heaviness one would associate with it. The taste, yes, is also sweet, but with a touch of floral notes. Like an orchid, almost. It’s a nice tea, not as strong as I thought it would be based on the previous reviews. It has a slight tinge of bitterness and doesn’t seem quite as forgiving of a longer steep than other oolongs I’ve tried. Still, it’s very good.

This morning, I decided to try something new. I wanted to get away from the flavored teas having ingested way too many yesterday. So, I took out Samovar’s Four Seasons Oolong. I set it up in the Breville for this morning, which means that I didn’t do a rinse. Boiling/2 min 30 sec.

The scent of the dried leaves is woodsy, but not overwhelmingly so. The aroma, once brewed, is much more floral in nature. It almost has a hint of the milk oolong scent in it as well, buttery. The taste is nice. Floral, definitely. I can taste magnolias, that stiff, slightly bitter taste. The oolong tea is nice. It’s strong enough to discern among the floral notes. I do not taste any fruitiness or butter taste. It’s good, delicious even.

Hmm… I’m almost afraid to post this, but as a coconut lover, this tea didn’t meet my expectations. I thought that I’d be LOVING this one.

The scent is extraordinary. Coconutty, decadent, rich. I’m imagining a piña colada tea style.

Boiling/5 min – The scent is filling the room. I’m really anticipating taking a sip, and then I do. Hm. Another sip. I’m not transported to my tropical isle. Another sip. Okay, I decide to set it aside and let it cool a bit. I come back to it and sip yet again. I wasn’t mistaken; this tea isn’t meeting my hopes and dreams. It’s good, but I think it’s the honeybush that is throwing me off. I’m really, really wishing this had a green tea base, or maybe even oolong. I’m just not tasting tea and it’s leaving me feeling empty inside. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not horrible, it’s just that with all the hype, I was expecting a fantasy-achieving tea. I can taste the toasted coconut (nice), the cheesecake (a slight tartness, yum), but the tea… ((sigh)) Where is the tea?

Did I mention the beautiful aroma? Ah!! It’s like edible suntan lotion. Yum.