Rellybob

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I couldn’t resist the chance to try this tea and ordered a sample. The dry leaves smell deeply green, with that peculiar ‘Dragonwell’ aroma. I’ve only ever had one other Dragonwell, and I was interested to see if they had the same aroma. They share characteristics, but this tea is definitely has more depth. It’s also probable that it’s fresher.
I’m trying to brew this the recommended Dragonwell way with a glass tumbler. To keep from eating leaves I’ve resorted to using a large spoon to hold the leaves back as I sip. I’m still managing to sip in a few but so far this working much better than without. And this tea is WONDERFUL. It blows the other Dragonwell I’d had out of the water.
I finally strained the tea into another cup, leaving leaves in a little water in the tumbler. It was taking me so long to sip through the leaves that the tea was getting a bit bitter. Once I added more water and strained it though, the sweetness came out more. I’m using filtered water but I think next time I may make sure I have spring water on hand, and see how much of a difference it makes. I also want to try this western style, without as much leaf.
This tea is really good!

First, thank you Zen Tea for providing generous samples!
I’ve had a couple sessions with this tea now. The first time I followed their instructions of 1 tsp per cup, and I felt it was lacking something. Not bad, but the flavor just kept almost tasting sweet and almost tasting bakey, etc. So I doubled the tea leaves and tried again. This was similar to the first steeping by ‘almost’ tasting like I was hoping it would.
Don’t get me wrong, though. I enjoyed drinking all 6 cups I had, and will enjoy finishing off my sample. This tea’s roasted-ness is delicious, and is very easy to drink. I just wish it had a tish more complexity. As I have more of this sample, maybe I will get my steeping parameters perfected and get the taste I’m looking for. If I do, I will update!

Drinking a fabulous cup of this before I go off to the pediatrician. My kid is pretty sick today. :( 101.4 degree fever, has only woken up to cry and drink some milk and went right back to sleep. She actually asked me ( in cry-speak) to go back to bed!!
This tea is just. So. Good. I can’t get over Laoshan black. It makes me so happy, and its blended so perfectly with the rose petals and bergamot. I have an unopened packet of Earl of Anxi that I’m anxious to try as well..maybe after the doctor visit! :-P

Not feeling very sparkly today. Hence I thought I would try out this tea.
Plain, I don’t like it much. Adding some honey really helps this one. I think it may be the sage I don’t like. I do like the ginger in this blend though. Not at all overpowering…here’s hoping this tea works its’ herbal miraculous powers!
I used 2 tsp per 8 oz.

I’ve been avoiding Oolongs lately. Not because I don’t want to drink them though!! Oolongs are my favorite. However, I have found that too much oolong upsets my tummy. Especially Tieguanyin or other floral Oolongs. It’s so VERY, VERY sad.
I’m taking the plunge today and steeping this out. I’m using my little yixing teapot that I use for floral green Oolongs. I’m really not sure about this little pot. I bought it ultra cheap. I can tell its cheaply made as the lid doesn’t fit well, but mostly I wanted a yixing to experience the seasoning aspect and the subsequent flavor differences. I just hope it’s not ‘fake’ yixing, which I didn’t realize existed until I bought a cheap pot. >_< Oh well.
This tea is wonderful. Floral, obviously, and green and creamy and full. I’m currently on the third steep. The leaves smell super complex at this point, almost savory. The taste has morphed a little- not quite as floral with some of that extra “savory” thrown in. Buttery. It absolutely coats my mouth; the aftertaste is pleasant.
Because of the tummy issue and a needy toddler, I doubt I will make it through 18 steepings, but I know I will do several!

Finishing up my sample of this. :( it is SO SO good. I’m really hoping this one gets brought back.
This time around I had about 3 heaping teaspoons of this left, which is usually too much for one steeping but not enough for two. So I just used the whole thing with only a 45 sec steep time. And it is incredible. I think I have been converted to brewing with more tea, shorter steep time. I am going to steep these leaves until I can’t squeeze any more flavor out.

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I love Genmaicha. Therefore I love this tea. It is the perfect tea this morning to lift me out of morning nausea. ( i find that if i have to get up before I’m ready to be awake I feel sick. ) My insides feel all warm and ‘snuggled’ now.

This is one of my favorites so far from Zen Tea! Thank you for this sample!!
The aroma of this tea while steeping is super sweet and inviting. The tea is smoooooth, flavorful and creamy. It actually reminds me a bit of Laoshan Green. The vegetable flavor isn’t sour or bitter. Just really mellow and tasty.
Drinking green tea like this makes me confident I’m in immediate need of sushi. Which is a good thing!

I used about half the packet of my 7gram sample and steeped for 25 sec in 8 oz water, after rinsing once. The aroma of the wet leaves was interesting. I didn’t really analyze it, but it certainly made me interested to try the tea. At first it was more delicate than I expected, but as I slowly sipped the flavors came out. It certainly is honey/woodsy sweet; it has a floral flavor that I haven’t encountered before. Pairing the indistinguishable floral with the sweet honey plus the woodsy-ness makes this very enjoyable. I’m curious how each sip will taste. By the middle of my cup my tongue feels completely coated in sweetness. I think my favorite part so far about this tea is the aftertaste. I feel like I’m breathing honeysuckle.
I’m going to continue to steep this out a bit. Once again, the idea that these flavors come from leaves is impressive!

Yep, I like this. I’ve seen Earl Grey Cream teas before but this is the first I’m trying. The bergamot is nicely complemented by the cream flavoring; it already tastes like it has cream and sweetener. No additives needed! Also a big plus is the fact that the flavoring in this tea isn’t giving me a headache- most do!
The only thing I would do a little differently is the brew time. I followed their directions for four minutes, and I think it’s a little long for me. But I think this is one I wouldn’t mind keeping around!

For whatever reason, I haven’t had jasmine pearls in a long time. They really are wonderful.

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For the fact that this smells like trees, I’m immediately drawn to it. I am not disappointed with how it tastes, either. It looks like it will be a delicate tea, as it is pale when brewed, but the taste is complex and robust. Not robust like black tea; robust in its own way. I feel I need to be listening to serene and deeply troubled classical music (Moonlight Sonata) and watching snowflakes fall while drinking this tea. It’s different and flavorful, and I like it.
I used 1.5 Tablespoons for 8 oz of water, with a quick rinse.
Anyone know the relative amount of caffeine in this tea?

Mmm a good happy cup this morning. It’s bright and delicious. The dry leaves of this tea are super pretty, and smell strongly of bergamot. I don’t find the brewed tea very strong on the bergamot, but that’s not a drawback in this case. The Laoshan black shines, as always. I couldn’t find directions for this tea, so I winged it with 1 1/2 tsp of leaf for my 12 oz cup.
I like this a lot!

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Oh. Oh. OH. I’m going to have to raise my rating on this one. There is so much flavor in this tea! The sweet potato is there as I remember, but there is much more going on. It has this sweet cinnamon-y thing going on the sides of my tongue that makes me pretty happy. And this strange blueberry aftertaste! So very tasty and unexpected. The blueberry becomes more apparent as my cup cools; I really tasted it around the middle of the cup.
This is a great tea!

I wasn’t overly fond of this one. Not sure if it was my mood or the blend, so leaving off the rating until I try again.

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I really hope this is a blend Verdant brings back. This is another tea that has swept me off my feet! I did not expect to like it as much as I do. The green bean flavor of the Laoshan green is paired perfectly with the coriander and cardamom- I find it hard to describe how it makes me feel. I don’t want to describe it as medicinal, because that sounds yucky. However, it really does taste like its good for you, very clean and comforting.

Wow!
This tea exceeded my expectations. This may be my favorite blend yet from Verdant. I very much appreciate the fact that all their blends are completely natural with no added ‘natural flavor’. This particular blend has so many different flavors but it melds perfectly. I wasn’t sure I was going to like the mint but it doesn’t overpower the blend; it leaves a nice aftertaste. The chamomile I notice more as my cup cools, but again, not overpowering. The predominant flavor is chocolate. Need I say more on why this is so good? =) The chocolate is flavorful but isn’t bitter like dark chocolate. It also isn’t sweet like milk chocolate. It just struck me what this reminds me of: homemade hit chocolate mix. We used to take powdered milk, cocoa, cinnamon, nutmeg and I don’t remember what else to make homemade Mexican hot chocolate. This has that flavor! In a TEA, that’s remarkable.
2 tsp per 12 oz cup.

Oh, num. It’s interesting how my tea phases go. A few months ago I couldn’t get enough of green Oolongs. Then I didn’t want anything to do with them. Now, I’m back to craving them. This hits the spot today. Floral and creamy and sweet. Siiiiiiigh of happiness.