Rellybob

Was having a bad tea day and decided I’d shape it up with my last tiny bit of this. Now I’m happy. I knew I was saving this tea for something!

Bleh! Very fake tasting. I took one sip and poured it down the drain. So sad.. I’ve tried pear flavored white teas before that were delicious.

Whoa..I can hardly get past this teas’ smell to actually take a sip. Apparently I’m not a fan of black currant! When I make myself take a sip I am pleasantly surprised, it is nice and juicy. Even tho the taste is enjoyable, I can’t rate it highly because it’s so odiferous. The smell actually brings me back to feelings of morning sickness (read: all day sickness for months) during pregnancy. Not a happy place! Lol!
Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for the chance to check this out! Even tho it’s not my favorite I’m glad I got to try it!

Another sample provided by Angel at Teavivre. This one is smack your lips good! (even though smacking lips is one of my biggest pet peeves lol) Thank you!!

First steep, one min. At first it was mostly just a roasted nutty flavor , which I was enjoying, with an occasional fleeting floral note. As I neared the bottom of the cup it got increasingly sweet and bakey, like whatever oven it had been roasted in was also used to bake bread, and the tea had soaked up bread nuances. Bread is kind a big deal for me. I have several close relatives and friends that are either celiac or gluten intolerant; I’m hanging on to bread with everything I’ve got!! :P
2nd steep, two min. Mmm it smells so good! I’m trying to wait to sip it, my experiences so far have proven that it tastes the best when it’s cooled a minute or two. I busied myself with getting my daughters lunch ready. She has the strangest tastes for a two year old. We had leftovers from a Japanese place and she was so excited to get edamame (Beans!!!) and stir fried noodles (Noodles!!!). Now that she’s preoccupied, back to my tea! So far this steep is primarily roasty, with some barely discernible floral notes. That oh-so-sweet baked bread profile returns somewhere around the middle of the cup, and strangely more floral notes as well. It’s delicious.
This tea doesn’t strike me as a typical Tieguanyin; isn’t it usually greener, and more floral, not so roasted? Either way, I like this tea! I’m going to save the leaves for steepings later, it doesn’t taste nearly done!

This is my first Sencha. I am excited to try it out!
I thought I would try this out western style first. It brewed up to a pretty grass green color. There are a lot of tiny leaf fragments in this tea that made it through the filter, so my cup has a lot of floaties; doesn’t bother me though. I’m hoping I didn’t get the water too hot, as my digital thermometer died.
:(
My first sips are pleasantly ‘green’ and sweet. That’s about all the flavor I’m getting. I like it but I’m assuming I need to add more leaf, like Dens has kindly suggested in their brewing instructions. I will save that for next time; for now I like it the way it is! I was craving Japanese tea after lunch today. My two sisters and I went to a local sushi and grill place. I ordered tea, and they brought me this really pretty cup ; at first sip I knew it was genmaicha! Anyplace that serves genmaicha as their signature tea is my new favorite! :-)
I will rate this now but may change it when I try it with more leaves next time.

Thanks to The Tea Merchant for the chance to try this tea!
I was a bit concerned when I saw the recommended steep time and temperature, but I went ahead at 205 degrees for three minutes. It turned out well! This is a nicely balanced tea. I can taste both the green and white tea, and the bergamot is light, especially after the first steep. I wouldn’t use this tea when I’m craving Earl Grey but it is a good relaxing cup. Which really is why I like tea, sooo..I like it! :-)

Thank you to Teavivre for this sample!
Sniffing the brewing leaves was actually kind of exciting! It smelled like delicious, simmering garden greens. I brewed it according to their directions of 194 degrees for 1 minute.
The taste is as good as I was hoping. Juicy, mouthwatering, savory, brothy, salty. I really think green teas like this could make a really good soup base. Onto the shopping list it goes!

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for a sample of this tea!
This bagged green is pleasant. Nothing about it really stands out; it’s mildly vegetal and a bit sweet. This is my first tea from India as far as I can remember, so that’s kinda cool!

Thank you to The Tea Merchant for this sample!
First off, I like their packaging. The tea is in resealable bags (looks just like the ones Verdant uses) and then they wrap the bags in brown tissue paper and seal it with a pretty wax seal. I’m all for old timey stuff like wax seals!
This tea smells pretty decadent when you open the bag. The aroma was a little strong for me actually; but then I am a bit sensitive to artificial smells. The tea is very pretty, with the white tea and the blue cornflowers.
1st steep 1 min. My favorite part about this tea is that you can still taste the white tea. Since it smelled so powerful I was expecting a strong flavor but it’s pretty mild. The white tea base is nice and delicate, with the characteristic hay notes; the coconut lends a nice creaminess.
2nd steep 3 min. I like this steep best. Same flavors of the first steep just a little more full.
I think I would have preferred it with less of the flavoring or none at all; but overall I liked it and I’m glad I got to try it!

I’ve had this tea in my cupboard for a while; I was so excited to try it. I was expecting sort of a spicy chocolate, which really does describe it, but it’s lacking something. Theres no real depth to it. I steeped it for 5 minutes, and it smells great. If only it tasted like it smells! This tea is much better with milk, I think.

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Thank you Angel and Teavivre for this sample!
I used the whole sample packet in my 12 oz cup, hoping it won’t be too strong!
Wow! It’s not too strong at all! A nice complex cup that’s not too bold. A sniff of those wet leaves is divine- fruity and bakey. This first steep doesn’t have fruity notes that i can pick out, but it has a nice sweetness, especially when it’s cooled off a bit.
Holy carp second steep!! My first sip was intensely sweet, like I had added a spoonful of honey; and yet bready and a little astringent. And incredibly enough it’s continuing through the whole cup! It amazes me how LEAVES can taste like bread and honey! There’s a nuttiness that hits the back of my tongue as well that’s not unpleasant. Later in the cup I’m finally tasting some fruitiness, not sure which fruit specifically.
Third steep isn’t as sweet or fruity; more nutty and roasty. The honey is still there, just not as strong.
I really enjoyed this.

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Thank you to Angel and Teavivre for this delicious sample!!
My samples came today, yaaaaaay! This is the first one I picked out to try. It smells amazing, both the dry leaf and the brewed tea. I thought the leaves smelled rather chocolatey, but the brewed tea aroma reminds me distinctly of honey on a warm, soft freshly baked roll. I am currently on the third steep and it still smells this way.
Taste is roasty and sweet. I really like it, and I’m super glad I picked this one first. Another one to put on the shopping list!

I like this better than I did before. I think it’s going to be a good tea day! Upping the rating!

This tea has surprised me! Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for a chance to try this!

This is a bagged tea I think I could drink often. It’s like a mellow Earl Grey. I can happily drink this without cream and sugar, even though I always put milk in my Earl Grey. The black tea base is nice and mellow, and there’s a definite honey note. Om nom nom.

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2 grams in 12 oz seems to do pretty well, note to self, try 3 next time just to see…

I recently broke down and ordered the citric acid to clean my zojirushi. I had cleaned it 4 times before hand with lemon juice; all the scale was gone but I could still taste funky mineralness. Having now cleaned it with the citric acid, I can still barely taste and smell mineral. I think I’m going to have to buy spring water just for my zojirushi, using water filtered from my britta isn’t cutting it. It’s fine in the tea kettle, so maybe the zojirushi just really picks up the city water taste?

Thankfully, the funky taste is so faint I can still enjoy this tea.

It’s a decent one to have on hand for running out the door. I’ve had these bags a while; it’s probably a bit stale. It is better than their other bagged variety, more depth in flavor. I’d be interested to try a ‘fresh’ bag but not interested enough to go buy some of this. :P

I am very pleased by the scenting on this tea. It is an especially sweet smelling jasmine. The pearls are very pretty, like all jasmine pearls.
First steep at one minute and the pearls have barely started to open, and the tea is practically clear. I’m already confident this tea is going to yield several good steeps. The aroma of the brewed tea is lovely. First sip is full of delicate jasmine. Lots of flavor but thankfully not too strong. Again, it’s not just the typical floral jasmine but it’s sweet; like powdered sugar has been added. I taste that much more as the cup cools. There’s some vanilla in there too; the last couple swallows are very soft in texture.
2nd steep 1 1/2 min. Still pale in color, but maybe just a tish more green. The leaves are unfurled now and still quite fragrant. There are a lot of buds in there! No bitterness but not quite as sweet this steep.
3rd steep 1 min 40 seconds. Hasn’t lost any flavor.
I think these are my favorite jasmine pearls to date. I have a sample coming from Teavivre with their pearls, I’m eager to compare them!

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