Ryan Burress

This tea has a pleasant aroma and a dark color. It has a nice, full-bodied flavor, with just a very slight hint of dryness or bitterness, which I expect would be absent if steeped for under five minutes. I think the flavor opens up with cream and sugar. This is a good cup of tea.

This tea has a fruity aroma and a medium dark color. With the first sip you can taste the subtle black currant flavor and the overall taste is very approachable, not dry or smoky at all. A little sugar, just a little, goes well with the black current flavor. Cream isn’t necessary but it doesn’t hurt. Overall this is fine, pleasant tea.

It has a lovely Assam aroma and a nice, dark color. The flavor is the typical round, full-bodied flavor of Assam, and just a bit dry (I think I will try four minutes steep time for the next cup). As expected, it goes very well with cream and sugar. This isn’t the best Assam I’ve had, but it does make for a decent cup.

This tea has a delicious aroma that immediately reminded me of pumpkin pie. The taste is mostly Assam with just a hint of spice. I’m actually surprised a how subtle the spice taste is. Sugar doesn’t seem to change much and actually brings out more of the dryness. A little cream helps the spices come out somewhat; it’s still very subtle but it is a good cup of tea. I’m not sure it’s spiced enough for those seeking a truly spiced tea, but for those seeking a tea with a hint of spice it seems ideal.

This tea has a perfumed aroma, almost more floral than fruity. The taste is a bit subdued. A little sugar or sweetener helps bring out the mango flavor, which remains subtle. A little cream is fine and does not overwhelm the flavor. I have found that many flavored teas add too much flavor and cease to really taste like actual tea. This tea does not do that. It is a decent cup of tea with a hint of mango flavor, well worth a taste.

This tea has a nice, mellow aroma without any hint of smoke and a dark, translucent color. The taste is a bit dry, only slightly bitter; perhaps shortening the steep time will reduce this. A little sugar tempers the dryness a bit and a little cream helps as well, but the flavor is very subtle and somewhat unremarkable. It’s a decent brew, but I personally prefer a tea with little more depth and character to the flavor.

The aroma is light and the color dark and translucent. The usually hearty Assam taste is quite subdued and mellowed by the Ceylon. The flavor is only slightly dry, which seems to be hidden by a little sugar. In my opinion, the flavor blossoms quite nicely when a little cream is added as well. This is an excellent anytime tea. It has that delicious Assam flavor by with a slightly smoother and more complex character. Take care, however, as this tea turns very bitter very quickly if left to steep too long. I recommend four minutes just to be safe.

The scent of ginger is noticeable very shortly after pouring the water onto the leaves. When steeping is complete the aroma is mild but spicy, with what seems like a hint of cinnamon, evoking memories of mulled wine at Christmastide. When tasted the ginger came through more than the peach, and the overall flavor was smooth and subtle. A little sugar helped awaken the flavor, bringing the peach and ginger out a little more and balancing the two. A little added cream changed the flavor again and reminded me at once of a good, creamy chai or a hot toddy. With or without cream, I would recommend just a little sugar to fully awaken the flavor. This is a delightful tea, and I’m already thinking of what it might be like with a little nip of brandy and a cinnamon stick at the holidays.

This tisane has a soft peach and floral aroma. It has a subtle, slightly sour taste that is helped with a little sugar, which actually brings out the peach flavor while subduing the sour taste. This is actually a quite satisfying Peach fruit tea and would probably be delicious on ice as well.

This brew has a very smokey aroma and a nice, dark color. The flavor is bold and earthy, only slightly bitter, with a crisp, dry finish. I can see this tea being an excellent substitute for black coffee. The flavor is strong enough to be enjoyed without cream or sugar, but they do add a new dimension to the flavor. This Keemun seems to me, at least, to have a rounder, more mouth-filling taste than English Breakfast while still having that dark, slightly smokey Keemun quality you don’t find in an Assam, for example. In general I prefer Indian black teas, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I like Hao Ya ‘B’. It is a very satisfying cup of tea.

It has a light, pleasant aroma, with just a hint of green tea scent. The flavor is very light and pleasant as well, not robust like an Assam and a bit dusty but not as dry as a Keemun. A little sugar is fine, but not too much as the flavor is too light to handle it. This is an excellent blend for those who shy away from strong teas but still want a genuine black tea flavor.

This tea has a very nice, full and almost sweet aroma. The flavor is not as bold as the aroma, and not as sweet. It has a dry, almost slightly metallic finish. Adding a little cream seemed to drown out the tea flavor but left the dryness. I can tell that it is a good blend, however, leaning a little to the dry side. Those who prefer Keemun will probably enjoy it more than those who prefer, say, Assam, but it’s worth at least trying if you enjoy black tea.

Update 2011/08/31:
I reduced steep time from five to four minutes which made the brew a little less dry. It still needs a little cream and sugar, but otherwise it’s pretty good.

Caribe has a bold aroma but I found the taste a bit uninteresting. I wish could be more specific but no one element really stood out; it was, to my taste, a rather dull, flat flavor. It wasn’t bad, per se, just dull.

I’m not sure why but I did not really taste the chocolate element in this tea except for maybe a very, very slight hint of it in the finish. It just tasted rather bland, to be honest. I did brew it for five minutes using boiled water. Cream did not seem to help. The aroma was also not very pleasant to me. I wish I could be more precise. It’s not that it tasted bad, just bland.

This is a pretty good flavored tea. It has an understated mélange of floral and fruity flavors. It is simple and unobtrusive. With or without cream, I mostly taste vanilla, followed by citrus, then a tiny hint of caramel. A little cream and sugar softens the citrus and brings out the vanilla and caramel. I usually do not enjoy flavored teas, but I can tell the added flavors in this tea were carefully balanced so as not to totally obscure the actual tea essence. If you find Earl Gray a bit sour but otherwise enjoy it, I think you will quite like Paris tea. It may also appeal to lovers of Jasmine and other floral tisanes.

This is a fine, dark brew with an ever so slight smokiness and a crisp, dry finish. Just a touch of cream and sugar will round out the flavor and soften the edges, but too much will chase away its complexity. It has a bold yet subtle and slightly mysterious character, like a demure beauty whose understated elegance belies a ruthless cunning.

Supreme Breakfast is a very full-bodied, well-rounded blend. I find that it requires neither milk nor sugar to be fully enjoyed, though a very conservative amount of either is fine. In general I find Assam teas to be very round, earthy, soft, straightforward and robust, whereas Keemun teas have a thinner, darker, dryer, more rigid yet subtler character, occasionally too astringent for my taste. Supreme Breakfast is an excellent combination of these two teas. The hearty Assam softens the rigidity of the Keemun, removes its slight smokiness and rounds its edges without overwhelming its more subtle flavor, and the piercing quality of the Keemun cuts through the Assam’s simple, almost corpulent body to add a more nuanced taste and a much more interesting finish than either tea has on its own. It’s as if the Keemun is providing mature guidance and structure to the jolly, playful Assam in a shared quest to overwhelm your taste buds with flavor and depth. I highly recommend this tea.