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I’m not much of a puerh drinker – actually not at all, except for a flavored one from Lupicia, which is delicious beyond belief, but doesn’t count in my book as you can barely taste the tea. I bought these mini cakes quite a few years ago at a tea and coffee expo in New York, drank one mini cake, and promptly forgot about it. The last few nights, I’ve revisited it, drinking it to relax at the end of the day. I usually do 2 or 3 steeps (not including initial rinse), use a Western teapot, I basically don’t fuss with it at all – boil the water, drop in the mini cake, brew and drink. In mugs – again, not my usual – I like something finer to sip my tea from, but it all seems to work well for this tea.

Very forward taste of wood, slight smoke, and the earthiness I expected. Quite mellow, and really easy to drink. I find it very warming and relaxing, perfect for the cold weather we’ve been having. A bonus is that it seems to settle my tummy really well. I get the feeling that we’ll be going through more of these mini cakes over the next few weeks. As it says in the description, it’s a good entry tea for newbies to puerh as it’s not expensive, and easy to brew and drink.

Normally I don’t write tasting notes for samples, because if I like a sample, I’ll buy it, add it to my cupboard and then write a tasting note on it. If I don’t like it, I won’t bother writing about it. Not a perfect system, but it works for me. Chances are very slim I’ll end up with additional samples of a tea I don’t like.

This is different.

I am trying to not buy more tea for now. I already have two other milky oolongs that I have to drink. But, I don’t want to forget this one when I finally do start buying again. I’ve never had a milky oolong that didn’t have additional flavoring added so this was a first. It’s a wonder. Not a “hit you over the head with a baseball bat” milky flavor (which I do love), but I definitely could taste the creamy milkiness. It was delicious – comforting but not overwhelmimg – and I’ll definitely want to get more. Great end-of-the-day cup to relax with.

I’ve been having this with breakfast the last few days, and cold brewing the spent leaves. It’s a solid unflavored black, but no malt, which for me is strange in an Assam. Despite the lack of maltiness, it has a sweetness and full body that I enjoyed. And the spent leaves make a great iced tea.

I purchased a small sample of this during one of August Uncommon’s sales. Not getting much in the way of chocolate notes. It’s more subtle than their usual fare, but I found it much better if I overleafed a little. Overall, there is a sweetness and maltiness to it that I enjoy, and it goes wonderfully with milk, so it makes a nice breakfast tea. All in all it’s a mild, sweet black that’s very drinkable, just not for when you want a strong black tea.

I am an unapologetic milk-in-my-tea person. Unless it’s NOT a black tea, or if it’s got a fruit flavor, I’m most likely going to add milk to it. I just can’t with this. I don’t want to ruin it. It’s perfect as it is – aromatic, with honey-like notes and an almost fruity finish. This was a generous, not free (but very reasonable!) sample from a tea expo in NY from too long ago, but it’s still lovely, and confirms Camellia Sinensis as a serious, quality tea vendor IMO. It’s a beautiful Chinese black, and I could drink it forever. Even nice as a cold brew using the spent leaves. I would buy more, but will have to hold off as I’ve got the same problem as other tea drinkers – too much tea, not enough time.

Had no expectations for this tea, since I am not familiar with the company, and I got it from a Home Goods or TJ Maxx, one of those kind of stores. I just knew that I needed a ginger peach flavored black for making iced tea and this wasn’t an expensive purchase, so if I didn’t like it, it would be no big deal.

Well. This makes a damn fine iced tea. Love the balance of peach and ginger. Neither overwhelms the tea taste. There’s a lot of it to the package, so it’ll take some time to get through, which is more than OK with me! Very pleasantly surprised. Not sure if I would have it hot, but I feel pretty confident that it would be just as nice that way as iced. This is a winner!

This had been on my wishlist for quite some time, and since I was ordering more Green Coconut (the weather is slowly warming up, and this is a solid, refreshing tea in iced form), I tacked O’Conner’s Cream onto my order. I really think Teagschwendner should offer smaller amounts for online ordering (100g minimum? Really?), but I just went for it.

Basically, it’s an Irish Cream-flavored black tea. I happen to love that, and I also happen to love flavored blacks in general. Not to say I don’t love unflavored, “pure” teas, but there’s room in my cupboard for pretty much all kinds of teas. Except rooibos. I will never love rooibos.

Upon opening up the package, there’s a strong alcohol scent from the flavoring. Not the first I’ve experienced this, but it’s still disturbing. If this goes as I expect, after awhile that will dissipate and the flavoring will be intact. If you love Bailey’s, then this is the tea for you. I imagine this would be a great tea for one of those raw, damp, November days when you crave something comforting. Definitely has a taste of whiskey and cream. Does it crowd out the black tea flavor? No, it still tastes like tea. Would I drink it black? Nope – this cries out for milk. Just the way I like it. Great dessert / treat tea.

Chocolate flavored teas are very much hit or miss for me, so when a close friend was super generous and sent me a bunch of teas from her trip to Sri Lanka, I put off trying this one for awhile. But, it’s good! The flavor reminds me of Chocolate Fudge Pop Tarts (that’s a happy thing for me, I adore them, maybe it’s a holdover from childhood – those of you groaning and shaking your heads in dismay can just get over it – we all have our guilty pleasures).

When I first opened the packet, the strong alcohol scent from whatever was used to flavor the tea was very strong (alarming!), but it’s chilled out over time. The flavor doesn’t overwhelm the tea, it sits nicely with it. I’m reaching for this more than I thought I would, kind of like a tea hot chocolate for the winter. And the leaves are pretty big, as was the case with all the teas she sent me from her trip. Makes brewing tons easier, as the steeps can go well over five minutes without adversely affecting the flavor. Not the most complex cup, but still very enjoyable.

I feel like I say this all the time: “Finally getting around to trying (insert name of tea here)” but here we are.

This brews up quite light in color and flavor, as I find many of Whispering Pines teas do. Not a complaint at all, just an observation. I am not getting much in the way of malty, cocoa richness. There is a pleasant citrusy note that I find refreshing. Also a bit of earthiness. A very nice tea, but Golden Orchid remains my favorite. I do not recommend having this with milk, as it’s a bit too delicate for it and the flavors get lost. Going to try the spent leaves as a cold brew next, so we’ll see how that goes.

I need to abstain from caffeine for awhile due to surgery, so all the herbals in my cupboard are on heavy rotation. I’ve said in the past that I really don’t care for rooibos, but August Uncommon has such great teas I thought I’d give this a shot. Brew smells like vanilla pudding, and the vanilla flavor was the most prominent for me. A tiny bit of burnt sugar smokiness from the rooibos. A very nice tea, but not in love, despite it being warm, sweet and comforting. Dang, I really miss my black teas!