Scharp

When I found out that Harney & Sons had a 7-year old, compressed green tea, I had to buy it.

I know this tea is not a Pu-erh, so I am not expecting the characteristic earthiness of one.

Leaf Quality
The leaves were tightly compressed, and arrived in a tin, pre broken into medium-sized chunks. These leaves had lots of color to them. There were pale green ones with white hairs, dark green leaves, and light green leaves together. The unwashed leaves smelled very sweet, and very floral. The washed leaves smelled more brisk. Slightly earthy, but still sweet. Their color still showed through that first wash. The leaves after steeping expanded quite a bit, and were more uniform in color. They smelled nutty, grassy, and not sweet nor floral anymore. It had also lost its earthiness.

Brewed Tea
The brewed tea was a beautiful golden-yellow with a hint of green. There was also a honey-sweet, nutty aroma, similar to that of cornbread.
First Steeping
I thought that the earthiness had left, but it showed up in this steeping. It was welcomed, as it went well with the floral notes. This tea was slightly brisk, with a sweet finish. If a green tea and a Pu-er were blended together, I’m sure it would taste something like this.
Second Steeping
This cuppa was more sweet. Very sweet actually. Both the smell and flavor were light- no briskness at all. The aftertaste was very floral, and pleasant.
Third Steeping
This steeping was the most floral of them all. It retained all the sweetness from the second brewing, and still smelled a bit nutty. All earthiness was gone at this point.

This tea is wonderful. My favorite from Harney & Sons so far. It evolved greatly with each brew, and became very sweet. I’m going to save some pieces of this cake to age. I hope those pieces turn out good as well!

I’m not too impressed with this tea. Although the ingredients are not listed, I’m pretty sure this has Ginseng in it.

Leaf Quality
There were many whole leaves, and less broken leaves. There are little white squares (I’m not sure what composes them, but they are definitely organic). Also, there were white, leathery leaves, which were definitely not tea leaves. It smelled pleasant, but not very much like a typical green tea.

Brewed Tea
It smelled like Ginseng, and slightly like Bergamot. It tasted like Ginseng too. Maybe it was the combination of whichever green tea and Bergamot flavoring they used, but I did not taste very much Camellia Sinensis. The Bergamot flavor, which is supposed to make up the earl grey, was almost unnoticeable.

This tea did not impress me very much, and I would like to know the ingredients. This is the only undesirable tea that I have tried from the Durango Coffee Co. I would have preferred more Bergamot, and also more green tea flavor.

This tasted uneven, and to be honest, nothing like Earl Grey should.

Thank you, David at Verdant Tea for this free sample!

I’m really excited to try this tea. I’ve heard great things about he Laoshan Black tea from Verdant, and loved the Aged White Tea Cake I got. Now here’s another white tea for me to try.

Leaf Quality
The leaves are thin, curly, and an almost black-green color, with little strands of white in the mix. When I opened the sample pouch, I could barely tell what the dry leaves smelled like. After some time, I began to notice traces of Cinnamon and Vanilla. When I brewed the leaves for the required 20 seconds, they showed a beautiful color. Light and dark green leaves intertwined with pale yellow leaves. The leaves smelled grassy, sweet, and slightly vegetal. I’ve reviewed quite a bit of vegetal teas lately.

Brewed Tea
As quick as the steeping was, the brewed tea yielded a very nice, but very light yellow color. It smelled sweet, but it tasted much sweeter, and silky. It was a very smooth brew, with a very light flavor. I got a honey-like aftertaste.
Second Brew
Again, the flavor of this tea was very light, as was the color. The second brew did not have the same silkiness as the first steeping. The vegetal notes only showed in this second steeping. However, the vanilla notes I mentioned earlier also showed up.

I’m glad I got to try this tea. It’s character was complex, flavor light, and was very sweet.

This tea looks like Pine Needles! I am also told that this tea has a vegetal aroma and taste to it. If it tastes like Taiping Hou Kui, I’m sure I’ll love this tea.

Leaf Quality
The dry leaves are very thin, and deep green. They are also very delicate- the slightest touch of one of these leaves could brake it in 3 pieces. They smelled sweet, and floral. The wet leaves had the smell and consistency of cooked Spinach. I even noticed a very slight sulfuric aroma, as in cooked broccoli or cabbage. This tea, just by the leaves, was very vegetal indeed.

Brewed Tea
The brewed tea smelled of buttered Brussels Sprouts, which I happen to like (I know! How strange!) The color was a hue of lime green, but very clear. I could mistake this for a vegetable base in a soup. The taste was vegetal, and almost savory. However, this tea was also slightly sweet, and it reminded me of Sugarsnap Peas. How much vegetables have I mentioned so far?

This tea is very different in character to Taiping Hou Kui, which is more sweet, and less vegetal. Also, this tea is more robust. The taste does not change very much between steeps either. This tea still succeeds in pleasing the palate.

This was a free sample that came with my order, so thank you Harney & Sons!

Leaf Quality
This sample tea was in a sachet. However, I could still see the individual leaves. They were cut, so there were no full green tea leaves. Also, the picking and processing region in China was not specified. Upon opening the sample, I got a very wonderful Margarita-like aroma. It smelled like lime.

Brewed Tea
It smelled just like the dried leaves- like a margarita. The color of the brew was a yellowish-green, and bits of tea and herb dust fell to the bottom of the cup. It was very citrusy, and tasted as if lemongrass were somewhere in the blend. This tea wasn’t too bad, although I think I would prefer it as an iced beverage. There really isn’t a very green tea flavor in this tea. The typical green tea flavor is overcome by the Ginko and citrus. I would have liked more green tea, or perhaps a stronger one.

I’m glad I got this one for free, as I would not have been satisfied paying for it.

Note: This was another tea that is not sold on their website. However, they do have available another Darjeeling online.

Leaf Quality
The dry leaves of this Darjeeling are not as colorful as others I’ve had. There were no light green or Pale-yellow hues to any of the laves. It smelled very much like a Ceylon Pekoe tea. Only some stems were found, along with some broken leaf pieces.

The brewed leaves showed more color. Nice green, red, and yellow showed up. Hints of chocolate, leather, and malty apple aromas were also present.

Brewed Tea
The brewed tea smelled of butter, honey, and slightly malty. It reminded me of buttered biscuits. The tea had a very beautiful copper color. As for the taste: it was malty, and buttery with a nice chocolate finish- just like its aroma.

This is a wonderful cup of tea. So far, I’m impressed with the Durango Coffee Co.

This tea will age nicely.

I went to Verdant Tea’s website, and followed the steeping directions carefully.

This tea was very easily separated from its former cake shape. The leaves didn’t even break or snap when separated at all.

Leaf Quality
Excellent. The dry leaves were sort of fluffy. Fuzzy leaves with pale-green underneath. They smelled very sweet, and almost grassy. They were very light, and I needed to add what appeared to be more leaves than usual, to make the proper brew.

Brewed Tea
I brewed this tea twice. The first time, was as the website specified it. The second time, I experimented to see if it would taste different. It did. With the directions from the website, the tea leaves yielded an extremely light- yellow, and crystal clear drink. The smell was wonderful. It was sweet, with elements of honeydew, and a sweet vegetal aroma. The taste was light, and harder to grasp than the smell.
My Method: I took 5 grams of the leaves, and put them in a clear teapot. I brought water to about 80 degrees Celsius, and poured them over the leaves. I know that white teas can handle steepings of 3 to 4 minutes, so I decided to stop steeping at 3.

With this method, I got a very floral, and sweet cup. I hadn’t noticed the floral notes using the website’s directions. The liquid was also a more yellow-green color, but still very clear and light. There was a nice sweet-earthy taste at the end of the cup as well. I really like that the character changes well (a sign of great aging potential).

I think I’ll buy the whole cake to let it age.

I believe this specific grade of Hojicha is called 雁ヶ音ほうじ茶 (Karigane Hōjicha), which is similar to Kukicha. The difference from Kukicha is that this form of Hojicha is roasted over a charcoal fire on porcelain.

This is one of the teas I ordered just before I went on my vacation.

Leaf Quality
This tea was only stems, as it is supposed to be. I did not find one leaf, so they did a good job of separating the two. The dry leaves smelled like the Genmai Cha I recently tried. Very toasty.

Brewed Tea
The color of the brewed tea was that of a Brandy or Scotch with a pinkish hue. It was also toasty, but not smokey. The flavor was very light, and savory. I could still taste the typical green tea flavor amid the toastiness. However, as toasty as the brewed tea smelled, I expected a stronger beverage.

I’m pretty satisfied with this purchase. Next time I’ll break the rules and steep longer to bring out more flavor. This tea was not very bitter, so I suspect that not much more bitterness should come out if I do so.

Note: This tea was not advertised on their website, so there is no picture nor description. I found it in their shop in Durango, Colorado.

I am finally back in California now. I got this tea several days ago. I have to say I’m pretty satisfied with this one. They had a multitude of other teas which were not available on the website. This puzzled me, but I did not bother to ask, as I was too busy deciding which teas to grab.

Leaf Quality
The leaf quality was above average. For the most part, there were whole green leaves with only the top bud and second leaf. However, there were broken pieces and some dust which settled at the bottom. This could have been because of transport. The tea smelled quite good, and almost sweet.

Brewed Tea
The brewed tea smelled very much like the rice that was in it. I could barely pick up the sweet notes. The color of the liquid was a light yellow-green, and was not murky, despite having rice in it.

The first taste was like drinking rice. Upon the second taste, I noticed the sweet and floral notes. This combination went well together. There was almost a smell of almonds. I liked that neither flavor overpowered the other, as might be the case with other Gen Mai Cha’s.

It is too bad that I would have to go all the way from California to Colorado to get this tea again, as it is not sold online. However, the next time I find myself in Durango, I will get this tea.

What is there to say about this tea? My goodness, this is bland. This is the only tea available at the hotel in Denver I am at.

My vacation (Starting Thursday of last week) has taken me many places. I was asked by family and friends if I wanted to go to Colorado. I said yes. The next day, we were at the Grand Canyon. I had lots of fun there. Then, we went to Four Corners (four states meet at once), and crossed into Colorado. This was followed by Durango, Silverton, and Ouray. We landed in Colorado Springs, where I visited the US Olympic Training Center, and saw Olympians training before they left for London.

Lastly, I went exploring at Cave of the Winds with some Mennonites I met just before. It was great! Now I’m in Denver! I also paid a visit to the Century 16 Theater where the massacre happened. It was very sad and eerie.

Besides my vacation thus far (which still is not over), I should continue to review this tea. I looked at the tea bag, and tried to pick up a scent of tea. It smelled like nothing. So I brewed it, and smelled a bland, faint scent of cheap tea.

I could not finish my cup! I do not want to sound snobby, but this is one of the worst teas I’ve tried! At least I picked up some really great teas on my trip to Durango, and got a fresh shipment in back home. I cannot wait to review those!

Anyway, the taste of this tea was the same: bland. It tasted like I was drinking hot water with the light flavor of nothingness. Why don’t the hotels have good teas!?

I’m not very impressed with this tea. It was the only hotel tea at the Grand Canyon in Arizona. I drove for over five hours, and saw beautiful scenery along the way. This is where I stayed for a day and a half, before moving onto Colorado earlier today.

I had this tea in a buffet room with breakfast. I chose this tea among the others available from this brand. The first taste was kind of bland. Then, on my second taste, I noticed a sour flavor. This was not pleasant, as I do not enjoy sour Breakfast teas. I had this just before going on the road to visit the canyon one more time.

It was breathtaking! I stood on the cliffs, went inside the Grand Canyon Watchtower overlooking Desert View, and had an overall good time. This tea did not deliver what I wanted it to do, though. It didn’t even wake me up.

Maybe I was just a little underwhelmed with the tea due to the beautiful, vast canyon spread out across the distance. Nevertheless, the tea failed to bring the briskness I was hoping for in an English breakfast tea.

I’m having another cup of this (see older notes). I think I drink this pretty much every week. It is so good! I’ll be getting a new shipment of teas from several companies soon.

I love the maltiness of this tea! It is very light, and I have an aftertaste of a strong honey. The leaves look almost the same hue of gold even after I brew it. More notes will probably come next week (I know I keep saying this), but I’m off to Colorado in the morning. Maybe I’ll even catch some good teas there!

I was about to eat dinner, when my family gave this tea to me. I’ve never heard of the brand before, and have only had Oolong teas served hot. At first, I was unsure, but showed my gratitude. And that gratitude was well merited!

The color of this Oolong reminded me of the Assam Golden Tips from Harney & Sons. I expected to taste something a bit strong. In stead, I got a very nice, honey note, along with a good floral flavor.

To think that I would actually be this appreciative of an iced Oolong is quite strange to me. In stead of taking on fringe qualities, as do green teas when iced, this tea tasted quite well this way. I’ll have to look for this tea when I go shopping, to quench my thirst during the hot summer days.

I was over all pleased with this tea, although I was not sure what the quality of the leaves looked like, which slightly bothered me. However, this was a nice surprise gift.

I can’t get enough of this tea. It is vegetal, sweet, and not bitter at all. Sadly, I’m running out. I’ll have to buy some more.

Just a side note: The tea tastes even better with the second steeping. Nice floral notes come through, and the leaves smell wonderful. More teas will be coming in soon, and I’ll write about them later on, as I’m on vacation again.

This tea was alright. I would have liked more Bergamot, though. I was at a Krispy Kreme in Los Angeles on vacation, and a ‘Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’ shop was connected.

I wanted something to help me relax after a long day of tourism at Huntington Beach. My server put the “loose leaf” tea bag in before I could check the quality of the leaves alone. I suspected to find some stems in there, as I did with their English Breakfast blend a while back.

Enjoying the lovely doughnuts, I decided to stop steeping the tea. The Bergamot scent wasn’t as strong as most other Earl Grey’s I’ve had. However, the mellow scent went very well with the base tea. When it was cool enough to drink, I went for an unsatisfying sip. It was very mellow in Bergamot flavor, and the base tea seemed to take on what little flavor there was.

This tea was pretty relaxing, but it did not yield a satisfying cuppa.

Earl Grey with the base of India tea? I hoped this meant Darjeeling. The smell of the earl grey was very malty, and I picked up very light hints of bergamot. That must be why they called it earl grey “with bergamot”.

When I steeped the tea, I got a very bitter cup (for an earl grey, at least) and the base tea overpowered the bergamot. This did not taste really like an earl grey at all, and I was disappointed.

It is a good thing I did not buy this particular tea for myself, as my friend let me sample it. I would have liked more bergamot, or maybe a less strong base tea. There had to be some other tea besides Darjeeling, because it was too malty.

It felt like I brewed up an English breakfast tea, and added some bergamot oil in the mix. This was very surprising, as I have generally been pleased with Peet’s teas. I hope the next Peet’s tea I have is not like this.

This was the last Green Peony tin at the Peet’s location. I had to get it on the spot, because I remember it being sold out online.

The tea was very mild; it had little sweetness, and had absolutely no bitterness at all. The color of the brew was a very clear yellow. I think I tasted hints of butter, or maybe a nutty flavor. The smell was very floral as well.

The taste was light, and vaguely sweet. I was very pleased with this tea. I’m glad I bought it when I had the chance.

I really liked this tea. It was nice and malty, and went great with breakfast. I bought this while on vacation, like some of my other Peet’s teas. However, the taste was a little surprising.

I opened the can, and smelled the familiar smokiness of Lapsang Souchong. In stead of finding merely black, smoked tea, I also found golden-silver leaves mixed in. I wondered which teas they were, but the description online and on the tin only described them as “China black teas”. Despite not finding which specific teas were in the blend, I knew that Lapsang Souchong was the base.

I poured the water in the teapot, and let it brew for about 5 minutes. I did notice a different scent than just smokiness. When I tasted it, it reminded me of English Breakfast. Smooth, brisk, and slightly malty. This went really well with the smoky flavor.

The only downside I could find was that there were more stems than I would have liked in my tea. Not too complex, but not very simple either, this tea makes for a wonderful morning cuppa.

The most prominent trait of this tea is the smell of smokiness. When I opened the tea can, the first thing that came into my head was smoked meat. I actually liked this smell, and it made me hungry. I picked this tea, because everywhere it is advertised, it is described as a very strong tea. I love strong teas.

When I brewed the tea, I got a very nice reddish-orange color. The smoky hinge was still there. I felt like I were sitting next to a campfire. The taste was smoky as well. However, even with 5 minutes of steeping, the tea did not seem as strong as advertised. I had 2 cups already from different steepings, and got the same result.

It was surprisingly smooth, and I could barely taste the flavor of a typical black tea from China underneath. Basically, it tasted as if I were drinking smoked meat Keemun. Despite not being as strong as I would have hoped, I liked this tea.

The smoky taste seemed to linger for several minutes after drinking. Next time, I’ll try steeping it for 6 minutes, to see if I can get more of a malty taste. This is a good tea for breakfast, and the afternoon.

I was quite perplexed with this tea. A worker at Peet’s told me that this was one of the more sought after ones at their location. The tin felt heavier than the other teas, and for good reason: the leaves were compressed as is customary for pu-erh teas. The tea bricks themselves smelled very earthy (not the typical pu-erh “earthy”) and bitter. I got a more pungent smell when I actually brewed it.

Brewed Tea:
The color of the brew was very dark, even after lightly “rinsing” it with a miniature steeping. It started off as a light pink, but as the brick dissolved, the pink turned into a reddish-brown within seconds. This fascinated me quite a bit, as I had never seen a loose leaf tea change color as dramatically as this before. Then again, the directions called for a much longer steeping than I usually give Pu-erhs.

The taste was as it smelled for the first brew: Earthy, bitter, with an acidic aftertaste. But another element decided to show up as well. It was nutty, and tasted like a bitter baking flour. The after taste was not very pleasing either. I still had a bitter nut flavor in the back of my throat.

Unsatisfied with the first brew, I decided to have a second steeping. After all, I heard so much about this tea from the staff, and one of the locals. And I supposed that the first brew washed the tea enough for a second brew.

The second steeping was MUCH more welcoming than the first. The earthy flavor had become more typical, and more enjoyable. In fact, I quite liked the second steeping. This time, the earthy taste was still present, but the nutty flavor had been replaced by a more vegetal one (very unexpected). This one was more smooth, and the beverage had a slightly lighter color. It was a dark red now. However, I still did not like the acidic after taste.

I brewed the tea twice with the directions provided, and twice using a more traditional method with shorter steeps.

I suppose I’ll rate this tea based on the experience over all. I will not be drinking this pu-erh regularly, as I would with others. The character changed quite dramatically between steeps, and proved to be uneven. This tea was not wonderful, but not terrible either; it was centered in between the two.

This was one of the first Oolongs I’ve had in a while. I went up the coast this weekend for four days to San Luis Obispo. I was walking by the shops with friends and family, and I noticed the Peet’s Coffee & Tea shop in a corner. I just had to go in.

I wanted an Oolong to compensate for the long time I’ve gone without. I was enjoying the view outside, while letting the tea brew, and I couldn’t help but notice a slightly-sweet, grassy smell of the tea. The color was a dark green, reminiscent of a lake. This tea already seemed like more of a green tea than an Oolong. The flavor was lite, but not grassy, which was very different than the scent. I did notice that the tea was slightly sweet.

I carried it around with me to some of the shops, wishing I had more once I ran out. I made sure to buy a couple of other teas at the shop. I can’t wait to try them. This tea did not impress me too much, though I did enjoy it. More reviews later.

I went to one of my favorite stores yesterday, and came across this tea. I’ve never heard of this french company before then. It looked like a pretty good tea to try. It says it’s the perfect tea for 5:00, but I had it with breakfast today. The smell was floral, and fruit-like. The leaves were very typical of a Darjeeling: multiple colors of green, yellow, and light brown. The tea leaves were actually quite beautiful looking.
Because this is the first tea of this company I’ve tried, I decided to do a “quality check”, to make sure the stem to leaf ratio was small. Thankfully it was. I brewed the tea for about 4 1/2 minutes, at which point I decided that was enough to taste the full body. The aroma of the brew also smelled floral, but lost it’s fruity scent. To me, the tea tasted great. It seemed like the mixture of a white and a black tea. It was as smooth as silk, and filled with flavor. It wasn’t too brisk, nor too light. It sat somewhere in the middle. This company seems promising enough to try some of their other teas, which I hope are as good as this.

I really liked this tea. Some of my family members celebrated a baby shower, and gave me this when they came back from it. They gave me several teas from Twinings. I was very gracious, as I always appreciate free teas. When I opened the can, it smelled very floral. The scent was light, delicate, and yet the tea smelled strangely robust for a green tea. The previous morning, I had gone to the farmers market, and gotten some fresh vegetables and fruit, which I decided to prepare for dinner. I made the tea just in time to eat. It tasted wonderful (both dinner and the tea). I could taste the Jasmine, and something else. I can’t quite place what the other element was, though. The tea was a bit strong for a green tea, but the Jasmine made it work. I think this tea might be one that I order for myself.

While visiting my grandmother several years back, I tasted this tea. At first, all I could smell were the roses. Then, the naturally sweet-smelling black tea shone through. Although the scent of the roses was strong (yet not overpowering), the taste was very light.
I guess this tea is alright, but not my favorite.