Miss Sweet

One of my new favourites, I had to rate it higher! Interestingly the smokey aspect of the tea is largely in the smell of both the leaves and resulting brew. While a tea like Lapsang Souchong is quite confronting/disgusting because it tastes exactly like the smell, the Yunnan does not.
The aroma of this tea is an incredible comforting malted-wood-smoke, while the taste is a smooth malt with just an aftertaste of woody-smoke. I drink this with a gererous splash of milk and it is delicious.
The perfect tea to brew up all day for when its dreary outside and you’re cosied up inside with Frank Sinatra and ‘The Story Of Tea’…

ETA: Can also be reinfused a number of times, I got around 3 decent cups out of one lot of leaves :D

The only occasion you would utter the words “needs more ginger” is when drinking this tea. I was in the mood for something heart-warming and zingy, so decided to give this a go. Unfortunately the ginger is pretty mild, even without milk, so I had to add ginger root to up the zing quota. Zing.

Ooooh! What an incredibly delightful tea! So delightful in fact, it made me say “Ooooh!” out loud when I took my first sip. The taste is malty and reminiscent of my favourite broken-leaf Assam, but that is where the similarities end. Instead of a heavy, almost astringent maltyness, the flavour manages to come across as fresh and light.
Definitely for those times when you feel like a substantial cuppa but aren’t necessarily having it with a cooked breakfast. Suitable for morning tea or a light supper, with a slice of Apple Banana Cake…

Its a Sunday, I’m stuck at work for what is day 6 of 9 and I needed a pick-me-up in the form of an expensive tea so I could feel indulged. Gyokuro Kabuse is less buttery than my favourite (and doubley expensive) Hon Gyokuro, but is still really delicious. You get a hint of something greenish on the back of your tongue, like a small reminder that you are infact drinking a green tea instead of some magical delicate butter drink. I recommend a pot of this for when you’re having a day where a new pair of shoes or a packet of Hon Gyokuro would normally put a smile on your face, but you can’t afford either.

I’ve tried about 7 teas from this brand and every single one has been disappointingly lacking. The kind of tea where if you drank it, you couldn’t place the flavour until someone told you what it was, then you spend the rest of the cup convincing yourself you’re drinking said flavour.
So I usually steer well clear, but I was lured into buying a packet from the smell of the leaves! The smell is heavenly and incredibly almondy, which instantly made it a contender to replace The Best Marzipan Tea In The World from The T Shop (which I believe has been discontinued). I couldn’t have been more wrong! The tea base seems to be a typical for Tea Total, meaning it tastes like nothing. You can get away with a crappy tea base on occasion if you have some kick-ass flavourings, but surprise – it barely tastes like anything. I can pick up a very faint hint of weird vanilla, with perhaps a ghost of an almond. Or maybe I’m imagining the almond simply because its in the tea name and I want to believe I can taste it…
Oh Tea Total. You are like the on-again-off-again boyfriend I keep going back to even though you treat me like crap because I want to believe you can change! But after 8 tries, I think we are finally done. For good. I’m blocking you on all my social networking sites and will cease to answer your texts/calls/emails/weepy knocks on my door at 3am.

The taste of this was so strange I can’t tell if I like it or not! The vanilla is definitely the most dominant flavour, with a tiiiny hint of grapefruit coming through on the aftertaste. Kinda like a school kid left behind on a field trip.

Yeah this tea still rocks my socks off like Frank Sinatra’s “Two Hearts Two Kisses (make One Love)”. Honestly I think this is the best flavoured white tea I’ve ever come across. The natural peach flavouring makes all the difference, and it really is just like biting into a peach! Its awesomeness was only made more apparant when tasting them with other flavoured white teas. None of them even came close!

Loving you baby is my desire, I know that you can set this world afire…

I don’t know whats more hilarious than someone who doesn’t like white tea or rose, reviewing a White Rose tea. I found this tea pretty pointless, as both the rose and the tea were competing for the Most Delicate Flavour Ever title. If you want a white tea, go for the silver needle. If you want a rose tea, go for straight rose petals or rose buds. If you want a pair of Louboutins, you’re going to have to start saving because I can’t help you there.

Woah, this was so interesting straight after trying the white peony! In comparison its a much lighter and sweeter tea, with a greenish way about it – reminiscent of a Japanese sencha. So if you are the kind of person that gets down to green tea or 60s girl groups, you will enjoy Silver Needle for sure.

ETA: On the second steep, the flavour is stronger, sharper and leafier – I’m, not sure I like it!

Ehh. I’m not too big on white teas so I found this rather dull. It is very leafy tasting with a definite savoury tone, but in that annoying I’m-a-delicate-white-tea way. In conclusion, a somewhat pointless brew – I would recommend silver needle, a cup of water, or a flavoured/scented white tea over this.

You know when you’re having one of those days where you wished you’d just stayed in bed because everythings gone all wrong and you just need a hug? Brew a pot (or three) of this – its a perfect tasty balance of cinnamon, apple and chamomile. Not quite a hug, but almost as comforting, so it should tide you over until a hug can be procured.

It was a combination of the dreary weather (what summer?) and the spare $7 I had rattling around in my purse, that had me wandering down the road for a treat. It was either this or a log of marzipan. The tea won this time…
Now, I love chocolate but chocolate tea always has that weird sickly sweet artificial “chocolate flavour” taste. This valentines blend was still quite sweet but it’s definitely the smoothest and lightest of the chocolate teas. There’s the sliiiiightest hint of rose, so I popped a few rosebuds in for an extra rose kick.
Drink it plain, its the perfect late afternoon treat (and much better for you than a log of marzipan).

English Breakfast is terribly lame, but the only reason I happened across this delightful gem of a blend is because I was doing a tasting comparison of breakfast teas (English, Irish, Boring, Dull, etc). Far nicer than its pesticide-ridden companion, this is a lovely light tea with enough flavour in it to keep me interested, much like the boy I met last week…
You’ll definitely enjoy this tea if you’re a fan of Darjeelings or other complex-yet-delicate teas. Don’t drink it with milk!

I have a new favourite breakfast tea! Definitely too harsh to drink on its own, but this is PERFECT with a decent splash of milk. Packed with enough flavour to match either a full cooked breakfast (or a simple Ginger Gem fresh from the oven), this tea is more honeyish than malty. Delish!

I’m not sure what parameters are needed to get the ~ buds standing upright in the cup like bamboo shoots after a spring rain ~, but pouring the water over the leaves to infuse just had them all floating on the top of the water. But I digress. The tea itself is smooth and has just enough flavour so you know you’re actually drinking a jasmine tea, not just a cup of warm water. It stands up well for multiple infusions too, I’m usually able to reuse the leaves 4-6 times before the flavour runs out. Regardless of the health benefits and wildly differing caffeine content claims, this is one tasty tea!

On occasion I like to treat myself with things like new shoes, some jewelery or a single serve sachet from Harney & Sons. I’m glad that yesterday I did that latter, because this is one of the nicest teas from this brand I’ve ever had! Its a lovely delicate and incredibly smooth black tea with a hint of currant. Perfect for light morning tea with cucumber sandwiches and shortbread. Also to sully this infusion with milk would be a crime so please don’t!

Take note other companies: After being able to purchase a single cup worth of tea leaves to try, of a blend that sounded more interesting than delicious but it was only $1 so I didn’t mind risking it, I’m going to buy a 200g tin of it next week!

Still my favourite cinnamon black tea, probably moreso after tasting it with the equivilants from other companies.
The quality of the leaves are so much better than the other blends I tasted, making it a good black tea with cinnamon instead of a cinnamon drink that happens to have tea in it. The resulting infusion is a lot darker and richer, with a more-spicy-than-sweet cinnamon flavour. Milk really enhances this tea, making it the perfect addition to lying in bed listening to Frank Sinatra on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Love you long time t leaf T Cinnamon flavoured black tea, let’s never break up xoxo

A darker and more warming cinnamon black tea than Hot Cinnamon Sunset, but I still think this tea is let down by the low quality tea leaves (which doesn’t make a difference with their Marzipan blend because the almond flavouring is so strong). I would definitely drink this plain, as adding milk mutes the flavour of the tea completely. However this is a great option if you find the Harney & Sons cinnamon too sweet, and the t leaf T cinnamon too dark!

Much like myself, this tea was far sweeter than expected. With a name like ‘Hot Cinnamon Sunrise’ (or Hot Cinnamon Spice depending on what size you buy it in) I figured it would have a bit more kick to it, but just wound up tasting like sugar water with a hint of cinnamon. Definitely drink this plain, adding milk just mutes what little taste there is completely.

This was exactly what I needed after tasting a whole pile of Chinese black teas that I didn’t really like! I don’t usually dig fruit tisanes at all, but this one is a lovely, sweet and refreshing infusion (plus the bright pink matches my dress today). And not too shabby hot, but it really shines when you have it cold: brew it double strength for about 20 mintues, let it cool and top up with soda water.
I’ve also infused this into cupcakes (both the cake and icing) with great success!

Still an incredibly yummy tea! Its very very smooth and goes down nicely. The touch of ashyness goes perfectly with the malty, almost Assam-like, taste. Drink this plain, milk will mute the taste almost completely! If you like this you should give Russian Caravan a try – it has the same hint of smokyness only the flavour is more bacon-smoke than ashy-smoke. Mmmm bacon…

Something that tastes this bad has GOT to be healthy for you! The entire experience of the tea was frightening – the dry leaves are dark and smell composty, the resulting infusion is almost inky black with the wet leaves looking like something a nightmare left behind. The flavour is very earthy and fungal, but its incredibly smooth – I’ll give it that. Smooth in an awful way though, like a big fat slug sliding down your throat. I also braved it a second time to try with a bit of milk, which really bought out the mushroom within. A lot of people dig that in a tea but I cannot count myself among those who do!

I really want to like this tea but I’m afraid it ain’t gonna happen. The smell is incredible – rich and campfire smokey, but its not something I can stomach drinking at all. I tried this plain and hated it, then took a coworkers suggestion to try it with milk and still hated it. The milk seems to mute the tea and enhance the smoked flavour which didn’t help me at all, but may help you if you enjoy Lapsang but find it too intense. I much prefer a Russian Caravan or Yunnan Golden Tips for a smokey black tea that isn’t overwhelming.

The recommended brewing time for this tea is 3-5 minutes, but I think over 3 takes it into tannin territory. I really really really didn’t like this, even with it being touted as “China’s finest black tea”. It tasted heavy and almost metallic, with a furry aftertaste that stayed on the back of your tounge. Though I imagine Ceylon drinkers would enjoy a cup of Keemun, also if you are partial to Formosa Oolong or drinking blood.