TeaBrat select Send Message

I forgot how much I like this until SimpyJenW steeped some up and started talking about it! Now I must have it. :)

The coconut here is sweet and delicious and the pouchong plays a light and elegant base. smells heavenly. see my previous tasting notes. :)

This is really a wonderful A Li Shan in my opinion…

It’s a bit floral-y but also very buttery, exceptionally creamy, smooth, rich. One taste of this and my mouth feels like it’s on vacation. I’m picking up some other things too, like a slight mango and perhaps a bit of vanilla. Not as light as some other A Li Shans I’ve had.

I seem to like this the best when it’s steeped at around 180F for 2 minutes but I would like to do some gong fu sessions with my remaining sample. If you’re looking for a good A Li Shan you might try this one. I would certainly buy this again. :)

So I went to the doctor today and he thinks I do have plantar fasciitis, which sucks for me but at least it is treatable so I am hopeful.

On the way to work I stopped off to a little store to get some lunch for today and there they had this tea. Against my better judgment (and especially because I have a bad track record with RoT), I decided to buy this.

Because I’m used to RoT’s weak teabags I steeped this up with two teabags in a 10 oz. mug for 5 minutes. I am glad this isn’t terrible, especially because it’s roobois. :) I am getting some nice chocolate-y notes and the overall brew is very smooth and mild. I don’t love it but I don’t think I will have problems finishing the tin.

Just a healthy impulse purchase due to my self-pity – hey, at least I didn’t drink a bottle of wine (that might come later)

Thanks to ashmanra for a sample of this! I didn’t sleep much last night and this is really helping to perk me up in a gentle way.

I steeped it for 3 minutes in boiling water. Yum! I really like this. It’s a lighter bodied black tea with a lot of maltiness and sweetness. I’m reminded a bit of sweet potatoes and caramelized sugar. Exceptionally smooth and fine. You get a delightful aftertaste and rich mouthfeel. I would not recommend having this with any milk or sugar, it really doesn’t need it! Naturally sweet and delicious.

note: I went back for a second cup and found that I accidentally left my tea leaves still steeping in the pot – steeping this for 10 minutes, I do not recommend. ;-) But on the upside my whole kitchen smells like a molasses cookie!

trying to include more white tea into my daily routine, this is a nice one, IMO. See my previous tasting notes. Also re-steeps pretty well.

Part 4/4 in the Upton tea basic darjeeling sampler. I did not see this one in the database so I decided to add it.

I’m still fairly new to the world of darjeelings and the tin said to steep this @ 212 for 3-4 minutes. I found that to be a bit too much for me so I decided to try it at around 190 for 3 minutes. I suspect the perfect steeping for me might lie somewhere in between the two so I’ll keep trying. :)

This is a very nice blend. It isn’t quite as fruity as some darjeelings I’ve had. It’s lightly brisk and smooth. There is a little bit of pungency here which overwhelmed me at the higher temp, with the lower temp it’s better. This has a nice delicate flavor with a hint of spiciness and delicate wood but I am not feeling blown away by it. It’s easy to drink plain and would probably make a lovely iced tea. I’ll need to keep experimenting with this one.

Regardless I am finding darjeelings seem to be growing on me…

Many thanks to Scott for a sample of this one!

I steeped this for around 3 minutes today in around 205 F water. This is a really nice and gentle Assam. Sometimes i have found they can be a bit bitter in the finish but this one was very bold but also very smooth. I suppose the shorter steeping time helped. This is the first Assam I’ve met that I can drink plain, without any soymilk and what not.

The predominate notes here are definitely chocolate and malt, though the malt is not hitting me over the head like some other tea of this varietal tend to do. In that way it reminds me a bit of a Chinese black tea. It does indeed have a tiny bit of sweetness, very yum! I will definitely be tempted to buy this when payday comes around, although I do have a few other assams I should probably finish off first…

I am having a bit of this now… hope it does not keep me awake for too long. :)

I read that the Yunnan + wild arbor/big leaf trees is a good sign of quality and I believe it. This is delicious whether steeped for 30 seconds or 2 minutes. Very rich, woodsy and grounding. No camphor and personally I am glad of that. See my previous tasting notes.

It’s at work and it’s free – need I say more? Regardless I think this tisane is nice but I really like chamomile. There’s a tiny touch of apple in here but not too noticeable. Chamomile really reminds me of apple anyway. Gentle and relaxing in the afternoon now.

Thanks to The DJ Booth for this one which came to me as the result of a recent swap.

This one is pretty good, maybe Teavana should try some more black tea blends with less fruit in them. The aroma is very almondy and I am definitely picking up the rose. I wonder if I ended up steeping this too long because it got slightly bitter and also a bit “soapy”. I will try again and report back if my rating changes.

I think I like the smell of this a bit better than the taste of it. I was really glad I got the chance to try it!