Amy oh

I was right about this original (unflavored) Tulsi and what I wanted to mix it with. It’s very good with a pinch of lemon verbena and some lemongrass. I’m drinking a giant mug full right now and it’s delicious…

I hope this tea is not a recipe for heartburn but I really wanted to try it!

My one complaint is that it smells kind of medicinal, both in the bag and in the cup. I think perhaps that’s the honeybush talking? Or the honeybush mixed with mint, it is a bit odd.

I steeped this up for my afternoon dessert drink. I’m getting a lot of mint in this cup and a bit of chocolate. The honeybush lends a nice sweetness to this blend. I’m not reminded as much of ice cream as I am of… graham crackers, I think. I did end up adding soymilk to mine to sort of “pump up” the creaminess factor.

As a dessert tea I liked this pretty well, though not quite as well as the cinnamon roll honeybush. I wish for a bit less peppermint here but it may be perfect for others. It does somehow seem much more decadent than it really is… Another nice blend from 52 Teas!

One way I have made this tea better is by mixing it with ginger root, now it seems as good as most flavored pu-erhs I have had… ha ha.

Some people don’t seem to like bancha, but I think it’s good.

I just wanted a sample of this to try because I have a lot of green tea already. Steeped via regular infuser mug method. I can see sesame seeds in the dry tea, but as other remarked this sesame is very subtle. There is a nice caramel sweetness in this tea, maybe not as much as a dessert tea but close. I might try steeping this with some extra sesame seeds to see what happens.

Overall, a decent blend. Nice clean flavor with a bit of lingering astringency which cleanses your palate, that provides a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the caramel. I was somehow wishing for something “more”. Not sure I would buy a whole tin of this but I will certainly enjoy the sample that I have. :)

I did make this one last night, used some plain rooibos to tone down the flavor a bit, still seems very strong to me and not at all cookie like. Let me know if anyone wants to swap. :)

After lunch tea. It’s a sipdown and I will be out of this for a while while I focus on drinking some other other rooibos blends I got lately (but don’t like nearly as much). Will definitely be reunited with this someday…

I cold brewed this for 12 hours, although the sun went away and it is now cold and foggy in San Francisco again…

this one makes a delightful cold beverage, I think I like it even better this way than hot. At least I know what I can do now to make myself drink all this flavored green tea!

see previous notes!

It’s been a while since I have had this tea. For a keemun I think it is fairly mild and I would consider getting this one again, it’s very smooth and dark without any bitterness (see previous notes). I might be getting a bit of smoke in the finish but to me it is kinda chocolate-y. A good one if you like to drink your teas plain and don’t mind a very robust flavor.

I am hoping I like this tea because I bought a 4 oz. tin without trying a sample first. :)

The leaves of this tea look very dark and slender in the tin. I am surprised at the lightness of the color but I am fairly certain I used enough leaf here.

I steeped this for 5 minutes with boiling water per the instructions on the tin. I color and heft it reminds me of a second flush darjeeling. This tea has malty and cocoa aromas, the bf says he is reminded of almonds. The liquor is a bit flowery, mellow, exceptionally smooth and sweet honey-like notes that just seem to melt away in my mouth. There is virtually no bitterness or astringency. This is very reminiscent of a golden monkey with some sweeter, fruity type notes. Harney says baked apples, but I am thinking more like a caramel apple (without all the sticky, sickeningly sweet parts)

Overall a very enjoyable tea. I think for the morning time I generally prefer something with a bit more heft, but this is a more gentle way to wake up, which is nice for a Sunday. I would happily drink this an afternoon tea.

I would also like to gong fu this tea sometime in the future, might get even better results.

I’ve had this over the last two nights as my evening tea (I have a whole bag to finish up!)

This is one rooibos which seems better when it is steeped for only 5 minutes and you need to be prudent with the leaf due to all the stevia and spices. I did increase my rating by a few points, if you drink it with soymilk it’s a bit better. see previous notes for more info.

Mark T. Wendell claims this is a good after dinner tea but I’m trying it now anyway because I’m a rebel! No really!

This is a blend of Formosa, Ceylon and India tea (most likely Assam). I steeped my tea in a glass mug for 5 minutes. I still like glass for tea tasting and would have a glass teapot if I wasn’t so absolutely sure I would break it (I’m also a klutz)

I’m taking this tea sans additions today. The wet leaf smells slightly floral and earthy. I think perhaps the floral note is coming from the Ceylon. I’m not sure what kind of black tea comes from Formosa (now Taiwan) aside from the Sun Moon Lake Tea type variety. The Assam I think is lending a slightly malty and pungent flavor here. I do think this is a very enjoyable blend, although I’m not thinking there is anything overly unique or exceptional about it. May not repurchase this one but I will certainly finish off what I have. It’s also enjoyable with a splash of soymilk (or regular milk, if you prefer. :))

After Narwhalclub turned me on to this I had to get my own individual tin from Mark T. Wendell.

San Francisco weather was beautiful today and we went for a 3 mile hike in the Presidio. I haven’t been walking much since my plantar fasciitis diagnosis but I’m hoping I am on the mend now.

We are going to the theater and dinner later tonight but I needed a mid-afternoon pick me up. This tea smells so strong in the tin but after you brew it up it’s delightfully sweet, clear and less smoky than you’d think it would be, and yes it still reminds me of barbeque sauce. I can’t believe I am turning into a lapsang fan. I had to raise my rating today – Too bad they are not all this good!

I decided to cold brew this last night and it made for a delightful iced beverage this morning. Like I mentioned before my tea label says this is a blend of white and green tea with apricot and not the plum flavor mentioned above. If you like flavored green teas Lupicia is worth checking out…

see previous notes if interested.

I’m drinking some more of this sample thanks to ScottTeaMan – a delicious assam and great as a breakfast tea. see previous notes. ;)

I came home to find my sweetie had made a pot of this, so I couldn’t resist having some. There are a lot of similarities between this and the Victorian Afternoon I had earlier today. I think this blend might have more oolong in it though, nice mild aftertaste.

yay, continuing my exploration of tea that are smoky but not too smoky…

I am finding this to be a delightful blend. I do see why people saw this is like Hu Kwa’s little sister. It has some of the same flavors as hu kwa, a slightly smoky barbeque-y type flavor but blended well with some other black teas – I think perhaps a ceylon and assam?

It’s a dark red lovely liquor to the tea. There is a lot of smoke but also a lingering sweetness in the finish. Mildly brisk but not overwhelmingly so, notes of tobacco present. This is another tea I would have to drink plain because milk or sugar would ruin it. I think between this and Russian Country from Harney I will have enough lapsang blends to last me for a while.

I did also do a second steep using the same leaves for only around 1 minute, the smokiness is mostly gone but it still has a light, sweet flavor kind of like a darker oolong. NICE!

This is really nice for an afternoon pickup! And yes, I really need to stop buying tea for a while. ;-)

Finishing off the last of this sample this morning – see previous notes for more info.

I have a LOT of oolong I need to finish up in the next few months, perhaps the warmer weather will help, I love cold brewing these green oolongs!

I picked this up this morning at Peet’s on the way to work, ew this is not a very good gunpowder. The color is dark but it is lacking in flavor and reminds me of dishwater. Of course I think someone should tell their staff that brewing a green tea in scalding hot water is not the way to go. I couldn’t finish this… blech

Alright – this is a sipdown. I guess I’m going overboard with the lemon today.

I brewed this up extra STRONG knowing I was going to make it an iced tea for lunch. I added some turbinado sugar and lots of ice, along with about 1/2 cup of soymilk. Wow, it is good this way… like a bubble tea on steroids! Better than any drink I’ve had at Starbucks. I might need to get some more so I can do this again. :)

hmmm
What can I say, I love gunpowder tea but after yesterday’s somewhat disappointing Canton green/orange experience I was not expecting too much with this one…

Gunpowder is one of my favorite green teas, I love the bold and assertive nature of it. This is VERY lemony and bold, slightly vegetal but mostly lemon. I am finding it quite refreshing this morning. I bet this would also be really good iced.

When it comes to flavored green teas I am loving the flavored gunpowder, Moroccan mint is also nice. I think perhaps it’s because the flavoring does not overwhelm the gunpowder since it’s so bold.

This is yummy! If you like gunpowders check it out… it also resteeps well

I got this because I was missing my Russian tea from the Covent Tea Garden. It smells smoky in the tin but not overwhelmingly so.

There is a bit of lapsang blended in this tea. It has a slightly smoky flavor but is very slight so it reminds me of the Scottish Breakfast blend from Peet’s I like so much. This is an easy one to drink plain. I am finding it smooth and mellow with not a lot of astringency. It’s true this tea is a bit on the lighter side so I might try a 5 or 6 minute steep next time. I found it very enjoyable, nice for the morning time. I wonder what else is in here, someone mentioned keemun perhaps. It isn’t as sweet or intense as the Baker Street Blend or Hu Kwa for sure, but whatever it is, I like it…

I used to not be a fan of smoky teas at all, I guess they are growing on me a bit. I do find the lapsang blends to be less intimidating than a straight lapsang.

Update: I did try this with soymik and I don’t recommend it that way, seems a lot better plain.

Note: My review is for the loose leaf and not the teabag form of this.

I decided to pick this up at Whole Foods tonight. Seeing as how I have wasted a bunch of money on tulsi blends I didn’t really like or care for, I figure why not just drink it straight and see what it’s like. D’oh!

This is a blend of three different tulsis and it is very nice. It is has an aromatic aroma like cloves but the flavor of the tea is a bit minty/herbaly with some pepper element. I am feeling a bit of “bite” on my tongue as I sip this. It also has a slightly cooling effect.

Still, I can see the possibilities of making my own nighttime blend, possibly with some chamomile or verbena, if I didn’t want to drink this plain. I do like various herbal teas and I think this is nice on its’ own – so I will probably not spend much more money on other tulsi type stuff for a while. =)

Hooray for stress reduction!

Harney makes a terrific formosa oolong and I love ginger so I had higher hopes for this one. Smells weird in the package and even weirder as a tea. I don’t have much else to say about it except I’m glad it’s only a sample. I will try steeping maybe with less time and see if I can improve upon my icky feelings.

The after lunch pu-erh. Weather is warming up in San Francisco and I do think I might have issues keeping up this daily pu-erh drinking when it’s warm and sunny because the tea seems a bit heavy. Perhaps some shorter infusions would solve the problem. I wonder if anyone here has ever cold brewed a pu-erh? I might need to try it!

update: the tea was still good after I added a couple of ice cubes and some soy milk. :)