my foot has been hurting so I’ve been drinking a lot of tea today at home today. Time to switch to decaf. This was incredibly good with a bag of decaffeinated Ahmad Evening Tea. It ended up being like a berry flavored coffee somehow. yum!
1634 Tasting Notes
this was nice with a bit of dried orange peel and a cardamom pod. :)
Thank you to Scott for sending some of this my way and for helping me to get over my fear of darjeelings…
Foe a long time I thought I did not like them because the ones I had were so astringent and full of tannins but now I am learning quite a bit more about the different kinds of darjeelings, I am sure I will be able to find some I can really appreciate.
I did steep this with water that was not quite boiling for 3.5 minutes. Its a lovely dark yellow cup. This tea has a nice fruity aroma (like mild apricots) but also I’m detecting a bit of spiciness, like a cinnamon/peppery type of quality. It does have a bit of “bite” to it but has a fairly gentle pungency. Just a bit astringent & not very floral.
I’m finding this to be fairly mild which is nice for me this afternoon. I am liking the first flush teas I have tried a lot and will need to get more someday I think… Maybe I will become a darjeeling convert soon! :)
This one came as the result of a swap with Brandy 3392 – thanks Brandy!
Green rooibos is def. a lot better than red in my opinion, much more clean and herbal tasting, less medicine-y, etc. I just wanted to comment that I seem to have the most difficult time spelling “rooibos” – I always have to look it up!
This was steeped for 5 minutes with boiling water. It definitely lives up to the name – VERY fruity! I am getting a lot of mango papaya type flavors, it’s also great that this isn’t too tart and doesn’t have hibiscus in it as far as I can tell. It reminds me of Jardin Sauvage by Lupicia but I think this one might be a little better. I love fruity teas so this really hits the spot. Probably would be great iced as well… i’m digging it!
I haven’t placed an order with David’s Tea for eons but I would get this one again. Great for a non-caffeinated type of moment.
A big thank you to David for including a sample of this in my last order.
I got lazy and decided to make two quick steeps of this in the gaiwan and then put them together in a glass mug – I used water that was around 205 degrees but did my steeps for 30 seconds each.
I wasn’t sure if I would like the charcoal roast but it’s pretty yummy. The color is dark yellow, and yes it is toasty tasting. There is an underlying buttery flavor and a nuttiness that reminds me of toasted chestnuts or pecans, perhaps some buttered toast. This has a very smooth mouthfeel and is very clean and bright.
I also did steeps #3 and #4 together in the same mug and now that the leaves are opening I am getting a honey, nectar like sweetness along with the chesnutty-ness. It also reminds me a bit of a good quality – walnut oil? Or something of that nature. I’m amazed it feels so rich and decadent without any calories at all!
Their instructions say a full 3 minutes at 205 F (and that it’s a great pairing for afternoon sweets), but I rather liked it this way using shorter steeps in the gaiwan. It’s very yummy – another outstanding oolong from Asha. Definitely recommended if you like roasted style oolongs.
Every so often I need to try making myself drink things like this that I’m not hugely fond of. I do like cinnamon and plums but this tea is very light, and weak. I wonder what base they are using here for the black tea, perhaps it’s a ceylon, I’m not really sure. I would not be too tempted to buy this one again, it’s overpriced. You’d need to use at least two teabags in an 8 oz mug.
It was a beautiful day in San Francisco this afternoon and after a very long walk I took a nice nap and am having a bit of this to revive me. I really like the blood orange and grapefruit blend mixed with the pu-erh here. It’s still good even with the hibiscus, which I normally loathe (see my previous tasting notes). Steeped for 4 minutes with boiling water.
It’s been a while since I’ve had this and I am enjoying it this morning. The blend of nilgiri and lemon myrtle makes for a very zesty, fruity and citrusy cup. This would make a really great iced tea, I need to try it that way someday. It is also very fragrant! If you don’t like lemon I would not bother… see my previous notes
Part 3/4 of the basic darjeeling set – I know this is sounding snooty of me but after I bought this I was really wishing I bought the premium set that was a little more expensive. But now I have a lot of darjeeling tea I need to finish before getting more. :)
This was steeped in an infuser mug for 3.5 minutes with boiling water that had cooled off slightly. This is a great tea to drink plain without milk or sugar. It is light bodied and a bit on the fruity side, slightly earthy. Little to no astringency and no strong tannins which makes it a good one for me. Very enjoyable. Not as aromatic as some darjeelings I’ve had, there’s not a pronounced floral smell. I would consider purchasing this again as an every day type of tea.
I tried cold brewing this last night and it is still very bitter so I don’t think it’s a temperature thing or anything to do with me. I lowered the rating more because I don’t think I can finish the can. Does anyone like bitter green tea and want to swap? It may be destined for the compost bin…
After seeing the tasting note of gmathis the other day I decided to go ahead and get this today at the grocery store. I learned recently that rooibos is supposed to be good for heartburn so I am really wanting to learn to like this stuff!
I steeped this for 5 minutes with boiling water and used two teabags because I was planning to use my BIG mug with the owls on it (neither here nor there, but it is cute). I was very impressed with this stuff, it’s certainly one of the better red rooibos teas I’ve had. It isn’t sickening or medicinal, for one thing. :)) The vanilla is definitely there and it’s nice, not too sweet or anything. A splash of soymilk made this really good.
Bonus points for cheapness as well… this will be a really nice thing to have around.
Part 3/3 of my white tea sampler from Tao of Tea purchased on Amazon.com.
I have been steeping this in the gaiwan with short infusions with around 180 F water. The leaves are quite beautiful, long and fuzzy with a celadon green type of color.
My infusions are all coming out the same, a slightly milky vegetal flavor with a tiny bit of sweetness. Probably my least favorite of the three I purchased and ultimately kind of boring to me. Still it is pleasant enough and I will probably end up blending with something else like licorice root or rose petals. I haven’t found a silver needle yet I’m really wild about – anyone have a good recommendation?
Thanks so much to Scott for sending a sample of this my way along with the hand written brewing instructions! :)
I really enjoyed trying this one. I did notice how the dried leaves even smelled so aromatic in the bag. I was trying to not too be too stingy with the leaf so I used about 3 tsp in the gaiwan with around 180 F water. I’ve been keeping my steeps short, around 30 – 60 seconds.
I am getting delicious peachy-plum notes with some charcoal essence. This tea is a lot sweeter than I thought it would be (although not cloyingly so). The sweetness reminds me a bit of blackstrap molasses in the finish, kind of dark and tangy. Or perhaps a bit of caramelized sugar.
Around the third steep it is turning into more honey like notes and has the loveliest fragrance wafting in the air. This is really much better than I thought it would be. Really a treat!
I’m getting around to slowly finishing off and logging all of my Naivetea samples – I believe this is the last one?
My first steep I think I accidentally steeped this in water that was too hot. I got a very vegetal buttery cup but not quite what I was expecting…
For the second steep I tried to use water that was around 170 or 180 F. Now I am getting some of the more subtle notes I would be expecting from this tea. It is indeed very floral and delicate but I wish it had a bit more… oomph? It’s very relaxing and sweet however.
Third steep, I did let this one go on for about 2 minutes. I was hoping to get a bit more flavor out of this tea although that probably just killed it… lol
This is lovely but I’m not finding a way to make it work for me today. I wish I had more at home to play around with, but alas…
This came as a green tea in my green tea gift set I got for Christmas. I know that green tea has a short shelf life so I figure I’d better start drinking some of this. I used about 2 tsp for 12 oz of water. The instructions said to steep at 175 F for 90 seconds and I believe my temp was around that amount, although I do need to find my thermometer.
This does not seem like the best fukamushi I’ve ever had. It is very grassy with a touch of bitterness at the end. I would expect this more with a lower quality sencha. I may try decreasing the steeping time even further. I may also start cold brewing some of this green tea so I can drink it all before it goes stale. I definitely enjoyed the other 3 in the gift set more than this one.
Note: I did try a resteep at 60 seconds with around the same temp and it is a lot sweeter, perhaps less is more with this one, need to treat it gently.
I’m finally finishing the last of my sample this afternoon. It’s the best jasmine tea I’ve ever had. I normally hate jasmine tea but this one doesn’t make me feel like I’m sucking on a dry bar of soap.
Thanks to QueenofTarts for a sample of this!
I am enjoying this as my after lunch tea. I like the fact that it’s decaf so I can enjoy it anytime. The vanilla is good in this blend, subtle but not artificial tasting. I steeped mine in an infuser mug for about 3 minutes and then added some plain soymilk. It’s dark and rich, and not bitter, it definitely did not need sugar. I quite liked this as a dessert tea and I think it WILL go on my list of things to order from Harney and Sons.
I am finishing off the rest of this sample today, it is better than I remember it. I have upped the rating slightly. I love Taiwanese green oolongs perhaps better than any other kind of tea. This one is all sweet green peas and clover with not a stinky flower in sight… :)
It’s a sip down. Gone but not forgotten, I have appreciated it a lot!
Cold brewing this for 15 hours has brought out a lot of buttery notes as well as some gentle lilac ones. If you have this tea you need to try it. Thanks to Charles for the recommendation.
This is only the 2nd black tea I’ve tries from Vietnam (the other was from TeaGschwender)
I really like this one, it’s malty and smooth with a hint of chocolate. A little bit brisk but not too much. I’m enjoying it this morning with some soymilk. If you like assams it is a good one to try. See my previous tasting note.
I’m drinking this now since it’s low in caffeine. Its good but I don’t totally love roasted twig tea in general.
Thanks so much to QueenofTarts for this sample I’ve been wanting to try…
This stuff is so weird looking, I mean it’s full of husks! There isn’t as much rooibos at all in this blend. Perhaps that is a blessing in disguise, I don’t know.
I used about 1 tsb in my small $4 Daiso teapot. This definitely needed 5 minutes of steeping time and I think I should have used more of the sample because it was kind of thin. But this is a little teapot that makes only about 8 oz. of tea. It really does smell exactly like chocolate! The taste is… well it’s interesting. It’s certainly palatable but I don’t think I am in love with it. It reminds me of a chocolate liquor or something of that nature. I can’t help but wonder if this would be better with something added to it. In any case I will certainly try a resteep soon using more of what I’ve got!
Wow, really what more can I say about this one? Well, I’ll try to say something!
I ordered this on a hunch I would like it just from reading the description. To me this is like oolong perfection in a cup. I’ve steeped it now for 3 times in the gaiwan and it’s a rich, golden tea. Mouthfeel is similar to a really nice gyokuro. Very buttery and rich! The slight roasting I believe brings out the nutty flavor. I am getting macadamia nuts and mangoes, a slight taste of corn.
Upon my initial steep I got a tiny trace of bitterness so I would recommend not oversteeping this one if you can possibly help it.
You can just tell this is a great quality oolong, totally off the charts in my opinion. I have hardly met a formosa oolong I did not like but this one ranks up there very high as one of my all time favorites. Very well done, Asha!
