Amy oh

This sample was provided by Butiki in my last order – thank you so much!

I brewed this according to the directions on the directions on the package – 3 minutes at around 180 F. I probably should have used a little less water for the sample…

I’ve never had a South Korean green but I like this one! It is a bit reminiscent of spinach but it’s also very sweet and light. Definitely has a smooth and creamy mouthfeel with perhaps a bit of spice on the backend? Might be a tad astringent for yours truly however. Definitely worth checking out.

My nice handmade evening chai type of drink tonight is a cup of with a cardamom pod, vanilla bourbon extract and soymilk. Mmmm, shou pu-erh chai, I think I love this! Delicious!

I didn’t think I liked jasmine tea but then I tried this one…. oh so sweet and lovely

I still have more of my Tea from Taiwan samples!!!

I steeped this in an infuser mug with 195 F water for about 1.5 minutes. Based on my experience with oolongs this seemed to be a good place to start. After my first steep I noticed the leaves have an aroma of molasses – nice! This is very nutty and toasty. I think I get an aftertaste of honey & molasses too (it is not a flavored tea I believe) …

then I notice in the description that the honey flavor is left by secretions from cicadas! How interesting. Also I learned from a documentary on wuyi tea that the dong ding oolong came to Taiwan after the wuyi tea was planted there. So it does seem like it has elements of both for sure.

2nd steep: The leaves are starting to open up here and smell VERY molasses with a hint of anise. Also some peach aromas are emerging here. This is really quite delicious! I am getting mesmerized.

3rd steep: Some woody notes are starting to emerge here and the molasses aroma is giving way to something intensely floral… pretty neat!

Recommended to those of you who like darker style oolongs.

I think this may be my fallback tea to order whenever I find myself at a Peet’s.

Unfortunately everything gets steeped in boiling water so the subtleness was kinda lost here, but I was still able to pick up some notes of vanilla and flower. Pretty mild and smooth. I would have to make it myself at home to get a better assessment.

I tried cold brewing this last night and at first I liked it better but I still can’t quite dig the aftertaste. If anyone wants to swap please let me know. I’ll probably end up blending it with something else to mellow it out.

This also came as part of my Teavana Japanese green tea set I got over Christmas.

I really like gyokuro as well as genmaicha blends so I thought there was a pretty good chance I’d be into this. I was not disappointed for sure. The gyokuro is very sweet and vegetal while the rice adds a nutty/popcorn-y quality. This is very buttery and brothy as well. Definitely putting a smile upon my face this morning.

I steeped this for two minutes at around 170 F water. When I read the other tasting notes I think that might have been a bit too much. But it is still not bitter at all. For sure my favorite genmaicha to date! Very nice, Teavana!

When it comes to pu-erh teas I am pretty much open to trying anything especially when they are this cheap (11.00 for 1/4 lb). This is a loose leaf sheng which was evidently sun dried. Somehow I love drinking shengs at night whereas shus I like in the morning…

I was a bit nervous after reading the previous review that described it as bitter and bracing – does not sound like a good sign! I steeped about 1 tsp of the leaf in the gaiwan with boiling water for 60 seconds and then for a second steep at 30 seconds, this was plenty.

This is intense, it’s a very lemony almost sour tea with slight asparagus notes. Yes it is floral smelling but the flavor is not that flowery at all. I definitely get “bracing” here in addition to it being very zesty and great for the digestion. Wow, a surprising and nice adventure as well as uplifting! I think I will need to get some more at this price. Proceed with caution though, with oversteeping this would become a real bitter nightmare!!!

I also steeped this with a cardamom pod this afternoon and it’s good! I really need to stick to flavoring my own tea instead of buying flavored tea. Unfortunately I am almost out of this and my tea budget has been totally blown for the month of Jan. already (I got excited… )

We have some of these Bigelow herbal teas at work and they’re free. I don’t like most of them but this one isn’t too bad. Yeah there’s hibiscus in it but it seems kinda faint. Someone mentioned the apple tastes a little artificial, again that’s true but I really like the cinnamon and citrus in this blend, it also smells like an apple pie baking. Not too bad for a cheap bag o’ tea but I doubt I’d buy any for myself…

wow, I am learning more about white tea every day! I upped the rating on this one today. Using cooled water, a lot of leaf and a slight 60 second steep was the key to success with this one. It now has a gentle lilac/vanilla aroma and taste. delicate and nice!

M’kay… here’s another tea I got in the Whole foods bulk bin here in San francisco. I was pretty excited to try this! I’ve had a few yunnan teas but I don’t think a golden needle has been one of them. These are very fine dark golden buds…

I decided to steep this in the Tetsubin for 4 minutes with boiling water. That may have been a bit too much however, next time I think I will try for 3 because I ended up with a bit more tannins than I wanted. It is very malty and chocolatey with a nice touch of sweetness/starch at the end, kind of like a banana or a sweet potato. I did end up adding a touch of soymilk but I drink most of my blacks this way. I’d also like to try this out with shorter steeps in the gaiwan but it is really yummy! A great choice for the morning.

ok, I’m finishing off the rest of this sample tonight. I happen to really like cardamom and I thought the flavor was much better after steeping this with a couple of cardamom pods. Cardamom for everyone!!!!

I am all out of my beloved Rishi West Cape Chai so I decided to check this out until I have depleted my other Rishi teas and want to place an order for more of them…

I was not happy when I got home and realized this was for the teabag version of this tea (my mistake). I steeped it for 4 minutes with boiling water and added a bit of soymilk in the end. I am not crazy about this. For a bagged non-caffeinated chai I would prefer Yogi tea Indian Spice or even Bengal Spice from Celestial Seasonings.

I’m not really a fan of roobois but since I loved the West Cape Chai, I thought I might appreciate this too. For me the flavor balance seems off. It’s all clove, roobois and orange, I’d prefer a higher concentration of cinnamon and cardamom. It also seems to be drying my mouth right up. I will probably finish it reluctantly. Oh well.

I don’t know that much about white teas but I am trying to further my education. I found this in the bulk section at Whole Foods so the risk of not liking it was relatively low.

These are quite beautiful long silver needles and they smell quite fresh and lovely. I have to admit my water temp has probably been a bit hotter than what they recommend but the tea does not seem to have suffered.

I am looking for the grape they have mentioned here. Grape? I don’t really get that at all. I can definitely get the honeydew melon and maybe some pear. This tea is making my tongue tingle. The only other Bai Mu Dan I’ve had is the one from Teavivre, and I don’t think this is quite as good as that one, not as sweet and flowery. But I do not think I’ll have any problem finishing this off and I might even use it in a blend.

I got this about a year ago to boost my immune system and it still sits here in the office…

Not necessarily a bad thing though. I like herbal tea so I don’t mind it too much although it’s definitely the kind of thing I’d drink for my health and not necessarily for the sheer pleasure of it. It’s pretty heavy on the licorice and ginger so if you don’t like those I would steer clear of this for sure. It is a tiny bit bitter and “medicine-y” & I might try blending with green tea to see how that goes. Hopefully I finish it off this winter!

This is my after lunch treat. If you like coconut and tropical fruit this is not a bad white tea to try… it’s now available from Koni tea. It is also creamy and smells very nice.

I am back at work and feeling nauseated, which is probably not a coincidence. This is helping me to feel better though. :)

One last tea for NYD.

I decided to steep this in the gaiwan after rinsing the leaves quickly with boiling water.

Man, oh man, They are not kidding about this tea being fragrant! It is lemony! And a little bit like asparagus. It’s very refreshing but the first steep had a tiny bit of “bite” to it which made me wonder if it was kind of young (it is from 2010). I did this one for 30 seconds with boiling water. I see now they recommended 10 seconds with not hot water for the first steep.

The second steep I did for less time and with not such hot water. Now I am getting more floral notes in addition to the zesty ones.

Third steep is definitely getting softer. Some clover types notes which are very gentle. I can see this would be a good after dinner tea or good for nausea. Somehow it is settling my stomach.

Fourth steep: I decided I would go back to using boiling water and would steep it for 2 minutes an an experiment. The first steep was actually my favorite here but this one is pretty good too. We are back to slighty lemony and flowery with a bit more “bite” again. This really has a kind of fizzy quality in my opinion. a tiny bit drying perhaps due to the age… this would get bitter if steeped too long I think. I really like it though!

Really an interesting sheng from Bana!

I really want to find some white teas that I like and I found this lurking in the back of my cupboard. I can’t remember when I bought this. These are teabags, and when I opened up the can to take a whiff it is an overwhelming artifical peach smell. Really it reminds me of paint drying.

I followed the instructions on the tin and steeped it for around 45 seconds with nearly boiling water. I am sorry to report that this is just really awful and it isn’t cheap either… I can’t make myself finish it off. No doubt it is going into the compost. I really like ginger but I think there is something about this peach flavoring that is really not for me. I do like the white peach tea from Rishi so it isn’t like I’m totally biased against fruit or anything. blecch.

Happy New Year, Steepies. :)

After a quick rinse I have decided to steep this up in the gaiwan and used about 1 tsp of leaf. my water was not quite boiling for the first two steeps.

I am very happy with this shu and it is for sure going on my shopping list. It is very mild with a slightly sweet flavor that is indeed reminiscent of pecans with some cinnamon-spice in the finish. After 3 steeps there is no noticeable loss in flavor. A soothing cup of tea to the mind and the body. I would just like to keep this around for those moments when I want a gentle cup.

It’s New Year’s Day and I am finishing off the last of this. Slightly decadent choice for this lazy morning! :)

Hmm this is very interesting. From the look of the leaves it reminds me of the Blue People Oolong I’ve seen recently from the Aroma Tea Shop which was fermented with licorice and mint. I am getting way more licorice than orchid here.

First infusion: steeped in the xi ying teapot for 2 minutes after a quick rinse. Although the leaves smell incredible, this is really way too sweet for me.

Second steep: I only went for 60 seconds this time. It is much more subdued and the floral notes are coming through but still pretty sweet and I can’t quite get the overwhelming taste of licorice out of my mouth.

This is ok but really not my favorite thing from Verdant by far…

Everytime I open up my tea cupboards and see all these fruit-bomb teas from Teavana it’s like WTF was I thinking? And now I have to drink them all unless they are totally dreadful.

Anyway when I first tasted this I did not like it at all but it is better than I remember. I agree with the previous reviewer who said she was expecting something with a lot more in the way of black tea. This is primarily a fruity tea with a little bit of black in it. There’s also something a bit tart here which I am not loving, perhaps the pineapple?

Anyway I think I will finish this if I dump some soymilk in it or perhaps I will wait for the summer and make iced tea out of it. I will be glad to swap this out to someone who is interested in trying it.