Amy oh

I made this as a cold brew tea and I liked it this way… very refreshing. I upped the rating some today

I’m finishing off the rest of my sample today, I am going to order more. yummy yum yum

Lately I’ve learned that almost all milk oolongs are flavor enchanced which diminishes my appreciation of them a bit but this is still very fun to drink.

This one is light, brothy, flavors like popcorn. Has a very interesting thicker aftertaste that lingers for a while, reminded me of peaches a bit. Certainly it is delicious but I’m not sure I’m a huge fan of the milk oolong. What is it flavored with?

An impulse buy in Japantown. I don’t know that much about Fukamushis but did a little research on the internet that it is a type of sencha that is deep steamed and this removes a lot of the bitterness. Sounds ok to me, so far so good.

I admit I feel I am getting a cold today and my taste buds are off. In addition, with the first steep my water was too hot and this made the tea kind of unpleasant although beautiful to look at. It is a vivid beautiful deep neon green.

The second cup, with water temp around 160 and steeped for 45 seconds or so is quite lovely. I am getting a lot of flavors here, grass, seaweed, a slight tartness, very full-bodied with a lingering aftertaste. Not very buttery but definitely vegetal. I will try to update my notes when I am feeling healthier.

I have been loving japanese green tea lately, they seem like the elixir of Gods.

I’ve had this for a year or more and hope to keep it for a while to see how it evolves over time.

It’s been a process of trial and error for me as I have grown with this tea over the last few months. When I brew it Western style I get a very malty and pungent white tea which always intrigued me but left me wondering.

When I keep the infusions short and sweet (30-60 seconds) and the temp lower, to about 160 f is when this tea really starts to shine. I am getting a lot of sweetness with a tiny note of malt and fermentation. This is where I start to notice more of the floral type notes. Watching my evolution along with this tea is like watching a flower grow. It seems like there is vanilla in the finish. It is a great tea for multiple infusions as well and I look forward to seeing how it evolves over time.

I should also mention from the few white pu-erhs I have tried I seem to like them better than straight white tea. Perhaps it gives me the extra edge I need.

This is a new shipment direct from Taiwan of a bunch of oolong samples. I like Taiwanese oolongs but I don’t know if I know enough about them to rate them all differently or even tell them apart. I suppose only time will tell. I also got a cute little black xi ying teapot which I am eager to try out but not until I season it first and learn how I am supposed to brew with the thing. So this was brewed western style in an infuser mug with 180 degree water.

This tea is very charming. It’s a light yellow infusion with the usual buttery notes, has a very nice mouthfeel and smooth aftertaste. It is slightly grassy but not like eating grass. More like lying in a meadow of grass and watching the clouds go by. Some teas get me pretty wired but this is not one of them. It’s actually very relaxing and peaceful.

I am looking forward to getting more experiments going!

I upped the rating a bit today, this benefits from a slightly longer steeping time and then it is rich and luscious.

Thanks to Jenn for sending me a sample of this – I was a bit wary of this from the get-go and I’ve been steering away more from flavored oolongs lately so this is sort of a biased review.

To me, this is very grape. When I open up the package I smell grape bubble yum. I brewed this for around 2 minutes with 180F water. The grape is not as strong in the flavor but it is still very prominent. I’m not really a fan of this but it’s drinkable , for my own personal taste it is too sweet and too grape-y. Some other people here seemed to like it a lot more so it probably depends on your personal preferences.

I am revisiting this today with my new batch from Verdant. It is like visiting with an old friend. A sweet and delicious friend… lol!

I purchased this at the Aroma Tea Shop in San Francisco. This is just such a cute presentation, pu-erh tea cooked in a tangerine. I had to try it!

I let this steep for 3 minutes with boiling water. In hindsight, that may have been a bit too much so I will need to do more experiments. I saw on another website people had broken up parts of the peel to brew with the tea so that would also be fun to try. I also forgot to rinse this off before brewing.

I got a very dark liquor but it is very smooth and rich with no hint of astringency. A tiny bit of shiitake mushroom with some chocolate notes. I’m getting a bit of tangerine in the finish nothing like a flavored tea, this is very subtle. There is some smoke in the finish. Even with the stronger steeping this is a very mellow and easygoing tea.

One tangerine yields about 2 small or one large pot of tea. I don’t know if I have time this morning for multiple infusions which is a bit sad. Pu-erh is a tea best left for the weekends!

I did manage to get a second infusion. This time I tried for one minute with boiling water with a tiny bit of the peel thrown in for good measure. This produced a milder but still flavorful version of the first steep. Now I am getting a bit of spice in the cup as well. It’s hard to say which one I prefer more!

Received a sample in my order from Butiki…

This is a great way to end a day of tea. I am ready to Citrus Dream off to slumberland. A delightful mix of chamomile blossoms and fruit. Not tart, not sweet, just soft and pleasant. I can’t taste much of the goji or lemon grass, they are very subtle. I am getting mostly apple and chamomile with a touch of orange. I happen to like chamomile but if you don’t I would of course avoid this. It’s like Sleepytime tea x 10 in terms of flavor and beauty. Very well done for an herbal – another winner from Butiki.

he heh. I’ve already rated this and logged it a few times. I know I will need more soon – it’s my favorite evening tisane by far…

Thanks to Jenn for a sample of this!

This is a good choice for an afternoon tea. I am getting mostly white tea with lots of chamomile and a tiny bit of mango. I don’t really taste much butter or cream but it is very sweet smelling. This is one I liked better after adding soymilk to it. It’s nice but I don’t think I would buy it for myself.

I was looking to try one of the Tulsi teas from Organic India. All of the others seemed to have hibiscus or flowers so I picked this one. I really like the lemon ginger combination so I had a pretty good sense I would enjoy this. Definitely gingery and aromatic, the tulsi flavor shows up as an aftertaste of something minty here. I like it, even for a teabag! A good afternoon tea when I need to go caffeine-less but still want something tasty. This would also be good for an upset tummy or as an after meals drink.

it is growing on me…

I am drinking this today after a long hiatus from it. I downgraded it a bit as it is not as good as I remember, it’s a bit tart and has a strange aftertaste. It’s interesting how my tastebuds have evolved over time. I need to finish it though!

I bought this recently with a few things from Butiki to try. I have to say I like this very much. For one thing the unique twisted shape of the leaves in this conical fashion is just fun to look at! An organic and free trade tea from Sri Lanka, also a bonus.

For another thing this has a lot of flavor for a green tea, I am definitely picking up some vegetal notes of artichoke and the like, but there is also a flavor here which is reminiscent of black tea, I had to make sure I washed my cups since I was a bit puzzled by this. Then I went on the internet and found some other reviews which said the same exact thing so no, it is not my imagination apparently.

I feel like I am getting a hint of smoke and dried fruit in the aftertaste here. Very complex and rich for a green tea. I recommend you try it if you are a fan of green teas. :) Definitely a keeper in my book.

I followed the instructions on the bag which was 180 F and 3 minutes, two cones for 8 oz of water.

A very nice afternoon tea, delightful

i’m having some this morning and it’s still yummy. yes the gyokuru is better but this is still excellent.

It is everything the description promises. A sweet and mellow green tea with vegetal notes a bit like artichoke notes with a sweetness like clover and hay. The instructions said 180F and 2/5 minutes but I let mine go more towards 3 and it was still fine. I am enjoying it this morning. The brewed leaves smell almost floral in nature.

Japanese green tea day is slowly coming to an end here on the tea drinking homestead…

A bunch of years ago I was very interested in a macrobiotic diet and they recommended drinking twig tea as a coffee substitute so I am quite used to this stuff, but the brand I used a lot was Choice Organics Twig tea.

This is very nice, a smooth mellow cup reminiscent of toasted grains, wood and a touch of molasses. Slightly brisk. It’s a good choice for bedtime due to the low caffeine content. I steeped this for about 2.5 minutes at 180 degrees but might steep it longer to see what happens. A very comforting brew, delicious and rich. A great choice for the evening hours after dinner.

I wanted to get a different genmai cha to compare to the stuff that I’ve gotten in the past from Maeda-en. I know that the Silk Road Teas have a good reputation and I got a bit of this at the local Whole Foods this afternoon in the bulk section.

I believe this blend has slightly more green tea than what I am used to. And I’m not sure I’m a huge fan of whatever green tea this is here as the base. I am getting a bit of astringency/bitterness which is one thing I am not fond of about senchas. It does have a nice nutty quality and I like the brown rice but in my opinion it’s just ok. If I was on a desert island with no other Japanese green tea I would be happy with it, I’m sure. Of course now I am spoiled after drinking gyokuro this morning!

I was very excited to try this after my new found appreciation for Japanese green tea…

When I opened my sample package to smell the leaves are so fresh it is like smelling a bunch of spinach. I brewed this up in my glass mug for about 2 minutes using cooled boiling water.

I have to say I am in heaven! This is a beautiful greenish gold color with slight “bubbles” in the brew. It has such a creamy mouthfeel, it is VERY buttery, slightly grassy and creamy. Truly delicious. Another tea I would rate at 500 if I could because it sort of blows the other teas straight out of the water. I only got a sample of this stuff, and YES it is expensive but I am getting more. It would be very expensive for an every day tea but nice to drink on the weekends or when you needed a pick me up. It is very energizing and refreshing. A++++

note: I got four steeps out of it before I gave up and put the leaves in a smoothie. they are so mild you can eat them with no problem.

A very nice decaf offering from Lupicia for the holidays. I received this free (loose leaf!) sample at the store recently.

There is so no question that this is what my boyfriend calls a “gummy bear” tea. It’s so so sweet and festive though and the strawberry flavor really comes shining through. The coconut and vanilla round out the flavor very nicely. Ok, it is hard to taste any actual tea here especially after I added soymilk. But what a delicious, low calorie dessert drink! Lupicia does strawberry well – I also suggest trying their strawberry and rhubarb tea if you are a fan of strawberry tea. =)