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I am going to have to label this as a favorite of hubby soon. We had it with Asian buffet take out again last night and he emptied the pot before I hardly had any! Then he….yes, HE….resteeped. I don’t know if he has ever made loose leaf tea by himself, but he went in the kitchen and made another pot. He was being sweet to me so I could have seem more, and of course he sat down and had more as well.

It is hard to describe how good this is with food. I am surprised I like it so well with food because it is a mild tea that you would think would get lost under the flavors, but instead it swirls across your palate and tastes so fresh and sweet, like sweet well water. I think this would have to go on the “if I could only have ten teas” list!

Peachy fresh light green tea, smooth with no bitterness. Great stuff! If you cant buy frkm Tin Roof Teas, this is the same as Madame Butterfly, which is sold by many vendors though I like buying it from Gurman’s of Ireland since we have had great customer service from them!

Last night I asked my son who is here for the holidays if he would like some tea. He said sure! I asked what kind and he replied that he would like the usual. The usual means Teavivre Puerh, usually ripened Tuocha.

This is the final Tuocha that was sent by AmyOh. Thank you, Amy!

This Tuocha is larger than the ones I bought at A Southern Season. I put it in an eight ounce glass pot and gave it a thirty second rinse because I couldn’t remember how well this one breaks up. The rinse was fine, because the next steep, also thirty seconds, was inky black. I made three steeps in rapid succession and combined them in one larger pot.

Great as always. I confess I still do not detect much if any rose flavor, though the pink bud is very pretty in the Tuocha and in the pot! This is a stronger puerh than Mengku Palace. It is not fishy but strongly horsey. Very good, and very soothing for tummies. That is a good thing with all the holiday cooking.

I invited a friend over today for soup and goodies. He is fairly new to tea drinking, having only had Lipton with milk and sugar until a couple of months ago when I started serving tea when he came over.

Today I made my bracing, fortifying standby. All hail the Queen! He loved it and said he could drink this all day long. I had to make a second pot. Hubby even drank it without milk and sugar and that never happens with a black tea!

This is a smooth blend of Chinese teas, strong enough to withstand additions but sweet and smooth enough not to need them unless you just enjoy them. It is almost time to order another pound because I am getting low!

I bought this because I loved the way it looked! These leaves are twisted and soft and fluffy, but they have great staying power for resteeping. I have reviewed this a few times before so this time I will just say that I still mostly taste oats, specifically plain Cheerios. This is not a contemplative, meditative cup for me, but rather a tea I make either to go with Asian food or when I want green tea but I want a tea that will get me going and keep me going. For some reason, this tea makes me want to attack my to do list! That is exactly what I have GOT to do today!

I needed a firm foot to the butt tea today. We are cleaning and cooking and cooking and cleaning for Christmas soup night. I need to go shopping at two groceries to finish but I have to get the first soup on. The second one cooks faster so it can wait a little while.

Here is my firm foot! I made a whole pot and put it on my beautiful new vintage cast iron warmer that was given me yesterday by the puppy I keep on Tuesdays! I love it!

Here is something you almost never see in my tasting notes…this one gets milk and sugar, almost always. But when you drink this, you KNOW you have had a cup of tea.

This was the final tea of tea party. By the time we get to our third tea, we have usually finished snacking or we are just nibbling the occasional cookie. It is unusual for us to have all black teas but this was an unusual tea day since we had soup and cake as well.

Since the final stands alone, I chose a flavored tea. I chose this one because A. It tastes great B. it is new and my guest had never had it and C. almond flavor reminds me of Christmas.

The aroma does not disappoint on this tea and the flavor does not let you down. We took it plain and enjoyed it but for those who like a dessert tea with milk and/or sugar, this would almost certainly be excellent that way. The tea base is prominent enough to hold up to additions. The aroma smells like Christmas to me, without smelling like a standard Christmas tea of cinnamon, clove, and orange.

After having Loaded Baked Potato Soup, I served Italian Cream Cake. I didn’t make it! A friend sent it to me and it came from Sam’s club and was delicious! The frosting tastes a lot like the Bavarian Cream matcha from Red Leaf, but there is also coconut and that adds a lot to this cake.

It is extremely rich, however, too rich for me unless I scrape off a lot of the frosting. I felt that it required a black tea with a lot of presence to pair with it.

I love this tea! I don’t know how to describe it accurately because there is an unusual texture or something that I only know how to describe as…cocoa powdery, and I don’t mean just the flavor of cocoa powder but even a dryness at the same time it was wet. It is not, however, the dryness associated with astringency. I do not find this tea to be astringent at all!

When I drink it, it FEELS dark and rich. Imagine if you put a tiny bit of cocoa powder on your tongue, unsweetened, and it wasn’t bitter at all. It is not a heavy bodied tea, but rather it seems to hang on to my tongue for a moment before I swallow. This is what made me feel it would go well with that rich cake. Again, it needs no milk or sugar, which was critical since this cake is so rich and sweet.

I think it paired very nicely, but it is also wonderful on its own and is great for gong fu sessions, too.

This has become a “go to” black tea for me. Whether I am pairing it with food or just want something that I think anyone will like, even non-tea drinkers, it is a safe bet. It is sweet and honeyed and smooth, so it really needs no additions.

This was the first tea of tea party. I am going to ask for your input today about how I sometimes serve tea and choose the pairings. If anyone has any helpful tips or advice, I welcome it.

Since this was the “tea party before Christmas” and our gift exchange day, I served loaded baked potato soup. We seldom do “real” food. I chose this tea to go with it because I felt it had enough presence to still be enjoyed but no flavors that would compete with or overshadow the food.

I thought it went with the soup very well. I knew I had to step up the strength of the next black tea served so it could compete with dessert so this was a great starting place.

This afternoon we sliced a fresh pound cake and put Christmas music on. This week is going to be a bit busy.

Foster puppy has a vet appointment, daughter has an orthodontist appointment, writers’ group is meeting here Thursday night and I want to try to have goodies, my brother is coming to town for a funeral, and I have tea time tomorrow and a couple of students coming Thursday. Friday is our annual soup night with our best friends and I am cooking tons for that, and my son is coming home for ten days. Whew!

So special tea time with my kids? Yes, please! I had this one, and it was wonderful with my cake. This has plenty of bergamot without heading into bathroom cleaner territory like some strong Earls do, and the orange blossom aspect makes it even more delicate and dignified. Delicious.