ashmanra

Thank you, JacquelineM for this sample! I made two separate pots of this today for our little tea party. I made a plate of fudge covered grahams from Keebler and Pepperidge Farm chocolate assortment to go with our tea. As I poured the tea, I thought I was smelling chocolate – but surely it was on my hands from the cookie plate? But I had never noticed it before. Smelled my hands – nothing. Smelled the tea – there it is! I have heard of teas having chocolate notes, I’ve even tasted unsweetened cocoa notes in some teas, but this smelled CHOCOLATE! It is a good, smooth tea. I think when I serve this in future it will be with a cheese plate to complement the chocolate notes instead of having chocolate-y cookies that compete with it. Very nice premium tea from Premium Steap! I think it could withstand an even longer steep time if you like your tea stronger.

This one just gets better each time I have it. I now drink it with no milk or sugar, and enjoy it with Aero whipped chocolate and Pepperidge Farm cookies in the afternoon.

Thank you to Lori for this sample!

I am with Morgana on this one. I smell and taste darjeeling. I don’t know if it is really in there, but that is what I get. It is smooth, not too astringent, and I really don’t detect any smoke at all. It has good flavor, though, was decent both plain or with milk and sugar added, and ….I think…..it may be reminding me of Margaret’s Hope 2nd Flush FTGFOP. That’s the darjeeling I am sensing, I suppose. Maybe the tiniest bit pepper-y, too?

Yes, I drank this one AGAIN. Yes, I still love it. It is still lightly smokey and intoxicates me on frumpled mornings. And even though I used the last marvelous leaves to make this cuppa, I refuse to click “Remove from Cupboard” because I marched right in here and ordered a whole pound. Aaaaaaaah.

I ordered the sample of this one since I am not a huge fan of Yunnan teas, although I enjoy a few pu-erhs. It is rpetty nice, but I would say that the astringency is leaning toward 2 for me, though Harney and Sons rates it as a one. The teas with NO astringency usually get a one. This one was a little drying on the tongue the more I sipped. The flavor is pleasant, I detected the very lightest whiff of smoke, and there was just a hint of pepper. I agree with another post that it tends to a white pepper scent rather than black pepper. Still, I stand by my personal feelings about yunnans and this one doesn’t sway me, though if you are a yunnan fan, you just may love this one.

Thank you to Lori for this sample! This is an individually wrapped teabag. When I opened it there was a refreshing and strong peppermint aroma. From this I really expected this tea to taste exactly like my plain peppermint herbal tea, but not so. As you drink this, the smell of peppermint is so relaxing but the green tea is definitely there when you drink. Nice balance of the flavors. This is a slightly astringent green, not a buttery one.

A lovely, smooth oolong! The aroma is mostly woodsy to me, but I thought I detected some raisin-y in the background. Not astringent at all. Made a surprisingly dark brew! Thank you to Lori for this sample!

Just about finished my tin of this one today. I may have a teaspoon left.

This was hard because I decided to choose EITHER this one or Queen Catherine to keep on hand. I already have H&S English Breakfast and SS Organic Breakfast, and with the tower of tea I have already I can’t justify buying both! (Well, maybe I can, but will the hubby go for it?) Although I like this one and it is quite good, I am not the biggest fan of Assam tea, so Queen Catherine has won. The two are so similar that it was a hard choice, but QC is a blend of three China teas, and they are really my favorites.

I was a little afraid of this one when I smelled the dry leaves, but I needn’t have been. It is very smooth, a little sweet, and the smoke is not overpowering at all. It was good enough to have a second cup. Went really well with cheese cubes and whipped chocolate bar Aero bar.

This is a very nice breakfast tea. I often have it in the afternoon with Pepperidge Farm cookies as well. It is not as strong as some keemuns, being lighter in cocoa notes and lacking smokiness as well. This is a great keemun for people who don’t like strong keemuns. They say it has red wine or muscatel flavors, but so far I haven’t picked that up. I will have to try to sharpen my senses….

So glad I bought this one! The scent is delightful – I drank this from a gaiwan and I think I sniffed the lid as often as I sipped the tea. The aroma is light and lovely gardenia, so worth taking the time to slow down and appreciate this light, floral aroma! The taste is very creamy, buttery, and lightly vegetal. I detect the flowers as a light aftertaste – it isn’t a strong floral taste to me, just floral in the aroma. Some teas will irritate my reflux. Not this one. Smooth and lovely. Will try resteeping this one and learn more about this “lovely seriousness” Harney and Sons talks about!

Second pot of the day is youngest DD’s favorite! A very nice tea, and my favorite Irish Breakfast so far.

This one has a little more heft to me than some Ceylons. I think Ceylons are delicious and smooth, most have strong honey notes and this one is not an exception. But there is more body to this one, I believe, and perhaps some additional toasty tones? Good with milk and sugar, enjoyed it with some sharp cheddar which always seems to sweeten the taste of tea!

This tea was purchased in Dublin by my daughter a day before she left Ireland. I had tried the Clipper Gold and it was quite strong, so I was a little afraid of this one at first. I needn’t have been! It behaved quite well, and is a lovely cup of tea. I drank it first without milk or sugar, and it was very smooth and flavorful, a nice accompaniment to our afternoon Pim’s. The second cup had the addition of milk, which smoothed it even more, and then sugar, which it also handled well. Not what I would consider to be a gourmet tea, but a lovely cup just the same. Only steeped it for 2 minutes, because it is CTC.

Wonderful, as always! A little smoky but barely barely so! And Harney is offering free shipping on orders of $25 or more, so I am off to order another tin of this right now!

This is a good cup of tea! It has a solid taste that doesn’t require milk or sugar to make it interesting but it also tastes good with additions. I agree with the post-er who said it was good for when you are not sure what tea you want. There is a little of everything in here, and they made it work. I tried resteeping but it was very weak for me. Perhaps if I changed my parameters….Even my hubby liked this one, and there are few teas that he likes. Could use less than boiling water, but I took it to a full boil this time.

I want to be fair to this tea, so I kept drinking it. My daughter says she liked it better as it cooled, and I gave it a chance. It IS a little better as it cools, but still is more astringent that I like. I am a fan of ultra smooth teas! This tea is stronger than the grocery store Lipton Black Pearl, and I would suspect it is similar to German Frisian tea. If you like strong tea, this one may appeal to you. Don’t oversteep unless you enjoy reflux.

In his novel “Night Watch”, Terry Pratchett describes Capt. Sam Vimes tea as “just how he liked it – stewed orange in an old boot”. Vimes would be very happy to join me this morning. The second, and I mean, the VERY second the boiling water hit the tea, a very strong aroma issued forth. This is strong tea. If you are looking for nuance, you won’t find it here. If you want a tea to kick your fanny out the door and remind you to eat your veggies OR ELSE, you can stop looking. This got a 5 out of 5 stars on Amazon reviews so people must love it. Mine came from Bewley’s in Dublin, Ireland where my daughter picked it up for me. We’ll try the Irish Afternoon later…..when we have recovered.

I told my youngest to pick the tea and surprise me this morning, and this is what I got. She knows that this one and Queen Catherine are my favorite morning pick-me-up teas when I am tired or sore and need a little boost! Very nice choice for today.

A nice tea, but when tasted side by side with Harney and Sons English Breakfast (the loose leaf one, not the sachets of Royal English Breakfast) I must say the Harney and Sons wins. Still, it is a very good tea, and I always feel a little more responsible when I drink organic!

What a great tea! This really has nice body, and if there is any smokiness it is ever so light. I made little humming sounds as I drank this one today, and apologized to it profusely for neglecting it for so long. I start trying new teas and forget to go back to my pets….

This was amazing! So light and delightful, sweet and tasty. It was a pale to medium yellow color, and tasted very similar to Golden Monkey from Harney and Sons or Zhen Quo from Southern Season. I think the body was a little lighter in the tea which isn’t a surprise since it really does look like it is ALL golden tips. A very good tea, and a big hit at today’s tea tasting. We did a resteeping and it was certainly drinkable but was weaker than the first steeping.

I had this one long ago, before I knew much about different types of tea and what to expect. I wanted to try this one again since I just had my first really premium oolong, and I found it to be light and refreshing. It is definitely a flowery oolong rather than a fruity one to me. I did a short steep since I wasn’t too sure of this one. Might try it again with a longer steep time.

I am sorry to report that this is NOT a favorite and I am giving this to a friend as soon as I can possibly get this out of my house! It is very heavy on the assam, and I am not a big fan of many assams, though I love Irish Breakfast tea which is usually heavy on assam. This was served at a tea for three, and all three said, “Yuck!” and poured it out, and reached for the pot of Harney Kenilworth Ceylon. It was a tad bitter, rather strong, and frankly, just not a flavor I enjoyed, and I drink lapsangs, oolongs, greens, and on and on, so my tastes are not too picky.