Autumn Hearth

We ordered two ice tea samples with our latest purchase and when the husband requested I make ice tea before dinner and I saw the other was recommended as a 6 hour cold brew, this was the obvious choice. The sample had a little over 6 teaspoons worth of leaf which was not quite enough for a full 64oz pitcher, but it was about 3/4 full.

I could smell the tea as it was steeping and it was quite lovely. The liquor came out a striking orange that was toned down to copper when diluted. I was smart and tasted some before the food, husband was not and thus said it had no taste. I actually liked it, more than any recent hot Darjeeling experience, it had a slight natural sweetness that lent itself well to cold tea, but it is mild and floral. I would try to resteep if ice trays didn’t take so long freeze. Will update if I decide to make two hot cups tonight.

So I also requested the organic Bailin Gongfu black to compare to the other version that others have reviewed so much. I’m not sure if other folks have reviewed the organic under the other tea’s page, but I created this one to distinguish them. Perhaps because it is in a larger sample bag instead of the small serving packets, the dry dry leaf smells more intensely chocolate. I did a very short rinse and a 10 sec steep.

Mmm getting more chocolate and less rye right off the bat, yes there is still a nice grainy quality but I’m getting some really lovely spice. Oh yes spicy chocolate, oh my! While I am not a fan of chocolate spice flavored teas (Teavana’s Azteca Fire and Zocolatte Spice ::shudder::) it is wonderful to find it as a natural characteristic of the tea. This would be wonderful on a cold fall or winter day.

The second steep is more sweet and less spice, reminding more of the non-organic version (which is a good thing as I liked it a lot). I keep on thinking either of these would be such great introductions to black tea to coffee or cola drinkers (of which I am neither). I really will have to brew the two side by side and western style to determine any real differences and which I should order.

The third is more broth-like and I get a bit more rye. It reminds me of french onion soup with rye bread crumbs, only you know chocolaty. The forth and fifth were a bit mild but still enjoyable. Will update this as I have more sessions. Thank you again Angel and Teavivre, this tea made my day better, after an epic tantrum from the toddler this morning!

I was encouraged that I could brew this in glass with simple pouring and a strainer, so it was my consolation tea after my gaiwan cracked this morning. Mmm smooth, velvety consolation. It was probably my imagination running away with itself, but when I opened this bag for the first time I smelled cool crisp spring air. Such a deep, green, beany smell. It is a rich green without being overwhelming, it could be said to be both light and full.

I had thought that I had ruined the second steep it was a bit astringent, but it survived into the third unharmed, all sweet, creamy and with a hint of nuttiness just starting to develop. Just need to brew with care. My toddler has gulped down the last two cooled cups and says its very good. Husband says its green but not his cup of tea. Oh well, more for us. Later infusions reveal a minty quality.

I’m not capable of describing much else today either but I do want to say that I have been retrying a lot of the green teas in my possession and while I have a few nice ones I was beginning to feel that greens in general were a bit boring. This tea reminds me how lovely they can be. I will continue to enjoy this tonight and looking forward to comparing it to my complimentary sample of the Autumn Harvest and their Dragonwell style counterparts. Thanks to David and He Family for offering such an exceptional tea.

Yesterday I ordered oolong at the super swank Asian inspired bistro Wild Mango. It was loose leaf in a large pot that had a strainer in the spout that wasn’t doing much good as the leaves were choppy. That said it was pretty good, it was a darker roasted oolong, most likely a Dan Cong but it could have been Tung Ting, Rua Gui, Big Red Robe or something else altogether. It was dark sweet, slightly bark-like and pretty tolerant to sitting in water for over thirty mins (I swear I started pouring as soon as it arrived but it was a big pot with only one cup) only the last cup was astringent and part of that was probably because it was cold and concentrated.

I got this yesterday as a Mothers Day present from the husband. It was smaller than I had expected and yields only around 3oz of tea once the leaf has unfurled (I did brew a Tieguanyin which is known for its expanding nature). The tea cups are tiny and I figured out very quickly that I would not be drinking out of them as I did not like the feel of them on my lips and the taste they added to the tea (yes I have drank from yixing cups before and that was enjoyable). Brewing yesterday was a bit of trial an error, my fingers got a bit burnt and I had to cut back on leaf and water but I eventually got some pretty good gongfu going last night. I had three sessions this morning before deciding to switch my leaf to the excess I had pulled out to dry last night. I rinsed the gaiwan with warm water but apparently not for long enough as when the water I had brought up to 200 degree hit the side of the gaiwan I heard a horrible pop and watched helplessly as my tea leaked onto the counter. Now I do mostly blame myself for this, but I will not be reordering this or another yixing clay porcalain lined gaiwan. For as striking as they may be, I honestly had a wierd feeling yesterday when I pulled this out of the package that it was frail and brittle, paper thin but not strong like bone china. The husband has graciously offered to order me another gaiwan, I will be selecting more carefully this time and am open to suggestions. I am just grateful that this was only $16 for the set and that the crack did not split the form, so it can sit on top of the tea hutch with its three thimble cups next to my bulky sage green dragon and phoenix yixing pot and cups, yep I’m a sucker for raised dragons. Sigh.

So it seems Teavana has changed this blend a few times in recent years. The combination described on this page with the Monkey Picked Oolong (Tieguanyin) is one I’ve been making myself for about a year, blending by the serving, not mixing a tin at a time. If I am feeling particularly patient I will start steeping the white and oolong first and add the green in the last 30 secs.

However Teavana only started using their Monkey Picked Oolong for this blend in late fall of 2011. What I have at home in a tin is the previous incarnation with Phoenix Mountain Dang Cong and while I have recently come to appreciate Dan Congs, I do not like this blend. The Gyokuro and the Dan Cong seem to be battling each other and while Gyokuro dominates the taste, they really bring out the worst in each other and plenty of astringency (and I’ve gotten very good at brewing Gyokuro so i don’t think its me).

Curiouser still, the ingredients list toward the bottom of Teavana’s page of this blend lists Eastern Beauty (which is now only available in a gift set) as the oolong, interesting, though not sure if it’s interesting enough to use my last serving this delicious Formosa to try it out.

In the end I think Monkey Picked works better than Phoenix Mountain but I really have come to prefer just pairing Gyokuro with Silver Needle, it seems fresher that way, maybe their new Thai Mountain Oolong would be a better option, it’s fresh, slightly creamy and has more of a wildflower than orchid flavor. May have to try that out next time I visit.

On the third day of tea-mas Angel gave to me, three Yun Nan Dian Hongs, two Bai Lin Gong Fu’s and a 75th tasting note! So yesterday my Verdant spring greens arrived, Monday the husband’s Upton samples came and today, quite unexpectedly the post man knocked and I signed for a box I wasn’t sure if I should be looking at, then I saw my name and all the stickers from customs and realized what it must be, my free TeaVivre samples!

Thank you so much to Angel and all the folks at TeaVivre for such a generous offer try new tea in exchange for reviewing them. Any company that offers samples, be they included with an order or offered at a very affordable price gets points in customer service in my book, this is the first I’ve come across that has offered them completely free (I understand this would be very impractical for smaller companies in the States). I will definitely be placing an order soon!

So this tea! This tea that is all the buzz on Steepster. This tea that has been on my shopping list for so long. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely! I am grateful for the four tiny serving packets, it makes things less intimidating. I feel comfortable diving into this tea knowing I have a serving that I can make for my husband strong, one that I can save for my gaiwan and for my guests (okay maybe two for guests).

Today though I semi-gongfu-ed this in the tea maker. I did a rinse, but was too curious and took a sip (or three) before pouring an offering into my cast iron cups, it was sweet and delicious and very promising. I wasn’t able to pinpoint the scents of the dried leaves though they were dark rich and lovely, the wet leaves though are unmistakeably dark rye, more salty smelling than sweet, but still very inticing.

Oh this tea is very well mannered, but not at all dull. This is a black tea that could convert coffee drinkers and white tea drinkers alike, it even reminds me a bit of coffee in this steep, but in the best and most gentle of ways. It is not the least bit rough, astringent or sour. It has cocoa and caramel, a hint of butter and yes bread-yness, something I don’t believe I’ve experienced before.

I’m on my second steep well and very pleased as second steeps haven’t been working out for me lately. This tea sings, it reminds me a bit of a Ceylon in that respect, there is a bit of spice but it is so velvety that reads more as cider (yes another Ceylon association for me). I really do think the husband will like this one and he couldn’t possibly tell me these short steeps taste like boiled rocks, or could he? I don’t understand how his tongue and brain work together.

Third infusion could have been a bit longer, but it is still very nice and there is promise in the bottom of the cup. Update: enjoying these later steeps this evening, these last two cups (steeps 5 and 6? at around 1 min each) are a bit more sweet and mineral and remind me of Verdant’s Yanxin’s Reserve ’04 Shu Nuggets in its angel food cake feel. Yum!

I look forward to introducing it to the husband, brother-in-law and possibly old co-workers, to comparing it the organic sample (I also think this would be interesting to compare to the newer harvest of Laoshan Black as it is a bit grainy) and some epic Yunnan sampling ahead. Thank you again Angel and TeaVivre, it is truly delicious!

Tea of the morning. Last three days I’ve been craving darker oolongs and have used the last of two dan congs (Chicago Tea Garden and Teavana and surprisingly I preferred Teavana’s) but I can’t bring myself to brew up any Verdant teas knowing I’m getting a gaiwan for Mother’s Day.

Cute story, the other day the husband texted me a photo of a horrid multi-colored gaiwan asking “This is what you want?” I responded with a heck no and got “Oh… I thought you wanted a gaiwan”, at that moment my toddler was playing a game on my phone so I didn’t respond, a couple mins later I got another text “Ahem, I thought you wanted a gaiwan” I took that as my cue to send the correct link and I’m pretty sure he then proceeded to order it.

So back to this morning, I was looking for the blend with Dan Cong, Silver Needle and Gyokuro, but grabbed my tiny tin of this first and decided it would do. We all got a few ounces when Teavana changed out the blends just before the holidays. It has some of my favorite teas in it, sure I would prefer Silver Needle to the pearls bit oh well.

I did a shorter steep on this, 30 secs and I still taste all the different tea, the “golden” part of Golden Jade is the most prominent, that is the black tea, but some orchid notes from the oolong come through and even a bit herbaceous white and mossy green can be found. We’ll see how it resteeps.

Of course it’s nowhere close to the dark oolong I was craving, but it seemed a nice balance, not too green, not too light and not a kick in the face. Will have to brew up the other blend too. Update: crap at reinfusing, not sure why. Have moved on to finish up a yellow tea sample. Also have organized stash.

First Yunnan sample I picked out for the husband. Cute snails, he thought they were creepy. We brewed a small amount, 8 oz which is perfect for our two 4 oz cups. I did a quick rinse then a one minute steep with slightly below boiling water, which is lucky really as I didn’t have the steeping parameters but knew my husband didn’t like super short steeps but I didn’t want to risk a long one so I planned on doing three infusions at 1, 2 and 3 mins each.

I probably could have used more leaf but the first infusion came out smooth, light and with a hint of honey sweetness. Husband said it was nice, but there was nothing remarkable about it and he definitely didn’t get vanilla, I figured it would come through in a later infusion.

So I rebrewed and my husband and I had the same reaction, we wanted to scrape our tongues to get rid of the feeling on them. I wouldn’t call it bitter, but it was an odd kind of astringent, it felt cool and the taste was pretty mild. Now I don’t care much for second steeps on most teas and the husband doesn’t like rein fusing British blends because of this similar feeling it yields. So while he ordinarily chalks it up to the quality or just the nature of black teas, I promised the third infusion would be better.

Not so, it had a little bit of a buttery mouthfeel but it turned dry and was bland. I experimented with a short steep to see if the tea had anything left to give, but no. Me thinks I abused it and shall treat what is left of it more kindly. I’m excited for him to try Verdant’s Yunnan blacks, but we both realized tonight was not the night.

I don’t usually have tea in the morning, it’s a shame really, but I wanted some this morning and I wanted it dark. I didn’t want to open any of the new Yunnans and I certainly didn’t want a Darjeeling or Nepalese tea. I thought about blending the last of my Lapsang Souchong with Earl Grey, no, with a hefty oolong. I pulled out this to smell, oh gods, no I must have you by yourself, now. And it is soooo good. It trumps all the Dan Congs, it reminds me of the Rou Gui and the Tung Ting this weekend and a little bit of Laoshan Northern Black and those are very good things to be reminded of. There is chocolate and cassia bark and roasted deliciousness and I’m only on the first 15 sec steep, but the smell of the leaves and the first cup were inspiring enough to write this. I will probable spend all day with this tea, I may not even eat (of course I’ll eat, I’m hypoglycemic and would pass out if I didn’t). I should note this was sent as a free sample about a month ago and is the "new"er crop, I still have some of the old one from February and would love to compare, but probable will not do a side by side today. Soo good though, so very good. Rating must be bumped.

From Wednesday, this tea is larger in appearance than the Palkum tips, it also had a stronger aroma and was more shimmering when I rinsed the leaves, if that counts for anything. Two competing flavors on the first steep were a mild cocoa and melon, more specifically honeydew and cucumber. This however was not chocolate dipped honeydew. Second steep was a bit more herbaceous, can’t pin point the herb but there was also some hay and asparagus (like really fresh crisp asparagus, not overcooked soggy limp spears my parents used to over steam, which turned me off of asparagus until quite recently) but the melon stands its ground as well with cocoa undertones fading away in the third infusion. An enjoyable enough white, but special? Not to me.

Tea of the afternoon. I tried this out in my new yixing pot and really should have known better to not try a new sample this way and that this particular yixing pot isn’t well suited to gongfu brewing. Too big, too bulky and it has a loose lid due to the strainer and that it is likely mass produced.

I bought the pot and it’s matching cups for their color and design (sage green with a dragon and phoenix) but it seemed a shame not to use them. I decided Dan Congs in general would be a safe bet to season it with, as I would likely always have one in the house, but like I said this pot is just not meant for it. So new oolong, I’m sorry, it’s not you it’s my pot. Luckily I still have half a sample left.

In all honesty the tea was still pretty good, not ruined by any means. The first few steeps were the best and they reminded me a bit of the oolongs I tried this weekend (my first Rou Gui and Tung Ting, both lovely, both brewed much better, because of proper tea ware at Essencha) in that there was a cassia note and some unami, but I also got pretty distinct orchid, honey and peach notes with mineral sweetness throughout. Must get gaiwan ASAP, followed by a tiny yixing pot or two.

Update sipdown: this smells so delicious, leaves a fantastic taste in my mouth once swallowed, but the taste before that? A bit disappointing, it’s green and slightly astringent and just doesn’t deliver on the promise of the smell which is so complex and roasted. Ah well.

Meh. This did not impress me much. I had two or three sessions and now it’s gone and I don’t even remember much about it. Not melony as that’s what stood out about the white I drank immediately after this. I think it was vaguely sweet with a bit of spice in later steeps. And the tips were very very tiny, but not broken as far as I could tell.

I do not normally log teas more than once, but the question of “What’s in your cup?” tempted me. I drank two infusions of this last night and am on my second for the morning. I have also decided to drink a green a day. I would love to drink white, green, oolong and pu’er everyday, but the way I brew (short steeps) I’d have a lot of wasted leaves or bladder issues.

I used to do more blends, Silver Needle, Gyokuro and Tiguanyin were my favorite and while I certainly have all the elements at home, I couldn’t imagine blending a tea like this. I want to be able to taste the soil of the land where this was grown, the mists that surrounded the leaves and the chlorophyll that was enhanced by shading the leaves while drying on an Autumn day. So while I may use up some of my Teavana greens that way, this however deserves to be savored.

And in an ongoing trend the husband thinks this tastes just like the others, mineral, I guess I love mineral, which is why I love short steeps, when i asked him to reinfuse this for me for 10 secs last night, he said “10 secs?! No wonder it didn’t taste like anything! But I guess that’s fine if you like boiled rocks” But as light and mineral as this is in the beginning, it still tastes so distinct from the nuggets and the yabao and by the second infusion it is already very “green”. Sigh I need some gongfu friends.

Dear gods this is delicious. So glad this is my introduction to shu pu’erh, because really this is heavenly. I have don’t know if I would have made the angel cake connection but its definitely there in the second steep and stronger in the third. It’s so light and sweet and vanilla-like and leaves the tongue with a cloud on it. Yep, heavenly.

The husband however continues to disappoint. I handed him a cup of this third infusion and though it’s totally darker than the clear yabao, after sipping it he says “This is the same as the last one you gave me”. Though he added it was more mineral. I asked if it was unpalatable to him and said “Not unpalatable, undesirable”. Further grounds for divorce.

This is fantastic (so glad I have two samples). This is like Bai Mu Dan and Shou Mei on crack. It’s Soooo sweet and a bit more herbaceous. Wet leaves smell like rosemary and artichoke and I taste candied rosemary and some melon in this third steep. Husband said it tasted like bath water or brewed rocks (okay so he may be onto something with the mineral note) and he does not taste the sweetness. How?! I’m getting a divorce.

First steep was for 15 secs but when I saw all the recommendations for longer steeps I set the timer for two minutes, however a smelled it at 1 mins declared it too good not to drink and set the tea maker on my mug. So glad I did! Third steep is just under two minutes. Would like to try it with tea in the cup and cold brewed in the future. I also would like to acquire more of this and age it. And I want a husband who has taste buds that work. Edit: sister stopped by and shared two steeps with me. She said it’s yummy. Also researching theanine and I do believe I am tea drunk. I <3 my yabao

This came as part of my Budset Sampler and I’m so glad it did as I was planning on ordering some for a friend anyway. I must disclose that I believe I am mildly allergic to jasmine, it tickles my throat and I had to stop drinking it last summer as it interfered with my sales (it could have been nerves but somehow I pinpointed it to when I was drinking jasmine, which was quite often). I meant to experiment if it was more intense during allergy season, but never did. Anywho, I can enjoy it in very small quantities, but one of my co-workers loves jasmine and silver needle so I knew she would love this.

I had our barista brew this up on an awful day when I was dizzy and sitting on the floor of the back room waiting for my husband to come pick me up. But the dried leaf and brew smelled heavenly and it was truly delicious, there were other notes like lilac or something. I would have loved to experience multiple steeps, but I left the leaf and the packet to her and she was ever so in love and reported back that it was amazing, so I just wanted to make note of that. I know she joined steepster awhile ago but I can’t find her on here (I know I can just ask). So Diane if you’re reading this, I would love to hear any additional thoughts on this tea ;)

Hmm I’ve been drinking this all day and I really liked the first steep. It really hit the spot, it was sweet and mineral and there was some cocoa I had no idea would make an appearance. The second was a little off at first but developed into a nice rich cup, the cocoa was still there but it was more roasty and woodsy and had a hint of I guess what others are describing as apricot, later there was a bit of a muscatel note that I was definitely smelling in the wet leaves (almost artichoke) the third had even more of this almost Darjeeling quality but it got smoother towards the end of the cup. The last half dozen or so though have reminded me more of really late steeps of a pu-erh and were kinda lackluster for me. Will revisit soon, but I think I might prefer the Huang Zhi.

Edit: just revived this with a one minute steep (had only got as high as 30 sec) with a bit more water for the leaves to move around in. Much better, will continue steeping this evening. Update: I actually got five more infusions out of this adding about 30 sec to each one after I got to a min, I ended at 3 mins for a grand total of I have no idea how many infusions but well over a dozen.

The husband asked to try some late last night as I refused to make him another breakfast tea. I suspected he would not appreciate it and told him as much. After two sips he told me your right I don’t and handed the cup back to me. I asked if he tasted anything and replied “yeah metal”, that particular cup was all sweet mineral with a bit of mint. I enjoyed the last of the infusions though they were very mild and reminded me of pu-erh (but in a better way this time) it was like drinking some of the essence of a very old forest.

Next time I shall up the steep time after the first three cups and use a bit more water to get the tea leaves in motion. Withholding a numerical rating until then. Now off to work, just three more shifts.

This was interesting, I couldn’t resist adding this sample to the cart with my husband’s British blends, as we had learned about the Sacher Torte feud in German class. I had one the Earl Grey Ceylon Select sometime with in the last week and this was definitely more mild. The Darjeeling wasn’t over muscatel, the Celyon not too winey, but it was nice, I felt kinda European drinking it. I tried a second steep and it was very light, but still drinkable.

So I enjoyed 13 or so sessions with this tea, five yesterday and the rest today. They were very quick steeps starting at 2 secs to 15 sec yesterday and only reaching a minute with the last two today. I used around two teaspoons of leaf to around 4-6 ounces of water, in the gravity tea infuser (read: Teavana perfect tea maker). The third and fifth infusions were probably my favorite, they were the most floral and green but I had some nice ones today as well that were more buttery and slightly spicy. For some reason I kept expecting this to be more than it was, which is a great spring Tieguanyin, like the Autumn harvest or another variety of oolong altogether (I had Oriental Beauty earlier in the day and I love how different it is), which is quite silly of me.

I actually brought this to work on Sunday and brewed it side by side with the Autumn harvest and go the tea makers switched around, but I was still pretty certain which was which, the Autumn was much more of a cool depth to it, but surprisingly they are both buttery. For fun we also brewed Teavana’s Monkey Picked Oolong, which I would assume is a Spring 2011 harvest (but who knows). Most of the co-workers preferred Verdant, except of course the boss lady who while she thought they were interesting commented, “I think ours is smoother, don’t you?”.

No actually not at all, I thought it was a little bit more pungent up front and finished quite dry, whereas Verdant’s two offerings left my tongue feeling silky and moist. mmmgood304 thought the dry leaf smelled like lilacs, I concur. Honestly it didn’t preform as well at work as it did at home, maybe it was the water, or the residue on the tea makers or the fact were were pouring out of paper cups into plastic sample cups, but it wasn’t until the third steep at home that I tasted the essence of spring and it was quite lovely.

I haven’t rated a tea in awhile and don’t feel like it tonight, so will probably withhold until the sipdown on this one. But I am impressed with the mouthfeel in early steeps and the sheer longevity of the leaves. I probably could have gone for several more infusions, but gosh I need to buy a gaiwan of a yixing pot. I am just grateful to be able to drink a tea picked this spring, just weeks ago, I find that amazing.

Tried this yesterday at work for two 15-30 sec infusions. So much better this way. Its all honey and orchid roasted goodness, instead of just rarr rarr roast. What can I say, I like my Dan Congs gungfu style. Adding chamomile blossoms and a bit of peach to the third steep was a mistake though (I wanted something for my headache). This was later redeemed when I poured the last of the peach momotaro pot into my cup, quite nice actually.

I have this from a gift set and had no plans for it, until today when I woke up feeling queasy and nothing sounded good to drink, except this. Its the only rooibos in the house and has ginger to boot. I tried this only once over the summer, decided it lacked body and moved on.

Yesterday when I was sampling someone commented that the didn’t like chai because it tastes like medicine. They didn’t try the sample, but the comment befuddled me, until this morning. I kinda get some sort of medicine from this, maybe honey and lemon cough drops? Ricola? Heh, I could see blending this with Swiss Vervaine Melange for a Ricola inspired tea and I’m not sure if its genius or disgusting.

Anywho, its fine that it reminds me a little of medicine, as that’s what I need right now. Before I started logging this I was reading about one of 52 Tea’s Lemon and Rooibos blends and I started tasting lemon in the cup, like really sweet lemon (it was just after taking a bite of pb&j. But yeah, definitely taste the lemongrass.

So in short, I am grateful for this tea this morning, but its nothing I would buy or pick off the tea wall as a free beverage at work. I will probably blend this with Maharaja Chai Oolong and Taj Masala Black at home. And I will probably blend this with Swiss Vervaine at work today or tomorrow and see what my cohorts reactions are (they always make odd dessert blends for others to evaluate, I just bring in higher quality straight tea for them to try).

This is such a well balanced cup, I get a bit of sweet cocoa from the Keemun, there’s a winey buzz from the Darjeeling, but mostly I get the high cider note from the Ceylon that unites the two. I don’t know where I get this cider Ceylon association, but I just finished my second steep and it was like a mulled cider, with just a bit of spice at the end. Going for a third! (Edit: didn’t translate well into a third, or a fourth, :shrug:)

I’m just enjoying my first steep of this and will edit note over several infusions today, but I just wanted to say how impressed I am with this. The first sip is light and sweet and has a sparkling mineral quality. There is also something smooth and savory going on, but its hard to pin point. I feel like I’m sipping on a glass of chardonnay, except I don’t think I like chardonnay or that this tastes anything like it, its more of an experience. Definitely silky, definitely something I could drink everyday. Wish I was sharing this with others. Ooo was that a hint of clove?

Second steep, much stronger and much more like what I’ve tried of pu-erh, which is very little. Mmm leather. I’ve been trying to discern other notes, but its all leather and that’s okay. It is also noticeably dryer than the first steep, but I tend not to like second steeps as much as first and all that come after (with the recent exception of Leadenhall). Brewed leaves did have that sweet, sweaty horse smell btw. Ah tiny bit of caramel and wood at the bottom of the cup.

Mmm getting the spice on the tongue and woodsy scent in the cup now. Something is reminding me of sandalwood and amber? Yes it is a little musty, but I’m also tasting mint and… lilac? Love the complexity.

Didn’t care much for the fourth or fifth steep last night, they were more barnyard and winey. Husband wanted a British blend after dinner, so I switched to that. I did a quick rinse and a bit longer steep this morning and it was quite nice, back to light and mineral with subtle undertones of everything else, wood, wine and leather. May try a few more this afternoon, but so far first and third were my favorites.