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It occurred to me that I can’t be completely uninterested in oolongs, since I like this one. I got home from work and running errands today totally beat. All I wanted was a nap. Barring that, a decent cup of tea. But not something too caffeinated, but nothing herbal. And none of my new Christmas teas, since those are on a self-imposed off-limits until (you guessed it) Christmas. So I returned to an old standby favorite, remembering that it was oolong to see if I had the same sort of unenthusiastic reaction to the tea that I had to the DT Vanilla Oolong.

And I didn’t. I quite enjoyed it. It hit the spot very well indeed, which leads me to wonder if the DT Vanilla Oolong wasn’t just a victim of poor timing on my part. I’ve been wanting dark, malty teas in the morning ever since I got the DT Assam Banaspaty, and an oolong just wasn’t going to cut it. So the DT Vanilla Oolong might go back on the shopping list for another, better timed try.

So, this tea? I tasted cinnamon. I think. Not just unidentifiable spicy warm flavor, but cinnamon. I’m going to be crushed if the first flavor note I think I’ve ever authentically identified without prompting or without guessing at it turns out to be wrong. Something just said “cinnamon”. So I may be developing a bit of a palate after all.

This is so good. It is definitely going on my to-buy list. I can taste the walnut, and the coconut along with the green tea. I don’t get any bitterness from the tea or from the walnut, which is surprising, actually. Other nut flavored blends, since if they have walnut in them I often taste a bit of bitterness that I’ve always associated with walnuts. So maybe I was wrong in my past associations, or David’s Tea just did an excellent job with this tea. I’m definitely going to get more of it. Eventually.

This one is good, though somewhat weak. I think I need to double up on the number of tea bags I used. I am surprised the color of the liquor is so light, given that it has roasted barley in it. The smell is like sugar cookies, though much gentler than the smell from the tea bag itself. It also tastes sweet, though that may just be the aftereffects of the bunch of homemade marshmallows that I had. The vanilla sugar flavor of the marshmallows highlights the vanilla sweetness of the tea. Interesting. Even though it has that slightly sweet flavor, I can still really taste the barley—it gives it a warmth and depth of flavor that I really quite like. This makes two of the Celestial Seasonings teas I may have to stock up on before the holiday season is over. Next up to try is the Gingerbread Spice Tea. Can it possibly compare to Candy Cane Lane and Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride? I don’t know. Part of me hopes not, because I’m running out of room in my tea cabinet (okay, I ran out of room a while ago. You know what I mean.)

I had this at a friend’s house while we were making caramels and marshmallows and gingerbread (oh my!). The experience? Was wonderful. The tea? Merely meh. I must have oversteeped it. I wasn’t really paying attention what with the caramel-y goodness going on. It tasted bitter and vaguely unpleasant. Ah well. Can’t complain too much—an afternoon of friends and candy goodness can’t possibly be spoiled by a subpar cup of tea.

This is my tea for mid-afternoon (as opposed to my upcoming late afternoon/early evening tea). Creamy vanilla minty delicious green tea! I am so glad I saw all the swooning reviews on Steepster. I likely wouldn’t have gotten it otherwise.

I can’t believe I forgot my tasting note for this tea! In a word: yummy. Mild, mostly apple, with just a hint of nuts. Maybe I was imagining the nut flavor based on the name, but whatever. I got a glimpse of the crazy pink color, but I was pouring it in my stainless steel to-go mug so I only literally got a glimpse. I bet it is gorgeous in a clear mug.

My one quibble is actually about the color. Knowing it had beetroot in it for color made me sure I could taste beets. Not my favorite food, even when drowned in a good dill vinaigrette and accompanied with gorgonzola cheese. Every sip, I’d have ghosts of beet chasing the apple flavor. Enough so that I had to wonder, ‘did I just taste beet? How about now? Or now?’ It got rather annoying. I would much prefer a different color tea without beet. Since I clearly cannot be trusted to separate the idea of what I may taste with what I’m actually tasting.

Wow. I was not impressed with this. I think I’ve discovered a category of tea I don’t particularly care for. I just wasn’t feeling the love for oolong. Even with vanilla, one of my favorite flavors. Weird. It was….boring. I just felt sort of meh about it. I drank it, and didn’t even think about resteeping, even though I know oolongs are supposed to be good resteepers. I didn’t hate it, I just don’t feel overly compelled to seek out more oolongs. Not like other types of teas I’ve had, where even if I don’t like it, I can still see trying more like it in the hopes I’ll find something. I just don’t care about oolong. The basic tea flavor wasn’t enough to entice me to want more. Oh well. Can’t like everything, I suppose.

I fixed a pot of this yesterday afternoon and promptly fell asleep, so I drank it later on in the evening warmed up in the microwave (wince). In between the nap and the drinking, it lost that pu-erh fishy, earthy smell. It didn’t smell like much of anything at all. Surprisingly, it didn’t taste like much at all. Mainly like strong tea. Not leathery, not fishy, not musty or earthy. Weird. It was a definite reminder of the way that smell impacts the taste.

I resteeped the leaves this morning after reading that pu-erhs are good resteepers. This cup has more of the pu-erh flavors and scents. Definitely musty and earthy. Not bad, actually. I am quite enjoying it. I was really skeptical after I opened up the bag of tea and took a whiff. It was really fishy and off-putting. I don’t know that pu-erhs will ever be a staple in my cupboard, but I definitely wouldn’t mind trying more.

I got a cup of this while I was at Teavana buying some Capital of Heaven Keemun (swoon). This isn’t bad, the smell of the dry mix was very fruity-chocolately-intense, with the smell of the brewed tea being only slightly less intense.

The chocolate and chili are very apparent on drinking, especially the chili, it has a nice little bite to it. I don’t really taste the fruit in the sip. The unfortunate thing? It has a really heavy mouthfeel and aftertaste. I’m not so much a fan of this aftertaste that the tea has going on. I’m glad I tried it, but I don’t think it is for me.

Sorry if this spoils anyone, but today’s DT offering was Buttered Rum. Finally! A black tea! I was so relieved. I’d really wanted a break from the greens.

DAMN. This is delicious. The dry tea smells amazing, the brewed tea smells amazing, and it tastes amazing. I really get the butteriness, which I really wasn’t expecting to taste. The buttered rum doesn’t overpower the tea base though. This is definitely going on the to-buy-again list.

Now I want a hot buttered rum.