Tea Leaves

My second from the March Monstrositea box and I gotta say, my expectations were low—which could be part of why I’m so blown away by this tea! Hooray!

I really shy away from almond flavouring so I wasn’t planning on being a fan of this flavoured black at ALL, but there’s just enough of a hint of almond that dances sweetly with the vanilla bean (literally chopped-up beans), with a touch of sugar to really bring out the sweetness and a dash of milk, this one smashes my expectations to pieces.

This is what I wish T2’s Melbourne breakfast was like, I think. Pretty glad to have a replacement by a little guy! Would definitely restock once I’m through my current black flavoureds.

An organic Chun Mee in the morning at work. Not the best tasting tea, somewhat acrid and not much taste beyond that.

I was pretty sure that this dragonwell is the same as the one I used to get from Teas & Tisanes, but I’m a bit disappointed with my first cup of this one. It’s not nearly as subtle as the dragonwell from The Tea Centre that I had the other day, but it’s also lacking in the strength of flavour that I used to get from the Teas & Tisanes dragonwell. I think I’ll have another go at brewing this one, maybe steeping a fraction longer – this time I steeped for two minutes at 70C – before making up my mind about it.

Brews up into a pale pink-ish brown liquor. It’s slightly sweet and sort of mildly tangy, so I suppose it delivers the promised flavour, but it’s leaving me pretty underwhelmed. Steeped for two minutes at 85C.

This produces a liquor that’s a lot darker than many other green teas, and a medium brown in colour rather than yellow. Has an astringent note to it that left an aftertaste that I wasn’t too keen on. I think next time I’ll try it at a slightly lower temperature and with a shorter steeping time than is recommended on the tin and see if I like it better.

The dry leaves have a great aroma, and you get a similar scent from the first steeping – but the taste really lets things down and is a lot less flavourful. Not terrible, but I was really hoping for a bit more from this tea.

I quite like this tea. It is has a delicate flavour, lovely fragrance & is best enjoyed slightly cool.

This is one of the better flavoured greens I’ve had from Tea Leaves. The cherry flavour is there, but it’s not overpowering, and leaves a pleasant aftertaste. It worked out really well this time at 85C for four minutes.

This is actually not bad. The cherry is mostly just a hint lurking in the background, which is good, since I think if it was any stronger this tea would start to remind me unpleasantly of cough mixture.

This is a really interesting green tea, mainly because it doesn’t really taste all that much like a green tea. The flavour is more like the lightest of black teas, or perhaps the strongest of white teas. There’s a definite thread of astringency running through it, though, so it’s important to treat it as the green tea that it is when you brew it.

This is a really individual tea. I can’t think of another green tea that’s anything much like it at all.

It’s somehow been three months since I last drank this tea, which is a shame, because it’s a good one. Smooth to taste, with just a touch of (welcome) astringency in the aftertaste. There’s also a tiny hint of something that’s more like a black tea in the flavour. Steeped for three minutes at 80C.

I ended up making this with water at a slightly lower temperature than I’d intended – 71C – but it turned out well, anyway. The liquor is a golden yellow, with a smooth, slightly malty taste that leaves a little astringency behind it. I’ll definitely be re-visiting this one.

A pleasant white tea, delicate and sweet but with nothing about it that makes it really stand out from other decent white teas. The first pot was steeped for a couple of minutes in water at 68C. The second pot was steeped for significantly longer – almost ten minutes – in water at 82C; it had a stronger flavour and I liked it better.

The leaves are silvery and possess the distinctive curly shape, and they brew up into a yellow-brown liquid that reminds me a lot of white peony/pai mu tan. The taste also reminds me a lot of a good loose-leaf pai mu tan. The aftertaste gets progressively more bitter as you get to the end of the pot; I found the second steeping a lot more gentle. This is a green tea that will definitely appeal to lovers of white tea.

The tea leaves are really pretty, like potpourri, and smell strongly of passionfruit. They produce a lovely yellow brew. Sadly, none of this translates into the taste. This tea had very little taste of fruit, tea or anything else. It was just a really, really dull drink. What a disappointment!

Okay, so I drank some more of this. I want to like it more than I do. It’s so-so. I’m a bit disappointed with it.

Still undecided about this one. At first sip, it doesn’t seem like much. It’s mild, like all white teas, and seems less flavourful than some, but there’s something about it that kept me drinking. Nothing for it but to have another cup…

Revisited this old friend last night. This was one of the first flavoured green teas I ever tried, years ago, and it still has a place in my cupboard. The honey sets off the sencha really well, giving a sweet, smooth flavour, and makes this tea more forgiving than unflavoured sencha if you happen to steep it for a minute or two longer than intended.

A comforting drink for a sore throat.

Revisiting this old friend. This time I made the mistake of trying this at a slightly lower temperature – 65C – and bleurgh. No flavour at all. Back to the usual brewing method next time!