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About to start in on my second cup of dragonwell for the day. So green and lovely, just like all the plants outside where I’d rather be than inside working…

Mmm. After a cherry cobbler this has a distantly smoky taste, not gunpowder smoky, just… distant & lazy. Nice, big round, forest-y (but not pine-y) green today.

It looks like dragonwell, it tastes like a dragonwell, but until I can have a work friend translate the tin (hopefully it’s Chinese on it!), I won’t know for sure. We’re going to roll with dragonwell for the moment though. A friend brought it and some other lovely teas back for me from Singapore. It’s been a long time since I picked up dragonwell, I don’t know why, because I do really enjoy it. Mmmm. Dragonwell!

This was just the pick me up I needed earlier this evening chez my mum and dad… Thumbs up.

I have no idea what tea this is, it’s in an unlabelled canister. I am sure it has been sitting in my parents’ pantry for at least 2 years. And yet, it is quite pleasant to drink. It’s not subtle or nuanced… it’s strong and kind of biscuity. I am not game to try it without milk though. Sugar would probably go well but I haven’t really felt the need to add any. Just goes to show that a decent cup of tea can turn up in the most unexpected places.

These are my roommate’s and they’re not in their original container so I’m not sure where they’re from. Typical jasmine tea taste though (and jasmine tea is one of my very much favorites)

Don’t know who I bought this from – it’s in an old tin. But it’s good and strong and mostly Kenyan and a sure way to celebrate the day!

This is the basic tea that is served at Japanese schools, so I drink it whenever I have lunch with my students or teachers’ meetings. I appreciate this tea, as it was really my first foray into no-frills, unsweetened tea for the sake of tea… but I’ve been spoiled by Samovar’s Yuzu Sencha and was surprised to find myself a little bit disappointed in the regular old sencha this time around. I hope it forgives me.

This is a really, really pleasant icebox tea. Had a quart ready for chugging after this morning’s kid duty, and after loading and unloading our Shabby House futons at the church mission house—our turn to bless somebody else.

I’m still thinking this is is more like uncarbonated Dr. Pepper than Coke. As to brand, not sure, but since it’s from my fave health food place, either Frontier Natural Products or San Francisco Herb Co. Also well in the Cheapster Steepster range—less than a buck an ounce.

A bulk buy at favorite local health food store. I marked it as a rooibos simply because of the visual resemblance; I don’t know that for a fact. It does have a thick, rich red tea base, but smells more like Dr. Pepper with cinnamon, and does have a flat Coke taste. Still a nice change for the transition between heavy tea season and lighter spring flavors.

Happy Chinese New Year guys! Still holiday season!
In our new year party, I made my favorite party beverage, chrysanthemum tea. Most of my friends are not frequent tea drinkers. Chrysanthemum tea is exotic, but not too strange to most of them. In Chinese “health theories”, rarely a tea should accompany a meal. Instead, it should be taken before or after. However, chrysanthemum tea is always good for meals. After all, it’s herbal “tea”.
This time, I think I really made it well. I throw some goji berries in, not in the brewing pot, but in the water pitcher. So the goji was brewed not directly by boiling water, but by hot liquor of chrysanthemum. In this way, the goji berries contributed to the final taste as well as maintained its own texture. The chrysanthemum tea last night had clean, fragrant herbal flavor, with a sweet aftertaste. Goji berries randomly ran into the cup. Their flavor was entirely blended with the chrysanthemum, and the berries chewed like raisins. I put in some rock sugar, for which I actually regretted, after finding out some friends can’t have sugar.

Next time, I will omit sugar. Chrysanthemum bears a natural sweet aftertaste, which, although different from sugar’s sweetness, does bring some satisfaction to sweet tooth. Chrysanthemum is considered a super healthy herb in China. Without sugar, the tea will be absolutely healthy :D But it doesn’t hurt to have a little bit of sugar, or honey, or maple sugar :D

(I used around 10-15 dry flowers, brewed in a 17oz teapot, and put all 4.5 infusions in a used wine glass bottle, and left it outdoor in snow pile for a few hours.)

(It’s “unknown” source but chrysanthemum can be obtained from many sources, including tea vendors and Asian grocery stores.)

One minute I’m discussing US presidents on-line, one thing leads to another, John Qunicy Adams leads to Quince Roobos. Now it’s in my cup.
Sweet, fruity, relaxing. I love this stuff. This brew is filling my office with cheery fruity cheer. A quick check of my tea cupboard shows that I have about 50grams of this left and a full kilo of the Wild Cherry version. I wish it was the other way around.

“inherited” these jasmine pearls when I moved out of my old apartment in November. I have no clue where they come from. I originally thought they might be the pearls we were selling at Dobra (from Tao of Tea), but these pearls are not as delicious as the Tao of Tea ones, so they can’t be!!!
Still, as the first tea of the day, accompanying my english muffin with homemade guava-prickly pear jelly, these precious pearls are a refreshing and romantic pick-me-up. A tea that coaxes the senses to wake and engage with the world. People poo-poo jasmine too much. But a classic is a classic for a reason.

This is one of my all time favorite teas. In fact I’m enjoying a cup of it right now.

I am finishing this up tonight. In the past I have had issues with this tea not really having a vanilla taste, so I decided to assume that would be the case this time and added a spoon of chocolate malt powder and a splash of milk. It actually turned out decent. I will most likely finish out this tea with a second infusion made the same way. I think I am still on the lookout for a great vanilla tea though.

Had this with breakfast. Its good, just not strong enough for a breakfast tea, much better suited to afternoons and evenings.

Third infusion – a bit weak for my taste. Not bad, just weak. I will probably continue to infuse this tea 3 times, but not a fourth.

The smell of the dry leaves is a very sweet vanilla with barely a noticeable amount of black tea. After steeping, you smell more of the black tea, but the vanilla is still there. The black tea is not overwhelming, you can still taste the vanilla. I notice a toasted nut taste that I wouldn’t have expected from the scent. The tea is very smooth and full-bodied like coffee.

Very simple and delicious!

This tea seemed to have good intentions. On the outset, the tea had a strong, pleasant, light flowery scent. Flavor initially very sweet which became more elusive as tea cooled. Overly-flowery aroma and flavor grew in unpleasantness with each infusion. Very bitter aftertaste. A good (bad ?) example of why some may avoid green tea. A most unpleasant experience.

…it is slightly scented with jasmin.The tea leafs itself don’t have a very strong flavor or taste.A remark that I put in the tea’s describtion.It is quite a prizy purchase (125g for 20$US…bought in China)that,without the jasmin scent,would leave one quite disappointed.
However…the awakening effect that this tea has is simply incredible.It’s like after 3 cups espresso…I can feel my blood busily pumping through my veins…WoW!
The brews that one gets out of one portion of leafs seem endless…the color of the tea gets stronger after each brew.
I was very carefull with the water temperature.Next time I will go higher.