Donna A

Finally getting around to doing some notes on this outstanding Yunnan black-I was waiting until I had time to try it iced, as recommended by Verdant, but too many teas and not enough time, so never have had it iced. Unlike Laoshan Black, I prefer this Western style for a stronger cup, rather than Gong Fu. I measured out 4 gms for 8 oz water with my precise scale, since it is hard to measure this type leaf with a teaspoon. No bitterness whatsoever. Good flavor for several infusions. Really nice refined Yunnan black-I can pick up a little sweet potato, but I will leave the more detailed descriptions of flavor nuances to others more talented. Let’s just say, I like this a lot.

Thanks for the sample Azzrian. I like vanilla quite a bit in foods, but I don’t tend to favor it in teas unless it’s part of a more complex tea, such as vanilla caramel. So, for my taste, this is nothing special. I was a little put off by the dry leaf smell. For most teas, other than chais, I don’t add dairy, but based on other’s tasting notes, I added some cream and stevia which made it acceptable, but nothing I’d go out of my way to have again. For those that like vanilla teas, this may hit the spot nicely.

In a word, this tea is superb. I adore this tea. I ordered it loose, and the fact that it comes in a beautiful 4 oz tin is icing on the cake. Everyone has a different opinion on the ideal Earl Grey, but I’ve been testing a lot of them lately, and this is my favorite so far. I made it exactly as recommended, 5 min. steeping with boiling water. I used 1 tsp in 8 oz. Not the least bit bitter-just the right amount of bergamot. Excellent hot or cold. Perfection. I can’t wait to try the other 7 selections from Harney & Sons, my first experience with this company.

I was very excited to get my box from Azzrian, and I’m pretty adventurous, so I’ll try any kind of loose tea. However I confess I was skeptical on this one-that is, I prepared myself not to like it. I like rootbeer, but licorice and chicory? Not too sure about that. Even the name butterbeer (and I know it’s from Harry Potter and all that), but butterbeer doesn’t sound appetizing to me. So with my sights set pretty low, I brewed this up (steeped 3 minutes), took a sip, and then as always, added some sweetener-wow, how about that! Pretty good stuff. Then a little milk, since others suggested that. Well, I like it both ways, and once it got to room temp I saw it’s potential as a cold tea too. It was fine unsweetened, but you don’t get the full rootbeer effect without sweetening it. I could see ordering it if it were available again, because it’s quite a novelty. It tastes just like rootbeer to me, and I think the college kids in my family and their friends would get a kick out of it too. As long as you like rootbeer, I think you’ll like this. Oh, and I got 2 steepings. So once again, thanks to Azzrian. Without that box she sent, I would never have tried this, and I have some more left to share with my kids when they are home.

This is another one that came in my box from Azzrian. My husband and I certainly have different tastes in tea. We do like some of the same ones, but he never sweetens anything except the occasional iced tea. Oolongs are his favorite. I made this one up for him, double strength, since he likes his tea strong. He thought it was a winner, said it had a lot of flavor-he is not one to get into specifics though. I took a little sip and thought it had a light smokiness, but he didn’t pick up on that. Not sure if this is really to my taste, but I’ll try it again before I make a final verdict. It won’t go to waste because my husband will finish it off. You can get at least 3 steepings from it.

Thanks to Azzrian, I’m trying my first tea from Sweden. It is a mellow,smooth black tea, with some pleasing citrus and floral notes. In researching Soderblandning, I found that it was created by mistake by a tea shop owner in 1979 and is very popular in Sweden. Typically the base is a blend of Chinese and Ceylon black teas with the addition of blue petals of cornflower and yellow petals of marigold as well as orange rind, but this can vary. I was splitting a 4 1/2 gram sample with my husband to make about 14 oz of tea, and although it was very nice, if I had more, I would make it stronger-probably 3 gm/8 oz. Glad I had the chance to try it.

Thanks for the sample Azzrian. I was careful not to brew this too long or at too high a temperature, which resulted in a tea with a lively fresh apple flavor that was not bitter. My husband gave it the thumbs up unsweetened, and I preferred it with a little sweetener. I thought the apple came out more after it had cooled down. It is not a spiced tea like some of the other apple teas I’ve tried. If you like fruity green teas,it’s pretty good and you should check it out. I can’t really detect the green tea base too much-the apple flavor dominates.

Thanks Azzrian for sharing! After trying another Earl Grey Cream, and now this one, I think I prefer the non-cream Earl Greys, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with this one. I think the quality is fine. For those who like the more subdued flavors of an Earl Grey Cream, it’s worth trying. I steeped it at 2 min. 45 seconds and got no bitterness.

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I’m glad to see the tasting notes up and running again. I drank Pumpkin Pie Black again yesterday and enjoyed it even more, so I’ll bump up the rating. The first time I had it, I had the expectation of a stronger, more spicy Chai like tea, whereas this is more subtle, but it is wonderfully flavorful and I kept drinking cup after cup. The key is not to over-steep. I found just under 3 minutes was good.

Second time with this delicious chai. A really satisfying blend. I like it as a warm latte, frothed with an oz or 2 of milk and some sweetener (I use stevia). I need to get some more of this! I like it that you can purchase Teajo samples and they are generous -about 10 cups in a packet I would say.

Enjoyed several steepings of this wonderful Dragonwell today. I’ve been on such a black tea binge, that I almost forgot how satisfying a really good green tea can be. One of my favorite greens!

I tried this several ways and have decided I prefer it sweetened and cold, which is how I’m drinking it now. It’s definitely fruity with just a bit of spice and doesn’t taste artificial, but I can’t identify specifically that it’s cranberry. Warm is not bad, but cold is best. With milk added, the flavors become too subdued for my taste, even when made double strength. When I ordered this, I had in mind a nice warm autumn type chai for a chilly day, but instead, I really think it is best as a refreshing cold drink any time of year.

Thanks to Teas from Taiwan for the sample of Shan Ling Xi Oolong. I brewed this gong fu style for 7 steepings and started with 50 seconds at 195 for the 1st. There is some astringency which is more pronounced in the first steeping and very slight in subsequent steepings-not in a bad way. I am able to find the smooth buttery quality and floral notes as described in the product description, but not the smokiness. Overall,a nice smooth oolong with no off flavors or bitterness. These days, I always seem to lean to blacks, so given the phase I’m in, I’m not sure any oolong is going to wow me, but I appreciate the chance to try it.

Second time with this tea. I don’t think my first review even did it justice. I just love the delicious apple cinnamon cake scent. Liberteas notes described it well. So good!

I love chocolate, especially in the form of a dark chocolate piece of candy, but I haven’t been that impressed with the few chocolate teas I’ve tried. Since Teajo offers well priced generous samples, I included this one in my order. I’m glad I did. The sample is enough for 10-12 cups, allowing me to experiment. I prepared this in several ways, and it was great in each case. I had it straight and then with sweetener. Then I made it double strength, added sweetener and a splash of 1/2 and 1/2 and used my frother to make a warm latte. Not quite as satisfying as a piece of chocolate, but really quite good. I haven’t been disappointed by Teajo so far-the quality and service have been excellent. I would like to see them offer a few more unflavored Indian black teas as well-they have only one at this time, and it is good, but I love to try new black teas and have not had much experience with Indian teas.

This is a really nice Chai. The first time, I made it with a teaspoon of tea and steeped it for 3 min in water at the boil. The black tea base that they use for their tea is nice and never bitter. The spices are not overdone. It is well balanced and on the milder side, but flavorful. Next, I made it double strength, and not having any milk, I added a splash of 1/2 and 1/2. I really like it this way. I appreciate that I could get a great cup of Chai without going to the trouble of preparing it on the stove in the traditional way. Teajo now offers samples for sale which give you about 10-12 cups per sample. I ordered 6 different tea samples from them and have been happy with all of them. I like the generous sample size because I can experiment a little and try it more than once before deciding whether to buy more.

I’ve been saving my sample of this award-winning organic Bai Mu Dan for the right evening. As I pour this pale gold tea, it’s delightful fragrance has me in anticipation. I almost think I catch a faint whiff of brown sugar. The taste is smooth, creamy and natural.Yummy, this is truly reminiscent of fresh cantaloupe from summertime. The second steep is equally flavorful. A wonderful blend that with a little sweetener is perfect for a dessert tea, but hubby likes it straight too.

I appreciate the samples sent by Tea from Taiwan. They arrived pretty quickly. Our postman required a signature, which also happened the first few times we received tea from Teavivre, but not any longer. Anyway, I prepared this Gongfu style, rinsing first, then steeping the whole 7 gm sample in my Gaiwan for 25s,35s,45s, 90s, 120s x 2. It has a pleasing gentle scent and is the color of honey. My husband, who drinks tea unsweetened and enjoys oolongs a lot,thought it was very nice from the start. I sweeten my tea and needed the longer steep times to fully appreciate this tea. I found the warm honey notes to be very pleasing and also picked up on a bit of a toasty flavor in later steepings. We stopped at 6 or 7 infusions, though I think it may have been possible to get more because there was plenty of flavor in the last cup. The Tea from Taiwan website gives detailed instructions about brewing oolongs Gongfu style-I did not see this information until after we had made the tea, but fortunately, we had been pretty close to their recommendations

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I’ve prepared this several times and it makes a great dessert treat when lightly sweetened. I lean toward blacks and oolongs primarily, but this is very nicely done. Delicate notes of cream/vanilla with a mild green tea base and of course, more than a hint of pistachio to make it interesting.I got this when it was on sale and am glad I did. Very nice selection.

Delicious Earl Grey. I preferred it at just under the recommended 3 min. steeping time. At 2 min. and 50 seconds, I avoided any bitterness but got plenty of flavor. I gather that people have strong opinions about Earl Greys-some like the Bergamot to being very strong and others like it more subtle. To me this one is just right, but that’s just me. At this point, this one is a favorite, but I haven’t tested that many. Just as with trying to find the perfect pumpkin spice, I also see myself trying many more Earl Grey teas, just out of curiosity.

A very tasty tea with a good balance of spices. The tea base is a good quality-I like that it is an organic Chinese tippy tea, and it is not prone to any bitterness at all.