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I drank this last night at work. The first steep was fine, but the second steep was really good! I used significantly cooler water than the first steep, and once it had steeped for somewhere around 2.5 minutes I let it cool in the cup. I will definitely be making iced-tea using this tea in the near future.

As it turns out, I did not misbrew this tea last time. This is what I might call a solid “tea” flavored tea. It really does have that aluminum kind of taste to it. The only thing that I can possibly relate it to is the way a (traditional) martini feels along the side of the mouth. It’s a good solid black tea, especially if you’re looking for what I;d asked for: A non-floral black tea.

The temperature and steeping time seems to be fairly forgiving, so in that sense it is a good standard to to keep around, especially if you just gotta have a cuppa righta nowa.

Okay, today i think I finally understand what I was being told about the “front of the mouth” flavor. It’s not so much the vast difference in the kind of taste, but the location of taste. Yes, that what the phrase should have indicated to me, but I can be daft. So this tea is not my favorite of the two. It is very picky with brewing time and temp. It also sees to need to be drunk with a small range of time after cooling in the cup for a bit.

So those might seem like detractors, but the tea is very very nice! The flavor is hard to describe due to my poor palate. That being said it reminds me of spring, in the same way that Japanese green teas remind me of hot summer. The flavor is crisp like a fresh ripe granny smith apple, tart too. It has nearly no lingering taste or texture, and the bright almost fluorescent green color of the leaf in the liquor is very attractive. I think in the future if I have to choose between several varieties of Darjeeling I might not choose this one, although it is wonderful. I got exactly what I wanted out of this one, and if you prefer front of the mouth flavor, I recommend it.

I have yet to do a true test on this tea, but today I did at least give it some variation. I let it steep for three minutes, outside my tea-monger’s recommendation. I also let it cool a little before drinking it. Yeah this tea is wonderful. Again I still taste that sorrel taste, actually it reminds me of lamb’s tongue (also known as lamb’s ear). It kind of reminds me of rose petals, or rose perfume in taste.

Second steeping!
Mellow, full flavor. Much improved (from what was already very tasty).
I let this cool in the cup a little longer and I think that may be a part of the change.
There is a lot more of that “flavor of the sea” taste, much greener, but still the toasty “clean barn” is there. So glad I tried this!

This is a first for me, and I’m glad I tried it. The flavor reminds me of sembei (or O-sembei if you prefer). It is, well toasty, yes, but it has what I’m calling a “clean barn” taste. It has that taste that reminds me of the combined smells of dry haw, old wood, and worn leather. It definitely has that “flavor of the sea” that Japanese green teas have (in my opinion), and it’s a good thing. This is all after the first steep. I will steep at least twice more, and report on my findings. Or, I may have a stroke from all the tea I;ve been drinking. Either way.

This is part of my first foray into loose Darjeelings. I’m not sure how to describe the tea, and I think before I give it a numerical rating I will have to drink it several times. There is a certain flavor, not unlike sorrel, that I really like. The flavor of this tea seems to be more full, and perhaps this is the contrast between “front of the mouth” and, um, not front of the mouth that the tea monger mentioned. This tea’s flavor seemed more accessible somehow. At any rate I enjoyed it very well. I have yet to give it a full “stress test”, and when I do I will write a fuller report

This is part of my first foray into loose Darjeelings. I’m not sure how to describe the tea, and I think before I give it a numerical rating I will have to drink it several times. There is a certain flavor, not unlike sorrel, that I really like. I will say that is has a naturally sweet aspect to it. I very much enjoyed it, and will continue to enjoy it this week. I have yet to give it a full “stress test”, and when I do I will write a fuller report.

I think I may have misbrewed this one. It had that pure-black tea taste that really only describes itself. The aroma in the package was that sweet tobacco, dried raisin smell, but when brewed it didn’t seem to have that flavor. It was tasty, and deserving of more attention than I gave it. It also had a hint of aluminum. Seriously, not just metallic flavor, but aluminum specifically. It wasn’t unpleasant (the aluminum), but I think it points to a misbrew rather than a fault with the tea.

I’ve been drinking this tea quite a bit, still finding it wonderful. Tonight I intentionally used significant cooler water, I’d have to guess that the temp ran about 170. The taste was dramatically effected! It had much more of the vegetal taste, the mouth feel was almost viscous, and while I wouldn’t say that it was sweet, I would say that it wasn’t bitter at al – and the flavor lasted as the drink cooled (big plus for that factor!)

Another good tea from the “bagged” tea world. When compared to other bagged teas this is a real champion. Consistent mouth-feel, flavor, color, and very easy to brew. I have had worse loose teas.

I would describe it as (and in all cases mildly) caramel, floral, and barky. It has that general “black tea” taste. That was not “generic” it was general.

Worth keeping in the cupboard, cuz sometimes you just gotta have a quick cuppa.

This continues to be part of my sore-throat medicine regime. For purely medicinal reasons I have been dissolving one or two tablets of “Fisherman’s Friend” menthol lozenges in my mug – I assure you this is not for taste, but rather for delivery method. You find a remarkably similar post to this regarding Twinings Herbal Revive: lemon and ginger

This continues to be part of my sore-throat medicine regime. For purely medicinal reasons I have been dissolving one or two tablets of “Fisherman’s Friend” menthol lozenges in my mug – I assure you this is not for taste, but rather for delivery method. You find a remarkably similar post to this regarding Twinings Pure Peppermint

Got this to help my sore throat and cough. Nice flavor, a bit dull. Theraputic effect as desired, nothing special beyond that.

Minty, but oily. Used this to help my sore throat, did the job.

Okay, this proves it. This is an amazing tea that really needs careful brewing. Exactly two minutes in very hot water. Let it cool a little bit, but then drink while still quite warm. Today I added whole milk and some sugar, and while they made it a sweet treat, I highly recommend that those of you interested in trying a Lapsang for the first time try this one, and brew as directed above. (and previously)

This tea is a disappointment. It smells like it should be very minty. I’ve tried brewing this several ways. Decreased heat, increased heat, decreased time, increased time – nothing works. It’s taste is oily, and muddy. There is a minty flavor to it, but its not the good taste of fresh mint leaves. It’s more like the old colgate that’s dried out on your toothbrush.

If you want an easy bagged “mint and tea” tea, just get a bag of a real mint infusion (you know, the box will say mint herbal tea – but won’t have any tea in it) and brew it with a bag of your favorite bagged black in a double sized mug.

This tea was prepared for me in the following way. Leaves were put into a metal basket inside a large sized clay teapot, and a clear glass mug was given me. I had time for only two steepings of this tea, as I was enjoying it while meeting an old friend. The first steeping was very brief, less than thirty seconds. A sweet almost caramel flavor, with the tiniest hint of something floral like jasmine (but not jasmine). The second steeping was much richer and woodier than the first, with some of that maltiness. I wish I had the time to really enjoy a few more steepings. The buzz, very interesting. I felt at ease, very sharp, and deeply calm. Very enjoyable.

Low on sugar so I used maple syrup, perfect.

No notes yet.

This morning the tea seems a bit heartier than I remember it. Perhaps I used a little more leaf tan usual. I detect a flavor that is not unlike the scent of freshly sawed wood, and I mean that in the most pleasant of ways. Perhaps that goes in the “tannin” category?

Had this tea while out with the wife after Wednesday Healing Mass. Great yummy chewy bubbles and a lovely tea (with unknown adornments) Just what the doctor ordered.

I continue to find that this tea must be made using very quick steeps, and it enjoys several steeps. Drink while hot to warm, don’t let it cool.

Well, this is one of the last bags of tea in the box, definitely getting a thinner flavor. Having it with a drop of whole milk (all that we had at the time, and I had to cool it down and fast). Still a good groggy tea for when I have to get some in the body quickly, especially when I haven’t taken the time to clean my french press (oops!)