Kittenna

David very kindly included this, at my request, as a sample in my last Verdant order. I’m not sure I’ve ever tried a straight black loose-leaf tea before, so this will be a new experience! I really felt like trying it tonight because of the Chocolate Chamomile Curiousity Brew I had yesterday and today that has Laoshan Black as an ingredient.

I accidently brewed this with less-than-boiling water; hopefully that won’t be an issue. I’m not sure what the temperature was exactly, but somewhere around 200F. ~5g of leaf in my 250mL infuser.

The aroma of the steeped tea is very malty and bakey. Perhaps slightly sweet, but only just. I’ll admit that when I initially smelled it steeping, it almost smelled icky and fermenty to me. I’m not sure where that was coming from, and I still get a hint of it, but I can deal with it.

The flavour is definitely very baked-goodsy, ending with a sweetness that reminds me of… malted barley? Beer? Oh, perhaps that roasted malted barley they use for “chocolate” beer? (I did try some, on a recent brewery tour.) Actually, that’s kind of what the whole sip tastes like. I’ll say that there are some hints of flavour that remind me of, say, a standard bagged black, but it is much different, and a pleasure to drink unaltered.

Oh – I should note that there is not a hint of bitterness or astringency. None.

Also just realized I lied :D My first loose leaf straight black was actually from the DavidsTea advent calendar – David’s Organic Breakfast. Although I think that was a blend.

Anyways, this exceeds my expectations for a straight black tea! It’s complex and interesting, malty and a bit sweet. I don’t think I’d be likely to order this or keep it on hand; I’d more likely go with a flavoured black, but I’m SO glad I had the chance to try it and know what all the hype was about! I can definitely see why black tea lovers like it; my palate just prefers oolongs and greens :)

ETA: Figured I’d go for multiple infusions the next day. Why not! Second – boiling water, 3 minutes. The flavour is pretty similar, just a bit weaker, but still quite tasty. I’m definitely getting a burny sort of flavour this time; don’t recall it from last time, but my memory isn’t great. This is also still quite smooth, except at the end of the sip there’s a lingering sharp bitterness in the back of my tongue/roof of my mouth. Haven’t experienced that before. It’s a little odd. Third infusion – boiling water, 4 minutes. Considerable loss of flavour, although it’s still the same flavour that’s there. Same weird lingering bitterness. I should note that it’s not a problem though, and it’s nothing like the bitterness from oversteeping, although that could be the cause? I don’t think this tea has anything left now though, but I think it’s good for two solid infusions!

Ok, figured I should get going on trying my samples from Den’s Tea before my $3 off coupon expires!

I wasn’t in the mood for a straight green, so was eyeing up the genmaicha w/matcha until I noticed this one! Yes! Yum, fruity green tea. That’s what I want.

I’m not exactly sure how this one will turn out though – as I was waiting for the water to cool to 180F, I noticed that it indicated the volume of water should be 3oz. Three?! I probably have 10 or so in my cup! So I made a quick decision to split it in half, and infuse one, then the other. Soooo we’ll see. The teaball was an inappropriate choice due to water volume, as it turned out, because it wasn’t even fully covered… oh well.

The dry tea smells mostly like tart cherries. Yum.

First infusion (179F/1min):
The aroma is slightly sweet, and a little cherry-tart. Weak, but smells delicious. Woah. Hmm. How to describe the flavour. There’s a bit of cherry sweetness, but not much, and there’s a definite slightly seaweedy green tea flavour. Drat – I drank some oolong before this and just realized that the flavour is lingering in my mouth too much. Time for some Malted ChocoMate (?) Great, now I have malty goodness lingering in my mouth. Sencha Pear? Ok, that was probably the best choice. Now to wait out the lingering pear flavour.

…

Ok! Back to the tea. Oh yes, flavours much clearer now. A nice sencha base with just a hint of floral, tart-ish cherry. Really lovely, actually. I thought I wasn’t a big sencha fan (probably because it has usually been bitter or astringent for me), but this is neither, and quite tasty. Ok, my taste buds are getting confused. I’m tasting oolong aftertaste again. Maybe I’m getting it confused with green tea aftertaste? Maybe they are one and the same!? Ack!

Second infusion (180F/2min):
A bit more cherry here, and definitely more astringency than I’d like, but no bitterness. Should have gone with another 1 minute infusion, I think, not 2 minutes. I really like how subtle the cherry flavour is. I was expecting it to be more overpowering, but its probably much better just being light and subtle. I feel like this tea has at least 1-2 more good infusions to give me (but I think I’ll drop the time back to 1.5 minutes).

ETA: Third infusion
Light cherry flavour, but I can’t really taste the green tea anymore :( I think I used too much water, in part, and I may have worn it out with the last infusion. I must remember that greens can’t be re-steeped as much as oolongs (IIRC). Oh well!

Uh…. I really like this one. The fact that I’m logging it a second time when I have so many other teas to try should be proof of that. Upping the rating.

I only wish the flavours were stronger. But, that’s probably my fault. Mental note to increase infusion time and/or dry tea next time.

Thank you to Fusion Tea Room for the absolutely HUGE box of samples I received a couple days ago! Wow, I cannot believe the generosity of the tea companies I’ve been dealing with lately. And the customer service has been spectacular with all of them :D

Onto the review. The dry tea definitely has a limey smell. Exciting; I love lime. I’m not getting any pistachio smell, but then again… do pistachios even really have a smell? I know what they taste like, but…. Anyways, I’m also smelling a bit of what’s making me think of a medicinal smell. I don’t know if it’s the mate or green rooibos; I don’t have an awful lot of experience with either. Let’s see how it is steeped.

Forgot to log notes on steeping aromas again. Oops. I also did steep this one too long, and should try a shorter infusion next time.

Hmm, I’m getting almost a bit of a medicinal taste. Or that’s how it’s coming off to me. I blame the green rooibos. I can definitely taste the lime, which is lovely, but I’m not catching the pistachio. Hrm. This tastes familiar, and not in a good way, unfortunately. It reminds me of a tea from DavidsTea that I wasn’t fond of. Oh – in a way it’s reminding me of Honeybee. That’s probably the mate? I’m getting a sweetness at the end of the sip that also reminds me of Honeybee.

I’m not sure that this is a tea for me. I’m pretty new to mates, and have only tried a couple, so I’m not sure if I like them yet. Or perhaps I like the roasted mates (since I quite enjoyed 52teas Malted ChocoMate). Either way, I think I need to try this one with a shorter infusion to see if I can taste the pistachio and reduce a bit of this medicinal taste. So no rating yet.

Uh oh, first to review this one? Eep.

Dry tea smells quite vegetal. Almost overwhelmingly.

First infusion (204F/30s)
Smells floral. Smooth, light, buttery. Delicious. I think I’d prefer it to be stronger, but it is delicious.

Second infusion (204F/1min)
A bit vegetal, and there’s a bit of a sharp spicy almost astringent flavour that is quite lovely. That flavour is familiar, but not always as strong in other teas. Still somewhat floral, and an oolong aftertaste.

Third infusion (205F/1min)
Less floral, again I think I’d like it a bit stronger.

Fourth infusion (205F/1min (I think))
Losing flavour, more of a fruity, round sweetness with lingering oolong aftertaste. I think if I continue steeping I’ll bump up the infusion time. Nearly did it earlier.

Ooh, returning to the first sip, it’s definitely sweeter. Mmmmm. I take back my comment about it being too weak. Retrospectively, the second infusion is actually too strong.

Oh, this is fun. I’m sipping back and forth between my four cups, tasting them all in and out of sequence. Yum yum yum.

I think next time, I’ll go with 30, 45, 60, 120 seconds for my infusions.

I have to admit that during steeping, when smelling the wet leaf, I was very worried that this was going to be intensely vegetal, but only the second infusion was a bit.

Man. This was good. I’m going to have to compare it to the Autumn Tieguanyin, and the one from DavidsTea. I don’t know whether a “good” oolong is judged by its longevity (i.e. how many good infusions you can get), or its flavour. I’m not sure I’ve yet had a “bad” oolong. Or at least, not a bad green tieguanyin-style one or milk oolong.

I just read this over and apparently I am incredibly scattered tonight! Ah well. I was in lovely oolong land. Forgive me :P

ETA: Love how I reviewed this, and was promptly followed by two others :P I guess everyone received their orders last week and waited to try things until the weekend! Fifth infusion (203F/2min). The aroma is wonderful – I don’t know if this is because the leaves sat overnight, or what. But Yum. All oolongy and floral. The flavour is surprisingly strong for a fifth infusion. I am getting some grassy notes and astringency along with – oh, there it is, the oolong aftertaste! Nom nom nom – the rest of the deliciousness, but they’re manageable. Looks like I should be taking this to a sixth before throwing out the leaves so I can try my shu nuggets…

Aaaand evening tea time commences! A whole load of new teas tonight, because I got a bit carried away!

Starting off with some of my brand new Verdant Tea! (Yes, I realize I have yet to try some of the ones I previously received, haha, just too excited about the new ones!)

I was admittedly rather skeptical about this one. It has multiple ingredients I typically dislike… in fact, I think it contains all three of my least favourite tea ingredients! Mint, chamomile, and fennel/anise/licorice. But my curiousity (haha) got the better of me, and the reviews intrigued me.

The smell of the dry tea has me a bit worried. It smells minty. And I can smell fennel, I think. Crap. I was really hoping they wouldn’t be predominant in the blend. Oh well.

And then…. it gets wet. WTF?! Cinnamon sugar toast? That is ALL I am smelling! It smells marvelous! This is entirely NOT what I was expecting! I noted down that it smelled extra bready as well, although that has disappeared a tad as it has cooled, and I feel like I can pick out the barest hint of mint.

Wow. This is so complex. I can taste the mint, but it’s tempered enough that I can handle it, the fennel/anise/whatever is present but only just barely, which is quite acceptable, it seems. And the finish is a lingering, lovely chocolatey flavour. Of course, I’m failing to appropriately identify the flavours in amongst those. There’s sweetness, yeasty bready flavours… so many. This was definitely worth the try! There’s a bit more peppermint than I would like, but everything else is delicious. I’m really loving the lingering aftertaste.

I have to admit that I’ve tried neither the Laoshan Black nor Wuyi Big Red Robe (although I have both), so I should probably do that before trying this again; perhaps it will help me elucidate some more flavours.

Overall, very satisfied with this blend! I might try it stronger next time; I brewed it cautiously tonight, with maaaaybe 1.5tsp of leaf, which was pretty “fluffy”.

ETA: Second infusion (boiling, 3 or 4 mins, I can’t recall), day after. The steeped tea still smells strongly of cinnamon sugar toast. Today, I feel like I’m tasting some cinnamon, and some sweetness. The peppermint is tamed more today (yes!), and other than being a bit weaker than I would like, this is really tasty :D

ETA: The second day after. I probably shouldn’t be re-steeping at this point. Ehhhhh… The aroma is still cinnamon-toasty. Before it cooled, I was getting some stronger peppermint aromas, which turned my stomach a tad. Today, it tastes… oh man, choked on my tea for the second time tonight… sweet and cinnamon toasty, with an undertone of peppermint. It’s rather mild, even though I steeped for four minutes. This is probably as far as I’d bother taking this one in the future.

So glad this is back in my cupboard… but it’s been there for probably a month now and I haven’t tried it! I keep wanting to ice it, but am worried about the hibiscus if I cold steep, and am simply too lazy to brew it and cool it in the fridge. Anyways, tonight I brewed it and as is typical of me, it has cooled to maybe 10 degrees above room temperature now. Perfect :D

Yum yum yum. So perfectly tart and fruity and sweet and delicious. I had forgotten how much I liked it!!

Sipdown of this one tonight (stealing the term from TeaEqualsBliss !)

Well, I managed to make a pretty good cup of it for my last one. This tastes the way I initially remembered the tea, light and a touch sweet, with a fragrant pear flavour. It’s really rather nice tonight, actually. Enough to bump it up a few notches on the rating scale. I think I’ll keep looking for a pear-flavoured tea though, since this one’s now only available in 50g size online, and I don’t think I want that much of it in my cupboard. Also, it’s finicky :P

ETA: Goodbye Sencha Pear. Steeped this a second time and… it’s just not very flavourful. Kept the time to 3 minutes as I know this one gets bitter easily, but perhaps that wasn’t enough. Either way, I suspect I’ll never drink this one again. Sad sad.

Holy maple! Wow. The scent of this one is POTENT, both dry and steeped. Delicious. I brewed it up last night and the mug has been sitting in my room all day, and it smells absolutely lovely.

I find it difficult to believe this tea has no calories – it is SO rich and delicious! So mapley. So sweet. I can taste the rooibos, but it isn’t taking over, so I can deal with it. This one’s another for the supersweet dessert tea pile. Will have to compare this to Birthday Cake – I think I prefer Oh Canada due to the lack of weird sprinkles though.

ETA: Second infusion is pretty good. Predictably less mapley, but enough remains to make me happy. Downside? I’m not sure what happened, but my little teabag thinger opened in the mug, so there were rooibos sticks EVERYWHERE in the mug that I had to drink around. Annoying… and that’s why I used the teabag in the first place… to prevent that…

The dry tea smells like a regular earl grey to me. Heavy on the bergamot, which I’m not always fond of.

Didn’t note what it smelled like steeped, oops :)

This one tastes like a really lovely, light, creamy earl grey! I quite like it! I’m definitely getting creaminess, likely from the yogurt, and the bergamot would likely be the reason it tastes like earl grey… but it’s so light! And no astringency at all, not even a hint, which is probably another reason I like it. This might go on the re-purchase list before it’s gone :)

ETA: Second infusion of this is nearly as good as the first. I increased the time to 4 minutes, and got a lovely brew smelling lightly and sweetly of bergamot, and tasting much the same. I think I prefer this to regular earl grey…

Another of 52teas offerings that I was super excited to receive today!

The dry tisane smells nutty and chocolatey, kind of like hazelnut coffee? It’s a familiar, enjoyable smell. So sweet, too!

Steeped, it smells sweet and a sort of chocolate-nutty, with a touch of banana. Taste-wise very similar. Very roasty. I am really liking this one!! Yum!! I think I can taste the maltiness that was added coming out at the end of the sip. This is growing on me the more I sip it – and it’s good cooled down too! I’m hoping there’s a noticeable caffeine kick to it for me… although now wouldn’t be a great time to experience that…

ETA: Second infusion, which I left steeping for AGES, is pretty good! Not as malty, but still tastes like a sweet chocolate tea. Kind of like chocolate water (but with enough complexity to make it delicious). Like, if you added milk to it, voila, you’d have chocolate milk. Yum.

Steepster friends? You post way too much. The backlog I have to get through is huge!! :P I’m allowing myself a bit of time on Steepster before getting back to work… partly because my order from 52teas arrived today!! Yay!!

The dry tisane smells mostly like pineapple. Delicious!

I can mostly taste the pineapple initially; the coconut emerges mostly at the end of the sip. I can tell it’s honeybush, but it’s not inyourfacehoneybush or anything, which is great (unlike some blends I’ve tried).

Overall, pretty good, but not quite as good as I was expecting. I will have to try it again sometime without my mouth tasting immensely like green onion like it does right now though…

Backlogging from yesterday. Had a sample of this at DT today (it was one of the teas of the day). Weirdest thing ever – it wasn’t pink! Like, not at ALL! I have no idea how that could have happened – when I steeped mine, it turned the water pink near-instantaneously.

Anyways, it was good. I still disagree with the naming of this one, but like it for the cinnamony flavour. I’ll really have to compare a bunch of cinnamony/appley teas one day…

This is really hitting the spot this morning. I still feel like I’m getting more of a blueberry than a blackberry flavour, but it’s still lovely. I think a touch of sweetener would make this better, but no sugar for me. Sigh.

Bumping the rating. This might end up being a tea I seek out in the future (once I finish off the giant bag from Azzrian, that is! :D Thanks again!)

ETA: Nom nom nom, steeped this a second time today, but used too much water; luckily I decided to brew some up fresh for my roommate as well, and steeped her teaball in my cup too :D Tasty tasty.

On hiatus from trying new teas, because I can’t bring myself to drink them without logging them. I guess I’m addicted.

This was pretty tasty today. Could have made it a bit stronger. Also noticed that my little 10g bag has only enough for a small cup left! The horror! I feel compelled to buy maybe 50g more before this one is no longer around. Yeah, like I need more tea.

ETA: Second steep in half the water is rather like watery chocolate. But, it’s still sweet, and I still like it. I feel like I concluded this same thing last time too…

So when my roommate gave me a chunk of her pu’erh a few days ago, she also asked if I wanted to try the other tea she routinely drinks – lotus leaf tea. Apparently you buy a stack of lotus leaves from an asian grocery store, break them into large chunks, and steep them in boiling water to make a herbal tea?

Anyways! Trying it today.

The leaf chunks really had no scent. Maybe a touch like dry leaves, but nothing remarkable, I don’t think.

Upon touching the hot water, the leaves start to release this familiar vegetal smell. Not like that that I’ve gotten from green teas, but it’s familiar. Perhaps it’s just reminding me of broken tree leaves. Or a pile of damp leaves in the fall. Pleasant.

The tea also tastes that same sort of vegetal. Except now, I’m getting an association – with kelp. Dried kelp. Or something along those lines. A little bit salty, almost. Very interesting. Makes me think of seaweed broth or something.

Anyhow, interesting experience! Probably not something I’d choose to drink again myself, but I would drink it if offered.

I didn’t know what type of tea this was prior to brewing. Clearly need to up my tea identification abilities!

The dry leaf smells pleasantly gingery, and maybe a bit fruity. I can’t identify anything in particular though. Steeped, I’m getting a light citrusy ginger scent. Smells good!

Yum! This one is really quite good! The ginger is there, but neither artificial nor overpowering, just adding a bit of a zing, and the tea tastes lightly tropical. I feel like I’m getting a bit of pineapple flavour, not specifically papaya though. Wow… I’m really impressed by the union of the tropical and ginger flavours – usually one or the other is overdone. I can’t really taste the white tea in the blend though – that’s my only complaint. I think I might get a touch at the end of the sip, but it really just tastes like a herbal tea.

This is a very soothing tea; if it would be easy for me to acquire, I think it would be one I’d re-purchase and keep on hand! Although not until I drink down some of what I have…

Thank you LiberTEAS for this delicious sample!

ETA: Oh my. My bad – I steeped this one a second time for WAY too long, and I can taste it. The ginger is overwhelming and spicy (in that gingery way), but there’s still some fruitiness too. I suspect I could get a great second infusion out of it though, done properly. Remember that for next time, Jenna. headshake

Thank you Teavivre for this huge sample! We wanted a second green tea tonight, and this one fit the bill well. Looking forward to it! I used maybe 2 tsp for my 250ml infuser.

First infusion (1.5min/80C):
Aroma’s a bit sharper and greener than the Gyokuro Yamashiro from DavidsTea. The flavour is smooth, with a sweet-ish aftertaste. Definitely not as green tasting despite my impression of the aroma, and definitely no bitterness. Quite delicious, actually.

Second infusion (2.5min/82C):
Not really getting an aroma(?), but the flavour this time is nuttier, with a “green tea” aftertaste. Still smooth, but almost a bit of… smooth astringency? Smooth bitterness? There’s a stronger flavour there too, but it’s pleasant, not objectionable.

Wish I could describe more clearly what I mean by a green tea or oolong aftertaste. It’s good though.

Again, this is as far as I’ll likely get tonight. Sigh.

ETA: Third infusion, 3min at 82C. Definitely lighter in flavour, but still nutty and a bit vegetal, and oh! There’s the green tea aftertaste. Sure sign that I’ll brew this one to the third infusion again. Yum. Still absolutely no bitterness; a very smooth cup. This tea is really quite good; I’m very impressed by the lack of bitterness/astringency. I’ll need to try more dragonwells before concluding anything, but I can see this one being a purchase.

ETA again: Fourth steep (84C/4min) nothing remarkable. Some astringency. And it tastes a little weird. I attribute that to how long the leaves sat out. My stomach sure gets tested sometimes…

Roommate and I finished off the tiny last bit of her sample today.

First infusion (1.5min, 74C)
Tasty aroma like boiled veggies. Fresh peas was my thought? It’s very light tasting and vegetal. Similar to my favourite Treasuregreen Silver.

Second infusion (2.5min, 76C)
A bit sweeter and less vegetal, but still with that boiled veggie tasty. Yummy. The aroma is much lighter.

Haven’t gone to a third yet. Probably won’t tonight. It’s a good tea but I don’t think it’s worth the price.

ETA: Third infusion (the morning after) doesn’t have much flavour. I seem to recall it lost flavour quickly last time too. Perhaps I should have reduced the amount of water.

Another sample from LiberTEAS! Thank you!

Clearly I’m not so good at this work thing.

Anyhow, the smell of the dry tea is really just of chai spicing. Nothing particularly special, although it does smell good. I’m excited to see the white chocolate chips in the bag, though!

Steeped, I’m definitely still smelling spices, but one in particular is overwhelming the rest. I’m not exactly sure which it is though. I can definitely smell black pepper… perhaps it’s just the combination of that with the other spices that is throwing me a bit. Ok, mixed it up a tad and it now smells more like a standard chai (or what I’m used to, anyhow). Interesting – I think I can smell some citrus? Or something that smells citrusey. And definitely cloves as well, although it’s thankfully not overpowering.

Eek. I do not think this is a tea that’s meant to be consumed straight. It is too heavily spiced! Consequently it is bitter and… not all that great. Luckily, I have my travel TImolino here, so into it goes the chai, to be taken home and milked/sweetened. I do think this will be tasty once it has some milk and sugar, but right now it is too potent for me! Updates to come.

ETA: Tasty loaded with milk and sugar. I get the creamy notes this way (moreso than a regular chai). I’ll have to re-review later.

I’m pretty much dying at the heavenly scent emanating from my cup right now. The tea smells amazing, a very authentic coconut smell, both dry and steeped. It reminds me of fresh coconut.

The taste is very coconutty, almost a dry, nearly-toasted sort of flavour. I can taste just a hint of oolong at the end of the sip. I would like it to be more present.

This is definitely as coconutty, if not moreso, than I was hoping/expecting. I like it, but I think I’d have to be in the mood for it. If I ever make a Golden Moon Tea order, I suspect this will be on it. I really want to add a couple chunks of candied pineapple and a bit of sweetener to this to try and make a pina colada oolong tea. I think it would be delicious…

ETA: Er, I got a bit excited and forgot to send a huge thank you to LiberTEAS for this sample, which I had been dying to try ever since I heard about it!!

ETA again: Second infusion was good too, oolongy aftertaste, and less coconut, but still toasted. I sampled a leaf out of curiousity, and there was still toasty coconut flavour in it, so I suspect I could have gotten a nice third cup, but left work at that time to retrieve my car (which I had forgotten entirely at the shop all day!)

This really could have used some sugar today. In spite of there supposedly being rock sugar in the blend, it is one of the least sweet teas I’ve had. I drank it anyways though!

(Ack! Thought I had reviewed this one properly already, but apparently not. Basically it smells like strawberry baked goods, but the taste is lacking. Even with a 6 minute infusion, I didn’t taste the white tea.)

ETA: Second infusion, with half as much water, and I didn’t record the time/temp: smells delicious, and exactly like the crisp from the apple crisp my friend and I made for Easter. No joke; EXACTLY the same smell. Surprisingly, it tastes a heck of a lot better now too! It is completely cooled, but I’m actually getting appley/strawberry crisp flavours from it. It actually tastes like crisp in a mug! Damn, I wish I had recorded what I did. I steeped it for quite a while, probably over 5 minutes, and I think the temp was actually just under 94C? So I don’t know if it’s using half the water, or having left the tea ball sitting out overnight that is making this taste so much better. I don’t think it’s the cooling – the first time I had it, it had no flavour when it cooled, IIRC. Which was why I didn’t rate it.

Anyways, I’m excited that I got some flavour out of this one! No more sadness about having a 50g bag, and this will no longer be a tea I want to get rid of! There’s something to be said for persistence, I suppose :)

Finishing off a second infusion of this one (my friend had the first). It’s a bit too weak for me, although I can taste hints of mango in the aftertaste. I’m actually wondering if my taste buds are off a tad right now, because I seem to think every single tea I have brewed is weak and a little hot water-tasting. Oh well.

This time, I’m using the sample from LiberTEAS to see how it compares to that from Amanda.

To start, the tea looks different. There are flower(?) pieces, and petals that were definitely not in the other sample. It smells similarly good though, both in dry and steeped form. This version may smell a touch better, but I did enjoy the scent of the not-so-nice tasting cup either.

Tasting this, I’m fairly certain that Amanda got a dud batch!! No soapy flavour whatsoever, but instead a malty black tea with vanilla. Yum! I did taste this flavour in the other sample, but it was masked by that soapiness. A little weak, but I realize that I brewed it in a larger mug than usual and neglected to compensate for that in terms of dry tea. There’s a touch of astringency, so I think that increasing infusion time would lead to Bad Things. I will have to try this again a bit stronger, but this definitely bumps up the rating a fair bit. It’s too weak to hit the list of favourites yet though.

LiberTEAS – was the sample you gave me from the Christmas Sampler or a separately purchased pouch? Did anyone else notice a soapy flavour in their tea from the Christmas Sampler? I’m just curious. Seems a shame that some people may not have experienced the true flavours of this tea.

ETA: Second infusion good as well, also for 3 minutes. Quick note – the cup I left sitting at the office overnight, from the weird batch, actually tasted much better the next day, completely cooled. (Yes, I probably shouldn’t have drank it, but I was curious.) No soapiness, and I could tell it was the same tea, but it definitely was lacking something in comparison to the other batch I have. Oh well!