K S

A generous sample sent my way from Ashmanra. The scent coming out of the press is peachy keen (stop groaning). This is light to medium bodied. It reminds me of Hedley’s Peach Apricot. That one has a black Ceylon base that is obvious in the mix. This one has no apricot and an oolong base. The oolong in this first cup stays mostly hidden. I guess it is the osmathus and jasmine that are responsible for what I am detecting as apricot. This is nice and light with a long lingering peachy aftertaste. The more it cools the more peach it becomes. It has just a touch of drying astringency.

On the second cup, the strangest thing happens. This turns into lemon drop tea. Ashmanra advised me this would happen. It is still sort of peachy but this now tastes more lemon flavored. This is cool – two teas in one. It’s like Indiana weather. Give it five minutes and it will change. Can’t wait to see if there is a third cup in this leaf.

Cup three when hot is straight lemon balm. As the cup gets cold the peach comes back in to play. I could catch the tea base every now and then. I thought this on the second cup but did not mention it – the oolong base tastes like Darjeeling to me, or maybe like the tea sold by Charleston Tea Plantation. I don’t mind. The point is it does not taste like any oolong I have ever had. This tea keeps me guessing and that makes it interesting to me. I like it.

Yesterday it was 70. Last night we had 1 1/2 inches of rain. Woke up to 35 degree weather. Only supposed to get in the 50’s today. I promised to help with solar observing at an awareness event for the proposed Indiana Space Complex and Museum. I needed tea. Filled the thermos with this fruity delight. This one of my favorite go to comfort teas. It never lets me down. The event was well attended, fun, and not as cold as I feared. There were RC planes and jets circling above us and a BBQ trailer nearby. This tea went great with pulled pork.

After my adventure with the golden flowers you might think I would be leery of another puerh. Nope. Not gonna happen. Wouldn’t be prudent. Steeped this one for about 30s. It made a light amber cup with a burgundy tint. Took one sip and wow has this got a bright metallic taste. So I added some Splenda – the great equalizer – to calm it down. This is still quite bright and young tasting. As the cup cools I realize what I thought was metallic is actually the beginnings of earthy notes. I like this. Nice sticky lip feel. In my attempt to learn about puerh I have stumbled across information that leads me to conclude this will make an excellent cup once it has more time to age.

I steeped a total of 5 mugs in my western style. Each cup bacome a little darker and a little sweeter than the last. Conclusion – I like me some young raw puerh.

I am not going to do a normal review. See Cody’s comments on this one as he did a much better job at putting it in to words. However, I will say my conclusions are a bit different. This reminded me of back in the day when I bought a quality bottle of burgundy wine. By wine standards it was still a cheap wine but compared to my normal fare it was a giant step up. I opened the bottle. Poured in to the crystal wine glass. Swirled the liquid around the glass. Smelled. Took a sip and realized, I much preferred a cheap sweet white wines or the cheap concord grape wines made locally. I was not sophisticated enough for such a hoity-toity glass. Same here. I found this puerh to be too musky, musty, earthy. I love horse leather. Musty, not so much.

If you look close this leaf has a few yellow dots on it. This is a fungus growing on the leaf. It is known as golden flowers and is apparently considered desirable in some collector circles. Is it the source of the strong musty smell and taste? I don’t know. I appreciate the opportunity to taste 10 year old leaf and learn about golden flowers but just not a fan.

Score based on trusting Cody’s review.

This sample was provided by Nuvola. I opened the package to find the sample wrapped in enough bubble wrap to survive being stepped on by an elephant. Excellent. Next, I opened the sample wrapper and poured out the leaf to examine. It is beautiful. Rolled nuggets the size of raisins. The coloring reminded me of granite. It is kind of grayish green with some darker areas and some light green flecks.

The scent of the dry leaf is floral oolong. I also catch some light smoky notes that do not show up later in the cup. This steeps up very light yellow in color and very clear. The wet leaf aroma is vegetal. The liquor is lightly floral.

The sip starts out promising the good things to come in later steeps. It is floral of course, but not overly so. At first there is a tingle all across the tongue. This quickly passes. Then I notice the cooling sensation on my breath. As the cup cools it becomes quite buttery.

It simply amazes me to realize there is nothing added to the leaf. The intoxicating flavors come not just from the leaf but also the rugged growing conditions and the processing. I had golden monkey last night. It is also a natural tea, but it is day and night different from this one. How can such vastly different sets of flavors come from the same plant? Simply mind boggling.

The second cup I passed to a coworker. I am trying to convert him. He is a Lipton drinker and apparently isn’t ready for this one. Makes me sad, but the good news, I don’t have to share the rest with him.

The third cup is a little darker than the first, though still yellow and very clear. I notice the leaf has unfurled but is not completely relaxed. It is mostly two whole leaves and a bud. This cup has some mild green notes. There is also a spice flavor present that I can’t put my finger on. At first I thought cinnamon but now I am thinking nutmeg. It is light and I am not good at spices. The aftertaste is really long lingering.

Fourth cup smells wonderful as it steeped (between 30-40 sec). when pouring, it isn’t necessary to use a strainer.

Fifth cup still going strong (40 sec). The taste has not diminished but this is where I am stopping.

This tea when converted to dollars is about $10.50 for 50g plus shipping. I generally use 2.5g per session so this would make 20 sessions of tea. It easily went 5 steeps. That takes it down into the $0.10/cup range. Depending on shipping this is pretty affordable. It is also an excellent oolong.

Sip down. What a wonderful tea. Even using microwaved water this comes out perfect. Ashmanra says this is bolder than the Teavivre version. I can’t really tell the difference but I never tried them back to back. This one is leaving me with cool breath like peppermint. If you haven’t tried golden monkey – you should.

Bagged teas like this keep me centered. Good enough to really enjoy, but not so good as too loose appreciation for great tea. The waitress at Steak ’N Shake was busy today so I only had one cup. Rather than wait I just wanted out of there.

I know nothing about the jasmine flower. It sure seems like there must be two distinct types used in tea, or two different application methods. All I know is all tea bag versions, and most loose versions, I’ve tried have the same icky smell and flavor about them. For years people told me how good jasmine tea tasted. I was convinced they had no taste buds. Then came TeaVivre changing my mind.

All the TeaVivre (and honorable mention to Utopia) jasmines have such a wonderful scent. The flavor always makes me think grapes. They are light and sweet. I am totally amazed how much I like them.

I have to admit, at first, this one made me uncomfortable. White tea, especially silver needle, is so delicately flavored on its own that it seemed wrong to cover it up. Tasting it caused me to forget my concern. The lightness is maintained. It crosses the lips as gentle grapes surrounded by flowers, then caresses the throat with creamy delight. The aftertaste lingers with sweet nectar that slowly fades revealing the silver needle base. Yep, this is good stuff.

Another sip down! After hearing everyone else’s thoughts on this tea, I am a little nervous to attempt it again. I hope I can duplicate my previous experience. I didn’t measure the leaf but there was at least two spoonful. This is a lot more leaf than I used previously. I heated 12oz of water to good and steaming (not boiling) and steeped in my press for three minutes. I added one packet of Splenda in my mug. When hot, I thought the leaf smelled very lightly of apple. After cooling the leaf smells of spinach.

By using more leaf this time, I am getting results similar to what others reported. This is green tea. In fact it is a bit bitter. I got the water too hot and let it set and cool before pouring out of the kettle. Apparently it should have sat longer. When the cup cools to near room temperature, I can almost make out the faintest notes of apple. Almost.

Ok, my verdict on this tea is less is more. Use less leaf and cool water temp. Don’t over steep. Even then, the apple flavor is not going to pop. It only hints of apple. I greatly enjoyed this the first couple times I tried it. This time, not so much.

Some teas are real forgiving. You can throw any amount of leaf, temp, and time at them and get a nice cup. Others, apparently like this one, you’ve got to watch what you are doing closely. If it doesn’t work, try again with different parameters.

Sip down. I don’t know if it is the nature of the tea or if it is due to handling during shipping but what is left of the sample would be better suited for a Finum basket than my press. It has a lot of fine particles. This was my favorite of the four samples I received. The consensus seemed the fruit blends could generally benefit from being amped up a bit. This one, to me, is perfect the way it is blended. Peppermint, ginko, green tea – its just really good. I am happy to report it did not give me a headache today, so I do not have a ginko allergy. Yeah! My previous pain was probably work stress induced. Good job on this one sTEAp Shoppe!

Sip down, in an attempt to get control of all my samples. I thought appropriate mood music would be Boston – Walk On, Organized, Walk On (Some More). Emphasis on the organized – got to get this under control! I was not a big Boston fan until I saw them live back in the day. It was in a little stadium that held maybe 8,000 people max. The crowd was so in to the group, they kept coming back for encores. Finally, they came out and said people we literally know only one more song. It was not even their song but they rocked it. Sammy Hagar opened for them. Get on your bad motor scooter and ride! What a great concert. Back then it cost like $7 a ticket. Been a while huh?

After my Gurmans disappointment I put everything I could into better storage. I have about a half dozen samples left with a cup or two’s leaf in them that I will work on drinking up soon. This and the Gurmans both came from Ashamanra (thanks again). I am not going to let this one reach wimp status. As soon as water hit this one, I knew it was good to go. Need a little Deep Purple to go with this one. Air guitars everyone – Smoke on the water… followed by Highway Star.

I grabbed this one for this afternoon to share with a coworker. I knew he would get it. Sadly, you cannot keep this in a plastic bag and expect it to still have a lot of heat after several months :(

It was still good, just not face melting. Lesson learned knucklehead. Put your stuff in better storage containers. Doh.

I’m glad to be at work today. Well, I am kind of just glad to be. Ok, it’s not that serious. It stormed all night. Usually that knocks me out, but last night I couldn’t sleep. It was very dark and pouring this morning, when I left home. The lightning was awesome. I live on a one lane road about a half mile off the highway. This morning it was like driving through the jungle. Leaves, limbs, puddles. Puddles? Puddles! I haven’t seen one of those in ages. Now they are everywhere. I get to the highway, thinking I got it made, except the road is so black and wet. There is steam hovering just above the pavement. Am I in my lane? Am I going to drive into the ditch? I don’t know. I can’t see… Here comes a car. Now I really can’t see. I hope they can. Then the lightning strobes and it lights the world up like daylight for a moment. Followed by the dark. My eyes aren’t adjusting fast enough. What a ride. Made it safely. I need tea.

I started this one yesterday. I wanted to continue steeping it today before recording it on Steepster. Yesterday I had three mugs from 1 ½ wooden spoons of leaf. It looks like white tea and tastes pretty much like white peony but a little bolder. Each cup has gotten a bit more complex and sweeter. The third is the first to develop any mild puerh characteristics.

Today starting at mug number 4. This has wonderful creamy feel. The taste has a mild nuttiness. It is no longer white tea but has morphed into warm earthy tones. There is no hint of bitterness or astringency. This is just mellow goodness. Mug 5 (all 12oz) continues with a some of the white tea traits returning. Pretty sure this would go another round but I am stopping here.

If you like white tea and are terrified of puerh, then this is your tea. I know you hear that all the time. I am serious. There is nothing scary or unfamiliar about White Moon, and it just happens to be really good.

Thank you Helen at In Nature Tea for this wonderful sample.
Longer review, without the car ride, should be on my blog tomorrow.

This is listed under Tazo and Tazo Tea. I just grabbed one.

A coworker went to a fancy smancy dinner party held by the company his wife works for, and Tazo is the tea they served. He grabbed some for me – I have a bit of a tea reputation at work :) I have tried this Earl Grey a half dozen times in the past, always to poor results. Apparently, our local Starbucks and The Wal-Mart (according to Larry the cable guy you must add the “The” to Wal-Mart)… look a squirrel… anyway our local stores don’t sell enough for it to be fresh as I have never, ever, and I mean never, smelled or tasted bergamot in this stuff. So, I open the envelope. It smells a bit peppery and of lavenderish bergamot. Hey, so far so good. I steep three minutes and added my sweetener (why put it off, I know I am going to do it eventually). Wait for it to cool. Waiting, Waiting. Take a sip and… flowery, lavender tasting bergamot! Hallelujah! Except, wait a minute… have I just crossed the line into tea snobbery? This tastes kind of like the paper bag. I mean it isn’t horrible, and its Earl Grey – with freakin’ bergamot flavor, but the tea base is paper flavored. It’s muffled like someone talking with their hand over their mouth. As the cup cools the bergamot pops even more but the base just never develops. This is the best cup of Tazo I have ever had, but sadly (or happily), I know this is just ok tea. I did like the bergamot. Glad I could finally taste it. Next.

When I raised the blind in my office this morning it was early daylight. It is in the mid 30’s and I could see frost covering the roof of the building next door. Southern Indiana has beautiful rolling hills. I can see them off on the horizon. They are purple and there is fog rising up between the layers of hills. Yep, fall is definitely in the air.

I have a stack of unopened samples I need to review. Not today. I want something to warm my innards and put a guaranteed smile on my face. I grabbed this one. Amazingly I still have enough for today and one more down the road. Woot! There, I am smiling already. Anyway, this gets my vote for one of the most beautiful dry leaves to behold. They look like fall. Perfect choice.

This is so comforting. For a brief moment I can almost forget the troubles of my world. The company just got this years insurance quotes. I know this is going to cost me. If you are a politician, insurance person, or health care provider, don’t tell me today, so I won’t be tempted to punch you. Oops, takes another sip. Ahhh. Three much needed mugs of joy. At the moment I have heat, a roof over my head, and excellent tea. Rejoice! I say it again Rejoice!

Upped the rating!

Now that I have a better idea of what is in this blend and how others perceived it I thought I would have another go at it. My first time with it left me confused. I had a preconceived notion of what this would taste like and this is something completely different. Steeped per instructions. The brew has a slight purple tint. There is a very light tartness that I now know comes from lingonberry (I had never heard of them before). I taste a fair bit of cinnamon. The main flavor though and the one I couldn’t separate out before is raspberry. That should be obvious but it blends seamlessly with the gojiberry and other ingredients to where my unsophisticated palate couldn’t place what I was tasting. If this were decaf my wife would probably love this. It is not something I would buy but I would never turn down a cup if offered. I think it is tasty, it just doesn’t grab my interest. Thanks sTEAp Shoppe for the sample.

When I sip, I taste mostly the tea. The apple flavor is only light notes that highlight the flavor of the green tea. There is also a light hint of raisin and maybe cinnamon (though neither of these are actual ingredients). I like this. It is a pleasant basic drink, with a nice green aftertaste.

I am not a big flavored tea drinker these days. When I do have flavored tea – even my beloved Earl Grey – I want to taste the tea. Even from that perspective this is a little light on the apple flavor. I think those who are expecting hearty GREEN APPLE flavor will be disappointed. I am concerned sTEAp may have missed their target audience.

I don’t mean this to come off as a negative review. I actually enjoyed the cup. It was recommended during the virtual tasting that the flavors pop by adding a bit of cinnamon. Also use your favorite sweetener. I picked a couple pieces of fruit out of the leaf and tasted them – very apple pie. If you are looking for a very lightly flavored green tea, this is a good one.

Sample provided by sTEAp Shoppe. Thanks!

My co-favorite of the samples provided by sTEAp Shoppe. The smoke is heavy by my standards, but it isn’t overwhelming and it never feels like someone dumped an ashtray in your cup. This is a good kind of smoky. It blends really well with the other flavors. There is a bite in the back of the throat. The smell, the bite, and the aftertaste remind me of rooibos – though this is better and more complex. A few more sips and now this reminds me of the smell of sawdust when you are running a dull circular saw through a fresh piece of pine – kind of woodsy, kind of burnt.

In cup two the smoke does not diminish, rather the oolong just comes out of hiding a little more. It gives it a nice floral note. The throat bite is not so noticeable in this cup. This is maybe even a little better than the first. If not better, at least different. Nice.

I went three cups with this one. It was lighter than the first two. Though the smoke still stands out this is a civilized cup. A pleasant ending to this tea.

One thing I noted is that if you let the cup get cold, the taste of this tea perks up even more.

It is pretty intense. Unless you are a huge smoky tea fan, I am not sure you would want it everyday. That being said, it is different than the normal fare and just happens to be really good.

As soon as water hit the leaf I could smell mint. I am not a fan of spearmint in tea, or candy, or even gum. It’s just not my thing. Surprise, this is peppermint! Peppermint I like. The brew is golden green in the press and a bit darker in the mug.

The sip is interesting. The mint is the main flavor, then directly under it is a kind of peppery ginger flavor. There is no ginger listed so this must be the ginko biloba I am tasting. This has a sweetness to it from the stevia leaf. The green tea fills out the flavor, Green tea and mint are in the aftertaste.

If I were to ever want to sip mint tea this is one I would definitely consider. Bonus it leaves your breath feeling minty cool.

Sample provided by sTEAp Shoppe – Thanks! My favorite of the 4 samples tasted.

This is a good resteeper. I had two or three cups yesterday and a couple more today. Too bad I don’t have time to actually enjoy any of them.

I arrived home to find two new boxes of samples and I already have several I haven’t got to try yet. This keeps up I am going to have to take a vacation day just to enjoy tea…. Another entry in the you might be addicted thread? Yeah, probably so. I’m good with that.

This is not much of a review as I was not able to give this my full attention today. This is mostly to say publicly how much I appreciate the kindness of Ashmanra. Your sending me this wonderful tea out of the blue came at the perfect time. The work day was so stressful I literally wanted to curl up in a little ball in a corner and just rock. Not real manly, but you can only take so many firey darts before you need to catch a break. This tea helped me hang on to what little sanity I have left.

This is really good. Beautiful to look at. Sweet and malty. Carmel and mild sweet taters. This is Bailin Gonfu meets Dian Hong golden tips, get married and have a kid… A wild child! Ashmanra in her note to me called this tea the Batman of teas. I say, to the Batcave! For more of this.

I have been a bit quiet the last few days. My tea time has been largely devoted to this tea. Sample provided by Esgreen.

The nose is musty leather. The first cup is lighter than expected with leather and wood notes. This morphs nicely through 6 (12oz) mugs and ends as mushroom, leather, and hints that make me think chocolate. Not overly complicated but nice and comfortable.

Longer review – http://theeverdayteablog.blogspot.com/2012/09/esgreen-2005-ripeshu-zhuan-tea-brick.html

Welcome to my day of Cheapster Steepster tea!

Got to Steak N Shake for breakfast this morning and ordered my usual hot tea. When the little metal pitcher of water and the cup with the bag on the saucer arrived, I frowned.
“They quit ordering the Darjeeeling?”
“We aren’t sure if it was discontinued or someone just hit the wrong button when ordering”

sigh…

“The Darjeeling is pretty good… I guess I’ll have to write corporate! (joking – sort of)”

So I put the bag in the cup and pour the water. The whole time I am thinking, I really don’t like hot Lipton tea. That is what I imagined this was going to be. But it is not.

This is dust in a paper bag, sure, but it is a good one. It is not bitter or astringent. It makes a strong enough cup to make me happy. It is a nice, sort of a sweet, mellow cup of tea.

While I was drinking this, Andy (our server) found the last remaining bag of Darjeeling in the back and brought it to me. So of course I had to have it as well. It is better than the OP because it has more depth and is fruity. However, the OP is really not bad at all. Best of all it does not taste like hot Lipton. Joy!

I’ll have my Lipton strong and iced tonight and Mom and Dad’s. I like it iced – its like drinking memories. It’s like going home. Oh wait, that’s exactly what I am doing. ha.