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I haven’t been drinking much tea lately – it is hot in Texas! Was craving something different tonight though so I picked this out of my sample basket. There was a slight chocolate aroma to the dry leaves but not as prominent as in other Keemuns I’ve tried. After brewing the aroma changed to honey covered berries. I can’t exactly determine which berry, but it is definitely one of them. I liked it alright plain but I added a splash of milk. I love how milk “blooms” throughout a dark tea when you put a bit in. The taste is primarily of chocolate, honey, slight hay and a bit of smoke. Pretty good – I think I may need to have several cups of this tonight.

Steep #2 alongside a Lapsang infused dark chocolate bar from Harney. Delicious! I am pleasantly surprised that the matcha is still mostly around. This steep is mostly genmaicha, but hey, I love genmaicha so I’m not complaining. This cup tastes fresher and not quite as nutty, now I’m getting a toasty thing.

I’m loving this tea more each time I drink it. It has a very thick, rich texture and is an oddly mossy, murky green, but it is delicious. The best characteristics of both matcha and genmaicha shine through in this blend. Nutty, slightly sweet, slightly vegetal, and a whole lot of green.

I finally finished my huge 1 lb bag tonight! It was extra delicious from all the little vanilla bean specks that had been hiding in the bottom of the bag. This is definitely a tea that I need to reorder soon.

Made a pretty strong brew of this for late breakfast (love snow days) and it was pretty good with a splash of milk. I like how mate gives me a very gentle buzz rather than the up and down roller coaster buzz of coffee. This goes very well with a breakfast of buttered, toasted pound cake.

Uh, yes, I did steep the Queen for about 25 minutes on accident while trying to convince my boyfriend to go to the doctor over the phone. Yes, I think I’m feeling colors right now with the amount of caffeine that is entering my system, but I think it will be a good day. The Queen is still drinkable (with just a bit of sugar and vanilla creamer) and she is still trying to whip me into a respectable, productive person today. I love her smokey I don’t care if you want to be lazy, you’re going to do something attitude.

This tea seemed like the perfect fit for sitting in front of a fire and watching Netflix. I added a pinch of sugar because it seemed a bit tart and astringent on the first infusion, but I think I added just a hair too much – much of the complexity I detected earlier is hidden. I will have to see how this holds up to other infusions in order to give any ratings. Its still pleasant to sip on though.

This tea was graciously provided for review by the Teavivre team awhile back now. Thanks!

I think I’ll have to actually rate this tea at another time. I seriously overleafed this pot and although it’s good, it is a bit astringent and strong. Still a nice, full honey and fruit flavor though.

As always with yunnans, I think the dry leaf of this tea is absolutely beautiful. I love the mix of dark and golden slightly curly leaves. After steeping this up, I would agree with others that there is a definite tobacco smell. Luckily, I’ve had tobacco-y teas before and enjoyed them so it didn’t scare me off. I tried it without additions and it was rich with a slightly creamy texture. The flavor was good, but I tend to like my morning teas with a teensy bit of sugar and a splash of milk. The flavors are still shining through after the additions which proves to me that this is a great quality, richly flavored tea. I’m looking forward to at least one more infusion of this one today.

I found this by accident tonight on clearance at .99 cents a box. Tried it – love it. This is probably one of the best seasonal teas I’ve tried. Needless to say, I plan on going back tomorrow and wiping them out of these – I think they had about 6 more. At this price, I can’t resist.