Nicole

I added this one as a different tea since the other full leaf Nahorhabi said 2010 on it and the notes were all from a year ago. I believe this is the batch for this year based on Harney listing it with their new teas about a month ago or so.

This was deep, rich and malty to the extreme. So malty I felt a bit furtive while drinking it at work. Almost like I had a no-no beverage in the workplace! As it cooled, a buttery texture infiltrated the cup and made it even better. The only downside to this was that the second cup was not as punchy.

This is a sample that will pay off. I can justify the price of this one. :) Next time they do $25 free shipping and I haven’t just placed 2 other orders…a tin of this one will be mine. Oh, yes. It will be mine.

Holy smokes, Batman!

I got a sample of this to share with a co-worker who also likes the Golden Monkey/Yunnan types of teas. Made up a pot this afternoon and at first sniff I wondered if they’d put Lapsang in the bag by mistake. I just can’t do Lapsangs. That smell of charcoal and smoke – nothing my brain thinks I need to be drinking. I made myself take a sip and good grief – there’s a whopping ton of smoke in here!

There may have been other notes to get but I couldn’t get past the heavy, ashy smoke. Co-worker also thought it was smoke heavy but he didn’t find it quite as unpleasant as I did. I would not call this a medium body nor is there anything subtle about it. As it cooled off I could get a bit of sweetness but it was a deeply smoky sweetness. From the descriptions and reviews here and on the Harney site, I was pretty disappointed in this one. I’m glad I only got a sample and I’m glad we used it all making a large pot of it. I hate to throw tea away.

Rating is low not because I didn’t like it personally, but because I don’t feel that it measured up to the description.

Everything stands from my previous note. Just adding that this is Freakin’ Awesome as an iced tea. :)

I split a tin of this with a co-worker on my latest Harney order.

Our first shared pot smacked me in the face with… cinnamon?? I took a guess that I had forgotten to take the infuser home to scrub clean after the last pot of chai that we brewed up. We rinse with near-boiling water at work, but especially after chais I like to take it home and really scrub at it, let it stand in bleach water, etc. to really get those spices out. So I steeped a single cup with my own infuser and no cinnamon. But this time around I noticed a buttery, oolong-like quality to the feel of the broth. Wowser, that’s impressive.

And honestly, the faint buttery cinnamon wasn’t that unwelcome. Might have to do some novice tea blending and see what I can come up with. :)

Oh, Sungma, how I’ve missed you. I may regret splitting that tin.

Another swap from Aurelia Fish, thanks!

I haven’t had that many Adagio teas, but I have been going hog wild with the yunnans lately. This smells smokier than it tastes. Somewhat harsher than I like. A harshness that I associate with cheap teas but I see from browsing the website that the cost isn’t what I would associate with a cheap tea. :)

I wouldn’t call what I tasted “peppery” like many others but maybe that is the harshness. While this is an okay yunnan, and the sample will certainly be used up, it won’t go on a list to buy in the future.

Thanks to Aurelia Fish for this swap sample!

This was a good Golden Monkey. Mild, a tad smoky, middling malty with an average to thick body.

I’ll have to try this next to Harney & Sons when I get another sample from there to see which one I prefer. It was good and I enjoyed it but even after reading my tasting note for the H&S I can’t remember what prompted me to rate that one so highly.

No notes yet.

We had this iced today at our tea party. It went over really well. I cold brewed it overnight and it was perfectly yummy by lunchtime. Not a bit of sourness and deliciously strawberry. Iced, I can see that Walter might approve, even without hallucinogens added. :)

I am a fan of frozen mango. :) And I like Della Terra’s mango tea.

I like this blend. I have no idea if I taste papaya or not – I probably can’t swear that I’ve ever had papaya as a fruit. It’s a good blend with the tea base. Smells wonderful.

The rest of this bonus sample that was generously included with my order will likely be served at the summer tea party on Thursday. And I may serve it iced.

When I order again from Mahamosa, I think this will probably go on the to-be-iced list.

No notes yet.

So this wasn’t too bad. Those of you who are on a quest for natural tasting raspberry probably won’t find what you are looking for here but if you just want a decently strong black base with a fairly strong raspberry flavor, this is it.

I love raspberries. I am usually not a fan of it in teas. It almost always ends up being too tart. I think the cream flavor balances out the tart in this blend pretty well.

This is a decent vanilla black tea. Almost caramelly in smell and with a sweetish taste.

For the price and taste I think I’d probably keep Harney & Son’s Vanilla Black in the cupboard over this one, but if one were making an order from Mahamosa and wanted something to round it out, this is a good tea.

I had this yesterday as a point of comparison with Steeped Tea’s EGdlC.

This one is better. Not as harsh, more creamy. Still not sure if it’s the best one, but it’s pretty good. Bergamotty, mildly creamy, good tea base. Still leans towards a tendency to astringency but not bad and I could probably go with 2 minutes instead of 3 and reduce that.

This is probably okay to cook with but for the price, you can get a better tea base. This is pretty harsh and to me there is nothing special about it. It’s not undrinkable, it just isn’t a stand-out.

I got it as part of an order to see if I wanted to become a consultant. I think I’ve had enough really great tea over the past couple of years that I can’t bring myself to sell this to other people at the prices Steeped Tea charges. Not when I know that for the same money you can get truly excellent teas.

Got this as a sample with my Verdant order and I am sooooo happy to have it.

This is an absolutely wonderful tea. Sweet, mildly smoky, thick and malty. Unsweetened cocoa-y, not a hint of bitterness, dryness or astringency. Second steep was a bit harsher and not as smooth with more hay/grass quality and more smoke coming to the fore. Not a particularly good smoke, though.

While I much prefer the first steep, the second grew on me. I definitely prefer this to the Laoshan Black.

So, after all the hype I was a little nervous to try this one.

I tried the initial 3-5 second recommended steeping and it tasted like water. Now I was wary of being disappointed. I put the infuser basket back in and tried another 10 seconds. Hm. Nothing much more than before. So I let it go for a full 2 minutes then let it cool down a bit to a comfortable drinking temperature.

It is indeed a wonderful tea. A sweetish, maltish, smooth tea. I am not good usually at picking out individual notes and this tea is no exception. Though from reading other reviews that seems like a feature in this tea – that it all goes together so seamlessly that it is hard to discern separate notes. After that first full cup the wet leaves smelled amazing and strongly of fermentation – sweet and yeasty and malty.

I’ve done 4 cups so far and I think probably because I have to steep it so long I don’t think I’ll get many more. I could be wrong, though. :) I will say that the first cup so far has been the best.

I would happily keep this in my cupboard but it’s a bit on the expensive side compared to other, similar teas that I enjoy as much or more.

I nicked a bag of this from the spa last time I was there, just to see what it was like. :) It was the only black tea they had on offer, which makes sense since you are there to relax.

It’s not too bad, really. Decently strong apricot flavor with a light hint of sweetness. I left the bag in the cup for like 30 minutes when I got sidetracked into reviewing some of the husband’s photography. Not in the least bit bitter. The only downside is as the cup cools more with the bag still in there, I’m not sure, but I think I taste the bag. Just a mild papery taste in the background which is totally my fault and not that of the tea. :)

If I was limited to bagged tea, I think RoT would be my choice for a lot of things.

Picked this up today from a relatively new shop in my neck of the woods. Their window said “Teas” along with “Candles, Hookahs & Clothing.” I didn’t have high hopes, but figured I’d at least give it a look. It’s a standard head shop for this area. Incense, hookahs, rolling papers, Bob Marley candles, tie dyed scarves and t-shirts… And about 5 black teas, all flavored, not much info on the jars about the teas. There were a few more white teas, also mostly flavored. A whole shelf about 10 feet long loaded with herbal blends. Makes me somewhat nervous to buy an herbal blend from a head shop – who knows if the blender really knows anything about herbal interactions and amounts that could be either good or bad for your health… Just because they slap the name “tension tamer” on it and say it’s all natural doesn’t mean it’s good for you. I am confident that they don’t blend their own blacks or whites but I am also confident that they do blend their own herbals because they also sell all of the herbal ingredients in bulk. :)

Anyway, I thought I’d pick up a few teas just to try, the prices were cheap and I expected the tea to be cheap as well. And… I was pretty much right. This isn’t horrible, but I won’t buy it again. It’s just unimpressive, given the other excellent teas I have in my stash. :)

After the cup cools somewhat, the cranberry comes out pretty well. Mildly sweet tasting and I’m assuming that is the vanilla mellowing out the tart cranberry flavoring. It’s somewhat dry after the sip and it gets drier with a longer steep. Not bitter, really, just dry. Might be pretty good iced.

Not sure how I missed logging this. I’ve had it several times.

I like this one a lot. I can taste the fig and the cherry both. Admittedly, the tea base takes a back seat. Nevertheless, the base is smooth and non-astringent. Smells wonderful.

It makes an excellent infusion for mousse and probably would make a good infusion for ice cream or creme brulee.

Toasty, ricey, little hints of vegetal flavors here and there and pretty smooth. Not silky or creamy, just smooth and soft. The leaves expand quite well, as expected for an oolong.

This is my first Dong Ding oolong. Not sure I am enough of a fan to keep it around, but it seems to be a very nice tea and I wouldn’t turn it down if it were offered. And I will not make it through 7 steeps. I will probably never get through 7 steeps of the same tea in a row. :) Too impatient, too many teas!!!

Again, thanks for sharing, Tamm!

Wow! What a pretty tea. Whole rosebuds, orange slices of dried carrots, lavender, just lovely!

I don’t get much beyond the lavender taste but it was very nice and relaxing. I liked it after it cooled off a bit. Freshly hot it was hard to taste the flavor.

I could see mixing this with a nice chamomile for a before bed cuppa. Thanks, Tamm!

No notes yet.

Don’t think I get pear or strawberry. However, it does taste like the scent of an old fashioned candy store. Kind of like old wood (not in a bad way) and nonspecific “sweet.” Maybe that is the jelly roll chocolate taste Tamm mentioned.

Thanks for the sample, Tamm!

Roasty, barky with a silky mouth feel. Smokey, earthy. Amazing to think I am drinking something aged for so long. I don’t even drink alcohol that old! :)

That said, this probably isn’t going to be something I seek out to keep around. If anyone would like to try it, I’d be happy to share some.