Nicole

Lots of golden tips – they are not exaggerating! So pretty.

This is smooth, strong, slightly dusty at the front of the sip… Mildly sweet but with a most decided kick. This would be a good kick yer butt outta the house morning tea. :)

Oh, and I should add that they were very nice people to deal with. They even included a complimentary black tea tin with my order.

Dry leaves smell like fruit. Non-specific fruity-ness. Both I and another Tea Club buddy noticed it.

Steeped for rather a long time as I got busy and lost track, but it was still smooth and light. Sweet without being sweetened, and definitely fruity. Again, can’t name the fruit it reminded us of – just fruity. I wasn’t around long enough to try the 2nd steep, but the reviews I heard were good. They said it was lighter, of course, but still good.

Such a pretty tea when dry. At least 3 different colors of leaves, maybe 4.

Lightly astringent, slightly malty. Definitely dry but not puckery. Much gentler than the other Kenyan blacks I have tried. A good, basic black to keep around. If I didn’t already have good, basic blacks, I’d make sure to keep this on hand.

On a sad note, this is my only cup of tea today. The last week or so I’ve noticed a fluttery, phone-on-vibrate sensation off to center left of my chest. Pulse is fine, bp is fine. No other sensations. But I have been going kind of nuts with the tippy teas lately and those have more caffeine than others. Nuts like having 2 pots of yunnan type tea a day kind of nuts. I have never been caffeine sensitive but as my husband is fond of saying lately – we are both getting older.

So… my first step is cutting way back on anything with caffeine and replacing it with water. My promise to myself was to cut caffeine completely for a week. I just can’t do it. It’s cool and wet out and I want tea!!!!

This smells almost wine-y when dry. Like fermented fruit. Steeped it still smells strongly of fruit. Not sure I can pick out which one or ones in particular, just fruit. But not sweet.

A wonderful, deep and smooth flavor. Quenching and yet with just a hint of dryness at the end of the sip. Another leafhopper tea that meets with high approval. Those little bugs are pretty good for tea, apparently. :)

Made a pot of this at work today. I forgot about it and it steeped for about 20 minutes! O.O

It was delicious. The longer steep brought out smokey notes and reminds me somewhat of coffee. A strong several cups to get me through the day. It might not be what this tea was intended to be, but even at that long a steep it was still a good tasting cup.

No rating on this one as I’ve already rated and see no need to change it.

Oof. Just got back from having dinner with friends. They decided to cash in our wedding present to them and get dinner at our local Brazilian grill. I didn’t eat all day in anticipation of the feast.

My tummy is seriously angry with me. So. Much. Meat. I’m thinking this might be soothing.

Dry leaves smell more like bergamot than anything else. Steeped liquor is a lovely dark honey color. The bergamot is what I notice first. Then at the end of the sip, the cool of the mint comes to the forefront. This is a nice, balanced cup and my tummy is approving.

Tried this in snow ice cream today. Mom & I made vanilla first and then started wondering if tea would make good snow ice cream.

Steeped about a tablespoon of this in 3/4 cup hot milk for about 5 minutes. Added 1/3 cup sugar, a dash of salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and let it cool. Folded enough clean fluffy snow to make a firm ice milk.

It’s not bad. I love this tea cold but have never tried it with sugar or with milk. I’m not sure I like the fruit and milk together. Which is odd – I like peach ice cream. I think this experiment needs to be repeated with chai. Even though I’m not a spice ice cream person I do love milk with chai. Now… where to find more snow… :)

No rating since I’ve rated this tea before and this isn’t really a fair tea experience. :)

Smells like holidays. :)

I picked this up thinking maybe my mom, who likes spiced teas but can’t have ginger and cardamom, might like it. She does, and said that it reminded her a lot of Constant Comment. Myself, I’ve never had Constant Comment that I recall so I can’t say.

Heavily orange, heavily cinnamon. I don’t really get apples until it cools off. Then it reminds me a bit of spiced apple cider.

I think it does what it says it does. Not going to be to my taste enough to keep it in the cupboard, but I’ll rate it based on how closely it matched expectations. :)

Okay. First – warmth is good. :)

Second, this is a good morning tea. Dark, heavy, slightly sweet… with an odd almost fishy aftertaste? Dusty? Not a bad thing. But not something I tasted in the Yunnan Gold from NM Tea. This is good and if I hadn’t tried the Gold I’d be pretty happy with this.

When I reorder, it will be the Gold I keep in the cupboard, not this one. Not a thing wrong with this one, just prefer the other, I think.

Oh, my. This is just wonderful. Lovely and malty with hints of cocoa. Strong and very smooth. A perfect tea to be snowed in with today.

Both glad and dismayed that I asked for this as my free sample. Glad because it can easily become a staple. Dismayed because it should easily become a staple. :)

Next up for today’s adventure in lots of tea since I can’t go anywhere is the regular Royal Yunnan from NM Tea. Try it in comparison to this one and see if I can tell a difference and if so, what one I’ll like better. I really need to spring for the gift tins from NM Tea on my next order. I love so much of their label artwork.

Off to shovel snow since we have a break in the storm for a few hours. Maybe I can get a path to the car and get the drive done in front of the car before it piles on more this evening. Then I’ll really want hot tea!!

Just a lovely tea. The dry leaves are beautiful.

The smell is malty and yeasty. Taste is mildly malty. Definite notes of pecan and cocoa – not sweet chocolate or hot cocoa but cocoa like cocoa powder you bake with. This is one of the only teas I’ve ever had that is described as having chocolate flavor that I 1) actually get a cacao nib taste from and 2) actually like. This is not a chocolate tea, though, so I wouldn’t drink this expecting what you have had in other chocolate teas.

I’d say if you like yunnans you’ll like this one. No doubt at all that this is from Yunnan.

This is one I’ll definitely want to keep around. Sturdy and hefty without being bitter or dry.

UPDATE: 2nd steep was for about 6 minutes and while it was noticeably less malty and flavorful, it was still highly drinkable.

The initial smell left me with some trepidation. I have loved the leafhopper bitten teas up to this point but this smelled just like the oolongs that made me think I didn’t like oolongs. I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it. Woodsy, vegetal, juicy, I totally get the burnt toast notes but not in a bad way, if that makes any sense.

This is a darker oolong than I am used to trying. For that reason, I am not giving it a rating – no experience with it and while it will all be used eventually and I won’t dislike doing it, neither will it be replaced in my cupboard. :)

Smells fruity and floral when dry. After steeping, the leaves are predominantly green. Vegetal taste, very light and astringent. I’m happy to have tried this, but it confirms further to me that first flushes just aren’t my thing.

Not rating since I can’t compare this to other first flushes and have no way to say if this is a good one or not.

UPDATE: Continuing my way through this cup, I think I’ve narrowed down why first flushes aren’t for me. They are very reminiscent of green tea and green tea truly isn’t my thing.

Dry leaf smells fruity and yeasty. The steeped tea is malty, strong and honest. I’m not sure Assams are in my top teas but this one is high quality and very good. I’m glad I got more than just a sample, but I probably won’t add it to my next order. Nothing at all against the tea, just isn’t particularly one for me to keep around.

I like it, but, like stray animals, I can’t keep the teas I like all in my house. Gotta have room for the Taiwanese Wild Mountain Black. :)

This. Is. Amazing.

I smell the baked pastries when I sniff the cup. I don’t taste raisins or anything else, but this does have a completely unique something to it. I do get maltiness, even though others have not. And I did steep it for a loooong time accidentally so that may have contributed to the dryness in my mouth after drinking it. But it is not in the slightest bit bitter. It is stout and heavy.

This is a phenomenal, unique tea. If I could afford to, I’d drink it every morning. It steeps at least twice, thought, so that’s a plus. :)

After trying the Tortoise Green Chai, I ordered some and to get free shipping, I added this as well. :)

I’m not sure I can taste tea at all. That said, I can taste spices and definitely fruit. It goes together well. Sweet, yes, but not sickeningly so. I still probably don’t need more than one cup of it at a sitting.

Made with 7 oz. water and 3 tablespoons chai mix per package instructions. Curious to try with milk. I didn’t think this was too thin, but thicker would be good, too, I’m pretty sure. ;) I’d order it again if I was out somewhere and they had it, but I might or might not replace it in my cupboard when this supply is gone. Jury is still out on that.

So, we made another pot of this for tea club today. Today the ginger really popped out. Made it with half 1% milk, half water and a low to moderate amount of sugar. Didn’t seem as rich today. Very, very good, even though the tea taste isn’t very strong. We only got one pot out of it today, but the infuser did sit in the pot the entire time so maybe we leeched all the spices out. :)

We have another pot, maybe 2 in this bag and then I’ll have to order more! Upping the rating a bit as until now I hadn’t thought I’d like it enough to order again.

Smells strongly of chocolate after steeping. Doesn’t have a strong chocolate taste, though. I mainly get cinnamon and some cloves. It wasn’t bad but not as strong as I like my chais. Probably won’t reorder but it was fine for afternoon tea club at work, and the price was right. :)

Made in our usual way at work: half water, half 2% milk, sugar. Steeped in water, left infuser basket in after adding hot milk and sugar until tea was gone.

No notes yet.

Wow. This stuff unfurls to crazy size!!

And wow, does it ever sweeten. I used 3 pieces and steeped along with some Sungma darjeeling from Harney. There is a slight aftertaste that I associate with non-sugar or honey sweeteners. Enough so that I wouldn’t use this again with a tea not as light as this darjeeling. However, I will definitely try using it with the afternoon chai at work tomorrow. This should be a good compromise with those who don’t want sugar every afternoon and those of us who like our chai sweeter. :)

Rating is based on how likely I am to use it again, not as a tea to drink on its own.

Grabbed a cup of this to try on the way out of the grocery store today.

Not bad. Very much milky, mildly spicy, not so much tea-ey. Not overbearingly sweet, which was good. Main spice I taste is cinnamon, followed by what is probably ginger. Not bad but nothing I’d go out of my way to get again.

I was wondering, from reading the names of the teas they had, if they used Harney & Sons tea. Asking the kid at the counter, though, he said they came in packages labeled Caribou Coffee, so he didn’t know. But “Citron Green,” “Hot Cinnamon Spice” & “Pomegranate Oolong” make me suspicious. Plenty of companies probably have those exact names, though. Just got hopeful seeing several names I associate with H&S on a local menu board. :)

Picked this up at Dean & Deluca yesterday since I was in the neighborhood after work. I was trying to talk myself into some Mariage Freres but common sense ended up winning and saying that $24 for a whole tin of something you haven’t tried isn’t a good idea…So I got this instead. Hey, I had to have something to buy with my chocolate. Otherwise, the bag was going to be very empty. Of course, that philosophy led to more things like double Devon cream butter… :)

On to the tea. Brewed per package suggestions: 1 cup water to 1 tablespoon mix plus 1/3 cup milk.

Wow. First impression without sugar is BAM – pepper in yo’ face!

Add some sugar and it calms down a bit, but there is still a significant bite to this brew. Lots of flavor. I think there are other spices I taste that the pepper is trying to muscle out – cinnamon, ginger, cloves… not sure what all else. It’s not a bad chai at all, definitely packs more flavor than several I have tried.

I’m not sure I can taste the tea since my tongue is tingly and going numb from the pepper, though… :)

Off to get some bread worthy of the butter. :)

I had this as a chai latte at the DFW airport on my way to vacation last week. I was looking for some breakfast before the flight and this jumped out at me. It was excellent. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a green chai, much less a powdered one. The guy making it told me he was also putting Japanese matcha in it but who knows. He was a little hard to understand and it was early in the morning. :) He did give me the extra that wouldn’t fit in the regular cup in a little tasting cup and gave me a medium for small price. I had asked for a small and he either misunderstood or he was bored because he made a medium and then told me he was charging me the small price. Not gonna complain about that. :)

At any rate, this was thick, rich, sweet and amazing. I’m going to have to keep an eye out for some. It was best hot, but cooled off to lukewarm it was still good, though the aftertaste got stronger and wouldn’t have been my favorite part of it.

UPDATE: The dude who made this for me did indeed add matcha to it. When I made this at home tonight, it was not green and it tasted different. Still had an odd bit of aftertaste, but not as creamy and not green. :) Tried adding some matcha powder I got from Teavana awhile back and blech. I think I need to figure out how to mix matcha before I try this again. That and I’m pretty sure I just don’t care much for matcha when it tastes like matcha. :)

Definitely bold, definitely sweet. Very vanilla. Very forgiving. I steeped for quite awhile by accident and it doesn’t seem to have suffered much. Going to have to try this next to Tea Merchant’s Silk Dragon and see if there is a difference and if I prefer one to the other.

I could drink the silk oolongs all day long, I think.