New Tasting Notes

Still kind of not a fan of the aftertaste of this tea because it is so drying. But a lower temperature and a shorter steep have made it an easier drink.

It’s very sweet and malty, even with less time it’s still a very full bodied tea.

And now this time as it cools, I don’t like it one bit. It becomes almost slightly sour with astringency.

Drank this in a frenzy yesterday morning while trying to get myself (and my apartment) ready for a visit from the parents. They’re not in town often but they always seem to catch me at a super busy time when my place happens to be a mess. Sigh. I got everything in order just about in time though, and obviously I couldn’t skip out on my morning cup of tea.

I love pumpkin teas and this one is nearly perfect. I love the rich spices and the addition of caramel. I’m really glad I picked up a pouch. Especially since I’m kicking myself for getting 3 pouches of Butterbeer, which I swear has changed. I keep getting bitterness. Sigh. At least I have lots to experiment with I suppose.

So glad to have this back in my cupboard. It makes crappy mornings a little more bearable. It’s what I reach for after a draining day. Pure, sweet comfort. Hello again, friend!

I’m doing this with multiple steeps with hot water and 3-6 second steeps in my beautiful little frog yixing teapot (after rinsing the tea) according to Verdant tea’s instructions. The first steep has a wonderfully floral nose but the taste itself is very light. The liquor is a shimmery golden straw color. The leaves open up into large beautiful leaves.

Second steep: The floral bouquet is considerably muted now. The taste is stronger with a slight salted artichoke flavor mixed with the flowers and a slight walnut sensation at the back of my tongue. Nice.

Third steep: A hint of walnuts and butter pastry.

Fourth steep: The surprising scent of freshly shampoo’d hair. The flavor has retreated a bit and is back to light floral.

Perfect morning tea, however cliched that may be. I love getting up in the morning and fixing myself a cup of Earl Grey, and nothing beats loose-leaf for that. I like to steep this tea a little long to allow a stronger flavor that stands up to having a touch of milk added.

Thank you to Jillian for this sample. It’s been on my shelf for too long and I’m going through my one off samples today.

The teabag smells like cinnamon with extra spiciness, not exactly what I thought I would smell with it being chocolate flavoured.

Once steeped the tea is dark brown in colour with a very strong cinnamon and fruity orange smell. There is also a slight earthy smell from the pu erh.

If it doesn’t smell like chocolate does it at least taste like it? That’s the question I am asking myself at this moment in time while I count down the remaining steeping time.

Well I can now answer that it has a slight taste of chocolate (or cocoa anyway) but the cinnamon is overpowering it. Now don’t get me wrong I love cinnamon but I was hoping this would be a little more chocolatey than it is. As for this being a pu erh based tea I would have never guessed it by taste alone.

While it’s not what I expected it’s still not bad for a bagged tea and it has it’s own charm. It’s more of a weak fruity chocolate spice cake than just chocolate by itself but perhaps that’s not such a bad thing.

This is my favorite creamy Earl Grey. It’s a stronger tea than most cream EG’s use, and it has more bergamot flavor. The blend fits together perfectly. I love it with milk and sugar. And the scent of this tea is wonderful, I can sit sniffing it for hours.

Thanks Nicole for sending me this, when I can afford and justify buying more tea I’m gonna order some more.

I enjoyed a cup or two of this black current tea. It reminded me of the Harney’s pomegranate oolong considerably but seemed fuller bodied than the pomegranate oolong, but it could have been the amount of tea used was different. This is a very pleansant tea for me and I will definitely buy more. Its not earthshattering in anyway, just pleasant and very drinkable. It seems it would be nice to blend in with other black teas to make a wonderful iced tea also.

I was given a teabag of this tea last year and it was my first David’s Tea item that I received. Since I found that I couldn’t buy them here in the UK I kept it as a special treat for one day in the future. Well that day is now, my nan passed away 8 years ago next month and today would have been her birthday. I was very close to my nan and her passing has been extremely difficult for my family and not a day goes by that I don’t think about her.

My nan was a very strong woman and at only 63 she was taken away from us all much too young. I sometimes think that she was taken to cook for her beloved cowboy and Indians (her house was decorated with pictures and statues and she loved Western films).

To celebrate her life I am drinking this Long Life Oolong. My nan (Jean) was more of a coffee drinker than tea but I know she would love my quirky tea addiction and see it as being healthy and interesting. She was my best friend.

The tea comes in a see through square with easy to see ingredients. A sweet and peachy/apricot scent is subtle but there.

Once brewed the tea is yellow in colour with the same but much stronger peach/apricot smell that really is quite mouth wateringly good.

The taste is similar to the smell but with added extra’s. While the peach and apricot are the most dominant there is also a hint of waxy citrus orange and something slightly dark and gently toasty which must be the Oolong. Even though it’s rather fruity it still remains refreshing and light with a fair balance of flavours and sweetness.

It’s a shame I only had the one bag of this because it really is quite tasty. I may have to see if this re steeps well. Plus the cooler it becomes the more I can taste the Oolong and smooth almond. Yummy.

To my nan Jean West, I hope you have found peace and eternal happiness. We all miss you down here but we know you are watching over us. Know that we all love you and will miss you until the day that we are reunited. I am trying my best to make you proud of me. Even though it was short I’m thankful to have had you in my life. I love you nan.

A while ago jing posted a food combination on there facebook page, so i had to try it out!

Its an easy combination because its just a mango that u can eat with the ali shan, they said that it compliments the taste off the tea in order to get a refreshing afternoon…

Well i bought a mango the other day (something i do on a regular base). so after getting my tea ready (one teaspoon with boiling water for 3min) i cut the mango into pieces!

Once everything is cooled down a bit i couldn’t wait to get this little experiment working. The tea tastes as creamy like it used to (i like this oolong) so no surprises there… a sip off tea and after that a pieces off mango. I can see how they match a little bit in texture and taste. I’m noticing that the mango taste in my mounth brings out a little more cream tastes from the tea. Perhaps that the fruit notes in my tea get a bit lost because off my mango but… its a good combo.

Not a everyday combo, but every once in a while i will try this, especially on a hot summer afternoon or evening!

This one exceeded my expectations.
One of my favorite shus so far.
brewed in kajmojive device using filtered water.

roasted, fermented grain malty, yes- I can see the corn associations here. Caramel goodness reveals itself in later steepings.
very clean with no fermentation aroma/taste.

a good tea for digestion, especially during winter months- when lightly oxidised tea should be consumed with caution by those whose digestion is sensitive to cold-natured food and drink

With such simple ingredients (lychee and rose petals) this tea will either be a hit or a miss. The teabags are pyramid shape and I can see the ingredients inside which I am happy to say look rather fresh and natural.

The colour once steeped is dark amber with a sweet and rich finish.

Well that is interesting…the mixture of the two ingredients has created a somewhat chocolate affair. It has sweetness yet there is that cocoa nib feel about it whilst being a little fruity. The balance works very well, it’s smooth, rich, sweet, fruity.

For a pre bagged tea this is very tasty and for such simple ingredients it is very impressive.

Wonderful and so easy to drink.

I wold also make it cold from time to time, but no need to add sugar or anything…

The tea is not TOO complex or difficult, which makes it a good tea to drink in the morning as it wont make your stomach hurt. I liked it, but also have others I like more.

Haven’t had this one in a very long time and now TeaVivre gave me a free sample of this great tea!

I like to steep this one really strong, much stronger than any other tea, so that it leaves a wine-like sensation in the mouth and a very distinct aftertaste, which I can’t identify at all, but it’s amazing.

Also this is one of the teas I like with no sugar at all. Really good, will bump the rating up a few points. Guess I need to re-stock this one the next time I order something.

This tea is very nice.

I am newer to these kinds of teas and it is my first green puerh, but I have tried the black before and it is nothing like this.

The aging is wonderful, but I understand that most black puerhs are not aged, only processed to be black. This tea is going to be wonderful for aging as the tea is perfect now.

I bought two of the cakes, and will buy more in the future if they are still available. I do agree that Yiwu produces the better of the green puerh teas because I tried a different one recently that was not as complex or flavorful as this. The tea is a tea for all times of the day, so that makes me feel good! Haha. Hope this helps others.

Oh ya, don’t steep it for more than 30-40 seconds, as it is full leaves and has no need to be steeped that long! Held its flavor until the 10th or 11th steeping.

This tea is wonderfully aged and has the notes of camphor. I have only tried a few cups so far, but will have many more :)

Thank you Reasoned_Melody for this sample.

The teabag smells strongly fruity and a little fermented. I can understand why people have been saying this brews up strongly.

Once brewed the tea becomes a reddy brown colour with a sweet yet strong grapey wine fragrance.

Despite the low steeping time of 2 minutes it’s rather bitter, making the whole tea sweet and sour. I can taste grapes and fruit and there is a little dryness there which has a wine effect. While it may not be the nicest flavoured tea it still has charm. Drinking it gives me a sort of…glow…like real wine does.

If the bitterness could be improved then this would be a wonderful bagged tea but for now it remains average.

I can’t set steeping time lower than 15 sec so I mark it here :
this tea requires VERY short steeping time of probably 1-3 seconds for an infusion

Ahhhhh…. The aroma of the dry leaves of this tea is truly heavenly. Thick, overpowering scent of honey that won’t even let you brew it for a minute or so because you just can’t stop enjoying it :)

I am always amazed at how unflavored, unblended dancong tea can smell so good and this one is truly a pinnacle of this quality. Even last year’s Huang Zhi Xiang from the same company pales in comparison.

The taste is really heavy and bitter with sweet hints so very short steepings of a few seconds are advisable (bitterness isn’t overpowering then). I’d say this tea is much like wine – it’s bitterness is mature and isn’t offputting at all if you just remember to pour it out almost immediately. The advice stands even for later infusions – i am currently at 5th and 2 seconds still produce very strong flavor.

Delish! I’ve had this a few times hot, and enjoyed it. But the berry flavors were screaming to be tried iced. Cold steeped it over night and WOW! Love it!!! Even better as an iced tea :) Will probably drink it more that way from now on! Although, for a caffeine free alternative in the evening if I’m craving something fruity and warm, still an option.

This has pretty much broken the record for being used up in my cupboard. Looking at.other reviews, there is a really mixed bag and some people are quite negative in their thoughts. But I think this is among the Earl Grey purists only. I haven’t come across anyone who dislikes this tea, and I’ve given it to at least half a dozen people.

This was an X-mas gift from my parents so I didn’t really have the heart to tell them that I normally don’t care for red rooibos teas. And really, it isn’t that bad – this blend lacks the strong woody rooibos flavour that I so dislike and it actually mixes quite well with the spices. It’s a fairly mild and un-ojectionable tea all together.