Scott B

A FF Darjeeling sample I bought several weeks ago.

The short, tightly-rolled dry leaf is various shades of medium to dark green and smells sweet and somewhat floral. The brewed leaf smells rather nondescript. I get traditional FF darjeeling notes that smell more weedy than floral to me. Liquor is a clear amber.

The flavor is pretty nice. I taste a little bit of the lemony notes, but nothing else I can identify. No idea what Lily of the Valley would smell or taste like, so maybe it’s there. This cup is not too fruity or floral and I enjoyed it. It does start to get bitter as it cools.

The second steep didn’t taste as nice. I probably waited 3-5 minutes after brewing before I tasted it and it was already fairly bitter.

So, one good steep and one not. I haven’t been real crazy about any FF Darjeelings and I probably wouldn’t buy this in the future.

Cantaloupe and cream just doesn’t seem a natural combination, but with all the rave reviews, I decided to try it anyway.

This is a really pretty tea to look at. The dry leaves are large and green. This must be fresher than other Bai Mu Dan I have had in the past. The Helichrysum flowers that are blended in look similar to baby’s breath (those little white flowers often included in red rose bouquets). The aroma is amazing-I smell mostly the cream (maybe the Helichrysum too-not sure how that smells).

The brewed aroma is more of the same-not sure how you get a vegan flavoring to smell so natural and creamy, but Stacy has done it. Even my gf, who never has any interest or comment about tea, actually commented on the pleasing scent.

The taste is fantastic-natural, creamy, and rich. I can’t taste as much cantaloupe as everybody else (maybe it’s my taste buds?), but I don’t even care because the cream flavoring is so excellent. Of course, this tea is very smooth and has zero bitterness. I’d like to try it iced. Just a great tea.

As a side note, I imagine that cream flavoring would go really well with say a root beer float tea or a cream soda tea. Delicious.

EDIT I made a second steep, let it cool, then put it in the freezer for a bit to ice it. I added just one teaspoon of sugar. Tastes great! I had to hold back from chugging it because I didn’t want caffeine so fast so late in the day. I need to make this earlier next time.

Nilgiri’s are supposed to make good iced teas, so I decided to try some before my sample runs out.

I used 2 teaspoons instead of one and hot brewed. Then I poured the brewed tea over a cup of ice until melted.

The tea is very clear, as promised. Strangely, I tasted a little bit of a floral flavor that isn’t there when consumed hot. There is also a little bit of a bitterness in the finish. This really called out for 2-3 teaspoons of sugar-although I only put in one. If you are a fan of lemon, I think it would take well to this.

It’s good, but I prefer it hot. I also don’t like to add more than a teaspoon or so of sugar-if any. I can’t say that I wouldn’t ice it again-but it’s not likely to be my top choice.

Rating number is for the hot tea.

EDIT – I couldn’t stand the thought of throwing the leaves out after one steep and I made a second steep. Same parameters save for a touch more ice. I’m enjoying this cup more. The bitterness is no longer noticeable and the floral note is gone. I’m tasting more spicy, woodsy notes now. This cup is a little sweeter and does not require any sugar at all. Very nice.

Amidst all the Celestial Seasonings teas, I was surprised to see this tea in my grocery store. I’ve heard a lot about it and I see even Mark T. Wendell sells it so I thought “England’s #1 Tea” was worth a shot. Fortunately, I still have my tea bag tongs.

The Kenyan tea in the blend is what makes this different for me-never had Kenyan in an English/Scottish/Irish blend.

PG promises 50% more room in this pyramid bag, but it seems pretty small as far as pyramid bags go. If you don’t unfold it carefully, you have mainly a basic teabag. This brews a nice, dark mahogany cup in only two minutes, and is probably really loaded with caffeine. The flavor is strong and brisk-it tastes much like Upton’s East Frisian Blend. There is just a slight bitterness on the finish-doesn’t bother me.

I enjoyed this cup. Not sure that I would have this as anything but a breakfast tea, but it’s flavorful and wakes me up. I like it.

I received this sample from Stacy of Butiki Teas as part of their “new customer appreciation special”. Thank you, very much.

This is nice and surprising. Brewed leaf smells like cinnamon, malt, and oak. Liquor is a light golden color. The most prominent note in the flavor is of sweet potato. This reminds me of a Yun Nan Dian Hong. Very smooth and satisfying-I had no idea Kenyan teas could be so delicate. I hope this re-steeps well.

EDIT – I did get one more nice steep out of this. I had thought this was a breakfast “wake you up” type tea, but it’s more of a relaxing afternoon cup for me. If you like Yun Nan golden tips/needles, you might want to try this tea.

I have a hard time getting my green teas in.

It’s not that I don’t like them-I do, but I like black teas better, and the way my Zoji boiler works, I have to be certain I am done with black teas for the day before I go green or white. Problem is, I may have consumed 5 cups of black before my machine is cooled enough for green and by then, I am near my limit for the day. Well, I am drinking tea a bit later today, so that’s good news for my greens!

I was nervous about liking this one, but the reviews were so glowing, I went ahead and got some-glad I did. The dry leaves are very dark green, tightly twisted and curly. The aroma reminds me a bit of the floral in a green oolong as well as a green vegetable.

Brewed leaves turn cooked spinach green. Brewed aroma is mostly vegetal with maybe some light creamy and toasty notes. Liquor is pale, more yellow than green in color.

Flavor is mostly vegetal mostly with dominant notes of cooked spinach. I was hoping for the notes of carmelized green beans, but don’t taste that yet. Reminds me a lot of Teavivre’s Xin Yang Mao Jian. This is kind of sweet, very smooth, and zero bitterness. I like this quite a bit. I’m on my third steep and I haven’t tasted any notes of vanilla soymilk-and I would think I would recognize that since I drink it a lot. However, I didn’t buy the tea for soymilk notes and I like it just fine the way it is. I’m not sure 6 months ago that I would try these types of greens-I was mainly Moroccan Mint and Jasmine. I can thank Steepster for helping me to expand my horizons.

_{Thank you FONG MONG TEA for this free sample}

Wow-this doesn’t taste like any kind of oolong I’ve ever had! In fact, if you had given me a blind taste test, I could not identify this tea-or even hazard a guess. I might guess an herbal tea. I’ve never had an Oriental Beauty tea before, so I had no idea what to expect here.

The leaves are large and twisted with colors of chocolate brown and rust contrasted sharply by chalky white tips. The dry leaf aroma is a rather generic, mild black tea scent.

The brewed leaf aroma smells much like grapefruit. Liquor is a deep amber hue. Flavor is very unusual and unique. This does not “remind” me of any kind of tea I’ve ever had. I taste notes of grapefruit, apple, and vinegar (apple cider vinegar?). I also taste some sort of woody type spice.

This is all very interesting. Let me try another steep or two to think about the number rating.

_{Thank you, FONG MONG TEA, for the free sample}

Fong Mong tea takes its tea packaging very seriously. Not only did all the tea samples come in vacuum-sealed foil pouches (Americans, think of the Food Saver infomercials), but there is also an oxygen absorbing packet in each pouch. Combine that with their very fast shipping time (less than 10 days from Taiwan to the USA) and you can expect very fresh tea.

The sample packs are 6 grams in size-enough for two brews of 3 grams each. With little margin for error, I used a digital scale to get a precise measurement of the tea.

The dry leaves are very dark green (bordering on Charleston Green)and are rolled into round cluster shapes with light brown tips protruding from the end, almost like a short fuse. The aroma to me smells like a general green oolong smell-maybe lightly floral and vegetal-and somewhat sweet.

As the brewed leaves unfurl, it turns out that there are two leaves in each cluster attached to a stem (the light brown fuse). Brewed aroma is pretty much the same although the roasting flavor comes out and enhances everything. Liquor is transparent and the color of straw or hay.

The flavor is more of the traditional floral/vegetal flavor I have experienced with green oolongs. However, it is smoother than others and has zero bitterness. I think it tastes a little better and is a little higher quality than say, Rishi’s Bao Zhong (although I am unsure if that tea is charcoal-roasted).

I’m not sure if I know green oolongs well enough to give this a number rating, but if you like quality green oolongs, you should enjoy this tea.

_{Brew temp 208}

This is an interesting blend. It seems every sip features a different tea. I taste the Keemun and Ceylon the most, but I also taste the Oolong. Not noticing the Assam as much except for maybe the tannins. Very smooth and non-astringent. I would consider this a mid-morning/afternoon tea for me. Very relaxing and enjoyable. Not a must have, but I’d probably buy this again in the future.

Small, tighly-rolled leaves are mostly chocolate brown with a few chestnut brown leaves/tips in the mix.

Brews a fairly strong mahogany-copper cup. Brisk and malty. Not smooth, but not bitter. Consumed straight, as usual. It’s reliable and something I would probably re-purchase in the future to drink by itself, or to blend it with a good Ceylon to make an Assam/Ceylon Irish blend.

This is the last of my samples from Teavivre – thanks again for the generous samples!

The dry leaves are quite pleasing to the eye-exquisitely twisted black leaves flecked with warm golden buds.

This tea is smooth, sweet and contains notes of grain. Maybe rye? Zero bitterness or astringency. This is one of the highest rated teas here at Steepster and is a very high quality tea.

_{Free sample provided by Fong Mong Tea-thank you very much}

Wow, this is a truly unique tea! I can honestly say I’ve never tasted anything like this.

Dry leaves smell sweet and like a combination of fruity and floral. Brewed leaves smell a little malty and a little like some sort of cool mint. The liquor is coppery red.

At first, I didn’t taste the mint, and mostly tasted the floral/fruity flavor, but now that my palate picked up on the mint, I mostly taste that along with maltiness from the Assamica. This tea is smooth, sweet, and not bitter at all. It doesn’t fit into any preconceived notions of what a black tea should be-and I like that.

I have never tried a Taiwanese black before and I am grateful for the opportunity to have tasted this unusual and flavorful tea.

I received this as a free sample with my last RtR order. I was excited to get a tea from Sikkim as I am new to teas from that area. However, I was a little concerned when I realized how close it was to Darjeeling considering I haven’t enjoyed Darjeelings as much as I thought I would.

The dry leaves smell fragrant and fruity. I wonder if they are picking up a little of the aroma of the orange trees grown on the estate? They are short-medium in length and tightly rolled. About half are chocolate brown and the other half a medium brown like chestnut.

The brewed leaves have a bit of that muscatel type odor that is associated with 2nd flush Darjeelings. There is no baked bread aroma like RtR promises. (I may not be the greatest at determining all the complex flavors in a tea, but I know what fresh baked bread smells like, and this does not smell like fresh bread). The liquor is reddish copper.

1st steep-The flavor is very fruity and sweet and I don’t really notice the muscatel in the flavor-which is very good, in my opinion. I enjoyed this cup.

2nd steep-I don’t taste much fruit anymore-just some of the muscatel flavor that I don’t care for. It’s not as strong as in a 2nd flush darjeeling, but it’s there and it’s the only discernible flavor here. Not my thing.

3rd steep-liquor is a pale amber now. Muscatel flavor is mostly gone, but I am not tasting a lot of anything else.

Verdict-If you like 2nd flush Darjeeling, you might enjoy this. I probably wouldn’t buy this, as for me, it’s only tasty for one steep. My rating number is based on just that 1st steep.

I pretty much wanted to try this tea once I saw their ancient-looking packaging. Look at that canister-it look a hundred years old! I only hoped the tea was new.

The bad thing about Wendell is their shipping is comparatively high (for tea merchants) and (as far as I can tell) you have to buy 4 ounces of most everything. However, I really enjoy Lapsang, and with all the good reviews, I figured there was little chance that I wouldn’t like this tea. The good thing about Wendell is that their 4 ounce teas come in their own tins-no looking for a tin and struggling to remove the scent of the previous tea-you are ready to go. The tins have their lids attached on back hinges and are filled to the brim so be careful not to spill any. And to be fair about the shipping, the tins are probably a little more expensive to ship than a pouch.

The dry leaves are medium in length, very tightly rolled, and mostly chocolate brown with some mahogany brown mixed in. I’ve gone into sensory overload comparing the dry leaf aroma of this to my other Lapsangs, so descriptors fail me now, but suffice to say it is unique compared to the others. It’s smoky of course, but spicy too, and I’ll leave it at that for now. Liquor is copper-colored and very clear.

Flavor is smoky and mild. Slightly sweet. Very smooth. It tastes like a Lapsang, but slightly different. Perhaps that is the Formosan base instead of a Chinese tea base? Perhaps they have a better technique of smoking their leaves. Maybe both. No matter, it’s delicious. Almost makes me long for 90 degree days-when I enjoy Lapsang the most. I have 6 Lapsangs in my house right now. 5 of them are one ounce or less, so Hu Kwa will be around long after I have finished the others-and I kinda like that.

Haven’t had this in a month or two-been opting for caffeine-free after dinner options most often lately.

This is a good and reliable masala. It has a bit more cardamon than I would like, but I can deal with it as long as I don’t inhale the dry blend too much. The cinnamon is very pronounced-to the point of having a bit of a spicy kick to it.

Brewed in mug and almond milk added after brewing. It’s better to brew together on the stove, but usually I just go with my tea boiler.

_{Free sample provided by Teavivre for review}

I don’t have Jasmine tea often, but when I do, I want good stuff. This, my friends, is the good stuff. After putting up with lousy bags in Asian restaurants, I bought some loose leaf from Ten Ren tea-which was okay, but it went very bitter in just a couple of months. I had a good experience with Imperial Republic pearls from RoT and I was hoping to build on that with this tea.

The pearls are very tightly rolled and a little bigger than RoT’s (which are BB-sized), but smaller than say, Fenqing Dragon Pearls (which are closer to marble-sized). The aroma is a wonderful and natural jasmine. The liquor is very pale with more yellow than green hues. The jasmine is pronounced, but it does not seem like you are smelling or drinking perfume. The tea and the jasmine fuse very well together in the flavor. I have had two delicious steeps so far and may go for a third.

I know that I will never compromise with inferior Jasmine tea again and I consider Teavivre’s Jasmine Pearls one of my very top choices for quality Jasmine tea.

_{Free sample provided by Teavivre for review}

Warm sweet potatoes on a cold, rainy day-need I say more?

I’ve only had a couple of Dian Hong teas, but I have really loved them. That combined with a sky-high Steepster rating sets a high bar for this tea. Never fear, Teavivre easily clears the hurdle with this wonderful tea.

The dry leaf aroma is slightly sweet with notes of buckwheat and orange citrus-quite intoxicating. The long twisted leaves are colored golden and chocolate brown. Brewed leaf aroma is mostly the pleasant buckwheat aroma. The liquor is a rather striking golden orange.

The dominant flavor in this tea is sweet potatoes and it really doesn’t need much more than that. Sometimes I catch a notes of cinnamon and orange citrus-both of which go great with sweet potatoes. There can be very subtle malty notes as well. It’s very smooth and non-astringent. For me, I enjoy this most as a mid-morning or afternoon tea. This is a tea that I really need to have in the cupboard all the time.

First infusion-1 heaping teaspoon to about 7 ounces of water. Temp 185/2 minutes
Second infusion-185/3 minutes.

Think I will use 1.5-2 teaspoons next time, because I think that I can draw more infusions out of this terrific tea.

I have never tried this type of tea before so thanks to Teavivre for their generous free sample to review.

The dry leaves (pearls) are huge! While a Jasmine pearl is typically the size of a BB, these pearls are the size of a marble. They do have a sweet aroma of chocolate. I am glad I drink my tea in clear glass cups, because it was so nice to watch the balls unfurl to do their magic.

The pearls unfurled into chocolate brown leaves with a few mahogany brown leaves. The brewed leaf was kind of grainy in aroma-with a slight resemblance to the aroma of a brewed Autumn Harvest Laoshan Black. The liquor leans toward a reddish-orangish brown.

The flavor reminded me a lot of a Keemun-so smooth and chocolately. However, it does not have the smoky notes you often find in a Keemun. It’s very sweet. There is a grainy type note in the background-again similar to Autumnal Laoshan Black-but it’s very minor. I enjoyed this tea very much and look forward to drinking more of it.

1st steep I brewed with 5 pearls, boiling water, 2 minutes.
2nd steep I added a 6th pearl and brewed at 208 for 3 minutes

I still have about 5 or 6 FF Darjeeling samples that I haven’t tried yet. I got pretty discouraged when I didn’t really like my Thurbo. I enjoyed a FF Thurbo from RtR earlier this year, so I expected to like the new crop. Maybe the flavor changes that much 9 months after picking and I only like it as it gets a little older. Maybe the drought affected the flavor. I don’t know.

Anyhow, this has been the best of the ones I have tried. It’s beautiful collection of green, light brown and dark chocolate colored leaves. Dry leaf aroma is less floral and more fruity. I don’t love it, but it’s not unpleasant. The liquor is a nice golden yellow.

There is something fruity in the flavor-perhaps pineapple-and that helps. One thing I have noticed in all the Darjeelings I’ve tried is a type of weedy flavor. Maybe like a dandelion-not sure. It’s hard for me to overcome that flavor, though this tea does better at that than the others.

I tried this about 3 days in a row and thought I was really coming around to it, but I didn’t have any over the long weekend, and now today, I am not sure how much I like it. I have been constant with brewing parameters. I still have a couple more brews worth in my sample, so I will try some more to see how it goes.

I’m not going to give a number rating to any FF Darjeelings unless I find some that I am sure that I like.

_{Free sample provided by Teavivre for review}

Among the boxes of tea that rained on my house yesterday was my free sample box generously provided by TeaVivre Such a nice surprise.

I placed my first order with Teavivre in such haste that I missed out on a lot of teas that I wanted to try, so I am grateful for the free samples. As has been mentioned, each sample is in a small mylar foil type pack and all 5 fit back into one resealable foil/mylar pouch. Very nice. Teavivre has great customer service and follows up with an email to make sure that everything was okay with the package.

First up is their Lapsang. One of the misconceptions I think people have about Lapsang is that it is a strong, slap you around tea like a robust Irish Breakfast or East Frisian blend. Or maybe they think it will be spicy hot like chili peppers.

However, Lapsangs are neither of those. Good Lapsang, like this one from Teavivre, are actually rather gentle and smooth, often with some sweetness.

The dry leaves on this tea are beautiful tightly rolled strips of chocolate brown with some golden brown tips mixed in. As you would expect, their aroma is smoky and piney. Not overwhelming, but a little more subtle. Very pleasant. The brewed leaf develops a bit of a peat moss aroma-milder than some other Lapsangs. The liquor looked to be a deep amber color.

The taste is as advertised-smoky and pleasant and slightly sweet in the finish. Very tasty. If you like Lapsang, you should enjoy this tea. If you are curious about Lapsang, it’s a good tea to start with.

I’ve managed two steeps so far, and will be going for a third shortly.

Did you ever think you’d get buried under an avalanche of tea?

It seemed that might happen yesterday as package after package arrived. My dog was wearing her nose out smelling all the interesting boxes. When the torrent subsided the boxes were between knee and waist high and I was ready to brew.

This was my first order from Mark T Wendell. The only Indonesian tea I’ve ever had before was in TG’s disappointing English Breakfast blend, so it was nice to see an Indonesian tea get a chance to stand on its own.

I’m not sure if this is an estate tea or not. The web site says it’s from Kertasarie Estate but the label on the tin says it’s a blend. Do estates ever make their own blends from different teas?

Anyhow, the dry leaves are short, twisted and fairly uniform in size. Their color is very dark brown with a few medium brown specks in there. Dry aroma is pleasant and subdued, with maybe a touch maltiness and a hint of orange citrus.

Brewed aroma is more malty with maybe that orange citrus note. Can you smell tannins? I swear I smell tannins. Liquor is nice and coppery.

Taste is good, if a little generic and nondescript. A little malty, but that orange citrus note doesn’t seem to have made it. Somewhat robust, but no bitterness. I think this could be a decent breakfast tea. I will brew this a little longer next time and see if I can coax a bit more flavor out of it.

Finally got around to brewing this at a lower temperature as suggested by Amy oh.
Although the tea wasn’t bitter, the last time I brewed this, I tasted almost nothing else but 2nd flush Darjeeling-which I don’t care for.

Anyhow, brewing at 195 today the tea tastes much better. Can’t really pick out individual tea flavors, but at least the 2nd flush taste is hidden. Probably wouldn’t buy this again, but it tastes decent enough. I will certainly finish my sample pack without complaint.

Getting up very early to walk the dogs and then ourselves during the heat wave. Rather than feel slugged out all day, I went for this, figuring if it didn’t wake me up, nothing I had would.

And it does wake me up fairly well. However, today it didn’t reach up and smack me like it did the other day. Brewing parameters were the same. It’s still bold and robust, but went down remarkably smooth for this type of tea. Upping the rating a bit.

_{Rating number is for straight brewed tea}

Ridiculously hot for May, so more Lapsang.

I tried this today iced with soymilk to try to emulate a Thai Iced tea that I’ve had in restaurants. I never did get a container to cold brew, so I hot brewed a cup and poured over a cup with an equivalent amount of ice as the tea. Used 1 teaspoon of fresh leaves and 1 teaspoon of leaves that were on their second steep. Brewed in a about 10 ounces of water.

Added milk and a lot of sugar-2 tablespoons. I put in too much milk and the liquor was something like mother of pearl instead of a nice tan. Still, it tasted pretty good. The smoke was subdued in the sweetness in the milk and sugar, but it was there. A unique drink. Very refreshing on a hot day. Definitely want to experiment with this some more.