-Jessica-

-Jessica- drank Osmanthus Silver Needle by Samovar

I received my Samovar order yesterday when I got home from work…awesome surprise! I was SOOO excited to try this. Now, when dealing with Silver Needle tea I will usually put more tea leaves in than what is called for. This is because Silver Needle tea is usually so light in flavor. So what I did was put about 1.5tsp (maybe even closer to 2tsp) in 8oz of water and steeped for a little over 4mins (I got a bit side tracked due to my toddler wanting to help clean, but really ended up making more of a mess lol). Anyways Samovar had a 5min maximum on the canister so I figured I was still safe, but I usually steep my white teas at the middle marker. Anyways, this brewed to a nice honey color… a bit dark for Silver Needle tea I thought, but who cares right?! hehe. I could smell my freshly brewed tea and it was sweet smelling, floral, and earthy… as in a cedar wood earthy! I took my first sip and it was amazing! I have never had Osmanthus flowers before, but it tasted like a nectar… a bit like honeysuckle perhaps? Yes, I think honeysuckle would be a good comparison the more I ponder on this. Then I could fully taste the Silver Needle as well, a nice vegetal/slightly cedar woodsy taste. Very clean and pure tasting, a double plus in my book! This is a total score with Samovar’s tea and I can’t wait to try more of their tea. They definitley know what they are doing and have high quality products!

2010-07-08 08:46:10 -0400

180 °F / 82 °C

4 min 15 sec

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TeaEqualsBliss 2010-07-08 09:02:37 -0400

Awwwwwwwesome!

Ricky 2010-07-08 11:14:21 -0400

Yay for tea surprises!

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I am a tea enthusiast who is always looking to try a new tea, but my all time favorite is jasmine pearls…or anything with jasmine in it really. I also am a sushi fanatic and simply can’t live without it. Outside of my fanatasy world of all things tea and sushi I am an executive assistant, mother of 2 and personal taxi/maid and chef service for my little family.

But back to the tea!

I love Jasmine Pearls, just about any White Tea and then we have Pu-erh coming in last as my top three.

However, I still enjoy a good Earl Grey tea, the more bergamot the better! I have a fond place in my heart for Matcha, especially iced Matcha Lattes. Flavored green teas are always fun, but I tend to stay away from the overly grassy tasting ones… they always remind me of a wheatgrass shot!

It takes a special black tea to really win me over, for me I find that they all taste too much alike or tend to be too bitter at times; I think I am more so bored with them.

Oolongs are fairly new to me and I am finding that these are really good and they will probably end up making it as one of my top contenders!

Pu-erh I have yet to try; I am very curious, but a bit scared to try it… something about being aged in a cave just frightens me a bit, but I would like to try one in the very near future :-) Update – I have tried a few pu-erhs and I can’t get enough of them! While they are definitely an acquired taste they are lovely! This has now taken over rooibos in my top 3 teas of choice!