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There is a lot going on with this tea. My brain didn’t fully process what I bought until just now. I purchased it thinking it would be good for my mom who has digestion issues but she is also not good with tea infusion. I will teach her. When I first opened the bag I was hit with Mint and a medicinal note… dentist’s office. Maybe a slight hint of nilla in the background. But when you infuse the tea the profile changes. Suddenly the back of the dentist’s office bursts open into a fish market. FRESH FISH! It’s so strong! Had to push it away as I was steeping it. But as I bring it back the mint aroma comes back. But it is not dentist mint anymore. Now it’s just peppermint. Almost reminds me of those chocolate peppermints. Not the York with the white in the middle but the green one. Hmm well, maybe the York too. The liquor color is deep and dark brown. Hickory. As you sip it down it turns to a bit more of a rosewood shade. Strangely, the mint isn’t overpowering in flavor. They all kind of meld into one… meh. It’s not terrible it’s just not nearly like anything I was thinking it would be. It’s all fishy and minty and vanillay and woody all at the same time and my brain is going wtf…

As soon as I opened the pouch and saw all the fuzz I knew this was going to be a good one. The aroma is barely there because it is just a small bit of tea. But I did detect woody notes and cream of wheat. If you have anyone in the military or did, Thank you!, and also be sure to give this tea a try. “50p of the price you pay goes to the Royal Air Forces Association Wings Appeal repaying just a little of what so many of us owe to so few.” I’ve decided to steep this one just as Henrietta would. I want to meet her so badly! What an amazing tea lady!

This is a bit more subtle than your other English Breakfasts. But don’t worry it still packs a punch for your wake-up. However, the punch doesn’t come from the bitterness that you will find in tea bags. It comes from the soothing woodiness and slight creaminess and yeah it will take milk if you really must.

The video she shared of visiting their base: https://rareteacompany.us/products/rafa-tea-for-heroes-english-breakfast

Ruined the first session. It was like drinking a grapefruit. Bitter. With bits of tropical notes. Not sure if this is a blend that can stand for a second session but let’s try. One minute is best to lift out the best flavors. Two minutes tops. You get a sense of the green teas with the slightly bitter and grassy notes but mainly all I taste are tropical notes. The rose notes are extremely slight.

Based on the appearance of the wet and dry leaves I would not call this a white tea. There are more of the green leaves and is not dominated by fluffy tips like the description says. Granted maybe the white has been macerated to the point that it’s hard to tell.

Dry Aroma: Sweetgrass. One of my favorite tea scents. The aroma changes very quickly as it moves from freshly opened to mixing with the air.
Appearance: Dark green with a few light greens. A few long needles but mostly smaller pieces.
Liquor aroma: Mouth watering. Slightly brothy. Some what grassy.
Wet leaf: Mushy. Green.
Flavor: This tea is like a 2-year-old. Watch it or you’re going to have a mess. Within 10 seconds it quickly switches from this creamy sweet grass with a silky mouthfeel to a raging toddler with astringency and strong grass notes.

NIO Advent 2023: Quick brewing in a shiboridashi is a thing of art. And I am an amateur. The amount of water is very small so the steep time is quite quick. Many of the same notes. Though I do think this one shines brighter with a higher amount of water. Could also be the 3 canker sores speaking…

Look at those stems! So thick. This produces a nice clear liquor of orangish amber. With a yellow rim that reminds me of Indian and Nepalese teas. I frowned at the steep time of 6 minutes but realized after tasting it at 3 that it really does need at least 5. With all the tea bush (basically) in the cup, you need more time to draw everything out. The flavor these bushes produce are a bit creamy, fresh green wood, a bit citric, a bit of compost, and slightly bready. I like it much more than I do the green.

Plantation Tour Part 3: After showing you around the tea bushes he’ll take you back to sit at the front of his house where you started. Then you can shop at his store. Which consists of a 12-inch x 12-inch box that contains loose leaf, bagged tea, and pamphlets. Really wish I could have convinced him to part with some of the yellow tea he messed up. We said thank you and got in our car. But the engine wouldn’t turn over. I had to pee so badly but luckily his wife let me use their bathroom. He said if it took too long for the Roadside assistance to come that he would make us another cup of tea but then he realized it would be faster to just jump our car. I kinda wanted to extra cup of tea >.>

When tea is stored properly it can last a long time. For a tea that was plucked back in 2020, this is very good. The uniform twisted leaves are a mix of dark brown leaves and golden fuzz. The dry aroma is sweetly woody. The infused leaf is all milk chocolate brown with only a few leaves opened. The wet leaf switches to slightly more malty notes along with a hint of bread. I need to go stalk around some bakeries. It’s not just any loaf of bread or even a fresh baguette but a certain type of loaf resting after being pulled from the oven… The flavor is much the same notes but it reminded me a bit of a coniferous forest. Though you could steep it longer and add milk I would not recommend it as too many of the notes would be lost.

Holy smokes. At first, I rolled my eyes when I saw the name. It just reminded me of an over-sugared coffee drink I used to serve at Dunn Bros. But then I opened the bag. I was assaulted with a unique peppery sensation. The accustomed notes of hay and barnyard could also be found. But that spicy peppery note is something else. And the leaf is gorgeous. Silver buds. Hello, you adorable trichomes! Looks to be a standard pluck. The infused leaf also reveals peppery notes but with bready notes and some malt o meal. The liquor is clear, light amber, and smells brothy with a slight button mushroom. Such a smooth mouth feel. So nice. The peppery notes remain with the flavor. It’s not spicy like a chai but more like an added spice you get from chicken noodle soup or something like that. Also dense summer florals. Nothing light and springy. Hay. And an interesting bamboo note.

I love Sun Moon Lake. But I never knew it could be this good. The dry leaves is big and dark chocolate in coloring. The woody notes are reminiscent of our deep coniferous forest of Northern Minnesota but also of the mossy redwood forests. It is smooth with just a bit of astringency. It finishes with a clean note that leaves you feeling refreshed. After steeping the leaves are a mix of olive green and milk chocolate.

As far as green tea goes this is higher on the oxidation chart. Many of the leaves have oxidized to the point of looking like black tea. American-grown tea has always been a bit dull to me compared with other countries. Not to say that this tea is lifeless but I would say it is better for blending. The flavor reminds me of fall leaves, a bit of compost, green wood, and a bit grassy.

Fairhope Tea Plantation Part Two: After the educational sit down with a cup of his favorite blend Donnie will take you around his tea farm. It didn’t occur to me till later that we didn’t get to see the stuff he processes his tea with. I was too enamored with the tea bushes. His green tea reminds me more of Chinese green. As it is yellower in color. Which makes sense as he learned much of what he did from Chinese farmers. He’ll get on his golf cart and invite you on too. Telling you each time before he presses the gas pedal so that you don’t go flying off the back. To be honest, the golf cart isn’t needed. It’s all within walking distance. But it was amusing. Donnie keeps his height near his waist. It makes it easier for him to grab the leaves. The way he showed us how he plucks reminds me of an elephant grabbing leaves. Again, I won’t spoil much but the one thing I did find interesting was his wild leaves. They were clearly darker than the others because of the forest that surrounded them. I wanted so badly to tell him to make matcha out of them but that in it’s self is a process that is hard.