Teaman

This morning I’m drinking this tea. I’m not sure if I made it too strong or what but it’s tasting pretty poor to me. It’s strong and more astringent than what I noted before. It’s almost a sour/bitter aftertaste. I came close to tossing it out but hung in there. I may have to go get another mug to offset this unpleasant experience. Not really sure what happened given my previous tasting note. The rating is dropping as a result.

Based on an ad I saw here on this forum and the fact that one of my all-time favorite assams was called Assam Special Reserve from teasource.com (which is no longer available apparently) I opted to order this up. This is actually my third time to use this tea, the first two I must not have been careful in my prep as I rushed off to work as I wasn’t that impressed. So to give it a more fair tasting this time, I measured up the qty of both leaf and water, then steeped carefully for 2 minutes at boiling. I added sweetener but kept the tea black (no dairy.)

The leaf in my purchased bag was mostly black leaf not as tippy as the picture suggests. Initial impressions of the flavor this time around is with moderate boldness, not sure how well it would work diluting with dairy. Flavor has an initial slight astringency that fades as a moderate maltiness appears and then grows stronger as it lingers on in the aftertaste. This was a bit of a surprise for me. I now have a much more favorable opinion of this tea this time. This is very good. I look forward to my next cup.

When it comes to Jasmine tea I don’t consider myself very expert. Other than Chinese restaurant teas I’m relatively new to them. After reading what others wrote here I sense that those who are into jasmine teas probably like them for various reasons. I’m not a big floral flavored tea fan. But jasmine is pretty nice in tea, if it’s light. I think that’s why I like this tea, not in a big way but it’s a nice evening tea to relax over.

I steeped it 2 minutes for my first steep and didn’t add anything else. This is not usual for me as I usually sweeten my teas. I think this one without sweetener is nice. The Jasmine flavoring doesn’t overpower the light green tea it’s based on. The tea leaf starts out in a tight ball and unfurls. it wasn’t quite unfurled all the way in 2 minutes so this clues me it’s got more steeps in it’s future. The brew is light colored and a pale mostly yellow color.

The second steep I did about 3 minutes, again no sweetener. It was just as flavorful as the first time. The leaf reveals a quality leaf that is skinny and long from fresh leaves of the plant. Again enjoyable. Obviously you Jasmine tea fans must have other sources you really enjoy for your own reasons. I’ll have to try some another time to compare. Feel free to share your faves and reasons why.

It’s gray and peaceful outside but warm and comfy inside. I had the previous cup of malty assam and it left me wanting something more, something maltier and more great flavor. I reached for this tea. It’s an amazing cup that’s a blend no less. Not all blends work well but this one is a mix that has a “wow” factor for me. It’s got a sweet malty pow that stands out and not in a sharp astringent way at all. It’s a bold flavor that with some sweetener really hits the spot. This is a really fantastic tea and will remain on my restock list for likely a long time. If you find something better that has a similar description let me know. For now I will sit back and enjoy this wonderful cup of flavor.

Had this tea again and my opinion was lowered this time. Maybe because in comparison to some other assams it’s not quite as good. I would not likely buy this one given the other great choices for assam tea I’ve found.

This end of the work week after lunch tea is a rich brew tea with notes of chocolate and fruit. It’s a very smooth tea with a nice delicious aftertaste. This is a great tea and I highly recommend it.

Just got this a few days ago so this is the first tasting of it. I enjoy golden teas (yunnans, assams, etc.) so this one sounded like it would fit in. It’s a golden Fujian province tea which goes through a process that renders the beautiful gold and black colors. The aroma of the leaf has a fairly strong strain of chocolate. It is picked from young new leaf and buds so it is a tender thin leaf size, but still reasonably lengthy. I brewed for 3 minutes and only added sweetener. It has a deep golden color and the aroma of which is more like a golden yunnan. The flavor for me has chocolate notes mixed with sweet potato/yam notes… it’s smooth with little astringency. It’s tasty and good tea. I enjoyed it.

Based on my love for a good golden yunnan and the rave reviews here, I decided to order this tea. It arrived yesterday night so today was the first chance at trying this. The leaf is as pictured, golden and a grayish black color, long and slightly kinky. The brew is a deep golden honey color. I steeped for my usual 3 minutes for this type of tea and added sweetener only. The flavor is very good, however I think I was light on the amount of leaf for my larger size cup. I should have weighed it out. The delicious flavor is a little light for my expectation because of this. I will reserve a more final decision on this once I’ve had another time or two to try it out. But for now I would say it rivals my all time fave golden yunnan…Emporer’s Gold from Tao. I may need a side-by-side taste test to compare. This is a very good tea.

Sampling this assam this morning. It’s a broken tea with lots of tippy parts of coppery color. I shy away from small broken leaf such as BOP teas but many from India are in that category when it comes to Assam. I find this tea uninspiring. The flavor of the brew is ok but no “wow” factor for me. The taste is bold and mostly non-astringent after 2 1/4 min steep. The maltiness factor is mild at best. However I don’t find any notes that stand out. It’s just a mediocre assam for me.

Trying the last of my sample of this tea. I measured out the normal amount for my thermos and had just a smidge left so I dumped it in too. What I ended up with is a very strong dose of tea. This tea is once again strong, very strong with the smidge extra tea leaf in the brew. This dark brew has a strong astringency even after steeping just 2 1/2 minutes. It’s stout…too stout to enjoy even with just sweetener so I added some dairy milk to it and wow that helps a lot! So with the addition of milk I bump the rating of this tea. As others have said, if you are a coffee drinker this might be the one for you to try first in the tea arena.

Wow! This tea is one of my faves and it’s hitting a chord with my taste buds this afternoon! If you like Keemun tea you must try this one. It is really good. It is much like the Hao Ya “A” grade in both looks and taste but this one has some richer depth and notes of chocolate mixed in. For me it’s just a really delicious tea! I would encourage you to try it regardless if you have tasted a good Keemun or not previously. I drink it black with sweetener. Don’t assume all sources have the same quality if the name is the same. This source is quality… at least when I bought my supply. :)

This morning’s tea is this classic tea from China Hunan province. It’s a tea with wirey leaf that is dark, actually rather black colored with small amounts of gold color occasionally thrown in. The brew is dark with a bold flavor that has notes of fruit and dark chocolate. I drink it black with some sweetener added but you could add dairy to this.

Got a sampler of this tea recently and gave it a try this morning. It’s a blend of Assam and Darjeeling teas. I steeped 2 1/2 min to reduce bitterness. I drank it black with sugar as sweetner. The brew is dark honey colored and full flavor. I can taste the Darjeeling muscatel in this a little stronger than the assam. I think the Assam adds a bolder character to it and a hint of maltiness. I find it a pleasing blend, there is a little astringency in the aftertaste. While not at the top of my list, it’s a tea I could go for again with no problem.

Got a sample of this recently. I love a good golden yunnan tea so this one is described as great for fans of that. I had to try this one.

The leaf is beautiful, curled up firmly and black/gold in color. It’s mostly golden brown that shows just like in the photo. I steeped 3 min and the aroma is distinctive and wonderful. Some teas don’t have a pleasant aroma but this one does, reminding me of baked sweet potato.

The brew is a dark golden honey color. The leaf unfurls and becomes straight and narrow leaves. The flavor is like the golden yunnan tea. It’s a vibrant flavor or multiple notes, sweet potato, brown sugar, caramel come to mind. It’s really good and I will have to add some to my next order.

This Napali tea is a complex tea. It’s a first flush which means the leaf was picked early in the season. The leaf is whole and large but being a 1st flush large means young new leaf which isn’t huge. Usually first flush teas tend to be on the greenish color side of the spectrum. This however is a mostly dark brown/black color with a hint of dark green mixed in. The leaf has a kinky twist and some occasional tip colored leaf thrown in.

The brew is a golden color. The aroma has a vegetal quality to it, which makes sense given its flush. After my 2.5 min steep the leaves had uncurled and were a greenish brown color. You could then see the wholeness of the leaf.

The flavor is similar to a darjeeling but is complex in nature, with notes of fruit and nut and some muscatel. It’s from a high elevation growing area so has smooth character. It’s a great change of pace and I enjoy this tea. I most likely will re-order when I run out. Another great tea from TeaSource!

Had this favorite this morning. It is always very good. A great go-to tea when you need a great no-surprises tea that is there time after time. It’s a really mellow golden yunnan tea that is less strong than some of the golden yunnans out there. If you aren’t sure you will like a golden yunnan, go for this one. Flavor is delicious!

Based on the sample I had previously I finally ordered a canister of this from GM. It just arrived last night. Being anxious to try it this morning before heading off to work I didn’t have time to analyze the tea as thoroughly as I would have liked for this report.

The leaf is really beautiful. It’s long and kinky with black and gold tip coloring. This tea brews up a dark color. I steeped mine for 2:30 to 3:00 minutes (I shut the timer off and failed to remove the leaf so I’m not exactly use where in that time frame it landed.)

The flavor is bold but I wouldn’t say strong. For me it is a rich, complex flavor with multiple notes including malty and fruity. I find it a very enjoyable and terrific taste. I was looking forward to getting more of this after the sample and I am not disappointed. For those who like a malty rich tippy assam, this is a winner!

I’ve been very impressed with this assam. I think this is just a special batch since I’ve had assam teas from this source before and was not particularly impressed. But this one is excellent each time I have it. The malty and caramel flavoring is really nice, it’s smooth and bold but no astringency with a 2 min. steep. I’m enjoying it immensely this afternoon!

Starting my week with this bold tea from the higher elevations of India, which lends to a less astringent variety of tea. I’m drinking it black with sweetener the way I like most all my black teas. It’s a great variation on the Indian teas.

Enjoyed this excellent assam with my breakfast today. It’s leaf is nice a tippy, it’s brew a dark amber. It has a nice malty flavor that is smooth and bold but not too strong. Yummm!

At the end of the week, you need a bold tea to keep you going. This tea has partially broken leaf, mostly all black (not much if any tippy leaf.) The nice malty flavoring of this assam is plenty strong to stand up to dairy (if desired) however I prefer mine black with some sweetener. Another great tea from TeaSource.com.

This morning’s work tea is this nice golden tea from Hunan province of China. It’s slightly twisted leaf is on the longer side and is colored mustard yellow, dark green and black. It is like a golden yunnan tea, and has the hint of smokiness in the aroma of the dry leaf and in the taste of the brew. The malty caramel-ish brew is very good. This is highly recommended for those liking this variety of tea.

I like to drink the less caffeinated teas in the evening to minimize sleep interference. I selected this one from the cupboard. It’s a light “fluffy” tea (as I refer to them since they are feather light for their volume.) The leaf has a fine fuzzy feel to it and olive green in color. The curl of the leaf tips is lengthwise from the out edges (right and left) inwards resulting in a folded look. It’s a beautiful shape. The brew comes out a pale yellow. I didn’t add any sweetener so as to not drown out the already subtle taste. The flavor is smooth and slightly nutty, sweet and very pleasant. There is no vegetal or “grassy” flavoring to this tea. It’s just a really great tea to mellow out on.

When someone mentions an Assam tea you think dark bold black tea with a malty rich brew and an astringent afterbite if you steeped it beyond 2-3 minutes. So this one will surprise you. It’s like a golden Yunnan tea. The leaf is long and twisted shades of yellow and black. The aroma has that light smokey flavor as does the brew. But don’t think Lapsang Souchong smokey. Like the golden yunnans it’s a suble nice flavoring along with the malty and spicey notes. This is a great tea. I highly recommend it as I enjoy my large mug this afternoon.