Organic Morning's Journey

Backlog: well… sort of. I’m on my second cup of this. The first cup was just so good that I couldn’t even spare time to type out a tasting note, I needed to focus on my cup of tea.

That is to say: Oh WoW! This is seriously GOOD!

Definitely one of the smoothest black blends I’ve come across. It’s so smooth that it doesn’t need milk or sugar to make it smooth … it just is. It doesn’t have a real “kick in the cup” type of quality that I generally look for when I consider a tea as a breakfast blend or morning blend versus a later in the day type of tea … but don’t let that fool you. It’s still invigorating and morning cuppa worthy – absolutely! It just takes a subtler approach toward the end goal – wakefulness!

It is bold yet smooth. Creamy with notes of malt and caramel, hints of chocolate in the background. Fruit notes – but the sweet fruit notes – of sweet date, grape, and even a hint of sweet apple. Now, imagine those fruits drizzled with honey. You get the idea.

By mid-cup, I notice some spices start to emerge. Slightly peppery, but very slightly, just enough to get the palate to notice something different in the background but not enough to disturb the smoothness of the cup. Maybe a hint of cinnamon.

Truly a remarkable blend. I would go so far as to say, if you had room for only one breakfast tea in your cupboard, this should be the one. I don’t think I could ever limit myself to just one, but, if I had to, this would probably be the one I chose. It’s so good… very good!!!

Enjoying an interesting cup of this tea thanks to LiberTEAS
It says there are three kinds of black tea in here but I am going to INSIST one of those “black” teas is a puerh!
I am going to do a full review for http://sororiteasisters.com/
What I will say at this time before fully immersing myself in the cup is do not hesitate to do multiple steeps.
I am on my second cup and it has changed a lot – very good stuff.
I like steep two more than steep one as the puerh flavors are coming out stronger.
Earthy, sweet, interesting.

I have officially survived midterms and our move to a new apartment! We went from the Sunset district to a lovely place by Dolores Park. Our neighbors are very friendly and the kitties are excited by all the birds they can see outside the window.

I’ve been having this in my thermos for the past two weeks and it’s really lovely. Very smooth blend, good amount of body, and not at all bitter. A lot of full unbroken leaves in this tea and I am really impressed by the quality for the price. Hugo Tea, if you want to sell this in a larger tin, I would certainly not complain!

Merry Christmas, everyone! It has been a very tea-full Christmas for me! One of my gifts from hubby was this tea, so among the many new teas I thought I should choose this one, just because of the name, as the first. I will continue to take tea journeys throughout the day.

On opening the tin I gave the leaves a good sniff. The aroma wasn’t powerful, but it was the kind that makes you growl jus’ a lil’ bit. Kind of like when you see George Clooney in a tux. Niiiice.

I thought I detected Assam in this, and sometimes Assam doesn’t like me. I kept a close eye on the steeping and checked it at 3 minutes. Nope. Needs more time. I gave it a minute and a half more.

Aaaahh. This is a bright cup of tea. It is really hard to describe. It isn’t strong like the Assams that give me tummy ache, those sharp teas that make my tongue curl up and try to hide. It is fresh and clean, there is a nice pure metallic taste – that melting frost taste I usually may find in green or white tea. And malt. And…muscat grape?

I don’t pick up any puerh taste like Azzrian. The fruitiness makes me wonder if there is some Darjeeling in here?

This is a great wake up cup, civilized, smooth, and the drying effect on the tongue builds gradually as you drink instead of assaulting you. (I guess you can tell I have been traumatized by Yorkshire Gold and the like.) It did not need milk and sugar for me. I did try it that way just so I could report the effect but I preferred it plain. A little milk was fine, but sugar did nothing to add to it for me. I generally don’t put sugar in my tea so those who do might prefer it that way. This is sweet enough for me as is!

A very nice offering, Hugo Tea!

First off, I just ordered this on Friday evening, & it arrived today! Now, THAT’s service! Thank you Hugo for sending it so quickly!

I’ve been feeling a bit unsatisfied tea-wise today, I’m not sure why. I started with my beloved Imperial Breakfast Summer Blend, which I love, running it through 3 steepings. There was nothing wrong with the tea, I just wanted more… I did a green tea sampling, but still I wanted more… Maybe it’s just because I only had one full strength cup of black tea today…yeah…that’s probably it. I’ve been doing a lot of cleaning, house-plant maintenance, & re-arranging of things today, & I haven’t sat around & enjoyed just sipping tea in my sun-room as much as usual.

Then the mail came, with my Hugo’s order! Now I’m enjoying a cup! I bought this tea because Nik pointed LiberTEA’s review of it out to me, & he was right, it sounded like my kind of cuppa! Thank you, Nik! You get a big HUG!

The dry leaves are a pleasing mix of charcoal, mahogany, & a little beige. The scent is rich & bright. My first cup was just what the doctor ordered: Bold, tasty, a little different from the teas I’ve been drinking of late. It’s a beautiful red orange brew, & there is a brightness & a grapey-ness to the taste that lifts the flavors & adds an edge. I brewed 3 cups in all: First, the original, 2nd a re-steep of those leaves, which still had a good color, but not a lot of flavor. 3rd I brewed new leaves & added Stevia, because little Terri wanted to try it sweet. (Her actual words, “I haven’t had anything sweet ALL DAY”.) Now I’m enjoying that sweet cup, as I feel the caffeine lifting my spirits.

This is a tasty, robust black tea. It’s a nice one, a change of pace that will make a good addition to my morning (& sometimes afternoon) black tea rotation! You can get it at http://www.hugotea.com.

This little sample from ashmanra arrived providentially. Someone must have told her last week that I would have insomnia last night and need something substantial to prop me up this morning before heading to church and facing a roomful of fifth graders hopped up (pun intended) on Easter candy.

This is a wonderful breakfast tea. I’ve been smiling at the descriptors in other reviews: Fruity. Apple. Malty. (Oh yeah.) Rich. Smooth. All true. “George Clooney in a tux…” not sure about that one :)

I think this will get me out the door.

Happy Easter, tea friends. May it be a day that brings lasting joy.

I ordered a sample box from Liberteas and was delighted when it showed up today! She managed to stuff 23 samples in there, and nearly half of them were from 52 teas, so now I’ll have a better idea of what those crazy blends are like. Each little bag is nicely labeled and has the brewing instructions too so I don’t have to worry about not knowing what the heck I’m doing. I don’t know how often she does these little sample boxes, but I highly recommend it as a great try-me package – you can check her profile for the link if anyone is interested.

I should mention that I had a good amount of say in what I wanted her to send but I decided that besides trying some 52 Teas, I’d like to be surprised.

I ran out to check for mail before I made any tea, so once I opened this treasure chest up, I picked this one because of the name and I am off to a great start on this sampling journey!

I have a really hard time describing it – it’s very complex but I guess it’s a blend of three different teas and each are contributing something to it. I love how smooth every sip is, and slightly malty, but more and more into the cup I’m getting fruity notes and cream too! I think I have enough in my sample pack for at least two giant 16oz mugs so I look forward to trying to puzzle this tea out.

Hmm – maybe Assam and Darjeeling? Not sure of the third.

I really love this though. Guaranteed that if I ever order from Hugo, I would get this!