Erin

I was most excited to try this from my Den’s Tea sampler. This one was really pretty as it steeped.

I like this – it’s nutty and kind of sweet in addition to the obvious cooked vegetable taste. I’m really liking the sampler so far. I’d order this again! I’m also thinking that this would be good iced with some sweetener. Has anyone tried it iced? I need to start thinking about what tea would be good iced, because it’s really starting to get hot out. My days of drinking hot tea are numbered, I fear.

I had this iced with dinner tonight. It could have used a little more sugar.

I’m sitting at the local Borders, enjoying their air conditioning and working on a paper. I’m not sure what the temperature was for this, since I didn’t make it, so I hope the kind lady that made this knew not to make it too hot.

This tastes pretty artificial. It’s pretty tart but not necessarily sweet. I’d get this again next time I come here (which might be pretty soon as it’s really starting to get hot outside), but I wouldn’t buy it to make at home.

Another big thanks to Ricky for sending me that surprise package of tea! This one smells very creamy and toasty, and maybe even buttery. I didn’t add anything to my cup.

Up front, there isn’t much coconut flavor. It’s very subtle, which is perfect, since the coconut would have been too much if it was overwhelming. This is a wonderfully smooth tea, perhaps the smoothest I’ve ever had. It has a full mouth feel – it’s very buttery and creamy. Toasty, too. What I like about the coconut is that it doesn’t taste artificial at all; it’s more like I’m drinking coconut milk that’s infused with toasted coconut.

What I like best about this is that I let my mother taste it, and she promptly sat down and ordered more – using her credit card! Score! Thanks again, Ricky!

It’s starting to get really hot here. I made this iced today and it was really good!

I used up the last of this today.

So I’ve been wanting to try the GM Sampler for a while now. However, yesterday I opened up the mailbox and SURPRISE! Ricky had sent me some tea! The package included the two Golden Moon teas that I wanted to try the most – and this was one of them. So this tasting note is dedicated to Ricky and his awesome generosity and his ability to make my day!

I was so excited about this that I forgot to smell the dry leaves. I made this with a tiny pinch of sugar and a little bit of 2% milk. Let me tell you guys, I love black tea and this one smells delicious! I can tell I’m going to like it and I haven’t even tasted it yet.

Wow… this one ranks pretty high on the Nom Scale. I know for sure I’ll be ordering more of this once I get the cash (although I’ve vowed not to order any tea during the month of April. I got my credit card bill yesterday and oh boy). Yes, it’s delicious all right. It’s very smooth and full-bodied, with notes of honey and possibly some nectar. Underneath everything is a very nice Ceylon. The aftertaste is sweet and it leaves me itching to take another sip.

So congrats, Ricky! You’ve made my day twice in a row! Thank you!

I got my Den’s Green Tea Sampler for Novices today! I was so impressed with what was inside that little box: 4 samples of loose-leaf tea, 2 tea bags, 2 paper filter bags, a catalog, order form, pamphlet about Den’s Tea, a sheet of brewing instructions, and a large booklet all about the health benefits of green tea. If anyone doesn’t know, this was all for $3, with free shipping. Such a great deal.

So this was not only my first time with Den’s Tea, but my first time with an unflavored green as well. It took me a while to get over my fear of grassiness, but I’ve gotta take that plunge sometime, right? I didn’t know which tea to start with, so I plunged my hand into the samples and picked a random one.

These leaves were a medium brown color. When steeping, they honestly smelled like Pu-erh mixed with marijuana [I’ve been to lots of rock & metal concerts]. However, once decanted, it just smells a little like Pu-erh but less fishy and more woodsy/earthy. The liquid is brown, just like the leaves.

After that smell, I was a teensy bit scared to take a sip. I want to like green tea, but I guess I have to actually try it to like it, right?

It’s not nearly as heavy as I thought it would be. It definitely has a light mouth feel, medium body. If I didn’t know this was green tea, I’d mistake it for a light Pu-erh. It has most of the characteristics of a Pu-ehr; earthy, woody, and the tiniest bit fishy (but not in a bad way, I promise).

I like it. But I’m confused. It looks, smells, and tastes like a Pu-erh. What’s the deal? How is this considered green tea? I know it’s all about the processing, but… Can anyone enlighten me? Pretty please?

This is about my 4th cup of tea today. I woke up early since my dog wouldn’t be quiet, and have been guzzling this ever since. I’m almost out.

This was another free sample from The Jade Teapot. I took this plain, with no sugar or milk. It brewed to the really nice yellow-orange color that is typical of a flavored white. The smell is sort of like peach, but with a little melon in there, too. It’s very strong but pleasant as well.

This is quite nice. From the smell, I was expecting a huge peach taste to smack me in the face. However, it is just a light flavor and I can still taste the white tea below everything. This could make my rating go either way, but for me, a light peachy taste is just what I wanted.

This would make a very good every day afternoon tea. It would also taste good iced. It’s beginning to be that time of the year when I need to break out the shorts, fans, and iced tea, so I need to make note of what would taste good iced. I don’t want the weather to heat up, but it’s inevitable. Sigh.

No notes yet.

I keep coming back to this one simply because it is such a light, refreshing, and rewarding drink. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorites and I’m almost all out of it, shame. I’ve also noticed that I keep upping my rating, which is another good sign.

This really does taste like the warm nectar of a honeydew melon. If it’s possible for something to taste slightly sour in a good way, then this is it. It’s sour and sweet and just barely grassy from the white tea, which is complemented perfectly by the melon. I’m just itching to try Golden Moon’s White Persian Melon, which is supposedly similar to this (according to Ricky). One of these days I’ll get the GM sampler!

No notes yet.

I’m taking this down a few notches since the past couple of times I’ve had this it’s been a bit bitter. I still enjoy it, though. I just think it’s a little finicky when it comes to steeping time.

No notes yet.

This was from MeghannM. It smells delicious. I added some milk to this, which made it extra smooth. The tea was very dark, almost like coffee. I was expecting yuckiness like I normally get with Adagio’s flavored blacks, but this one was a pleasant surprise. I’ll definitely be making this one again. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the dryness in my mouth afterward. But other than that, I liked it a lot! Thanks MeghannM!

This was good on its own, but I also think it would would be good to add to other teas. I’m thinking of adding it to strawberry.

I love this one with sugar and milk. I had it in the afternoon for a little pick-me-up after a disastrous walk with my dog. It was so windy that she actually got blown over sideways and I felt terrible. I promised her I’d never bring her out when it was that windy ever again. My poor dog…!

I had this for dessert with milk and sugar. It made for a very rich, very delicious treat.

This isn’t doing it for me today. It’s not as good as I remember it being.

I got this yesterday as a free sample inside my ROT catalog. I figured a green would be a little gentler on my stomach (which still bothers me every day, which is why I haven’t been having much tea lately. I’ve made an appointment to find out if I have another stomach ulcer). Plus when I first started drinking tea, I didn’t like greens because of the grassiness. But I’ve seen my palate develop over these past few months, so I’m giving it another go. I really do want to like green tea. You see, I feel like I’m missing out on a whole huge part of the tea world. It’s something I want to experience, so hopefully things will be different this time.

It smells of honey and flowers. I don’t smell any grassiness. This seems like it will a gentle, soothing tea.

Hooray! It tastes like I wanted it to; floral with a touch of honey. I don’t taste grassiness, accept for a teensy bit in the aftertaste, which doesn’t bother me. Maybe my palate isn’t bothered by it anymore, or maybe this just isn’t a very grassy green. I’m going to happily finish this cup. This was my first experience with ROT, and I have been left a very happy customer!

It’s a rather cold and dreary day, so I’m warming up with some Dawn. Ahhh, so good.

I’ve recently returned from a 2-day tea hiatus. I wanted to stop drinking tea to see if my crippling stomach aches would stop. They did. But, I also suffered nasty caffeine withdrawal, which gave me crippling headaches. So, I have 2 options: 1. Drink tea, be healthier, but have stomach aches or 2. Don’t drink tea, be lethargic, and have headaches.

This tasting note shows which option I chose.

This was a free sample from The Jade Teapot. I chose this because I love Adagio’s White Blueberry, and pomegranates are good too. So why not combine them and see what happens?

It smells fruity. The pomegranate smells a lot stronger than the blueberry. In fact, I can’t smell any blueberry, but blueberries are light and pomegranates aren’t, so I guess that is to be expected.

This is a little overpowering. I expected this tea to be light, but it’s a very full bodied tea and I’m not sure I like it. It is overly sweet from the pomegranate, and I can’t taste the blueberries or even the white tea base. Still, it isn’t all bad. I’m not going to be able to finish the cup, though. I still appreciate the free sample from The Jade Teapot.

I got this from Teaplz, who seemed quite eager to get rid of it. We’ll see if I can understand why.

This had lumpy chunks of something mixed throughout the leaves. I’m not sure if they were bananas or walnuts… When steeped, it smells lovely. I smell bananas and chocolate, not walnuts. If this tastes as good as it smells, we will be in business. I really like bananas, so I’ve got pretty high expectations for this. However, I’ve never tried any banana flavored tea, and I’ve also never tried anything from TeaGschwendner. So… here goes nothing!

Oh, nice! All the other ratings were dauntingly low, but I like this! It’s not really bananas or walnuts, but it’s good. I actually can’t tell what I’m tasting. It’s sweet, fruity, but very subtle. If I were rating this based on how much it tastes like banana and walnuts, it would get a very low grade. However, I rate things based on overall taste. And this is good! Thanks, Teaplz!