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A light, mild darjeeling, with the typical muscatel but no astringency of darjeelings. There’s a slight smoky flavor, like grilled bell peppers or grilled zucchini, that makes it a great tea for autumn afternoons.

The steeped tea is a reddish amber. Its scent is like an autumn leaf pile, with woody notes.

A typical darjeeling. Has that pleasant deep rich flavor without the astringency of lesser black teas. There’s a slight bitterness, similar to some leafy greens like arugula or dandelion. A good tea for everyday drinking.

The tea looks like small green distinct leaves, with occasionally bright pops of yellow from the marigold petals. The scent of it is dusty and sweetly green, reminiscent of spinach. The steeped tea is a pale gold with a mild scent, mostly of basil and sweet greens. The taste is the same. Basil is by far the strongest note, with faint hints of floral and vegetal flavors underneath.

The dry leaves are large and very recognizable as distinct leaves, still dark green in color. They smell of a rich forest, with notes of wood, mushroom, and earth. The steeped tea itself is brownish-gold in color and still carries the mushroomy, woody scent. The taste is surprisingly grassy, given the depth and darkness of the aroma and color, with just a hint of that deep woodiness. There is a bit of astringency in the aftertaste. It’s a tea that really makes me think of autumn, despite being a first flush.

Overall, it’s a very excellent example of a strong, traditional Darjeeling. Unfortunately I personally prefer teas with a lighter taste, but I imagine this could be the favorite of someone other than me.

The dried leaves are curled into small pearls, and smell of raw spinach with a woody note. The steeped tea is a pale gold, and smells of spinach very mildly. The taste is overall very mild and subtle, with notes of cooked greens. It is bitter if oversteeped, but when done right is a very pleasant, refreshing tea. It’s a classic green tea, and is perfectly what it sets out to be.

A very interesting mild chai. In the dry leaves, the primary aroma is cardamom. The smell of the steeped tea is soft and woody, while the taste is that of a standard green tea with a very subtle background note of spice. The almond and saffron don’t particularly come through for me, but it’s nonetheless a very nice tea which would go with most foods or times of day.

The dry leaves have a woody, malty aroma. The tea itself smells of dates and wood, with a slight smoky/nutty/earthiness. It very easily becomes bitter and tannic if oversteeped, or if the water is too hot, but if you manage to brew it just right, it is a lovely, mellow, rounded version of the typical “breakfast tea” flavor. I’m not generally a fan of breakfast teas, but I do have to say that I like this one is better than most.

The dried leaves really do have a strong aroma of dried cherries, which is incredible. That disappears in the tea itself, though. The steeped tea has a woody/nutty aroma, and a strong but not unpleasant wood taste. There’s a very faint note of rose to it, not enough to really distinguish on its own, but just enough to soften and round out the wood. Overall it’s a generic but very well done oolong. It would go with any meal or time of day.

A really interesting tea. It’s most unique note is a grilled/toasted/smoky flavor, much more mild than lapsong souchong or genmaicha, but still definitely present. Under that is a green vegetable flavor, most reminiscent of sweet corn or fresh peas. It’s a very mild, light tea overall, but quite pleasant.

However, a warning: it is EXTREMELY easy to oversteep this tea, in which case it becomes almost undrinkably bitter. Be very careful with the temperature of your water (not yet boiling!) and the time of steeping (3 minutes AT THE MOST, preferably 2). The tea will still be very pale and look unfinished, but trust me, don’t risk it.

I liked this tea much more than I expected to. I’m not a fan of tulsi in tea, but the basil flavor is so mild as to be almost unnoticeable. The ginger isn’t too harsh or overwhelming, but has a warm, rounded flavor. The strongest note is cinnamon. Very mild on the spice-level for a chai, but an excellent tea.