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This was part of the Amoda Nepal tasting box. $5 of the price of the box went to benefit the victims of the earthquake this year, so it gave me a “good” excuse to buy more tea. I’m really liking this tea a lot. The flavorings are mild, and you can still appreciate the base tea, which is fresh and vegetal. I’m looking forward to tasting this tea again when I’m not painting my nails (the citrus from the nail polish remover I’m sure is overwhelming some of the aromas and flavors that are there.)

Unrelated: I’m newly obsessed with the Hae Min Lee case since discovering the Undisclosed podcast. I anxiously await the second season of Serial and the results of the testing on the forensic evidence (will it be made public regardless of the results?)

I had another go at this one this morning. This is still a very dark and assertive tea, but it’s much better when you use a small amount of leaf. I’ve been out of the habit of tea drinking recently, so I’m sorry if this note, well, sucks. This tea has malty, dark chocolatey, almost smokey notes which can be a bit sour in too high a dose. I am still mostly impressed by it, though, because it manages to be very strong without being bitter in the least.

I am a zombie this morning. I’ve been messing up the simplest tasks at work. Writing out a single check this morning took me three tries. :-( ! Recently, I’ve been going through and attempting to drink up some of my older teas. I’m going to need much, much tea to get through the harvest season this year at the winery.

I’m not even going to rate this tea yet, as I am such an idiot this morning that I way overleafed it. I plan to make a second pot later today. Maybe I’ll be back to say more about it.

This was my gateway drug back into tea. I hadn’t realized it yet, but I was coming down with strep throat (I had it twice last month) when I decided to brew this. I really loved this combination. Such a simple combination, and yet so flavorful and soothing. I want to remember to get more of this soon.

This is what I’m drinking tonight. The packaging says to consume before August 2014, but it seemed very well preserved in its airtight baggie. This was a lovely gift from my mother for my birthday in March of last year. I’d more or less given up tea drinking for a while there. I did a very quick steep of this one, as I am not the biggest fan of Gyokuro. I much prefer sweeter, less vegetal green teas. This one is very pleasant. I’m rating it pretty high, because it might be my favorite Gyokuro I’ve ever had, based almost solely on the fact that I love its aftertaste.

Now on to install cat shelves/hammock tonight!

So, I’ve been off Steepster for a while now…I’m just now coming out of another bout of major depression. There is so much stuff in my life I need to sort out now. It’s funny, because depression can hit when everything in your life is going great..But then only when you start feeling better again do you realize that now you actually have stuff to “be depressed about”…Like all of the work, chores, errands and social obligations that you need to catch up with. I apologize to anyone who I promised to send tea to, and haven’t yet. I hope to send it out shortly, and I will try to make up for the tardiness. I look forward to catching up on reading everyone’s notes soon!

Philip generously included a sample of this tea with a recent order. I’ve been very impressed by the quality and value of the teas I have purchased from Taiwan Tea Crafts, as well as their excellent customer service.

This tea has some beautiful caramel and nut notes, as well as some gentle florals. It is sweet, and has a pleasant mouthfeel. A very nice tea!

I’ve been drinking this one so much, that I’ve decided to bump the score up on it. This is the tea I find myself craving the most often.

This is an odd tea. The dry leaf looked nothing like what I was expecting when I opened the sample packet. I was expecting long, straight, furry golden buds. Instead, this tea was dark and wiry. The brewed cup was not the sweet and mild earthy cup I was expecting either. While it was sweet, it was chocolatey and strongly reminded me of horse manure (oddly enough, this doesn’t bother me, it’s one of my favorite smells). Honestly, I’d probably order this one again. A unique tea!

I picked this one up after reading reviews from TastyBrew and Geoffrey Norman.

While I probably wouldn’t buy any more of this batch, it was very fun to try. I would probably buy a sample of this year’s production (if there is one) just because of the novelty and to see how things develop. This tea smelled and tasted like watery honey and freshly chopped dandelions to me (the latter being not a good thing). Still appreciate that there is someone is growing tea in the US!