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Continuing with my Shaktea tastings. This is going to fall into like, don’t love category. This is good, but the spices aren’t balanced to my tastes. It’s a little heavy on the star anise – I’ve already picked the rest out of the package. There are some really nice cookie, almond notes to it, and the pu’erh adds some interesting depth, darkness, and mouthfeel. Most teas like this one are really cinnamon heavy and I’m happy that’s not the case here. What I am missing is more ginger, can’t call it gingerbread without ginger. I’m thinking this is more chai shortbread cookie………

I picked this one up while in Vancouver, and then promptly ignored it. Why did I do that? Dunno, but I shouldn’t have. This is an amazing cherry green tea. It’s light and fruity but not hibiscus tart. It’s green without being overly. There are some rose petals in here but it’s not floral. It’s just a well balanced cherry green tea. Those are hard to find. Cherry in general quite often comes across as candy or medicinal…. not this one. I love this. It’s perfect hot, it’s perfect cold steeped. It’s my new favorite cherry tea (of any color).

I don’t think this is a complex – best black ever – type of tea. What it is is delish. Bitter cocoa, a little sweet stone fruit, some malt, and everything else a good China Black should be. It’s making me happy this morning.

Drinking the last of this at work today. Way more smokey than I would have thought, not at all what I was expecting. This is a strange China black. It’s harsher than I’m used to, non of the usual notes. Tea and smoke that’s what I’m getting. Weird.
The Jin Jun Mei (Golden Eyebrow) that I got at the same time as this is right up there with my favorite Jun Jun Mei – if I were to order more from them, I would get that rather than this. I’m not saying this is bad, it’s just not for me.

I’m drinking the last of this tonight, and I know lots of you didn’t like it, but this makes me happy. It’s chocolatety, it’s nutty, it’s dark oolong – what’s not to love?
I certainly wouldn’t drink this every night, but on those days that I need a little dessert tea, this certainly hits the spot.

Drinking this at work today. That means it’s probably over leafed and over steeped – that would be my normal work parameters.
This is an interesting China black. I want to say chocolate, but it’s not – more like caramel. I think it’s a touch smoky, just a little coffee ish, and something resembling old library book. This is a big bold black tea. It does mellow a little as it cool, and then there are some stone fruit notes to it. It would probably be better if steeped properly, but for a work tea, this is making me happy today. I haven’t been drinking much tea lately and am really enjoying the caffeine (oh how I’ve missed you).

Boychik was kind enough to send me a sample of this.

This is better than a lot of the young sheng, but still not to my tastes. The earlier steeps are pretty sweet, a little hay ish, but it’s sharp. Nit really bitter, but lots of top notes. The more I steeped it the grassier and more bitter it got. I can understand why others like this, but it’s not for me.
Thanks boychik for the opportunityto try it.

Drinking a Shui Xian tonight from O5tea.
This is heavily roasted, tons of mineral notes, and a little drying. I think it’s too much for me. I don’t mind heavily oxidized, and this isn’t really smoky – it’s more of a burned taste. Will try a few more steeps and see if it mellows, but at this point, not my favourite.

ETA: Steeps 5 and 6 are much softer and more to my taste, but this still isn’t my fav oolong.
https://instagram.com/p/4xyRlyuE-Q/?taken-by=dex3657

I received this sample from Boychik. Thank you so much.

This isn’t a moonlight, but I’m having a hard time not comparing it to the many that I’ve been drinking lately. I’m not quite sure how I feel about it. It’s good. There is no doubt that it’s a high quality tea. The first couple of steeps, it seemed more like a medium oxidized rock oolong. A little mineraly, a little grassy, sweet, just a hint bitter. It was a beautiful golden orange. The colour really didn’t change from steep to steep. The later steeps mellowed out, it became more subtle more what I expect from a white tea. Steeps 5 and 6 were pretty fresh and bright. Steeps 7 and 8 were sweeter almost fruity and juicy.
I don’t think this is my favourite aged white, but it was really interesting with lots going on and it changed quite a bit from steep to steep. Really happy that I got to try it. :))

https://instagram.com/p/4kwuwjOExe/?taken-by=dex3657

GCTTB
When this came out I thought it would be a blend that I could get behind, but when I smelled it in the store I changed my mind….didn’t really like the smell of it. When I saw just a little left in the box, I took the opportunity to try it – I’ve been wrong before.
I cold steeped it and got an overly sweet, cinnamon mish mash of flavors. Nope I don’t like it.