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I’m not sure exactly how I ended up ordering this one. I must not have noticed the notes comparing it to a keemun. I don’t know where many of you get fruit or cocoa from this, but those must’ve been the reviews that read before purchasing. Oh well, to each their own. But it’s got the keemun smokes in it, much like if I put my veggies to steam and forget to add water or the pot ran out of water. Ever tried to eat a carrot left to sit in a pot after the water runs dry? That’s what this tea is like to me.

This tea is just OK. The cranberry is there, but it’s not so vibrant as I would like. I don’t detect the hibiscus or the orange.

This tastes so authentically like apple cinnamon applesauce that it almost weirds me out just a little. It is unlike any apple spice tea that I have ever tried. It is true, as others have noted, that the cinnamon is not very strong. I happen to think that it is just the right amount, but that’s just because I prefer less spice in my teas. Cinnamon applesauce and apples in an apple pie taste a lot more sweet than they do spicy, so from this perspective, the tea is spot on.

But, I will say again, it does weird me out just a little to feel like I’m drinking applesauce. This is a tea I’d have to be in the right mood for. Unfortunately, it is another one that sports a funky aftertaste so I dunno if I’ll try it again. I seem to have a bigger issue with aftertastes in flavored teas than anyone else, so anyone considering this tea shouldn’t take this observation too seriously.

I generally don’t like almond or any nut flavored teas, but I do like fruity black teas and cranberries, so I thought I would try this one. It isn’t bad, but I could do without the almond flavor. There is no bad aftertaste and it’s not bitter. My husband really likes it, and he is picky about black teas of any kind.

I’ve had a single serving of this tea lying around since I first tried it and I only brewed it just now because I figured I might as well used it up, but not because I was particularly craving it.

This time I let it steep 3.5 min. Last time I did a 1min15sec steep so that I could try to get a good second steep. It is becoming clear to me that shorter multiple steeps are rarely my thing (I mentioned this too in another tasting note recently).

I hardly recognized it as the same oolong this time around. Still not as heavy as some of my other charcoal roasted oolongs, but it has definitely lost much of the oriental beauty similarities that I got from it before. It’s now much like a super tamed aged oolong. It has the same sweet and nutty character that I get from the few aged oolongs I have tried, but in a very delicate way.

While I definitely enjoyed it much more this time around, there are so many other oolongs that I prefer, so this one is not going on my reorder list.

Decent strawberry tea. it doesn’t taste artificial and it’s as bitter as the Huckleberry and blackberry teas also from NM Tea Co, but I’m not in love. Nothing stands out as amazing flavor or superb quality. Just a simple black tea with a splash of strawberry.

After drinking a cup of tea like this one, I have to wonder why I ever venture into the world of flavored teas. This is pure poetry and nature in a cup. Warm and toasty with intoxicating florals all in perfect balance. This tea is quite different than other dark and floral oolongs. The floral is as strong as the roast. I haven’t ever experienced such perfect balance of flavor. Here’s to hoping that this wasn’t just a one-time perfect brewing. I used exactly 3.6g of tea in a 10oz mug, steeped for 3 minutes. I generally don’t try to do multiple steeping with my teas as I rarely like the ‘layers of flavor’ experience. I like all my flavor notes working together as they do so perfectly in this tea. I wouldn’t change a thing except for possibly a longer steep to satisfy curiosity.

I love Taiwanese oolongs. So smooth and creamy. This one tastes much like the Dong Dings that I have. Perhaps slightly less floral, but that could just be the result of brewing parameters. I used cooler water than I normally do for an oolong. Still an excellent cup of tea for this morning!

Thank you so much yezi tea for the free sample of this tea :)

Thank you Yezi Tea for a free sample of this tea!

This tea tastes very much like Zhen Qu from Butiki. It has the same honey notes that I usually interpret as mushroom flavored. It is a delicate black tea, not the least bit bitter or astringent. This is a good quality tea, but not the type of black tea that I personally favor.

Thirteenth tea sampled from TTB-C

I forgot that I tried this one already until I saw my tasting note here already.
This time around, I noticed the orange more than the chocolate. strange how that is. But one thing is the same: It’s still very very bitter.