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I’m exhausted, so this isn’t going to be the greatest of reviews.

Overall, I’d say this is meh. Perhaps this tea would benefit from a gongfu style brew rather than a western. 175 º for 2.5 mins resulted in a lightly sweet, slightly grassy, hay-like quality with high astringency. I’m getting thirsty brewing this tea.
There’s a honey aroma that doesn’t come out in the flavor at all. Perhaps playing around with the temperature and brew would take care of all that.

The flavor kind of reminds me of a raw puerh. There might be some hope for this tea on another day.

So I brewed Petali’s Lapsang Souchong and Margaret’s Russian Caravan side by side to do a little comparing and contrasting. All I can say now is that I want BBQ. I’m seriously thinking about doing a slow cooked carnitas recipe involving one of these teas.

The leaves of both teas offer up a hint as to the flavor: the lapsang is camphor-smelling, while the caravan is sweeter, more like a BBQ sauce.

Lapsang Souchong: The smoky smell is strong with this one, but as usual, it doesn’t come out as strongly in the flavor. That’s not to say that it isn’t a strong smoky flavor, because it is. The camphor smell is reflected in the flavor of the tea, along with a menthol flavor.

It kind of reminds me of Carmex, which I kind of don’t mind, but after a while, it starts to lessen the experience overall. Perhaps menthol is not the flavor for me.

After I swallow, it leaves a little tickle in the back of the throat like I just inhaled a little too much smoke at the campfire. I imagine some people might find that unpleasant, but I think it makes the experience more authentic.

Russian Caravan: I like the vocabulary to describe the difference in the smoky flavor. It’s just different. Maybe a different kind of wood was used for the smoking? It’s still very prevalent, but definitely not as strong as the Lapsang. There’s no camphor flavor or menthol, for which I am grateful.

The flavor of the tea is sweeter, which reflects the smell. There’s a bit more astringency to the tea itself, and it’s leaving a bit of dryness on the back of the palate. It’s like having a BBQ party instead of a campfire.

I don’t recommend doing two smoky teas at the same time. Sure, you’re able to really compare and contrast flavors, but after this much tea, I feel like I just smoked a pack of cigarettes! Definitely to be enjoyed in small doses from here on out.

So I brewed Petali’s Lapsang Souchong and Margaret’s Russian Caravan side by side to do a little comparing and contrasting. All I can say now is that I want BBQ. I’m seriously thinking about doing a slow cooked carnitas recipe involving one of these teas.

The leaves of both teas offer up a hint as to the flavor: the lapsang is camphor-smelling, while the caravan is sweeter, more like a BBQ sauce.

Lapsang Souchong: The smoky smell is strong with this one, but as usual, it doesn’t come out as strongly in the flavor. That’s not to say that it isn’t a strong smoky flavor, because it is. The camphor smell is reflected in the flavor of the tea, along with a menthol flavor.

It kind of reminds me of Carmex, which I kind of don’t mind, but after a while, it starts to lessen the experience overall. Perhaps menthol is not the flavor for me.

After I swallow, it leaves a little tickle in the back of the throat like I just inhaled a little too much smoke at the campfire. I imagine some people might find that unpleasant, but I think it makes the experience more authentic.

Russian Caravan: I like the vocabulary to describe the difference in the smoky flavor. It’s just different. Maybe a different kind of wood was used for the smoking? It’s still very prevalent, but definitely not as strong as the Lapsang. There’s no camphor flavor or menthol, for which I am grateful.

The flavor of the tea is sweeter, which reflects the smell. There’s a bit more astringency to the tea itself, and it’s leaving a bit of dryness on the back of the palate. It’s like having a BBQ party instead of a campfire.

I don’t recommend doing two smoky teas at the same time. Sure, you’re able to really compare and contrast flavors, but after this much tea, I feel like I just smoked a pack of cigarettes! Definitely to be enjoyed in small doses from here on out.

Oh god . . .the smell of this tea. It’s like walking into a bakery on a cool morning when they are just pulling hot cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing out of the oven.

The tea stands up through the blend nicely, which isn’t always the case, and is even capable of contributing to the overall flavor of the blend by making it dark. Despite the presence of rock sugar in this blend, it’s only just sweet enough to highlight the cinnamon. The nutty flavor come through nicely as well. Even some caramel as it cools.

I’ll be keeping this around for breakfast and dessert tea for sure.

This is another tea that was a Stephen choice. I’m glad he picked this one out, because it was pleasant and not something I would have ever chosen for myself.

The flavors that hit the mouth are oddly timed. The predominant flavor is grassy kind of hay, not unlike some white teas I’ve tried. Then there’s a roasted flavor that fills the middle part of the tongue and the roof of the mouth.

Unfortunately, then the back of the mouth is hit with that envelope glue taste that I have come to associate with mate. Still, it’s a mild flavor, and not so much that I won’t drink the whole pot. There’s also a little sweetness that hits the front of the tongue after swallowing.

Of the two Churchill’s Earl Greys I have tried today, I have to say that I prefer the 2nd to the Creamy.

There’s something dirty tasting about this tea. It’s more than earthy; it tastes like soil a bit. The base is nice with that slight punch of black bitterness and astringency, but it’s not too much. There’s also a nice tangyness going up the middle of the tongue.

I’m not getting much of a floral overtone, but it’s there. There’s a kind of hint of flowery vanilla, which I guess is supposed to be the creamy part.

It’s complex and pleasant, but really not the flavor for me.

I’m not sure why I get Earl Grey teas. Usually, the strong smell of citrus puts me off. I think during this trip to Churchill’s, however, I was in the middle of Star Trek, and I wanted to fully experience Picard’s contemplative musings. But I need to get through all my Cincinnati samples before we go back, so here we are.

I’m still getting used to the idea of not liking the smell of a tea and loving the flavor. The leaves smelled strongly of musty oranges in a way that reminded me of Florida, and not in a good way. That smell all but disappeared upon brewing, and the citrus morphed into a very light lemony taste with a floral overtone (lavender?). I’m swearing I’m tasting a little olive oil in here, but maybe I’ve just lost my mind.

Unlike most blends I’ve been drinking lately, the tea shines through nicely. It’s a light, only slightly bitter black tea with very little astringency. It’s almost as delicate as a darjeeling, but it brews darker and has a bit of an extra punch.

It will never be my favorite, but it’s worth keeping a bit around for guests.

My dear husband isn’t really into tea. He’ll sip on a few of my tiny cups because they aren’t a commitment, but he starts to get stressed when I hand him a full mug. “What if I can’t drink all this?!” He feels a little less guilty now that he can give the rest to our tea pets Bessie and Fred.

So when he shows enough interest to pick a tea out, I’m going to get it. Even if it smells like berry lipstick.

It’s actually pretty good. It has a kind of hibiscus flavor with rosy hints, and every once in a while, I get a toasted green flavor from the tea base. There’s a hint of dryness on the back of the palate, but not much, and a zingy tang on the sides of the tongue as you drink it. The smell is thankfully subdued upon brewing, but make no mistake that the berry flavor is strong.

I think it’s another one of those teas that would be nice iced. Maybe one of these days I’ll get around to actually making iced tea.

I also got to break in my double-walled glass cups, which were great. They kept our fingers cool and really romanticized the color of the liquid. https://www.instagram.com/p/BGkP21DvTaP/?taken-by=hoalatha

I’m saving the remaining two Liquid Proust samples I have for when my dad comes over, as he’s the only person I know that’s willing to sit and have 4 regular-sized cups of tea from the same leaves in one sitting. This means that I get to try out the other half of my reddit teaswap.

I was a little skeptical at a tea named Hazelberry Pu Erh, and the little drops of oil on the top after it was finished brewing did nothing to allay those fears.

But when I started drinking…oooh this would make a good winter tea. It’s hazelnutty, chocolatey, cinnamony, and warm-tasting. So good. The puerh base doesn’t seem to shine through all that much, though, which is a shame. I’ve never had Adagio puerh, so I am unfamiliar with what their base tastes like.