Jude Send Message

I generally enjoy mate blends more than straight mate, but this one is good enough to drink on its own, the best I’ve had in that regard. It has rounder, almost malted notes. Thanks to Becky for the great trade :)

(I recommend this for a straight mate, which to me is a bit of a lower standard than recommending as a tea.)

Sometimes when first smelling or tasting a new tea it feels like something of an interaction: its scent or taste ‘greets’ you with something so pleasant that you are moved to respond with a self-surprised “hello!” So it happened to me this morning with this tea.

First the dry leaves’ ripe apricot scent drew me in, intrigued and hopeful that the flavor would bear out this promise; I was kind of excited. And then more so to find that when brewed that apricot flavor remained, although now more toward sweet stewed apricots. Whoop! And complemented by a true lychee flavor. There is also a slightly complex brothy savoriness to it which offers a good comfort factor.

I steeped it at the maximum time suggested, which is 6 minutes. I would recommend that for this tea because it became so nicely full-flavored without any edge. Likely as a result of this, the second steeping had little flavor.

Thank you, Angel, this was a wonderful sample.

BTW, I used the “What flavors and scents do you notice” dropdown for the first time with this tea, and looking through, have to say: “Roasted chicken” is a choice?!!! Come on, how funny is that.

Smooth, a little ‘chewy’ with malt and rich spring earth plus a vague hint of sweetness. Pleasant overall flavor with sustained, mildly astringent finish. Noticing now that Tea at Sea recommends using more than a tsp of tea, will try that next time. Would be happy to be served this tea in a restaurant. Thanks to Tea at Sea for the sample!

For folks who enjoy jasmine that’s not so in-your-face as many jasmine teas. This is a pleasant jasmine with solid but soft notes of orchid-Juicy Fruit, as opposed to being a frank, perfumey one-note jasmine. It also has slight roasty undertones. Smooth but moderately astringent on the long finish. Good for a bagged tea.

Mmm, this is fun and tasty. Fun because the tea leaves tumble out in a surprising, unusual rocky shape teasing me to see how they’ll brew up. I love earthy surprises and this tea did not disappoint.

Pretty color, a lot of smooth sweet flavor without being in-your-face about it. Fairly sophisticated flavor profile, in fact. A little vegetal, a little roasty, and sweet. Trying to place the sweet note, which I am loving, almost but not quite grape, almost but not quite maple, another tease! Moderate lingering astringency on the finish. The second steep holds up well, making it even more worthwhile.

I’d recommend this as a tea to share with friends at a tea tasting. Thanks to Angel for the delightful sample!

Tasted more like an assam than an oolong to me, still quite nice. Medium bodied, pleasant flavor. It’s a more oxidized oolong but not too heavily so, and with a bit of roastiness. Good quality for a bagged tea.

I am not getting the green tea flavor in this. It is fairly thin-bodied with clove being the predominant flavor. Would likely taste better if sweetened, not my thing.

Musty with some roasted depth as the only pleasant complementary note. Second steep is cleaner.

This is a tisane that makes for an experience — a coming together of wonderful fragrance, pitch-perfect flavor note blending and a little positive energy lift. This is a comfort-food of tisanes. Smooth and interesting. I’m not a fan of mint, generally, but the combo with vanilla is great. Not getting any lavender. It’s like bumping into an old friend on the street, instant feel-goodness.

Second steep just barely worth it, and mostly mint.

Got this in a nice little swap with CK, happy to have the opportunity to try it, might make its way to an order. Meanwhile, it gave me a lift to keep searching online for a used car to replace the dead one in my driveway :(

Upping my rating for this, really enjoying its smooth, rich, ‘comfort tea’ depth of character this morning. I’ve been starting my mornings with black teas but on a 90-plus degree day like this I wanted something lighter; this was a perfect choice. Both rich and light.