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1 bag for 200mL water, bare.

Maybe I’m used to drinking Nilgiri in blends, because while I cannot say there’s anything wrong with it, I also feel like there’s something missing.

This Nilgiri is smooth and has a light body. It feels and tastes more like a China black than an India black, though it is defintely Indian tea.

I keep waiting for a snap of astringnecy, or for something sharp, smoky, or malty.

I think this Nilgiri would blend especially well with Keemun. But, on its own, it’s a bit dull, at least to my taste. (Dull as in unsurprising, not as in stale.)

1 bag for 200mL water, bare.

Not a brilliant, mind-blowing Darjeeling but a damned sight better than most bagged travesties that dare to call themselves Darjeeling. A thoroughly dependable Darjeeling. Light body, lovely scent, nutty muscatel taste, and mild to medium astringency. Tastes best to me at a four-minute steep.

For bagged tea, St Dalfour’s Darjeeling and Ceylon are really, really good. Stash’s bagged Darjeelings, in their Teas of India line, are a bit better, but St Dalfour’s can be found in stores here, whereas most of Stash’s offerings must be ordered online.

1 full-leaf sachet for 400mL water (I think — great big mug at Starbucks), bare. I do not recommend the steep time I’ve recorded below.

(Backlogging.)

Starbucks keeps their hot water just under the boil, but it should be a little cooler for greens. I also lost track of time and left the sachet to steep waaaaayyyy too long. Like, a good 10 minutes. Yikes.

That said: I really like this green blend. Vegetal, for sure, though it gets briney if you leave it too long, like I did. Some creaminess and some sweetness. I can see this tea getting very bitter if the water is too hot, and it’s almost too hot at my local Starbucks. I’d suggest max 3 minutes steeping, and, if you’re at home, water below 90 degrees.

Treat this tea for the delicacy it is, and it should repay you with a quite acceptable and enjoyable China green liquor.

1 TB for 450mL water, bare.

This tea gets better each time I drink it. Picked up a fresh batch at my local tea shop yesterday and got deeply happy as I drank a good, long hot cup of this yesterday evening. Detected a very subtle earthy note – very subtle, not pu-ehr earthy – some fant smokiness and an odd but delightufl tasting note in a black tea: that bright “leafiness” yu find in some green teas.

I’d tried a Keemun Concerto at Britannia a few years ago and did not care for it. This Organic Keemun Panda #1 is much, much better.

1 bag for 250mL water, bare.

An old favourite. Really good for bagged Darjeeling. Light body, but not as thin as Stash’s Darjeeling Spring. Unmistakeable muscatel taste. Light to medium brown liquor. Gets a bit plummy when steeped over 5 minutes — I like that — with a very faint floral scent, almost of roses. For reasons I do not understand, this Darjeeling tastes better when made one cup at a time versus made in a pot. Refreshing.

(Should my dear friends who gave me this tea today be reading this, please know that I loved the gift. That it came so thoughtfully from you makes my disappointment harder to bear.)

AUGH! Hibiscus! GROSS! Man oh man … this might be tolerable without the everlasting hibiscus. Tart to being sour, almost bitter. This tisane could strip paint. It smells lovely in the bag, and once the hot water hits it. Smells so refreshing — yet tastes like an axe made of leaden hibiscus. Seriously, that one ingredient ruins sooo many tisanes. So damn tart! And to think there’s lemon grass and citiric acid here, too …

A cup of Lemon Cream Rooios from David’sTea seems like milk in comparison.

Let’s look at the ingredients for Tazo Wild Sweet Orange here:

Ingredients: Lemongrass, blackberry leaves, citric acid, rose hips, spearmint, natural flavors, orange peel, safflower, hibiscus flowers, rose petals, natural orange essence, ginger and licorice.

At least ten tart/citric ingredients. Ye gods. Wild Sweet Overkill.

1 rounded TB for 450mL water, bare.

Decaf black tea is often terrible. But caffeine keeps me awake, and I can’t get my favourite tisane, so, depserate, I thought I’d try this one.

Not bad. I’ve tasted far worse. It does retain body and taste of a good Ceylon, but it still has that bitter, almost burnt harshness that I’ve detected on every decaf black tea I’ve ever tried. Still, good enough to enjoy as a bedtime cuppa. I wouldn’t bother with it during the day, though.

1TB for 450mL water, bare.

I dunno about burgundy — never did drink much wine — but this Keemun does remind me of some of the oakier malt whiskies out there. That said, it’s also distinctly, unmistakeably, good China black tea. No malt, light body, deep Keemun … well, smoky wine without astringency. Seriously good tea. Very warming.

1 rounded TB for 450mL water, bare.

Yes, yes, YES! Oh, baby, that’s one beautiful Assam. Trash-talks Kopili Estate Assam (I have to keep the competing tins separate so there’s no clagning brawl in my kitchen) and makes Captain Assam stare intently. Dry leaves are very tippy and smell a bit like raisins and sunshine. Tastes malty, of course, but not heavily so — there’s a real brightness in this Assam. Body is almost heavy and - wow- creamy. Mama’s got her a new favourite. Comforts and fortifies. Drink this, and you can do anything. Or at least you might think you can. ;)

1 TB for 450mL water, plus 1 packet of stevia (equals 2 tsp sugar)

DANG! I did not mean to sweeten that last night, as honeybush is quite sweet enough … but, pleasantly, the sweetness did not overwhelm. Instead it brought saome peppery ginger heat. Niiiiiiice.