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I have a week-long sick leave and antibiotics, but my taste and smell doesn’t seems to be affected; so I can drink tea, gongfu it and such… Definitely something I will enjoy and hopefully I will get my tea cupboard a little smaller too. This is not yet a sipdown, but I have less than half from the pouch, so definitely a focus tea.

6 grams / 125 ml gaiwan / 90 °C water / no rinse

Dry leaves smell partially citrusy, dark malts and a little chocolately, but in preheated gaiwan the dark malts and dark honey has appeared with slight citrus note. Visually this tea looks similar to Annapurna Black Beauty by the same vendor, but leaves here are definitely less thick and they are smaller.

1st steep, 15 seconds
There is a “clash” between cocoa notes and dark honey notes in aroma of wet leaves, but it makes a wonderful complex aroma, with some spices in the background.
Flavour is very round, mouth and throat coating, quite sweet and creamy, with hints of cocoa and dark honey as the aroma; with sweet spices background. Those spices are a bit hard to describe, but it definitely reminds me a bit of the sweet cinnamon, but not really sure about that.

2nd steep 10 seconds
Flavours mentioned in the first steep note are here, but stronger, definitely more flavourful, even more creamy. The spicy note is an interesting twist, again I think it is the cinnamon. NO astringency. Wet leaves smell after wild and dark honey.

3rd steep 15 seconds
This time cocoa note dominates, with hitns of its bitterness. But there is still creamy mouthfeel that mutes that bitter note.

4th steep 30 seconds
Definitely cocoa and jammy fruits, but also round and cremy flavour with spicy aftertaste. Not only cinnamon this time, but can’t point out the other spices here, with little “juicy” astringency.

5th steep 45 seconds
Very similar to previous one, but with less round and less creamy notes. Also, a little note showing me that this tea is past its prime time – that “finished black tea” flavour; I don’t know how to describe it better. Astringency rises a bit, definitely it’s more drying and I think I will do one, last, 1 minute long, steep.

6th steep 60 seconds
Leaves aroma says definitely that this tea is finished, maybe you can get more from this tea if you are using colder water. But 5 flavourful steeps is a good work from tea that it is probably more suitable for western steeping and moreover it was very tasty and nice complex steeps.

Sadly, all teas have their last steep and this tea in 6th steep doesn’t bring anything but slight astringent liquor with creamy notes; but all cocoa, honey and spicy notes are gone.

Two sipdowns today (subject to change):
A sipdown! (M: 12, Y: 74) Sencha Green tea by Alnatura (an office tea)
A sipdown! (M: 13, Y: 75) Orange Cocktail by Curtis (tea at home)

Both were fine, but nothing to write home about.

A sipdown! (M: 11, Y: 73)

Probably the rest was too big, as it was actually quite bitter and I assume that lily flowers made quite strong peppery note like rose do sometimes. It couldn’t be cardamom, as there wasn’t any in my steeper today.

I had maybe a bit higher expectations… but for the cheap flavoured black tea with cheap shipping, it is a deal. Also hardly any bergamot today…

This tea has to be drank fresh. Otherwise it will lose it’s fruity and bit seed-y raspberry flavour.

As I have fresher batch than last time, I have to admit it is nicely fruity and as I wrote before, like biting seeds of raspberries. Hibiscus adds that general red fruits flavour to, but also some tartness, which is a bit too strong for my liking.

Raising the rating a bit. 70 → 74

This was a freebie in my Sonnentor order earlier this year. Summer was starting, so getting “Shoo, Flu!” tea was a bit funny, but now I find it very useful. :) But I was surprised to see it in my black tea box. Probably just tossed the tea bag there and I forgot about it.

I do have a red nose from all the blowing the nose. I wish I could be like the girl on the new design of the box (bright, not red one); but at least I don’t have to do much at home at all. Let’s hope it will help me at least a little bit.

I don’t remember it at all, but it was 4 years ago. It sounds like an incredlible long time ago. This time it is deifinitely minty (apple mint here!) and chamomile with rough edge of thyme. Very warming up and actually quite tasty, considering a herbal blend.

As I am not feeling well, stuck nose makes trying teas even harder, I tend to drink simple cups as I can’t focus on all nuances of the teas. Definitely, my sniffer isn’t working properly and taste is slightly affected as well — definitely at least I have no mood to try teas I haven’t tried as it can be a bit off.

I said last time it is strong in malts and bread notes; today it felt a bit more like a leathery taste and aroma… but take it with pinch of salt.

I have 8 bags remaining, so hopefully I will have a better chance to re-try it soon.

English can be so misleading. Lime, while it is linden; Tilia in Latin. Natural remedy against cold. So yes, Michelle, I have another tea to the rescue. Though I have no more sore throat, but just a common cold with lots of blowing my nose. And everything at work was taking me twice as long as usual.

Anyway, I bought this tea while shopping on Sonnentor; partially as a trying something lovely — I still remember http://steepster.com/teas/aalia/95296-lipovy-kvet-ze-svojetic which I sent to derk and it seems it’s not carried in my store anymore, which is sad, and partially because I just needed something for free shipping I think. And at last, herbal tea against colds are always useful.

Well, it is lovely, though probably not that much as previously mentioned one. This is more about the flowers itself though (yellow parts) while the other one was more about green part of the flowers.

Honey-ish, sweetish, floral cups which helps me with getting mucus out. Soothing my throat, highly flavourful (but also high dose), just something that should be tried by anyone who likes caffeine-free teas.

This blend of Kenyan, Indian and Ceylon black teas is fine. Nothing extraordinary, but as I have a tea bag version of this (offered also as a looseleaf and in bulk of 100 tea bags); it is enjoyable, strong and robust. No offputting notes, instead there are woody and autumn leaf pile notes, quite mouthcoating with sweet, almost caramel-like finish.

A sipdown! (M: 10, Y: 72)

A sipdown indeed; but I did not had the final mug. It was my dad… and I just remmber trying it, but I haven’t wrote any notes… and now it’s gone.

Can’t say much, as I just don’t remember it much. But orange flavour was there, and although not so strong as Fresh Orange by Teekanne which is staple in our cupboard, it was finished and apparently it was great too. At least my dad drank it almost all by himself, while he wasn’t confident on first sight.

Argh, sore throat. And I exactly know where I caught it. On today morning train to work. A lady was there coughing all the time, not covering her mouth much effectively… and my day spent with changing environments of office, outside (rainy 7°C), and warehouse wasn’t helpful too.

Tea to the rescue! I guess; Lemon + Ginger could be a nice remedy… I believe I got this tea from postcrossing again too… probiotics is something that wouldn’t hurt for sure, but not really sure if I drank tea with probiotics earlier.

But honestly, I miss both major expected flavours… lemon and where is fiery ginger? I couldn’t notice anything of those. Rather the warming cinnamon and some kind of medicinal creamy flavour; overall covered by licorice root. Drinkable, but not what I have been expecting.