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Just prepared this gongfu style and hated it so much that I threw the leaves out after the first cup. This is odd, since I’ve never had such a bad experience with Norbu Tea, but the tea literally tasted like vomit :(
Not grading it or chucking it at the moment – will try again with a different combination of leaves/water/temperature.

Fantastic! This tea is sweet, with no astringency, and a complex and delightful combination of traditional black maltiness with a fruity, delicate finish that takes you by surprise. A different black tea, gentle and deserving of the full gong fu treatment. This most definitely goes on my shopping list when it runs out.
If you are looking for a different black tea – this certainly fits the bill

Backlog from Thursday. Had this tea at work with two colleagues after giving a presentation about TEA to my department. Worked on the presentation for two days and was super worried that it would bore people, but it turned out to be a huge success! I’ve already had people come and ask to try white tea, or puerh :)
Anyway, this is turning out to be my comfort tea, a dependable, smoky delight that always calms and cheers me up

Brewed it Western style tonight, and lovely peachy flavors emerged – with the perfume flavor taking a back seat. This tea’s silky smoothness is addictive, and I have a feeling that it will cold brew well. I don’t enjoy vegetal or perfumed teas, but this tea surprised me by avoiding both these notes. It is a delicate tea, and using boiling water or oversteeping it will get you a bitter and unpleasant brew, but if you hit its sweet spot – you are in for a treat of a tea

One steeping before last. Three rounds in a taiwan. This is a good tea. A very good tea. But it’s not a spectacular tea. There’s honey, malt, the linen feel that Terri described – and also some bitterness, that emerges even in very short steeps. I like it, but it doesn’t rank among my top 10. It’s a 90+ tea – but taking the price into account, it drops to a “no, I wouldn’t buy it again”

The dry leaves of this tea are on the large side, and smell fruity. The liquor is very pale gold (when brewed Western style), and sweet. Tastes of cucumber and barley dominate the cup. The tea is very smooth and creamy, and very tasty.
A delicate tea that won’t tolerate (or need) any sugar or milk, and is very comforting and refreshing. A great way for me to unwind at the end of a very long day.
Will buy again.

Another cup of this as a pick me up before I have to go to work (again) this night. A much needed comfort cup.

The Chinese Tea Company is a small store in London, Portobello – a heartwarming little treasure nestled in a forgotten arcade, at the less fashionable side of the market. It is worth the visit, if you’re ever in the area. I have yet to order from them online, but once my teas run out, I probably will.

This tea smells richly chocolate-like when dry, and tastes practically like a Verdant Tea Laoshan Black double, and I do not say that lightly. The leaves are long and twisted, mostly golden with shades of black and quite fuzzy. There’s no astringency to this tea, but it does have a long, sweet lingering aftertaste. Fantastic!

Backlogging a cup of this on my birthday a few days ago. I tasted Norbu’s Ya Bao again (in a gaiwan, for three resteepings) after I tried Verdant Tea’s Ya Bao, because I remembered enjoying Norbu’s more. Verdant’s Ya Bao is excellent, but it’s somehow harsher, more “in your face” flavour-wise, whereas Norbu’s is sweeter, more mellow, and it gently caresses your tastebuds with its cooling, soothing, toasty goodness. There was also a greenness – almost pine-like – to Verdant’s Ya Bao that was not present so much in Norbu’s. I’ll have to do a side by side tasting to make sure, but I’m certain that Norbu’s is the tea I will reach for when I’m feeling the need for a comforting white tea.

Drinking a cup of this with milk and a touch of sugar. Solid breakfast tea that brews a rich coppery red colour.