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This tea had always interested me whenever I saw it at the store and I finally got to try it. The dry leaf is very pretty: little bright petals in a bed of pretty rooibos. The scent was rooibos with a TON of apricots. I didn’t smell a bunch of caramel or honey, but pure apricot fruits. Steeped, the tea smelled equally as fruity. It even retained the juicy character of the apricots. Each sip had a nice balance of apricot and rooibos, and the slightest bit of honey flavor. As much as I wanted to love this tea, I just couldn’t. Something about it didn’t taste RIGHT to me. Maybe I had imagined this tea to be something beyond delicious – I think I wanted apricots dipped in honey & caramel. It’s not a terrible tea, just not as good as I wanted it to be.

I bought a box of 80 tea bags of rooibos yesterday as I was looking for just a plain, unflavored rooibos tea. I’m glad that I grabbed this one! The scent of the tea bags is VERY characteristic of rooibos teas: wood, earth, a bit of spice and sweetness. There is also a scent that reminds me of the zoo. I’m not sure I can explain that logic, but it makes me think of animals, dirt, wild plants and grasses. This is a fabulous, basic rooibos. I feel like it offers more than the other one-dimensional red teas out there. I taste wood and a sweetness like caramel or vanilla which fades in and out of the cup. I’m glad that I purchased this brand & look forward to having more mugs!

I, like others, noticed that the leaves look almost identical to an oolong. In fact, I was really surprised when I popped open the bag that clearly says Silky GREEN. I’ve had quite a few cups of this one & initially brewed them around 190-195. At that temperature, I tasted an overwhelmingly large amount of pure floral flavor. To me, it was so floral that it was almost like soap or perfume. I was just about to give up on this tea before I tried it again at a lower temperature. There are still floral flavors, but I’m tasting much more of a buttery component. It’s not my favorite, but I like that I’ve found a good temperature for this tea. I wish it could be more buttery and less floral.

I didn’t really know what to expect from this tea. I like Teapigs tea, but I’m also quite fond of FLAVORED white tea, not plain. That being said, this is a very interesting cup. I like that it has different layers: a little bit of sweet grass and a little bit of vegetables. I’m not sure that I would like to have boxes upon boxes of this tea, but it is naturally nice.

Out of the three in my Tea from Taiwan sampler, this is my least favorite. I didn’t detect any buttery/milky tones. I tasted more floral, toasty & astringent notes. It wasn’t terrible, but compared to the other two I received, I wasn’t too impressed.

I can’t remember who sent me a bag of this tea.. if you did, I’m sorry I can’t remember! Thank you! The taste is of absolute rooibos and the wood flavor is most prominent. I also detect a creamy taste toward the end of the sip. Otherwise, there aren’t many layers to this tea. It’s just a bit of wood and the tiniest sensation of a creamy tea. This isn’t a terribly bad tea, just a bit boring. In my experience, I’ve found that there are other rooibos teas with many more layers and dimensions, but this cup is quite decent for this evening.

After my first successful sample from Tea from Taiwan, I was a bit nervous to try this one. Like many others have said, it’s a bit light. Sipping, I kept waiting for a punch of butter or a smack of sweet milk. Even with not a drop to spare at the end of the mug, I never did find that milky quality. Despite there being no real milkiness, I did enjoy this light cup of tea. Flavor was a bit subtle, but it was very smooth and drinkable. The scent was quite nice.. A bit more of vegetables and grass than I would have liked, but with hot water, I got something ALMOST buttery. Yes, this was a fine cup of tea. It didn’t excite me, though, and really lacked anything to push it over the edge.

I think I’m finally getting back into my tea tasting routine. I’ve missed having a cup multiple times a day. I think I’ll be able to drink more hot tea if I have a fan blowing in my direction! This was the tea I picked for this evening. In the sip, I’m getting vegetables (almost grass), with a bit of that characteristic white tea taste. Overall, it’s quite a light cup. I must admit that I am so disappointed that my cup lacks any of the rich sweet cream or butter it claims to have. The only thing resembling butter is a bit of a salty finish to the sip. It’s smooth, simple and a bit refreshing. I just don’t understand how the description could be so very off — or maybe I did something wrong? Either way, I was a bit disappointed as I was expecting something different.

I haven’t been able to drink tea lately since it’s been so darn hot! I’m not a big homemade iced tea drinker (we don’t have ice at the house) so I waited until it was dark and cool outside. I finally was able to have a cup of this tea this evening and it’s smooth, sweet and comforting, as usual.

My little Tea From Taiwan sampler arrived today and I was so excited to try this one first. I haven’t tried a flavored milk oolong before and to be honest, the idea of leaves being drenched with milk or flavoring sounds delicious to me. Yes, I still love natural milk oolongs, but this sounded like a real treat!
Once I poured the hot water over the leaves, I immediately smelled a rich buttery scent. It didn’t differ from previous buttery smelling oolongs, but made my mouth water. Interestingly, the first steep isn’t as strong as I thought it would be. It does have a buttery taste with a bit of the oolong in the background. What I love about this tea, though, is that it is so smooth. With each sip I’m expecting a drying, astringent effect, but I’m not finding it in this first steep. It’s not really thick in the mouth, more smooth and a light kind of silky without being creamy. I’ve read that many flavored milk oolongs do not last past the first or second steep. I can’t say I’m looking forward to the next steep because I’m enjoying the buttery, sweet tea I’m getting in this cup. That being said, I will steep this again and report back with how it goes.
EDITED: 2nd Steep and it isn’t anything like the first cup at all. There really isn’t any buttery flavor left.. just a bit lingering in the scent. It’s also a bit more astringent. I wouldn’t say that it’s terrible.. just significantly different than the first glorious cup. I still might buy this because the first cup was just lovely.