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Thank you, Teavivre, for this sample! I don’t think I ever tried a yellow tea before. I anticipated that it would have characteristics similar to green tea since it was on the lighter side of the color spectrum.

When I opened the silver sample package, long green tea leaves greeted me from inside. The aroma of the unbrewed leaves was grassy and, yes, similar to the grassy smell of green tea.

I brewed the leaves at approximately 185 degrees (I had to estimate using the office microwave machine to heat the water) for eight minutes as recommended on the package. The steeped color was light yellow. The odor was again definitely like that of green tea.

The flavor of this tea was surprisingly full-bodied, distinct, and satisfying. Yes, the taste was similar to green tea, but this yellow tea had its own flavor signature as well. The taste was a bit grassy like green varieties but there was also a blended sweet potato attribute that lay comfortably on my palate. As is common with Teavivre teas, it was extremely smooth without a glimmer of astringency. The aftertaste was light and airy and it quickly dissipated.

I didn’t expect to like yellow tea too much since I almost exclusively favor the robust, high octane, black teas. However, I REALLY enjoyed this one…A LOT! I don’t have a long list of preferred afternoon and evening teas yet but this offering is definitely high up on it!

Another Friday, another sample from Teavivre to try. Things are looking up.

These “dragon ball” teas are pretty cool. This one was individually wrapped in clear cellophane and fastened with a little baggy tie. It was a tightly rolled ball of dark leaves and pinkish flowers about the size of a gumball. The unbrewed knob had a pronounced tea smell with a slightly rose/flowery accent.

I followed the instructions on the silver sample package and brewed the ball for five minutes at 195 degrees. The package actually said 194 degrees but 195 was the closest my One Touch Tea Maker could get. What’s one degree between friends anyway?

The steeped liquor had a bright gold color. The odor was very much like its unbrewed incarnation: tea with a rosy accent.

The taste was completely consistent with its smell, before and after brewing. The tea flavor was full-bodied and robust, yet it was remarkably smooth. A rose bud undertone melded into the taste perfectly. This was a relief for me as I am often overwhelmed by flowery-tasting teas. There also was the presence of a sweet attribute to round out the extremely harmonious blend. I did not detect any astringency and the aftertaste was quite light and pleasant. If the 195-degree liquid temperature hadn’t been capable of producing blisters on my gullet, I would have chugged my cup down even faster than I did.

This is another outstanding tea from Teavivre that I can easily recommend. It worked extremely well for me with my breakfast but I’m sure it would also be a fantastic lunch or mid-day selection as well.

I was quite excited to receive more samples from Teavivre. I have sampled and purchased their teas from the very beginning of the company’s existence (five years). I have found their teas to be consistently superior quality, smooth, and tasty. Will this new offering keep that tradition alive? Stay tuned…

When I opened the silver sample package, inside was a dark, tightly rolled ball of tea and flower buds, about the size of a jawbreaker (candy). Its aroma was so faint that I had to press the ball against my snout to get a reading. It was slightly sweet and a tad flowery.

I steeped the ball in my handy-dandy portable infuser that I use at the uptown Charlotte office for eight minutes at approximately 195 degrees (as prescribed on the package). The brewed liquor was the color of molasses. The smell was strong of tea with a flowery accent.

The brew tasted like tea with well-blended flower undertones. I’m not a big fan of flowery teas. Some are so overbearing that I wonder if I am drinking perfume. However, this selection is so perfectly blended that the flowers truly complement the fine tea flavor instead of stomping all over it. The taste was hearty yet amazingly smooth. It was also completely free of astringency.

The aftertaste was quite pleasant. It remained on my palate briefly and gently.

Teavivre has done it again! This is yet another superb blend from the Chinese tea company. Teavivre says it produces tea using traditional methods, proving that the old ways are often the best ways.

You can proudly serve this selection on your most special occasions. Or, just bring it out on an ordinary work day to start your morning off feeling good (like I did).

I stayed away from Teavana tea purchases for a good while, not because they don’t have great tea products, but because I always found them to be a bit pricey. However, that didn’t stop me from browsing through their stores every time I was in a mall.

Yesterday, the very astute young lady sales associate knew exactly what buttons to push to get me to pull my wallet out once again. She touted this one as a robust, bold flavored, and, most important, reasonably priced, black tea. It also smelled great as she waved the wide tin lid under my nose. I long ago learned to fight the hypnotic powers that command you to spend your money when they do this. But yesterday I succumbed to the spell. I’m just glad she didn’t make me bark like a dog or strut like a chicken.

The long black leaves of this tea looked fresh and rich. The unbrewed aroma was interestingly unique for a black tea. I could smell citrus but it wasn’t bergamot or lemon. The closet entity that came to my mind was tangerine.

I steeped the leaves for four minutes at 205 degrees. Teavana recommended three minutes at that temperature but my personal rule of thumb is to never brew a black tea for less than four minutes if you really want to pull bold flavor from it.

Both the steeped color and odor were unique for a black tea. The hue was a bright gold which made me wonder if I should have steeped it for another two or three minutes. The aroma was slightly citrus and sweet, with an accent like a bowl of Frosted Wheat Chex with caramel lightly drizzled on it.

The flavor was quite smooth. It was not robust or bold but it didn’t register as empty on my palate either. The taste, again, was slight fruity, sweet, and grain-like. This time I couldn’t make up my mind if I was tasting wheat or corn. The flavors harmonized well and nothing seemed odd or out of place – just unique. There was no astringency and no annoying attributes remained in the after taste.

Another reason I purchased this tea is I was told it had a high caffeine level. That characteristic is required in all of my morning teas to jump start my metabolism. I didn’t notice any major jolt from the tea but I was sufficiently alert for early in the morning.

All in all, I would classify this as a very pleasant tea. The flavor is not strong, but adequate. The smoothness makes it easy to quickly down a full pot (which I did). If drinking a beverage with a nice, but hard to identify, flavor doesn’t irritate you, Teavana’s Indonesian Gold is definitely worth a trial run!

Here I am with the third and last of the Tin Roof Teas that I purchased a little while back. The first two were outstanding. Let’s see if this one maintains that record…

When I unfastened TRF’s signature package, with its unsealed but clamped down opening, the smell that greeted me was very much like the smell of tobacco in a freshly opened pack of cigarettes. Since I have never been a smoker, I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad sign.

The brewing instructions said to steep this blend for three minutes. That seemed insufficient for the punch I wanted it to pack, so I brewed the medium-length dark brown leaves for four minutes. (Just call me a tea rebel.)

The finished product was a bright amber in color. The unbrewed cigarette tobacco odor was gone and replaced with a slightly sweet malty aroma.

This tea had a really rich flavor from the very first sip until the end of the cup. The taste played no other flavor notes except tea with a hint of malt. It was unmistakably Darjeeling, but amplified, almost like Darjeeling on steroids. In spite of the supercharged flavor, it was remarkably smooth. The aftertaste was no burden on my palate for the few minutes it remained.

I have to admit, I am not a huge Darjeeling fan. The main reason is I find the typical flavor a little blah when compared to other black teas. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Somehow a simple flavor was made complex. The taste was like a symphony of violins. They are all playing the same instrument but the harmony makes the music beautiful.

This is another winner from TRF. I will definitely look for more selections to take for a spin!

This is the second of three Tin Roof Teas I bought recently. Since its name is “vanilla,” my sweet tooth started itching when I saw it.

When I opened the silver pouch (which, by the way, is closed and fastened with a gold wire clamp instead of sealed), a very pleasant and fragrant vanilla aroma spilled out. This made me even more excited to get the brewing underway.

I steeped the full dark leaves at 212 degrees for five minutes. The package recommended up to four minutes but I like my black tea as robust as I can get it without bitterness. Five minutes of brewing has never failed me yet.

The brewed aroma of the tea was also very vanilla. It was strong but not fake or obnoxious. The color was golden brown.

The flavor was interesting. The vanilla taste was so striking that there was no room for any other flavor accents. As powerful as the taste was, it somehow wasn’t overwhelming. I found it to be quite enjoyable for the entire duration of my cup. I also was surprised that the booming vanilla flavor produced no astringency. It was actually smooth and the aftertaste never wore out its welcome on my palate.

This is another one of those teas for which I have no criticism. The entire experience was delightful through four cups this morning. I’ve started brewing my own tea at work using my little handy-dandy infuser. This vanilla tea will definitely help launch my work days off to a cheerful start.

My better half and I accidentally stumbled upon an almost hidden spice and tea store yesterday while we were eating lunch at a vegan restaurant in Charlotte. Since we now eat only plant-based foods, as of four months ago, I guess we are vegan too. (My wife says we no longer consume anything with a mother or a face. That is very dire news for a BBQ rib-o-holic like myself. In my mind, ribs are the mother of all meat.) But I digress…Getting back to the tea…

I purchased this Death By Chocolate selection based on its incredible chocolate aroma alone. (Plus, since I can no longer eat dairy or sugar products, I thought it was a clever-or desperate-way to sneak some chocolate back into my life.)

The rich dark chocolate aroma was seeping from the silver bag and hitting my nostrils from about 10 feet away. When I opened it, I wished that the bag was the size of my bathtub so I could dive into it. The whole leaves were dark brown, almost black. Generously spread throughout the leaves were thin cocoa nibs.

I was almost drooling as I steeped the leaves for five minutes at 212 degrees. The brewed aroma was rich and all chocolate. The color was a cloudy yellowish amber, like you might encounter with an herbal tea.

The flavor was completely, unequivocally, and most definitely chocolate. It was a fine tasting chocolate too and had no artificial attributes. I was disappointed, though, to experience some bitterness that remained on the ol’ palate. In fairness, the unwanted characteristic faded after several sips.

As great as the chocolate flavor was, I found myself wishing for at least a smidgen of tea flavor. The overall sensation was more like chocolate water than chocolate tea.

Another important element in a great black tea for me is a registered amount of caffeine kick. I am sorry to say that this blend had no caffeine awareness whatsoever, not even after four cups.

Getting back to the positives, I will say that the tea re-steeped very well. There was virtually no difference in taste or color from the first to second steeping.

My plan for this tea in the future is to use it as an added ingredient in my ho-hum, blah, and unexciting black teas. The chocolate in this product is strong enough to perk them up as a second-string additive.

So, to sum it all up, if you like chocolate-flavored beverages, you will find a rich chocolate taste here that shouts from the (tin) rooftops. However, if you are looking for a robust black tea with just chocolate complements, this one might seem as lacking as it is overwhelming.

You know, I’m starting to rethink my snobbery regarding bagged tea. I started a new job this month (praise God!) and one of the fringe benefits is the company provides free coffee and free tea via boxes of Bigelow tea bags. At first the tea snob in me said I’ll just brew my own tea at home and bring it to the office in my thermos. But, my daily commute entails a 30-minute car ride followed by a 30-minute train ride followed by a 10-minute walk to the building, each way. I wasn’t quite ready to lug my five-cup thermos on my daily travels yet, so I decided to give the Bigelow tea bags a chance.

I steeped the standard paper bag for about five minutes using the office Keurig machine’s hot water setting. As common with brewed bagged tea, I didn’t notice a strong odor, but I could detect the bergamot with this one.

When I started sipping the tea, my taste buds were infused with enough Earl Grey flavor to scratch the itch. The flavor had no bitter twinge to it and the bergamot complemented the black tea taste as you would want and expect of any Earl Grey, bagged or loose leaf. I had no problem with the tea-heavy aftertaste either.

I liked this tea. It did satisfy me enough during the work day to keep me focused on my job (and the price is right!). I can’t deny that I miss my favorite robust loose leaf morning teas that I’ve enjoyed and depended on during the last five years. I will eventually bite the bullet and start hauling my thermos into work and home each day. However, until I get ambitious and motivated enough, this Bigelow tea will keep me from becoming tea-deprived.

HEY! I JUST NOTICED THAT THIS IS MY 200TH TASTING NOTE!!! IT ONLY TOOK ME FIVE YEARS TO GET HERE! THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON THIS FUN JOURNEY!

Every now and then, while out and about, I stumble upon a great tea at an incredible value when I least expect it. Such was the case when we were shopping at Earth Fare.

I don’t know why, but I don’t find their loose leaf tea displays very appealing, and I usually don’t peruse the tea aisle at all anymore. It could be because they store the loose teas in plain, clear, long plastic chutes that remind me of the containers jammed with candy that you buy per pound in the malls.

However, while my wife was searching for great deals on fairly interesting plant-based food items (our current diet of two months) during this trip, I thought looking at the teas might distract me from dreaming and reminiscing about the wonderful sweet treats of old in the candy and cookie aisles. So, I decided to wander down to the calorie-free tea aisle.

All aesthetics aside, I did find the PRICE of this Frontier China black tea irresistible. It was just $17.99 a pound! I thought risking a little over four bucks for four ounces wouldn’t break the bank as I opened the trap door in the chute and let about four ounces drop into the provided plain brown paper bag with Earth Fare’s logo on it.

When I got home and opened the brown bag to see if I should have bought $4 worth of lottery tickets instead, I was quite taken by the rich and sweet-smelling aroma of the long dark tea leaves. This smell was similar to some of my favorite black China teas costing considerably more.

Since neither the clear plastic candy chute nor the plain brown paper bag had brewing instructions, I opted for my standard black tea brewing method: five minutes at 212 degrees.

The steeped result had a deep brownish orange color. The aroma was rich and sweet with hints of chocolate.

As I swirled the liquid around my palate during the first sip, I quickly realized that the taste of this tea was…TERRIFIC! From the first sip to the bottom of my cup, it had to be the smoothest orange pekoe that I had ever sampled! There wasn’t even a RUMOR of astringency. The flavor was also peppered with softly sweet cocoa accents that perfectly accompanied the mild black tea flavor as if both elements were grown and harvested together in one hybrid tree.

If I have any complaint at all (which I don’t), it would be to make the flavor just a tad stronger. However, I say this about almost all teas (due to my sinus challenges) so ignore it.

I just can’t say enough (or maybe I already have) about the great value of this tea. I found it an absolute joy to sip, from the first moment when it hit my tongue to the last when it gently evaporated on my palate. I firmly recommend this tea for everyone, from yacht owners to those of us on budgets.

My sweet wife was due some merchandise credits at the Williams Sonoma store. She so very nicely picked up this tea for me with her credits.

Assam is not my favorite tea as I prefer the Chinese products over those from India. I can’t always find Assam teas that are robust enough for my palate. However, I always try to experience new teas with an open mind. Hopefully, this Assam will be a great one.

My container for this tea was different than the one in the picture. It was also metal but round with a narrower neck. The cap had a cool plastic and reusable inner seal underneath it.

The unbrewed short brown leaves had the familiar aroma of Assam. I steeped them for five minutes at 212 degrees. The finished product was the color of maple syrup. The smell was sweet and malty.

The flavor had a sweet malty edge to it. I thought I detected a slight twinge of astringency during the first sip but it dissipated quickly and didn’t return.

I liked this Assam. It had sufficient tea flavor to keep my taste buds interested. I enjoyed the sweetness and malty emphasis in the taste. Some Assams have just tasted like weak tea to me. There was no unpleasant bitterness in the brief aftertaste. If you also are on the fence about Assam, you might want to take a chance on this one!