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From the dry leaves, I expected this to be a little bitter, one of those confrontational, drill-sergeant morning teas. Not so. This is smooth. Something gives a brightness on the sides of the tongue. Something gives a slight dry feeling in the aftertaste, almost like wine tannins? I don’t get particular notes—bread, wood, smoke, jam. But maybe I’m not awake enough yet.

Strong. Toasty—not in a warm bread way, but in almost burnt way. Toast done over a campfire. Toast with a dark top and that sound of a butter knife scraping across the top. The first steep was very intense. The second steep seemed only half as strong. I didn’t try a third steep.

Wow, this is fantastic! I was skeptical, because the dry leaves smell rather grassy. But the taste is a floral honey, like wild honey, like the fancy jar of white gold honey I could eat straight up by the spoonful. The second steep is the best, though the first steep comes out better if I give it only 2 minutes.

FWIW, my order arrived faster than I expected, and although the tight vacuum packaging delays my childish “I want it now” diving into a newly delivered box of teas, and further requires a transfer to an empty tea canister (b/c I’m so inept at opening the silly vacuum pack), all is forgiven because the tea is so delicious.

This is an okay breakfast tea for me. I can get three steeps out of it, and it takes well to lots of milk and sugar. I try to drink it plain, to see what the notes are, and nothing in particular stands out. Not a reflection on the tea; more a reflection on my tea rookie status. I’ll finish the canister but likely not re-order.

Hearty, woodsy, a teeny bit of fruit (pear?). I like it better with milk and sugar, but it’s smooth enough to drink on its own (not bitter, and that’s the only time I pick up on the fruit).

As breakfast teas go, this is as strong as I’ll go before crossing the line into smoky teas (which always make me feel like I’m waking up in the military or something). For this Scottish blend, no need to break out the bugle reveille and the WWII helmet. This one still has a touch of coziness.

Straightforward, uncomplicated breakfast tea. Some body, no bitterness, and good with milk and sugar. A little earthy, toasty, but no smoke or flavors or nuttiness. As far as I know, this comes only in sachets, but those are handy for travel and for a day spent in long meetings. This is one of my go-to teas for when I’m not in the mood for deliberations about tea, analysis of tea, tea that comes with demands.

This was an impulse buy at Whole Foods. A very calming, meditative tea. Reminds me of a really nice incense perfume—balsam, a very light floral, a feeling of clean. But not cleaning product, thankfully.

Smooth middle-weight tea. Lots of notes going on—other reviewers have described them better than I can. Pear, oak, walnut, a dusting of cocoa. Complex but not aggressive, elegant but not fussy. This is one of the few black teas I like without milk and sugar. This is a tea I’d like to have around all the time.