HYLEYS

There’s this little Ukranian grocer that opened up near my place that I’ve wanted to visit for a while, because their tea section is right up against the window, so I can look in at it. Unfortunately small shops make me nervous so I’ve kind of avoided it. I finally made it in the other day on my way back from another shop, and then I was worried they’d think I was weird for going into a specialty grocer to buy a single box of tea (in my defense most of the teas were entirely in Cyrillic). But strawberries and cream sounds like a good ‘half awake in the morning’ kind of tea.

It SMELLS delicious, like strawberry jam. It’s just a fanning teabag, moderate Ceylon tea base doesn’t overpower the strawberry. Not really getting any ‘cream’ in the taste, although there’s an extra sweetness in the smell that might be it.

Not very good quality and weak flavor. Double-bagging it helps. Good in a pinch and I’m sure it’s not hurting me in the health department, but I doubt it delivers as many health benefits as the box promises. Otherwise Burlington Coat Factory wouldn’t be hawking it for $3 a box.

I’ve never tried real matcha, but I have had good quality sencha before. I definitely taste the sencha in this blend. It’s accompanied by a grassy, slightly burnt/ bitter note that I suspect is the matcha.

I do enjoy Japanese green teas usually. I should try real matcha soon.

Welp. Mine doesn’t say “slim” on it. A friend gave me a box, from Hawaii.
My first cup today was meh, but I used a lot more water than I should have.
Very soft and bland. Cotton candy meets socks. It might do well cold brewed?

I was lucky enough to pick this tea up at a discount price. The tea was wrapped and was in a nice reuseable tin. The first thing I noticed was the fragrance, like peach. The tea was a great looking black Ceylon, right away I liked the appearance of it.

I brewed tea using two teaspoons of tea and 400 mL of water for two seperate steeps. The flavour was excellent.

I encourage you to try it.

This pretty much tastes like lemongrass to me. Not my cup of tea, but not terrible.

Got this in a swap with Kaylee. Thanks Kaylee!

I tried Fauchon’s thyme tea and really liked it, so I was excited to try this version. I’m definitely getting a nice mouthful of thyme! Pretty strong for a three minute steep. I get a little tea taste on the aftertaste, but the thyme rules the sip for sure! It isn’t quite as well rounded as I remember the other tea. This one has more high notes in the sip and lacks the mid and base notes that my favorite teas have. Still, it’s pretty good if you are looking for a slightly savory thyme tea!

Hyley’s Scottish pekoe.

Review:

Ru Yao dragon teapot, gongfucha.

Dry leaf: spices, toasty.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMZeXf5gXb4/

Wet leaf: spices, toasty, spicy.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMZedmHAEQJ/

1x short rinse.

Light steep; I taste/smell; slight floral. Light —> musty, spicy, spices.
Medium -→ mud, bitterness, autumn leaf pile.

Medium steep; I taste/smell: light floral. Medium —→ musty, spicy, spices, mud, autumn leaf pile. Strong bitterness.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMZebcwg5JD/

Heavy steep; I taste/smell: strong to overpowering bitterness. (I’m not going to bother with the rest).

All in all, I’m not too Sure where to stand on this tea. I rate a 50. Not recommended for gongfucha. Better off giving this tea to a friend.

Bonus photos:
1. https://www.instagram.com/p/BMZeSkRg8_u/
2. https://www.instagram.com/p/BMZeUq5gCGA/

a good tea. however don’t overstep as it can taste sour/bitter
-——————————————-

when I smell the leaves, it smells like smoke, leather and peppery

when I smell the brewed leaves, it smells like leather and pepper

when I smell the brewed tea, it smells like mild pepper and strong leather

the same with when I taste it.

thus because it can get bitter I score it a 90. I don’t recommend it because it has a very rough taste

time to do a full review:

when i open the tin, the aroma hits me fast and strong! the leaves smell like the citrusy part of an orange with strong lavender. (i think its lavender) and ground pepper

it is a little difficult to put into a tea ball.

it steeps fast too. less that 30 seconds is good for me

when i taste it, it tastes just like it smells! :)

a great black tea!

this tea was good. tasted like citrus, lavender and ground pepper

not buying this again as i don’t really like it now

a really good English green tea!

This tea is quite a floral strawberry tea. The top note is a mix of rose and safflower, with the safflower dominant to the rose with its watermelon note this blends with a strawberry cream with the raspberry note appearing last and dominating the aftertaste. The strawberry noteis of tart ripe strawberries that have been cut and allowed to heat up in the sun a little bit. The base tea is a broken large leaf Ceylon which adds a bitterness that counterbalances the lightness of the flavouring and provides enough body to take milk. It also has a citrus note to it. The tea is not that astringent but it is quite tannic though this too is counterbalanced by the cream in the flavouring. A nice blend of flavours and a nice change from the usual strawberry vanilla or strawberry caramel.

This tea has a fruity, candy like passion fruit that smells almost creamy with a touch of mango. It produces a bright orange amber tea that may appear cloudy as actual passion fruit pulp is used. But this cup is clear. The tea is a large leaf Ceylon with long loosely twisted leaves.

The flavour is of a sweet, not tart passion fruit that is slightly creamy. The tea underneath is fruity with a touch of bitterness, a classic tea flavour even if it tastes a little thin compared to some of the syrupy teas I’ve had lately. The large leaf makes it difficult to measure out so perhaps I under leafed it. This is pretty smooth for a Ceylon with just a light astringency. It probably makes a nice iced tea. Pretty nice hot too. Well worth the @$2.00 I paid for it.

I really like this as a lemon tea. The lemon is definitely present and very natural tasting, but it’s not as overwhelming as the lemon in Tea Forte’s Lemon Sorbetti. This is a very nice balance of a decent green tea base with a delicate but assertive lemon flavor.

After shopping Tea! With a shorter steep I am getting caramelized yams and stone fruit.

edit: I finally got the plum on the third steep this time, sweet and slightly spicy.

This tea is a very nice Ceylon blend. It has a rich flavour, and resteeps well retaining a full flavour for at least three resteeps. I quite enjoyed it.

The dry leaves are small to medium full leaves with some silver buds. It smells of sweet potatoe and orange, with a note of burnt sugar.

It tastes of burnt sugar, a hint of blackberry and orange, with a hint of vegetal. It is slightly flowery almost like a note of rose. The tea company suggests that this should taste of plum. My first steep was longer than I normally use and perhaps I would have found this note if I had shortened the steep.

It brews to colour of mahogany, with a medium body and little to no astringency and a hint of bitterness. There is an aftertaste of homemade brown sugar pull toffee. It leaves me with a feeling of calm wakefulness and is very smooth.

The 2nd steep similar flavour wuth citrus notes coming more forward and a burnt sugar flavour present with sweet potatoe. The 3rd steep has sweet potatoe, vegetal notes, and indistinct fruit notes. It has a sweet, lightly tangy aftertaste like having eaten ripe berries.

A nice tea to drink all day.

This tea is light and sparkly and captures the tart bright taste of passion fruit well. The base is tricky, if brewed at boiling it becomes very astringent, but when brewed at off boiling the base produes a pleasant sweet tea with any astrigency adding to the tartness of the passionfruit and lemon. The cinnamon is very mild and more acts in contribution with the passionfruit to add a light pleasant sweetness to the tea rather than a spiciness, though it does bring a little bit of warmth to the tea. The rose is barely noticeable and if anything adds a freshness to the fruit taste of the tea. Overall the flavouring was done very well in this tea.

Appearance: black, noticeable chunks of fruit
Aroma when Dry: Very sour, fruity, bitter
After water is first poured: sweet, powdery
At end of steep: sour
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: range/green ish
Staple? No
Time of day preferred: Unsure, first tasting.
Taste:
first notes: Sour, flat
As it cools? notes flatten more.
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No.
Lingers? Yes, hibiscus and orange surface.

Bagged, will restock with loose
Aroma when Dry: minty, hints of the green base grassy notes balanced
After water is first poured: desert minty sweet (western)
At end of steep: balanced fresh, herby green, hints of grassyness
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: light meadowy green
Staple? Yes, trying loose leaf next
Time of day preferred: any
Taste:
first notes grassy, herby, mint cools and closes
As it cools? Both mint and grassy notes open up, tea gets a bit sweeter
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, light brightness, hints of mint.
Want to try chilled

Bagged, will restock with loose leaf
Aroma when Dry: bright, floral, apple-y, green base noticeable
After water is first poured: sweet, hints of citrus
At end of steep: fruity, floral, faint grassyness
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: very light green
Staple? Yes, looking into loose leaf
Time of day preferred: any, primary use medicinal
Taste:
first notes: green base very noticeable, grassy, with hints of fruit and floral from the camomile
As it cools? floral notes open up quite a bit, then all the notes mellow out
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Very slightly, both notes

Bagged

Aroma when Dry: slightly sweet(western sweet),powdery
At end of steep: blended sweet, floral
Tea liquor:
First: light brown, almost sandy
At end of steep: deepens into a red earthy brown.

Staple? Probably, looking into loose leaf next.
Time of day preferred: Mid Morning, Afternoon
Taste:
first notes: light floral, mild woody note. Can distinguish between the linden and black. Honey notes complement nicely, not noticeable as sweet per se.
As it cools? Notes blend, but none vanish.
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, floral softens on its way out.
Want to try chilled.

Bagged
Aroma when Dry: Herby, short notes. Can notice the lemon texture of the melissa and also mint distinctly.
After water is first poured: Sour, herby, fresh, slightly chewy.
At end of steep: herby, woody
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: bright woody green
Staple? Likey, looking into loose leaf option next.
Time of day preferred: Morning, afternoon
Taste:
first notes: slightly floral, not sweet. Balanced herbal
As it cools?. Herby texture deepens, floral “sweetness” dissipates slightly
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, hints of the chewyness, slightly woodsy texture over the floral. No bitterness.