The Tao of Tea

A TJ Maxx special buy. Not something I’d normally gravitate to but thought I’d give it a shot. It’s surprisingly not bitter, even with a strong brew. Lots of cardamom and clove, with just a little cinnamon and ginger. Not a bad little chai, but not as balanced as some I’ve tasted. It is a nice change from my daily drinkers (yunnan and awesome tea) but I won’t be too sad when I sip it all down.

Love this tea! It’s deeply roasted with flavors of warm, brown sugar which dances across your whole tongue. Super smooth, deep, and pleasant flavor. A slight earthy scent complements the rich, roasted aroma. My favorite Tieguanyin tea! I’ve also had this with a dash of milk, controversial, I know, but it was good too! A nice roasted milk tea. Usually, I have it plain though to appreciate its original, complex flavors.

Amazing quality Ali Shan tea. I have tried another brand which I will review here too but this is 100% better. Full-bodied, rich, complex flavors of sweet grass and custard cream biscuits/cookies. Very smooth texture and very little astringency. The aroma is very potent too and smells slightly roasted. Overall, it is an amazing cup of tea!

This tea is so smooth. I steep it in a 24oz bottle and drink from it throughout the day. It never gets bitter.

I do tend to brew my Assams rather strong and this one was up to the challenge. Too much leaf in this cup or just enough, there is the line to balance on. I think there was plenty leaf in the cup and it makes a dark, astringent, but not bitter, brew. I may have drowned all the maltyness out by using so much leaf, but hey, a girls gotta wake up in the am. Second steep is just a muted version of the first. Easily drinkable but not memorable.
Thanks to gmathis for sharing!

This roasty toasty oolong was an extra from my upcoming Advent from Lexie. How will I be able to wait until next Wednesday to open the rest? Currently it’s steeped three times and is going for a 4th long steep. A nice example of a Tie Guan Yin that I would certainly be tempted to purchase, and is a nice start to the holiday.

Unfortunately, I’m two for two on underperforming teas from Tao of Tea. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this malty Assam. It’s extremely drinkable; a little sweet, but the “sweet” is about all I’m getting. I wanted whap-you-in-the-face Assam in the bass notes, not tap-you-politely-on-the-shoulder Assam. If you like your breakfast teas on the gentler side, this may be right up your alley.

With a name like this, I expected to be able to pour this stuff straight on the counter and it would pile up in its very own mug shape. Nope.

That doesn’t mean it’s not a fine morning tea. A good Assam with a little bready sweetness; still drinkable after letting the last bit cool for a while (some Assams get so strong you could remove battery corrosion with them). I didn’t see any need to lighten it up with milk—just fine straight up.

Just opened the tin this morning, so there’s plenty left for tinkering.

As soon as I broke the seal on the bag, I knew I would be in for major trouble if I actually whisked up a cup. The smell and look of the powder was vile and chalky. I added a few teaspoons to the chia seed pudding I made and of course tossed the entire batch after I tasted it the next morning. What was I thinking.

Never had a deader tea. This stuff must’ve been ancient.

look im a simple bitch its an easy tea i love this stuff

enjoying my first long jing. wet leaf gives me baked kale chips and spinach

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first impression: exciting smells followed by bitter (and smokey) disappointment in the cup. very temperamental tea if you’re totally clueless about taming it as i am\was. short answer: HOT water SHORT SHORT infusions.

second real attempt im starting to see it more clearly. 6oz in a 150ml gaiwan, using maybe 115 of that space or maybe only 100. HOT water, 5 second steep. literally waiting 1 long beat between pouring and decanting. my mouth is no longer full of smoke but a complex if still challenging roasted dan cong that im still working thru. update later.

edit: ive tried it again and while i can keep the smoke out im not sure if there’s much there thats enjoyable to replace it. going to have to put it away for a while because its making me sad

Another tea from the tea box. Now this one is tart. I don’t taste any ginger at all (there wasn’t much in the dry leaf either). The flavor is 100% hibiscus. I don’t mind hibiscus mixed with other things, but plain like this, it isn’t for me. Super tart. I love the double lidded tin though.

Small leaf pieces and a standard, basic shou taste. Because of the leaf shape, it’s easier to brew this Western-style than gongfu, but I did try both. It didn’t impress me either way; that said, it’s less expensive and more widely available than many similar teas of equal quality, so for someone just getting into pu-erh, it’s a good option.

Needs a low brewing temperature. Quite vegetal, very spinach-y – almost like a green tea. Very fluffy; it’s hard to fit an adequate weight into a gaiwan. It’s a decent tea, but not really my thing.

A friend gave me a sample of this tea, but after reading over other people reviews I’m not sure this is the right one. It was hard to read her writing for the company name.

I’m enjoying this, whatever it is. It’s very umami. It almost smells like the seaweed part of miso soup. Or a roasted furikake. It’s very smooth and well balanced and has a sweet sensation to it. It seems more oolong than puerh to me. Glad to have gotten to try this!

It’s low in caffeine, but not VERY low! Don’t drink it at night… Compared to other kukichas I’ve had, I think this one is stronger. It’s pleasant, sweetish with a roasted taste, and very drinkable.

It’s low in caffeine, but not VERY low! Don’t drink it at night. If brewed well, it’s pleasant, sweetish with a roasted taste, and very drinkable. If steeped for too long or at too high a temperature, it becomes very bitter.