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This tea is from one of the Wymm “Mystery Boxes”. The packaging was very clever: a folding cardboard box contained a number of packets that looked like folded up paper napkins, though I think the paper is the type used to wrap beengs. The folding was rather clever, though easy to figure out. There was no marking on the outside; you had to unfold the paper to find the name of the tea on a small slip of paper inside with the tea. I suspect the idea was to create “mystery”. It was kind of fun to unwrap the teas, but it makes it a hassle to find a particular tea. i wound up writing numbers on the wrappers and including the number with the tea name in my spreadsheet. That means I have to use my computer to select a tea, but that’s not too bad. (Wynn confirmed that this special packaging only for the mystery box – normal samples would be more conventionally packaged.)

The tea itself was very unusual. In my first pot, it was closer in taste to a sheng than any other shou I have tried. It seems that this should always be the case and it bothers me that it is not. In theory, the shou teas are supposed to have just sped up the aging that the sheng would undergo, yet when I drink a 10 or 12 year old sheng, it doesn’t taste anything like a shou. I can’t see it moving in that direction either.

This is my second pot. The first pot had hints of green vegetables, black pepper, and wood. Only two steeps had the fruity/earthy flavors I associate with shou. By the 5th steep, I would have thought I was drinking an older sheng.

For this pot, I did a very brief 2 s rinse. The first steep was brown in color, like a sheng, rather than red. No sign of the earthy flavors that shou usually shows, but also no veggies. The next few steeps became more shou-like, with a strong black pepper flavor and lots of cha qi. The fourth steep was red (like a shou) but more fruity and sweet than earthy. Long, pleasant finish. 5th steep is similar: fruity and sweet, but without the woody flavors I noticed in the first pot. At this point, it reminded me of some of my favorite shou teas: smooth and fruity but not earthy or bitter. At the 6th steep (1m), the fruit is about gone, but there is a nice woody flavor remaining, like a good aged sheng. Smooth and mild, like a good sherry.

I like the variety from cup to cup, though it makes it harder to rate. Also, the two pots were somewhat different as well. Partly why I love trying different teas.

This is another tea that I have been drinking for more than a year but somehow didn’t write up a review. That is a shame because it is one of my go-to teas. I love the nose: so clean and fruity. You can really smell the melon. The taste is full and rich. I generally add a bit of NutraSweet, but the tea is so sweet I’m not sure it really needs it. I generally drink black and pu-erh teas, but love this as a light change of pace.

This tea has two siblings that I also love: Butterscotch, and Coconut. They seem to use the same base and similar ingredients, but each has a different main flavor.

This is a third flush/Autumn tea. To my knowledge I have had few if any of these. I found it enjoyable, but it didn’t stand out as anything special. Leafy, slightly sweet flavor is easily recognizable as a Darjeeling. Good everyday tea.

Another Tea from the Mystery box/sampler.

I’m not normally a big fan of shou. I’d say there are only about 5 of the 30 shous I’ve tasted that I liked well enough to want to add to my collection. This one may be the 6th.

It started out with a rich complex aroma of wood, berries, and spice. The taste is smooth and restrained, with complex flavors of wood and spice. Transitions smoothly to an excellent finish. Lots of cha qi. 2nd steep: Richer, slightly more earthy nose. A hint of bitterness added to the previous flavors. 3rd (20s): Love the nose! Smooth, slightly fruity taste. Subsequent steeps lost the fruit but were pleasant and well-balanced, with no negative aspects.

I usually feel that shou has too much of a decayed flavor or else is too bitter. This had neither, but rather hints of fruit and spice that added a pleasant complexity. The dominant aspect may have been the cha qi. I had to space out my steeps in order to clear my head. Otherwise, I probably would have wound up asleep.

2 10 second rinses, then 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 60 s steeps at 210 degrees.

(Note refers to 2014 Spring) This tea has a very tight compression. Rather than shred it entirely, I left 5 small chunks in pot. After the first steep and a 5 minute wait, I had to break them up with a knife, and found they were still dry on the inside. The first two steeps reminded me of a green tea, but much deeper: grassy with a hint of green beans. A woody flavor that was barely there in the first steep grew stronger until by the third steep it dominated the taste. The overall power of the tea also grew.

The tea was a little rough, probably due to its youth. There was a tart, tannic edge that was just short of bitter. Not unpleasantly so, but it made the tea feel like it needed more time to settle out. The one constant was a very strong cha qi. It was so relaxing that I had to take a couple of breaks so I didn’t nod off during the session.

I’m not going to give a numerical rating, since I believe this tea should be judged on how it will taste in 5-10 years rather than how it drinks now. I enjoyed it, but would hope that it would become a bit more rounded and unified with more age.

I received a free “mystery box” of samples and also purchased a sampler. I’m not sure which teas were purchased and which were free samples, but want to thank Wynn tea for the opportunity to try their teas.

Another tea that I should have logged months ago.

I know that a lot of folks on steepster aren’t wild about Teavana teas, and I’ve had a few I didn’t care for, but I tend to go to them for the teas that are more fruit than tea: it seems to be what they do best. Also, and this probably isn’t a great advertisement, my grandchildren like their teas much better than the unflavored teas I usually drink. Go figure.

Anyway, this is a fairly typical Teavana blend. More fruit than tea, to the point that I can’t really detect any tea.

I was embarrassed the other day when looking at my cupboard and discovered how many of those teas I haven’t reviewed yet. My problem is that I usually put fairly cryptic notes in a spreadsheet, and after I’ve tried a tea a few times I try to clean up the prose and write it up for steepster. Unfortunately, teas often fall through the cracks. This tea is a poster child for my poor work habits. I am finally sipping down an old, reliable friend.

I’m usually lukewarm on Earl Grey teas, but find the added vanilla to be the perfect touch. The tea is strong, yet creamy. None of the flavors are overdone: you can easily taste the tea, the Bergamot, and the vanilla. The result, however, is more than the sum of the parts.

Just got my TuochaTea order and this was the first tea that I tried. I love the silver bud pu-erh teas, as they are very approachable: almost like a white tea with added depth. Probably a good tea for someone who wants to gradually ease into sheng.

Things started out badly. The photo on the website shows a perfectly silver beeng, but what I got was more like salt and pepper. Also, the tea came in an original wrapper that was all Chinese (Greek to me) and an outer wrapper that had a sticker saying 2008 silver buds, rather than the 2011 on the website. I’m not going to complain, since one normally pays a premium for older tea. I noticed that once I steeped the tea, the volume of buds vs non-bud was about 10 to 1 so can’t really complain about the non-bud leaves either.

My first cup was wonderful: exactly what I was hoping for from this tea. It was very light, with a sort of honeysuckle aroma and a taste of raw cane sugar (we used to buy sugar cane as a treat when I was a kid). The finish was wonderful. In the second cup, the cha qi became very noticeable, putting me an in excellent mood. The third pot was also great, but the fourth was noticeably weaker, with a woody flavor replacing the sugar and honeysuckle. I was able to get a couple more pots out of it by using longer steeps, but they lacked the finesse of the first 3 pots. I use 2 grams per 2 oz water and 10, 20, 30 s steeps, so typically get fewer steeps than those who use more tea. Still, I usually get more than this.

This was a great value at $26 per beeng. My only complaint is that I ordered it two days after Thanksgiving and it arrived 3 days after Valentine’s day. Next time I’ll pay (through the nose) for air mail.

The most obvious characteristic of this tea is a really powerful cha qi. By the second sip, I was in a state that was both meditative and alert. The flavor itself was very pleasant: grassy with a hint of veggie, and a ton of umami. The finish is smooth, fading gradually into a state of well-being produced by the qi. This is not a tea to gulp down at work, but one to savor.

I’ve been very impressed with all Green Terrace teas. I was part of the original Steepster review group, but doubled down on Black Friday, ordering at least a sample of every one of their teas. They’ve all been great so far, though I’m saving some samples for later- whenever I get the urge to buy more tea, I open a few more of my untried teas to get me past the danger.

Clear and colorless, this tea has a dusty aroma. There is a lot of flavor for such a colorless tea, particularly in the finish. The taste is light and floral, with a viscous feel in the mouth. It is unlike any other tea I have drunk.

I’ve begun what may be an annual event: I’m trying to have one cup of every tea that I own. I do this in part to avoid spending money on tea, but also to remind myself of some teas that I’ve lost track of in one of my tea boxes. This is such a tea; it is unique, and I am really enjoying it, but haven’t had any for months.