Lisa (harmony_bites) Send Message

I’m not crazy about this one—not a surprise. I’ve had mixed reactions to China Blacks and especially the ones from Anhui. I do love Black Bud and Hunan Dark and Keemun Mao Feng, which is an Anhui tea. But hated Empire Keemun, and this is more reminiscent of that one. Just a bit too earthy, too smokey for my tastes—especially unadulterated with milk—a little dairy or almond milk does make this more drinkable, but hardly a favorite.

I can only second Teaman’s review. This isn’t quite what you expect of a Assam. The maltiness is there, but it’s smoother, with less bite, and for me more reminiscent of some Chinese blacks I’ve known and loved than the Assams I’ve tried. And I quite like it. Definitely one I’d order again.

This was the last of four Darjeeling 2nd Flushes sent me by a friend. We really loved a Giddapaphar Estate and Thurbo Estate, was less wild about the Oaks Estate. I’m afraid this belongs with the second group. It’s not bad—there’s nothing odd or off about it, but nothing that stands out either. In that regard its less distinguished than the Oaks Estate tea. It tastes to me like a generic second flush darjeeling. More medium-bodies and less oolong like than the spring flushes, pairs well with milk but still a good self-drinker, slightly astringent with that slightly fruity taste, but certainly not as honeyed as the Giddapaphar 2nd Flush. Drinkable and enjoyable.

We recently received a bunch of teas from a friend, including 5 different varieties of 2nd Flush Darjeelings, which are particular favorites of ours. This is the third we’ve tried and suffers in comparison. It’s not bad at all—nothing unpleasant, if rather strong, almost smokey for a darjeeling. It’s just we loved the Thurbo Estate and Giddapaphar Estate Darjeelings we tried and this didn’t impress us after two days in a row of teas we loved.

A friend gifted us with some black teas, including a variety that have been favorites of ours, 2nd Flush Darjeelings. My aunt LOVED the Thurbo Estate 2nd Flush Darjeeling we tried yesterday and even asked for more, which she never does, then today we tried the Giddapaphar Estate SFTGFOP1 Tippy 2nd Flush and she told me she loved this one even more.

So did I. This one was a bit astringent, but not unpleasantly so. And what was prominant to me was a really lovely honeyed note. So did I love this more than the Selim Hill Darjeeling, our previous favorite of all time? Been so long it’s impossible to know. But this one is a keeper we’ll be ordering again when available.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a darieeling. The darjeelings, especially the second flushes have tended to be our favorites, with Selim Hill at the tippy top. So long it’s been, I’m not sure how to rate this tea. Is it exceptional among its relations? Or is it just that its a good enough second flush darjeeling and we tend to love that? I’d call this medium-bodied, with the usual malty, almost fruity note you taste in many a darjeeling, and one that pairs well with milk. Definitely a keeper—my aunt drank her cuppa right up and wanted seconds.

This was gifted me by a friend. I was surprised to like this as much. I’d had Genmaicha before at TeaLeaf. That one tasted way too brothy for me, while this one was more a toasty flavored—well, Green tea. One I could enjoy—I’ll be keeping and enjoying this. The only reason I’m rating it relatively low is because there are so many teas, even green ones, even green flavored ones I like a lot more from TeaSource: Green Pomegranate, Tai Ping Hou, Clouds and Mists, Houjicha among the greens, not to mention lots of oolongs and blacks. So I don’t see myself ordering this with so many other alternatives.

I share teas with my aunt who doesn’t like flavored teas so I don’t order them. A sample packet of this was included in a TeaSource order. If I were only going by my own tastes I’d definitely order this again. It works very nicely by itself or even with milk and suspect it would make a delightful iced tea.

I did really like this—and maybe I might like it even more iced. If I don’t rate it that high—well, I’m actually not a huge fan of herbals. I decided to get some hibiscus tea because I’d read it could lower cholesterol—so why not give it a try? But I found the pure stuff way too sour to tolerate.

I got Peach Paradise from TeaSource to see if I could enjoy it with a mix of things. It may be there’s too little hibiscus here or the Orange Blossom Special to be therapeutic, but at least I can enjoy them, and the hibiscus, though still apparent, is not overwhelming. I got the Orange Blossom Special to see if I might like it more than the other blend with Hibiscus offered by TeaSource—the answer is no—it’s enjoyable, but I do like the Peach Paradise more.

I ordered a bunch of Ceylon teas from TeaSource to give them a try. I tend not to be a fan of the Ceylon’s I’ve tried—from this or earlier orders. I think because I hadn’t found then very distinctive—I feel I might as well be drinking a bagged Lipton tea—too basic. Yet in this case I’d say this is basic black in the sense of that little black dress—a classic you can take anywhere. It’s a self-drinker that tastes quite well on its own and yet also one that stands up and blends well with milk. My favorite among any Ceylon I’ve tried and one I’d definitely order again.