Lisa (harmony_bites) Send Message

I really love this tea, which was gifted to me by the friend who hooked me on find loose-leaf teas a few months ago—and this was one of the ones she committed the dirty deed with. It’s mellow, smooth without the earthiness or smokiness that my friend feels often mars Chinese Black Teas. She only likes her teas with milk, so she needs a tea that stands up to milk. I prefer almost all my teas without (Assam, which I think is really enhanced with milk, is the exception.) My aunt, who I often share these teas with liked it, but not as much as the Darjeeling or Assam. She felt that in comparison this didn’t have as much character.

A few years ago someone gave my Aunt a gift of a Chinese loose-leaf tea. We had no idea what to do with it, and it stayed in our cupboard for a year or two. Then a few months ago a friend of mine trying to convert me to loose-leaf teas gifted me with a variety of them, an infuser and instructions—and I was up and running. I tried the “mystery” tea and quite liked it, but had no idea what it could be since the writing in the wrappings was Chinese.

Then when I decided to order some teas for myself, I decided to try a couple of Oolongs and the mystery was solved. My mystery tea was Iron Goddess of Mercy. I liked that tea, and I liked the one from TeaSource, yet I doubt I’ll order it again. It’s simply that when there are teas I find I love, absolutely love, that I can steep two or three pots worth in one day and drink it with relish, this just doesn’t quite make it to the top. It’s an enjoyable tea, a bit astringent, metallic in flavor and mellow compared to blacks and thankfully not grassy like most Greens I’ve tried. But not destined to be the favorite Big Red Robe turned out to be.

I’m fairly new to loose-leaf tea, having gotten hooked a few months ago when a friend gifted me with a variety of teas, mostly blacks. She threw in a sample of this from Adagio as well as a Gunpowder Tea and a Pomegranate Green from TeaSource. Both my aunt, who I’ve been sharing the teas with, and I loved the Adagio Hojicha. My aunt called it “magnificent.” When we ran out, we ordered another Hojicha, this time from TeaSource as well as their Dragonwell and Sencha. We both disliked the Dragonwell and Sencha as too vegetal, but we both very much still like the Hojicha. Reading the reviews, particularly the negative ones of this tea I think we like it precisely for the reasons they didn’t. This isn’t typical for a Green Tea. It’s roasted, and doesn’t really taste grassy or vegetal. I’d agree with the reviewer who called it “toasty” and “nutty.” I wouldn’t describe it as “smoky” or earthy like other reviewers. Smoky makes me think of Gunpowder Tea, which I didn’t like. I do think this is earthier and maltier than the Adagio version of Hojicha. I thought I preferred the Adagio version. But I’m currently drinking the second steeping of the second time we’ve tried this tea, and it’s only growing on me. So far at least, this is my favorite Green Tea. Not the favorite the Oolongs and Blacks I’ve tried are, but up there.

I’m new to loose-leaf teas. A few months ago a friend gifted me with a variety of teas and hooked me. She is mostly a Black Tea person so couldn’t advise me what to try in Green Teas. So I chose Sencha and Dragonwell to order after reading both were popular, well-known Green Teas, the most popular teas in Japan and China respectively. Unfortunately I found both teas so undrinkable I’m considering either throwing them in the trash or mailing it to a tea-loving friend in Canada. I don’t think it’s my source at fault. I have TeaSource teas I absolutely adore—a Darjeeling, an Assam, their Hong Mao Feng and White Peony and Big Red Robe. But so far I find the only unflavored Green Tea I like is Hojicha, which is untypical in being roasted. For my tastes, the Dragonwell and especially the Sencha are far too vegetal. Drinking a tea that tastes like spinach was boiled in it doesn’t make me go “yummy.” I’m told some love vegetal teas. If you do, this might be one you really like. Not for me.

Also, my aunt who often shares the teas with me complained she found it too weak. The second time I made a pot I put more tea into the infuser and steeped it for over three minutes, and it was stronger—but neither my aunt nor I liked it more.

I find this tea so undrinkable I’m considering either throwing it in the trash or mailing it to a tea-loving friend in Canada. I don’t think it’s my source at fault. I have TeaSource teas I absolutely adore—a Darjeeling, an Assam, their Hong Mao Feng and White Peony and Big Red Robe. But I’m new to fine loose-leaf teas, and so far I find the only unflavored Green Tea I like is Hojicha, which is untypical in being roasted. For my tastes, the Dragonwell is far too vegetal. Drinking a tea that tastes like spinach was boiled in it doesn’t make me go “yummy.” I’m told some love vegetal teas. If you do, this might be one you really like. Not for me.

As best that I can remember, the clerk told me the base tea is Gunpowder Green Tea, and the mint is spearmint. Very minty, even if not overwhelmingly so. I liked it a lot without quite loving it.

I liked this tea quite a bit. I’ve only been drinking fine loose-leaf teas for less than four months, after a friend gifted me with some varieties and hooked me. This was in a sample pack she gave me. I had tried a Jasmine Silver Needles from Adagio and I found it undrinkable—to me it tasted like perfume, so I was concerned when I noted this had roses. But really, the tea was quite lovely. I liked it so much, I ordered Sencha from TeaSource, which is the base for this, and was surprised to find I didn’t like it. Too vegetal in taste. But the pomegranate and roses seem to ameliorate that. If I don’t rate this higher, it’s because I don’t know that I can see this, unlike say Darjeeling, as a tea I could enjoy having just about every day. But this one is sweet and lovely.

I’m new to loose-leaf teas, and I do understand tastes change as you experience the different teas, but at this point at least, I don’t like the smokey, earthy flinty taste of this tea at all. At least unflavored. I’ve tried Gunpowder Tea paired with Mint, and did like that tea more, but at this point I don’t see this as a tea I’ll ever reach for again. At the very least, I think it’s unlikely this makes a good introduction to loose-leaf green teas.

In March a friend trying to turn me on to loose-leaf tea gifted me with a variety of teas. This was the very first one I ever tried. I did like it—its very mellow and enjoyable, and supposed to be ideal with milk. But I found it was soon overshadowed my the other teas my friend gifted me with—two kinds of Darjeeling and Assams, and a Hong Mao Feng. I tend to prefer my tea drunk plain, with just a bit of sweetener, so maybe that put my liking of it at a disadvantage since without milk compared to those other Black teas this comes across as rather bland, and not something I want to spend my own money on when the supplies gifted me run out. Not when there’s Darjeeling and Assam to be had.

A friend passed on to me a one-serving sample of this tea, and I wasn’t wild about it. Something in the flavors I didn’t care for, possibly the mango or grapefruit—a bit too sour. Not something I’d ever order. (Contains white tea, apple pieces, hibiscus flowers, candied mango pieces, candied pineapple pieces, rosehip peels, beetroot pieces, citrus peels, citrus slices, red currants, rose petals, flavoring [orange, grapefruit, pineapple mango], orange juice pulp bits, orange blossom petals, sunflower petals, pomegranate blossoms, acai fruit powder.]