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105F, 5gish, 150 ml gaiwan
Gentle cinnamon smell to dry leaf. Not an overpowering in your face cinnamon.
10s- gentle cinnamon, malt
20,30s- cinnamon, floral, salty, malt, astringent
40s, 1m, 2m
I liked this tea better during the shorter steeps. It did have a lingering cinnamon aftertaste. Like long after. Need to try this westren.

172F, 5gish, 150 ml gaiwan
It really tastes like sweet sticky rice. Tastes stays throughout multiple steeps. Definitely an interesting tea, but not really for me. Glad to have tried it.

4Apr- Bought this looking for a replacement for my black dragon pearls from Teavana. Those pearls are getting old and I’m looking for a similar flavor profile, but better quality tea.

Thought I’d try this one even though notes said caramel not chocolate. 2 pearls, 150ml gaiwan, 205F
I got caramel and malt through all 4 steeps. I need to try this with more pearls. I’m not sure that this is the flavor profile I’m looking for. Wonder what it’d taste like if I mixed them together? May have to try this.

Dry leaf smells creamy and fruity. 188F 5g ish 150ml gaiwan.

10s- fruity, creamy, thick. 20, 30, 40s – mango-y, thick and creamy. The taste lingers after finishing for several minutes. I liked it. 83

I brewed this tea with cooler water than stated at 160F. 150ml gaiwan, 5g ish.
Dry leaf smells sweet and roasted, a little nutty.
Wet leaf smell reminds me of toasted rice.
10s first steep tastes of toasted rice and mango. This is repeated with the only other two steeps I did. I did not continue with this tea.
Very different tasting tea. Taste is very distinct, I don’t know if I like it. Pretty sure it’s not something I’ll order again.

7 steeps, 150ml gaiwan, 195F, 5g ish

Dry- fruit, stone fruits. Taste- fruity, smooth, and malty on later steeps. I liked this tea a lot. It could have gone a few more steeps, but I needed to move on to some other teas. 88

I was nervous about trying this tea as I don’t like red grape flavored things. I received this in the happy bag I bought, as is not something I’d order on my own.

Decided to cold brew this. Dry leaf smell reminds me of the grapes that used to grow on my grandparents farm. Grapes were an older variety, not very sweet and kind of tart. Unfortunately I also get grape bubblegum.

Tried it this mornig. Liquid smells of grape candy. Fortunately, it doesn’t taste like that. It tastes like those grapes did when you ate them, a little sour, little sweet. I really have no interest on ever trying this as a hot tea. It’s drinkable when cold brewed. 65

2Apr- 150ml gaiwan 185F, 5g ish.

Wet leaf smells sweet, maybe white grapes. This fruity thing I can’t find the right words for. I steeped this 7 times. Steeps started out as juicy and smooth. Then sweet and fruity. 1 min steeps were sweet, juicy, fruity, and slightly floral. 93

I really enjoyed this tea. When I’ve reduced my stash to something more manageable, I’ll need to pick up more of this.

2Apr- dry leaf smells of light hay, has a more black tea appearance
I gave it a 5s rinse. Wet leaf smells sharp? A little citrus. I steeped this 5 times in a 150ml gaiwan at 195F.
Taste was soft, but I didn’t get much out of this one. There was a bit of fruit in one of the longer steeps. I might try the rest of my sample westren to see if anything is different.

Dry leaf smells of green, like nature, and charcoal roast. The roast doesn’t come through to the taste of the tea at all. Steeps tasted like sweet water that was a little drying. Clean tasting.