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I was tempted by Harney’s most recent promotion to pick up one of their new “Ambessa” teas, along with a couple others that had been on my shopping list for awhile.I’m not assigning a numerical rating yet because I’ve been away from Steepster for quite awhile and will have ot remind myself how Queen C compares to everything else I’ve tried :)

Steeped at work, with a rounded teaspoon in a ~8oz mug, I think I got lucky right off the bat – from others’ descriptions this might be easy to oversteep, but I’m finding it quite drinkable plain (yay!).

Very smooth, I’m not getting a lot of smoke though there is a dryness that reminds me of smoke; the taste is sweet, but the flavor reminds me of more savory things in general – buttered popcorn? Salted caramel? Clearly, more experimentation is required!

Om nom nom
I usually go for hearty blacks with milk in the morning, but just didn’t want the milk today. So, what will give me the same heft and sweetness, without any additives? A coconut oolong, obviously! Fortunately I’ve been keeping Rishi’s in the drawer at work. I’m just waiting for one of my coworkers to ask to try it, because the coconut smell is wafting all over the office now.
Since I haven’t mentioned lately, I don’t usually like coconut. I don’t like it in cakes, or cookies, or the flavoring in candy. But this coconut flavor is fresh and sweet, and lets the tea shine through as well for this rich, smooth, floral experience

I eyed these when they first came out, but resisted because my tea cupboard was overflowing. Now it’s not, and the Mermaid and her Captain were on sale! I’ve really come to enjoy plain Assams over the last few months, and had been wanting a new one. This is a great example of the type, too. Malty and rich, easy to oversteep, some sweet honey flavors if you get it just right. I like the first steep with milk, to give it some more body, and spread out the flavor a little. A second steep, plain, is mellow with lots of honey notes.

I wish I could get my water hotter, but I’m making this at my desk and don’t have a sink handy for rinsing with hot water :( Oh well, still has plenty of flavor even with sub-boiling water.

Remember how I didn’t want to mess with this one? I changed my mind :P I had a cup of it straight this morning, then decided to add some of Rishi’s Pe-erh Vanilla Mint; it’s usually too minty for my taste, so the extra vanilla and black tea flavor worked very well! I’ll be making this blend again, for sure.

With the pu-erh in there, it’s been re-steeping well all day, especially with the occasional extra 1/4 tsp of leaves.

So, I was in Cardullo’s last night, buying another Kusmi sampler (for a friend!), and thinking of maybe getting a little tin of Paris for myself, when I saw that they had a sale shelf. With Golden Moon on it O_O. With, specifically, several of my favorite GM teas at ~40% off.

I ended up getting this one, White Persion Melon, and Coconut Pouchong. I made myself a batch of the Melon to drink iced today…. then left it in the fridge this morning :( But, at least remembered to bring this tin in.

I like this as a vanilla tea – it’s not a big, strong vanilla flavor, but it’s not weak either. Just light, and smooth, and fruity – best drunk plain, I think, or maybe with a dot of honey. I’ll try it with some milk later to be sure, but it’s so smooth and sweet on its own, I don’t think it would hold up well. There’s just this lovely sweet, aromatic aftertaste that I don’t want to mess with!

Second cup: this was definitely being contaminated by the mint, so I’ve moved those out of the box now. I’m less overwhelmed by the flavor this time – not having that weird too-strong-but-not-bitter experience – but still not overly impressed. It’s nice with milk, but I’ve had many breakfast teas wow me more, so this won’t be making a home in the cupboard.

Having the other sampler bag of this today. I’m getting a little more spice, less citrus, than before. It reminds me of Harney’s Holiday Tea now, though it’s been long enough since I had that one that I can’t say how similar they really are. Though, it looks like JaquelineM mixes them together (her Winter Holiday Cheer is showing up in the sidebar as a “similar tea”) so they must go somewhat well together!

I’m… not liking this one as much as I’d hoped. They recommend a lot of leaf – I’m using about half the suggestion, at 1 1/2 tsp for 8oz, and I think even this might be too strong? I really don’t know. My steeping time was right on :/ Maybe a second steep will go better?

This tastes dark, a little bitter, but mostly just kind of muddy. Like puerh, almost, without the barnyard flavor. I’m having a lot of trouble pulling individual flavors out of the earthiness. I’ll keep playing with it, but at this point I definitely wouldn’t buy more.