Comm Guy Send Message

This could easily replace coffee as my morning cup. Robust, but not overpowering. Smooth, but not weak. This tea is anything but finicky and yields a pleasingly sweet, malty full-bodied flavor.

Sample provided by my local enabler, ashmanra, and resulted in a purchase at Harney & Sons. Perfectly timed, by the way. Just got an email offering 25% off Breakfast Blends.

We were excited to try this matcha. My wife was greeted with a bag of goodies when she ran into ashmanra yesterday, and this was among them.

I made it as I’ve become accustomed to making it – no sifting – and we get 100% clump-free matcha starting cool water. This was little thicker and less bitter than the ceremonial grade I’ve been drinking. The color was a shockingly bright green, and made a deep green tea. As a former heavy coffee drinker, I consume matcha as much for effect as anything, so we’ll be able to compare in another way in a few hours.

Very good. I would buy this.

Looking for something a little more significant on the caffeine scale this morning, so I filled the newly-gifted gaiwan with some Black Dragon Pearls and practiced a little.

The tea gives up a beautiful copper liquor with a distinct malty note. Flavor doesn’t seem to linger long, but is very enjoyable, nonetheless. As a bonus, I think I got the hang of the gaiwan now.

This tea is a hands-down winner in direct comparison to another Moroccan Mint blend. I was anxious to try this and taste the difference with the addition of Egyptian Mint to the blend. The difference is pleasantly significant.

Steeped in a gaiwan, the liquor was a light amber and lightly sweet. The spearmint in a clear and pleasant note, and lingers well beyond the cup.

I really like this, and plan to play around a little with temps and methods to see what all I can get from it. Many thanks to ashmanra for the generous sample. (And the use of a gaiwan to expand my repertoire!)

Had an urge for something lighter this afternoon, and got a bit of a surprise with this sheng pu-erh. After wrestling it from the tightly packed bamboo shoot, I gave it a quick rinse, then steeped it for 2-minutes at about 205-degrees.

We weren’t sure what to expect from a “bamboo scented” tea, so it didn’t exceed or come up short in any way. The liquor is a beautiful hue of golden amber with a somewhat vegetal aroma. The flavor, however, is very smoky. Unlike other sheng we’ve sampled, there was no hunting for the flavor to hit or reveal itself. Campfire, smoke, wood. Pleasant, but distinct.

If you like Lapsang Souchong, you’ll probably love this tea.

With no other white tea experience to compare this to, I can say the flavor is somewhat fruity and evident, bu not whether it is strong or strongER than other white teas.

I enjoyed the pleasant aroma of the beautifully bronze liquor the leaves produce. The taste reminds me of some oolongs I’ve sampled recently, but the mouth feel is different. The flavor is lighter and lingers more on the front of my tongue than my entire mouth.

I understand this is low in caffeine, so I may steep some more as an evening cup to share. In any case – a very pleasant experience.

An enjoyable cup!

This tea has been steeped several times, and has given up a consistently light green/silvery liquor with a refreshing floral edge – much like jasmine or orchid. There’s something in the body that reminds me of a delicious custard, making the cup very satisfying.

There’s much to love in this tea, and I’d order some now, but I just checked, and there’s such a limited stock (sample size only) that I’ll have to wait.

Another sample (gift) from Steepster ashmanra, my wife and I waited until we had time to try it as a couple.

It’s smokiness is boldly evident in the leaves – dry or steeped. I was warned Lapsang Souchong was an acquired taste, and I have apparently acquired it. The aroma of smoke is forward enough that it masks the flavors that scream to be identified. Cloves, maybe? Cinnamon?

Whatever it is, I like it. My wife’s one word review: “Smoky”. I asked if she wanted more and got another one word response: “yes”.

I think this is something I’d stock for the purpose of sharing or drinking on a cool day. Steeped it twice so far, going significantly longer the second time around. I am going to attempt more…until the leaves give up. It’s that good.

I wasn’t sure what people meant when they described teas – specifically oolong – as “milky”. I get it now. The feel of this oolong is similar to that of sweet cream.

A mild and very pleasant tea, this sample was a gift from a steepster friend. I detect lightly grassy and floral notes – more vegetal than fruity.

I grabbed this from the drawer because I wanted some Pu-erh without having to break it off a cake. Probably around 7 grams or so per cake, and easy to handle.

I found it to be both pleasant and generous. Several rich mahogany infusions off the cube so far, and the latter seem to be a bit sweeter than the first, but all were very nice. Earthy, but sweet – like a light molasses. Only slightly musty, not at all unpleasant. Smells more like a barn at the feed end of the cow instead of the other…

I have several more of these cubes from a Teavivre Pu-erh sampler, and will definitely put this on my ever-growing reorder list.