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Finally after having this tea around for a few weeks and a cold that I could not fully shake I am recovered, so it is safe to open up the really good stuff. I’m brewing this tea gongfu in my small dark Tieguanyin yixing pot in the manner that works for my teaware and water.

The first thing that sands out to me about this tea is smoothness of the dark roast with a bit of lingering sweetness. While I personally would no call it as being like cocoa or caramel, I can also reasonably see where they are coming from. Beyond that I am not sure what else there is to say as I am one that generally tries to focus upon enjoying the tea as compared to trying to analyze it which in my opinion takes away some of the enjoyment in the moment. My final verdict on this tea is clearly a very good quality dark roast Tieguanyin, which are sadly becoming more rare as time goes on.

Heads up to anyone that goes for mainly strong shou puerh as this is a very light and delicate shou puerh. When using the vendors recommending gongfu brewging specs (and even with extra leaf) the puerh comes out as very light and delicate. The two main things about this tea that stand out to me is that is is both sweet and smooth. This tea also has a bit more complex flavor profile than most of the shou puerh. To me the “flavor notes” if you want to go there are more of of a little fruity and a little forest like which I think is what the vendor was talking about with the moss. The 3rd infusion does indeed have a bit of cocoa notes which to be quite honest I was quite skeptical of the claim in s shou puerh. Upon the 5th infusion I would say the tea had died and had produced “colored water” so one must really enjoy really really light tea to be able to get all 6 infusions out of this tea. Regardless I have to admit this is clearly a really high quality shou puerh even through it is much lighter than what I generally go for.

I will start by saying if you like stronger shou puerh than this is not a good tea for you. When using the vendors recommending gongfu brewging spects (and even with extra leaf) the puerh comes out as very light and delicate. The two main things about this tea that stand out to me is that is is both sweet and smooth. This tea also has a bit more complex flavor profile than most of the shou puerh. To me the “flavor notes” if you want to go there are more of of a little fruity and a little forest like which I think is what the vendor was talking about with the moss. The 3rd infusion does indeed have a bit of cocoa notes which to be quite honest I was quite skeptical of the claim in s shou puerh. Upon the 5th infusion I would say the tea had died and had produced “colored water” so one must really enjoy really really light tea to be able to get all 6 infusions out of this tea. Regardless I have to admit this is clearly a really high quality shou puerh even through it is much lighter than what I generally go for.

I brewed this one gongfu using the spects recommended by the vendor. I am impressed as this is the first time that I was able to call gongfu brewing a black tea a success. The first sip of this tea brings a surprising mix of smoothness and sweetness. The flavor notes do indeed have a bit of cocoa and molasses as described by the vendor. As the infusions the flavor of the tea increased as the light sweet smoothness faded away.

This is an interesting mix of Yerba Mate, green tea and lemongrass. The green tea and lemongrass mix comes close to overpowering the yerba Mate which depending upon your perspective may or may not be a good thing. Overall I find this one good enough to finish the box but I doubt I will be buying it again as I enjoy the plain traditional yerba mate more.

A mix of Yerba Mate, peppermint and spearmint which I brewed for 10 minutes. The mint is so strong you can barely taste the Yerba Mate.

This instant tea mix has just the right ratio of honey/sugar and ginger that preserves the spicy nature of the ginger while softening it with just enough sweetness to prevent it from becoming overwhelming.

The one has the distinct taste of Menghai Shou puerh and is one of the smoothest puerhs that I have encountered in some time. If you are also one that fondly remembers the older style shou which was often described along the lines of smooth, creamy or silky when brewed thicker, this is a fine sample of what is sadly becoming harder to find as time goes on. So I am very thankful that Jim of Puerh Shop has produced this for his shop.

It is hard to really describe the taste of ginseng beyond that it is a bit like ginger but a lot lighter and smooth without the spicy edge to it. Not bad so it does not come off as chore as I highly doubt that taste is the main reason one is drinking ginseng tea.

I must admit I find it funny that Prince of Peace Japanese Style Green tea is a product of China, or pretty much Chinese green tea that was made Japanese style. This one has a light fresh and sweet taste that is very enjoyable. If a drank green tea more often, I would seriously consider buying this one again. Which is a good thing as it was a box of 100 teabags which really hope I can finish while they are still fresh.