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This tea brews up dark red, and smells chocolatey. There is some chocolate in the first brew, but a lot more of a coppery taste with a hint of additional metallic/bitterness at the tip of my tongue. If there was more in the package, I’d experiment with shorter steeping times for the first cup.

This tea smelt wonderfully toasty, and looked like hay in my cup while brewing. Only a light toasting remains in the very smooth cup of tea with walnut and salty undertones. One of my favorites from Select so far!

First steep reminds me of a very smooth English breakfast, with a slight bitter aftertaste that goes well with the tea. Second steep is a bit more complex with cinnamon and clove undertones. A very nice cup of black tea.

It’s lapsong light! Less smoky and astringent than regular lapsong suchong, with a hint of sweetness at the end. I can’t taste the jasmine at all, it only softens the black tea. I only got a sample of this from Luckys tea shop, but I am going to have to go back for more.

My third steepster box arrived this afternoon, so I blindly reached in and Jasmine Pearl was the tea I pulled out. I can’t say I’m a fan of Jasmine teas, but I thought I would give this a go. The first steep is overwhelmingly Jasmine, I can’t taste anything else. The second steep, is still overwhelmingly Jasmine. The third steep is a bit more astringent at the end, and I almost taste the tea underneath the Jasmine. I would not recommend this tea to someone who is not a big, big fan of Jasmine.

I was surprised that this tightly wrapped oolong, unfurled to rather large, green leaves. First steep was more floral, second steep more sweet, third steep still a nice sweet full bodied oolong.

A very smooth, but tasty example of Yunnan. Earthy, with a coppery finish. I didn’t get the sweetness described on the package, but I did really like this tea.

I thought this tea smelled a bit better than it tasted. Earthy and robust smelling, but a bit weaker tasting. Maybe I had too much water for the pouch? It was a very nice example of Red Robe, but I wouldn’t say its one of the best I’ve tasted. Still all around a nice cuppa.

I’m not too fond of green teas that taste grassy, but this was in the Select box this month so I thought I’d give it a go. It is grassy without being bitter. I will sweeten with a bit of honey next cup (I normally don’t sweeten tea at all). I am not getting any of the other flavors besides minerality, and it tastes more grassy to me than pine.

I did like this tea because it had such a complex character. I will try shorter steeps for the next sample. My first cup reminded me of a bitter Assam without the bitterness. There was a slight metallic taste, as well as mint at the end. The second cup was much weaker, but the metallic taste was gone, leaving a mild mint behind