Pureleaf select Send Message

This is a nice shu pu’erh tea, and stayed full in the mouth, even after multiple steepings. The aroma of the leaves resembles Nori, of which I don’t mind. The liquid is a reddish brown color, even at 10-15secs steepings. I’m not sure that I would steep this one much more than 15secs, however it would probably hold up pretty good against becoming bitter. This tea has a medium boldness – not overbearing. It fit perfectly for my day to give me the extra little Get Up & Go!

The dry leaves have the aroma of steamed sticky rice when you first open the pot. This is not detected in the flavor until after you sip the tea, towards the top back of the throat. I really like how this taste of rice lingers.

After infusion, the smell of the wet leaves are much more similar to a spring bud green tea – certainly vegetal. There may be a real light cucumber undertone. It definitely evolves as you finish the first cup. There is this feeling in the mouth and stomach that leaves you full, as if you just had eaten a piece of sushi – California Roll, maybe?

Even-though there isn’t a noticeable sweetness with this tea, the liquid is smooth and no detection of bitterness. With what I see so far, I’m glad there are many more encounters to come!

Edit:

I want to give props to Tommy the Toad for pointing me to this tea! Great suggestion.

This tea is very comforting and did help me unwind quite a bit after a long day. I’m gradually learning that I really LOVE barley tea!

First of all, the tea bags are HUGE! I didn’t realize they were this large, until after opening the package. I was expecting a bag for 8-12oz, but they are created for 2 liters! I’m glad there is only a small difference there between the sizes (a tad bit of sarcasm here;). It actually worked out, because the size of the bag gave plenty of room for a proper steeping.

You will find no bitterness with this tea, just a very nice roasted flavor. The liquid is smooth and thick -almost creamy. The aftertaste left a lingering sharpness, almost tart. Kinda hard to describe.

After infusion, I inspected the contents inside the bag and found a very dark roasted grain. Somewhere around 85% of the grains were whole, leaving only a small amount of pieces.

My next experiment will be following the directions on cold brewing this delicious tea. I’m sure that it will be very good. The hot brew was nice, but I could see this one being even better cold.

Thank you Teavivre for this great sample!

Pure chocolate-y goodness! Malty, thick and smooth, along with a tiny amount of good astringency.

The recommended time to steep was 1-2 minutes, of which I choose to go a little longer. The liquid was still much tamer than a bolder Assam, and had a medium brown appearance.

These nice sized pearls were delightful to watch unfurl. They seemed more to explode in slow motion, than unwind. There is a ton of great looking leaves in each of these balls.

The tea is definitely quality enough to steep a couple different times. The second steeping was very pleasing as well!

Thank you Angel at Teavivre for this sample!

For some reason, I really like the Frozen Summit Oolongs! This one is certainly no let down.

The smoothness is accompanied by the lack of fruity notes, resulting more of a grassy flavor. It resembles a light, more subdued Pearl Green Tea.

There is a mild sweetness to the after-sip, that leaves you satisfied. I will be coming back to this one a couple different times, I’m sure.

Certainly more smokier this time around. The water temp may have been a slightly higher. Nonetheless, it was a great cup of tea. Just what I needed to boost my mind halfway through the day!

Thank you Angel at Teavivre for this sample!

This Oriental Beauty is very complex. There are so many different taste and flavors that I really like! It’s smooth and chocolaty. Slightly sweet and a little malty. Buttery, with a small amount of saltiness at times.

The amber colored liquid and cocoa-like aroma, become much much mellow on the 2nd steeping. There is very little of the creamier and thicker taste, more of sheng pu’erh – in the way of a light hay flavor.

This tea’s aroma reminds me of a homemade coconut macaroon cookie!

There is some tartness to the liquid that provides a lasting, clean feeling to the tongue. The bite is medium, more acidic – in the range of fresh squeezed lemons.

There isn’t much detection of a white tea with this blend, more of a green – maybe, Chun Mee? This is purely what I think of while sipping this tea. If it is only the (2) listed ingredients, then that makes this tea even more of a mystery.

It is a nice tea, none-the-less.

Thank you, Epi Tea for this sample!

This tea has many different flavors and aromas that rise from the cup, that make it a tough one to breakdown. The cinnamon is certainly dominant, coupled with a marsh-mellow creaminess.

The sip is both smooth and thick, leaving a crave to try more. The aftertaste is minty, along with a small amount of dry astringency.

There is something missing, slightly, on delivering an overall impression of a chai tea. I will need to try this tea again with other variables, such as milk and sweeter to get a better grasp on it complete character.

This tea is noted as steering me to the other side of the tea world. Away from black tea bags from my early upbringing (of which was not the end of the world, it still was pleasant and exposed me to tea at an early age), to the wonderful experience of loose leaf.

For some reason, I love Sencha! Its hard for me to relate to the distaste that some have for the more grassy notes. That is one of the things that draws me to green teas in the first place!

Its nice sometimes to get away from the fermented, flavored and roasted teas. Back to the beginning and the basics, where one finds green tea with many of its fine qualities.

This tea does not disappoint! It may not be the highest grade in all of the know world, but it certainly isn’t the lowest either. Its a nice in between, everyday type of tea. It carries many of the beautiful qualities that you would expect to find while drinking a green tea. Smooth, certainly vegetal and will bite back if you forget about it and either steep it too long or use a higher water temperature. There is a definite clarity of mind and pure natural energy to give you the extra pep needed to finish the day.

There is no reason to overlook this fine green tea, if you are needing an economical cupboard filler for an everyday use! You won’t regret it.