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Last sipdown of the day (…probably). This is one of the best jasmine teas I’ve ever had! Top three, easily. I love the way the sweet hay notes mix with the jasmine. The white tea enhances the jasmine flavor instead of competing with it, which I’ve noticed with a lot of jasmine greens. Mom loves this one, too, and I would gladly buy it again once I whittle down my collection. It’s just beautiful.

Another sipdown. This one just doesn’t wow me, but it’s a perfectly fine oolong. I’ve found Adagio’s oolongs to be a great introduction to this kind of tea, because they’re decent quality without being expensive. Their Dancong Aria got me into oolongs and still remains a favorite of mine.

Personally, I don’t love Ti Kuan Yin, so I’m probably the wrong person to be reviewing this. It’s light and slightly grassy with some honey notes. I’ve had creamier Ti Kuan Yins, but this is a nice afternoon cup for today. I’m too embarrassed to say how old this particular tea is (hint: very old), but it’s held up well, too.

Yet another sipdown! These are really flying by. Of all the Republic of Tea teas I’ve tried over the years, this might be the only one I can say I would rebuy without a second thought. It’s so comforting and delicious on days when I don’t feel good—and I seem to reach for it overwhelmingly when I don’t feel good. It’s like some kind of pastry with an intense coconut flavor (maybe cake?). I described it as being like coconut-date rolls before, but honestly it depends on how you brew it. I’ve never had a bad cup of this and it’s very likely it’ll be a part of my collection again soon.

Another sipdown! This new Breville is really helping me use some stuff up.

For whatever reason I can’t quite find the perfect setting for this, but I think it might benefit from being steeped a significantly longer amount of time. The scent of it is absolutely gorgeous—like a fruity rose—but the taste doesn’t quite live up to it on the standard black tea settings. In general this is a consistently good fruity black tea with a lovely floral lychee flavor. The lychee is unusual enough that this will be an automatic rebuy for me when I’ve cleaned out my cabinet, and luckily Mom loves it too!

Another sipdown this morning. I have a migraine and needed some caffeine, so I filled up my huge mug (more like a vat) with the last two bags of this and some hot water. It’s still decent but not amazing, like most Tazo teas I’ve tried. Probably wouldn’t rebuy, but it would do in a pinch as a travel tea. I still wish it had more peach, but alas.

So, it’s been ages since my last review. There’s a lot of reasons for that, but mostly: my parents got a divorce and my mom and I moved out. Everyone is fine and they’re mostly working together on it, but it has been a big change. The good thing about all this is that I was able to get my tea out of the cabinet where it lived at the house and put it into…a new cabinet. My collection is a bit ridiculous and I hope to use a lot of it up within the next few months. The new Breville tea maker we got will help with that, too!

We’re still in the process of unpacking, so Mom and I ordered Indian food last night (curry for her, sabaz for me) and I chose this to go with it. I quickly found that I only had enough for one pot, but because the Breville had been doing so well up to that point I decided to risk it. I wasn’t disappointed! Hot this is a moderately spicy chai with a lovely fruit/spice smell. It works much better at room temperature, which I found by accident when I got distracted unpacking. It becomes a bright, fruity apricot tea with lots of cinnamon and the creaminess I would expect from milk. Once I’ve tamed my stash this is definitely one I would reorder, and so would Mom—she told me several times how impressed she was with it, and she’s not really a chai person.

Full disclosure: I’ve had Mountain Dew only a handful of times ever. That said, from what I can remember of the taste this is like 1/3 Mountain Dew, 1/3 Sprite, and 1/3 rooibos. I was surprised by how much I liked it—I ended up drinking a whole pot! I’m not sure yet whether I want to get more or not but it’s a solid citrus/rooibos blend.

I don’t review white teas much, mostly because I still find them a little intimidating and I just don’t gravitate toward them or green teas as much. That’s starting to feel silly as I weed down my cabinet, because most of the small samples I have remaining are green or white teas.

As far as this one goes, it’s a knockout. It brews up very pale, to the point that I was concerned at first that I had done something wrong. Despite that it’s flavorful, and it’s becoming one of my favorite jasmine teas ever. I’d say the flavor is about 90% jasmine, 10% tea, with the jasmine being almost fruity/nectar-y and the tea being noticeable as a slight hay flavor. The jasmine gets even more intense as an aftertaste, which I love. When it’s gone I’ll probably have to restock this, if only because it’s the closest I’ve yet found to putting real jasmine flowers in my mouth. (I’m guessing that’s not recommended!)

Backlog. I was in Chicago over the weekend and ate at a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant—they served this (in bags!) and I was very impressed. The fragrance was strong, and while the taste didn’t quite match it was much better than I would have expected from a bag and from this price point. I thought several times that I must have oversteeped it but it never tasted burned. I resteeped once for two small pots out of one bag. The second pot was easily as good as the first and I got the feeling I could have gotten several more steeps out of it. I may have to get some of this, especially considering how easy to brew it was! I love jasmine teas but don’t drink them nearly enough.

Sipdown! I went through my (virtual) cabinet and think I’m down around 126 now but in all honesty it’s kind of a mess right now. Once I finish off a few more it’ll be a lot easier, I suspect.

I’m still struggling to write a review of this. I’ve had it three or four times but it feels nondescript to me. The spices are present but not strong, the base is fine but not very interesting, and it’s not one I naturally reach for. It tastes a little watery, both with and without milk. I think I’ll pass on restocking this one.