Holy Mountain Trading Company

Nice assam, mellow. As advertised, it goes well with milk. I wish the company included the pluck date

Brewed in Gaiwan with about 40 pearls.
Rinse
1st Steep 20S- Good Jasmine flavor for a first steep with a pleasantly light jasmine aroma
2nd Steep 30s- Strong Jasmine Aroma emanate from my cup. Very distinct and strong sweet jasmine flavor with a hint of astringent aftertaste. Pearl have begun to unfold all uniformly with the tea tips first to unroll. Tea has an almost soft/downy mouth-feel.
3rd Steep 40s- aroma has calmed/lessened. jasmine flavor has increased yet without the sweet taste as was in the 2nd steep. Astringent aftertaste is slightly more pronounced, but it does not distract from the jasmine. Pearl have begun to unfold individually at their own pace, yet are still slightly clumped. Still has a hint of that "soft’ mouth-feel.
4th Steep 50s- Aroma similar to 3rd steep. There is a slightly stronger jasmine taste, but the bitter/astringent part of the tea is getting strong enough to distract from it, and has a slight unpleasant linger on my tongue. Roof of my mouth taste distinctly of green tea. Wave of calmness just hit me while typing this last tasting. Pearls have mostly unfolded with even a few leaf tips unfurling themselves, still a few clumps. The tea has gone from just covering the bottom of my Gaiwan to filing it.
5th Steep 60s- Very little jasmine aroma. some jasmine taste, I think my tongue has accustomed to the bitter/astringent as it is just always present now on my tongue.

In my conclusion this a good Jasmine pearl especially since it is Organic and that is a priority for me. I have found few vendors that can sell organic jasmine pearls, there are better jasmine pearls out there, but this is good enough to satisfy that. All-in-all I do recommend this tea.

A trifle too sweet, but a reasonably good tea. Won’t buy it again, but it’s not bad.

You can also purchase it non organic and from Dragon Water.

Nice green tea. Did three short steeps. 3rd was nice and sweet.

Another interesting tea steep tonight. This would be my third time having this tea and so far this is the sweetest the tea has been for me. I’m increasing the rating because the mouth feel is a bit thicker this time and it’s slightly more sweet and very buttery. I’m looking forward to re-steeping these leaves tonight!

Today I’m beginning my long milk oolong train.. in hopes of finding the very best milk oolong. I heard good things about this tea and thought it would be nice as #1. The leaves smell like vegetables with a hint of milk. I’m almost getting a rubbery element (it’s interesting how I’m always getting a rubbery note in some of my teas) that I dislike. Steeping, the scent transforms from rubbery, milky vegetables to that true TEA smell with butter. I’m always amazed at how a tea can smell like a buttery, rich thing.

Steep #1: Sipping, I’m getting a different flavor than expected. I suppose I was expecting something far richer or creamier, but it’s nice. Definitely a milky flavor, but you kind of have to look for it in the sip. There is a nice, smooth transition into the more floral notes of the tea. Not as sweet as I thought it would be.. it’s more savory and buttery. Still very yummy.

Steep #2: A darker yellow this time. The leaves really opened up! I’m sniffing elements of buttered popcorn.. savory things, again. This is pretty good.. not terribly smooth, but not bad either. The floral taste is more present, but it still retains its buttery taste. Not as much like sweet cream as I would have liked.

In my 2-steep experience, I would say that I like this tea. It’s definitely buttery and somewhat milky, but lacks a real sweetness. This isn’t a bad choice for a milk oolong if you’re looking for less sweet cream and more salty butter.

This is the first Oolong I have really liked.

I think I’m coming up against the wall of my own (present) tea unsophistication here. The flavors seem a little too subtle for me to care much about. I do like the taste of it, but whether its aroma is like wild peaches or is elegant and smooth with lingering sweetness—or whether the tea is indeed the transmigration of the body of the lover of a grieving young beauty turned into a tea bush—uhh…I’ll have to pass on that.

This is a a strong, tasty tea and seems to be a great tea for writing

Like many of the reviews I’ve been reading, I’m torn on this one. I can’t tell if I liked it or hated it. With it’s piny flavor, it reminds me of the Greek wine Retsina, which I wanted to like but didn’t (I felt like I was betraying the spirit of Dionysus).

I have to be up front that so far I haven’t enjoyed flavored teas, and my taste buds felt offended by my first sip of Lapsang Souchong, but after a while I either got used to or or started to kind of like the flavors assaulting my tongue and my nose as I continued sipping this tea, contemplating a past life as a trader in a Russian caravan trying to stay warm along mountain paths.

The jury is still out on this one, but it’s not yet a big thumbs down for me.

This is a very delicious black tea, and it is pretty dang strong kick-wise. Since this is my first review on Steepster, and I’m relatively new to the ins and outs of tea preparation and drinking, please excuse any newbie gaffes ;-)

the word “milk” in there sets you up for a really smooth cup of tea. maybe it is a bit of suggestive powers, but i totally tasted milky hints, and loved it. drank it with a spicy buffalo rendang and it kinda fit just right, oddly enough.

Decent green tea

This kind of smelled a tad fruity to me – dry leaf wise
Wet leaves are a woodsy smell
Liquid doesn’t smell much if at all

It’s a medium black tea color…nice color!

I can see how some would say this is bitter. I’m thinking it’s a natural bitter and not like an oversteeped bitter type taste. It’s a different-type of bitter if you know what I mean.

The taste grew on me…to where I almost kind of like it.

This seemed to be a good-ole-standby while it lasted…yup…I ran out of ANOTHER tea…OYE!!!! Thanks again Ashley for the opportunity to try this!

This was my first cuppa the day and for some reason I don’t think I was in the mood for earl grey at all today…oh well…on to the next…

Had a cup of this a bit earlier and a co-worker said it smelled wonderful 2 rooms away!!!!

Quite bergamot-E. Floral, too…hence, the name, I suppose…wanted to continue with the black teas…wasn’t ready to switch over to the Greens, Whites, or Oolongs, yet for the day…maybe this afternoon…

I’m freezing. This helps. I am still pleased with the fact that this company was thinking outside of the box and did RED FLOWERS in addition to the EG. I suppose if you were an EG purist you would be upset but I like DIFFERENT.
:P

Received this from Ashley in the mail today along with a slew of other awesome looking and smelling teas! YAY! Thanks Ashley!

This is a light brown in color and smells wonderful dry or as a liquid. Dry it smells like a floral sweet fruit black tea and wet is more of an Earl Grey sniff. Taste is truly lovely! Light on the Earl Grey and an earthy flower taste with a hint of citrus. YUM