The Tea Smith

Oh wow, this is quite a different tea indeed. Take the Dancong Aria tea base flavor, and replace the flowery orchid taste with strong roasted coffee and chocolate tones, and that’s what this tea tastes like. Moderately astringent, high on body, yet light on mouth feel. The leaves are whole, large and very dark, but the brew is relatively light considering this…maybe I used too little? It tasted fine though. Definitely one of my favorite exotic flavored oolongs.

Oh sigh
not my
cup of tea
oh gee
Too chemical in the flavoring, not much ginger, needed too much sugar to bring out the peach

This is one tea I wanted to like more than I did, although it wasn’t bad. It tasted a little muddy to me, which is one thing I really don’t care for in a tea.

A really good tea that’s driving me crazy because I can’t quite pin down the smell or taste. But it is very good, with none of the drawbacks one often finds in black teas

Very, very chocolate – really good dark stuff with a strong whiff of cherry and the warmth, but not the bite of chili. Really good hot, not so good as it cooled. My husband loved it and he is not a big tea person.

Shorter steeping times are the key to good 1st flush Darjeeling brews!! I was unaware of this at first, creating very bitter brews, but since I corrected my prep methods, I’ve found a new love for them. This one is excellent. For all of you who know the taste of 1F Darjeelings, this one has all the right characteristics in the right quantities…the sweet floral hints (different than those of light oolongs) light mouth feel, light astringency, not bitter at all, with that lovely Darjeeling “trademark.”

Ooooooh this is a good one! While adding the water, I noticed that natural sweet aroma that makes a malty black tea wonderful. It has a much heavier mouth feel and maltier taste (I love both qualities in a great Assam) than Ceylon Sonata from Adagio, my other daily black drinker. I accidentally oversteeped a cup yesterday by two minutes. I was surprised to find that the extended steep time did not make it bitter, but made the tea that much more malty. Excellent! :)

Had a cup when I stopped by durning my cross country tea trip and when I got home I had to order more. This currently is my favorite tea. I feels butter in your mouth. So Good.

An acquired taste, but very worth it. Darjeelings have an edge to them that I can’t quite square with, but 1st and 2nd flush varieties are light enough that I can enjoy drinking them.

Full of deep flavour, excellent!

A very light, slightly vegetal cup. Refreshing, though, with lots of melon, peach, and rose blossom.