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Prepared this in my French press with 12oz of boiling water. Having it today with peanut butter fudge and crackers coated with a generous wash of garlic and red pepper (lots of red pepper!) Also have some kind of crumb cake squares covered in lemon icing. Wow. I have tried my best to avoid the holiday snacks but they keep finding me. I have no choice. It’s not my fault. Ok, I’m just weak but I did try to resist… briefly.

Tea report – For all I know, all the blooming teas in China could be made in the same factory. The craftsmanship in all of them is pretty high and frankly they taste way better than I expected. The Primula pods are slightly smaller than the Teavivre ones. What they lack in size this one made up for in jasmine flavor. This one is especially good. The bloom was not as amazing as some of the others but made a pretty display. There is globe amaranth in this but for once I don’t really taste it. Just a lovely mild jasmine tea. I thought all the sweets and spices in my snacks would wash this out but it actually stands up for itself pretty well. Bring on cup two and three, hold the goodies. I notice my experience with this tea was completely different than TeaEqualsBliss. Possibly my pod was fresher?

This is one of two bagged teas I still buy on purpose. Similar to Foojoy Wuyi but even cheaper and tastier. I am sure it is rather one dimensional compared to loose but since I have never tried it loose I can pretend I don’t know better. It is a heavily oxidized oolong and makes a very dark cup very quickly. From what I have written in other reviews, I should hate this tea. Its roasted smokiness reminds me of smoldering leaves in the fall air. I claim to not like smoke – it just works here.

Thank you Ashmanra for this generous sample. I was going to wait until Monday and do a two day marathon with this, however I had cheese dip this morning and Mexican for lunch. My gut hurts now (duh) and I need this, so perfect timing. I will do a marathon later.

A raw green puerh. Except for the rose toucha from Teavivre that I loved, loved, loved, I much prefer green over ripe. It is not as in your face. The loose leaf is long and slightly twisted. A bit hard to measure with a spoon. I finally just judged how it looked in the bottom of the press. I did not do a wash. Steeped 1 minute with 180F water. The wet leaf smells of celery and hay. Fresh and green. Appears darker and thicker in the cup than the other green puerhs I have tried.

This has a bolder flavor than I was expecting. Fresh, green , mushroom, and light earthiness. There is no bitterness and nothing foul tasting (for puerh, lol). It took a moment to adjust to the bolder flavor but once I did I must say I like this. It has the sticky lip feel of other greens I’ve liked. Ashmanra told me it was a bit minty. I am not really getting that taste the way I prepared it, (cool water short steeps) but I get what she is saying as it does make the side of the tongue tingle and leaves a cooling effect to my breath. Had time for three cups this afternoon. It was still going strong when I stopped.

Meh. Two immediate strikes against it (and not the bag) – there is no tea in this and I have never liked spearmint. The cinnamon, vanilla, and clove are all interesting flavor ideas but the mint overpowers them. I will say, after it reaches room temp it isn’t bad. Just not my cup of joy.

Had this with sour dough bread today. I was a little concerned the tastes were too similar but it turned out to be a good combination. The wet leaf brought to mind cocoa, or bakers chocolate, heating on the stove. The bread enhanced tasting notes I hadn’t caught before. The main being a cucumber taste. Under that was a sweet fruity something that I couldn’t place but made me think of jelly – kind of went with the whole bread thing I guess. As the cup cooled the malt became more pronounced. The aftertaste pleasantly lingers. There is also a dry mouth feel with this combination. An exceptionally good tea.

Curious and admitting globe amaranth is never going to be a taste I crave I decided for the third steep to cut the string holding the bloom together and remove the flowers. The floral scent is still present in the brew but much reduced. I can even taste tea. What was a beautiful center piece is now a more pleasant drinking tea. I know it kind of defeats the purpose.

After reading this morning of using a 7 oz glass to steep this, I wanted to try it but didn’t have anything that small so I used my press and added 12 oz of water. That is about a third of what I have used in the past for flowering teas. 1 minute steep in boiling water. The globe amaranths were poking out of the water. The bloom was spanning almost the width of the press. Taller and narrower would be better. Using less water brought forth the jasmine scent but the globe amaranth dominates. I do think less might be more with this tea. The flavor is much more intense. I have read a lot of reviews warning of the dread hibiscus, well here it is the globe amaranth. If you aren’t a fan you will have an issue.

I’m a couple days behind. I ran this through five steeps again. This time I noticed something new. Well two things. First, I caught the sweet potato others mentioned. Second, by the 4th cup as the creaminess moves in, the malt disappears but only while the cup is really hot. There is a bit of earthiness while hot. The more the cup cools the more the malt returns. I am used to the cup changing with the temperture but this really changes. I love this tea.

Another I haven’t had in a while. Enjoyed 5 cups. This is a green puerh. Still haven’t figured out how to remember if that means sheng or shu. After the first steep the leaf smells like mushrooms – like springtime morels. Yum. I love green puerhs. They are so light and clean. Sweet and sticky on the lips. Seems creamy today.

I gave the third cup to a co-worker- traditionally the best cup. He grumbled, “it tastes like sweet dirt” and poured it out. Guess he is entitled to his opinion, even if he is a stupid head.

Haven’t had this one in a while. A Ceylon Keemun blend. 1st steep 3 minutes. Enough bite to be interesting without getting bitter. Nice fruity aroma. A hint of smoke in the sip. 2nd steep at 4 minutes stood up nicely to pizza. Third steep at 5 minutes was the most pleasant.