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This has been my breakfast tea for the last month or so, and it’s probably my favorite in recent memory. It’s strong but not harsh; full of flavor, and takes milk & sugar like a champ. I still can’t tease out individual flavors in these blended teas I drink with milk, so I’ll just say it’s pretty close to my ideal of what a breakfast blend should taste like. Yum!

I’ve been awful at drinking my non-blended blacks. I’m a creature of habit – black tea is for CTC in bags with milk & sugar, and I keep thinking that the good stuff that you’re supposed to drink plain is going to be an assault on my tastebuds. I am aware that this is a terrible way to go through life (especially if you own as many of these nicer black teas as I do), so I made a conscious decision to try one of them today.

The dry leaf smells lightly forest-like, and the liquor chocolaty and earthy, with a rich brown color. It tastes less strong but more tart than I was expecting, with some bitterness and little astringency. The earthy and bark-like flavors become sweeter and a bit smoky in the aftertaste. It’s a lot more drinkable than I thought it would be, but I’m not sure it’s my thing. I bought it from a stash sale last summer (from Rachel of iHeartTeas, I believe) so it’s probably gone a bit stale. I might pick some up next time I’m in North America to see if I like it any better when it’s fresh. If anyone’s interested in the rest of the packet, let me know.

I was in one of those moods today where I didn’t really want to try anything new and risk the possibility of an unpleasant brew. At first I wanted a straight tea, but couldn’t think of anything that appealed to me more than this lovely blend. Such a perfect melding of flavors and a wonderful creamy-juicy mouthfeel. I think I’m going to have to keep it permanently stocked for days like this.

I seem to be coming down with a cold again, so today I’m reaching for my comforting teas to soothe my scratchy throat. This is so damn nice brewed strong (2 bags for a mug) with milk and sugar/agave. It’s like a hug or a fluffy blanket for the soul. I feel so much better now than before I started the cup. Upping the rating!

Not sure what I did differently this time, but it tastes quite a bit different from how I described it in my last note. The dry leaf still has the lovely chestnutty aroma, but the liquor is more astringent, more beany, and less umami than I remember. It resteeped better than last time, though. I added some salt toward the end of the second cup, thinking it might bring out that brothy quality I noted before, but oddly enough it seemed to only bring out the bitter notes.

Dropping the rating a bit, even though I doubt it’s the tea’s fault. It’s probably past its peak, and my tap water is HARRRRRD. Might be time to start using the Brita pitcher again, or at least descale the kettle.

Ugh, this RAIN. I normally don’t mind it too much, but this has been one of the wettest winters on record, and the drizzly greyness is totally sapping my will to do any of the things I need to accomplish. So I’ve been rummaging through my stash looking for something to boost my mood.

I go for a sachet of this, in part because it means I don’t have to wash any of my dirty teaware. The scent is unimpressive, even after steeping for 5 minutes, and the liquor is quite weak (“gentle”, if you prefer). The flavor is mostly orange peel with hints of peach and oolong, turning tart at the end of the sip. Aftertaste is quite nice. Next time I’ll try steeping it longer, or may even use 2 sachets.

Finally, my first Verdant experience! I’d been holding off on trying them because I wanted to get some more brewing practice under my belt, but the other day I just said “screw it” and snipped open my sample packet of the 2012 harvest.

It’s intensely vegetal & beany every which way (dry & wet leaf, liquor aroma, and flavor), probably more so than any other tea I’ve tried. There’s a taste of char that gives it a somewhat aggressive edge. I searched for the pumpkin but couldn’t find it, which is unfortunate because the tasting notes of pie and biscuits played a big part in drawing me in.

I can tell it’s a very high-quality tea, but I’m not sure how much I personally liked it. I’ll definitely try it again and use bottled mineral water (and get around to reviewing it less than two days after the fact).

The dry leaf doesn’t smell of much, but when the hot water hits, it releases the citrusy aromas promised. The liquor is sweet, fruity, and smooth with a lovely, lightly floral aftertaste. There’s absolutely nothing bad I can say about this tea (except for a somewhat unpleasant tingle at the bottom of the throat, but it’s barely worth mentioning). Granted this is the first example of an Oriental Beauty I’ve tried, but I’m very impressed.

ETA: Second steep had an interesting lemony tartness, which was overtaken by woodiness in subsequent steepings.

Made up a pot of this for breakfast (2 heaped tsp for ~450 ml). The first cup poured was frankly too weak for milk, and the second cup (poured only seconds later) needed more milk & sugar than I expected. Maybe I need to stir the pot before pouring, or strain into a pitcher and then pour into cups, or just use the one-cup brewing basket like I did last time.

1 heaped tsp dry leaf to ~7 oz water. I must have used a different leaf:water ratio in the last note, because at 3 minutes I found it pretty unpalatable plain, but quite nice with 1/2 tsp sugar and a restrained splash of soymilk. Goes pretty well with peanut butter & raspberry jam on toast. Bumping up my rating a bit.

This tea is now a year and a half old, so I’ll see if I can swap it for my normal breakfast tea and use it up within the next few weeks.

EDIT: Resteeped nicely – 4 minutes produced a mellow oaky cup complemented by a little agave. Bumping the rating a bit more.