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The smell in the tin is almost overpowering. I nearly winced. But I got over it pretty fast. The tea smells wonderful once brewed, its not nearly as strong, and smells like it should taste delicious. It has potential, but it turns out it is a rather weak and inconsequential tea. Nothing to write home about, it is a bit sweet, but that is really the only definable taste hit I get.

ETA: I should read tea directions before I make tea. It turns out I was supposed to use 1.5 teaspoons, not one. That would explain a lot (I hope, since I bought about five ounces of tea).

Iced today, after I brewed it and took a nap. It is pretty good iced, quite refreshing, a bit tart, which really comes through on my swigs of tea. I really don’t think I get a lot of the tea flavor in this. I think I get mostly hibiscus and fruit. I’m not sure how different it would be as a tisane, without any tea, that is how little tea-ness I get from it. Oh well. Still like it, which is good, because I have a lot of it.

2nd steep. 3 minutes. Still a lovely green tea.

Backlog from last night. Post Jamaican dinner-and-dessert tea. I wanted something dessert-y, but not chocolate-y. This hit the spot. I really do quite like this tea, I think. I need to wander on down to Teavana to see if they have anymore left, since it goes away today.

Well hello there, emperor. Going my way? You make me smile. You are my sunshine after a lazy Saturday afternoon nap. Welcome to my cup. Why don’t you stay awhile?

I got a sample of this from a friend, and I’m intrigued. The brew is lighter than I expected, though I think that is more because I used too much water for the sample I had. I steeped for a full five minutes, hoping that might make up for it—I’m not sure it did. This is my first Keemun tea, and I’m definitely going to try more. It has a vaguely smoky, peppery aroma that is very lovely. The sip is gently smoky, nothing like a Lapsong Souchong (I remember with horror my first cup of that), and it goes down smooth. Overall a nice tea. Definitely one to keep on my short list for when my current stash starts to dwindle.

Oh, this is good. This is wonderful. Bold and flavorful, but not bitter. Damn fine tea indeed. Words don’t do it justice.

Okay, so I’m back with the five minute assessment. The brew is still pretty light,a very light honey brown in color. I needed to pour the tea through a very fine strainer to avoid getting a lot of small particles in the bottom of my cup. It has a somewhat dry aftertaste. It is different from anything I’ve had before. “Sweet woodsy notes” aren’t the norm for me. I’m not sure if that is what I’m tasting or not. I definitely get the astringency—I can pick up on that.I’m not sure I would increase the amount of tea used from 1/2 a teaspoon—I think that might be too astringent.

Overall, I’m not sure I like it, but I don’t dislike it. I’m rather indifferent toward it. I tend to like food that is bitter/astringent/tart, so I’m rather surprised I’m so “meh” about it. I wanted to like it, placing the order from Butiki Teas was a great experience (hello, samples!) but I’m just not feeling the love like I thought I would. And that makes me rather sad.

Hmmm, I don’t know what I think of this one yet. I made a four cup pot in my Breville, which meant 2 teaspoons of tea, at a three minute steep. That particular combination gave me troubled water that really didn’t taste like much at all. So I restarted the Breville and am brewing it for another couple of minutes, to see how a five minute brew comes out.

Steeped for five minutes today. Someone else in their tasting note said the tea seems impossible to oversteep. I’d have to agree. I thought five minutes might be pushing it on the palatability, but nope! Still good! Not too harsh or tannic, like some black teas tend to get when steeped too long.