The Tea Merchant

Oh my, oh my, if you don’t like this because you’re not a big puerh person, give it a cold brew. I think mine steeped for 14-16 hours, somewhere in there, and it is glorious. I wish I had done a whole pitcher instead of just a cup!

It’s still not very chocolate tasting, but the coconut comes through well, and matches the earthiness of the tea. The puerh is not too strong with this method so it’s definitely the way to enjoy this tea.

I steeped this for only three minutes and it’s just too strongly pu-erh for my liking. Next time I’m going shorter. I even tried drinking it iced, which for a short while did work. But the flavor is just too much and for me it doesn’t match the coconut and chocolate.

I am honestly surprised that this length of time made such an earthy cup, but I’ll just do the same thing I do with Chocolate Orange. I will like this one then!

Shorter steep next time, though I am intrigued by the idea of cold steeping.

PS there are four flavors of lip balm here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BlackBearLaboratory

First brew a few days ago: chocolate! reminds me of uncooked pu’erh. I’m not sure about this one.
Second brew: still reminds me of a basic pu’erh but without any cocoa this time. More like chestnut. Except… there was something missing, that I can’t quite put my finger on. and I’m puzzled as it doesn’t really have any “white” tea characteristics.
I need to try this again as I know it has potential!

The packaging is definitely awesome from this company. Nicely made labels on the brown sample bags, and the wax seal was very cool.
I was lucky enough to have received this tea for free and while I love the name of the tea and thought the ingredients sounded good, I couldn’t really enjoy it. I’ve never really had a real puerh blend before and I guess I just don’t like puerh at the moment.
It’s a very bold cup and I appreciate the dark coloring of the tea, but it just doesn’t smell good, and nothing really appeals to me in the taste.
I do however feel like it wakes you up. I will finish this cup, but I don’t think I will be making another. Will keep on the side for future swapage.

Boy, you really have to WANT to leave a note around here lately! OK, ‘nuff said. Maybe we’re back now!

As a long-timer, as I was steeping up this very old sample, I was just pondering all the tea companies that have come and gone since I started hanging out here. I think this one may be in the “gone” category; the only Tea Merchant I see when Googling is in South Africa, and I don’t believe it’s a match.

At any rate, this little packet has held up well despite significant neglect. I don’t do a lot of Darjeeling…a little too thin and dry for me, but this one gets a better-than-average on my scale. Some of that nice grape-peel flavor, but it doesn’t make your mouth dry like you’ve been licking paper. I’m glad to have some left just to change up the morning routine a little.

I still hate January, but the dazzling (cold!) sun on the tree branches makes it look a little like Narnia out my front window.

Because I may have to hock my firstborn to pay this month’s heating bill, I’m following several of you in an austerity plan to drink up what I have open…and this was.

It’s a fine darjeeling with lots of apple-peel, fruity character; not much to say that differs from my initial tasting note on this one.

As my tea horizons continue to broaden, there are so many wondrous varieties that I’m crazy about, but I can’t say I’ve landed on a wondrous darjeeling that makes me want to tap dance or clutch the cup in ecstasy. But I don’t mind looking…

It’s been a week … after several wearying days in a row, I am feeling decidedly undynamic, so let’s see if this helps.

Darjeelings aren’t generally my morning go-to teas; they’re not quite heavy enough for wake-up duty. This one is medium, both in flavor and in “kick.” It’s a juicy thirst-quenching tea, nice fruity background. I’m seeing muscatel and apple in other notes, it reminded me a little of citrus pith. I just need to adjust the time of day I imbibe :)

You’ll like this if you love darjeelings. It’s good quality stuff.

Big thanks to the Tea Merchant for such a big sample! I am gonna enjoy every ounce :)
The tea itself is quite lovely. Smooth and fruity… but while some other people found mostly muscatel, I could swear I found crisp honey apple! with a little muscatel. and not much astringency at all, which was nice. Must be the Biodynamic part that makes it taste so durn nummy.
My second infusion I added a touch of honey and that was good to, but the first cuppa was better.
Next up, I try this iced! Mmmmm.
Rating: 87

Backlog!
Been so busy lately I haven’t had time to do much beyond peek in here once in awhile. Job hunting is tiring. Seriously, I am mentally exhausted.
And maybe it’s some form of anxiety, but I can almost feel the opportunities swirling around me… and that there is one waiting to be caught by me. Perhaps that is because I really need to have a job, it’s critical for me atm. Of course, feeling that there is a position out there ripe for the picking and suited to my skills, well it almost makes the anxiety worse because I’m reaching out blind in all directions, not knowing how or when I’ll stumble upon my dream role. deep breath!
Does that make ANY sense at all… ha.
On a side note, I went to a university alumni night last night… bumped into some old Profs and shared a beer. What a fun night! and I signed up for the alumni association board of directors. Hopefully that will lead to something down the road for me. and add a little kick to my resume :)
Anyhow, I’m still on contract for almost two weeks so I had this at work yesterday. First steep was blah again, but the second and third were fantastic! I honestly felt as if I had eaten sweet bread!! in fact I didn’t get hungry for lunch until 1.5hrs after I normally do.

Thank you so much to the Tea Merchant for such a generous sample! This is a bit of a backlog from yesterday so let’s see if these notes of mine make any sense. ha :P
1st Steep: Smooth, dark, bready. A little muted to be honest. Added some agave, spruced it up quite a bit.
2nd Steep: Cinnamon?! wow. First sip in and I’m getting some spice. Interesting indeed. I’ve never had natural spice notes come through so strongly before.
It’s sweet all on it’s own now. Agave has no place in this cup!
There is also some astringency going on here, and the cup is milder, and smoother.
3rd Steep: MORE cinnamon. When the cup is hot that is. After that, I notice an incredibly sweet, bready taste. Kindof like… eggbread?!? egg pastry perhaps? I’m thinking the pastry around the sides of a creme brulee. Could that be the honeysuckle mentioned up above in the description? Hmmm.
There is also a sweet aftertaste that builds. Like I just downed a spoonful of molasses. Oh and I’m finding a really tiny hint of menthol, also building towards the finish.
4th Steep: Super sweet to start. Almost fake sweet. There is still that lingering cinnamon throughout the cup. As it cooled, the sugary aspect was tempered by a distinct earthy note.
Menthol builds even more here. Finally, back to the saccharine aftertaste.
5th Steep: Malty?!? cool. So many things going on in this tea. I love it!
It’s still earthy, with some cinnamon and intensifying menthol. By now the infusions are much lighter.
6th Steep: More or less the same as my 5th, only lighter.

This is an incredible pu’erh. I am so lucky to have tried it. Thank you again to the Tea Merchant!
Rating: 93

Ugh, I have a long day ahead of me. Bbq hopping! it’s the distance between them that’ll kill me. Oh well, it will be nice to finally meet my boss’ dog, a beagle that is notorious for destroying everything!! Gonna be so tired by the time I hit my bed tonight :)

Yikes, THIS is vanilla! oh yes it is. SO much ‘nilla.
Reminds me of David’s tea Vanilla Oolong, only much better. Smooth like butter, but not exactly buttery… in the first steep anyhow. Second infusion, there is a teeny bit less vanilla and a little more creamy oolong goodness.
Now, I’m not a huge fan of vanilla flavoured things in general so I spent most sips thinking “oh this is awful” OR “wow this is realllllly good”. Looks like I have a split opinion about this tea. Seriously. Ha!
Anyhow, if you enjoy vanilla, then I guarantee you will love this tea. It’s very well made. As much as it isn’t for me, I know quality when I see it. Big thanks to The Tea Merchant for sending me the sample!!
Rating… undecided!

Many, many morning delays and distractions (mostly me just sp..a..c..i..n..g out) so this steeped a couple minutes longer than intended and has a little bitter bite to it now. If I had milk handy, it’d be just fine. Still a good medium-weight, medium kick assam. Have really enjoyed my Tea Merchant samples.

Just a quick note that this makes a pretty tasty iced tea…even using second-steep leaves.

Good second steep potential on this one: I tossed in a pinch (maybe 1/4 teaspoon) of fresh leaves in with the used ones, left it sloppily for uh, a while, and I just looked at the tumbler and wondered where it all went :)
Getting something a little sweet and fruity at the end of each sip.

Love me my Assams, and this is a nice one. It’s on the lighter/brighter end of the flavor spectrum. Golden wheat toast instead of pumpernickel. Has a medium weight in the mouth and (though it’s a little early to tell; eyes aren’t fully open yet) a caffeine tug instead of a caffeine roundhouse kick. Two for two on Tea Merchant varieties.

Continuing with the samples from The Tea Merchant, this is finally cooled off. SO worth the wait, this is so perfect as an iced tea!

First, it tastes like there’s far more white peony in this blend, despite the Darjeeling being the first ingredient on the list. It’s very sweet, tastes like hay with just a little floral note to it. Then it resembles something like a white wine, possibly a Chardonnay, and fades into the nutty, astringent taste I’ve come to love from Darjeeling.

What a cool tea! And it’s so pretty too before it steeps. Lots of fluffy leaves, and pretty rose petals.

I can’t wait to try the others, and I wish I had more to say but I’m so wiped out from today. II didn’t even have a chance to eat lunch until 5pm because I had to spend so long at my specific college’s advisement office. Since they moved social work and criminal justice to the college (it used to just be economics & public policy), it’s a lot more difficult to talk to anyone. My advisor sure as hell wasn’t familiar with the econ courses at all…it really irked me because she was telling me my courseload is heavy yet she did not know what one of my classes even was, not to mention I had already been to half the classes at this point and knew what I would be up against. Also I’m a senior, everything I have left is higher division stuff…what did she want me to take? Jeez.

Thankfully the overall advisement office where I had to return the form was empty…it was weird. I was expecting a long wait there! Who knew. But I’ve switched classes and hopefully there will be no problems with missing a day for travel to a wedding.

Now I sleep because that switched class is at 9:30 and I’ve grown far too accustomed to ones that start at 11!

Thank you for the samples, The Tea Merchant! I planned to start with Trinitea but saw “iced tea recommended” on the page on here, so while it cools in the fridge, I figured I’d try this.

This is everything I wished the vanilla oolong from DavidsTea would be. It’s in your face vanilla, but you can still taste the the oolong underneath it. It has a lingering, green aftertaste from both the oolong and the lemon myrtle. I get more of an herb taste rather than a citrus taste, though I can smell lemon.

Steeped, it smells like a mix of spice cake and sugar cookies. The dry leaf straight up just smells like cake, and the oolong is so pretty, green and twisty.

So much vanilla. I love it. So sweet, creamy, and smooth. I still get a lot of oolong, some nice green and floral notes, and I imagine it comes out a bit more on subsequent steeps that I probably won’t do today because I have to wake up at 8 for the first time in I don’t even know how long.

I will definitely consider purchasing this one!

I can’t remember which one of you nice people shared your sample packet of Silk Dragon with me a while back, but I’ve tucked it away for a … actually, I don’t know why I didn’t tear into it immediately, it’s so tasty. All vanilly-like, and today, reminds me a little of birthday cake.

Well, whaddya know…a sipdown. Still silky vanilla pleasure. Recommended.

After my matcha muddle (see previous review) I needed something to wash the bad taste out of my mouth. This was perfect. Soft, sweet. smooth. Vanilla silk.

Too tired to be wordy, but couldn’t fail to mention that the second steep on this one is as vanilla-worthy as the first. I think I lost a little of the base flavor this time around, but it is still light, sweet, and pleasant. Well done, Tea Merchant!

After an icky Monday, it was a treat to find a box from The Tea Merchant waiting at home! (And props for the nifty little packaging touch—a wax seal on the bundle of samples.) Of the samples I received, this appeared to be the lightest for an after-dinner unwind.

The dry leaves smell wonderful—vanilla potpourri. I aimed for mid-range of the prescribed 3-5 minute steeping time, and was right on target: got a beautiful, blonde-gold cup that has the vanilla sweetness of a golden Oreo or a homemade sugar cookie. The citrus elements are faint accents, not leading themes.

It’s medium-thick on the tongue and … oh, shoot … so much for accurate adjectives. It just smells and tastes great. Fortunately, the sample pack was generous—I can have more!

I still can’t get over the charming packaging for the promotional samples (see link for photos). The citron oil is light and natural,I really couldn’t tell it was added as opposed to an inherent flavor. It seems hard to conservatively use Bergamot without being undetectable.

It reminds me of some Bi Lo Chuns, with a savory tone from the white tea. This is light and perfect for re-hydrating and relaxing when sensitive to stimulae, especially after the superpowered rush of much matcha!
Full review and photos:
http://sabiisphere.teatra.de/?p=58

Thanks to The Tea Merchant for this sample! I am woefully unfamiliar with the intricacies of Darjeelings, but I’d like to broaden my experience with them and I think this is an excellent place to start. They’re a really interesting type of tea—much lighter than a black, but with flavor profiles really different from a green/oolong/white/etc. Actually, maybe a bit similar to an oolong in complexity, and I think there are some Darjeelings that ARE oolongs so I suppose that makes sense! And they brew up so pale—this one is a soft, almost peachy amber.

It smells a little bit like an English Breakfast, but with much softer flavors. The dominant taste to me is woodsy and a bit fruity, apple or grape? It’s faint but crisp, and melds into a softly floral background. It’s very full-tasting, and it lingers in your mouth for quite a while. It’s also quite sweet with no additions, and I’ve gotten 3 good steeps out of it so far!

This is the only quality Darjeeling I’ve tried so I have nothing to compare it to, but I enjoyed it! A very different tea experience, and it left me feeling a bit contemplative. And for some reason, I think this would be really nice cold-brewed, so I’ll be trying it out that way soon!