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This is my first white tea. I really enjoy the dry leaf – fluffy, green and white, smelling very much of dried fruit to me. After steeping, I’m surprised to find that this tea is not nearly as subtle or delicate as I was expecting of a white tea – maybe I steeped too long or used too much of the leaf? The liquor is relatively dark and the aroma strong and woody.

The first taste I get is wood… dry wood. Bamboo at best, but more realistically driftwood. At the same time, I taste Brazil nut – somewhere in there. Then it gets floral, and underneath that, rather grassy. The aftertaste, however, is sweet. Kind of nutty too. Dried apricot, I’d call it.

This tea hits some nice notes, but overall, I don’t particularly like it. The dryness and woodiness do not appeal to me all that much. My favorite part is the fruity bit at the end, but that is perhaps the most subtle note. Also, this tea got bitter on the second steep, which came as a disappointment.

Admittedly, I wasn’t terribly careful in brewing this tea, so my opinion may change with further experimentation. Since I have so much of it, I think I might play around a little more and see if different temperatures and steep times yield more agreeable results.

This tea has a nice, honey-colored liquor which foreshadows its taste. First note is smoke, then mellows to honey. Very tasty. And they’re not kidding about the peppery finish.

I’m quite fond of Darjeeling, and I really liked this one. The aroma is fruity and flowery with a hint of caramel. Gives a lovely, pinkish-gold liquor. Flavor muscatel and sweet, tasting of plum, apple and honey. Possibly chestnut, something nutty or woody about it. The floral, rosy finish has a nice bit of pull.

This is indeed a peculiar tea. The dry leaf is very very pretty, though to describe it as purple would require some imagination. The aroma is both earthy and spicy, smelling of tobacco and cinnamon. The flavor is full and complex; at first biscuity, almost tasting of potato, also peppery and musky. (I found that a shorter steeping time – say 2 1/2 minutes or so – gave a less potato-y brew.) The cinnamon-raisin note comes as an aftertaste, which is at the same time almost vegetal. I’ve never tasted a tea quite like this one, and was not initially turned on to it. After a few cups, however, I’ve grown to really like it. I think it would make a good breakfast tea.