New Tasting Notes

Very easy tea to drink — smooth and flavorful, and very high quality sencha.

light color and flavor. nutty and grassy notes are very subtle, which I really like about this tea. interested to see how the next couple of infusions go…

Good darjeeling, will look forward to selecting from the 2009 second flush pickings in June – let’s see if Ambootia can keep up the quality!

This is one tea that I deeply enjoyed. So far this year, this tea is number 1 on my list. Too bad we are not sure where it came from. We will keep you posted if we find out any details.

I am brewing this exact tea while typing this. Cooled the water down till around 75c or about 170F. The leaves are a bit smaller then I am used to with most silver needle. Let it brew for 2 min. Slightly a little dry, but still with that soothing sweet after taste. For the price it is not bad at all. I think the water for the Rishi variety could have been hotter, like 175-180.

1 day ago. One of the best Golden Yunnans I have had. Big leaves, very tippy, the only thing is that it came in a cellophane container. After 1 pot it never tasted the same again. I thought I brewed it wrong so I kept trying. Still this weird aftertaste that lingered. If anyone goes to Columbus Ohio, be sure to check out Zen-Cha.

Drank 2 days ago, very good. I would say 3rd best Yunnan I had. Rishi’s version is nice but the leaves are smaller for a typical golden Yunnan. Brewed 6g in a 20 oz pot for 1:25 sec. Brings a nice sweetness with that distinctive “tobacco” like aroma.

This is a deep yunnan, with rich leather, sandalwood, and caramel. A beautiful sap-filled morning cup. Delicious.

First day in Switzerland with Cara after not seeing her for almost six months. It feels like a day at a coffee shop with her back when we were in high school. The tea is from her friend who lives in England. Swiss flag cup (nothing could be better.)

Brewed 12g of tea in a 350ml ‘seasoned’ pot. The first brew aroma carried caramel and herbs. Colour as a good cognac. Body was substantial, coating the tongue, palate and throat, creeping down into the stomach. Hui gan persisted and occurred in waves. Amazing patience with consistent brews up until the 9th, when extra time was introduced. We brewed this pot for 2 1/2 hours, until we lost count of the brews.

This may replace my English Breakfast as my morning tea. I steeped it for 3 minutes, and it is the perfect gentle cup of tea for the morning. No aftertaste, no bitterness, just a lovely balance of black tea and orange pekoe.

I had this last night before bed. It was the perfect relaxer. Even though I oversteeped it (12 minutes versus the 4-6 recommended), there was no aftertaste, and the flavor was wonderful. The mixture of lemon and chamomile was the most relaxing end to the day.

I arrived at my girlfriend’s a couple of days ago, only to discover, to my horror, that she’d just run out of decent quality black tea. There’s plenty of excellent green tea to be had, but I do need a cup or two of black per day. So we’ve been drinking this muck since.

It’s absolutely filthy stuff. If brewed extremely briefly, it is possible to get it down. Brewed for more than a few seconds and it’s tannin hell.

195F @ 2 Minutes

A great balance of China Gunpowder and mint. Produces a medium brown brew. An excellent stomach-settler.

Lovely! The peach tastes natural, and there’s a sharp, not quite citrus note in the background that sets it off beautifully. I think I just prefer green rooibos with softer flavors; I wish I’d thought to get some plain before I started mucking around with blends.

Like any green tea, brew with water around 80C (175F) rather than at boiling point to minimise bitterness. I love the honey scent and flavour, which gives it that slightly sweeter edge. It’s very smooth to drink. A favourite green tea.

Not bad. Not as overpowering as many fruit teas can be. Makes a pink-ish brew.