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Backlogging (so, based almost entirely on my notes)

Experience buying from China Cha Dao: < more later, but positive overall, with some reservations >

Age of leaf: Stated as harvested in spring 2011, received in late fall, brewed up not long after.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: Looked and smelled like other Dragon Well teas I have had.

Brewing guidelines: 2 tsp tea, 2 cups water.Loose in glass Bodum pot. Stevia added.
……….1st: 170; 1’
……….2nd: 175; 1.5’
……….3rd: 180; 2’
……….4th: 185-190; 2.5’

Aroma of tea liquor: Good, sweet smell.

Flavor of tea liquor: Familiar Dragon Well flavor. Held up fairly well though four steepings.

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: < no notes here >

Value: moderately priced at about $4/oz.

Overall: Nothing stood out about the tea. It is about as good as other Dragon Wells I have had for a much better price (Jing Teas Shop). I wish I could say more.

Backlogging (so, based almost entirely on my notes)

Experience buying from Teavivre http://steepster.com/places/2857-teavivre-online—

Age of leaf: advertised as spring 2011. Received fall 2011, brewed up days later.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: Beautiful looking leaves which look similar to Jing Tea Shop’s HSMF; smells fresh and possibly not as smoky an aroma as other HSMF teas.

Brewing guidelines: Based on information from their website, I went a little hotter of the later steepings. 10 grams tea, 5 cups water. Loose in glass Bodum pot. Stevia added.
……….1st: 170; 1’
……….2nd: 182; 1.5’
……….3rd: 186; 2.5’
……….4th: 192; 3’

Color tea liquor: pale yellow.

Flavor of tea liquor: Good, mild. Second steeping had a little more flavor, with a hint of something like cinnamon. The forth steeping had little flavor.

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: They have a fresh, deep-green look to them, with a possible hint of cinnamon.

Value: Reasonable for a HSMF at less than $3/oz.

Overall: I was not very impressed with this tea. Nothing really stood out about it accept the appearance of the leaves. Looking at the wet leaves revealed a quality pluck: mostly bud sets with a number of whole leaves and buds. And in general I like the way HSMF leaves look (I can’t think of what it is about them at the moment, though). We tried China Cha Dao’s grade 3 HSMF the same day, and we liked the flavor of China Cha Dao’s better than Teavivre’s (although the quality of China Cha Dao’s leaf was clearly not as good). If you like HSMF, then this is an OK tea for the price.

Backlogging (so, based almost entirely on my notes)

Experience buying from Life in a Teacup http://steepster.com/places/2861-life-in-a-teacup-online-easthampton-massachusetts

Age of leaf: advertised as spring 2011, received early fall 2011, brewed up weeks later.

Dry leaf: Tightly curled leaves, similar in appearance to Chun Mee; mild smoky aroma.

Brewing guidelines: Standard parameters for my green teas Loose in glass Bodum pot. Stevia added. 7 grams tea, 3 cups water.
……….1st: 170, 1’
……….2nd: 175, 1.5
……….3rd: 177/185, 2’
……….4th: 190, 2.5’

Color and aroma of liquor: clear pale green; < no notes here on aroma of liquor >

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: Moderate quality: lots of vibrant looking full leaves and some budsets, yet an appreciable number of medium-sized to small-sized pieces. Smells vegetal and roasted, yet almost stale (I am not certain what I meant by this).

Flavor: A good vegetal green tea taste. Little flavor on forth steeping.

Value: To me, a decent tea, but not worth paying $4 / OZ.

Overall: Nothing really stood out about this tea. I brewed it up on the same day I brewed up the Teavivre HSMF (which is a little less expensive), and they were both about as good.

Backlogging (so, based almost entirely on my notes)

Experience buying from Teavivre http://steepster.com/places/2857-teavivre-online—

Age of leaf: advertised as spring 2011. Received fall 2011, brewed up days later.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: Looks and smells like quality leaf: deep green color; fresh, nutty aroma.

Brewing guidelines: 7 really big tsp, 6 cups of water. I went a little hotter than my standard green tea temps based on what they recommended on their website. Loose in glass Bodum pot, Stevia added.
……….1st: <180, 1’
……….2nd: >180. 1.5
……….3rd: 190, 2’
……….4th: >190, 2.5

Color and aroma of tea liquor: Smells fresh and vegetal; standard Dragonwell color.

Flavor of tea liquor: Great flavor that any good Dragonwell seems to be known for: sweet and nutty. Little flavor on the forth.

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: Looked and smelled fresh. Lots of budsets, a number of whole leaves and buds, and a few stems, and brown leaves, and two flower stem/buds (I don’t know what else to call them). Quality leaf.

Value: good price for the quality of this Dragonwell (less than $4/oz).

Overall: This is a great Dragonwell. It’s been awhile since I drank it, so I don’t know what else to write, other than I was expecting much from this tea (based on the reviews), and it met my expectations. If you like Dragonwell, it is worth buying.

Backlogging (so, based almost entirely on my notes)

Experience buying from Keen Tea Thyme: < More later, but positive overall >

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: Smells awesome, with notes of tobacco and chocolate! Small and medium sized broken bits of tea leaves and a few other lighter colored bits.

Brewing guidelines: Brewed in my largest tea ball (I do most, if not all, flavored teas in a ball/basket, to help keep all of the pieces together) in my glass Bodum. 6 rounded tsp, 6 cups of water. Stevia added.(I thought this was a black tea/rooibos tea blend based on how it looked and smelled, so I went with boiling temperatures).
……….1st: Boiling (unwarmed pot), 3’
……….2nd: Boiling (warmed pot); 4’
……….3rd: Boiling (warmed pot); 6’

Color and aroma of tea liquor: mild chocolate-y and tobacco-y aroma; a dark, chocolate-brown color.

Flavor of tea liquor: Roasted, chocolate-y, with notes of tobacco.

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: it looks like what I would call ‘medium-grade’ chopped leaf.

Value: reasonable on Adagio’s website for a flavored tea.

Overall: When I emailed the creator of this tea inquiring as to the base tea used in this flavored blend, she stated that the base was an oolong with a bit of Lapsang Souchong; I was surprised that there was not any rooibos in it, as to me, this tea has aromas and flavor notes very similar to my experience with brewing up rooibos. I am guessing the vanilla oolong is what gives it that tobacco-y taste (which is a good thing; I happen to love that tobacco-y smell and taste rooibos seems to have). In her response to my query her recommendations were to use a little cooler temp (195 F) than the temps had I already brewed it in, so I may have slightly scorched the leaves (but it didn’t taste like it to me). I’m not certain whether or not it tastes like toasted marshmallow, but overall, I enjoyed it’s unusually—and tasty—flavor (and it still had decent flavor even on the third steeping); I think the things I liked the most about this tea were the aromas: chocolate and tobacco!

Backlogging (so, based almost entirely on my notes)

Experience buying from American Tea Room: < More later, but positive overall >

Age of leaf: This is what I believe is called a fruit tea, and seems to have been blended at the end of 2011.

Packaging: I got this sample for free by ‘liking’ their post of this tea on Facebook (thank you American Tea Room!). The one ounce sample came in a very professional-looking package: colorfully labeled with lots of useful information about the tea displayed on it.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: A beautiful potpourri of different colors and shapes; unbelievably aromatic: reminds me of a flavor of bubble-gum when I was a child.

Brewing guidelines: In ceramic 16 oz cup, covered with a ceramic lid while steeping. Tea in metal steeping basket. Stevia added.
……….1st: Just off the boil (cup mildly warmed); 2’
……….2nd: Boiling (cup warmed); 5’

Color and aroma of tea liquor: Light peach color; smells fruity and like licorice.

Flavor of tea liquor: fun fruit flavors, and sweet, but it has an odd finish (even at room temp): possibly too much orange for my tastes (it reminds me somewhat of the taste of children’s aspirin. Anyone remember that stuff? blech).

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: lots of great looking bits of fruits and spices.

Value: Currently on sale: $10 for 3.5 OZ.

Overall: This seems to be a classic case of the tea wow-ING me in appearance and aroma, then disappointing me with flavor. Lots of potential here, but I suggest going back to the drawing board with this one.

Experience buying from Adagio: < More later, but positive overall >

Packaging: This was a good sized sample that came in an opaque plastic package nicely decorated with their colors, the weight and the name of the tea on it, and information on the back about Adagio.

Age of leaf: I was not able to find this information on their website.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: smells fresh, vegetal, sweet. Like no other tea I have seen: large pale green leaves with a kind of pleat down the length of the leaf (or tightly rolled like a scroll of paper); some small bits.

Brewing guidelines: Standard parameters for my green teas Labeled as 0.5 oz tea = 6 cups of water. Glass Bodum pot where leaves are free to roam. Stevia added.
……….1st: 180; 1’
……….2nd: 182; 1.5
……….3rd: 187; 2’
……….4th: < Although I probably did a forth, I do not have the data for this >

Color and aroma of tea liquor: pale green color, mildly cloudy: < no data on aroma >

Flavor of tea liquor: sweet, fairly tasty for a green tea. Not much flavor on the third.

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: standard vegetal aroma, but not very fresh; large leaves (like many oolongs I have seen) that were varied in their shade of green, such that most had broken edges; there were also many broken bits; it was fun watching the leaves steep: when they were fully opened (on the third steeping), the pot looked like it was filled with an underwater forest!

Value: I bought this as a sample, and as they have been out of it since I bought it, I can’t get any data on the price (but I think this style of green tea is somewhat on the pricy side).

Overall: I bought this in large part to try some of the famed Melon Seeds. Although it was fun watching the leaves steep, I was disappointed as I had heard it is generally thought of as a quality green tea. There was nothing memorable about the aroma or the flavor. But I am glad I tried it. Not a great first impression for Adagio (but the impression of this reviewer towards Adagio’s unflavored green teas has turned more hopeful since trying their White Monkey). Here’s hoping their other green teas are more flavorful!

Experience buying from Golden Moon Tea < More later, but fairly positive overall >

Age of leaf: I purchased this as a sample; no information provided on the date of harvest.

Packaging: I really like the packaging for their samples: a simple long thin silver bag with a stylish looking label displaying their company logo, the name of the tea, brewing instructions and what the package actually contains (the tea and any flavoring).

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: twisted white and green buds; very light fragrance.

Brewing guidelines 1.5 tsp, 1.5 cups water. Loose in glass Bodum; Stevia added.
……….1st: 165; 2’
……….2nd: 170; 3.5’
……….3rd: 172 5’
……….4th: 180; 7’

Color and aroma of tea liquor: Very light color, very sweet smell.

Flavor of tea liquor: What I remember another Silver Needles to taste like: light, sweet, fruity or floral, and buoyant (this seems to be an awkward word to use here, but it seems to be the best word I can think of for now to describe how it lifts me up, in a way); held up flavor through the fourth steeping (mild flavor, though).

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: very nice looking buds (only a few stems);they were hanging vertically in my glass Bodum while steeping: very cool!

Value: Way beyond my budget when buying by the ounce, but worth buying and trying once as a sample ($0.99).

Overall: I expect that this is their version of Silver Needles, as it looks, smells and tastes like one sample of Silver Needles I tried last year. I like how the buds are twisted, as I have never seen this before. This one is as good as the one I remember having had before: it is light, and mellow; yet, it is not a tea I would want to drink (or could afford to drink) every day. As I have read in many books about tea, it is good to try this tea at least once.

Experience buying from The Puritea: < More later, but overall positive >

Age of leaf: I was not able to find this information on their website. : (

Packaging: This was a sample that came in three separate tiny, thin silver bags, that had the name of the tea on them (and nothing else).

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: Similar to Adagios’s White Monkey I had tried the day before: spicy and vegetal, but not as strong smelling as Adagio’s; looks similar to Pi Lo Chun: light and dark green curly leaves.

Brewing guidelines: Glass Bodum pot with tea leaves moving freely about. Stevia added.
……….1st: 172; 1’
……….2nd: 178; 1.5
……….3rd: 187; 2’
……….4th: 187; 3’

Color and aroma of tea liquor: smells slightly sweet; yellow-green color.

Flavor of tea liquor: good: standard green tea taste, with a spicy note; had some flavor on the forth steeping.

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: Not as many fragments in the water as Adagio’s when steeping. All of the leaves were floating on top for each steeping. Overall good quality leaf: few broken pieces and lots of full leaves and plump buds.

Value: very reasonable. $20 / 8oz.

Overall: Although the leaf looks to be of better quality than Adagio’s, this one is not as tasty. I do like the ‘spicy’ flavor in it, though (as I do with Adagio’s). This is a good tea for the price. Not much else to say about it.

Experience buying from Adagio: < More later, but overall positive >

Age of leaf: I was not able to find this information on their website. : (

Packaging: This was a decent sized sample that came in an opaque plastic package nicely decorated with their colors, the weight and the name of the tea on it, and information on the back about Adagio.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: vegetal and spicy; looks similar to Pi Lo Chun: light and dark green curly leaves; some broken pieces.

Brewing guidelines: Standard parameters for my green teas Labeled as 0.4 oz tea = 6 cups of water. Glass Bodum pot where leaves are free to roam. Stevia added.
……….1st: 177; 1’
……….2nd: 178; 1.5
……….3rd: 187; 2’
……….4th: 187; 3’

Color and aroma of tea liquor: standard green tea aroma: vegetal, mildly sweet; yellow green color.

Flavor of tea liquor: very good: vegetal and spicy; mild flavor on the forth steeping.

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: a number of fragments were floating in the water when steeping, but all the leaves were floating on top for each steeping. Overall OK quality leaf: a number of broken pieces with many full longish leaves and small buds, with a few stems.

Value: reasonable for the flavor you get from the leaf: $24 / 8oz.

Overall: I recently bought four samples from Adagio (all green teas). It’s still early (I have two more samples to try) yet to form any kind of solid opinion about Adagio’s unflavored green teas, but after being disappointed with their melon seeds, I have more hope for them after trying this tea. Although I am not impressed with the quality of the leaf (The Puritea’s White Monkey looked better), until I tried this tea I have never had a green tea that smelled and tasted spicy, so I am impressed with the flavor. I may buy this one if I can get it for a good price; who knew, a spicy green tea?!