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Admittedly, I’ve not been feeling the best today. We all have our physically off days, and this was one of mine. But even through the ickiness, the soothing, sweet mix of mint and chamomile has been lovely. It almost tastes like there’s honey in it, though I know better. (Another time I may add some, just to see how it goes. I wonder if the sweetness would be a nice complement, or if it would become too sweet with it?)
Anyway, this was a good tea choice for tonight, and even cooled it’s going down wonderfully and soothingly. Hooray for good choices and good cuppas.

Admittedly, this tastes rather like blueberries. It’s tart, rather than sweet, but the fruitiness comes through quite well. I think it could do with a little more sweetness, but otherwise, good.

When you’re in the mood for it, there is nothing like a cup of green tea. And apparently I am in the mood because this is delightful. Gentle, vegetal, refined, smooth….
Unfortunately, the resteep wasn’t as nice, and I find that unfortunate, but still it was a nice initial cuppa at least.

This tea reminds me of sweet tarts. Orange mixed with green tea tends to do that for me. Unfortunately, I’ve never been much of a sweet tarts fan. Nor a fan of the similar rockets, candy jewelry, etc. So, it misses the mark with me.
Still, the flavour has a nice strength and balance. It’s a good tea, I think. Just not the right sort of profile to make me the happiest.

You know what? This is good tea. I’m having the primary steep with milk and sugar currently (actually this is my second chai of the day; I appear to be on a minor kick) and it’s definitely hitting the spot. Spiced and a nice round flavour.

I’m having the second steep clear (or at least as clear as it will be in the same cup as the original steep) and it I have to say, it’s definitely better with the milk and sugar. The spiced flavour just begs for some sugar and creaminess to make it complete.

I was looking for a chocolatey tea today, and something in my mind was also thinking chai, so lo and behold the perfect tea was found. I used to have a tin of this, but it has long since run out, which in itself is a testament to this tea I suppose. I’m having this with soy milk today, it adds a bit of a nutty hollowness which I’m not sure if I like or not, but it was worth the try. Overall, not bad. I might sweeten it the next time I add milk like this, but not bad at all!

I am drinking this tea alongside some dark chocolate. It feels like such an indulgence!
The tea is a little more metalic than I’d like; I have a feeling I had the water slightly too hot, even though I let it cool several minutes before pouring.
But. It smells amazing, buttery and grassy and a little roasted; actually it reminds me of nuts a bit. And the colour is amazing. And I know how wonderful this tea can be. I’m glad I managed to snag some of this for free; I will enjoy going through it, especially if I can perfect my steeping method.

This was a sample from last year’s tea festival. I had too much of this for one steep, and too little for two, so I kind of did my own thing here. Thankfully, it seems to have turned out decently.
It has a musty scent and flavour, but not at all in a bad way. There’s an aftertaste that I suppose is a bit like milk, though I’m still not entirely convinced at the naming. Still, it’s a convention, and milk oolong is very much a thing, so I shall not judge outside of my own experiences. (Though at the same time, I will mention that there may be a creaminess to it, though whether that is me thinking about the “milk” connection or not I do not know.)
The second cup, I will note, seems very fragrant. Somewhere between floral and musty again. (And again, not a bad sort of must, it actually goes more with the floral than anything. ah, I need to work on my vocabulary and palate both I fear.)
I think I will be able to get another steep or two out of this still, but we shall see!

I did this the just under boiling and ice cube method, and steeped for a round two and a half minutes. Ahh, water tempering. I love you.
This tea is very vegetal. Although I primarily found it light, the flavour came out a lot stronger when I let it cool a bit and had some vanilla yoghurt alongside. (I always have vanilla ice cream at Japanese restaurants, or vanilla-based ones at least, this is partially why; the two bring out each other’s flavours a lot.)
For a tea bag, this is not bad at all. Though I still have a lot of loose green tea to go through as well, I know I won’t mind going through the remaining tea bags I have for this either. Yay for green?

Finally getting to the sample of this I got at last year’s tea festival. (Just in time for this year’s.) I think my four minute steep was slightly too long; the flavour goes from smooth to bitter in my mouth, leaving behind a bit of an unpleasant aftertaste. Floral notes aren’t necessarily my favourite, but the rose isn’t bad in the initial flavour here.
I think it might be improved with milk, a shorter steep, or both. Still, this does make me want to blend my own tea at some point, to see if I can find my own perfect blend.

As a note, the resteep is much less astringent, and still has quite a bit of colour and flavour to it. If the first steep had been like this, I would have been much happier. (And this is why it’s good to try something over several steeps, I suppose.) The floral taste is quite strong now, and it’s not my favourite flavour if I’m being honest, but I think this is closer to how this tea should taste, and it’s good for what it is.