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I’m only doing maybe one or two steepings of this tonight before bed. More to come in the morning.

My first impression is that this has a strong mineral aroma. It smells like wet slate. I do not expect it at all when I take the first sip and it is oh-so-smooth. It is devoid of any trace of fishy/pondy flavor that I associate with shou pu’erhs. Looking forward to many more steepings tomorrow…

I picked up a half ounce of this on Saturday at the David’s Tea in the Westfield Centre. Any vegans who may visit there, that mall has one of the best Loving Huts…

This is a nice strong black. It tastes most like a Ceylon to me. Very strong honey flavor and some maltiness. Delicious!

This was another birthday gift. My mother and stepfather gave me this one so that I wouldn’t “forget my roots”. But my mom’s family drinks Red Rose, so I know my stepfather must have picked this one out…

Robust and pungent, they’ve got that right!

I’m quite biased because I grew up drinking teas very similar to this. I prepared this without milk or sugar, but I think that in the future I will drink this tea the way I used to drink black tea when I was a kid: 4 oz. of water, 2 teabags, 5 minute steep, 5 tablespoons of sugar, 4 oz. of milk. Prepared that way, it kind of reminds me of a lukewarm Thai iced tea.

This was another tea I received as a gift for my birthday. I wasn’t really excited about it because green teas aren’t my favorite, and I usually don’t like flavored teas…

When I smelled this tea, I was even less enthusiastic. It smelled strongly of artificial peach. In tasting the tea, however, I was surprised at the nuanced flavor. This tea appears to be much more heavily scented than it is flavored. I was pleased that I could still taste the green tea, and to balance out the sweet fruit, it had a savory finish. The aftertaste was not cloying (as I usually find flavored teas to be). Overall, for a flavored tea, this one was very good.

Yum. Following the steeping instructions from Mariage Frères’ website makes so much of a difference. This tea now lives up to the rating I gave it. I had a feeling that the flaws I was tasting were due to too much leaf or too long of a steep (or both). Thanks Excelcior for pointing out the error of my ways!

Finally, I am back on Steepster! I had a week there where work was really hectic, and then I got sick. I couldn’t taste anything! I wound up drinking my “swill” tea which is a tin of mixed loose black tea comprised of all of the black teas I’ve tried and didn’t like.

Anyhow, my best friend sent me a giant tin of this tea for my birthday (which is today, happy birthday, me!). Inside the tin are so many individual servings of loose tea in little paper bags.

This is a heavy roasted Tieguanyin. I really like this tea. The scent is awesome, but the flavor is a little weak. Maybe it’s not as complex as one could hope, but it’s really easy to drink. Since I have over a pound of this, and it was a gift from one of my favorite people in the world, I think I am going to age this and continue to drink a cup of it on each birthday I have!

I am so pleased with my Canton Tea Co club membership so far. Work has been crazy, so I don’t have a lot of time for Steepster as of late. :-(

I wanted to quickly log this one. It’s wonderfully chocolatey and fruity. There was also an acidity in the finish that reminds me of chewing on red grape skins. This isn’t a bold enough black to really suit my tastes as of late, but I look forward to trying in gongfu style when I have the time!

Also, I wish I could afford to take advantage of the sale Canton’s having right now! So tempting…

At first I was very much underwhelmed by this one. But the more I drank it, the more I liked it. The finish I found to be too tannic and bitter. I do think I may have over-leafed this one, and that may be the reason for the harsh aftertaste. I’m giving this a hopeful rating, but I will knock it down if using less leaf doesn’t improve the finish.

First, thank you Courtney for this sample!

It took me a long time to try this one. I’m usually not into flavored teas, and also green tea isn’t my favorite. But I’m in a strange mood. I’ve just finished drinking a cup of tea made from California’s favorite medicinal herb. Consumed this way, it has a mild relaxing effect. It’s so mild, really, that it could really just be the placebo effect.

Anyhow, the dry leaf smells just like those gummy peach Os to me. The brewed tea has that same aroma, but there is also the green tea coming through, and rose. Sadly, the first sip is extremely off-putting. It has a very artificial fruity peach/candied orange peel taste. As it cools, it becomes a little bit better, and I can taste the green and black tea more. The finish is like artificially flavored candy. I wouldn’t want to drink this again, but I’m glad to have tried it!

This is the tea that my father used to always bring back from his business trips to London, and I’m always going to love it probably more than it deserves. A nice strong Assam!