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Never tried Oriental Beauty before, but it’s impressed me from the first sip. It’s so sweet, the honey flavour really weighs down in my mouth like real honey. And then I notice the nice floral notes, and familiar oolong body.

If I had to compare this to anything else, it would be single malt scotch. No seriously, it’s very heavy, rich, and complex on the palate. The general flavour can’t compare, but the feeling I get while drinking it is very similar (minus the harsh feeling of alcohol going down).

Still drinking this and working my way through the 50g bag. Speaking of the bag, this tea is light so it’s taking me a while to go through it all. Which is a shame because I thought to myself, oh after I finish this first flush I can get some second flush or autumnal (d’oh!).

Anyway, still loving how light and refreshing this one turned out to be. It kinda reminds me of my Bai Mu Dan (light, crisp, “spring” veg). And I like the velvety texture of the tea liquor going down my throat. Finally, there is always that familiar darjeeling flavour in each sip. :)

The leaves are a mix of big green whole bud/leaf and some broken bits (not dust). Sometimes I have to play around with time settings/leaf amount to get the brew I like, but it’s an otherwise easy tea to brew (never a disappointing flavour). Looking forward to buying the 2012 FF version of this or another similar looking one.

I’ve been looking for an inexpensive green tea, because I’m not a big fan of green tea and I don’t like feeling guilty when I brew expensive stuff. So, out of what they had at my DAVIDsTEA store, I like this one the best so far. I’m not crazy about it, but it’s a lot better than Yun Cui.

Tried this again with 2 teaspoons in my gaiwan (I prefer it a bit stronger), starting at 3mins. Resteeps were 3:30, 4, 4:30, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (so 8 steeps total). On the last steep, my husband had just come home from work and tried it out. He was pretty surprised it was the 8th steep and still flavourful (although at this point I can taste the water more than anything).

I have to say that this one has really grown on me, and the resteeps have a nice spectrum of flavour. Like Jin Die, I think it’s a must to resteep this all you can. I’m looking forward to trying this with the same settings next time, and to write down the notes of all 8 steeps. Today I was just trying to enjoy it, not worrying about writing down the tasting notes. ;)

edit: Forgot to mention that this is a black tea, which is why the extra steeps impressed me.

I actually like this tea now, but only when I add extra leaf. Up’d the rating, I wish this tea wasn’t a hassle to figure out though.

Not something I’d buy again, but I’m happy this one didn’t end up in the bin.

Tried this again today iced, and I’m still feeling disappointed. It’s better iced, but I didn’t like the flavours in the hot brew to begin with. To me, the aroma from the bag and tea liquor is just off putting. It might be the yogurt, but something just doesn’t seem right when I drink it. I like the strong peach flavour, but that is about it.

Since peach is one of my favourite fruits, I’d really like to enjoy Southern Belle but it just isn’t happening. I don’t regret trying this once, but I’m happy to have only bought a 25g bag.

Sniffing inside the bag, I’m suddenly reminded of the tea description mentioning notes of rose. I don’t always think back on those descriptions, but wow does it ever smell of rose! Normally I don’t like rose flavour, but it’s not as strong when you brew it. I guess in general I dislike floral notes, especially lavender. But if there’s just a hint of it, I’m ok.

Anyway, most of the “tea” flavour reminds me of their other black tea: Zhenghe Hong Gong Fu (Fujian). Smooth, Light body, malty, with floral notes, and ending slightly bitter (in a good way). The wet tea leaves look like a bunch of thin long hairs (all bud and hardly any broken bits).

On the resteep, the rose flavour was still present and much of the original flavour was there along with the lichee flavour mentioned in the description. Third steep was even more light bodied and an interesting new flavour. I can’t quite describe it, but it came across as kinda zesty. I stopped at the fourth steep, because it was getting too light and watery. There is still some flavour but not enough for my liking. (Unfortunately, not every tea can be an awesome resteeper like Jin Die!)

I’m not crazy about this tea, but I always enjoy reaching for this in my cupboard. Although lately I have just been trying to get through older teas instead of drinking my newer stuff. :/

Before I purchased Bai Mu Dan, I’d only tried flavoured white teas. I kept hearing good things about white tea but it never really impressed me. Now that I’ve had this I can see why some people like it so much. It has a light body, with notes of fresh vegetables (but not vegative like green tea). Not to say I don’t like flavoured white tea, Champagne from DAVIDsTEA is one of my favs.

Happy to have tried this once. I think I’ll try another white tea, Bai Hao Yin Zhen sometime in the future. So far I like what Bai Mu Dan has to offer, and I’m more open to exploring others now. :)

Steep notes: I’ve tried the suggested 5-7 mins and multiple shorter steeps, they’re both pretty good.

Whoa, this has a strong scent, like hard liquor (bourbon, whiskey). When I got past that, I found it to be an enjoyable peach tea. I prefer the Peach Apricot tea from Metropolitan Tea Company, but if you like strong peach flavours Southern Belle is worth a try.

edit: Please see my newer review for an update. It’s not that bad

Went to DAVIDs today to pick up lots of Pumpkin Chai and to get a few other teas to try out. I don’t have much green tea at the moment so picked up Yun Cui. With my first steeps today I’m left feeling disappointed. I can’t imagine steeping this for more than 1 minute, the flavour is very harsh and “in my face”. Smelling the wet leaves also made me cringe a bit. I can’t exactly describe the scent, but it is off putting.

I’m not sure if I am starting to hate green tea, or if this really isn’t very good. I wasn’t a big fan of it to begin with, but I have a desire to enjoy it. Unfortunately I doubt by the end of this stash I’ll like it any better.