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While I’m not disappointed in this tea I will say that both the dry leaf and the brewed cup smell better than the actual taste of the tea. The first steep was stronger than the second, and I was quite generous with the leaf. I should probably try and gongfu or grandpa this next time and pay more attention to the flavors. It’s just a yummy chocolate caramel cup, without a whole lot of sweetness. A very good example of a golden monkey, but I think I prefer Happy Lucky’s for repurchase.

This seems a bit overly tart hibiscus at first taste. A very tart fruit punch. But as the tea lingers in my mouth, I’m getting a slight beet aftertaste as if someone spiked the punchbowl with freshly squeezed beet juice. Also lingering is a metallic aftertaste, but its not that bad. I meant to try this iced, though its a bit late in the season for iced tea here, I’m sure it would be pretty good.
It’s not something I’d reach for again, but certainly is worth a sipdown.

Well I drank this yesterday, but I’ll try to remember and post today.
Ancient Tree seems like it should have a more complex taste structure, but I’m not sure I prefer this to the Premium Golden Monkey or the regular Dian Hong Yunnan. It was quite smooth, with dark chocolate and malty notes that one would expect, but I only got a sample of this and I don’t think I’d be tempted to get a whole bag. I did get two good western style steeps out of the 10g sample, but the third was rather weak.

I have tried to like this tea as I got a whole bag of it when I ordered my Tuffy tea steeper. Alas, while I do taste the black tea and maybe a bit of creamy puerh, I get a weird chocolate aftertaste. I don’t mind the cocoa addition to this breakfast blend, just don’t appreciate the artificial taste it leaves in my mouth. In my mind I compare it to the Vanilla SF herb tea that is so very simple vanilla flavor that it doesn’t try to be something else. Bolder breakfast is a chemical aftertaste in a puerh disguise.

I got a sample size of this tea when ordering the Tuffy travel steeper (which is quite nice I think, though I haven’t actually used it for travel yet. It does tend to leak tiny leaves in to the remaining brew, but is compact and easily washed so I won’t be too fussy bout floaties in my cup)
As a morning breakfast tea, its just ok. I guess I brew my normal Assams and Yunnans pretty strong, so this doesn’t stand up to my brisk morning cuppa. As an afternoon pick me up, its still just ok. I’m not sure how to describe it as generic black tea with a metalic aftertaste? I guess with a name like Shagadelic I’m expecting a bit more nutty or malty or astringent taste, and its just a bit of a muddled blend.

Should I do something special for my 100th tasting note, or is it just another cup of tea?

How my tea tastes have changed since my first few reviews when I thought Teavana and Mighty leaf were the best teas, through the Steepster Select experiment, to now when I look for tasty bagged tea or a chocolatey yunnan black or a creamy shu puerh.

I thank the Steepster community for introducing me to Butiki, traveling tea boxes, and secret pumpkin swaps. So many yummy teas I have discovered since logging onto this site!

I do love a bargin, and this Vanilla Tea is just that. To me a bargin is quality at a lower price, and I like the challenge of paying less for a similar good product that others may pay more for. I have tried many steeps looking for a flaw in this tea, could it be an aftertaste, a bitterness, too much astringency? I haven’t found much negative here, its a single note tea, but it does it quite well. It reminds me of a Bryers Ice cream natural vanilla, but not so sweet. This is comfort food at its best, the reason why vanilla is a favorite dessert flavor, and why do other vanilla teas end up with a weird after taste? I am still impressed by every sip and have been unable to oversteep. Is it the vanilla bean or the vanilla flavor that is spot on? Maybe my only complaint is the black tea base isn’t really there, its just a conveyance for the vanilla.
I will order this again, and I will savor the sips of this comforting tea that only needs one flavor note to be delicious.

A sample size of this tea was added to the ‘new to me’ tea bundle from Amanda, thanks! The dry leaf looks long and wiry, not a whole lot of golden tips here. On the whole I’d say this tea was smooth and average. Not that memorable, not a bad way to start the day. There is a bit of a roasty note here, but not all that sharp or interesting. While this cup is very smooth, I wouldn’t gravitate towards a purchase when there are better Yunnans out there.

A decent black tea with mostly coconut notes and some lingering toasty notes in the background. It’s fairly tasty as far as coconut goes, nothing fake or artificial as an aftertaste, but it really is a one note tea. Some sips I get a little of the the toasty sesame coming through, not on the first steep, the second is where the coconut turns pleasantly toasty. No bitterness here, I bet this would do well grandpa style in a go cup all day. Not usually the type of tea I gravitate to, but I’ll add it to my tea bag travel stash and sip it down :)

Apparently I am doing a poor job of timing my steeps today as this one steeped for over 5 minutes the first time. A bit of a burnt taste to this over brew, but I stuck with it and tried a second steep that is a bit more butterscotch and caramel. Less burnt and more peanut brittle with a light lingering butterscotch after taste. Might need to try this with less leaf and a shorter steep time.

Not my favorite example of Golden Monkey, but still very drinkable. The first steep got more chocolatey with each sip as it cooled. The second steep is a bit disappointing , its still smooth, malty, and chocolatey, but its just a muted version of the first steep. I’ll try using more leaf and see if the second steep holds up, this doesn’t seem like overleafing will become a detriment to taste. While this tea is quite good, I might try a taste test beside the SV Tippy Yunnan to see which I prefer more.