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I can’t say I’m usually impressed with Assam/Darjeeling blends, but this one is very drinkable. It gets interesting coppery metalic notes from the Assam and has a nice sweet, honey-floral finish. It’s not a strong, bracing breakfast tea, but still good enough to call it a daily drinker. I wouldn’t call this complex, but a blend of the best of both types of tea. It stands up well to a second steeping and is the kind of tea I’d use to introduce to folks that think all black tea is bitter. Its not the best S&V has to offer, but I’ll probably purchase this again.

The dry leaf smells like honey and orange. The first steeping is more orange, but not a strong citrusy orange, more like a muted creamsicle orange. It’s rather creamy and maybe a clove note too. If you don’t like orange you’ll probably not like this tea. It’s grown on me a bit, I like it more now than when I first tried it. The second steep, however, is much more clove and not much orange lingering. I’m not sure I’d get this again, but I’ll try to enjoy the sipdown.

There is nothing subtle or delicate about this tea. It’s not very complex, astringency and metallic tastes dominate. Not any lingering maltyness going on here. But I like this tea for what it is, a strong robust cup when I want a morning jolt of caffeine and a taste that will standup to any spicy breakfast burrito. I’d call this a daily drinker though I’d certainly get bored if I drank it every day. I will continue to reach for this when I want a bracing morning cup as I know what to expect, it goes well with cinnamon and lemongrass too.

From the TTB
This was a creamy, earthy shu puerh that lasted several steepings. It was a bit weak for the first few steeps, I manually separated the nuggets per the suggestion of another reviewer, and that certainly helped subsequent steepings. I get some camphor, mineral, as well as creamy, buttery and vanilla notes. This was a smooth, interesting shu and was a fun gongfu session.

From the TTB
I’ve tasted smoky oolongs before and floral oolongs before, but I cant quite remember when an oolong was both smoky and floral at the same time. I did short steeps to start, and the first few steeps had lots of smoky notes and a few floral, orchid notes. The subsequent steeps were mostly floral. This was an interesting, complex tea, almost like two different teas rolled into one.

From the TTB
I used two teaspoons and steeped for 5 minutes but this was still rather weak in the mango department. I guess the mango enhances the natural vanilla of the rooibos, but my take is rather, meh. Not sure I’d drink this again.

From the TTB
Yum, this tastes like a bit of banana bread with chocolate as an aftertaste. It smells like banana, and I get some creamy butter in there too. Thanks Inkling for including this in the TTB! I loved Butiki’s banana walnut butterscotch, and this tea reminds me of that one. I like that this tea has different layers, though I’m not getting much walnut. It’s buttered banana bread to start and dusted cocoa to finish.

From the TTB
The first steep was nice and smooth and chocolatey. The second I had to leave in for 10 minutes and it still was a bit weak. I guess I expected a stronger second steep from a tea of this quality, but what I did drink was delicious, but not all that complex.

From the TTB
I came home all jet lagged and cranky from travel and made a nice cup of this before bed. It’s chocolate with a hint of cream and a small spicy aftertaste. It’s one of the better chocolate blends I’ve tasted, not chalky or artificial. I might have to check out what else teasource has to offer.

From the TTB
Chicory is the main thing I taste here, not a whole lot of almonds or caramel. I may have let it steep too long. It wasn’t a bad or bitter taste, just a bit overwhelming. I did look into chicory a bit and it’s good for digestion. If I see this in a store I might be tempted to purchase a box.