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I was sure that this tea was flavoured so until now I’ve avoided it. Turns out that it’s just an Oolong and black tea blend, and a nice and inoffensive one that takes even aggressive brewing well. Better hot than cold, it’s not a very memorable tea, and certainly not worth the price for what it is, but as an “afternoon cuppa” it isn’t bad.

A smooth, malty and fruity tea, good hot and cold, with no astringency. A real revelation, like a combination of Dian Hong with more complex Chinese red teas, a tea that makes you sit up and take notice. Like eating a really rich, sweet, juicy plum with honey on the side. A delight.

Haven’t had this tea in a while, and I forgot how good it is. Like a trumpet solo on an old jazz record- sweet, mellow, smooth and relaxing. A pleasant companion for a sunny winter’s day.

Despite being both single estate and TGFOP1 this tea is cheaper than standard Fortnum and Mason Assam… Oh, well. I’m having it with milk-and-sugar today, so I won’t rate it yet, just note that it’s a pleasant tea that isn’t aggressive enough to hold out against milk-and-sugar.

The Tea House – Covent Garden are experts in fairly priced decent (and slightly better sometimes) tea, and this is no different. The blurb is a little hmm… but otherwise this is a good, everyday Keemun for a good, everyday price. No sweetening needed, as it isn’t astringent, and it has a slightly woody taste to it that adds a little interest to the brew. Large, mature leaves with nary a bud, but again, for the price and the taste you couldn’t expect much more.
It’s raining here today (enough of a rarity still to get everyone’s attention), so this tea was a just the thing.

An overpriced yunnan tea, but if that’s the only Yunnan that you can get, you could do worse. Very slightly astringent, sweet, slightly boring for a Yunnan black – nothing too offensive about it, but nothing too great. It mostly tastes like a very good Ceylon minus the astringency — nothing of the chocolate, sweet potato richness of a better Yunnan. A filler tea that you can easily share even with non-tea enthusiasts. If the price would have been more reasonable for what it is, it would have gotten a better grade.

Hadn’t had this tea in a while, and actually thought that I’d lost the pouch that I had. To my surprise it toppled out of my tea cupboard at work, so of course I brewed up a batch for my colleagues and myself. No sugar or sweetener needed, and even after all this time, this tea is still a winner.

Having this to warm me up, though I know that it’s too late in the day for it. Brewed western style it is a very dry, astringent tea for a Chinese tea, and I doubt that it will hold up to gong fu brewing. This is a case where the tea’s smell, looks and packaging oversell it. Not a great buy, especially considering the premium price, so I’ll probably allocate it to “in dire need only” corner of my work tea cupboard.

This are gorgeous, although blacker than they look in the photograph. Two of these in a gaiwan, steeped gong fu, saved me after a rough day and a raging headache. There is something about taking the time to steep them thoroughly, watching them unfurl, that is supremely soothing. Sweet, malty, chocolaty and smooth, with no astringency, even on longer steeps (although it can have a dark chocolate bitterness to it), this tea is almost too good to share. Like a piece of chocolate that you sneak when nobody’s looking.