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GCTTB

Brewed western style. This is definitely one of the sweetest straight black teas I’ve ever had. It comes through in both the taste and the smell. Mildly malty, and smooth. I got almost a chocolatey vibe off of this one. The gran, who can’t tell the difference from one tea to another took a sip, and remarked on the sweetness as well which says something to me. Nothing harsh, with but a hint of spice as I continue the cup. This is one that I think I’ll pick up some time. Also, on my second steep, I added just a couple drops of vanilla extract to, and oh man, that’s so good!

GCTTB

These leaves are dark and curly. Nice amber color. Wow! In the first few steeps in my 5 oz gong fu pot, the aroma is so great. Intensely fruity and sweet, and I’m happy that it leans more towards peaches, as opposed to the prune flavor a get with some Dancongs. There’s also a background of something else. Lychee, maybe. Around the fourth steep, the fruit flavor starts to back a back seat to the sweet honey notes, and I notice that though the flavor is starting to weaken, the leaves haven’t unfurled much compared to a lot of other Oolong I’ve had recently. It starts out strong and tastes great while it lasts, it bust doesn’t last very long.

Thanks so much to Sil for including this one in the HGTTB for me!
I’m so excited to try this! I’ve almost brewed it a couple of times, but as it’s the first tea I’ll be having from Nina’s Paris, I wanted to wait until I’d have some undistracted time to try it. Dry, it smells mostly of sour fruit and roses, with a follow up of sweet vanilla. As the water hits the leaves though, I get mostly green, with a bit of floral, and I was worried for a minute that this might be all that I would get in the flavor. Luckily, my fears were unfounded!
The taste of this is so juicy, without being fake or to the level of watered down fruit juice. For me, the rose is in the fore-front, and followed by fruit. I can’t really pick one out specifically, but if I had to, I would say cherry, rather than strawberery, takes the spotlight. Just picked cherry flavor though, not maraschino from a jar. The black base is smooth, but doesn’t really make itself known compared to the green in this cup. This is fine with me, as
The smell gets better and better as it cools. The vanilla really comes out, and the scent reminds me a little of a campino candy, but with less sugar and more freshness. The crispness of the green seems to recede a little, allowing the other flavors some time to shine. I brewed this as a black, and it’s not bitter, with just a hint of astringency after the sip. I’m excited to try this brewed as a green next time, and thanks to Sil being very generous with the amount when I asked to sample this, I can!

HGTTB

At first this didn’t smell like much in the bag, but the second the water hit the leaves, a strong aroma of rich chocolate with a bit of coconut wafted up from my cup. I had high hopes for this one from that smell. Unfortunately, the taste doesn’t live up to that scent at all. I taste mostly a kind of weirdly sour black tea. There is a little bit of cream, and I can taste a little bit of chocolate, but its more like the taste you would get from a month old Easter bunny, as opposed to the high quality Swiss chocolate I was hoping for. It also doesn’t seem to be playing well with my stomach. I finished this one off. I`m glad I got to try it, if only to cross it off my list. Maybe I`ll stick to Della Terra for my dessert blends, just so good!

HGTTB

Mmm! This smells so rich and creamy. Almost musty. There’s lots of shredded coconut and dried pineapple pieces among the leaves. It does produce a bit of oily film on the top. The taste is very rich. I’m getting a white chocolate or heavy cream feel, more than young fresh coconut. Even the boyfriend, who doesn’t care much for tea called it “very thick, for a tea”. The pineapple lingers longer on the tongue than the coconut, tasty fresh citrus. If I didn’t already have so much pina colada flavored tea, I would consider picking some of this up. It’s very smooth and desserty. Yum!

HGTTB

At first, I wasn’t too big on the taste of this tea. It has a light scent of rose, and the bright smell that is lychee fruit. The more I drink it, the more I warm up to it. It reminds me of my favorite Lychee bubble tea I used to get whenever I went to West Edmonton Mall. It doesn’t seem to have a lot of different layers to it, but it’s a nice mix, smooth. It leaves a suprisingly sour after-taste. I’m glad I tried it, but I don’t think it’s one I would need to keep on my shelf.

HGTTB

I will not look at other tasting notes before I finish this one. While I’m usually a fan of the smell of Lapsang Souchong, I’m usually not as big on the actual taste. I literally shoved my nose in the bag after I took the last on this tea out. While the smoke is the first thing that I immediately notice, it doesn’t take over. There’s just a hint of sweet, almost fruitiness to it, that I’m attributing to Oolong. Raisin, maybe even a bit of bread? This is a great, flavorful cup. It doesn’t make my mind scream “zomg” Rather, it makes me picture a dewy autumn morning, and a campfire just gone out. It’s not overpowering, but bold enough to keep my attention. Black and smokey, just a touch of wood, followed up by a lingering sweetness. It seems very well blended. The words “young” and “fresh” come to mind. I really need to get some of this for nights spent by a campfire.