Leah Naomi select Send Message

This is fantastic – I LOVE peach, and rose, and this is fresh and juicy. The green tea makes it nice and light, and I imagine it would be just as good iced as it is hot.

This is really good, but really hard to describe. It has a little natural sweetness, no bitterness if brewed properly (I brew pretty much all blacks at 200 to avoid this), and a bit of fruitiness. The rest is earthy in a way I don’t think I am very talented at describing, but I quite like it.

This is delicious. I normally love being punched in the face with cinnamon pretty much always, but this kind of tea makes me reconsider that feeling. It is very very apple-y, and the cinnamon is a bit of a flavorful but not overpowering presence. Just like if you baked apples. Mmmm.

This is very fruity and tasty. I have to be careful not to oversteep, because it will get bitter if I do, but when I do it right it is a very nice cup.

This is fantastic. I LOVE me some chai, and hate when it is weak. I was a bit nervous when I saw the pepper flakes in it, but it really doesn’t create a ton of heat. A healthy splash of milk doesn’t overwhelm it, it tastes spicy with a little kick. Huge huge fan.

This was very tasty. It was of course green, and had a very fresh flavor already, but it wasn’t bitter. It had that sharp edge of rhubarb without being in your face like RHUBARB. Which I think is best for a green tea. I drank it iced and it was refreshing and delicious.

Wow, this is amazing. Well worth all of the stellar reviews. I am sad that once what I have is gone, it will be the end. I have never in my life tasted a cantaloupe tea…but this tastes very strongly of it, and cream. It is dessert in a cup and I love it. Plus, it is great hot and if it cools down it is juicy and refreshing iced as well.

Whoa. This tea is INTENSE. Dry, it smells a little smoky but mostly just earthy. I rinsed it briefly and it smelled like actual burning. I was a little dubious, I admit. The rinse water was like ashtray.

1st steep, 30 seconds: Hello smoke. I can taste almost nothing else. I enjoyed it and sipped until I realized it was so pungent I was bordering on a headache. Never fear though, I already realized what awesomeness could come of cooking with this stuff, and I put a container aside. 30 seconds was clearly too much for me.

2nd steep, 15s: Smoke, but also lots of other deep scents like wood and sweetness coming out. I think a candle needs to be made of this. But upon tasting it, decided it was still too smoky to drink a whole cup, so I added it to the container to make pasta with later.

3d steep, 15s: Ah yes, now I can taste more than just the smoke, though it is still present. It is a bit sweeter, and a lot woodier.

4th steep, 15s: Very similar to the last steep, but less smoke.

5th steep, 30s: I think it is safe to resume longer steeping times. Now this tastes like most oolongs would on first or second steeping. Also, shockingly, the leaves seem to have barely unfurled. Even if I only taste a few sips of every infusion, I am really determined to see how far I can stretch this.

6th steep, 30s: Also delicious, but sadly I am tapped. I steeped the rest for 5 minutes to make the remaining water to boil pasta in for pasta salad. I also cooked my mushrooms in the first steep and it was delicious. It added a meaty flavor that made it seem like I cooked them in beef stock. The leaves were still mostly unfurled and crunchy to the touch. Very impressive.

Overall, a bit too smoky for my taste. But, I do really enjoy the later steeps. Now I know I need to reserve the first few steeps as cooking liquid to make the most out of it, and drink the rest happily.

I really enjoyed this – compared to many of the others I tried, it seemed very balanced in flavor. It had some heartiness, fruitiness, sweetness, and breadiness. I have learned to steep my black teas below boiling to ensure minimum astringency without affecting the flavor too much. This one is a keeper.