This caught my eye yesterday but I made the coconut pouchong instead. Today, it is this one’s turn.
More leaf in this sample so I’m making a big cup tonight. Yay! The dry leaf smells nice. Almost candy-like but not quite like a caramel chew. It brews up to a pretty dark golden liquid with a smell that reminds me of a more roasted oolong – almost a sweet cigar smell – but with heavy caramel overtones. It’s more of a rich, decadent caramel syrup that you’d put in coffee smell instead of a caramel candy smell. I imagine that comes from the burnt sugar part of the flavoring.
The taste is rich yet mild. I can’t taste a lot of oolong, however the caramel taste is such that it doesn’t taste like I’m drinking a flavored tea but more like a scented tea. (Now I’m picturing tea leaves spread out with little caramel candy buds being set on them in preparation for their opening to flavor the tea before they are switched out for more. And more. Anyone know where I can get a caramel plant?) No chemical or fake flavoring taste to be found. This is another well-flavored tea – I’m impressed!
The caramel taste is strongest on the front end, when I can smell it, too, though the smell seems more burnt/caramelized sugar. Then the tastes morphs seamlessly into a sweet dark oolong flavor of floral cigar (though no smoky hints at all – there’s just a similar sweetness) and then the finish that coats my mouth after I swallow is more of the sugar but with caramel tones. Almost like about five minutes ago I finished a dessert that had a caramel whipped cream topping.
I like the coconut pouchong best between these two, but this is still a very good tea. Darker and sweeter in taste than the coconut. But just as good of a pairing of flavoring + tea. If GM’s plain teas are as good as these two flavored have been, I’m going to be a big fan.
ETA: The second steep has lost a lot of the overt caramel/burnt sugar flavoring. Or else that was because of the spicy peanut sauce I just had. But even though the smell and taste aren’t as obvious this time around, it’s still got a great dark sweetness to it and a soft burnt sugar smell.
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Wait till you try the English Breakfast! It’s the best one I’ve had. :) I’ve really liked everything plain in the sampler that I’ve tried. The white tea was phenomenal, but I found the Organic Green to be a bit weak. Everything has been pretty awesome.
The flavors and the tea blend so well together. That’s what I love about them. You can taste both flavors separately, but you can also taste the new flavor and blend that they create. I AM SO SPOILED.
I was actually eying their French Breakfast yesterday! Okay, okay, I was pretty much eying ALL of it yesterday. I don’t know why but I’m turning into a sucker for any sort of non-English or Irish breakfast blend. (Okay, and I’m a bit of a sucker for those, too).
Had my one on this one for awhile. I’m beginning to think I should just suck it up and order the GM sampler.
DO IT! I’ve only tried two but I’m happy I got it!
Seriously! I have yet to read one bad review…
Bethany and sophristre, doooo itttt. :) “teareviewblog” coupon code got me free shipping. Don’t know if it works, but it’s worth a shot!
GMT is quickly moving up my list of tea companies to try soon!
Damnit guys, stop bragging about your GM samplers! You’re making me jealous and I promised myself I wouldn’t buy any more tea until after X-mas! :P
It’s now on ye olde shopping list. But with more reviews like this, it’s going to be shooting up the charts with a bullet. :9
Man, I gotta opt in here for checking out this tea – never had GM before but thats gonna change here soon!! :)
Companies should learn from GM and start offering samplers of their tea selection. ORDER IT! It’s totally worth it.
Delete less than a minute ago
I agree with Ricky – I’ve been able to sample so many different teas and expand my tea knowledge. Since all the samples are 1-2 cups, it’s not a huge amount of tea in your house, but it is the ENTIRE GM catalog. All 31 varieties. I don’t know of any other company that has made a sample package with every single one of their teas. It’s actually remarkable.
I mean, obviously you’re going to like some more than others, but they’re an extremely solid company, and the sampler is just FUN.
Oh man, this one sounds good. I was planning to wait until AFTER Christmas to buy more teas too. I’ll just bookmark GM.
I made a physical list of tea companies I want to try just so I could put the GMT sampler near the top. It might well be my next order next year after I drink through some of my tea.
I CANNOT GET THIS UNTIL THE HOLIDAYS ARE OVER. I CANNOT GET THIS UNTIL THE HOLIDAYS ARE OVER. I CANNOT GET THIS UNTIL THE HOLIDAYS ARE OVER.
Yes, that’s me, shivering in the corner in the fetal position with my hands over my ears. LEAVE ME ALONE, WILL YOU?
Wait till you try the English Breakfast! It’s the best one I’ve had. :) I’ve really liked everything plain in the sampler that I’ve tried. The white tea was phenomenal, but I found the Organic Green to be a bit weak. Everything has been pretty awesome.
The flavors and the tea blend so well together. That’s what I love about them. You can taste both flavors separately, but you can also taste the new flavor and blend that they create. I AM SO SPOILED.
I was actually eying their French Breakfast yesterday! Okay, okay, I was pretty much eying ALL of it yesterday. I don’t know why but I’m turning into a sucker for any sort of non-English or Irish breakfast blend. (Okay, and I’m a bit of a sucker for those, too).
Had my one on this one for awhile. I’m beginning to think I should just suck it up and order the GM sampler.
DO IT! I’ve only tried two but I’m happy I got it!
Seriously! I have yet to read one bad review…
Bethany and sophristre, doooo itttt. :) “teareviewblog” coupon code got me free shipping. Don’t know if it works, but it’s worth a shot!
GMT is quickly moving up my list of tea companies to try soon!
Damnit guys, stop bragging about your GM samplers! You’re making me jealous and I promised myself I wouldn’t buy any more tea until after X-mas! :P
It’s now on ye olde shopping list. But with more reviews like this, it’s going to be shooting up the charts with a bullet. :9
Man, I gotta opt in here for checking out this tea – never had GM before but thats gonna change here soon!! :)
Companies should learn from GM and start offering samplers of their tea selection. ORDER IT! It’s totally worth it.
Delete less than a minute ago
I agree with Ricky – I’ve been able to sample so many different teas and expand my tea knowledge. Since all the samples are 1-2 cups, it’s not a huge amount of tea in your house, but it is the ENTIRE GM catalog. All 31 varieties. I don’t know of any other company that has made a sample package with every single one of their teas. It’s actually remarkable.
I mean, obviously you’re going to like some more than others, but they’re an extremely solid company, and the sampler is just FUN.
Oh man, this one sounds good. I was planning to wait until AFTER Christmas to buy more teas too. I’ll just bookmark GM.
I made a physical list of tea companies I want to try just so I could put the GMT sampler near the top. It might well be my next order next year after I drink through some of my tea.
I CANNOT GET THIS UNTIL THE HOLIDAYS ARE OVER. I CANNOT GET THIS UNTIL THE HOLIDAYS ARE OVER. I CANNOT GET THIS UNTIL THE HOLIDAYS ARE OVER.
Yes, that’s me, shivering in the corner in the fetal position with my hands over my ears. LEAVE ME ALONE, WILL YOU?