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Eh, I’ve never had black currants before, so I don’t know how accurate the flavor here is, but to me this tasted like plastic. I had this cold brewed yesterday, and ended up dumping it out. Not a fan, and it’s going in the swap pile.

So, I had my first test for my Managerial Accounting class, and I got an 82%. I skipped the last two classes, which is when we learned chapter 4, and I didn’t really study (maybe 20 minutes total today). I’m still mad though because despite all of that, I felt like I did really well on the test, and before submitting I was pretty confident that I got most of them right. I really didn’t feel like I got 9 problems wrong. So now I’m going to have to work extra hard to swing an A. And the professor said that it was a hard class to get an A, but I really felt I knew this material. End rant.

So I cold brewed this and took it with me to campus. I’ve never had sencha before so I don’t have anything to compare this to quality wise, but this taste like exactly what I picture a plain iced green to taste like. Like, if I were to go to a place like Panera Bread (or similar “fancy” quick casual type food place) and got an unflavored iced green tea, it would taste like this.

It does make me really want to try some high quality sencha though. And I’ll try it again hot, its just not a priority, and I have a lot of other teas to try first.

I drank this while doing homework and quizzes today and as such wasn’t paying enough attention to right a proper tasting note. I know I enjoyed it, because it had fresh crisp vegetal notes that I love so much and wasn’t smokey like some of the other teas in the sampler are, which I’m not fond of. I want to do a side by side comparison of the 6 no flavored greens teas in the sampler so that I can learn the differences among then and be able to better understand what I do and don’t like in a green tea.

This is the first time I’m having a not otherwise flavored genmaicha. It tastes just like the other ones I’ve tried, but without the spices. The little sample tin I have is chocked full of rice, and the rice flavor really comes through in a delicious toasty way. Genmaichas are just a very satisfying tea to me, warm and toasty and comforting. One of those teas I can drink for a snack and truly feel satisfied after like I just had something hardy.

My first dragon well, and as it turns out, just what I needed to restore my faith in green teas and in the sampler. Deliciously vegetal, and slightly nutty, with a slight sweetness. This Is just what I needed. I seemed to have finished my cup too fast.

Well, this isn’t the vegetal type of green tea that I’m used to. I let it cool, and when I took a sip it was very smokey and astringent, to things I’m not fond of. I think that they suggested 2-3 tsp per 8oz is way too much, which might have contributed to the heavy smoke and astringency. For a fluffy tea, I can understand that much, but for small leaves, at a 2 minute steep? It seems like much too much. I’ll have to try this and the gunpowder again with less leaves and/or less time and see if that helps

My first gunpowder tea. Vegetal and a little almost smokey. Not bad, but not my favorite.

This is my first jasmine tea. I’m surprised that it’s naturally a little sweet. I don’t know, I just wasn’t expecting that, but it’s pleasant. I did end up adding a little bit of pure stevia because I just got it and wanted to try it out (dude that stuff is crazy concentrated, 100g equals 10,000 tsp of sugar).
This is a sweet kind of floral tea. I’m getting more floral than green, but the green is sandwiched in there mildly. The beginning of the sip is floral and sweet, with the green coming in towards the end of the sip, and then there’s the floral again in the after taste. Quite pleasant. I wasn’t sure how I would like it, but it’s good.

Received this and a few other goodies for Father’s Day.

Opening the 4oz bag immediately filled the room with the titular caramel toffee aroma. I just HAD to try a cup right then and there! The pu-erh base tasted earthy, musty, and well…dirty, but I dove right in; baited by the powerful English toffee notes, your humble narrator’s Achilles heel.

I felt the base just wasn’t good enough for the flavour added by the toffee pieces and is the main reason for a lower rating on a recommended tea. The addition of a splash of milk and a tsp sugar help tremendously. I don’t feel it lives up to the name of “dessert in a cup” but it definitely smells like it. I enjoyed it and will have no problem getting through 4oz, but it could’ve been so much better.

Got as a free sample with my Father’s Day gift teapot.

Upon opening the bag you are instantly smacked with a lemon citrus aroma wafting in your face; it’s pleasant. The brew is a glowing red as the lemon scent continues to fill the room. The taste, though not living up to the expectation built up based on the smell, is also pleasant; though the typical chai flavours are subtle. So subtle in fact it’s like pulling teeth to get the to reveal themselves, but they’re there.

Now I rarely do this, but after half a cup of unimpressive tea I opted to add milk and sugar; true chai fashion. Night and day difference. The lemongrass flavours burst forth and the chai spices jump out at you! I enjoyed this tea so much more with this addition.

The missus isn’t a fan of tea, but she did enjoy the smell of this one!

This was a starter tea for me. It is a nice basic Darjeeling but without any of the subtlety that higher quality teas provide. It can be soft and delicate, with a slightly green character, but often is excessively tannic.

A one ounce sample of this was included when I recently bought a teapot. I really wasn’t expecting much. I am pleasantly surprised. The leaf is much nicer looking than standard grocery store loose leaf yet the price is about the same. The brew color is a deep bright copper and the cup scent is almost like tieguanyin with lemon notes. Very interesting. The sip is also a pleasant surprise. The ginger and Ceylon hit first with bite. It makes my cheeks tingle. It is a little astringent but it is a Ceylon and I did steep it at least three minutes. A shorter steep might civilize it (I like it this way). The lemon is present but hides under the ginger until the aftertaste. It is never in your face. The Ceylon comes through throughout. I like that in a flavored tea – because its TEA after all. The leaf is nice looking. The cup is tasty and has depth. I am happily surprised.

sipdown two nights ago :( noooooooo

This tea is my everything! I’ve had like 4 cups (in my new Yixing pot! :) )during the season premiere of Master Chef and I’m still watching it. lol. I’m waiting to order one thing for my birthday—this has gotta be it because I can’t run out!!

Finally I nice floral tasting tea I can add to my cupboard :)

Hmmm. This is good, but not great. And it’s far better than the last kiwi tea I tried.

The base is inoffensive, and unremarkable. It doesn’t overwhelm the flavors, or really compliment it either.

There’s a sweet-tart fruit here, but it doesn’t immediately strike me as kiwi. Sugar coaxes out a definite kiwiness, though. And cooling does so even more. I would imagine this is at it’s best iced.

Got this little sampler when I ordered a tea pot. Smells delightfully spicy and warming on a cold winter night. Boy oh boy, was I in for a treat….

I did not taste any of the lemongrass…couldn’t pick up even a hint of it. The predominant tastes were heavily of black peppercorn and bitter chai. I added honey to try to cut some of the bitterness, but it didn’t help….so I added more….and nothing worked. Nothing helped pick this cup back up, and it got progressively worse the more that it cooled off. Definitely not my cup of tea

Is my taster off? This stuff had a smoke flavor to it that I couldn’t get past. It wasn’t horrible, but it really wasn’t great.

Solid black tea. Smells like amber, tastes a bit fruity with just enough astringency to bring it all back home. I would classify this as a “session tea” much like a pilsner or brown ale if you want a beer analogy. It’s not going to blow you away necessarily but it is a reliable choice.

I’m not an expert at this point, disclaimer.

The aroma was more pungent than I expected. The taste was less forward and I definitely got the nuttiness that is described. Would drink again, but doesn’t stand out to me.

I guess I’m kinda alone on this one, I really didn’t like the tea. I found the fruit flavors to be overpowering and somewhat bitter.

Not the best Sencha I’ve had, but it certainly wasn’t bad.

My first Genmaicha. I can’t say I was thrilled with the taste. There was a definite “grain” taste in it, which, while expected, wasn’t what I had hoped for. It tastes more like a breakfast cereal than a tea.

Delicate, green taste. Beautiful tea, and overall an excellent brew. This was my first gunpowder green tea, and I’m impressed.