Far Leaves Tea

Strong smoke (though not very strong).

This is a fine chamomile/mint blend, but sadly I don’t taste any lavender. I would have liked to! There is a hint of…something in the aftertaste, so maybe that’s the valerian? I’ve never tasted it before so I couldn’t say. It’s a little sweet and almost woody. This is nice but the truth is if I’m going to have chamomile and mint I prefer to blend them myself.

This was a pleasant relaxing tea. The main taste I get out of it is the mint. It’s not super strong but it evens everything out and makes it refreshing. While I like my fruity herbals it is nice to have something a little on the lighter side before bed once in a while.

Teeny Tiny Tea Box round 2

Sampling this because I smelled all the teas in this box (which is a LOT of tea) and this is one that looked like it would soothe my tummy!
A pretty decent chamomile blend. A bit too heavy on the chamomile, not enough with the peppermint.
It makes a nice bedtime tea!

This is really delicious – it is crisp, and almost doesn’t taste like oolong to me. It is very sweet, and smells sweet dry too. Once steeped it has a floral aspect, and the first steep tastes a little fruity. I got three steeps, and probably could have done more, but I tend to not last much longer than that before wanting to move on.

Wow! This is so delicious and so complex. It’s hard to describe but I’m going to give it a try. It’s definitely sweet and floral, but there’s also a vegetal note like green beans or snap peas. The sweetness is like honey and the floral notes mix with the other flavors so that the whole thing feels like a progression. Luckily I have some of this left, because I’m going to have to ponder whether I want to buy some of this. I think the answer might be yes!

This is actually one of the better nighttime teas I have had. It is mostly chamomile, but the mint smooths things out a lot. Smooth is a really good way to describe it – most teas like this are floral/herbal, but few I have had have this smoothness.

This is fine. It’s really like many other chamomile evening teas I have had. This cup and one more and I’ll be done with it.

As far as simple oolongs go, this one is actually pretty nice.

The flavours are clean and well executed…I get notes of a tart fruit – maybe plum? – and some toasted (rice? wheat? barley?) hints that linger at the end of each mouthful.

There’s a smooth mouthfeel – no astringency or bitterness – and it’s just such an enjoyable tea that I’m sitting here happy to be drinking it. I’d highly recommend it for days when you just want a simple, easy cup that doesn’t really ask a lot from your tastebuds.

Just got up a few minutes ago, so feeling a little foggy.

Picked this out of the sample box at random. 1st sip: It’s interesting, nothing I’d want to keep around however. Fortunately I am able to keep sipping the cup. sleepy smiles

Backlog:

A delicious, buttery Dragon Well. Really nice! It tastes pure and refreshing. This is really good … sweet, vegetative, and buttery … like freshly steamed vegetables that have been lightly buttered. YUM!

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/03/30/dragon-well-green-tea-from-far-leaves/

Just an update. I tried resteeping this tea tonight, in hope that other flavors would come out more. No dice. Second steep is generally the same, a little weaker overall. 3rd is about the same.

The aroma of this tea is great. The chamomile is dominant with the peppermint and lavender come out just enough to appreciate.

Like the smell, the chamomile has the strongest flavor. The peppermint leaves a slight cool feeling on the tongue but it doesn’t come through as much as I’d like. Still, It does a good job of rounding out the flavor. Unfortunately the taste of lavender is completely absent.

Overall, this is a good tea. I was expecting more but if you like chamomile and you are looking for something slightly different, I’d recommend it.

This morning I woke up and all I wanted was a cup of this oolong. This time I steeped it with 4 blossoms called Red Roses that I got from the Far Leaves Tea Shop. I can’t add it to the database (I get an error) but you can find it here:
http://www.farleaves.com/shop/tea_page.php3?tea_id=147

Anyways, it was great. The roses added a beautiful aroma and a slight sweetness to the tea. It’s even better with a little honey (seriously, a little, like 1-2 drops) as it brings out the roses even more.

This is the first loose leaf tea I’ve ever made. I used my brand new IngenuiTea. I was impressed. The tea had a very earthy, nutty flavor. Very happy with my first foray into the tea world.

Side note: If you live in the area, the Far Leaves Tea in Berkeley is a great store and they even gave us a free cup of tea.

I found the Far Leaves tea shop near me while Yelping ‘loose tea’ in Berkeley. Quaint, authentic tea room with a very earthy feel, and nice ‘indie beardie’ counter guy. I went in hoping to find a straight up lavender tea and straight up spearmint, as I have been doing my own concoctions and was thrilled to find both in their Lavender White tea. The dry tea smells almost exactly like the taste, and its a beautifully balanced tea. The (what I think is) spearmint is prominent, but not overpowering, and the lavender is understated-exactly what I wanted. A wonderful tea-great price too!

Backlog:

A really good Dong Ding. I really like this company, I’ve been very impressed with their quality. Lovely mild floral notes, sweet, nutty and hints of caramel. Good for many infusions.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/02/12/dong-ding-oolong-from-far-leaves-tea/

First sample of a Far Leaves Tea and this is quite nice. Here are my snippets from the full review that will post on the 13th of April.

The dry leaf is typical for a green Dong Ding oolong and has a lovely light floral aroma. I am getting a bit of a white lilac aroma from the dry leaf.

The taste in the first steep is more toward the floral side with just a hint at nuttiness, not as buttery or creamy as some Dong Ding, but there is a slight vanilla undertone to the taste. If you swish the tea around in your mouth you will feel more of the creaminess and richness. The resulting aftertaste is floral.

I generally prefer a dark roasted oolong but this is quite lovely and the quality of this tea makes me want to explore more of Far Leaves options.

I had my doubts about this … as I tend to do with any herbal infusion, but, I’m very pleasantly surprised at how much I like this. It is very soothing, and I like that none of the ingredients are really overwhelming the cup… I taste each of the ingredients without any one of them tasting too strong, it’s all very nicely balanced.

The peppermint does’t have the peppermint ZING here, it’s very smooth and adds a nice, sweet element to the flavor, and the chamomile and lavender tastes floral without sharpness. It’s very pleasant.

This is awesome!

I think that the brief description of this tea on the Far Leaves website pretty much sums up my first impressions of this tea: it has qualities that remind me of green, Oolong and black teas … and even a white tea. It is rich and flavorful, but, there is a certain delicateness and sereneness to this that reminds me so much of a pure, crisp white tea.

It is smooth and it has a sweet and sour kind of composition, reminding me of a plum … it has that sweetness of a plum, but also the tartness of it. A really enjoyable, complex tea. Earthy with hints of flower, but it isn’t an overly floral Oolong. Not a strong vegetative tone, but there are hints of vegetation in the background.

Just a really lovely, interesting Oolong that is a delightful departure from the Oolong teas that I’ve been drinking lately. Not that I’ve disliked what I have been drinking – they’ve been amazing – but sometimes, its nice to find something that is just different and off the beaten path.