Golden Moon Tea

What can I say, Let me count the ways I love this tea! Second infusion, plain with chocolate. First infusion add raw sugar and a splash of milk and drink up before it gets cold. This is my all time favorite tea…smooth, drinkable, pairs perfectly with breakfast foods, affordable…this is one that I buy in bulk cuz I don’t want to ever be without this tea. It is a keeper in my cupboard:)

According to my cupboard, I have drank this tea 17 times. FALSE I say! This is one of two teas in my cupboard that get a lot of drink time. I buy this tea in bulk, because I do not want to ever run out. I just love the smoothness of this one and yet it the undetones are complex. The first brewing I always add some type of sweetener and a splash of milk. The second brewing is good plain, hot or cold. Versatility in one tea sounds like a bargain to me:)

I am finishing the last of this tea tonight and since I am expecting a new shipment in a few days, I thought it safe enough to empty the tin. This has long been a favorite of mine, I love the smoothness, the lack of astringency and the versatility…let me explain that last point: as I was strolling around the GM website, I read the description of this tea from Marcus," If you drink the tea without milk and sugar/honey, then the second infusion is better than the first ." So my routine is to brew up a pot of this wonderful tea, add raw sugar and milk and drink that right up. The second brewing I drink plain(it pairs very well with dark chocolate):) I get that milky first cup of the morning AND I get another great cup of Ceylon…which is good hot or cold.

Made this tea the way Marcus describes this morning. Raw sugar and milk added before I add the tea to my cup. It is a complex cup, but I am not getting chocolate notes. I fear my brewing method is still lackig something:(

Added rock crystals in the brew basket. Drinking this plain today. It really reminds me of the Blood Orange Black tea without the orange…kinda wishing I had the orange notes in this cuppa:(

I am back to my all time favorite this morning.
Added raw sugar and 2% milk on the first pot, the second steeping I only added raw sugar, and I liked it:) Maybe it is because it is a weaker pot, but I am really liking my cuppa this morning!!!

Still my favorite tea by a country mile:)
Smooth, not bitter and it pairs nicely with chocolate.

drank this tea all day. Just kept reinfusing the leaves and making it iced:)

With the warmer weather upon me, I cannot add milk to my tea any longer.
I drank this tea with no sweetener or milk and you know what?
I liked it:)

I took Marcus Stouts advice about quick rinsing the leaves. WOW, what a difference in this mornings cup. Smooth, OMG wonderful, I remember why I love this tea so much kind of diffence.
I just love his weekly emails offering tips about tea:)

Second infusion today, I added Hazelnut creamer to my cup. Delicious! Now, I really remember why I loved this tea so much. You can add different flavored creamers and get a totally different cup of tea. Don’t get me wrong, the tea is good all by itself…I just like the versatility of this tea:)

My GM order came sometime yesterday, hubby brought the box to me last night! EXCITEMENT! I knew what I was going to drink this morning-YEA
added some milk and viola: perfection in a cup.
second infusion added raw sugar and milk: even better than the first cup:)
This tea is very similar to PG TIPs without the boldness of the Assam. This is a tea I can drink throughout the day with different additions. I hope I continue to love this tea as I purchased half a pound and now today I noticed that GM is having a 15% sale on all their teas…UGH…my timing was off or was it?…as I sip my Sinharaja..eyes closed…ummm.

The last of this tea is upon me. I have been considering ordering Ceylon from another company, I have actually looked at Teas Etc, Upton and Drink the Leaf. I could take a chance on another company or just spend the money and go with what I know is good. I have spent so much money on tea and then it ends up in my daughter’s cupboard!

Sinharaja. I have missed you in my cupboard. Opened the brand new tin, inhaled…smells like tea, really good tea and I proceeded to brew a pot of tea. Boiling water and 4 minutes later, I am in heaven with this one.

Simple. One taste. Pure enjoyment. I did add two soup spoons of milk to my 12 ounce cup. It looks like velvet. I have never noticed this tea being bitter or astringent. I drink it morning, noon and night. Multiple brews are possible, although I have never had much luck going past two infusions.

I am glad the mail came today:)

Drinking this tea this morning with hazelnut creamer. Yummy!
This tea is stronger than the French Breakfast tea from Golden Moon. I like to drink this Ceylon with creamer.

This has become my everyday tea:)
Smooth flavors, no after bite.
I did do something today that will probably send shivers down some tea lovers spines…I added a hazelnut creamer to my cup. The result was really good. I love the taste of hazelnut and sometimes wish I could have that flavor profile with this tea. The use of the creamer solved that problem. Much creamier than 2% milk. I think I actually like this better than Adiago’s Hazelnut. My hubby will be glad about that since he thinks I have too much anyway…LOL…can you ever have too much tea?? I think not:)

After reading the other reviews on this tea, I did not add sugar when I brewed this tea this morning. I only added a spoon of milk to a 6 oz cup. Perfect ratio. The taste of the tea really comes alive. Not bitter and has no “bite” afterwards like so many breakfast type teas.

Started yesterday and today out with this tea. Delicious. Probably the best black tea I have had, others pale to this one. The taste is smooth and simple. Most black teas that I have had were blends, this is just simple. One taste, pure enjoyment.

Ordered this on the Steepster Select special on an impulse…free shipping I could not resist! Got the tea today, made a pot. The smell is rich. The brew is smooth. I added rock crystals and milk. I drank two pots of this tea. Wonderful breakfast tea. I love that is not bitter and is lighter than a china black tea. The 3 oz tin is full but I am still wondering how long this will last since I plan on drinking this every morning:)

I have been having trouble “communicating” with white teas, so I was not real excited when I picked this one out of the sampler box—I was wrong! Pretty green leaves with tiny chrysanthemums steep into a pale golden nectar. A fragrant, not overly floral aroma. Very sweet and more substantial than I expected. 2nd steep—the moment was gone—darker, no sweetness, although some nuttiness, not nearly as good. But the 1st infusion-wow!

Didn’t know exactly how to steep this as it was a green and black tea blend, so held the temperature around 175 for 2.5 minutes for the full sample bag. I would definitely order this tea, I like the way the vanilla calms down the mint and the black tea alerts you as the green tea soothes. It was just what I needed this afternoon as a refreshing tea. I’d love to try this one iced.

Powerful jasmine aroma and beautifully formed dark olive/white-striped pearls. Steeped tea has lovely sweet notes with a lighter jasmine aroma. I sometimes find floral teas too fragrant, which affects my enjoyment of the tea; this tea has a nice balance. 2nd steeping a bit muted in aroma and flavor but still pretty good.

So this is my first gunpowder tea experience, I have to say, I’m not all that impressed. Right from the get-go, the smell of the leaves, I smelled a strong almost burnt green smell, it reminded me of bitter and earthy green tea, uh-oh.

I brewed the sample hot, 2.5 minutes, no additives. The smell of the tea is very green: vegetal, earthy, rough, a heavy smell that tells you the mouth feel will not be smooth or short. I usually like green tea, furthermore, I usually like overinfused and bitter green, but this is a different beast altogether. The taste of this tea starts as green, very bitter green, but there is an unpleasant smoky-ness to it, not like Lapsang Souchong, like unintentionally burned tea, followed by more bitter and finished with a strangely misplaced hit of sweetness. Surprisingly, there is no aftertaste.

So, bitter, burnt, bitter, sweet, nothing.

There are probably ways to fix this, adding sugar or messing with infusion times. Since my sample is out, I will have to try something else.