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I’m not feeling so well today and not in the mood for any new tea experiences. Every time I go to the tea cupboard I end up thinking: “I think I’ll have another cup of this.” Currently contemplating cup number four…

The addiction has continued over this weekend. ;-)

Having another cup of this. This is definitely this week’s favourite new tea.

I seem to be on an oolong kick this week, because here’s another one. The osmanthus flowers look very pretty when steeping and they also give a faint sweetness to the aroma. That slight sweetness is also present in the flavour. This is one of the best oolongs I’ve tried. I’ll definitely be drinking more of it.

A mild oolong, with the rose buds giving it just that hint of an extra something. This is one of those teas that works best on the second steeping.

This is one of my staple Chinese greens. It’s very smooth and a little grassy to taste, but not as much as a Japanese green.

This is fast becoming a favourite.

Having another cup of this and getting towards the end of the sample packet. I’ll be ordering a full packet of this one.

A Chinese green that makes a brew of a relatively strong yellow. The taste is moderately malty and nicely smooth. I really like this one.

A delicate tea with a slightly malty taste. The second steeping has more body and I like it better.

Made this up into a chaiffogato tonight: one cup very strong chai over one scoop of vanilla ice cream, stir in a dash of honey and sprinkle chocolate over the top. A bit like a very light hot chocolate.

When I was growing up, my family drank tea and coffee, both with milk, about 50-50, but I only ever drank coffee. A few years ago, I gave up coffee almost completely and found white tea, and then green tea. I still don’t go in for black teas all that much, and I hardly ever drink tea with milk.

This tea is an exception. Steep in boiling water for at least five minutes, add milk and honey, and on days like today when the cold fingers of winter first reach out to touch us I don’t miss the flavoured lattes that used to be my favourite during the colder months.

I first had Genmaicha years ago when I was very new to green tea. The person who introduced me to it didn’t brew it properly and, of course, I didn’t like it. This time I’ve used water at 77C and steeped it for two and a half minutes, and it’s much, much better. It produces the typical light yellow brew of a Japanese green, and I really like the slightly nutty taste. I’m not so crazy about the smell, which reminds me of slightly burnt toasted breakfast cereal.

This is a nice, light floral tea. The leaves are full of flowers, including rosebuds. I can taste the jasmine especially, and right now I can really feel the antioxidants hitting my system and giving everything a little boost.

It’s turned out slightly more astringent than usual this time, but it’s still an excellent tea, much better than the other gyokuro I tried. Worth taking the time to savour.

Because I haven’t had a Japanese green for a while. And what better Japanese green is there than this? Sweet, rich and just an all-round beautiful cup of tea. Two teaspoons of leaves per cup, steeped for one and a half minutes in water at 55C.

This tea is wonderful now that I’ve hit on exactly the right way to brew it. Mmmm.

This is a beautiful tea. Pale yellow in colour, smooth and slightly malty to the taste and with a very soft, grassy scent. I got this just exactly right this time: two teaspoons of tea leaves per cup, steeping for one and a half minutes in water at 55C.

This is the favourite green tea of a friend of mine, so I’ve been looking forward to trying it for a while.

It makes a yellow brew with a distinctive aroma. It’s light but not as delicate as some of the white teas. The taste is mellow, with some subtle qualities that come out more as you continue to drink, and it’s not at all bitter so long as you get the water temperature right. I was careful to use water well under boiling point – around 60C (140F) – and to steep for not much more than a minute.

The longer I drink this, the more I like it.

This sounds like a really interesting mix, but it brews up into just another red fruit tea. It has a slightly bitter aftertaste, and I couldn’t detect the mint at all. Drinkable but disappointing.

This is the big brother of the Jasmine Dragon Pearls from the same place that I drank a few days ago. The added jasmine really makes Silver Needle tea for me, and this one is so fun to watch unfurling in the pot.

I haven’t had any dragon pearls for a while, so I was really happy to see them along with the other teas that kaiz sent to me for my birthday. The flavour is a really beautiful balance of silver needle and jasmine. I’ve been drinking these steadily for the past couple of days and I’m not sick of them yet: a love affair re-kindled!

I generally find Silver Needle just a little too mild for my liking, but I love these. The jasmine accent sets off this delicate tea beautifully, and I love watching the pearls unfurl in my glass tea pot.

I’m not as keen on this one as I was. There are quite a lot of interesting notes in the scent from the dry leaves that get lost once the tea is brewed.