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Sipdown, sadly…this is a real gem of a tea, and I thank cavocorax for the pleasure of a few steeps of this one. Although I really do prefer Caramel Vanilla Assam over this, this one is so smooth, so amazingly balanced, not astringent, with some sweetness…it is one amazing tea, for sure. It’s one of the few black teas I can drink straight, with only a small amount of sugar. Usually, I add milk with black teas, and it is probably to cut the astringency, I now know.

Sipdown…I think this is a better steep than the first one. I added more sugar, and milk, and the berry notes pop with juiciness all over my mouth. It does remind me a little of Blueberry Jam, but it is not quite the same. And this one is stevia free which I like. I might be willing to try a little more of this at some point down the road.

Super nice tea tonight…two steeps of it. It was the thing I needed to have with my dinner tonight (KD, fancy, I know). The last of the pu erh plus mac n cheese was sooo heavy, so I made this up to help lighten everything up. It was a success! I’m curious to see if the flowery pineapple oolong is more pineapple-y than this.

Did one rinse of this, probably ought to have done the two, but I like a stronger pu erh so I can add milk and sugar…it is almost like coffee that way. It was quite a dark brew, and quite strong. Maybe I’ll do more rinses and try it sans milk at some point also.

This one comes from CrowKettle from our last meet up. It’s pretty good, but I think I like flavored pu erh more…chocolate and caramel are particularly good combos for this earthy type of tea.

I might try using some of this with saigon chai. I’m itching for a good pu erh chai.

Thanks again for this sample.

This is one of the new teas I got samples of from Angel at Teavivre, but it appears I have had a previous harvest of this tea. It seems like I really want to like this one, but I have immense trouble getting the right amount of leaf and water right.

Right off the bat I got a stronger brew than my first time, but it was a bit mineraly and a little astringent. I’m not getting sweet potato at all. I wish I was, though. I wish I was getting caramel and honey with sweet potato…but I’m not.

I just don’t know what to make of this tea. The leaves are long and spindly, and with more leaf and longer steep time, I am getting a darker and more bodied brew, but I did need to add sugar as it was a bit bitter.

I feel like if I get the balance right, it can be a great tea, but finding that balance has been tricky, so far.

I thank Angel for providing this sample for me to try again. Sometimes harvests can very, but this tea still seems finicky to me.

Got some of this from CrowKettle at our Vancouver swap in August. I have looked at this at the local Silk Road store and wanted to try it but it is pretty pricy, so I’m grateful to have the chance to try some first.

The leaves are quite big, and dark brown, and they brew up to be a nice mildly toasty steep. There is a little cocoa caramel sweet potato taste here. This type of oolong is a favourite of mine. I find it to be milder than a black and not as astringent, I don’t need any milk with this. It’s smooth and roasty. It’s simple and yet soothing. Very nice.

Backlog…had this last night, and a re-steep this morning.

I used about half of the small sample pouch provided by Teavivre for the steep. I got a very standard medium oolong taste. The liquor was still quite pale in my travel mug, but golden yellow. There was a crisp and clean taste, with a medium floral tone as well…nothing overpowering or perfumey, and a light roasted flavour. But in general, it was mostly clean and floral and I can see why they call this an oolong for beginners.

I don’t think this is quite as tasty as the flavoured milk oolong I have had from them, but it is tasty. I know I will enjoy the rest of the sample pouch, and the other oolongs I have been provided with.

Thanks Angel at Teavivre for letting me try this one.

Polished off the rest of my sample of this from OMGsrsly tonight. I had it hot, and it is equally delicious this way. I’m so happy to know that I like honeybush. It’s so much better than rooibos for me. At least the Della Terra ones. Having a caffeine free tea I like that is also good hot is a plus in my book. I think I like the Nut n Honeybush slightly better hot than this, this has the benefit of being good iced and cold brewed. I’m not sure how well Nut n Honeybush is cold.

I have a pouch of the lemon version of this. I’m sure it is just as yummy.

This is an odd tea, but tastes pretty much what you ‘d expect…that is sweet and salty. I think the black base is a little strong…either that or I over-leafed. This one is definitely warming me up though. Or maybe that was the yoga like stretching. Could be both, I suppose. It’s comforting, but I may sound bad when I say this…I think I’m gonna save my salted caramel tastebuds for Starbucks hot chocolate. I think I like it better that way. Maybe it is the chocolate? I dunno. I’ll have to try a mocha latte with the caramel and salt topping to see how that compares…maybe it is the chocolate.

This is good, but I doubt I’d buy it regularly. I have a decent sized sample from ShayneBear so I do thank him for letting me try it.

Two steeps of this tea, Western style…it tastes like all the other yunnans I’ve had, which is to say, yummy, but I don’t really have much to single this one out than others. I’m not one to taste little things here and there. It tasted the way a good yunnan should. First steep was small amount of sugar only, second steep was milk and small amount of sugar.