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This is just gross. I can’t even drink it. Musty, weird smell and taste. Leaves that are a real dusty, rusty, dull dark brown. Good-coloured liquor but that’s the only thing it has going for it. It’s rare for me to throw away a pot of tea undrunk but I did last night.

This is not your average run of the mill roasted dandelion… it’s pretty hard core. Mixture of finely- and medium- ground particles, dark brown in colour, brews up a cloudy very dark brown infusion. I’m drinking it plain this morning although it also goes well with milk. It’s a nice toasty flavour, a touch of bitterness which is what I’m really craving for some reason today.

This was just the pick me up I needed earlier this evening chez my mum and dad… Thumbs up.

Had another cup of this this morning, was tossing up between this and the Ti Kuan Yin, this one won because it was already on the bench near my teapot. I was a bit worried actually that 4 minutes might be too long and make it too strong, as I put in quite a heaping teaspoonful into the pot, but it was still very smooth and good to drink. This is definitely a good flavour for the colder weather.

This tea consists of very small, relatively neat, dark black leaves. It’s quite pleasant. A touch smoky, quite smooth drinking. Not that much different to the Keemun from The Tea Centre actually. I am always craving teas that I don’t have, and this morning I could really have gone for a strong malty Assam, but this actually was not a bad substitute. Haven’t tried it with milk yet – next time maybe.

This was a bit meh this morning. I got interrupted and had to let it get nearly cold before I could finish it, which kind of defeated the purpose of having a warm drink on a cold rainy morning. Never mind!

Yum, just what I need for an afternoon pick me up today…

This is very similar in looks, scent and taste to the ‘oolong’ tea that came in the same pack. The main discernible difference is that it’s a little less fruity, a little more earthy. Ordinary but still ok drinking, especially in this cold weather that is less conducive to very flowery oolongs…

This is a very dark oolong, the leaves are extremely uneven in size and range in colour from dark golden-brown to nearly black. It came in a pack of 6 mini-tins that cost me $7.50 or so… so I was not expecting much. In fact I’m not quite sure why I purchased the pack except that a.) I occasionally have a perverse desire to drink cheap tea just to see if it really is worthwhile paying out so much money for quality as I usually do, and b.) I needed to make up my purchase amount to be over $20 so I could use EFTPOS as I had no cash. Also sometimes given that the baby can disrupt my tea drinking occasions so greatly, I don’t always get the proper value out of the fancier, more expensive teas that I have… so I feel a bit better about drinking something less precious. Is that bad?

Anyway, so as I said, I wasn’t expecting much from this tea. And it’s not spectacular, but it is ok. It is not stale tasting or musty as I feared it would be; it is a little leathery, a tiny bit fruity, a reasonable oolong to get by with. Not sure if I’ll go buy any more once the little tin is finished but I’ll keep it in mind.

Ok, have been on a mission since yesterday to get this out of my cupboard! Mission now accomplished. Discovered yesterday that if you make a single cup with 2 teaspoons of tea instead of just one and steep it for 5 minutes, it has flavour! So I finished off the last two teaspoons of tea this morning. Milk, touch of maltiness, nice.

Not going to bother purchasing any more English Breakfast of any kind for a long time I think.