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This is a great Irish Breakfast. I first started drinking tea when I was in Ireland, and it became a habit that carried over when I came back. I much prefer Irish Breakfast to English Breakfast now. It’s heartier, more flavorful, fuller.

This is one of the better ones I’ve tried. It’s dark and malty without being bitter, and sometimes I get little notes of cinnamon. I really like it hot and plain, but it’s fantastic when iced with a splash of milk. (Interesting, because when I was in Ireland, I NEVER added milk or sugar to my tea, or drank anything iced.)

I just got a small sample size from Adagio – I’m definitely ordering more now.

I ended up with this by accident. I placed an order with Amazon for Art of Tea’s Silver Needles and their Coconut Cream, and was sent this Mandarin Silk instead of the Silver Needles. Just a human error, I think – the packing label said Silver Needles. So I contacted Amazon and they said “We’re very sorry. We’ll refund your account; place another order for the Silver Needles and dispose of the Mandarin Silk in whatever way you feel fit.”
So I drank it.
And it’s good.

The leaves in the tin are very fragrant – sort of like oranges and cream. They’re rolled into very long, thin leaves. It brews a beautiful bronze color, and the light shining through it is lovely! It’s definitely a dessert tea, and it’s complimented well with a little bit of sugar – I use about a teaspoon of German rock sugar. Delicious.

Not my favorite oolong, but not bad. The leaves are dark and small and tightly rolled, and dry they have a scent almost of orange and dark chocolate. It brews almost black, losing a bit of the chocolate notes but keeping the orange – it smells a lot lighter once it’s brewed.
It’s a bit astringent, but not in a bad way, just a little more than I’m used to. I think I just have more of a preference for greener oolongs. And the taste is sort of dark and earthy and lingers on the tongue.

Gah, class registration. Making a huge cup of this so hopefully I’m caffeinated enough to press “Enroll” at the proper time?

This is a smooth tea. It’s creamy and rich, and, like any Earl Grey, it’s complimented well by milk and sugar. I don’t really like adding things much, so I’m glad that the flavor is smooth enough not to require much. Teavana’s Earl Grey, for example, has SO much bergamot that whenever I make it, I have to leave half the mug empty milk / sugar. This just needs a splash of milk and a few rocks of sugar. I’ll definitely keep it on my cupboard for those days when I need a morning tea.

It’s a really pretty golden color. The first steep is light and flowery and woodsy, and there’s a bit of astringency that really isn’t distasteful. I’ve had better Darjeelings, but this one is certainly decent.

On a second steep, I mixed about 1.5tsp of DAVIDs Dragonwell tea in there, and that made it much better. I’ve always been a fan of the Darjeeling / Dragonwell blend, although I’ve only ever had the Teavana version. I wasn’t thrilled with the DAVIDs Dragonwell, but when mixed with the Darjeeling it added a bit of sweetness and spice to the tip of the flavor which wasn’t there before.

I’m usually not a huge sencha or flavored tea fan, but sometimes I like the two of them mixed together. I can definitely smell the mango here, and the taste is a little sweet and a little grassy. It’s brought out with a little honey. I don’t love this tea, but I do enjoy it, and I may consider buying 50g of it in the future. It’s a beautiful pale green, and it smells warm and crisp and inviting.

I really wanted a bright citrusy tea to warm up today… it’s so dreary and rainy out. And I just remembered I still have a ton of David’s samples tucked away in a tin, so I pulled this one out to try.

This is tart and bright. It definitely smells citrusy dry, and it begins turning the water a light pinky-purple as soon as it starts to infuse. When it’s done, it’s a fantastically dark red. I can really taste the grapefruit and hibiscus in this.
While it is citrusy and fruity and summery, I’m not a huge fan of it. I think it’d be good iced as a summer treat with a little bit of sugar, but I’m not sure I like it enough to want to buy more than the sample I got for free. It’s okay, but it tastes a little artificial and isn’t really my style.

It’s a decent green tea. The liquor is a bright yellow green, and the leaves are uniformly shaped, flat and silky. However, the flavor is a little more vegetal than I’ve come to expect from a Dragonwell, and it seems a bit weak. On a couple of sips I’ve caught hints of sweetness, but nothing consistently. On the whole, I much prefer Teavana’s nuttier, toastier Dragonwell. This isn’t bad, just not something I’d order more of.

It’s a breakfast tea. It’s very pretty clear, light orangey-brown, and it smells like your typical “American black tea.” (I know David’s Tea is Canadian. I’m just saying.) Fairly light on the taste, with a tiny bit of astringency. I can definitely taste the Assam in this. It’s gets creamy and smooth with a splash of milk, but it doesn’t need sugar.

I love this. The pearls are uniformly, tightly rolled and they smell like dry jasmine. They brew a beautiful pale yellow-green, and the jasmine scent floats over the sweetness of the green tea. Delicious, and good for many steepings. As it steeps longer, there’s a caramelly sweetness which lingers on the tongue, and it’s the best part about it.