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I drank this tea last night. That was a mistake because I couldn’t get to sleep until 4am. Not a mistake in terms in how much I enjoyed it, however.

This tea just reaffirms my continual realization that I LOVE roasted oolongs. The roasty, coffee like flavor is just right up my alley. I wish this would have lasted a bit longer but overall this was a really great tea.

Thank you Super Sterling! You are the best. Also, you gave me this tea.

This is an interesting tea. I enjoy it. I really like the slightly tangy mango flavor that comes with it. Without it, this tea would be very generic as the black tea base underneath it feels of a generic quality. A slightly tannic feel. But when you add the mango, it gives it that pizzaz it needed.

Much like our President, I will miss this tea when it is done.

Thanks to Super Starling! for this tea.

Unfortunately however, I cannot give it a proper review. While brewing it, I went to the teas webpage as I like reading about the tea before I drink about. I noticed in the ingredient list, carrageenan was listed. Instead of bore you, I’ll let you look it up if you care to but for people with a gastrointestinal disease like me, this particular item is something to avoid as it has been known to cause inflammation and intestinal discomfort among other things.

I almost didn’t write this but then I decided that I should maybe do a service/warning to anyone else out there who needs or wants to avoid carrageenan.

Thanks to Super Starling! for this sample.

I had just spent the last hour or so mowing the lawn and weed whacking in the 85 degree summer weather. Beautiful day, really. A nice breeze to keep it from getting TOO hot. However, it’s still working in 85 degrees. So, when I came inside to cook and eat dinner, I wanted something ice cold to drink.

I’m not sure if I’m SUPPOSE to ice this tea. I’ve never iced a chai before, I don’t believe. The website said I could. So I did. And the reason I picked out a chai in the first place is I thought it would pair well with my dinner. We get our meat from a local farm. It is grass raised, organic, and delicious. We are kind of at the mercy of whatever they happen to have processed recently but I kind of like the surprise. Right now, we happened to have a nice bone in pork shoulder roast that needed to be cooked. So, I rubbed it down with some fresh rosemary, thyme, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper then I threw it in the oven while I went to work outside.

Aside from the roasted pork, I also made pine nut couscous and some sliced apples. It all felt very fall-ish to me so I thought that a chai would pair nicely. I think I was right. Mostly.

I really enjoyed the scent of this both dry and brewed. It has a typical chai scent with a hint of coconut. I made this with about half the water it called for because I knew I was putting it over ice. I did combine two steeps however, one of 4 minutes and one of 7 minutes. After icing it, the chai flavor became a bit subdued. It wasn’t too spicy. In fact, I’m having a harder time picking out the distinguishing flavor in it. It is pretty smooth though. And the coconut gives it a nice scent profile. The coconut is more of a background note in the flavor but it is there.

While there isn’t much boldness to this, it is a nice consistent flavor and does satisfy. I’m sure brewing it warm will leave quite a different impression. I intend to try it that way next time I make it. Overall, this is a fairly decent interpretation that I wouldn’t mind drinking again.

First off, thanks to Super Starling! for this sample.

I’m just going to come right out and say it. I think I used too much water in this one. I did about 1.5 tbsp and 16 oz of water PER THE WEBSITE DIRECTIONS so I wasn’t just winging it. Set the temp for near boiling. Steeped it for 4 minutes. The smell was pretty amazing. It made me want to eat the tea right out of the bag. However, I passed my civilized training course, so I controlled myself and just steeped it instead.

I was so surprised when I poured this out and it was a blonde yellow color. Didn’t see that coming. I feel though that my tea tasted a bit watered down. And that is probably my fault. I used more water than I normally would anyway because I was trying to follow instructions. The flavor was nice. I get some of that chocolate coconut. I really liked it… but I wanted more OOMPH. I imagine if I cut the water in half I could get that stronger, less watery flavor I am looking for.

The good news is that my dear friend is awesome and sent me enough to have multiple sessions so all is not lost. I’ll try this again at another time and adjust the rating as needed.

Thanks to Super Starling! for a sample of this.

For someone who very rarely drinks flavored/scented teas, I have to admit that I love the smell of this. Citrusy orange, rich chocolate, and earthy puerh are all evident in the scent of both the dry leaves and the steeped liquid. It almost has a children’s fairy tale scent to it. Something nostalgic. I’m not sure why that is what it evokes but it does.

On first sip, that orange chocolate hits you up front and then at the last second gives you a glipse of the puerh. I’m not sure if anyone has ever had candied orange peel? And further yet, I’m not sure if anyone else has ever had candied orange peel dipped in dark chocolate but this is what it reminds me of. It’s actually… pretty good. Coming from a purist like me, I’m a little shocked that I like it so.

So, congrats Leah. You have already partly converted me to being open to the world of flavored teas.

I received this tea in a swap with Super Starling! It’s actually clever because every time you type her username, you have no choice but to seem excited. Which you probably should be.

So, she sends me this tea with a note stating something to the tune of “I hate this tea. Hot Potato. You take it.” So I did. I bravely (stupidly?) drank that sample first out of all that she sent me. It was also recommended that I drink it iced.

I brewed it up and then poured it over ice. I tried it hot first. Just a few sips. Maybe I brewed it with too much water but it didn’t taste too horrible. Slightly sweet with a tang of sour apple candy. But fairly easy to drink.

After I iced both of my infusions and started drinking them, I realized what Super Starling! was referring to in her review. There is that artificial tangy apple taste/feel that kind of coats the tongue. While I was drinking it, I felt it but even after I was done that feeling and flavor lasted for even a few hours later. Mostly as a background but still there.

While I don’t think I hated this one as much, I can see why someone would dislike the artificial sour apple flavor that coats the mouth for quite a long time afterwards.

This tea is really well done. I’m not a huge Earl Grey fan. Not that I have a distaste for it but I never look for or order it. I received some of this as a sample in an order. I decided to give it a try this morning and I’m really glad that I did.

This is a perfectly blended Earl Grey style of tea. Not too heavy on the bergamot and it blends really well with the Dian Hong. The bergamot itself tastes like a high quality version. There are also notes of malt and maybe a honey like flavor. It is very smooth. I would be very likely to order this from now on.

This tea is an unreleased sampling that Brenden gave me to try out. I don’t have/can’t remember much of the information about this tea so, Brenden, you’ll have to update it correctly :)

*Update, Brenden just told me it isn’t to be released until October of 2017 so… you’ll just have to PINE for it until then. (See what I did there? It may be the tea drunk talking)

He gave me an 11g chunk and I split it into an even two serving sizes of a little over 5g each.

With the leaves resting in a preheated gaiwan, the smell coming off of them was a really nice classic puerh scent but with almost a hint of vanilla wafting up. I gave it a ten second rinse.

1st steep, 12 seconds- The scent coming off of the liquor is, again, a soft and semi sweet puerh. Not really basement or heavy loam but an airy scent that is reminiscent of the smell you get when you take a walk in the woods right around mid October. The scent of the leaves falling and dying but not quite rotted leaf pile that sometimes gets described with puerh. I am actually taken aback by how smooth and drinkable this steep is. I keep sipping it and asking myself, “Is it really this smooth or am I just being a fan boy of Whispering Pines Tea?” But, I honestly do believe that this has a drinkability factor that is off the charts. It isn’t that the flavor is super complicated as of now. It isn’t. But it IS tasty. And it IS creamy and smooth. And I COULD chug this all day long.

Second steep, 15 seconds- I’m getting a little bit of a wet wood scent off of the leaves after this steep. Not heavy, mind you. The flavor on this steep is a little heavier on the soil/leaf mould but just as smooth. I find myself taking a sip and than before I can set my cup down, raising it back to my mouth for another sip. Oh man. This is good. Like, one of the best shou’s I’ve ever had good. Now, full transparency, I’ve had less than 20 different puerhs. But this… Mmmm. It is probably one of the only puerhs that I just want to gulp down because it is so good.

3rd steep, 12 seconds. Scaled the time back by a few seconds for the 3rd steep as the leaves are starting to really be penetrated by the water and release more color and flavor. I guess I haven’t really been describing the color. It has been a consistent dark hickory for the first two steeps. This one, however, is pretty dark. Almost like a cola that had a few ice cubes melt into it. Not the complete black but maybe like a dark chocolate caramel color. I was right to back off on the time by a few seconds. The flavor is intensified. There is a little loam coming in on this steep. Still smooth though! And, pssst, the tea drunk feeling is starting to sink in. A little fuzzy head feeling, loose-y goose-y, singing along to Pandora. This’ll work, ya’ll.

4th steep, 15 seconds- The liquor is still very dark. The flavor is still fairly consistent. It is a little heavier on the leaf pile flavor but in the best, smoothest way possible. You’ll need to forgive me. As much as I would love to be a word smith, I sometimes fall short on descriptions when the tea tends to be so consistent. What I can add is that while the flavor intensity has ramped up, I don’t get a lot of aftertaste. In this instance, I think that is a good thing. Sometimes when I have had a puerh, especially one with more of that basement fermentation going on, there tends to be a bit of an aftertaste that isn’t all together pleasant. This doesn’t have that. If anything, after my cup is empty, I find myself brewing as quickly as possible to get the flavor into my mouth again.

5th steep, 20 seconds- The liquid seems to have lightened up by a shade on this steep. It is still dark but now it is more of a walnut brown. Another way to put it is that I can see the sides of my cup about 1/4 of an inch down into the tea rather than just staring into a black abyss. The flavor intensity has leveled out a little as well. This is the first steep where I felt it was slightly watery. I’ll step up the steep time.

6th steep, 30 seconds. The color is about the same as last steep but I’m not getting watery anymore. Alright guys… I’m going to wrap this up.. I’m probably the most tea buzzed I’ve ever been and I’ve got stuff.. and things.. to do. I’ll still be sipping on this though. Or chugging.

Summary: This is a homerun. Keep this tea in mind because I feel like it is really going to be a hit when it is released. Bravo, Brenden.

Just finding this tea in my cupboard after receiving it in a swap with Lion a few months back.

When sitting in my warmed gaiwan I picked up roasty coffee like scents with a hint of honey sweetness behind it.

First steep of 30 seconds and the flavor reveals a slight sweetness to it. Maybe a lychee? I’m not as versed in that flavor but I think that is what it reminds me of. The leaves have lost much of the coffee note. It still is a bit roasty but now a fruity roast with what I imagine to be lychee as the upfront fruit scent. I asked my wife what she tasted (without knowing what kind of tea she was drinking) and she said she gets honey.

Steep 2, 30 seconds. Roasty seems to be the upfront flavor on this steep. Which is just fine by me as I love roasted notes in my oolongs. There certainly is a bit of smooth sweetness still there but it has taken a back seat to roast.

Steep 3, 45 seconds. Yup, roast is still the flavor here. No complaints. A fruit tangy flavor lingers on my tongue after sips.

And on and on it goes. This is a solid tea with a really nice flavor. There is some mild complexity here. I wouldn’t mind getting and drinking this again.