Popular Tasting Notes

1.5 tsp for 100 ml; loose-mesh stainless steel basket in small ceramic cup

First thought on smelling the freshly opened dry tea—fennel. Somewhat sweet, rather than vegetal, though none of the berry notes sometimes found with tamaryokucha.

Dry leaf warmed in cup. Could have used a longer warming, but the smell was nonetheless intriguing, as always. Seemed both darker and cleaner than the Mellow Monk mecha and shiraore (“Blissful Buds” & “Frosty Garden”) that I’ve been having.

01 (1m00s; 155F): Not terribly fragrant liquor. Sometimes that comes across more on the second steeping. Medium astringency, with a somewhat upfront mineral flavor. The finish is closer to what I would expect from this tea, though darker like the warmed dry leaf. None of the brightness or sweetness that I enjoy.

Seems like this one will take some figuring out as far as preparation.

02 (20s; 150F): Tried going lighter on this steeping to see if I could lessen the astringency, potentially allowing lighter flavors through. Nice color, and a slightly more discernable nose, with some herb-y notes. The mouth is still pretty unexciting, though on this steeping I’m getting some great semi-sweet herb flavors and a little bit of tang on the long finish. A little bit of “sweet salivation” / cooling.

03 (45s; 158F): Leaf acquired much more seaweed smell. Mouth has a very pleasant, clean feel and taste. Very nice actually. A little more of that tang picked up on the finish of the second steeping, this time in the mouth, pleasantly playing with the herb flavor. Interesting how little sweetness is present. There is definite potential in this tea.

Very cherry! The more I drink this the more I can see it tasting better as an iced tea. It reminds me of those crystal light cherry drinks but warm. UPDATE: I tried the tea cold and it tasted a lot better. Also, I got about 2 steeps from it.

Smells like key lime pie – which is one of my favourite desserts so I thought I would love this…but I didn’t. It’s very weak, even when I tried steeping for 10+ minutes, and I think I just don’t like the idea of hot lime – I feel like it’s a flavour that’s meant to be cold in most circumstances…so maybe I should try it iced when summer comes?

I bought this cup for work and love it so much that I had to buy another one for at home!

I received this tea as a sample with an order and I will be buying it again.

The tea is a joy to look at. There’s nuts, fruit, things that kind of look like berries, the rooibos of course, and some other little shapes and sizes.

It tastes wonderful. There is a slight spicy taste that’s ginger-like, but it doesn’t really remind me of ginger bread. The nuts combined with the rooibos provide the anchor for the flavor, which is accented by the citrus. It’s a bold and yummy tea.

This tea does remind me of the holidays. It’s almost like a house full of holiday decorations in a cup. Tasteful ones, like pretty wreathes and big red and silver ornaments, not some inflatable Grinch out on the lawn.

This will be one of my go to winter teas next year.

Long story short: I was expecting more.

This was my first experience with pu’erh tea… so in that sense, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But in terms of flavor, I was disappointed. To me, it didn’t come off as tasting like coffee at all. I could taste the caramel, but everything was so subtle. I received this tea as a single-serving sampler, and I’m wondering if more than a teaspoon and a half should have been brewed in my mug, in order to get the whole experience?

I wouldn’t mind trying it again. I didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t overly special, for me.

Update: I ended up falling for this tea, but I like it brewed stronger (not longer) and it’s divine as a latte. I’ve updated my rating to reflect this. :)

The perfect tea after a long day. We recommend bringing this tea to corporate retreats and getaways!

Very earthy, grass-like taste. Pretty bland green tea; nothing really special. Standard green tea flavor by any means.

Dry the scent will knock your socks off ^^ Sadly that’s it for me. No salt to notice, drink was weak… I did wait to steep.

Somewhat bland but when you add peppermint- hmm.. and spicy.. just wish it were more chocolatey

I’m not a genmaicha snob by any means but I can taste the difference between a good one and a bad one. This is the first time I’ve tried genmaicha with anything in it besides matcha. I can very distinctly taste the cacao but the ganmaicha isn’t as good as I hd hoped it would be. Tastes like a lower grade but then it could also be because of the other ingredients.

Overall, not a bad tea but not one that makes me thing I really want to drink it again.