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What is that soggy-leaf flavor that some teas have? If I could pinpoint this, I think I’d be much better able to identify my own tea preferences. Is it the ‘floral’ note?

Definitely sticking to oolongs with a ‘roasted’ flavor profile in the future.

This one reminds me of Mandala’s ‘Black Beauty’, with a slightly lighter base and a sweeter finish.

Gunpowder is a fitting name for this tea. It has a not-so subtle peppery bite that is brought out by an equally stinging high temperature. This tea is best gulped quickly, while still just too hot to drink. On cooling, the pepper flavor slips under the somewhat soggy tasting green tea.

In my mind, I call this my ‘happy tea’. It tastes like sugar without being sweet, and it is bright without being acidic. How does an Oolong accomplish this? I will never know…

There would’ve been a much easier way for me to drink soap during my afternoon break, if that’s what I had intended to do.

This tea is smokey like a green Lapsang Souchong. I feel like I’m drinking a light, sweet cup of green near a dying campfire. Later in the cup, I taste something a bit oceanic, almost sea-weedy or salt watery. So maybe now I’m drinking this tea while camping on a beach.

This tea is a complete mouth/nose experience. Unlike other Lapsang Souchongs I’ve had (mostly bagged), the smoke flavor doesn’t overwhelm the smooth, sweet black tea base. Instead, you get the satisfying smokiness from the smell, from the breath out, and from a subtle, lingering aftertaste.

Save this tea for non-cold or -allergy season – you don’t want anything to get in between you and the smell. Also, stay away from scented lotions on your hands when drinking, nothing spoils this experience like fake vanilla/peach/lemon/whatever.

I have one of these and it works wonderfully. I have to be careful to let my tea cool down before putting it in the thermos because it will stay too-hot-to-drink for hours. I’ve actually left tea in it over night, and opened it the next morning to find the tea still steaming.

Another one to be donated to the staff break room stash. As others have said, there is almost nothing reminiscent of Chai in this tea – it tastes like hot chocolate mixed with a lot of water and a tiny, tiny bit of bagged tea.
I vow to always check steepster before impulse buying tea at my local grocery store in the future.

This is my first Keemun. What strikes me is how fruity it is compared to other black teas. I taste a strong sour note down the middle of my tongue that is getting more bitter the further into the cup I sip. I can see why people get obsessed with Keemuns – this is not a tea to be taken lightly.