TheLastDodo select Send Message

Bold and robust, drinking this tea makes me feel like I’m sitting around a bonfire. This is as German and manly as it gets. Tobacco and cedar are prevalent on the tongue, while the smoky note on the dry leaves does not overpower the steeped leaves. This is quite delicious and interesting blend that compliments the season perfectly

This is the first tea that I have tried from my steeper select shipment. From opening the bag to steeping the tea, the spicy aroma of cloves, citrus, and an array of other fall-like aromas fill my nose. This was a nice and sweet compliment to the poached pear and popcorn I decided to consume while drinking it. The re-steepings in my teapot were not as sweet. For cold mornings, this could be better than a chai to warm me up.

A proper English black tea. I infused this twice in my teapot I got from the London teapot company. The liquor is a warm amber color and the full-bodied taste has a malty, fresh baked bread quality to it. It’s a rustic tea that is great for cold mornings when you need to wake up and crave an acceptable splash of cream.

Try this tea iced! On weekends when I don’t have time to make or drink a steamy hot cup, I use 2-3x the amount of loose leaf mate and some peppermint leaves/teabags (mainly Celestial Seasonings. Their mint has more punch than Twinning’s or Stash) in a quart sized mason jar, add cold water the night before, and in the morning, BAM! Delicious iced Yerba Mate with no tannins whatsoever! On my days off I just sip this out of my mate gourd with matching bombilla all damn day.

Watching this tea bloom in my gaiwan was quite a treat. This is a tea that made me remember why I love oolong the most. Each steeping was a transformation on the last.

Another decent tea from Red Leaf Tea! Their massive selection of flavored matcha is probably the only way to go with this company, but they do make an effort to sell some pretty good whole leaf as well. I wasn’t blown away by the flavor of this tea, but it is a really good tea to have at any meal. It’s bold for a green tea, with big grassy notes and strong tannins after a few brews through my gaiwan. Great for people who dislike delicate flavors, or want to wash down some white rice.

There is a lot of extra stuff in this tea, and for all the good it does, there is nothing but lavender; the aroma of lavender, the overwhelming flavor of lavender, and yet, I don’t seem to see many lavender buds in the blend. It’s sold as a “white tea” blend, but there is hardly any tea in this tea. I think Teavanna should ditch theater and sell it as a herbal blend. Stop wasting white tea!

Although it doesn’t say on the package, I can tell by looking at it that it is bancha. Sure, it may be the lowest grade of Japanese green, but I think it is ideal for Hojicha. You wouldn’t want to waste a good sencha or, heaven forbid, a gyokuro, on this type of process. Because of it’s low-caffeine content, I drink it in the late evening without any side effects. Today, I steeped the tea three times in my gaiwan before calling it quits.