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This tea is actually one of my top 5 favorites, I really like it very nice and toasty and it gives me great pleasure and enjoyment but today I did not enjoy it as I usually do but I think that has to do with my Water first then my mood and my surroundings and situation, I usually enjoy it(and all of my teas)with only filtered water heated in my kettle or on the stovetop out of my Roasty Oolong cup and in the comfort of my own home with a book or some tv or just sitting alone or with Lance. This time we are in the hospital my water had to be microwaved(no other choice)I do have my Roasty Oolong cup but my hubby is sick and we are stuck up here and i have bad microwaved water and this couch is NOT mine so this just isn’t the best situation. I thought this tea would make this situation better and I am still glad to have a not so great cup of it rather than none at all but it worked out opposite instead of this tea making this situation more pleasurable This situation made this tea less pleasurable. I’m not complaining I’d just love to have a good cup of tea right now and “not good” water makes for “not good” Tea and this is just saddening, Sitting in the dark with not so good cup of tea hurts my feelings, still glad to have it tho.

Scottish Caramel Toffee Pu-erh This one is not bad at all in fact it’s quite nice. The aroma of the dry leaf is very sweet like candy and earthy at the same time, the aroma of the steeped leaves at first is slightly pasty like some type of sweet dough yet very earthy, musty and kind of mushroom like. I rinsed this one because of the musty smells and the first steep tasted almost just like the way I described the aroma but not really in a good way I was very musty almost fishy at first and very dough like those flavors started to fade after the second steep and the flavors were very strong but not very sweet like a toffee candy the way it smelled so at that point I added some sweetener to it that really brought out the flavors, by the third steep slightly sweetened this was a very nice tea it tasted slightly like caramel and toasty very rich it does not need much sweetener but just a touch to make it come alive. the forth cup is really good you can taste the earthy puerh and caramel type flavors. 5th cup is still very earthy and delicious so far tho it is now starting to fade away but I usually start with short steeps and increase times as I go along so I made quite a few cups already. 6th cup I decide to have again without the sweetener because I just don’t care for too much sweet teas, the color has faded out some and the flavor is weak and taste almost of watered down whiskey still not too bad, I don’t think this one is going much further. It was a nice tea over all probably one that I will purchase again in the future, I recommend you try it if you LOVE puerh. After this tea I felt the need for a mild green tea to cleanse my palate because this tea was just so rich and flavor full.
See photos on my blog
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/11/scottish-caramel-toffee-pu-erh-by.html

Backlog
I was expecting thing one to taste similar to the last one and it did except for a slight mossy note in this one at first the type of thing I would expect from a nice puerh.
It has the aroma of a nice China black tea with slight citrus note.
2nd steep is a little stronger with mossy yet clean flavors with malty on the finish, I do taste the tobacco notes in this one very much like the last one. I think I’ll come back to this one when do don’t want to try and compare it to the last one lol. here is my first video I hope it works :)
This is from my blog here is the link to the post with my first video :)
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/11/china-panyang-wu-yi-golden-monkey-by.html

backlog
Grape Oolong
This was a Sample from Stacy at Butiki Tea and it isYummy!!, it smells like grape bubble gum and taste like grape Dum-Dum pops,I really like this one Lance like it and it is very hard to get him to drink an Oolong with me so I’m glad to get this sample.We Will buy more of this tea :)
Sorry so short but thats about it, it’s jusy grapey :)

Photos on blog
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/11/grape-oolong-by-butiki-tea.html

Backlogging from my blog, How did I miss steepster the past few days WTH???
Shan Ling Xi Oolong Tea by Tea From Taiwan
This tea has a sweet vegetal smell before steeped and after first steep the leaf has a sweetcorn green/green bean vegetal smell, it steeps up a pale golden color that is very pretty.
1st Steep The taste is sweet and floral with slight astrengency and it has a nice velevety, almost buttery mouth-feel.
2nd steep is still a nice golden yellow color and has a sweet floral aroma. it has a very green oolong flavor still very floral with some astringency and the same velvety mouth feel.
4th Steep (I skipped the 3rd because it was consistent with the 2nd) is very Floral less green and quite naturally sweet very enjoyable. The sweet flavors are like some other oolong I had so I hate to use it agai but almost like the sweetness of huneysuckles.
6th steep (last steep skipped again for same reason) taste is slightly floral more deppend less greenish and the velvet buttery mouthfeel is back.The color is slightly darker Golden Yellow than the first few steeps.
Steep 7 was consistent with 6 enough.
Steep 8 was almost as consistent but with out the velvet buttery mouthfeel.
Steep 9 The coler is a lot paler and the and the flavors are still pretty good but I can tell its fading out so I call it quits and clean up.
This was a quite enjoyable tea, not of of my faves but very good, I’d drink it anytime if it were offered :)

Photos on my blog
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/11/shan-ling-xi-oolong-tea-by-tea-from.html

Well, to be honest this one did not start off very well with me at all, at first I was really disappointed I thought this was going to be the worst tea I’ve had just by the scent of the leaves dry, Smelling them dry all I could think was “chemicals?” I wasn’t sure what I was smelling, after first steep and leaves were wet I realized that the “chemical” scent I thought I was getting was more like “camphor” instead much like some scents and flavors that I get from puerhs. Ok then my first cup the first taste of this was “horrible” I really hate to use such a word as “horrible” but thats all I could think, very camphorlike and I quickly noticed the “scorched/burned” taste of this tea, I tasted like this tea was “overbaked/roasted” (I brewed it at 185F so I wouldn’t scorch it myself) so it was just the initial taste of this tea that was “burned”, I also noticed a very smokey flavor to this tea not quite like a lapsang but more like a smokey “gunpowder” (I think some one else said that too in a review here). After about 4 steeps( BTW at this point there are pretty much flash steeps, very short) this Tea finally starts to mellow out and take on more roasty, toasty flavors rather than just burned flavors with some nutty tones, still smokeyness and only the after taste is slight “scorched” tasting.(Lance suggested putting some sweetener in it so I put some sugar crystals from butiki tea in there, it was not bad at all gave it a nice sweet flavor and brought out nutty tones but at this point it still didn’t help that little burned flavor, but it was nice). At about 6 steeps this tea turns very nice wonderfully flavorful smokey with some roasty nutty notes getting naturally sweet NO MORE BURNED flavors(after 5 steeps lol) Super good!
Steep 9 I pour on my water and it still turns dark right away, its not going to give up anytime soon, Different, this time no nuttyness, more smokiness and very nice, almost how you would imagine a really nice Oolong and Smoked Lapsang blend, perfection. The aroma of the wet leaves is still very “camphor” like.
Steep 10 ok perhaps I steeped it a tad long this time( a very short almost flash steep was needed but i was looking at the computer lol) the smokiness is heavier and the slight burned flavor is back but not so bad tastes almost like a Smoked Lapsang now lol nuttiness is back now tho and it is quite pleasant, smell like Oolong in the cup but Lapsang in the gaiwan .
Steep 11 Omg! same deal as steep 9 steeps up dark right away still I like this teas endurance, same basic flavors as steep 9 smokey and nice but with some nuttiness again and natural sweetness coming thru again, honestly kinda PUERHish in some ways.
Steep 12 is just a dark as before with the same type flavors notes but very smokey, i’m going to skip ahead a few steeps now, ok Steep 15 and it has gone very mellow and earthy even, still smokey and slightly nutty it is starting to remind me of a nice well aged naturally fermented Puerh, This has turned out to be quite a complex tea, I like it.
Steep 17 again the last 2 steeps were still pretty consistent with the few steeps before them, Smokey, Nutty, slightly sweet naturally, I’m going to stop talking notes now and steep till 20 times then I’ll write about the 20th steep Thats where I decide to stop even if the tea is still going lol.
Ok Steep 20 was one of the best just take all I said before and add it up and balance it all out perfectly and that was the 20th cup, I hate to give up on this one but 20 cups of one type tea is just a bit much for me today but I enjoyed it a lot.
At first I thought that this tea may have been over roasted, then I thought maybe not, then after the whole thing is over I have to say that I DO think it may have been a little over roasted because after 20 steeps all day and the leaves were still rolled tight and strangest of att they were still hard and "crunchy:, I took one in my fingers and crushed it like it was still dry AFTER 20 steeps lol(you can see it in the photo crumbled in my hand), I don’t know what to think, VERY GOOD TEA!!!

This was copy paste from my blog, the photos I tak about can be seen here :)
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/11/aged-oolong-1990-by-teafromtaiwancom.html

Nice delicate delicate yet bold, The aroma is like hay and honey, taste almost like the last “White Peony” that I had but much more intense with an aftertaste of flowers like honeysuckle or jasmine even and longer lasting too. I got several steeps from this over and over, Excellent Tea!

http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/

Lance drank this one tonight, the liquid was thin but really dark brown and the aroma was very Smokey and smelled up the entire living room. Lance said it was one of the best out of the Lapsang Souchongs that he’s had, said it was very smooth with no astringency and was very Smokey but not as strong or bold as he prefers and that the aftertaste was like coals of an old dead campfire. He got 2 good steeps from it, I tried to get a third steep from it but it was very light brown and just tasted like Smokey water.

http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/

I’ve been enjoying this one today, It has a nice light toasty flavor with woodsy earthy notes and almost fruity sweetness with a sweet vegetal aroma, This is only my second time have had this tea and while it’s not one of my favs (it’s not as bold as I prefer) but still a really good one to drink in the afternoon, I’m glad I got a 50 gram pouch this time. I may one day try this one with a little sweetener but for now it is nice on its own.

http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/

This is invigorating to me, nice and crisp, subtle flavors of Pear & Apple maybe even a little peachy too with slight floral notes. this one reminded me this of summer way back like in the 1980’s probably witch water sprinklers going and a slip~n~slide laid out, Daddy on the BBQ grill and Mom under her big umbrella sitting in the little garden area with all her pretty summer flowers around her, I can imagine her with a big ole pitcher of this one one ice.
Here are some photos of “Country Living” on my blog :)
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/11/country-living-by-steapshoppe.html