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Hrm. I don’t have any milk at work, otherwise I’d try this with the splash. As it is, I’m underwhelmed. It’s just slightly almondy black tea. I was hoping for something a little more taste-bud-popping.

I like tea.

But I have a problem with tea.

9 times out of 10, the tea always smells 10 million times than the brewed tea tastes. And no matter that I know this, and keep reminding myself of this, I always get my expectations up when I smell a tea blend that smells really wonderful.

Because they don’t live up to the smell.

This tea did just that. It smelled amazing. And it tasted like a nice green tea with a tiny overtone of wild strawberry. Meh.

Hrm. This is a very green oolong. Very bright, very lemon. A little too light for my tastes, actually.

I emptied my entire sample into my zarafina (I brought my zarafina to work, so there will be a lot of zarafina posts from me these days) and did my first brew as mild / oolong. It was almost overly watery. My second brew was strong / oolong, and while I got the appropriate mouthfeel for an oolong, but the flavor was lacking a little.

I tend to prefer stronger flavors, so this really isn’t for me.

Hey Steepster! Sorry I haven’t been around much lately. I went on vacation for a week, then we decided we wanted to upgrade homes (we have a very small little house, and we’re trying to get a larger one). If any of you have ever sold a home, you’ll know, it’s a LOT of work to get it ready to put it on the market. So I’ve been running around like chicken with my head cut off. The house goes on the market on the 9th. Cross your fingers for me.

Anyway, here’s a review I wrote a while ago for www.itsallabouttheleaf.com – one of everyone’s favorite teas.

These are some of the most beautiful leaves I’ve ever seen with a black tea. Usually black teas are all short pieces, small and fairly boring looking. This tea has long, twisty leaves with the occasional silver highlight. And the aroma.. oh it will take your breath away. Sweet, malty, and exotic with hints of dark chocolate.

These elements come across in the flavor as well. For an unflavored tea, its got a lot going on. And, it has a lot going on while being one of the lightest black teas I’ve ever had. There’s hints of malt, the chocolate, and some other dark flavors that all blend together and in the melding end up quite light, almost refreshing.

This is a must-try tea – even for those who are unmoved by black teas. This may be your gateway drug tea. (Come to the dark side – we have cream and sugar!)

http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/808/tea-review-the-simple-leaf-dawn-3/

One of my favorite parts of trying a new type of tea is that first moment where you’re opening the packaging for the first time; the first sniff where you get a hints of what will soon be filling your cup. I often sit there smelling a new tea long enough to get funny looks from the pets. Unfortunately, this tea did not give me that initial pleasure. When I opened the bag, the tea scent was almost overpowered with a scent of paper. Meh. Not really what I was expecting. The leaf however, looked gorgeous. Very light and fuzzy, just like silver needle teas are supposed to look.

The directions on this packet call for a heaping teaspoon per 6 oz. of water. My recommendation for any of you playing the home game would be to use a very generous teaspoon. My first steeping didn’t use much leaf, and resulted in basically a flavorless brew. When I upped the amount of leaf I got a much more flavorful brew with a lovely buttery feel to it – although a highly flavored white tea always tends to be a very delicate cup – unflavored white teas very rarely jump up and down and demand your attention. They are instead like the Easter eggs of the tea world. If you have patience and spend a little time looking you can occasionally find something great.

The overall flavor is lightly grassy and actually a little papery. However, unlike the initial aroma, the slightly papery taste was not unpleasant at all. The liquid slides around in your mouth like silk, and it’s a very smooth drink. The flavors also intensifies as the brew cools. Longer steeping times bring out additional flavor profiles with hints of apricots and almonds. This is a nice silver needle, and overall is fairly reasonably priced among the other offerings out there on the net. Those who enjoy light delicate flavors may very much like this tea.

Check out this review at: http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/740/tea-review-leaf-spa-tea-organic-silver-needle/

Hrm. This one didn’t do it for me. I think I’ll hold off on scoring until I try it again…. hrm. Not inspired, and the leaves look kinda tiny and broken. Meh.

The red peppercorns add an interesting zing to the flavor of this tea. I wish the pineapple and coconut were a little more to the fore, but overall, this is an interesting genmaicha. I can see how others came to the idea of carmel corn. I think the smell of the tea is definitely reminicent of caramel corn, but the flavor didn’t have that for me.

Yum.

Num. This is a nice tea. The coconut and the vanilla blend nicely, and the rose is very subtle. The white tea is very much in the background, but the four worth together nicely.

Overall I’m finding this a soothing cup, and is making me want to curl up on the couch rather than being at work… :)

I got a sample of this and was really looking forward to it. I think I may have had my expectations set a little high, because while I liked it, it didn’t really stand out for me as amazing.

It was still really yummy.

Tried my sample of this last night and I LOVED it. Nutty and sweet while not too dark. YUM!!!