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Oh this is goooooooood. I will need to taste it again in the future and pay more attention but right now I’m just loving that it tastes and smells like chocolate covered raisins. This is the most raisiny tea I’ve ever had.

Has this as a latte yesterday. It’s got a lot of the flavours that I love in Chinese black teas, but they’re a bit muddied and earthiness is forefront. Still tasty and an interesting variation on black tea.

Tasty shaken up in a bottle of cold water, though I prefer it as a latte. In cold water, the cherry flavour isn’t as nicely balanced with the matcha and tastes a bit artificial.

Malty, floral, and just a tiny bit bitter and astringent. The floral note combined with the bitterness gives it a slightly soapy quality.

Dry leaf is small and dark with a good scattering of silver tips.

I made this into a latte last night. I can see why others don’t like it, but as a sweet, milky latte it was pretty tasty. Lowering my rating a bit, but still finding this one easy to drink. Lots of froth was nice.

3tsp, 96C, 12oz.

I finally had a chance to sit down for a gong fu session with one of my Tea Ave samples, and what better opportunity to try out this aroma cup set that Tea Ave so generously provided as part of their free sample sets.

Everything about this is beautiful and stylish.

The aroma cup and tea cup are made from a medium thickness porcelain that is glazed with a smooth, creamy white glaze. Very minimalist and beautiful. The aroma cup does a wonderful job of amplifying and funnelling the fragrance of the tea, and the tea cup is a lovely size for sipping (about 2oz).

The set comes with a lovely oval tray made from oak. The tray is made from a single piece of wood, has a small lip around it and the Tea Ave logo embossed on the underside. It perfectly holds the aroma and tea cups.

The set also came beautifully packaged, in a box that’s worth keeping for storage. The cups are safely nestled in foam, and the tray sits below the cups. The box is cardboard wrapped in texture white paper or fabric, with the Tea Ave logo embossed in gold on the top. It has a magnet closure.

Everything about this set, from the presentation, to the quality and function, is wonderful. The cups are also durable, as I discovered when I knocked my aroma cup off the coffee table and onto my hardwood floor with no damage.

Tea Ave has out done themselves, and this set will be a regular part of my gong fu tea ritual.

I finally tried this today at a party and it was actually really lovely (I’d been pretty disinterested in the winter collection.) A really nice balance of vanilla and mint on a pleasant black base.

I don’t need this in my cupboard but I can see why so many people like it.

This is a really interesting and unusual Darjeeling. I don’t think I’ve ever had one quite like it – the dominant flavours are wood, smoke, malt and raisins, with some spice and cannabis notes in the background that hint at the origins of this tea. It’s quite sweet and bold, and the brew is a rich, dark brown. There’s almost a rose note in the fragrance of the brew, and just a touch of floral in the flavour.

There’s a bit of pleasant astringency to this cup – just a faint drying sensation that feels like it fits.

I’m reminded of a cross between a Darjeeling and a Qimen.

Definitely an interesting cup and worth a try.

Thank you to Kaylee for this lovely sample of an herbal tisane from Israel.

The label on the sample says this is made up of desert plants. The dry leaf smells very minty – a combination of peppermint and spearmint, with some hints of herbal smells behind the mint.

Very interestingly, when the hot water hit this, the fragrance of fresh, young, green asparagus blossom from the cup. Both an odd but lovely combination. Steeped, there’s also a brown sugar note in the aroma.

The flavour is primarily mint and herbs, with a touch of asparagus on the finish.

A really relaxing and enjoyable cup for the evening.