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Thank you so much to Lindsay for this sample. I really wanted to try this when it came back but just couldn’t justify an order.

I love the look of the dry leaf – fluffy and golden. So pretty. It smells like caramel, but I suspect it may have picked up that smell from other teas before I rebagged it.

A quick, hot steep – 2tsp, 96C, 1:15. I smell chocolate, brown sugar and sweet potato – a touch meaty and smokey too, even hints of coffee. Some of these notes carry into the flavour as well – cocoa, sweet potato, barley, shiitake mushroom. I both want to gulp this down and savour every sip.

Very smooth, creamy mouth feel, with a nice robust body.

A second steep for 2:30 is also delicious, though I can’t see getting too many more steeps from these leaves.

I don’t think I neeeeed this in my cupboard, since I already have so many exceptional black teas, but if I wasn’t overloaded I could see this being a staple. It’s unique and so tasty.

Bold and brisk – a bit bitter, on the edge of pleasant and unpleasant. Mouth coating, but not too puckery. Good flavour of baked bread up front, fruit note emerges mid cup, finishes with malt.

Would be good with milk and sugar.

Made this in my travel mug for running errands, so I’ll post a better tasting note some other time when I’m able to pay proper attention. Lower water temp or shorter steep time might be indicated.

NOPE!

I’ve had this one in my cupboard for a while, and I remembered it tasting a bit weak, so I decided to make a latte. I used 2tsp of leaf, steeped for probably more than 10min, in about 10oz of milk and water.

In the bag this smelled pretty good, but steeped all I smell is tart apple, and that’s the dominant flavour too. There’s maybe a whisper of chocolate and banana at the start of the sip, but then apple apple apple. Why is apple the first ingredient and primary flavour?!?

I’ll finish my latte, since the flavour is so mild, it’s mostly like sweet milk with a hint of fruit, but what a disappointment this one is.

This is delicious. Strong honey flavour, with a hint of cinnamon. Sweet and grassy, a touch of astringency. Fragrance of honey and sweet corn. Wonderful.

I used seven cannon balls, since several of them were quite small, and steeped for just over 3 min.

What an interesting tea.

The dry leaf is fluffy and silvery green, and has a very delicate smell of hay. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear this was a white tea.

Steeped for 3min in 96C water, it yields a very pale coloured liquor with a light body. The steeped leaf is pale yellow green and smells faintly peachy. The flavour is likewise delicate, with notes of peach and grape. There are also the flavours that make this unmistakably a Darjeeling, though those become less distinct as the cup cools.

While this was tasty, I did feel like I wanted a bit more complexity and flavour from the brew. Perhaps a bit more leaf next time, as the flavours that were there were excellent.

One of the Darjeelings I have enjoyed the most as of late, and a very interesting black tea.

Dry leaf is medium sized and twisted, varying in colour from dark brown to tan with some silver tips. There’s a faint sweet smell, and a dry, musty note that reminds me of old books, but it’s very light.

Steeped for 5 min in 90C water. The dry leaf unfurls into a mix of small, whole leaves, pieces of leaf and a few segments of two leaves and a bud. The colour is medium brown and the steeped leaf smells faintly of soy sauce.

The liquor is a clear, deep amber. It smells of honey and brown sugar. The flavours feel a bit muddled. There’s a “hot water” quality to it that makes me feel like I should steep longer, though the brew is already starting to develop a slight astringency. Some generic fruity notes, squash and then honey and brown sugar on the finish.

It’s an interesting tea to be sure – a bit different than anything else that comes to mind. I can’t decide if I like it or not. Perhaps another cup is required before I can rate it.

Cup of the evening, a nice way to wind down with freshly made cookies. <3 lavender.

A friend brought over a really nice blend of green mate, ginger and cardamom for my party today. I’m not usually a mate drinker, but I had to try this. It was incredibly strong and kind of bitter, but with sugar and diluted 50/50 with water it was quite delicious.

I also steeped this one in the gaiwan today, and find it much better steeped western or grandpa style. Better balance of flavours with less leaf and a longer steep.

Steeped this in the gaiwan for my party today – lots of leaf and short steeps. It was good, but I think this works much better steeped western style. With short steeps,the black teas steep much faster than the oolong, and so the balance of smoke and floral wasn’t as good as it normally is. Still lovely but heavier on the smoke and light on the floral.