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This one came from Blodeuyn. I must admit, I’ve become a little bit burnt out on Yunnan teas since I tried so many of them not too long ago. I do still enjoy them, but they’re not something I crave. This tea has small, thin, and delicate leaves. They’re golden and fuzzy and they’re leaving lovely fairy dust on the inside of the packet. Dry scent is pure Yunnan – sweet and smooth with malt, sweet potato, honey, and strong stonefruit notes. I steeped a heaping teaspoon of leaf for 3 minutes at 200 degrees.

Wow, the aroma is very powerful. Very malty with bread and sweet potato, as well as a surprisingly strong floral note. Thankfully, I don’t get strong floral in the taste. What I do get is rich sweet potato and bread with honey and a very light mineral note. There’s the lightest touch of stonefruit and maybe a suggestion of floral in the aftertaste. A perfectly nice Yunnan, nothing extra special, but still tasty.

First tea of the morning! This sample came from boychik’s lovely swap package (I saw swap, but the rascal hasn’t told me what she wants me to send yet…). Another Indian Assam to try, hooray! I really want to branch out in this area. The leaves are short and somewhat broken, and they’re about half golden and half dark brown. Dry scent is extremely mild, but there’s a little bit of malt and sweetness. I steeped a level teaspoon of leaf for 3 minutes at 200 degrees.

Much to my surprise, the steeped tea has an interesting wine-y aroma. There’s also malt and the sweetness of dark dried fruit. This tea seems to transform in my mouth. At the beginning of the sip, the flavor is muscatel and heavily fruity (cranberries, tart cherries). However, near the middle and end of the sip, the flavor turns more toward the bready side, though it keeps a hint of fruit preserves. There is strong malt throughout, and definitely a fair touch of astringency. A tasty and surprising tea!

This sample came from KiwiDelight. I don’t have a lot of experience with CTC teas, and to be honest, they intimidate me a bit… This one is dark chocolate brown in color and has that coffee grounds look. Dry scent is super mild but I can smell a hint of apricot. I steeped the teaspoon of leaf for 2 minutes in 10 ounces of 200 degree water (I was worried about it being too strong).

The liquor has a surprisingly fruity aroma (apricots) with malt and a touch of mineral. This actually came out a bit weak, which surprised me. The most prominent notes are apricot and malt, and there is a bit of a mineral taste. I realize I used too much water with this one, but I much prefer that to it coming out a bitter mess. Pretty tasty. :)

Tea of the (late) morning! Another lovely black tea sample from boychik. I’ve had one other purple tea from Yunnan Sourcing, and I’m curious to try the others they offer. The leaves of this tea remind me of Taiwanese black teas – they’re long and spindly and twisty. The definitely have the creepy tree branch vibe, and they’re jet black in color. Dry scent is very mild but there are some sweet, malt, and fruit notes. I steeped about two teaspoons of leaf (roughly) for 3 minutes at 200 degrees.

Hmm… I’m finding the aroma kind of hard to describe. There are some obvious elements, like malt, sweet, fruity, but there’s something there that’s a combination of tangy and herby and I have no idea what it is… I hate that! It’s definitely there in the taste as well. There’s a nice dark grape flavor here, as well as other dried fruit, along with a touch of smoke and mineral and an interesting fuzzy mouth feel, like eating a peach skin. Then there’s that odd tangy/herbal note that I can’t identify. I see that yyz mentioned musk in her note, so maybe that’s it? I can’t help that think that maybe it’s that elusive cannabis that others seem to find so often in teas?

Anyway, this tea is tasty, and definitely complex. I can’t really compare it to any other black tea I’ve had except say that perhaps it’s closest to a Darjeeling? :P

This was one of the free samples I got with my David’s order (unfortunately, the other two were Fall Collection teas that I already have). Looks like a food tea. There are big pieces of dried apple and other things, and it smells sweet and nutty with some buttered popcorn notes. I steeped the sample (1.25 teaspoons) for 5 minutes in about 6 ounces of boiling water.

Sadly, it came out weak. I knew that it wouldn’t be enough for an 8 ounce cup, but it seems it wasn’t even enough for a 6 ounce cup. I guess this is one of those teas that requires a whole tablespoon of tea to be strong enough. The flavor that’s there is okay – kind of like buttered popcorn with almonds and some cinnamon. There’s an undertone of sweet apple. Not bad, but not something I would buy.

Okay folks, I’m calling it. This is the best genmaicha ever. And that’s that.

Seriously, though. Once I saw Ost’s Laoshan Genmaicha tasting note, my mouth would not be satisfied until I brewed up a cup of this lovely blend. So creamy and smooth, sweet butternut squash and oats and soy milk with a touch of vanilla goodness. And, of course, that delicious and nutty toasty rice.

I am the proud owner of 4 ounces of this now discontinued blend (thanks mj!) and I will cry like a small child when I run out of it. Seriously.

Sipdown!

This is (was) one of the oldest teas in my cupboard, so it feels nice to sip it down. It’s a perfectly tasty offering from TeaVivre, but not one of my favorites. Malty and bready with a tad bit of smoke and a nice creamy texture. Thanks again to TeaVivre for the free sample. :)

This is my last untried Tao Tea Leaf “sample” (it’s a big pouch) from scribbles. I’ve enjoyed the other three teas, so I had reasonably high hopes for this one. The leaves reminds me of a Keemun – they’re thin and short to medium in length, and very dark in color. Dry scent is musty/dusty hay or straw with some oats. I let the leaves steep for 3 minutes at 200 degrees.

The aroma definitely says “Fujian” to me – it has that dill note along with bread and maybe a touch of fruit. Hmm, flavor-wise this tea has a lot going on. I taste bread and sweet potato first, and the sweet potato has a touch of cinnamon on it. The bread seems to be rather buttery and has dill sprinkled over the top. There’s some fruit here as well, and it’s reminding me of raisins, either regular or golden. Deep in the background, I can taste some dark unsweetened cocoa. And in the aftertaste, I get a mild vegetal note, like a cooked-to-death green bean. The overall texture is very smooth and creamy, yum! This tea kind of reminds me of a combination of Yunnan and Fujian teas, maybe a touch more toward the Fujian side.

Another black tea sample from boychik! Apparently this one came from Terri HarpLady originally, so thank you Terri! The leaves look similar to other Taiwanese teas – they have that creepy gnarled tree branch vibe and they’re jet black. The dry scent is very mild, but I can catch some sweetness from honey or molasses. I steeped about two teaspoons of leaf for 3 minutes at 200 degrees. I think I may have underleafed a tad, so I’ll keep that in mind next time (boychik sent me a generous sample).

Wow, this tea has such a sweet aroma. It makes me think of lots of dark brown sugar and, to a lesser extent, maple syrup. I think there’s a touch of bread there too, but it’s drowning in all of that sweet syrupy lusciousness. This is a very rich and sweet tea. The flavor is mostly caramelized brown sugar and maple syrup as well. There’s a little touch of wheat bread and some dark dried fruits, like raisins. Yum!

This sample came from Blodeuyn. Yay, another Keemun! :D This is one of those tea categories that I am trying to explore more, as I feel I have neglected it in favor of Yunnan and Fujian teas. This tea has what I would consider to be typical Keemun leaves – they’re thin and small and very dark in color. Whoa, the dry scent hit me over the head when I opened the pouch. This tea smells so mineral and it’s extremely strong, almost to the point of being chemical. There’s a touch of musty hay scent there as well. I must admit, I was scared, so I steeped it for 2.5 minutes instead of 3 and I was very careful to level my teaspoon of leaf…

After steeping, the liquor also smells quite mineral but it’s less extreme. I can also smell bread and malt aromas. Luckily for me, drinking this tea is only a bit like licking a rock. The mineral is definitely the strongest note, but there’s also malt and bread, along with a creamy grain note reminiscent of oats. I get a light peppery taste, especially toward the end. Overall, not my favorite flavor profile, but not bad.