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First tea of the morning! This sample came from boychik. I’ve been wanting to try more Indian Assams, since at this point most of the ones I’ve tried have been Taiwanese. For some reason, I feel the need to systematically “figure out” different regions of tea. :P Anyway, these leaves are somewhat broken, and they’re about half golden and half dark chocolate brown. Dry scent is mild malt with a touch of sweetness. I steeped a teaspoon of leaf for 3 minutes at 200 degrees.

Mmm… aroma. I can smell strong malt and bread with a touch of honey, and something that makes me think “creamy”. Yum, this is a lovely tea! For some reason I’m always intimidated by the concept of Assam, as it’s generally described as strong or needing milk to mellow it. This one’s not overly strong at all! I mostly taste malt and baked bread, but there’s also a definite raisin or fig note to it that makes my mouth happy. A touch of astringency, but not enough to bother me. Also, there’s a touch of honey and some oats, especially in the aftertaste. Yums!

Time for another lazy note because I was distracted by gaming! This is the last of the Joseph Wesley samples generously provided by scribbles. The leaves are small, thin, black, like most Keemuns I’ve seen. Dry scent was musty hay, maybe some grain. I did my usual black tea steep.

Yum, this one is very creamy with bread and oat flavors. There’s also some honey and maybe the slightest touch of cinnamon? Also some slight vegetal notes near the beginning of the sip, maybe greens? A fairly simple, but tasty, tea. :)

First tea of the day! This sample came from Blodeuyn. I’ve tried the regular version of Premium Taiwanese Assam, so I was interested to try this one as well. The leaves seem a bit less extreme to me, but they’re still in the creepy tree branch family. Dry scent is caramelized brown sugar, molasses, and dried fruit. I steeped the whole sample (about 2 teaspoons?) for 4 minutes at 200 degrees.

Once steeped, the tea smells of strong dark caramel and apricots with a touch of something mildly vegetal (green beans?). The taste is similar. It’s rich and malty with strong dark caramelized sugar notes along with molasses. I can also taste dried apricots and raisins/prunes. That light vegetal note is still there, adding a savoriness to balance the rich sugar and fruit. It reminds me of slow-cooked green beans. Overall, very deep and delicious with layers of flavor.

Another Héritage Gourmand blend to try tonight! These samples came from boychik and before that, they came from CharlotteZero. Thanks to both of you for the opportunity to try these coveted teas! This one is based on Tarte Tatin, which is basically an upside-down apple tart that’s baked in butter and sugar. Om nom nom! The base is rooibos, and there are pieces of dried apple as well. Dry scent is rooibos (woody, not medicinal) and caramel with some sweet cooked apple notes. I steeped about 2 teaspoons for 5 minutes in boiling water.

The liquid smells fairly strongly of rooibos, but it’s not the medicinal sort so I’m okay with it. There are also sweet cooked apple and caramel aromas. The apple flavor here is very nice, although I would call it more of a fresh and somewhat tart apple rather than cooked. There’s a touch of caramel and a definite buttery pastry note. I think this one would be amazing with a touch of sugar, but I find that I don’t like the taste of sweetened teas these days, so I’m going to forego that option. Very good rooibos blend! :)

This is the last of the flavored senchas that KiwiDelight sent me in our swap. This has the same sencha leaves – large and flat and yellow/green in color. There are a couple of small pieces of dried apple mixed in as well. Dry scent is crisp, fresh apple. I steeped about a teaspoon for 1 minute at 175 degrees. I think I could’ve steeped it longer.

This one is a bit too mild for me. I don’t taste much vegetal here, just a touch of apple flavor and some sweetness. The texture is very creamy, almost like a milk oolong. It kind of tastes like a really weak apple milkshake? Not for me. :P

Time for another black tea (this one is also from boychik). I’ve tried two other A&D teas so far and enjoyed them both, so I have high hopes for this one. The description is quite vague and tells me only that this a blend of Indian teas. The leaves are small and somewhat broken, and they’re almost all dark chocolate brown with a few small gold pieces. Dry, the leaves aren’t giving off much scent aside from a vague sweet quality and perhaps the promise of malt. Since the leaves are small, I made sure to measure a level teaspoon for this one, and I let it steep for 3 minutes at 200 degrees.

The liquid smells quite bready and I’m getting a rather surprising tart apricot aroma. I must say, I did not expect fruit from this tea. And to be honest, there’s not much fruit in the taste. There is some dark wheat bread however, and it’s alongside some strong malt and a touch of wood. I do taste just a little bit of apricot preserve, but whether it’s my nose tricking me, I don’t know. This seems to be a simple tea to me, it’s quite strong but not bitter or particularly astringent (there is a wee bit, but I noticed that they recommend a steep shorter than 3 minutes, so that’s my bad). I could see this being a nice breakfast tea, especially for someone who adds milk to theirs.

This is the tea I chose this morning before going to the crêperie for brunch. It’s one of the many teas that boychik sent in our swap. I really loved the Keemun Mao Feng from TeaVivre, so I was excited to try this one as well. The leaves are small and thin and jet black in color. Dry scent is sweet and very bready. I steeped a level teaspoon for 3 minutes at 200 degrees.

Once infused, the tea smells like toast and honey! Yum. And the taste is very similar. It tastes just like a nice crisp toasted baguette with honey and perhaps a touch of butter smeared over the top. There are some raw grain notes here as well, perhaps oats, and just a touch of fruit preserves.

Entertainingly enough, I asked my boyfriend what he thought it tasted like and he said grass or toasted seaweed… Uh… what? :P

This sample came from the generous boychik. There are still many Kusmi teas I’d like to try, and this (along with the Bourbon Vanilla and Cinnamon) was near the top of my list. The leaves themselves are small and somewhat generic, and jet black in color. Dry scent is very mild caramel sweetness. I steeped a teaspoon of leaf for 3 minutes at 200 degrees.

Once steeped, the tea smells of wood and malt with a small amount of caramel. Hmm… I’m not sure how I feel about this one. On the one hand, I really like the flavor of the base tea. It’s somewhat woody and has a nice raisin note. On the other hand, the caramel flavoring is far too light for my tastes. It tastes more like a burnt sugar/brown sugar note found naturally in some teas. I would definitely like a bit more caramel here. So overall, tasty, but not really caramel to me.

This sample came from mj, thanks dear! I’ve had a few more swaps since hers so her teas are starting to get buried under a pile of other flavored teas. :P This one is small, dark sencha leaves with a couple of white flower buds and a single piece of white spiky rock candy. Dry scent is sweet grape with a light floral edge. I steeped a level teaspoon for 2 minutes at 175 degrees.

Once brewed, the tea smells like white grape juice and rock candy! Yum, I’m really loving this one. It’s a nice combination of sweet white grape with subtle jasmine and mild vegetal sencha. Now, I’m not the biggest proponent of jasmine, but it’s used with a deft hand here and doesn’t overpower the other flavors. The grape is authentic and delicous and doesn’t taste candylike at all, and the sencha is quite mild and sweet. There’s some here that tastes a bit spice-like to me, a warming spice like clove or cinnamon? But it’s just the tiniest hint. Overall, yum!

Okay, time to break into these Heritage Gourmand samples from boychik. Actually I’m told these samples originally came from CharlotteZero, whom I don’t know and who hasn’t been around much lately. All I can say is, thank you and I hope you come back soon! :) This tea is based on a financier, which is a French almond and brown butter cake similar to a pound cake. Yum! The tea itself looks like a sencha, the leaves are large and flat and somewhat broken. There are a few toasted almond slices mixed in. Dry scent is sweet with honey and almond notes. I steeped about 1.5 teaspoons of leaf for 3 minutes at 175 degrees, which is my general flavored green method.

Once brewed, this tea smells very sweet and cakey with lovely butter, vanilla, and almond (nut, not extract) aromas. It smells so sweet, it’s almost like frosting or meringue. This one is a bit lighter on flavor that I would like. However, it definitely does taste like a butter and almond cake. There’s something here that tastes like vanilla frosting as well, yum! The green tea itself is just kind of grassy and nondescript, which is a shame. I could see this being very good with a nice buttery dragonwell or something similar. Overall, it’s good, but not great, especially considering the price.