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I’m really shocked at how much I like this tea. I had more or less written off all smokey teas as “not for me”, but I’m enjoying this one very much. It’s almost fully lacking the sourness that I associate with smokey teas. The description of this being a “complex” tea is spot on. There are notes that are sweet, spicy, herbaceous, floral, earthy, and mineral. I’m definitely going to save some of this tea for cuddling under a blanket with a book on a rainy day. Speaking of which, my third compendium of The Walking Dead arrived yesterday. I’m very excited to begin reading it tonight!

Can anyone identify this tea packet? It’s what’s in my cup today. I’m pretty sure it’s one of the Life in Teacup charcoal roasted Tie Guan Yins.

http://imgur.com/WgPEDRO

Nice tea. Not crazy about it. Maybe I need to experiment more with brewing it, since I don’t even really know what it is. (Anyone read Japanese?) It’s not very sweet, but also doesn’t have a strong umami flavor either. It’s a nice, mellow, vegetal green tea.

Meh. I prefer more delicate teas in the morning because my palate is fresh and can really enjoy subtle flavors. This has just a touch of astringency, and may be good for someone who needs a stronger “wake up” tea. It’s okay, though. It’s malty, but not sweet, mildly woody and earthy and has some hay-like notes. It’s kind of “meh”, but we’ll see if it grows on me.

Having this with leftover Chinese food – Vegetable Deluxe with Chow Mein. I forget what the other Steepster Select tea I tried was, but I wasn’t impressed. This, on the other hand, is fantastic. What a nice surprise! I tend to like Yunnan Gold teas that are a bit lighter and sweeter, but this will definitely do! Nice and tobacco-y and chocolatey. Yum yum.

This morning, I’m drinking another tea that I should have consumed much sooner. Again, though, this is still pretty good. It’s missing something in the mid-palate, I’m not sure if it’s from age or what. There is a moment in imbibing this tea that is all tactile and no taste. It’s odd. But this tea has a great, long-lasting, sweet, floral aftertaste. I’ll probably be ordering more of this in the spring if I can sipdown enough of my stock.

Didn’t actually drink this tea. I’ve just been drinking more of the same stuff, so I didn’t want to keep logging it over and over again. I just found it amusing that Trump once had his own tea brand. Also, fuck Donald Trump. I’m sitting on my sofa tonight and watching Fear the Walking Dead. My dog came over and started licking my mouth, and just as I opened my mouth to tell him to stop, my dog COUGHED INTO MY MOUTH. This is what I imagine this tea would taste like. Also, I’m from Westchester, which is why I chose to log this one.

I’m drinking a sample of an older version of this. It’s a pretty good tea, but not what I usually like in a Dian Hong (which is basically lots of sweetness and maltiness). I basically want a malted milk ball in a cup without the chocolate coating. This tea’s flaw is the mild bitter tannin I taste at the end. I’d probably do a shorter steep next time. This review might sound critical, but it’s only that way because Teavivre is one of my favorite companies, so I have very high expectations for their teas.

Ok, so this sample is probably 2 years old…But it’s still tasty. Like, chocolate milk or something. Just ridiculously chocolatey and smooth. I hope these things are restocked sometime soon. I’d like to taste what this tea is like when it’s fresh.

So, I am drinking the Autumn 2013 picking of this tea. I may have dulled my palate prior to drinking this by eating pizza drenched in habanero sauce, but I’m still really enjoying this tea! I really like how it has lots of malty and chocolatey notes, but it isn’t a tea with big tannins, which allows some very strong floral notes to come through. The combination isn’t what I’m used to or what I expect out of a black tea, but I get the feeling that this tea might grow to be a favorite.