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Thank you so much to LORI for sending me a generous sample of this tea. I knew that I would like it. As a Lapsang Souchong addict, I’m partial to any smoked teas. This Russian Blend is not exception. While it does not have the deep scorched-earth taste of some smoky teas, it is an exceptional blend that adds an element of fruit and natural sweetness to the smoke. Their notes suggest an apricot taste and I fully concur with that.

This may be another tea that I will have to purchase a full tin of because of the exquisite blend. I’m not certain how Samovar’s blenders managed to strike such an expert balance between smoke and fruit without allowing the smoke to take over. It’s a nifty hat trick.

Thank you so much to MEGHANN for sending me a generous sample of this tea. I certainly tasted the cherry in the tea and, although you can see the coconut, I did not pick up on the coconut taste. It was a very pleasant afternoon tea, but I’m not likely to invest in a full bag unless the flavor really “pops” out distinctively.

I enjoyed it, however, because the light taste of cherry was very nice, but it made me crave a more distinctive flavour.

Thank you so much to LORI for sending me a sample of this tea. I can understand why many drinkers rave about it and I can also understand the audacity of the name “ecstasy”. The flavors are very complex and in some ways contradictory:

The aroma and taste remind me of an exotic market where one is besieged by a plethora of odor. The fish stand abuts the chocolate-covered fruits and the artisanal breads are next to a display of dripping honey. The garden soil is adjacent to the herbs and spices. It’s a mélange, and a very good one at that. I would say that the “earthy” aroma and taste predominate over the others. I could close my eyes and be carried away to the exotic bazaar of world flavours and foods.

I’m looking forward to multiple steepings.

I got this as a free sample in my last order from David’s Tea. The Barberry, by the way, resembles small cranberries, but the taste it not as strong.
This sencha is perfectly pleasant and a good choice for a basic fruity green tea with few, if any, vegetal overtones. I also think this would make a delicious iced tea.

I’m not in love with it, but when I survey my iced tea options as the weather gets muggier, I might order a large size of Barberry Fling.

Golden Moon Tea Sampler #4 selected at random

I was glad to see that nothing too delicate came up—-I was worried that this “pick” might be “white tea’s baby’s breath with airs of ethereal ephemera”. I do like a BIG taste and I fear that all subtlety is lost on me.

I would call this an “average” chai. It’s tasty,and spicy, as Chai should be, but not overwhelming. There is absolutely nothing to complain of, but I don’t find anything so memorable that I’m sitting up and wanting to proclaim the excellency of it.

I think that Golden Moon is for the advanced drinkers, the Zen drinkers, the sophisticates. Somebody said someplace that boddhisatvas could roam through hell as if it were a playground. And I think that advanced minds can really appreciate Golden Moon and its nuances. As for me, I can roam through a playground as if it were hell!

This really is a different blend. The dry tea looks very intriguing with different colors and lengths of leaf. It has a complex aroma that includes strong black tea, grassy green tea, and premises of fruit and flower. How was it going to taste?

I got this in a sampler size from Harney & Sons and may have to invest in a full tin. Eight at the Fort develops into a very strong and delicious blend of flavors. After about half my mug, I added some sugar and milk and I think I like it better with the additions, but it’s perfectly good without them.

Harney and Sons reveals that this is “A blend of eight different teas (keemun, assam, oolong, ceylon, yunnan, darjeeling, nilgiri, and silver tips).”

I was, at first, afraid that this tea was too ambitious and that it would not work, but I should trust Harney & Sons. It works as a good strong tea that would be excellent for both morning and afternoon. And what a fantastic name!

I’ve been drinking Lapsang Souchong Black Dragon by Upton Tea’s every morning for a couple of weeks and truly love it. Late yesterday I received an order from Narien Teas (ten days from order to delivery and they have a lot of small inexpensive sampler bags).

This one is a bit stronger than Black Dragon when it comes to the smoky effect. Black Dragon has a tad of natural sweetness enfolded in there. I’d call this one a more vigorous, robust smoke flavoured tea. It’s very good. My difficulty with Lapsang Souchongs is that I don’t have the palate to pick out the individual notes very well. I seem to like them all and they provide a bracing start to the day. I have yet to give my heart away to any one brand of LS but I’ve given my heart away to this genre of tea.

Thanks to AUGGY who sent me a generous sample of this. I thought I would probably like it because I’m fond of sencha and genmaicha. The roasted rice adds a very nice nutty flavor to these teas which always seems to result in an irresistible aroma and taste.

I am not on the fence at all, but I do have quite a few other genmaichas that I like. I’m going to give this one another go. It may be essential to keep it in stock. It’s salty-malty; it’s ricey-nicey; it’s sweet and beautiful. Splendid aftertaste, too.

Golden Moon Tea Sampler #3: Picked at random

This is a good tea. I liked it but I also acknowledge that I’ve become a bit spoiled. If I had tasted this 6 months ago I would have assigned it 100 points and would have pledged to drink it every day. At this point, I need to start my day with a Lapsang Souchong and then move on to a nice strong black tea. This could be one of them, but it just didn’t “pop” in my mouth in the way that Keemuns, Yunnans, and Darjeelings do.

I think this is a good tea but I know my test for a great tea (for me): having a severe anxiety attack because I don’t have more in stock and feeling a need to run and order it. I won’t do that with this one but I wish it well.

This very pretty tea didn’t make stars fall, but it’s a very nice light and sweet cinnamon. Lately I’ve been reacting against cinnamons that are simply too heavy. This tea has the right touch—-I can taste the cinnamon but it’s not going to overwhelm the tea. Naturally sweet, it’s a fiarly basic black.

I might not choose it for everyday use, but I would be very happy to serve this to a visitor. It’s got the high “bling” factor plus a perfectly nice taste.