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From the Butiki TTB2.

Thought a white tea from Kenya would interesting to try. I don’t drink white tea often enough. The dry leaf is pretty – slightly twisted, hairy, many leaves golden amongst a few dark brown – and has the aroma of lemons. The liquor is pale, light in flavor, medium-bodied, and sweet.

I used a half a teaspoon (wish I could somehow input that). No rating because of my inexperience, but I do think it tastes alright.

From the Butiki TTB2.

Brewed with .5 tsp and 4oz. Similar to Orthodox Black 2 (see tasting note), but a little sweet and honey-like.

From the Butiki TTB2.

Much better quality. Definitely doesn’t need milk and/or sugar. Golden liquor. Full-bodied, bold, a little malty, astringent.

From the Butiki Educational TTB 2

I decided to break-in (yeah, poor choice of words haha) my new gaiwan with this one. I just had to try because Stephanie loved it. Since I’m not sheng pu’erh savvy, I was a little worried that I wouldn’t like it as much or be able to discern the flavor well.

OH MY GOODNESS is this even pu’erh?? The other few shengs I’ve had tasted a lot more like green tea and were a little bitter and astringement. I smelled the leaves as soon as I poured the first infusion and was hit with fruitiness: strawberries and cranberries. The liquor has the fruity and mineral qualities of a Wuyi oolong – it’s so delicious! It’s also clear and sparkling and has a beautiful pale yellow tint.

Blown away by a sheng – that’s a first for me.

From the Butiki Educational Traveling Tea Box 2.

The label doesn’t say CTC but I thought I should add it to the database. I was surprised to see that green tea could be processed this way like black tea. Considering it’s CTC, I didn’t think the quality would be great but was curious to see how it would taste. I used about half a teaspoon (not a full one like it says below) of these dark green pellets and then let them steep for one minute. To my surprise the flavor was far too light (come on, it’s CTC), so I increased the steeping time.

The dark yellow liquor doesn’t look appealing. The flavor was even less appealing. It tasted like any other poor quality green tea. I wasn’t expecting greatness from a CTC green tea, but it was still interesting to test out. The yellow emoticon fits my reaction perfectly. (I wonder if this tea were processed from the Assamica bush.)

Today is my birthday – 24! My mom was supposed to go to the optometrist’s to get new glasses but she moved the appointment next week. I’m hoping that all of us (my immediate family) go to restaurant. I don’t want to leave her home and bring her food. She’s now seeing the doctor about the swelling, probably caused by the cast being too tight.

I said somewhere in a thread that my Verdant gaiwan broke. She offered to buy me a new one for birthday/graduation present: http://www.amazon.com/Blossom-Chinese-Traditional-Teaware-Comprised/dp/B0054FB9LK/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1399646410&sr=8-9&keywords=gaiwan

My first Nilgiri! Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be anything special. It could be my palate or the tea’s age. The dry leaf smells slightly muscatel, but that’s about as interesting as it gets. The liquor is full-bodied but light in flavor, which is malty with a hint of smoke.

From the Butiki Educational Traveling Tea Box Number 2.

Tastes like typical Kenyan orthodox black tea. Medium-bodied, malty. Lovely golden liquor. Milk and sugar are an unneeded – for me, a good indication of its quality.

Stephanie is so awesome to include this as an extra in her swap package! And I must announce that this is my first Mandala tea ever.

I don’t drink pu’erh much. My palate isn’t adjusted for it, especially shou pu’erh. This mostly tastes earthy – wonderfully earthy, not as strong as the other few shou pue’rhs I’ve tried – though I was able to detect the chocolate and cocoa notes. Additionally, the liquor is full-bodied, brisk, and thick.

Delicious! I don’t think I’d have to drink a hundred pu’erhs to discern that this one is a good one. I’m so glad Stephanie gave me the opportunity to try it :]

Thank you, Temple Road, for generously sending me a sample! I received in a while ago but I finally have the chance to really sit down with it!

The dry leaf consists of beautifully rolled green leaves, which have a floral aroma. Once they were steeped they took on a dark green color and seemed to have breathed in the water. After four cups, when they were fully unrolled, I could see that the leaf in general consisted of two leaves on a stem. Not one was torn or broken – all were intact.

The first cup and second cups are slightly different, but only so in color in and flavor intensity. When I first steeped the tea, the leaves were barely unrolled. Their scent was floral and a little vegetal, smelling of broccoli. The liquor was a very pale yellow. While it tasted lightly floral, it was full-bodied and creamy. Meanwhile, the liquor of the second cup was slightly darker – a light gold. It was similar aroma and taste, only the floral was much stronger. Additionally, the floral aftertaste lingers much longer on the tongue.

I haven’t had a green oolong in months. This was lovely and refreshing to drink in the early days of spring!

From the Caffeine-Free/Decaf Traveling Tea Box.

I love hibiscus plain, but it’s difficult to blend with other teas without it coming off to strong. So when I read that hibiscus was in included this blend, I got a little worried. And when I saw that the liquor was purplish, I got a little more worried. But the taste varies, surprisingly. The hibiscus takes over (but it’s not strong and overly tart), but only at first. When I let the tea rest in my mouth, it goes away and the herbs – lemongrass, peppermint, chamomile, etc. – come through. And after I swallow, the peppermint stays. Yummmm.

An excellent herbal blend. I have to keep the entire packet.