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The first steep of this tea is quite yummy, malty cocoa goodness in a cup. The dry leaf looks a bit like chocolate gunpowder tea, the wet leaf smells like hay and cocoa. The problem I have with this tea is the amount of leaf I have to use to get that yummy taste and that the second steep is so watered down it’s like a different cup. I guess I expect this quality of tea to steep at least twice. When I have a light fluffy Oolong, green, or black tea, I don’t mind adding an extra scoop if it will give me a stronger brew. But when I have a dense tea like this, I guess I expect it to unfurl into lots of flavor, and I was just disappointed in this one.

This is my favorite tea from my first SF Herb order. I only got 1/2 pound, but it’s the one I have sipped down the most, and the reason I made a second order. I have yet to over brew with too much leaf or steep too long. This tea is very forgiving and this is a bonus for me as I often over steep tea in my go cup. This tea is smooth and malty with a hint of cocoa. I would not call this complex, and it won’t steep past two steps, but I think it’s great for a daily drinker, and cheap enough to add lots of leaf for a strong morning cup.

I am getting close to the bottom of the bag, and somehow I don’t get a whole lot of cinnamon from this cup. I think most of the cinnamon pieces floated to the top of the bag, and I drank all of them last winter. This is one yummy cinnamon cup of soothing tea for a nice cold day. I think I liked the cinnamon more than the chai taste, which is still nice , but cinnamon says chilly fall days and warming up with a nice cup of tea.
If I get this again I’ll make more of an effort to equally distribute the cinnamon in each cup.

Not my favorite from the teakruthi samples. The first timed I brewed this I used their instructions and it was a bit weak. The second time I added more leaf and it was still weak, though a bit better than the first time. I don’t taste copper or bitterness, it’s a rather blah cup of tea. Maybe some hints of copper in an aftertaste, but this is not a tea that I would reach for in the morning for a wake me up cup. Now I’m gonna go sip some Assam and get going for the day.

This tea is just ok, not a bad cup, but not very complex either. The wet leaf smells a bit like cinnamon, and it brews up to a nice coppery color. The first steeping was smooth with a bit of a metal tang, but overall, I’m not getting spice or other tastes. It’s like the tea has been smoothed of all it’s rough edges, including copper or astringency. Although it’s quite drinkable, I’m not sure I’d reach for it in the morning, maybe for an afternoon pick me up? I did use a bit more leaf than suggested, and I got some sweeter notes on the second steep, maybe a bit of that cinnamon taste is coming through. The third steep has faint echoes of both metallic tang and slight sweetness.

I brewed this stronger than suggested on the bag, and was happy with a stronger taste than the other teakruthi teas I have tried. The wet leaf smells like orange peels, I didn’t expect that. The first brew is tangy and metallic, but not in a harsh way. It reminds me of an Assam but a bit more complex. I’m not getting the orange I smell in the wet leaf, the first brew is all sharpness and tang. The second brew is softer on the metal tang and I am getting floral honeysuckle notes. The third brew is just weak tea with a copper aftertaste.

The dry leaf for this tea is light and fluffy and has a slightly nutty oolong scent. I brewed this western style, pretty weak for the first brew. I added more leaf for the second steeping and it’s a deep coppery color, but a delicate copper taste. It’s a smooth light metallic taste, a good afternoon pickmeup. Not something I’d reach for early in the morning as it brews nice and dark, but doesn’t taste very robust. I don’t think I’d seek out a tea this light for purchase, it’s just not very complex.

I was very happy to get some new tea to try, thanks for the samples, Lasith. This one has a definite metallic taste, not quite coppery but a sharpness to it. I think I could brew it stronger, I may try that with the next cup. I brewed western style with a tablespoon like the instructions said. There’s a bit of a harshness to this tea, maybe I’m used to mellower black teas from Yun nan. It did soften the metallic taste a bit when I put it in my go cup. I probably wouldn’t purchase this tea unless I wanted to blend it with another to smooth it out.

Got this one as a sample. It was roasty and smooth, not anything to make it stand out from other Wuyi Oolongs. I bet this would go well with grandpa style brewing. I might stick with big red robe which is usually my Oolong of choice and was in my order from Mandala. This tea was just ok for me. The third steep was a lot less flavorful than the first two.

This was my first order from SF Herb Co. and I was amazed at their low price per pound, and a bit dismayed at the shipping charge. This is not a company to be getting samples from, their minimum sizes are 1/2 pound or a pound. I was looking for some cheap drinkable tea as I have calculated in my head that I drink upwards of 10 pounds of tea a year and would like to lower my overall tea cost but still buy new or favorite types of expensive tea.
This Keemun is just ok. I expect a Keemun to be velvety, chocolate, hopefully with other flavors too, and there are hints of this in the first steep(western brew), but any cocoa taste is long gone by the second steep. I find myself using twice the leaf I normally use, and still I don’t get a lot of flavor in this one, and the second steep is more astringent than any particular flavor.
I am glad I tried this Keemun, I did get a whole pound of it, so I may end up blending with other tea or herbs to make it more palatable.