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Note: This was another tea that is not sold on their website. However, they do have available another Darjeeling online.

Leaf Quality
The dry leaves of this Darjeeling are not as colorful as others I’ve had. There were no light green or Pale-yellow hues to any of the laves. It smelled very much like a Ceylon Pekoe tea. Only some stems were found, along with some broken leaf pieces.

The brewed leaves showed more color. Nice green, red, and yellow showed up. Hints of chocolate, leather, and malty apple aromas were also present.

Brewed Tea
The brewed tea smelled of butter, honey, and slightly malty. It reminded me of buttered biscuits. The tea had a very beautiful copper color. As for the taste: it was malty, and buttery with a nice chocolate finish- just like its aroma.

This is a wonderful cup of tea. So far, I’m impressed with the Durango Coffee Co.

This tea will age nicely.

I went to Verdant Tea’s website, and followed the steeping directions carefully.

This tea was very easily separated from its former cake shape. The leaves didn’t even break or snap when separated at all.

Leaf Quality
Excellent. The dry leaves were sort of fluffy. Fuzzy leaves with pale-green underneath. They smelled very sweet, and almost grassy. They were very light, and I needed to add what appeared to be more leaves than usual, to make the proper brew.

Brewed Tea
I brewed this tea twice. The first time, was as the website specified it. The second time, I experimented to see if it would taste different. It did. With the directions from the website, the tea leaves yielded an extremely light- yellow, and crystal clear drink. The smell was wonderful. It was sweet, with elements of honeydew, and a sweet vegetal aroma. The taste was light, and harder to grasp than the smell.
My Method: I took 5 grams of the leaves, and put them in a clear teapot. I brought water to about 80 degrees Celsius, and poured them over the leaves. I know that white teas can handle steepings of 3 to 4 minutes, so I decided to stop steeping at 3.

With this method, I got a very floral, and sweet cup. I hadn’t noticed the floral notes using the website’s directions. The liquid was also a more yellow-green color, but still very clear and light. There was a nice sweet-earthy taste at the end of the cup as well. I really like that the character changes well (a sign of great aging potential).

I think I’ll buy the whole cake to let it age.

I believe this specific grade of Hojicha is called 雁ヶ音ほうじ茶 (Karigane Hōjicha), which is similar to Kukicha. The difference from Kukicha is that this form of Hojicha is roasted over a charcoal fire on porcelain.

This is one of the teas I ordered just before I went on my vacation.

Leaf Quality
This tea was only stems, as it is supposed to be. I did not find one leaf, so they did a good job of separating the two. The dry leaves smelled like the Genmai Cha I recently tried. Very toasty.

Brewed Tea
The color of the brewed tea was that of a Brandy or Scotch with a pinkish hue. It was also toasty, but not smokey. The flavor was very light, and savory. I could still taste the typical green tea flavor amid the toastiness. However, as toasty as the brewed tea smelled, I expected a stronger beverage.

I’m pretty satisfied with this purchase. Next time I’ll break the rules and steep longer to bring out more flavor. This tea was not very bitter, so I suspect that not much more bitterness should come out if I do so.

Note: This tea was not advertised on their website, so there is no picture nor description. I found it in their shop in Durango, Colorado.

I am finally back in California now. I got this tea several days ago. I have to say I’m pretty satisfied with this one. They had a multitude of other teas which were not available on the website. This puzzled me, but I did not bother to ask, as I was too busy deciding which teas to grab.

Leaf Quality
The leaf quality was above average. For the most part, there were whole green leaves with only the top bud and second leaf. However, there were broken pieces and some dust which settled at the bottom. This could have been because of transport. The tea smelled quite good, and almost sweet.

Brewed Tea
The brewed tea smelled very much like the rice that was in it. I could barely pick up the sweet notes. The color of the liquid was a light yellow-green, and was not murky, despite having rice in it.

The first taste was like drinking rice. Upon the second taste, I noticed the sweet and floral notes. This combination went well together. There was almost a smell of almonds. I liked that neither flavor overpowered the other, as might be the case with other Gen Mai Cha’s.

It is too bad that I would have to go all the way from California to Colorado to get this tea again, as it is not sold online. However, the next time I find myself in Durango, I will get this tea.

What is there to say about this tea? My goodness, this is bland. This is the only tea available at the hotel in Denver I am at.

My vacation (Starting Thursday of last week) has taken me many places. I was asked by family and friends if I wanted to go to Colorado. I said yes. The next day, we were at the Grand Canyon. I had lots of fun there. Then, we went to Four Corners (four states meet at once), and crossed into Colorado. This was followed by Durango, Silverton, and Ouray. We landed in Colorado Springs, where I visited the US Olympic Training Center, and saw Olympians training before they left for London.

Lastly, I went exploring at Cave of the Winds with some Mennonites I met just before. It was great! Now I’m in Denver! I also paid a visit to the Century 16 Theater where the massacre happened. It was very sad and eerie.

Besides my vacation thus far (which still is not over), I should continue to review this tea. I looked at the tea bag, and tried to pick up a scent of tea. It smelled like nothing. So I brewed it, and smelled a bland, faint scent of cheap tea.

I could not finish my cup! I do not want to sound snobby, but this is one of the worst teas I’ve tried! At least I picked up some really great teas on my trip to Durango, and got a fresh shipment in back home. I cannot wait to review those!

Anyway, the taste of this tea was the same: bland. It tasted like I was drinking hot water with the light flavor of nothingness. Why don’t the hotels have good teas!?

I’m not very impressed with this tea. It was the only hotel tea at the Grand Canyon in Arizona. I drove for over five hours, and saw beautiful scenery along the way. This is where I stayed for a day and a half, before moving onto Colorado earlier today.

I had this tea in a buffet room with breakfast. I chose this tea among the others available from this brand. The first taste was kind of bland. Then, on my second taste, I noticed a sour flavor. This was not pleasant, as I do not enjoy sour Breakfast teas. I had this just before going on the road to visit the canyon one more time.

It was breathtaking! I stood on the cliffs, went inside the Grand Canyon Watchtower overlooking Desert View, and had an overall good time. This tea did not deliver what I wanted it to do, though. It didn’t even wake me up.

Maybe I was just a little underwhelmed with the tea due to the beautiful, vast canyon spread out across the distance. Nevertheless, the tea failed to bring the briskness I was hoping for in an English breakfast tea.

I’m having another cup of this (see older notes). I think I drink this pretty much every week. It is so good! I’ll be getting a new shipment of teas from several companies soon.

I love the maltiness of this tea! It is very light, and I have an aftertaste of a strong honey. The leaves look almost the same hue of gold even after I brew it. More notes will probably come next week (I know I keep saying this), but I’m off to Colorado in the morning. Maybe I’ll even catch some good teas there!

I was about to eat dinner, when my family gave this tea to me. I’ve never heard of the brand before, and have only had Oolong teas served hot. At first, I was unsure, but showed my gratitude. And that gratitude was well merited!

The color of this Oolong reminded me of the Assam Golden Tips from Harney & Sons. I expected to taste something a bit strong. In stead, I got a very nice, honey note, along with a good floral flavor.

To think that I would actually be this appreciative of an iced Oolong is quite strange to me. In stead of taking on fringe qualities, as do green teas when iced, this tea tasted quite well this way. I’ll have to look for this tea when I go shopping, to quench my thirst during the hot summer days.

I was over all pleased with this tea, although I was not sure what the quality of the leaves looked like, which slightly bothered me. However, this was a nice surprise gift.

I can’t get enough of this tea. It is vegetal, sweet, and not bitter at all. Sadly, I’m running out. I’ll have to buy some more.

Just a side note: The tea tastes even better with the second steeping. Nice floral notes come through, and the leaves smell wonderful. More teas will be coming in soon, and I’ll write about them later on, as I’m on vacation again.

This tea was alright. I would have liked more Bergamot, though. I was at a Krispy Kreme in Los Angeles on vacation, and a ‘Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’ shop was connected.

I wanted something to help me relax after a long day of tourism at Huntington Beach. My server put the “loose leaf” tea bag in before I could check the quality of the leaves alone. I suspected to find some stems in there, as I did with their English Breakfast blend a while back.

Enjoying the lovely doughnuts, I decided to stop steeping the tea. The Bergamot scent wasn’t as strong as most other Earl Grey’s I’ve had. However, the mellow scent went very well with the base tea. When it was cool enough to drink, I went for an unsatisfying sip. It was very mellow in Bergamot flavor, and the base tea seemed to take on what little flavor there was.

This tea was pretty relaxing, but it did not yield a satisfying cuppa.