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137/365

I didn’t have the highest hopes for this one when I opened the sample, primarily because the leaf is really finely shredded, and in that past that’s not yielded good results for me. I was expecting it to brew up very strongly very quickly, and while I like a green with depth of flavour, there’s a line.

Fortunately, I was wrong. It’s actually fairly slow to infuse, although I had to put it in a bag because the leaf was too fine for the holes on my infuser. Possibly that had some effect, because the bags I use are pretty thick. If it did slow things down, it was only for the good.

In the end, I gave this one 2 minutes in water cooled to around 175. It brews up a clear green, and is very vegetal in terms of scent. It’s pretty similar flavour-wise – deeply vegetal in the way of wilted spinach and asparagus, with a mild pepperiness. What I love about this one is how smooth and buttery it tastes. There’s absolutely no bitterness, even though it sits firmly on the savoury side.

If you like a buttery, vegetal green with a lot of flavour, this one’s for you.

136/365

I almost passed over this one again today, because silver needle isn’t exactly exciting…and jasmine isn’t my thing. I’m glad I didn’t, though, because I like this, maybe in spite of myself.

I was expecting the jasmine to be the more powerful flavour, but the white tea actually predominates. There’s a creamy fruitiness right up front (I’m guessing that might be the starfruit…?), and then a gentle fade into fragrant, floral jasmine. It’s so much nicer than I expected it to be (not that I expected it to be horrible, but you know), and significantly more unique. That creaminess!

This would make an excellent tea for a mild spring day. If spring ever gets here this year.

135/365

From the Regional Group Buy. The leaves have a purple tinge to them, but the tea itself brews up a pale green-ish brown. At least, it does for me. It’s nothing like the purple in the picture on the card that came with this one, but maybe it’s my fault for keeping it too long. I’m thinking probably not, but since I actually don’t know I think we’ll just move along…

In flavour terms, it tastes a lot like a green tea. It’s fairly sweet, with a light edamame flavour. There’s something else there in the background, too; a flavour almost like the smell of melted plastic? I’m aware that makes very little sense, but it’s what I’m getting, and right at the back of the throat.

I’m okay with this one, but it’s not quite as unique as I hoped. I’ve tried two purple teas before (one from Butiki and one from Tealux, I think, which came in the form of unicorn horns.) I don’t remember either being quite what I expected, and this one isn’t either, so perhaps purple tea just isn’t my thing. Always worth a try, though.

I think I’ve finally found my happy place with this one, because the last few cups have been pretty nice. That’s something I never expected to say about this one! I get a nice juicy peachiness that’s not too artificial, and the jasmine stays firmly in the background. I’ve increased my rating a little because it obviously has more potential than I gave it credit for, but it’s still so finicky…

134/365

Guess what? It’s another from the Regional Group Buy! This one’s a pretty unusual-looking green tea, with a high proportion of downy white buds. It reminds me a lot more of a silver tip white than a green. It brews up very pale, as you might expect, and the flavour is similarly light. It’s interesting, at this point, because the beginning of the sip is very much akin to a white tea – sweet water and hay, with a touch of creaminess. The mid-sip is where the green tea flavours are lurking, although they’re fairly straightforward – just green bean with a hint of artichoke.

This isn’t a strong or overly vegetal green – in fact, the word I’d use to describe it is delicate. It walks an interesting line between a green and a white, but it’s really very subtle and not particularly memorable or engaging. There’s a place for a quiet tea, but I think on the whole I prefer them with a bit more oomph. Worth a try, though.

133/365

From the Regional Group Buy. This black is one I’d characterise as “lighter” in terms of both flavour and mouthfeel. Something I’m enjoying about trying these teas close together is the level of contrast between teas from the same geographical area – especially given that most of them are either black or oolong. Both of the group buys I participated in with LP have been illuminating in this way, and I love how it makes me question my assumptions and preconceptions (some of them I didn’t even know I’d made…)

Anyway. This one is interesting, because at first sip it reminds me very much of whisky; it has both a richness and a peaty, earthy sweetness. The end of the sip is smooth and honey-like, but the whisky vibe remains throughout and lingers well into the aftertaste. It’s almost like the teas was aged in barrels, but I’m almost certain that wasn’t the case here.

Although the flavour is distinctive, it’s not heavy. It seems almost to dance across the palate. I have another tea from this grower that I’m now really excited to try, and I’d certainly seek them out again in the future.

132/365

Another from the Regional Group Buy. This is the January 2016 harvest.

Although I gave this a fairly conservative steep time, it’s surprisingly bitter and smoky even from first sip. Although smoky perhaps isn’t too unusual in flavour terms for a strong black, I found it quite jarringly unexpected. I imagine that has more to do with the other teas I’ve been drinking today that anything else, though.

Once I got myself acclimatised, I actually enjoyed it more than I expected to. I’m not the greatest fan of smoky tea, but here it works well with the backbone of malt and the degree of substance this one seems to have. It’s hard to know how to put that into words, but it comes across to me as a “heavy” tea, with thick flavours that would almost give it weight if such a thing were possible. It’s not a tea of the light and refreshing summer-day variety.

That being said, it’s not overpowering either. It’s a smoky-savoury black with a touch of background sweetness. The sweetness becomes more apparent as it cools, just as the smokiness begins to fade into the background. It’s certainly more complex than some straight blacks I’ve tried recently; a tea that requires thought more than mindless sipping. It wouldn’t be an everyday tea for me, but it’s certainly an interesting one and more unusual than most.

131/365

From the Regional Group Buy. It also happens to be the first tea I’ve ever tried from Hawaii, and it’ll probably be the only one given that’s such a rare thing…

To taste, it’s pretty interesting. It’s light-flavoured and quite vegetal, with an asparagus/fresh garden pea/green bean kind of flavour. So far, so ordinary, but it’s also really fruity and that strikes me as more unusual. There’s a stone fruit flavour from the mid-sip (peach, or maybe nectarine) that adds a sweetness and a juciness, and they take this to a whole new level. They also counteract, to a certain extent, the mild drying sourness at the end of each sip. I know I’d find it more of an issue if it weren’t for the fruitiness, but as it is it’s no more than a mild distraction because the juicy fruitiness lingers well into the aftertaste.

I like this one. It’s pretty unique among the green teas I’ve tried.

130/365

I’m drinking the 2014 harvest, from the Regional Group Buy. Hot, it’s not a particularly striking tea. It’s malty, for sure, but seems totally lacking in any other flavour. I was pretty disappointed, to be honest, until I came back to the cooling dregs of my cup and suddenly found that it tasted of chocolate. It’s smooth, sweet milk chocolate, with a strong backbone of malt and a light floral undertone.

I’ve drank oolongs that have been more impressive from first sip, but this one’s a real contender if you’re patient enough to wait for it (and don’t mind drinking lukewarm tea…)

129/365

This one brewed up kind of cloudy, which perhaps isn’t a surprise since it’s pretty old now. The leaf was pretty stuck together in the bag, but given the ingredients I guess that shouldn’t be a surprise either. I’m just surprised it’s kept so well, since it seems kind of sticky…

Anyway. The initial flavour is a lot of base, but it’s a great base so I’ve no complaints about that. It reminds me a lot of some of the “golden lion” teas I’ve tried, as well as last week’s Himalayan Golden Black from Nepali Tea Traders. It’s malty and sweet, but not in an overpowering way, with a light background floral that’s reminiscent of a darjeeling. There’s also a touch of pepperiness in the aftertaste.

Initially, that’s all there is to this tea. I think it needs to cool a little to really shine, because that’s when the honey flavours start to develop. I wouldn’t say it’s mead per se, but more of a light honey with an edge of beeswax. It’s sweet, for sure, with a thick-tasting syrupy quality, but the honey flavour itself is fairly delicate and remains mostly in the background.

I like this one. I thought it might be overpoweringly sweet, but it’s actually pretty subtle. I’d have liked the base and flavouring to have been a little more balanced, and I’d have loved to be able to taste more honey, but it’s pleasant to drink all the same. Happy to have this one in my cupboard!