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I bought this sometime in 2017 and agreed with the other tea notes here at the time. I was new to Puer and was sorely disappointed that I had a full cake of the stuff that I couldn’t abide. But time passes and The Dude abides… and the tea ages and mellows (in dry storage, being shunned). Now in 2021 it is 29 years old, has a lovely fragrance, the compost odor is gone, and I have been brewing and sipping it with happiness. Gongfu, but cheating with a steel strainer, and easily going 12-14 steepings (4 g in 4 oz boiling water). I wasn’t particularly delicate when breaking up the cake, but I did find some complete budsets and larger leaves, along with many bits and pieces. The photo I posted of spent leaves in a saucer is a representative sampling, while the smaller ramekin features some of the other largest pieces—all from today’s 4 g portion. Tastewise, the tea isn’t very complex. Mostly bass notes of wood, leather, and smooth sweetness, with no astringency whatsoever. No smokiness, no fishiness either. And today I steeped LONG to make dark, thick cups that were easy to swill. Thanks to BTTC for encouraging tolerance and patience. I have already bought a second cake despite a jump in price!

I was raised with “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” Tealyra’s website says this comes from Germany. Maybe that means it was blended there by the wholesaler. This is a fast-brewing tea blend that is definitely pungent. I’m using the pyramid sachets and steeping Western style in a large mug. The orange peel is just overwhelming, making it hard to discern the background tea itself. Not keemun, nor assam, maybe a bland “something else”. My first impression was that the orange had fermented while drying, as that is the odor I perceived from both the dry and brewed product. But now on my third session with it, it’s less offensive and perhaps what I’m tasting is the lemongrass and bergamot combining with the pungent orange. Not (yet) to my taste, but I’ll sip down the remainder over the next year, as a wake-up brew at least. For now I won’t recommend either for or against, as some might really like it. Kind of how some of us enjoy kimchee or cumin or cilantro, while others don’t. Since it’s cheap, there’s not much to lose by trying it if these flavors a’peel to you. (See what I did there?)

Postscript: Raising my rating from 40 to 60 because this tea at least tastes of natural flavors and fragrance, rather than artificial flavorings, like some of my other recent acquisitions.

Well, since nobody’s reported on this in a few years, I’ll give it a go! I bought this from YS in early 2021, hoping the added humid storage would have mellowed it out. And I must say the first six steepings were lively and not unpleasant. The next six revealed a tame, consistent and smooth brew. No fishiness or swamp odors or flavors, just a long-lasting good tea. I used 4 g in 4 oz boiling water, using a stainless steel strainer and small teacups, with increasing infusion periods to achieve about the same mahogany-colored liquor throughout. As noted by another, the loosely pressed cake was easy to pry apart. I could see myself buying another cake with this becoming a daily drinker. No complaints! Affordable, at about a nickle per infusion.

I snagged a few photos from the YS site, to illustrate the listing.

What can I say about this classic, an eponymous favorite? It helped get me through highschool. I wrote to Twinings as a kid when I noticed that the ingredient changed from OIL of bergamot to bergamot FLAVORING. They tried to assure me that it was still a high quality tea, which may be true, but I’m still a curmudgeon! I drink this from teabags now. The string tag advises “steep 3 minutes” and the pouch warns “do not microwave”. But, why?

To say I’ve been drinking this tea for fifty years is no exaggeration. It’s the only tea that I now find brings bittersweet tears to my eyes, so strong is the association with childhood and mother (RIP). As a kid I called it “consta comet”, and as an adult I’ll call it a comforting if mediocre tea. The brilliance is not the actual black tea quality, but rather the spices blended with it that have transformed some generic black into a satisfying brew. Of course I recommend it, how could I not. Because of the heartstrings it pulls, it gets my rare 100 rating. Your mileage may vary. Now I have to go to work with puffy, moist eyes.

Unique and tasty! I bought this in early 2021 on the YunnanSourcing.US website, which I understand to be the same company as Taiwan Sourcing (TaiwanOolongs.com) distributing within the USA. Said to be made in Spring 2020. This is my first Osmanthus tea as well as my first GABA tea, so I’m not sure how it’s SUPPOSED to taste, but I do like it. Sweetly fragrant with a deep floral, almost fruity, flavor I’ve enjoyed this both mornings and evenings. A second steeping was almost as mouthwatering as the first. Do I taste mango? More like peach, I think, and a melange of others. Physically, the tea is a mix of tiny blond particles which I assume are osmanthus flowers, and tea leaves rolled into small balls. I used 2 teaspoonfuls in a stainless straining basket with 10 oz boiling water, Western style in a big, comfy mug. Upon steeping, the tea leaves expanded into large, whole, thick deep green leaves and produced a deep orange liquor. I have added the sellers description to the listing and attached a photo I made, showing the blend before and after steeping. Not sure if I’ll buy more, but will definitely drink the rest of my 150g bag! Note that I can’t say whether the supposed GABA content had any effect on me, maybe I’m already calm enough. And I don’t give a hoot about it being organic.

I bought it four years ago from Tealyra, and have kept it in sealed careful storage, and it’s not changed over that time. Yes, it is strong. In the sense that it makes a very dark brown infusion, very quickly. But the flavors? Well, it’s complex, but mild, with no single flavor taking control. The characteristic Assam flavor is there, but muted. There is some pepperiness and a hint of smoke in the aftertaste, suggesting almost contamination with another tea. I brewed this Western style in a big mug, with a heaping teaspoon of leaf in a drawstring teabag, and 10 oz boiling water for 4 minutes. The manufacturer’s description says this will never disappoint, but my very first impression was of disappointment, and over the years that I’ve given this taste after taste, it keeps on disappointing. There aren’t major defects, it’s just… unimpressive. Not putting another dime down this rabbit-hole. Now, if you’re the type who spikes your tea with sage or other spices, or even fruit zest, then this might be a good base for you. But as an orthodox tea, not so much. I’ve added a photo borrowed from Tealyra’s website, and indicated that it’s now available as a sachet as well as loose.

A lovely interpretation of the classic, well done and on the higher end of affordable. This tea blend tastes to be built on a good Keemun, with a bit of orange peel adding complexity beyond a toned-down hit of bergamot, and rounded out by some peach flavor. The black tea flavor dominates and the orange peel is clean and uplifting, while the claimed chrysanthemum ingredient is so subtle as to be undetectable. Not overly floral or fruity, and not particularly sweet. Less assertive than standard Earl Grey, but solid enough to make a great iced tea (sweet or un-), if it wasn’t below zero F outside! This was among my earliest purchases from Tealyra, around 4 yr ago, and it’s as good today as it was back then. I’ve kept it in a dark, closed mason jar at ambient. Glad they still offer it because it’s time to buy more! Only as a loose tea for now—I would happily buy it in mesh sachets—meanwhile I use fabric drawstring teabags and brew Western style in a big mug. No re-steeping.

So, first thing, credit where due: I posted two images taken from Yunnan Sourcing’s website since that’s where I bought this CNNP-brand of tea, and the vendor description posted by Hukman exactly matches (perhaps coincidentally) what YS wrote (I don’t know where Hukman bought his when he created the listing).

I really enjoy drinking this tea! Lots of character, spiciness, and aroma across the first eight gongfu steepings (cheated by using a stainless steel infusion strainer). The kick was gone and flavors diminished in the 9th – 12th steeps, but still quaffable. The last infusion went for around 10 min. but still produced a coppery-colored liquor. I’d buy more of this if my cupboards weren’t already packed with tea!

The epitome of Keemun! This one has a potent yet smooth flavor with minimal astringency and what I call a good ol’ Keemun kick! Yes it’s got plenty of caffeine which accounts for it being used in “breakfast” blends. Superior to the Sri Lankan blacks I’ve sipped and quite distinctive, too. I like it much more than the Qimen Mao Feng Supreme by Tealyra, which might be too refined to suit me . This gives a powerful Qimen taste and would be a good standard-bearer for someone wanting to learn to differentiate among various tea types. The leaf is small, fully oxidized and well rolled, but not not overly chopped (not CTC) and not “fannings”. Gives an aromatic, fast coppery brew. I’ve had both loose and sachets of this with equal pleasure in Western mug brewing. Haven’t tried resteeping.

Postscript: Since I bought this after the company changed name from Tealux to Tealyra, I’ve edited the company name in the listing to avoid duplicate entries and retain previous tasting notes.