JusTea

The first thing that I would say about this tea is that it does not gong fu. That doesn’t mean that it is bad but it is ctc and medium quality so when I did try and brew this tea gong fu what ended up happening is that a lot of the bad aspects of the tea. That being said, I think that this tea does pretty well if you steep it for less then the recommended amount of time and do it western style. I used about 3 grams in a big mug and only steeped it for about a minute and the tea was honey like with some nice basic assamic notes. The tea wasn’t super interesting and didn’t have very many complexities but is nice when you are looking for something that isn’t as involved as a full gong fu session.

Sipdown (519)!

I had been holding out on finishing this one off ‘cause I wanted to try it Gong Fu but I finally admitted to myself I didn’t really leave enough for that to happen so I just brewed up this last bit Western instead. Not a huge deal; I do have a VERY similar purple tea from a different vendor that I’ll be able to try out Gong Fu instead.

For this sipdown, though, I decided to add in some lemon infused honey as well just ’cause I had a bit of a scratchy, sore throat and I thought that would be a good compliment to the more vegetal/edamame tasting notes that the tea already has while still being soothing on my throat. It actually somewhat eclipsed the taste of the tea completely though, and I mostly just ended up tasting the lemon.

Meh.

Currently sipping on the last bit of a mug of this…

This is equally roasty and vegetal; notes of grilled nuts, asparagus, and charred green bell pepper. It’s just a little bit smokey with hints of crisp, crunchy autumn leaves. Definitely better when it was hot; it was smoother and more comforting. Now that it’s cooled down to around room temperature I’m finding the vegetal elements more jarring and pronounced, which really isn’t my thing.

Gotta side with my first impression; just don’t love this one.

Hot cuppa.

This one certainly wasn’t bad, but I did find it rather weak/mildly flavoured in general and lacking a lot of body. It had some really interesting flavour notes though! It was vegetal, mineral, sweet, slightly smokey, and sort of bean-y? Like, green beans but also not green beams. Definitely some kind of beans, though.

It reminds me of other purple leaf teas I’ve tried, while still also having differences.

Just a gut feeling – but I bet this’ll be better Gong Fu.

Sipdown (631)!

Finished this one off Western style; it was perfectly average. Somewhat medium bodied, with malty and mild red fruit notes with a touch of a honey-esque quality to it. Nothing to write home over, or particularly distinct in flavour. To be fair, this was old leaf – but even when it was fresher I don’t recall this being something particularly spectacular.

Revisited this one, as a pot of tea with some milk in it.

I still think it’s very light in body and overall flavour compared to most African black teas I’ve experience; however, I appreciate that it’s very smooth and easy to sip on without much though. Definitely a black tea that would make for a very good daily drinker. I found it fairly malty, with honeyed notes to it, and a touch of a soft woody and cocoa kind of finish. Totally a mild profile, though a richer mouthfeel with the milk.

Mild isn’t bad though; and again, I think this would excel as a low key daily drinker.

First tea of the day! This one was from the Regional Group Buy!

I’ve yet to leave my bed yet at this point – I just spent the first part of my day reading Marvel’s The Runaways and I have to say that I’m loving it quite a bit so far. Only complaint is that I’d like to see more of a focus on the kids themselves and less on their parents. Gertrude’s the best though, and her velociraptor is fucking amazing.

There’s nothing like rolling over to your end table, measuring out tea leaf from the sample bag you set there last night into the awaiting cup, hitting the kettle and steeping up a cuppa all from the comfort of your bed, snuggled under the sheets though. I just love my tea set up!

Anyway – this tea wasn’t bad, though just based on my experiences with other Kenyan black teas I did find it surprisingly light bodied overall. Probably light to medium body, realistically. For a region somewhat known for the briskness in their steeped up cups, that was kind of surprising? I did like the softer malt and cocoa notes though, they were smooth and satisfying with a nice sort of confectionery sweetness. I also thought the cup had a somewhat autumnal feel to it overall and perhaps some vague sense of fruitiness in the undertones.

Pleasant, and easy to sip on – it just felt weird without the tastes I’ve become accustomed to experiencing with Kenyan Blacks. Where was the briskness? The bordering on pithy citrus notes!?

From LP’s Regional Group Buy -
Sipdown
200F, 2.5min, overleafed
fruity, but tannic. Malty and creamy.
4min- fruity, creamier and smoother at the longer steep time. Longer steeps help smooth out flavor and tannins, not quite so rough.
I believe I enjoyed the steep more this time than the first session I had with this tea.

LP’s regional group buy. Backlog.

I don’t get a whole lot from this tea. But I don’t like most roasted oolongs and this falls in that catagory for me. I just taste the roast and not much else.

figured this one out today. 2 mins steep with a little cooler water than boiling. the result is a great cup of tea for the morning, strong enough to get you going without being overly astringent and too much. thanks dex!

Another tea from dexter. this on was a little strong for me this morning so i’m going to have to play with it a bit.

I’ve been meaning to drink down some samples that I’ve had stored in my “sample box” for a long while now. I had decided to daily choose three teas at random, by placing my hand into the box.

Today, Nandi Hill Black won the lucky draw.

I had tried this once before when I had received the Regional Group Buy teas from Liquid Proust, but I decided to save the notes for a later time. I usually like to try a tea, and give it another chance before coming to a full conclusion on the tea itself.

I’m finding this tea to be very pleasant for me today. I had noted during the last session that it was “too malty & bitter.” However, I’m liking it today. There are no bitter notes lingering on the tongue. There are notes of a dark cocoa with a richness that lingers in the mouth. The mouthfeel is thick and leaves the back of the mouth/throat pretty dry.

Overall, I think this is a good tea. Despite the negative feedback on my previous session, I think that this is the type of tea that needs to sit a few weeks/months before giving it a second chance.

Sample from JustTea that i have taken far too long to review. I’ve had this a couple times now while trying to form a strong opinion on it. First off, thank you for letting me try this one JustTea! I love trying out new teas – especially when they’re a little different from the usual.
First off – how cool/fun is it to be able to add a little lemon and get a purple/pink tea! So verdict on the tea itself? It’s a little light for my tastes. I like bigger, bolder cups of tea most of the time BUT this was a tasty cup. It’s much like a green tea – slightly sweet, a bit vegetal but not over the top so. I also brewed this one a little hotter than the 175 that’s recommended as the first time i brewed it at that temp, it was a little weaker.

Thanks for the experience Justtea! looking forward to the other tea as well :)

Fniished up this one this morning and added a little lemon as per Nicole’s suggestion, a much better cup for me! this is still a little weird for me and i suspect that it’d take me a lot more playing around with it to get it to a point where it’d be something i’d be craving. Nonetheless, loved getting to try it out! thanks nicole!

unique tea from nicole glad i have a little more of this as i’m not sure how i feel about it. it’s "green: tasting..but there’s an undertone there too. Will have to explore this a little more. thanks for the neat tea nicole!

This is a super malty tea. That’s mainly what I’m getting out of the (admittedly elderly) sample I’m finally getting around to drinking, but as a fan of Assams and all things malt-heavy this is not a bad thing at all. There’s a little bit of astringency and a little sweetness too. A really solid basic black tea, which is something I always like to have at least a couple of around. When I’ve sipped down a few more of my teas, I just may consider placing an order for some more of this (along with Justea’s luscious Earl Grey).

noms. go go relaxing saturday morning i hope/think? Trying to organise my cupboard a little to see where i’m at with teas. Contemplating indulging in another YS order just to keep up my stock of LB. ha! Also trying to see if i can somehow manage to get down to 65 teas this month…which would get me back on track for my # goal this year. I’m already doing super well on my weight goal. Trying to read a little today too…have missed curling up with a good book so i’ve been trying to take abreak from screen distractions and get back to reading. Love the fall weather, seeing the sun hit the trees with the leaves changing colours…. so nice.

Nicole sent this one my way and it.is. lovely. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but i’ve had other justeas that i loved, so i wasn’t worried. this is sweet, but also smooth. Just a really nice fall black tea for today. Little more to play with so yay for that!

I didn’t get much fragrance from the dry leaf, but the wet leaf smells a little beany. The brew comes to a dark golden oolong color, and the leaves become surprisingly green upon steeping. Strange though, that the brew almost is scentless.

The flavor is almost like a green tea: mushrooms and buttery beans, a little earthy/funky/ fungal. There’s a bit of saltiness to the brew that makes me think it would be a good base for soups.

There’s some mild astringency and a little malt and mineral.