Tealyra

This tea is cocoa shells mixed with chai spices. The preparation instructions on this tea say to use 1-1.5 teaspoons but prepared this way, the tea is really weak… since the base is cocoa shells, it just comes off a bit watery and the flavor came off really strong on the anise, tasting like the much cheaper and more accessible Stash “Licorice Spice” teabags from the grocery store. I really needed a stronger “base” and it was pretty decent brewed with an additional plain breakfast black teabag, or a teabag of Sobacha to keep it herbal for an evening drink.

To get anything close to “dark chocolate” like the name, you need to use a lot of leaf per cup, which used up the 50g within a few servings, making it not a very economical tea. But when there is an over-abundance of cocoa shell, left to steep for a hefty time (I just leave the bag in the cup), it does get pretty chocolately and less licorice-y. The pepper is pretty strong though, which adds to that “bittersweet dark chocolate” flavor but feels like just a bit much.

A nice, rich cup is very nice, but for how impractical it is to get a good flavor it isn’t anything I would recommend or seek out again.

Just received this tisane today and have been eager to try it! Have been looking for some chamomile and fruity blends. Steeped a heaping teaspoon of leaf in 8 oz. 95°C alpine spring water for 4 min., as directed by Tealyra, western style using a stainless infusion basket.

The aroma is pungently pleasant, of fruit salad, with discernible chamomile and citrus and a touch of ginger and hibiscus. The flavors are wonderfully proportioned. The chamomile was there without dominating, and the tangerine & orange oils gave a great citrus accent and sweetness, while the bite of ginger announced itself as well. I was glad to find the hibiscus was tame, and present at just the right level to round out the flavors on the tongue., without being overly tart. Probably residual sugars in the schizandra berries and the licorice root helped keep the ginger, hibiscus, and rose hips from being too sharp, though I had difficulty identifying the flavor elements of the berry, which is new to me. I’ll have to pick out a few of the dry berries and chew on them a bit to see what they have to offer. The licorice root was undetectable to me, even in the finish, and that was my only disappointment. Nor did I taste anything rose-y, though the hips may have added to the floral aroma.

I did not sweeten this cup, though I sometimes do add splenda or raw sugar to herbals like this, and I’m sure it would be nice too. The aroma and the lingering finish are the winners with this concoction, which will be nice on cold, snowy winter evenings to come!

Just the basic Long Jing offered by Tealyra, not “westlake” or “supreme” or any of the other superlatives that they occasionally market. And over the years, I’ve found this to be just as good as their fancier versions anyway, though those are long gone from my tea cupboard. This 100 g mylar bag has been sealed up in my darkened tea cabinet for about two years. Nice long unbroken, brittle flat blades of tea leaf, with an almost waxy feel to them.

Today I over-infused 2.5 g in 16 oz boiling spring water for a half hour. You could call that Wild-Western Style! And I ended up with two cups of quaffable (golden yellow) green tea having a little astringent bite (“wild”) and plenty of the very typical Dragon Well vegetal flavor and aroma. Savory, nutty (more like pecan, less like walnut or hazelnut), grassy with hint of steamed edamame, nice long finish… exactly what we expect from a cuppa Long Jing! If I’d stopped the steep at 6 minutes it would have been perfect! And, modestly priced, while being unfussy at the same time. Satisfying!

We’ve not had a review of this in 9-10 years, so here’s mine! I bought 100g of this “1990s Rare Wild Arbor Ripe Puerh” tea way back in May of 2017, shortly after Tealux became Tealyra. And three months later I bought another 100g of it, so I must have liked it—but got distracted and didn’t drink much of it. The description from Tealux in this listing says it was harvested in 1991, so that makes it now a 33 year old shóu Pu’erh. And since this is a loose (uncompressed) máo chá, it has/had potential to age faster, although I’m not sure what that means for a ripe puer. I’ve mostly kept the first 100g in a filter paper-covered jelly jar in the dark at 55-60 %RH and ambient 70°F, as I sip along. The second 100g is unopened, in its mylar pouch. At this point, Tealyra no longer sells the stuff, instead offering a younger “1999s” successor, at almost the same price.

Today I brewed 5 g of tea in 8 oz boiling alpine spring water using a stainless steel tea strainer in a porcelain teacup for 5 successive 30-second infusions following a 10s rinse with the same water. The 6th and 7th infusions were allowed to go for 90 seconds. The resulting liquors were clear, clean, dark brown, and aromatic without any trace of fishiness, and although now a bit lighter in color, the 7th infusion is still chestnut brown in shade with a tinge of redness—quite potent in aroma and flavor. The aroma is reminiscent of my grandfathers springhouse and root cellar on his farm in winter: fresh, earthy and deeply of old wood and root vegetables. The flavor is full and satisfying, what some might describe as creamy in texture (but not taste), with a slight honey sweetness, notes of oakwood, leather, and black tea, and that indescribable taste I’ve found common to all the better shóu pu’erhs that I’ve tasted. I do like the flavor of bourbon, but unlike others, I am not getting that from this tea. There is a wholesome woodsy forest in the cup, without any rot or sourness or rancid fish. I am glad to have this, and will happily drink this on cold, lonesome, snowy weekend days to help me recall the warmth and love of long-gone relatives and the ancient farmhouse wherein they lived.

Thank you for indulging me and my drifting impressions and memories. I wish you a similar experience in your sippage!

This may or may not be the same item as sold by Tealux, a historic name of this company, and there are a couple of reviews here under that name. But since the Tealyra offering has a somewhat re-worded description, I’ve created a new listing for it, using the new company name.

The product is a fairly nondescript China Black Tea with Jasmine flavor and fragrance. It’s probably a Keemun, but is unspecified. I bought 100g some 7 years ago and have been gradually sipping it down ever since. Kept stored in a well-sealed jelly jar in the dark at ambient home temp. Brewed western style with only a single infusion of 1 tsp in 8 oz boiling water for 3-4 minutes. The jasmine aroma and flavor is quite powerful still, and I am surprised that pricing has not risen. I was amused at the description, which tells of picking of the jasmine flowers, and goes on to say “imagine watching the full jasmine flowers dance in your cup!” because there are but few visible petals in the tea, and zero full jasmine flowers. You’d better have a good imagination!

Nevertheless, I do enjoy this tea and will eventually re-stock, as I’m down to my last 15g or so. There is no sourness or astringency, no real flaws that I can detect. The base tea is most noticeable as a lingering finish, once the jasmine-forward nose abates, and I sense deep notes of caramel and keemun on the sides and back of my tongue. But jasmine is the star, and it is quite floral, a touch sweet, and not at all “artificial”. It brings back childhood memories of summertime play amongst the star jasmine bushes in our California yard, with plastic soldiers and hot-wheels and popsicle sticks. Back when July and August seemed endless, before I cared about politics and mortgages. And our cat wasn’t symbolic of anything more than a gargantuan monster threatening the assemblage of toys amongst the jasmine hedge. Gosh, tea can be so soothing!

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – September 2024 Tea #1 – A tea Miss Piggy would drink

I, for one, can really appreciate anything Muppets related.  I am a FAN. A FAN, I say.  So I LOVE these Muppets inspired prompts this month!  AHHHHHH —Kermit wavey arms— I had a few in mind for Miss Piggy, but I went with this one.  Classy enough for her, I think.  Apparently I haven’t written a note for this Tealyra blend though, as it was a bit of a restock from similar blends from other shops.  This herbal has a fruit flavor base with an additional champagne flavor.  It’s always a unique one to have around. Not a sipdown!

I bought this 100g mini cake of shou in May of 2018, at a bargain price, brewing a bit of it every couple years and storing the broken-up cake in a jelly-jar with a porous filter paper cover, in the dark of my tea cabinet, at 50-60 %RH. The tea arrived in an unmarked paper wrapper and was discontinued by Tealyra several years ago. However, the cake appearance and the taste & aroma of the tea is so similar to a Yunnan Sourcing product that I believe they may be the same. See: http://steepster.com/teas/yunnan-sourcing/47144-2013-yunnan-sourcing-ripe-pu-erh-and-snow-chrysanthemum-tea-mini-cak . It appears to still be available from YS, as of Aug 2024, still rather inexpensive. Over the years the orange-color of the chrysanthemum petals has darkened quite a bit. Note these are just chrysanthemum petals mixed into the chopped tea, and it is not a “blooming” tea.

Brewed western style, the soup from 5g tea in 16 oz. boiling alpine spring water was rich, smooth, fragrant, and enjoyable. And I, too, also get the impression of dill pickles (not vinegary, just the taste & smell of dill.). I don’t know if it is intentional or if some dill inadvertently got into the mix. Dill is a large weedy plant and if the tea was mechanically harvested, it could have been picked up. It is what it is. Some folks add other herbs like sage or clove or saffron to their tea, so I won’t consider the surprise dill as a defect. No fishy or wet-pile compost flavors, no astringency. Very strong, this would give many gongfu infusions if that is your method, and a few good brews even western style. I like it as a unique shou pu-erh, and will continue enjoying it!

Sipdown! (9 | 115)

I recently restocked on my favorite fruit tisanes from Tealyra, and I also picked up a 50 gram pouch of this to try. And it’s nice! It actually reminds me a little bit of their Tropical Breeze, there is a tart cherry note that is similar (even though cherry isn’t mentioned?). But this has a bit more tanginess to it, maybe from the pineapple. I added a bit more sugar to the first pitcher, and it actually reminded me a bit of lychee somehow, but I didn’t taste that the second time around.

Quite good, but I think I might like Tropical Breeze better?

Sipdown! (38 | 104)

Not my favorite from Tealyra. I didn’t get any kiwi, mostly this tasted like a combination of pineapple gummy bears and bubblegum. I added a palmful of hibiscus flowers to the last bottleful, which did help it taste a bit less cloying. But still, too artificial and candylike for me.

Sipdown! (36 | 102)

Finished off a 100g pouch of this one, cold-steeped. Definitely high on my list of favorite cold teas, it has a nice sour cherry sort of flavor without being too tart (and with no hibiscus actually). There is coconut, but thankfully I don’t really taste it. Mostly just a nice sweet and tangy Jolly Rancher sort of cherry flavor mixed with apple.

Definitely plan to reorder this one, and a few other winners from Tealyra.

Sipdown! (5 | 71)

Cold steeped. This one is pleasant enough, but a touch candylike for my tastes. I’m not sure exactly what fruit it’s supposed to be, but it ends up reminding me of Sweet Tarts a bit. Looking at the description, looks like they’re going for guava and pineapple with strawberry. I definitely preferred their other two guava teas to this one, and I guess I can taste a bit of pineapple, but mostly it’s tangy fruit candy.

New batch of fruit blends from Tealyra! Even though I’ve found several that I want to reorder, I can’t resist trying new ones ha ha.

This one is not well-suited to cold steeping (IMO). It comes out watery and bland, but has a strange bitter flavor in the background. I assume that’s probably the orange peel, which doesn’t tend to do well when steeped for a long period of time.

I think for the second half of the pouch, I’ll try icing this one instead.

Sipdown! (13 | 62)

I’m almost out of fruit tisanes! :O Luckily, I already ordered more, heh heh…

This one is sweet and juicy and yummy. I like that it has actual guava pieces in it, though I’m sure the flavoring is doing the heavy lifting. Nicely balanced between sweet and tart, with a tangy guava flavor alongside the tartness of apple and a slight citrusy note from the lemongrass.

Putting this one on the “maybe” list, I remember liking their strawberry guava blend a lot too, so now I’m not sure which to order… XP

Sipdown! (12 | 61)

Not a fan of this one. I think it’s just not very well-suited to being cold-steeped, as it gets quite bitter and pithy from the lemon peel. Otherwise, it does taste like lemon candy. Would probably be nicer steeped hot and then iced, but I’m too lazy for that. :P

Sipdown! (9 | 58)

I really enjoyed this one! Nice combination of bright and juicy orange with the addition of sweet strawberry and a touch of herbaceous lemongrass. I think the amount of hibiscus is just right – it adds tartness but doesn’t overpower the fruit flavors and make it taste generic. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the lemongrass, but I think it helps add a different citrus note and keeps the orange from tasting too much like candy or vitamin C tablets.

Will definitely have to reorder some in the future!

Sipdown! (5 | 54)

This one wasn’t bad, but I feel like the name is misleading. The ginger in this is quite strong, and it ends up tasting more like a ginger beer sort of tisane than a pineapple one, and I don’t taste any lemon at all. It’s still refreshing, and the pineapple flavor is noticeable, just not what I was expecting given the name.

Sipdown! (4 | 53)

This sounded good, but ended up being just okay. I don’t think I would’ve known it was raspberry or pomegranate, as it was just a bit generally fruity and sweet. There was an odd hint of soapiness to it for some reason, not sure if it’s just the flavoring or what.

I ended up adding a spoonful of hibiscus to the second pitcher, and it added some much-needed tartness. I don’t notice that soapy taste anymore either. So it ended up being nice, but not one I would reorder.

Sipdown! (30 | 33)

This one was just not a good candidate for cold-steeping, in my opinion. It came out bland and watery, just slightly sweet and a bit peachy.

I added some hibiscus to the second go-around, and it’s definitely better with the tartness giving some dimension. But still a bit on the bland side (other than the hibiscus) so not something I would order again. I only tend to cold steep fruit tisanes, so maybe it’s tasty hot, I dunno! :P

Sipdown! (18 | 31)

Cold steeped. This was sort of a wildcard selection from Tealyra, it sounded so unusual and I do tend to like sea buckthorn (at least, in my limited experience). It actually ended up being possibly my favorite of the several fruit tisanes I chose.

The color is alarmingly yellow ha ha, and the flavor is tangy and tart, but not overly sour. The sea buckthorn is actually the main element to me – unsurprising, given the amount of peels present in the mix. I’m not sure how to describe the flavor of sea buckthorn really, other than to say it’s sweet and tart and almost like an intersection of citrus and some kind of tropical fruit? Needless to say, it pairs perfectly with the citrus here and is lovely as an iced tea.

Will definitely reorder this one next time!

Sipdown! (16 | 29)

Cold brewed. This one is quite nice actually, it has a good amount of tartness to it, even though there isn’t any hibiscus. I assume it’s from the apples. I don’t know that I would go “aha, this tastes like guava!”, but knowing that’s the intention, I can see it. It almost tastes a bit like passion fruit as well. The strawberry is nice and doesn’t taste like candy, which I guess makes sense given there’s no strawberry flavoring, so it must be coming from the dried slices.

Really nice and refreshing, and doesn’t need any sweetener. Will definitely consider ordering more, though there are still a lot more Tealyra fruit blends that I want to try. :D

Sipdown! (9 | 22)

Cold steeped. Honestly, it’s a bit bland? I was surprised given it’s a hibiscus-heavy tisane. It doesn’t really have a strong berry presence either. It’s an interesting looking blend, with elderberries being the first ingredient. I guess they must not be contributing much in the way of flavor though.

Anyway, they can’t all be winners! Happily, there are other berry-hibiscus tisanes that I like more.

Sipdown! (7 | 20)

I bought several fruit tisanes to cold brew from Tealyra, as they carry wholesale blends at more reasonable prices than a lot of other places.

This one wasn’t my favorite. The coconut ruined it a bit for me, and I was surprised how much I could taste it in the first bottle I steeped. I ended up removing most of the coconut shreds for the second try, and I like it much better. It’s a fairly raspberry-forward berries & hibiscus blend, with a hint of coconut on the backend.

I did enjoy it this way, but I’m certainly not going to buy a blend that I have to “edit” before steeping ha ha. :P

Iced Latte!

Made this one today to drink during the afternoon and I was… kinda into it? It’s very earthy and pu’erh forward, but even more buttery and I found that the sheet intensity of the butterfly flavour was a little too much for me and not especially balanced out. The pistachio really just comes through in the finish. While that smooth, nutty note is authentic and tasty I feel like it’s too little of the profile in comparison to everything else going on. That said, I did drink the whole thing pretty quickly so it wasn’t all bad!

Interesting tea. It seems more fitting to drink this tea on a ship in the 1800’s. Something about the smoky undertones takes me back in time to when spices and teas were not readily accessible without trade.