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My relationship with Chinese blacks is a rather strange one. First time I tried it (Yunnan I believe) I was more surprised than anything. They are not like your typical black tea (or tea that comes to mind when one hears black tea, like assam or darjeeling). Aside from that, now that I appreciate the flavor more I like this one. It’s clean tasting, that’s what comes to my mind. I don’t find it very complex and there isn’t much of a lingering taste after the sip. It has loads of honey wax notes, very mellow and easy drinking. I can’t in a right mind think of putting milk or sugar in it (not that I ever do) which I guess says how really balanced this tea is. It’s a good one. But perhaps I prefer something little more complex :)

Tao Tea claims that this is award winning tea and that just adds to how good this tea is. It has just the right amount of maltiness, smells a bit like burnt sugar and provides an incredible after taste. It’s one of those teas that you have to swirl in your mouth a bit each sip to fully understand the playfullness of the flavor. Chinese blacks are very exquisite so someone used to Ceylon or Indian teas might be surprised by lack of flavor, but where it lacks in power and strength it is really multidimensional tea. Simply delicious

It’s an interesting sort of fusion like tea. I say interesting because it seems to be somewhere in the middle between Japanese seaweediness and Chinese mellowness and nuttiness. The dry leaves smell pleasant, almost smokey. Steeped it does have a bit of sea smell but if you’re careful with steeping and don’t overdo it, it tastes good. Oversteeping can bring nasty bitterness. Wouldn’t be #1 choice for green tea and I probably won’t buy it again but it’s an interesting tea indeed.

I have tried matcha previously and either it was not prepared correctly or that’s just the way it is but I didn’t like it one bit. Now this tea is a mix, so it’s not exactly the same thing, but I sort of like it. I followed the steeping instructions the first time and what I got is a smooth almost milky tasting beverage. I am trying longer steep time now and even if that makes it worse, I still find this to be an enjoyable tea. As far as bagged tea goes of course.

Some people say that this tea isn’t premium enough, well it doesn’t exactly come with luxury price tag either. I am not very educated when it comes to Jasmine teas but I like this one and I couldn’t possibly compare it to generic store brand. Also, I love the slight bitterness in it in fact (but I never use boiling water for greens so maybe we’re talking about different levels of bitterness). It resteeps well, Jasmine notes complement the tea used very well, I think it’s a great combination.

As a person who prefers straight teas, David’s is a good place to go when I want something flavored. I like this tea, it smells nice dry and steeped, I love the nuttiness, in fact it’s almost overpowering. I can’t say that the fruits that are part of the ingredients show their true colors in this tea. Any time I drink David’s flavored teas I can’t help but guess which part of the mix is natural. It always tastes “cartoonish”, not like real ingredients would taste like. Not to blather, it’s a cool tea when you feel like liquid candy, but it’s almost not tea. I love the taste of tea and when additional components kill it that’s where the line gets drawn for me. It’s a tasty beverage, but it’s hardly a good green tea.