Daylon R Thomas Send Message

Based on the reviews for the 100 Year Black, a Chinese black tea that I probably would like, I figured this one was worth a shot. I’m in my winter chai season and was searching for something flexible enough for a tumbler, a tea ball, or regular tea cup. I was also looking for a more desserty chai, and after I read the company’s description, this blend looked like a really great balance between a cocoa-esque Chinese black, creamy vanilla, smooth and wispy ginger, awakening pepper, and warming cinnamon. Read the website’s description, and you’ll see what I mean.

Unlike other recommendations I’ve seen, the company suggested 2 grams for every 8 oz and longer steeps starting at five minutes. Less is more, more from less is cost efficient. Tasting this, it is like a liquid version of cinnamon rice pudding. Yes, it is that desserty on its own because the vanilla is so strong. Vanilla and ginger with an aftertaste of cinnamon are the mainstays of this, and like I said before, the ginger is more wispy than spicy. Don’t get me wrong, ginger is one of the strongest tastes of this tea, but the company picks out this particular variety of ginger because it is slightly “sweeter”. The pepper and cinnamon provides the majority of the kick, and the black tea body is smooth and malty without being astringent. The black tea is a little bittersweet, but in a good way and on the medium lighter side. Personally, tumbler is the way to go for this tea, and it does not overbrew for me personally if you leave it in large amounts of water like 16 oz. I get 3-4 good cups, with some evolution between the cups. The pepper is more pronounced in steeps 2 on and the vanilla and ginger are more pronounced in steeps 1-3, but definitely present in four. Otherwise, the balance is great.

You can probably gather that I thoroughly enjoyed this tea. It was good enough for my roommate to drink straight and for a non tea drinker to enjoy straight. I do wonder what this would taste like if it had the cardamom like regular chai’s do, but oddly enough, I do not think it needs it….never mind I like strong cardamom in my chais. This tea might become a staple.

The smell of this one is frickin’ awesome. What you see and what you smell is what you get. Mega gingery and peachy chai type blend that is great cold brewed or hot. Great for large thermo’s, tumblers, and convenience. Pricey for what you get, but effective in giving you a clear energy boost without the jitters. Sometimes the bags can stand on their own without honey or sugar, but that’s with the right amount of water, i.e. A LOT and for the right mood. I personally recommend honey for the ginger and peach taste.

This one is almost my favorite of the bunch I’ve tried, and like the other two, you can resteep twice. I want to say this could cater to any health nut and fruit lover. In short, it’s a spicy, fruity, and peachy tisane.

This was from when the company was first starting up as a coffee-tea alternative. I am pretty sure this product is now called the Spiced Chai, and that’s what it is.

So in terms of taste, it is pretty much a masala with whole spices, lots of cinnamon, and a slightly fruity/cherry-lemon aftertaste from the coffee. Great in larger quantities of water like 16 oz and does not over steep too much with a lot of water, so it is great for large thermos and tumblers. It is also a great pick me up since the spices combine with the bare amount of caffeine in the cascara/coffee fruit husk. So nice, alert and focused feeling without the jitters. It can be oversteeped and be brown cinnamon water if you let it sit too long. The cinnamon is strong enough for me to drink without sugar, but some honey or sugar would not be bad additions. I am not sure if I can say the same for milk because this is a fruit herbal. Good cold or hot, and great for the winter.

I highly enjoy this chai and the convenience of the sachets, but it is a little too pricey for me to get often. Think $7-9 for 10 sachet bags. I would purchase this occasionally, like for paper days. for a little pre-workout on a cold day, or a day I do not feel like staining my teeth with tannin from regular doses of straight coffee and tea.

I have so many notes I gotta backlog…Well, I went to the Coffee and Tea Festival at the Detroit Institute of Arts and enjoyed some frickin’ amazing cardamom Turkish coffee, jasmine, Taiwan Assam, and Alishan tea after a ceremony. This sampling with the gorgeous art and atmosphere that is already at the DIA made for an awesome day…especially with really great quality Mediterranean food afterwards. Plus more tea including this tea.
I finally get to try this one, holy crap! This has been on my wish list for so long and I finally had the courage to get some.

I knew that this tea was going to be on the veggie side, but I did not expect the tea to be as GREEN as it was. Unlike a few other jade’s I’ve had, the more grassy qualities matched mint more than anything else which impressed me. The hyacinth and lilac were there, but the florals were a closer to lilies and maybe rose for me. The rose is also a bit of a weird note, which I will update after more experience with it. The fruit quality pops up way more in the third steeps, and they are the usual Li Shan nectar fruit notes, but I am not sure how to describe them. How that sweet fruit note combines with the florals and the mintyness makes me think of blue cotton candy a little bit, but grassier and tarter. It made me think of cotton candy flavored floss like Rasseru described.

The Summary: a flexible resilient “clean head, clean feeling” tea with a great display of notes in a light, green body. I actually agree with Rasseru’s 86 rating, though I might put it at an 88 depending on how I am feeling. I have had Gaoshans that I definitely prefer over this one considering the price and the green taste. It was almost closer to a green tea than a regular oolong for me. I know it’s a jade oolong and they are more like green teas by default, but this tasted greener than some of the BaoZhongs I’ve had. I wonder how might it have tasted if it were fresher, but for $19 for 50 grams, this was a deal that I am very content with for great quality.

You know I will write more notes of this one for the future.

Thanks Evol! I am tired while writing this note. No reason other than my own fault for staying up reading books and watching A Series of Unfortunate Events. I am at least four notes behind lol. I put a small teaspoon in my tumbler and grandpa styled it. Surprised it was too strong. The butterscotch was tasty, but something didn’t sit right between the rum and the coconut for me. I have plenty left over so I can experiment with the ratios.

This is sooo good today. So buttery…

Thanks Evol! Brewing it up Gong Fu, and the first sip is mostly malty with a slight honey aftertaste. Nice body and texture with a little bit of a chocolate covered raisin thing going on, but I get malt, honey hints, and smooth texture more than anything else. Malty black tea overall. The same can be said for the later steeps. A little flat, but again thick and smooth in terms of texture. I did not enjoy this one as much as the other samples you gave me Evol, but it is not bad.

Damn, the chocolate notes and fig are coming nicely. This is a sad goodbye, and one in which I’m dangerously high on caffeine. I am having such a huge euphoria right now. I need to keep in mind to use less leaves if I ever drink this again ‘cause hot damn it’s smooth.

This is why it is so highly rated. I was happy with it before, but now I deeply enjoy it. The chocolate notes are super rich even into the later steeps. Sorry, tea snob vocab. IT IS A SMOOTH TEA THAT IS CREAMY AND ROASTY. I am so lucky to have another tea that is very close to this one ’cause damn I would be desperate if I did not have some. Talk about getting a quick fix. #caffeineaddictproblems.

Finishing off Andrews What the Heck Birthday Oolong. First time, it was a mess of dry, nutty pecan water, but this time, it was a floral, creamy and sweet oolong with a pecan taste along the lines of a Dong Ding. I would not be surprised if he used that for the base, maybe a jade or jin xuan, but more so on the Dong Dingy side. Oddly, it was very refreshing. Good oolong= a happy Daylon.

After begging to sample this from Evol, and so much waiting, I am trying it. I love me some longan fruit teas, and when Evol described it, I was hoping for it to be very similar to the Ailoashan from Whispering Pines, which was and is one of the most popular teas on this site, and is blended into the OTHER TWO most popular teas on this site. And yes, I read the other reviews hitting at the lychee, the rose, and the allusive cocoa note that Evol and others pick up on.

It definitely has a malty, dark chocolate body for a tea that is a little bitter, but bittersweet like dark chocolate. This would make a good pair for that kind of desert in the after noon. But the cocoa-chocolate thing was the background of the tea for me, and the longan fruit was the leading heady star. If I were to have tried this blind, I would have guessed this was a rose black tea. The lychee, which is pretty damn similar to a longan fruit, is more of an accent for me than anything else though I taste it. This cup is like someone decided to pour some cocoa in hot rose water. The rose makes me think of candy wax for what-ever reason because it is so sweet.

For the brew that made me babble this way, I more or less tried to Gong Fu it beginning at 20 sec, 30, 40, 45, and the current cup at a minute. The third cup was a tad bit too strong, so I splashed the smallest amount of milk and it was actually pretty nice because it off set the bitterness and helped push the rose taste along. I could probably get another cup for a longer steep, but since I have more left of the sample, I am not too worried. I am getting more rose and dryness towards the end with a continual smooth body.

As much as I enjoyed it, I am not sure that I would drink this often. A part of me liked it more with the splash of milk. Yes, I liked a tea more with milk. This was sweet enough for me personally to not add sugar because the longan fruit processing is VERY STRONG, but some might add a dip of sugar. Next time, I think I’ll use just a little less leaf, more water, and try it western to see if that smooths it out. I do recommend it, but essentially, this tea is a rosy black type of tea with some UMPH. If that is what you’re looking for, this would be a good stop along the way.