Daylon R Thomas Send Message

I have too much black tea. I’ve been mostly guzzling my flavored teas and oolongs, but I have barely touched some of my black ones from Spirit and Trident. As winter comes in, the tannins strike differently and I’ve been able to enjoy these a little bit more. I got more peanut, leather, and malt vibes yesterday which were welcome.

The problem with blacks is I’ve gotten more sensitive to caffeine, and my stomach has been upset easily. I don’t know what is causing it-I drink plenty of water, and though I’ve been stressed, I’ve been able to manage a lot better than previous years. Either way, I have had to stick to milder teas lately. I am thinking about selling or getting rid of a good portion of my stash. The majority of them are higher end malty Chinese blacks like this one and Nepal blacks, with some Darjeelings I’ve barely touched. On the flipside, I have been going through my green teas a lot quicker lately.

Interesting take on Scorpio, especially picking figs with their resemblance to a scorpions tale. I like how this tea is like the cousin of Taurus with both teas having fig in their ingredients, which is interesting since the two signs are opposites in the cycle and are both fixed signs. Tasting it, it’s very rosy and strong with the fig and cinnamon. The vanilla is more in the background. The tea uses Rose Congou black, so it’s more floral than malty. I tried it first in a tumbler, and it was fairly forgiving on a cold fall night of football. The cinnamon got stronger as well as the vanilla for me as it sat.

Doing it western, it’s a lot more balanced. All of the flavors are tasteable, but the rose and fig showcase the better with the vanilla. The cinnamon, rose, and fig are still the most prominent flavors. I’m not totally in love with this one since I have to be in the mood for fig, but it’s great for fall, and better for significantly colder weather. A lot of the Zhena’s Magic Hour Blacks are made with the intention of turning them into mocktails or lattes, and this one works with some cream and sugar to highlight the vanilla and cinnamon, but the tea does better straight highlighting the saffron more, maybe with just a little bit of sugar for my preference.

I personally would not get this one again for preference, but I do like it a lot as a Scorpio tea. It will also make your girlfriends crazy. Now, I’m just waiting on my Sagittarius to get here….finally, another oolong.

Hovers between 87-90 for me. I loved the sachets, and so did my mom. I love muscat flavors in general, and Lupicia doesn’t disappoint with fruit flavors in tea. I’m impressed with the staying power on this one, and even though it’s gotten colder, the tart muscat grape taste with the floral oolong and white tea feel great on my throat and palette. I actually like this one more than the darker oolong version, which surprises me since this one tastes a little bit fresher. At the same time, I’d really underleaf this one because the flavor is strong. It gets astringent with too many leaves. The sachets are forgiving, but I use them in 12 oz cups so they have room to breath.

I so do not regret getting this one.

Really liked this sachet sample. I looooove the tart cherry. I was impressed with how natural it was with the rosemary. Kept coming back to it. Soo good.

Free sample from recent order. Really liking it, though it’s a straightforward and pithy grapefruit tea. More white grapefruit than a red one. Bitter, but refreshing.

Superficially, I really love this one because it’s creamy, naturally sweet and relaxing. The flavor combo was brilliant with the base. The jasmine leads as described, but seamlessly transitions into the apple and pear flavors from the chamomile and flavoring, and ends on a sweet vanilla note. I easily would get five to six cups out of this one western, though shorters steep times around a minutes are best.

Either way, impressed with how it uses jasmine pearls and chamomile. You really don’t see apple combined with vanilla too often, and this one works incredibly well.

Starting it off at an 80, but I can see it going higher. This tea is a lot like momo, but a little bit more floral and drying, and less heavy on the fruit flavoring. It’s still got a very peachy flavor, but more like a peach flavor for a white wine. Actually, this tea has the feels of a white wine. Either way, it’s very good and is actually a fairly pink looking tea. The rose and goji are nice editions, and the rose doesn’t make the tea to heady.

I’m digging it, and usually get 4 cups western. The leaves of the Tie Guan Ying are surprisingly durable. It’s not too complex in flavor, but it starts off more rose and goji, then transitions into the peach. Either way, it’s a flavored floral oolong done right.

Loved this one: it’s another “reminds me of Hawaii” tea. The floral jasmine marries the ginger, and the fruit flavors actually enhance the two together. The combo reminded of the jasmine and ginger that grew in Hawaii, and specifically, the combo gives of a tuberose aura. It’s got the feeling I get when I was at one of the beaches at sunset before Luau’s, as fishermen cast their nets. The tea also is a very bright orange color that’s super light.

Anyway, I did this both western and gong fu. Western really let’s you appreciate the florals in the smell and taste. Western makes the tea lighter, but still really comforting. Depending on if I use heavier leaves, the flavor dominates more giving more Japanese candy or bubblegum flavors without being fake for a naturally delicate tea.

Anyway, I like this tea for nostalgia and novelty. Ginger does not get mixed with mango that often, and the vanilla or cream flavor was a brilliant way to marry it. I’m most impressed with the fact that the ginger enhances the jasmine and doesn’t overpower it. Highly recommend this one. So far, I’m enjoying the earlier sign releases more.

Kept going back to this one western as a work and tumbler tea. The ashwaganda is pretty nice, and the profile is insanely smooth. I’m impressed that the tea uses a japanese black tea base that’s smoother than normal, and the cocoa flavor with the berry give me tootsie roll vibes. It’s like an earthy, sensualist package for productivity. Definite win for theming a tea for Virgo. Later steeps on rebrew bring more of the subtle berry flavors.

I like this one because it’s reliable with a little bit of complexity, but it’s straightforward. There’s also a little bit of a green note to it that zings it up under a hidden tootsie roll body.

HIGHLY unusual one. Borrowing the marketing tagline, the ingredient profile is insanely decadent and luxurious. Smelling, and better yet, drinking it, the tea gave me intensely boozy vibes. I’m thinking liquor filled boozy chocolates.

The flavor was very complex, and I get the hints and profiles of each ingredient-the carob, fig, chocolate, coffee leaf, pineapple, and mango are very forward. The rest of it mingles, and the flavor combines reminds me of an amaretto sour….but chocolaty.

Anyway, I’ve only had this tumbler style and it did evolve. It got a little bit more muddled and pineapple leaning towards the end after about three refills of my bottle. Either way, definite fan of this one. I need to come back to it to wax poetic. Very smooth and silky. It’s more rich than busy, which is what I like about it.