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Kiki:

“Ohh orange! Orange candy. Here, try it.”

Oof, that’s not for me!

“Too much orange peel? Smells kinda like cat butt, though.”

There’s one flavor I got right off the bat besides the orange (beet-carrot).

“Is it a creamsicle?”

No, it’s not quite a concept tea.

“Oh it’s orange. Is it like a French one?”

No, not quite.

“Lemongrass. Everytime I smell it, I smell a little cat butt. talking to my old girl on her lap Kinda like yours. I like your cat butt. Is there a little clove in there? You know how much I love clove. I like it, though. I like the vibrant orange. Kinda makes your tongue burn a little bit. There’s the cat butt again. I kinda like the cat butt smell. cackles Is that cinnamon in there, cinnamon? It’s like drinking juice. I finished it, I like it. 8.5, maybe a 9.”

Oh?

“Yeah, uh-huh. See, I don’t drink juice anymore, so anytime I can drink burp something that tastes like juice, I go for it. burp Mhm, so sweet. Is there sugar in there? SO what is it?”

Orange Glow. I rattle off the ingredients.

“Natural orange flavoriiiing… why can’t they use the orange peel?”

There is orange peel in it.

“That’s it. Thank you, Cameron. Can I send you some pot? cackles Okay.”

Rich, chocolatey aroma. I dunno if there is chocolate flavoring in this or if it’s only cocoa beans but I get some of that coconutty smell from chocolate scratch-n-sniff stickers and maybe almond. It also smells like irish cream . Taste is about the same intensity as the aroma, brisk, a little oily, reminds me of an irish coffee. So what did I do for this cold, wet evening? I added a half shot of bourbon (no Irish whiskey in the house) and a dab of thiiiick Three Trees vanilla almond milk. The bourbon overpowered everything, but now I’m sufficiently wound down from an exciting day. A Kiki review will be incoming when she’s in the mood for a black tea. Thanks, gmathis :)

Kiki:

“I smell a little vanilla. Marshmallows. lots of smelling Pie, some kind of pie. Flan. Is this another banana cream pie? sips I dunno smells like, fragrant, like perfume. Is it fruity? Is it custard, like a custard thing, like vanilla? Rice pudding. heh I got no clue. What is it? Is it rice pudding? Is it custard? Is it vanilla? Cinnamon, has it got cinnamon in there? Ginger, say ginger! Gingerbread! Is that what it is — gingerbread? Ginger? Ginger? Has it got star anise in it? Is that it? Star anise? Haha.”

Carrot Cape Cupcake.

“Carrot cake cupcake? So it does have some cinnamon and some ginger. Haha. Just like carrot cake, dammit. Yeah, just like it. Son of a bitch. muffled cackles Yeah, that it. That’s good, very nice. Very natural tasting. What did you think?”

I haven’t had any yet. I’ve been typing your constant questions.

“Ohhkeh. a series of belches and giggles It’s a good digestive tea. I’d rate it an 8. I think it’s very good.”

derk:

It totally smells strongly of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Simpson and Vail nailed the aroma! The taste is smooth and less pronounced but the aftertaste retains some of that cream cheese frosting and ?sweet cinnamon? If I hadn’t known what it was I would’ve guessed churros with frosting. I wouldn’t choose to buy this since dessert teas aren’t my thing but color me impressed. Thanks, Cameron!

Kiki:

“Ahhh… Fruity smell. I think it’s herbal. It’s really tasty though, I like it. I don’t taste one thing but a combination of many. Fruits, like apple or orange, lemon, berry. And some kind of spice. It’s very good. I drank it all, hahahaha and I’d say this is an 8.5 for sure, if not a 9. Thank you, Cameron. Or is that cherry? I have nothing left so I’m smelling the bottom of the cup now. …Very nice, I really love the quince. You know how quince has that really fragrant flavor, like perfume… It all disappears quickly, but the smell is really good.”

derk:

Smells sweet, fruity and floral – apple juice, quince. Tastes like dry grass, clean, then the swallow blooms fruity and sweet like nectar, apple, quince, yellow plum, pear. I get a hint of cherry, too, like Kiki. Well rounded fruit perfume. Really easy drinker and great thirst quencher even when hot. I think it would be really good as an iced tea. Would be better if there was more to the actual taste than the dry grass of the green tea.

Alright y’all, here’s my Birthday Tea (several days ago now). I was born in 1983 — a tea one year off fits the bill well enough. I don’t feel old, even around teenagers but put in the perspective of tea years, I should be tasteless and dry by now. But I am neither! And neither is this tea. It smells a little musty, dusty and sour so in human years, I’d put this around 85 years old :P

The dry leaf smells a little of this, a little of that — sour, musty, dusty, woody, cookie, soy sauce. Warmed, it smells rich and sweet with date syrup-coffee-caramel, aged wood and pepperoni, fire-spicy, complex. The rinsed leaf smells like stale coffee, wet earth and wet vegetation. Once brewed, the tea has a forward note of ash. Its general character is spicy, woody, and mineral with a gentle unrefined palm sugar type sweetness. There’s also kind of an underlying umami-seaweed tone. There’s an awesome black sesame oil high note that pierces through everything for 4 or 5 infusions. That note smells and tastes exactly like the homemade black sesame ice cream the sushi chef gifted me with my pandemic to-go birthday dinner.

Thanks, Leafhopper, for allowing me a sample of the oldest tea I’ve had thus far! It was an interesting sip for sure and not a bad one by any means. It’s still a supple, complex oolong with a bit of an opinionated fiery bite.

Rich and juicy, thick with a layered, honeyed mineral upfront sweetness. Balanced astringency and minimal bitterness. It reminds me a lot of oatmeal: notes of honey, apple, cinnamon, osmanthus, citrus and tobacco tones, peaches and apricots, oats, dry grass. Floral, fruity and deep, not as sweet as some Yiwu teas. Lordy that is good! If only it weren’t so high in caffeine. Great Jingmai tea. Powerful, clean, tasty for only 20c/g.

Thank you, Martin :)

Kiki:

“Ohhhh, it smells good. Tastes a little citrusy, like, uh, tannic maybe. It smells like caramel or something, or butterscotch. Smells sweet. It tastes good. I like it. I like the uh, it’s got natural flavors in it, huh? You know they always make it smell a certain way with ‘natural’ flavors which aren’t natural. There’s vanilla there. It’s really smooth, like the creamy. I’m about ready to pass out with all this smelling! What is it that I’m missing?”

Banana.

“Oh it’s like banana, yeah, like those little circus peanuts. That’s pretty good! It’s an 8. So it’s almost like banana pie with the vanilla and the coconut. Thank you, Cameron!”

derk:

Next morning, I’m having the remaining teaspoon. The aroma is amazing. i don’t think it smells at all like circus peanuts, more like overripe bananas mashed for bread. Gah! Overripe bananas, vanilla, butterscotch, a touch of creaminess. I just wish the aroma translated as strongly on the tongue. It’s a little underwhelming. The base Ceylon is ok, it gives a nice astringent-tannic bite along with tobacco-wood flavors. Bird & Blend has won me over with their banana teas for sure.

The dry leaf has some long stems and is a cross between balled and what looks like machine-rolled which give the tea a rustic, textural appearance. I smell raspberries, twigs, rye toast, blackberries, walnuts, charred food, forest floor and surprisingly a floral high note. The warmed leaf gives off a sweet aroma of brown toast dipped in honey-sweetened coffee, grain, walnuts.

First steeps are fruity with red apple and pineapple, mineral, spicy with cinnamon and darker tastes of caramel and rye. I pick up on strawberry hear and there. The tea has a good body and is oily, very clean. It reminds me of an Wuyi oolong. It’s roasty but not overly so, mineral, grassy and light, even; minty. Banana leaf-unripe apricot aftertaste. The tea fades pretty quickly after the fourth infusion, ending with the eighth infusion of 1 minute revealing only a gentle caramel-grassy taste.

I brewed the remaining almost 2 grams grandpa style and the most notable aspect was a very apparent nutmeg nose!

This is on the gentler end of dong ding. The roast is really nice and doesn’t produce those intensely nutty flavors I don’t like about a lot of dong ding oolong. The tea, though, doesn’t have a lot to give. It’s a mellow cup and would be a good no-think’um daily-drink’um.

Thank you Leafhopper :)

This is the first Persian tea I’ve been able to try thanks to Martin. The United States has imposed sanctions on Iran, so we are unable to receive any Iranian goods besides food products, which thankfully includes tea. I was unaware that Iran even produces tea. The arid climate of Iran gives way to a belt of land in the north of the country along the Caspian Sea which is suitable for growing tea. Lahijan is a city located in this region.

Spring 2019 harvest. The dry leaf has a comforting aroma of cinnamon raisin toast, malt and red fruits. The leaf is cut pretty small but I went ahead and prepared according to What-Cha’s recommendation. I used 3g for 300mL, steeped at 95C for 4 minutes. The resulting brew has an aroma of roasted nuts, cinnamon raisin toast, black currants, red fruits, malt and cocoa. The tea is medium- to full-bodied and meaty with balanced tannins and astringency. The flavor is full and smooth with tea rose, rosewood, mineral, roasted nuts, roasted meat and a red fruit tone. It is spicy, body-warming and relaxing and cooling in the chest. Gentle cinnamon raisin toast aftertaste.

This is an excellent tea! It feels very luxurious to me. Despite having roasted nut and meat notes, the tea does not at all have any lingering char taste. I was concerned that the chopped leaf and long steep time would produce a heavy, astringent and bitter tea but it is smooth as could be and light in my stomach. It’s definitely not a black tea that requires milk and/or sugar. One thing to note, though, is with a 4-minute infusion time, the tea is truly good for only 1 cup. I did let today’s brew go for about 6 minutes and it was just as good as the 4-minute brew.

Kiki has been summoned by Cameron B.!

“Ohhh it smells good. It smells kinda floral and fruity. Smells kinda peach-like. No-no it smells like a berry, blackberry or something. Not quince. Maybe it’s got a little jasmine flower to it, too. I’m a little rusty. Strawberry, it’s strawberry isn’t it? Is it raspberry? It’s not apricot. Apple?

Oh, I do taste the kiwi and green apple now that I know! Even the cucumber!

It tastes good, naturally sweet. That’s good. I like it. I would buy it again. It’s clean-tasting and satisfying. I really like it. I’d give it an 8 and a half. I think when I want to drink it again, it’s gotta be 8 or above. This is very nice, light but flavorful. Thank you, Cameron B. Very sweet you are."

I sneaked two sips before I passed it to Kiki. Really good kiwi flavor, and some green apple and cucumber. Good body. I might be a little jealous she got the mug!