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This is only my second genmaicha…and I still haven’t managed to have a completely green one. Ive had this one a while but haven’t tried it yet because, well, I kinda forgot I bought it.

1st Steep-3 minutes
I normally steep my black blended teas 5 minutes on the first steep but I am going to listen to David because I think he knows better than me. This steep was AMAZING. The roasty flavor from the Wuyi oolong and the rice. And the chocolate—-oh my good Lord, the chocolate. It was the most beautiful, natural chocolate flavor I have ever found in a tea. It is such a beautiful, smooth tea.

2nd Steep-6 minutes
It still has that toasted rice flavor but the chocolate is even more apparent. Not as strong a cup as the previous steep but still plenty flavorful.

3rd Steep-9 minutes
Honey, caramel and still a bit of that toasty rice flavor. Not so much chocolate but the flavors that were present were lovely.

I think this one will be the standard against which every other chocolate tea will be judged. It was perfect. It was smooth and toasty and very chocolaty. I am already holding myself back from ordering more.

I did something crazy today. I really like this pu’er but I felt like I was in the mood for something a bit loopy. I brewed it for the recommended 5 minutes—not my normal schtick with pu’er but I had PLANS for this brew. I then proceeded to add a heaping teaspoon of anisette sugar and a small pinch of espresso powder. It sounds insane but I love strong espresso with a splash (or more) of Sambuca and this reflected that yumminess perfectly.

I have been in the midst of a very stressful time. To calm myself I drank the samples that Garret sent me with my birthday order.

1st Steep-30 seconds
Garret obviously knows my tea tastes very well because I loved this tea at first steep. It was smoky but, again, not that heavy lapsang smoke but a sweeter more pleasant smoke.

2nd Steep-45 seconds
Very mildly smoky. There’s also a nice leathery note. Sweet on the finish. It’s getting that pipe smoke taste.

3rd Steep-1 minute
The leathery note is still there with the sweet finish. There is also a bit of clove spice. Very nice.

4th Steep-1.30 minutes
So very smooth with a vanilla note. Not exactly sweet but more of a nutty type of vanilla. My favorite steep so far.

5th Steep-2 minutes
Vanilla buttercream. That’s about as close as I can describe this one. It was sweet vanilla with a nice buttery note.

I had to give up on this one earlier than I wanted to. My teapot got shuffled into the sink while I was reserving my leaves. But I really liked this tea. Very much. I really loved the sweeter later steeps which is odd for me considering I tend to gravitate towards smoky teas. When I was planning my Mandala order, it came down to this one or a Yong de Organic cake and I picked the Yong de. I don’t necessarily regret it but I will be buying a cake of this one in the soontime.

I love strawberry and rhubarb. It’s one of the only pies I like. I was delighted when Sil included this tea in with the other samples she sent me. I have been searching for a good strawberry tea that did not taste like Crystal Lite or chapstick and I think I have found it.

This was the most pleasant and natural tasting strawberry tea I have ever had. It tasted like a really ripe and juicy strawberry. I was also really surprised how much I loved the hibiscus in this one. It wasn’t overpowering at all and added a nice bite to it like rhubarb. I am also getting a bit of spice maybe cinnamon or clove. It’s bringing out a pie crust feel.

I think this may be the first strawberry tea that worked for me. I’m pretty picky when it comes to fruity teas but this was just perfect. I would buy pounds of this tea fairly comfortably without any guilt or panic. I will definitely be ordering a bunch of teas from Butiki because this one was just delicious.

Thanks to Sil for this sample.

Thanks to Sil for sending me this lovely tea.

The past two days have been terrible in a bad way. I had a bit of a family emergency and I haven’t slept for over two days. The only thing that kept me sane during this stressful time is the process of brewing tea. And this tea was excellent.

1st Steep-15 seconds
Very grassy in a good. There are also nice citrus notes with a creamy finish. It’s also a bit floral but in a gentle way.

2nd Steep-18 seconds
Grassy with lime notes. There is a merengue note on the finish. That sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

3rd Steep-20 seconds
Still grassy with a bit of a peppery note. Kind of like arugula. Not exactly a combination that you like to find in tea but it was so tasty.

4th Steep-40 seconds
Still sort of grassy but the pepper is gone. Much more vegetal. Admittedly not my favorite steep but pleasant.

5th Steep-1 minute
Tastes like the olive oil my family brings from Italy when they visit. My family calls it the good stuff. I could drink that stuff straight. Fruity with a olive tang. My favorite steep.

6th Steep-2 minutes
Still get the olive oil but with a bit of spice. Not pepper but rosemary. A bit piney.

7th Steep-3 minutes
Again I am going to sound insane but I am getting basil notes with a lemon tang. Lemon and basil is one of my favorite combinations.

This was definitely a pleasant tea that helped to keep me stress free during a very trying two days. I don’t think it’s going to be one I rush to buy but I do like it but I have Golden Fleece higher up on my priorities list for when I get my voucher.

Thank you to Sil for sending me this sample.

I drank this while preparing the menu for Easter this year. It’s my turn to bake and I am planning on baking my sanity away this week with the Easter pies, the Creme Brulee and the cupcakes. It calmed me and kept me from having a good bit of panic. Laoshan Black may just be a miracle drug for me.

1st Steep-1 minute
Holy Laoshan Black. Normally I’m one of those people who think I’ll hate what everyone else loves. Usually it’s true but with Laoshan Black, I couldn’t be wronger. Is wronger even a word? It’s beautiful. That’s all. It tastes like chocolate and cinnamon. There’s also a nice creamy note. I let my mother who hates tea sip this and she loved it. That is a special tea.

2nd Steep-2 minutes
The chocolate is even more intense with a nutty note. This tastes like Nutella. I hate Nutella for the simple reason that they try to pretend there is no chocolate in there—clearly a lie— but this tastes like it. And it is so so good.

3rd Steep-3 minutes
Still very chocolaty but it has transformed into a milk chocolate whereas the other steeps were a heavier dark chocolate. There is also a bread note which is bringing back the whole Nutella feel. Nutella on toast is my childhood in a box.

4th Steep-4 minutes
The cinnamon came out of nowhere and took over. It tasted like I had steeped a cinnamon stick. Not spicy but sweet and flavorful. The chocolate was still there but it was firmly in the background.

5th Steep-5 minutes
Caramel and cream. A bit of cinnamon. It’s not losing much of its flavor at all.

6th Steep-15 minutes
This is my extremely long, ill-advised final steep. It tasted kind of like graham crackers and marshmallow. Does that sound insane? And after steeping for 15 minutes, there was no astringency at all.

Laoshan Black is an experience. I was all prepared to be the odd duck in the room who didn’t like it but I loved it. I am tempted to hoard 4oz or so but I already hoard way too many teas and it’s starting to become a concern. Either way, this tea is a staple.

I spent 4 days with this tea. It was 4 days of pure tea bliss where each steep was something new and something brilliant.

I somewhat deliberately overleafed this time around. I think I used around 7g.

1st Steep-30 seconds
Somewhat smokey but it’s more of a camphor or mint type of feel. There was also a crisp fruitiness on the finish. Like a green apple.

2nd Steep-45 seconds
Somewhat similar to the first steep with the camphor and smoke but much more apple and a bit sweeter. There is also a spicy note peaking through. A nice creamy finish.

3rd Steep-1 minute
Holy 3rd Steep! Apples, spices and a nice toasty note—-almost bread like. Is it possible to get a pie-crust note in tea? I’m also definitely getting cloves and nutmeg. Some cinnamon pops out every odd sip. There is also a citrus note in the background. Am I crazy to say this tastes like pie?

4th Steep-1.30 minutes
This is my second day with this tea and I still love it. Smells like honey and apples. Faint taste of heavy cream. Maybe some raw sugar. It’s also not mellowing out much.

5th Steep-2 minutes
Lots of honey and citrus. Apple is in the background. Creamy finish.

6th Steep-2.30 minutes
Sort of grassy. Apple crispness returned with a natural honey sweetness.

7th Steep-3 minutes
This is the 3rd day with this tea. It’s become like a friend of mine and there is very little fade so I am a bit convinced that I will be brewing this tea for the next week. This steep still had the apple but it was more starchy. Maybe a bit like jicama.

8th Steep-3.30 minutes
Honey and spices. The apple is gone but it’s still so tasty. I’ve been brewing this tea for 3 days and I am not ready to let it go yet.

9th Steep-4 minutes
Spicy note. Not so much the sweet sort of spice from the previous steeps but a spice I can feel. Like cinnamon. This steep is also a bit fruity.

10th Steep-4.30 minutes
The apple is back with a bit of lemon on the finish. I am shocked how well this tea stood up to 3 (almost 4) days of steeping.

11th Steep-15 minutes
I usually do one extremely long steep at the end to squeeze whatever flavor I can from the leaves. It worked well here. The apple pie taste is back but less aggressively. The bready note also re-appeared when the tea cooled down a bit.

This tea was amazing. Almost 4 days with it and not a single moment of boredom or wanting to try something else. The flavors jumped all over the place and each steep was a revelation in and of itself. I could have easily brewed this for another 10 steeps and not have minded at all. Such a beautiful sheng. I am so happy I bought a cake.

My favorite goalie just scored a goal so I figure I can get off my lazy behind and catch up on my tea notes.

Honey is one of my favorite things in the world. I have 5 or more varieties in my cupboard at all times. I also love caffeine. I depend on it for survival. And that, my friends, is why I bought Honey Bee. I bought it on a whim as most of my Davids purchases are. But I find that I really really like it a lot.

Dry this tea smelt so lovely. A bit grassy but with an intense honey scent. Brewed the honey was intense both in the flavor and scent. It was like being kicked in the face by one of those clover honey bears you see in supermarkets. It was almost floral and naturally sweet. I also got a nice lemony note from the zest and the lemon myrtle that worked well with the honey. The rooibos rounded out the flavor quite nicely as well with a bit of roasty woodiness.

This one was my first straight Assam and I think I may have fallen in love. Big time. I brewed this one according to instructions on the package. I would usually have brewed it in 1 minute increments but I did one brew of 3 minutes.

The result was a lovely malty yet sweet brew of heavenly black tea. I loved the malt of this tea. There was also a nice honey sweetness along with the malt. I was a bit surprised to find a fruity note in there. Peach or apricot…I can’t decide but it was good. There was also a slight bit of tang that’s not quite astringency but awakens the palate.

I will definitely be buying more of this. It could become my morning black tea. I had a cup this morning and did not even have a desire for my regular cup of coffee. Coffee is starting to smell like wet dog to me anyway.

Thanks to Teajo Teas for sending me a sample.

I am prone to migraine headaches. Very bad ones. My vision goes and I can barely move. I’ve been searching for a natural remedy for years because stuffing myself full of aspirin and sleeping it off just wasn’t working. A friend suggested trying peppermint tea. I don’t know why and she didn’t either. But it works. A couple of sips of this tea and my migraine was gone.

Even without the migraine eradicating properties—for which I am eternally grateful—-this was a lovely cup of tea. Flavorful and simple yet tasty. It was also quite strong with the mint which I really appreciated. I didn’t add any sweetener this time around but a pinch of rock sugar or honey would be lovely.

I did oversteep this by quite a bit because I needed it to be super strong but normally I’d steep it for 4 or 5 minutes.