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Haven’t got the time to properly taste tea lately!! :( Have abandoned Steepster for quite a while…

Anyway, have just got the box of “Kokodeshika”, which is an assortment of special Lupicia bagged teas that are available only in certain regions or countries, from my cousin in Japan. I started with this tea (literally “hot spring green tea”). It’s a slightly grassy green tea with the comforting, mild scent of orange. I won’t say it’s special but it did help you relax… I should really drink this when I am in the bathtub :P

I wondered if I have oversteeped this one? Perhaps 3 minutes is really too long. Anyway, I find this cup uncharacteristically bitter… gotta be more careful next time. :(

Thanks Ysaurella for sending me this lovely green tea!

The dry leaves are so wonderfully fragrant… sweet-smelling like potpourri. Some people may be put off by the strong perfume, but that’s exactly what I like about MF’s flavoured teas. :) When brewed the beautiful fragrance is fully translated into fruity and flowery flavours in the liquor. I can’t tell the kind of fruits or flowers they use though… MF wants to keep the formula “mysterious”, apparently. The green tea base is great too. It is very delicate, not too grassy, and it has a sweet finish. It can get a bit bitter when it cools so I would really recommend drinking it hot.

I’ve just realized that this is my first green MF tea… and I am loving it :)

Have been so busy lately that I haven’t properly enjoyed tea for a while! I am now having a long weekend, and I decide that it will be perfect to start it with a tea sample that I received in a recent tea swap with the very generous Steepsterite Ysaurella. :)

One thing I really love about French teas is that they always have pretty, poetic names! This tea (“A day in the countryside”) is no exception. I was expecting a really floral tea (cos there should be lots of flowers in the countryside right?), but it’s nothing like that. Rather, the dry leaves have a tangy smell of cinnamon and dried fruits.

When brewed, this is a warming tea with dominant flavours of cinnamon and orange. Both flavours are very natural, which is good news as I am normally put off by artificial “Fanta”-like orange. But seriously I can’t detect any chestnut in the tea… a real pity. The black tea base is fairly astringent so I am happy that I have kept the brewing time short.

Overall, I am glad to have the chance to taste this tea, which is not available in Hong Kong. Thanks again, Ysaurella! Sharing tea with people around the world is such a beautiful thing. :)

Another GTC tea from Treasures variety box! It’s also the last bag I have for this flavour…

I know everybody has different preference, but it’s hard for me to believe that there are ppl who don’t like a beautiful tea like this. It’s quite a strong tea but it’s “feminized” by a generous amount of bergamot and lavender. When I picked up my cup, I thought I was holding a bouquet of lavender! The floral fragrance was natural and very calming, and it took a cup of fairly good Earl Grey to an even higher level. Lovely.

My last bag of Hanami from GTC’s Treasures… I am sad to see it go! :( Unlike TWG Tea, I don’t think I can get GTC’s tea anywhere but in Singapore…

This is surprisingly creamy, a quality that I do not expect in a sencha. Sakura presents in the form of soft floral fragrance and subtle sweetness in the tea, which is lovely. The sweet flavour reminds me of sakura-scented Japanese sweets I had before. It certainly evokes the image of sakura bloom in spring (in fact, hanami is Japanese for flower viewing)! I can almost see sakura petals in the cup. ;)

The Japanese often pair sencha with sweets (wagashi), and I think this tea is exactly the result of such pairing. I am impressed :)

Something I don’t like about Tea Forte is that their teas always come with surprises – usually not in a good way though. While for most of the brands, you can predict reasonably well what your tea tastes like with the name of the tea (which makes me feel really secure), it doesn’t work for Tea Forte at all because they always add A LOT OF other ingredients apart from those suggested by the name. :( And seems most of these “other ingredients” are herbs and spices that I don’t like…

I didn’t enjoy the first brew of this tea. I was horrified to find tartness of hibiscus and rosehips PLUS the unique sweetness of licorice in the otherwise soothing chamomile tea. I didn’t notice that much mint, but perhaps it’s just because hibiscus got my attention completely. :( When cooled the tartness became even stronger – ugh!!!

It was late at night and I was thirty, so I brewed the tea for the second time instead of preparing another tea. The tartness was gone and the refreshing flavour of lemongrass was able to stand out. There’s also a bit of mint. It tasted a lot better!

Have just brewed a proper cup of this – 2 days ago I got distracted during the brewing process so it was seriously oversteeped… :(

This smells really sweet and creamy! Just like the strawberry milk beverage that I had when I was small. Frankly speaking the strawberry flavour seems quite artificial, but I am ok with it because it tastes pretty nice. Despite having the flavour of candy, this is hardly a tea for children because the black tea base is quite strong!