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My first Nilgiri tea! :) Thank you so much to Nicole for the generous sample! This tea is very nicely balanced, strong and completely smooth. It is not as strong as an Assam, but quite a bit stronger than Darjeelings of course. I wasn’t sure about how to prepare it, so, when I first tried it a few days ago, I steeped it for 3 minutes. I steeped it for 5 minutes today, and I have to say that I am enjoying the longer steeped tea more. The extra time did not make the tea bitter at all…increased the strength nicely while maintaining smoothness.

This is not the worst tea I’ve ever tasted, but it’s definitely not one I’d say I enjoy. I don’t know which black tea they used is in this one, but it must be weak, because it’s masked by the smattering of spices…which aren’t all bad, but not the greatest in combination. I made the mistake of judging chais on this tea early in my tea drinking life. I have recently had some chai teas that I really like, but I waited a long time to try them. I’ll finish out the 20 bags in this box because I hate to waste tea…but I won’t buy it again.

This was the first gunpowder in my collection. It’s stronger than my pinhead gunpowder, and maybe a little less smoky. I don’t taste the grassiness that has been mentioned by others, but maybe it’s because I have limited experience…when I see grassy, I think Japanese green tea, and this is nothing like that. It’s actually smoother than the pinhead gunpowder, although, I have to say, I enjoy the pinhead’s bitterness. This tea is also quite a bit cheaper, making it a nice alternative. I definitely recommend it for those of you that like Chinese gunpowder green teas.

This is another case of me being easily satisfied when it comes to black tea, I suppose. :P I usually do not care for Bigelow teas (from what I remember, I really didn’t like their green tea). Anyway, this is a good basic black tea, in my opinion. It’s smooth, not bitter, and it has a strength that lends itself to drinking any time of the day. I hadn’t had this one in a couple months, and I’ve tried a lot of black teas in the meantime, so I figured I wouldn’t like it when I tried it today, but, I have to say, it’s a good everyday black tea. My usual routine in the past was to throw 2 bags in 16 oz of water right after it boils and wait 10 minutes…usually had it around 4 PM to give me a little caffeine to finish out the workday and head to the gym.

What’s an afternoon without a little Ceylon tea? I found a stray bag of this tea in my stash…may have been the last bag in my possession, but not for too long, as I will buy this one again. It’s a nice smooth Ceylon…smoother than that Twinings Ceylon that I enjoy, but you guys don’t particularly like. :P I’ll still buy that one too, but I’ll probably rotate this one and the Ahmad Ceylon in the afternoon most of the time…if I can ever find the Ahmad Ceylon again! I’ll probably head up to the Raleigh/Durham area soon, so I’ll just go back to that random Turkish store in Cary where I found it last time, haha! Happy Saturday, everyone!

Good tea for a Saturday afternoon…sipping while relaxing and listening to some downtempo. This is the last of a sample…the tea has a slight bitterness that I enjoy, and a lightness that makes it good for this time of day. I’m on the fence about whether or not to buy 100 grams of this one…it’s definitely a nice tea though. I’m good for now, plenty of tea in the cabinets, and I’m starting to practice a little restraint and holding out a while between tea purchases. :P

Another pretty good bagged tea from Choice. It doesn’t seem to have quite the bite of an Assam, but it’s fairly strong, and has a decent smoothness to it…not as smooth as a Ceylon, but still pretty nice. I’ll have to drink it more to give a better review, but I do like drinking it.

I usually am not a big fan of flavored teas, but I really enjoy this tea. I have to be in the mood for it, but when I am, it definitely hits the spot. The sweet flavor isn’t overwhelming, and it is balanced nicely with the black tea…very smooth. I know I mention price a lot, but, I am very appreciative when a tea is sold at a good price…this one is really, really inexpensive. Definitely worth purchasing and trying out…or let me know if you want a sample, and I’ll gladly send you some!

This one is okay. It smells amazing, so I thought it would taste better. It’s slightly vegetal and a little smoky, with a hint of sweetness…didn’t really detect any bitterness. The issue I have with the tea is that it’s pretty weak. I steeped it for 3 minutes for the first steep and 10 minutes for the second steep…I didn’t try a third steep because it still seemed weak after a 10 minute steep. I have a lot of it, and I don’t mind drinking it, but, I won’t buy it again. It was really cheap, $10.99 for 8 oz…I’ll try a long first steep next time to see if I can get one solid cup out of the leaves.

I’m surprised by how low this tea is rated on here. Of course it’s not the best tea in the world, but, in my opinion, it’s a nice basic black tea. I enjoy drinking this in the late afternoon…it doesn’t have the strength of the morning Irish or English Breakfast Tea, but it’s pretty smooth for an inexpensive bagged tea. To be honest, I’ve never tasted a Ceylon I didn’t like, and this one is no exception.