52 Tasting Notes
I was expecting the dark, musty, barnyardy qualities that I’ve experienced with other puerh teas, so I was surprised at how light colored, thin bodied, and delicate this tea was. Now for the tea itself, it is fantastically interesting, with a host of aromas and several layers of flavors entertaining your whimsy. But I really would have to characterize it as an experience more closely related to that of a dark oolong. I would have trouble justifying the price on this, but if someone made me a mug of it and said “there you go” I would thank them and enjoy it quite a bit.
Preparation
nice smoky aroma. aftertaste is very pleasant. the actual tea itself is delicate, subtle, very mild. the common tea drinker would find this boring, and even i don’t find it memorable. it’s not a tea i would crave, or reach for when its lined up with others. but i don’t mind drinking the tea, i do enjoy it. so there you go.
Preparation
such a luxury! since the leaves are “scented” from being next to jasmine flowers (as opposed to be infused with jasmine oil), the taste is not overwhelmingly floral. but the aroma is incredible! as the leaves unfurl, the aroma comes out and takes you to a japanese garden. the taste is of high quality japanese green tea with floral notes. make it in a french press and watch the leaves unfurl and savor the aroma as it steeps. naturally sweet. superb hot tea, decent iced tea.
Preparation
i’m skeptical of blends that combine green, black, oolong, white, etc. this one has mate, oolong, and black tea in it, and my first thought is, “sounds like a year-end blend trying to get rid of all the tea that didn’t sell” i wish they had named this almond instead of chestnut. it smells like almond, and it tastes like almond. not as strong of almond as i would like, however. if i drink a flavored tea, i really want the flavor to stand out, and here, it’s really just ho-hum. it’s nothing better than what you could go buy at the grocery store in tea bags, it’s a perfectly okay, but mundane, cup of tea. so there you go.
Preparation
there are a lot of boring green teas out there. this is one of the good ones. no, it won’t blow you away, but it’s far above average. a lot of flavored green teas don’t have enough flavoring, and don’t use a high quality green tea. in this one, the apple and mango flavor is strong enough to enjoy it, and the green tea is sweet and grassy. it’s really interesting and enjoyable hot, and it’s really refreshing iced, so there you go!
Preparation
any tea with chamomile, i expect to taste like chamomile and drink at bedtime. at bedtime, i want something sweet. the hibiscus in this is very tart! i also find it strange to drink a chamomile tea that is red in color, but that’s a very minor complaint. i think i would have liked the apple/mango/chamomile blend, without the hibiscus. tart chamomile is not a good thing. added sugar, but it just doesn’t work as a bedtime tea, and i don’t want chamomile in the morning, so there you go.
Preparation
they say it is “award-winning” but don’t say who provided the award. i probably would NOT have given it an award, although, with that said, it’s an above-average chai blend. the quality is very high, with actual cardamom pods and well-balanced spices….none of the spices overpower any of the others. it’s a very nice chai. if i had to put my finger on it, i’d just say…it’s not different. it’s not memorable, it’s not unique in any way to make it stand out. but that’s okay, right? a lot of times, you just want…plain chai. and this is a good one. so there you go.
