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Trying some Assams this morning – tasting this one along with “Black Beauty” from Tealux. The dry leaves are small, with lots of golden tips. The scent has a lot of floral and fruity notes, and some buscuit maybe? The scent as it brews is actually quite mild, and the taste is smooth and balanced – no one flavour is really jumping out at me. There’s a slight hint of bitterness, but I think I probably just haven’t figured out the ideal way to steep this yet.

So as far as I can tell, this tea is pretty much identical to The Tea Spot’s “White Wedding Tea”. Which is pretty much what I was hoping for when I ordered it, so yay? Anyway, it’s quite lovely: light and sweet and caramel-y (from the chestnut flavouring). The jasmine flowers are there, but I don’t really perceive any jasmine flavour. It’s yummy.

I was in the mood for something a bit sweet after dinner, so I brewed up a cup of this. I added sweetener (xylitol – does anybody else use that in place of sugar?) and milk, and it’s hitting the spot quite nicely. :) I get caramel and vanilla from this – not really any fruitiness, but maybe that’s because I added milk right away. It’s nicely flavoured, not too strong or overwhelming.
Addendum: I stuck my nose in the bag while waiting for the water to reboil, and yeah, the scent of the dry tea is definitely fruity! Smells like chocolate-covered cherries. The 2nd steeping is pretty light and I’m drinking it straight. It still has a subtle sweetness to it.

Working my way through the Tea at Sea samples. :)
I steeped this western style because I didn’t want to use up the whole sample in one go! So 2.5g, washed once for about 10 seconds, then steeped in 8oz of just-off-boiling water for 3min. I love the rich red-brown colour of this tea! It smells and tastes earthy, like walking through a shaded forest after a rain.

Mmm, this is a very nice end-of-day tea for me (here’s hoping it doesn’t have enough caffeine to keep me awake!). The scent is a little sweet, a little woody, a little floral… I was amused that “hot hay” is an option in the list of flavours/scents, because that’s what I was thinking about – fresh hay that’s been warming in the sun all day. Honey, bread, grassy, floral… smooth and gentle, with bit of astringency at the end of the cup. Nice.

This came in my October Tea Sparrow box. It’s a pretty simple rose flavoured white tea, nice enough but not my favourite rose-y tea by any stretch. I just got a little gram scale for weighing tea, and was amazed that 3 generous teaspoons of this only amounted to 2.8g – so I’m beginning to see why Tea Sparrow recommends 1 tbsp per cup!

I’m doing a head to head tasting of this with the “Ceylon Pekoe” from the same company. It is also a smooth, woodsy tea but not quite as rich as the Pekoe and there is a really distinctly different flavour that I’m having trouble identifying. It’s kind of floral, and kind of grassy or grainy? Anyway, it’s very nice but again, I don’t think I love it enough to want to buy more of it. Luckily the sample packages have enough that I can give it a couple more tries before making a final decision. :)

I’m doing a head to head tasting with this and the “Ceylon FFEXSP” from the same company. It’s a smooth, enjoyable Pekoe with a woodsy/earthy flavour. Compared to the other, this had a richer aroma while steeping and a bit of a darker flavour. I like it, but probably not enough to buy more of it? I think I’m going to try brewing it darker next time and adding some milk +/- sugar to see what that’s like.

My first Whispering Pines tea! I chose this in part because I wanted to try the roasted cedar and vanilla bean (and several of the blends with those ingredients were out of stock when I placed my order). This is a really interesting and unique tea. When I first smelled it dry, I couldn’t place any of the flavours, it was just this mysterious earthy boozy deliciousness. Going back after reading the ingredients, I can smell the vanilla and cedar. I’m not sure what saffron smells like, so I can’t tell if it’s there. :)

Brewed, the black tea base takes centre stage, with the various other ingredients adding richness and complexity. It totally does remind me of being out on canoe camping trips: waking up in the morning and stepping out of my tent to breathe the fresh morning air and gaze out over the water.