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I usually like Lapsang Souchong. But the kinds I have had before have not been nearly as smoky as this one. This one had an overwhelmingly smoky, bacon-y smell even before I brewed it. The tea smelled and tasted too smoky for me to drink more than half a cup. I wanted to like this, but I just don’t.

I am not an Earl Grey person. Never have been. I brewed this tea because it was part of the sampler and I wanted to give it a chance. But I will not rate this tea because I have no understanding of Earl Grey teas – beyond the fact that I usually don’t like them.

HOWEVER, I will say that this tea smells heavenly, and that it was even sort of pleasant.
And I did finish the cup – which is saying a lot for a non-Early Grey person

The dry leaves are gorgeous – the long twisted strands are a delight to look at.
I brewed as directed, but the tea came out light. Even too light to actually get flavor. Not more than very slightly flavored hot water. I tried for a second steep, this time much much longer. This second cup was good. It’s gentle sweetness was more like white than green. All in all a nice cuppa.

A very nice oolong! I like the orange sweetness. First two infusions were outstanding.
The third was a bit weak, but still pleasant.

The white tea is gentle and pleasant. The ginger was not overly dominant, just a hint of flavor, but I got this tingly sensation at the back of my throat that stayed with me for a while after I finished drinking. I’m not sure if I like that or not. I steeped a second time and got a much heavier ginger presence, both in flavor and aroma. I think I like the second cup better than the first.

I’m not very familiar with white tea, so I don’t know how this compares to other whites, but it’s good.

I’m having a bit of a problem with this tea. The taste is good. Not great, but good.
However, in my brain, the potent rose smell is not associated with things edible. It’s a great smell to have on my clothes, or in my room, but it’s off-putting to have that coming out of my teacup. I sort of feel like I’m drinking air freshener. Maybe if the aroma was a little less dominant, I could concentrate of the actual flavor of the tea, which is, I admit, not bad at all.

Last night, after a long day, I wanted a comfort tea. I usually go for my Orange Rooibos, however not so this time – instead I reached for this pu-erh cake. I needed something unflavored, yet mellow This was perfect. The earthyness of pu-erh soothed me so.

Rich and malty it certainly is. I think I have just found my new breakfast tea.

I am one of those people that actually prefer rooibos over honeybush, woodsy taste and all. That said, this honeybush is VERY GOOD. I drank it hot, but now I’m thinking I need to make a huge pitcher of this iced. Should be awesome.