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So Arby won a Vahdam contest for free teas, but for some reason they weren’t shipping to Canada so Arby had Vahdam send them my way. Thanks so much for thinking of me, Arby! (And again, sorry they weren’t shipping to Canada.) I will also be adding a large amount of these teas to the teabox, to share the wealth. The teas were random teas that Vahdam chose and they sent this one and for some reason, two packages of Ayurvedic Rose Herbal Green. Luckily I will probably be a fan of both teas. I do like smoky teas and this one had the added interest of being an assam. I’m not sure if I’ve ever knowingly had a smoky assam. But it seems like it would be a good pairing. This is a good one. The leaves are very long and mostly black. Not one of those tiny leaf assams, which hey, I probably like the big leaf and small leaf assams for different reasons. I like ALL THE TEAS. Sometimes a tea company can have an off putting smoke flavor and scare most tea fans away from smoky teas for good. For example, my rating for Twinings Lapsang Souchong was a SIX. It was disgusting. I rarely rate teas so low. This tea has a delicious smoky flavor, it’s a bit sweet and like barbeque sauce. And an interesting addition to the lovely assam flavor. It is a unique flavor combination, which somehow I probably don’t already have in my tea cupboard. Since the leaves are bigger, the flavor is lighter but has definite hints of a usual assam flavor. This is a great base tea for the smoke, and both the smoke and base are elevated by each other. I like it! If you don’t like this smoky tea you might not like them in general. But the more teas you try, the better!
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// 15 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // couple minutes after boiling // 4 minute steep

Leafhopper

Vahdam doesn’t ship to Canada? I got an order from Golden Tips a few years ago, so this surprises me.

tea-sipper

It’s probably just the contest that Arby won that wouldn’t ship to Canada?

Leafhopper

Maybe. Golden Tips used FedEx, so I can understand not wanting to ship free tea using that method.

Arby

Glad to hear you are enjoying it! I’m happy it went to a good home.

tea-sipper

It did! This is especially nice in cold, rainy autumn weather. :D Thanks again

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Leafhopper

Vahdam doesn’t ship to Canada? I got an order from Golden Tips a few years ago, so this surprises me.

tea-sipper

It’s probably just the contest that Arby won that wouldn’t ship to Canada?

Leafhopper

Maybe. Golden Tips used FedEx, so I can understand not wanting to ship free tea using that method.

Arby

Glad to hear you are enjoying it! I’m happy it went to a good home.

tea-sipper

It did! This is especially nice in cold, rainy autumn weather. :D Thanks again

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Bio

Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.

Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandala
verdanttea.com

Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas

My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.

Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!

I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.

My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors

My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again

I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)

Happy sipping!

Location

USA

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