Tea for Me Please - Nicole Wilson Send Message

If there was ever a tea made for winter nights this would be it. I seriously feel like I’m sipping bourbon rather than tea. The level of smoke is just right to give a bit of tongue tingles. I love that a fit of fruitiness still peaks through.

This stuff is full of chocolatey awesomesauce. It goes the distance in my gaiwan too. I got it as a sample with my recent order. It’s rare that I find a tea I like this much that is so inexpensive.

This tea came very, very close to beating Wild Monk as my favorite offering from Mandala Tea. The notes of vanilla and mega floral sweetness were a real surprise after an astringent first couple of steeps. Definitely worth checking out!

This tea is really hard to describe. I tried it today at the tea festival for the first time and had to buy a tin (even though I promised myself I wouldn’t purchase anything, let’s just say that resolution didn’t last long). Their tasting notes sound very strange but they are accurate. Morning mist, yellow cake and peaches. The top note is a really refreshing vegetal note that I’ve never experienced in a black tea. It reminded me of what the grass, wet with dew, smelled like when I went camping as a kid. In the middle it really does taste like yellow cake batter. Yum! Each sip ends with a peachy note. I rarely buy whole tins anymore but I’m looking forward to playing around more with this one.

How’s this for three words that I never thought I’d see together? An Instagram follower asked what it tasted like. My response was oak smoked peaches.

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These leaves are so pretty! I’ve never met a Jun Chiyabari that I didn’t like, although it always feels a bit like I’m cheating on my love affair with Darjeeling. This one was all fruity, nutty, spicy yumminess. It stayed strong through a second infusion.

There has been a lot of buzz about this tea and I finally got a chance to break into my brick tonight. Is it the best puerh that I’ve ever had? Of course not. Is it the best $15/100g puerh that I’ve ever had? Absolutely! The taste was thick and earthy with lots of camphor and even a bit of piney smokiness. In a way, I’m reminded of the rosin that I used to rub my violin bow with back in grade school. It’s been too long since I’ve been able to indulge in a halfway decent puerh and this one went straight to my head.

Holy cow this stuff is awesome. I originally sampled it at Satemwa’s booth at World Tea Expo but it was towards the end of the last day and the leaves were just about done. Now that I was able to properly steep it I’m pretty blown away. The level of complexity is crazy, especially for a tea that is made entirely out of stems. I could drink this all night (in fact I think I will).