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Experience buying from Teavana Online http://steepster.com/places/2822-teavana-online-atlanta-georgia

Age of leaf: No information available on website.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: very fluffy and light; a mixture of both moderately sized light-green and dark-green leaves with a light brown leaf mixed in here and there; vegetal, and sweet—like a quality Chinese black tea.

Brewing guidelines: Loose in glass Bodum pot. Stevia added.
……….1st: 170; 1’
……….2nd: 175; 1.5’
……….3rd: 180; 2’
……….4th: 185; 2.5’

Color and aroma of tea liquor: amber, with a yellow/green hue (if that’s possible; maybe it’s just my knowing that this is predominately a green tea).

Flavor of tea liquor: very unusual for a ‘green’ tea; the flavor provided by the black tea leaves seems to take front stage, but there is still a vegetal flavor. Maintained good flavor though four steepings.

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: Very high quality pluck: lots of whole leaves, buds, and bud sets, with very few pieces; smells vegetal, and dare I say, sour?

Blends well with: I would imagine this to blend well with many standard tasting green and Chinese black teas.

Value: Expensive at full price ($9/oz), but definitely worth buying at Teavana’s 50-75% off sale ($2.25/oz)

Overall: A year ago, when I first encountered this tea, I remember the Teavana salesman telling me that there is about one black leaf per every six green leaves; and now looking more closely at this tea that seems to be true. It is interesting, because the flavor of the black leaves seems to predominate in the taste. For black tea lovers (like myself, albeit a fairly new convert), the strong presence of a quality Chinese black tea in the flavor is definitely good; it seems to be a well balanced tea where the vegetal green tea flavors co-mingle nicely with the sweet/caramel-y notes (which take center stage). My wife did not care for the first two steepings (she is not a big fan of unflavored black teas), but she thought the third steeping was OK. Although this tea did not have a standard green tea flavor profile, I really enjoyed it. It is pretty amazing that this marriage works out, as I brewed it at normal green tea temperatures, which are considerably lower than what a Chinese black normally calls for. Teavana usually discontinues any teas they put on sale, but it looks like they’re keeping this one around. I’m glad, as it’s definitely a keeper.

Experience buying from Teavana Online http://steepster.com/places/2822-teavana-online-atlanta-georgia

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: It has a very strong citrus scent, which I really like. It doesn’t look like there is much green rooibos tea in here, but it may be that much of the tea is on the bottom of the bag I am currently using; lot’s of apple bits.

Brewing guidelines: four tsp tea, four cups water; six-cup ceramic teapot, tea in large, metal tea-ball; stevia added.
……….1st: Off boil, slightly warmed pot; 2’
……….2nd: Boiling, warmed pot; 4’
……….3rd: Spot on boiling, warmed pot, 8’

Color and aroma of tea liquor: light yellow color, mild lemon scent.

Flavor of tea liquor: The lemon flavor is strong: we could both easily discern a lemon note on the middle of our tongues (is this where the taste buds that detect citrus-y flavors, are?). This tea reminds us both of Teavana’s Citron Green tea blend, which is a tea we have both enjoyed.

Blends well with: I would think, because the flavor is not too strong, that it would blend well with many different teas that don’t conflict with a lemon flavor.

Value: Great at 50-75% off the regular price (same as Teavana’s Zocolatte Spice: $1.70 for 2oz at 75% off).

Overall: Even more than the Zocolatte Spice, my wife and I both enjoyed this tea from start to finish. It has a great aroma and very refreshing flavor. Yet, as with the Zocolatte Spice, I think it may take more than one tsp of tea per cup of water to give it as strong a flavor as we would like, which is why I wouldn’t want to pay full price for this tea; still, luckily I bought lots of this tea on sale, so, I look forward to brewing up this delicious lemon lime tea all throughout the year!

Experience buying from Teavana Online http://steepster.com/places/2822-teavana-online-atlanta-georgia

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: Lots of light and dark brown bits, with a delightful splash of red color from the peppercorns; strong smell: like chai, but with chocolate notes.

Brewing guidelines: four tsp tea, four cups water; six-cup ceramic teapot, tea in large, metal tea-ball; stevia added.
……….1st: Off boil, slightly warmed pot; 2’
……….2nd: Boiling, warmed pot; ~4’
……….3rd: Spot on boiling, warmed pot, 7’

Color and aroma of tea liquor: light brown; I though it would have been darker; smells strongly of clove (even on third steeping).

Flavor of tea liquor: My wife and I both like the taste of this tea, which tasted somewhat like a chocolat-y chai, but lighter tasting; still some flavor on the third steeping.

Blends well with: For those that like chocolate, I would think this tea would be a great addition to any chai.

Value: Great at 50-75% off the regular price (it’s $1.70 for 2 oz at 75% off).

Overall: My wife and I both enjoyed this tea from start to finish. I think it may take more than one tsp of tea per cup of water to give it as strong a flavor as we would like, and that’s why I wouldn’t want to pay full price for this tea; still, I look forward to brewing up this no-caffeine tisane on cold evenings throughout the winter!

Backlogging (so, based almost entirely on my notes: this review has been a long time coming …)

Experience buying from SpecialTeas http://steepster.com/places/2931-specialteas-online-stratford-connecticut

Age of leaf: I do not know because I ordered over the phone, and, alas, did not ask.

Packaging: The two pounds of tea was packaged in a fairly standard looking sturdy silver-colored plastic bag with a small label containing the name and weight of the tea.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: The same as Teavana’s Yunnan Emerald Buds: a mixture of both very light-green and dark-green smallish leaves; very aromatic: vegetal with a strong smoky overtone, and a hint of licorice.

Brewing guidelines: This is all from memory of brewing it on occasion over the last year: glass Bodum pot with metal infuser/plunger. Stevia added.
……….1st: 180; 1’
……….2nd: 185; 1.5’
……….3rd: 190; 2’
……….4th: 195; 2.5’

Color and aroma of tea liquor: pale yellow and somewhat cloudy: not very inviting looking for a green tea; mild aroma.

Flavor of tea liquor: about the same as the leaves smell, but not as strong: vegetal, and slightly smoky with a note of licorice. I remember that I would have a slight dry-mouth feeling after drinking this tea (as with Teavana’s) which I think is attributable to some astringency in it; it’s not overwhelming, just worth noting as I don’t find that I get this with any of the other greens I normally drink.

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: Standard chopped leaf: medium to small pale green looking pieces of leaves and buds, with a fair amount of stems; not very fresh looking; mild aroma similar to dried leaves.

Blends well with: This blended nicely with at least one Huang Shan Mao Feng.

Value: Awesome at $9.99 for 2 pounds; that’s about 32 cents an ounce. Not bad, huh!?

Overall: I believe this is the same tea as Teavana’s Yunnan Emerald Buds, so my description of each are almost identical. I tried steeping this tea a number of times to find the best temperature to coax out the most flavor, and finally found that it needs to be steeped hotter than your standard green (start at 180 rather then 170). Based strictly on memory of when I first tried this tea at the beginning of last year, I remember the flavor overall being mild, and don’t think it had very much flavor at all on the third (let alone forth) steeping. Otherwise, it seems to be the same as Teavana’s: a standard green tea vegetal flavor with a slightly smoky overtone and a hint of liquorish added in at the end. Although mild, a fairly standard—albeit interesting tasting—green tea.

Experience buying from Teavana Online http://steepster.com/places/2822-teavana-online-atlanta-georgia I need to update that review to include my new purchase experience, which was generally positive.

Age of leaf: No information available on website.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: a mixture of both very light-green and dark-green smallish leaves; very aromatic: vegetal with a strong smoky overtone, and a hint of licorice.

Brewing guidelines: Glass Bodum pot with metal infuser/plunger. Stevia added. For reasons I mention below I went with higher-than-normal temperatures.
……….1st: 180; 1’
……….2nd: 185; 1.5’
……….3rd: 190; 2’
……….4th: 195; 2.5’

Color and aroma of tea liquor: pale yellow and somewhat cloudy: not very inviting looking for a green tea; mild aroma.

Flavor of tea liquor: about the same as the leaves smell, but not as strong: vegetal, with smoky and licorice notes. I noticed that I had a slight dry-mouth feeling after drinking the second steeping, which I think is attributable to some astringency in the tea; not overwhelming, just worth noting as I don’t get this with the greens I normally drink.

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: Standard chopped leaf: medium to small pale green looking pieces of leaves and buds, with a fair amount of stems; not very fresh looking; mild aroma similar to dried leaves.

Blends well with: I imagine this would blend well with any other smoky green—like a Huang Shan Mao Feng.

Value: Expensive at full price ($4.90/oz), but worth buying at Teavana’s 75% off sale. Interestingly enough, even at the sale price it is still about three times what the SpecialTeas version was going for (on sale) last year.

Overall: Based on the name, the appearance, the aroma, and the taste of this tea (and the fact that Teavana bought out SpecialTeas about a year ago), I strongly suspect that this tea is basically the same tea as SpecialTeas China Green Yunnan Silver Tips (which I still have from about a year ago). SpecialTeas Yunnan Silver Tips seemed to give it’s best flavor at higher temperatures (that’s why I decided to go with the higher temperatures on this tea). The Teavana version is probably from a newer harvest (I hope so, at least) than the SpecialTeas version, and it does seem to fair better on the third steeping than the SpecialTeas version, and this version was surprisingly smooth tasting and still had decent flavor on the third (if I can reproduce that the next time I steep this tea remains to be seen, though); this impressed me, as the third steeping of many green teas usually don’t have that much flavor to speak of, and this third steeping wasn’t astringent tasting either (although I had that somewhat odd dry-mouth sensation). So, what stands out most about this tea? the licorice flavor (and that it had good flavor on the third steeping). All of that said, I am still amazed that this tea is three times the price of the SpecialTeas version (at 75% off it cost me $9.99 for two pounds of it). This only reminds me of the unfortunate event of SpecialTeas going out of business. Oh well. At least SpecialTeas very existence was (and still is) a testament that tea retailers can produce teas that are as good as Teavana for a much better price. Hail to SpecialTeas!

Experience buying from Harney & Sons http://steepster.com/places/2779-harney-and-sons-online-millerton-new-york

Age of leaf: from memory: reasonably fresh lot #, bought in later summer 2011, brewed up a month or two after I got it.

Packaging: In a sealed silver bag inside one of their standard tins.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: Similar in appearance to Teavana’s Three Kingdoms Mao Feng, but smaller leaves; standard green tea aroma with some other interesting smell I could not pin down.

Brewing guidelines: Glass Bodum pot with metal infuser/plunger. Stevia added.
……….1st: 173; 1’
……….2nd: 178; 1.5’
……….3rd: 182; 2’
……….4th: 185; 2.5’

Color and aroma of tea liquor: Golden yellow; mild sweet aroma.

Flavor of tea liquor: good, sweet flavor, with little to no astringency. Not much flavor on the third and forth steepings.

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: Dark green, chopped leaves with a number of brown stems/twigs, but otherwise decent looking; fresh vegetal aroma.

Blends well with: I bet this tea would blend very well with just about any other green tea (it blended reasonably well with a few flavored greens I had).

Value: No longer on their website, but it was about $3/oz; not a great price for this tea, but not too bad, either.

Overall: I just finished the last of this today (to make room for all of the new tea I recently bought). I enjoyed this tea. Although I have never seen the likes of the brown twigs in the leaf, the flavor was good. It is definitely a solid green tea.

Backlogging (so based almost entirely on my notes from late summer 2011; I think I previously had something written electronically and stored about this tea but it was accidentally deleted. Bummer.)

Experience buying from Harney & Sons http://steepster.com/places/2779-harney-and-sons-online-millerton-new-york

Age of leaf: I don’t have it in my notes, but I remember that all of the samples from H&S I bought over the summer of 2011 had a relatively recent lot # on them.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: Amazing. Looks like pine needles; the aroma was both very unusual and yet familiar, definitely fresh and good: possibly like pine needles?

Brewing guidelines: Loose in glass Bodum pot, Stevia added.
……….1st: 170; 1.5’
……….2nd: 172; 1.75’
< I only see two steepings in my notes, but I am certain I did at least four steepings, as I almost always do the first time I steep a new green >

Color and aroma of tea liquor: Light green, (and I don’t have it in my notes, but I think it had an aroma I really liked).

Flavor of tea liquor: Note after second steeping, “still incredible flavor, fresh, spring, incredible”

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: “looks fresh, smell eludes me: vegetal, but some other smell is beneath it, hiding from me!”

Value: VERY expensive ($20/oz), but definitely worth trying once as a sample (it was only $2, as all of their samples were, but now it’s either $3 or $4).

Overall: Based solely on memory, this was the most amazing green tea I have ever had. I have had nothing since to match it (although some of Verdant’s green teas come close). It was so amazing, when I originally sat down to write the review, sipping at it and taking in its amazing flavor, wrestling with how to describe it, I was moved to write this little piece (I had to really dig to find it, but thankfully I finally did. I think I made edits to a version of this that was lost. Again, bummer). I hope you will allow me to share it with you as a tribute to this incredible tea:
I imagine my wife and I, having wandered peacefully along a mountainous-forested path, discover ahead a clearing, and finally, a ridge. As we approach hand in hand we stop at the rim, and wonder at the beauty of the deeply forested mountain range that stretches away from us, quietly giving way in the distance to a hazy multicolored landscape as it meets the azure sky. Then, closing our eyes, we slowly and deeply take in the scent of pine, feeling the firm yet moist earth beneath our feet. And, upon hearing a beautiful song, we look out and into the windswept vista before us. Tiny movements catch our eye as we look skyward to witness the graceful song sparrow with her colorful mate, both spinning and weaving, freely trilling out their bliss at the wonder of the day as they soar up, up into the deep blue sky. And we, simple beings bereft of the gift of flight, allow ourselves to be transported with them, sharing in the simple joy of being alive.

Backlogging (so, based almost entirely on my notes)

Experience buying from @Ashley: I bought this tea from Ashley when she was selling all of her tea. I received the tea quickly through the mail and my package was filled with many surprises. Thank you Ashley!

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: I remember really liking the aroma.

Brewing guidelines: I used a metal basket strainer inside a ceramic 16 oz. cup, such that I put a lid over the top to keep the heat in. Cup was warmed before steeping. Stevia added.
I did four steepings, probably with my standard green tea parameters.

Aroma of tea liquor: Strong, and awesome! A quote I noted from my wife when she walked into the kitchen after brewing it, “I smell apples!”

Flavor of tea liquor: Very impressive flavor.

Overall: This one surprised us both. We didn’t think it would actually taste like apple pie, but it clearly did (really surprising with green tea as the base). Way to go, David!

Backlogging (so, based almost entirely on my notes)

Not much to say here (I have very few notes), but I do remember liking it. I brewed it at 160 for 2 minutes, and it was good. Not the best tasting of the David’sTeas batch of samples that Ashley sent me with my order, but still good.

Backlogging (so, based almost entirely on my notes)

Experience buying from @Ashley: I bought this tea from Ashley when she was selling all of her tea. I received the tea quickly through the mail and my package was filled with many surprises. Thank you Ashley!

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: Decorative: tiny colorful candy-like stars mixed in with rooibos; very aromatic, very good!

Brewing guidelines: I used a metal basket strainer inside a ceramic 16 oz. cup, such that I put a lid over the top to keep the heat in. Cup was warmed before steeping. Stevia added.
…………….1st: two minutes off boiling (heated cup); 2’
…………….2nd: near boiling (heated); 4’
…………….3rd: boiling (heated); 6’
…………….4th: boiling (heated); 10’

Flavor: Great! It had good flavor right through the forth steeping.

Overall: I have very few notes about this tea, but I do remember really liking the taste and the aroma. I would be happy to try this tea again!