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This is an intense lime. not as much as the Lime Marshmallow, thank goodness, but it is there. funny enough, it was strongest at the first two or so steeps, then mellowed out, but became stronger and less candy-like at the end of my session.

I really liked that this was paired with a puerh. It’s such a unique flavor combo that I don’t think anyone could have thought of it other than Stacy. The rich and earthy puerh has a thick and almost buttery mouthfeel, greatly contrasting the bright and fruity lime. I get a hint of watermelon, but it is more of a light accompaniment.

The dry leaf smells so rich and mouth-watering. The spindly purple-black leaves are strewn with little red safflower and blue corn flowers. The biggest scent on the dry nose is definitely the cheesecake for me. There is a sense of a booze-soaked plum resting on top. Ooh, that would make for an AWESOME dessert….

As for the steeped liquid, I am not as impressed as I was on the dry leaf. The tart plums come to the front, and the brandy second. I get the thick and creamy mouthfeel of the cheesecake, but it is a fainter tail note.

I was feeling like having some white tea to start my day. I have been butiki obsessed and just had to crack this one out.

I was a little put off by the look of the Kenyan Silver Needles. They were skinnier and not as fuzzy as what is in my Pumpkin Butterscotch Coffee and Champagne Rose Cream. Then I noticed that this was the Glenburn Silver needle. No wonder it looked different! DUH.

The coconut is amazing in this blend. It definitely smelled like the whole-kernel coconut oil I use for just about anything at home, skincare, hair moisturizer, baking, popcorn, emergency toothpaste… it definitely makes the strawberry pop. I like that the praline is there to mellow out both of those flavors. I am glad that the strawberry is like a mellow treat, rather than a tart and juicy flavor note. The steeped infusion is spot on with the smell of the dry leaf.

Using the Glenburn Silver needle was genius. The light hay makes this tea a light and flaky dessert.

I love how this green tea is rolled up in tightly coiled balls, just like an oolong. They are silky smooth, and produce a buttered spinach green cup. It was a nice and lightly floral green with a honeydew melon accompaniment. It is always a pleasure to watch balled up teas pop in my gaiwan.

Another one of the Indonesian tea sampler from Tea at Sea. Haven’t been disappointed yet. This is a green I can get behind!

I used the whole 5g packet in my 100ml gaiwan. I managed to steep this for about 5 or so times before becoming bored :P

This tea was not for me. It was so flat and uninteresting. I even rinsed this twice. By the fifth steep it got a bit better, a smooth bread-y quality made itself known. But it wasn’t enough to keep me interested.

I drank this morning while browsing my tealog. I noticed that I have yet to post a review of this tea. Whaaat? You know what they say, “If not now, when?”

I think there are certain teas that I have been avoiding doing a review for because I feel like I will not be able to express myself properly. And Golden Orchid is one of those teas. I have now tried a few other vanilla blacks and have been able to say what I meant just fine. When it comes to this tea, I mean, what can I say that hasn’t already been said?

Drinking this tea is like eating freshly made fudge with entire vanilla beans threaded through the middle, while wrapped in my softest and most fluffy blanket. The vanilla is lighter on the first steep while the next two become sweeter and sweeter. This is definitely a staple tea for me.

If you had told me 6 months ago that I would be going crazy over CTC-graded tea, I would have told you to shove it.

But that was before I knew the secret. The espresso machine at work is not completely useless to me. In fact, these little uniform nuggets of tea are amazing tea latte power houses.

I actually tried this tea three ways today: As a tea latte with whole milk no sweetener and regularly brewed with sugar in the raw and liquid Stevia.
When I made the latte, the flavoring didn’t come through quite as strongly as I have wanted it to. But gall daaang, this was a great latte. Better than the shitty teabags I break open to make the teapresso when in an ‘teamergency.’
I then decided to brew this normally for this type, or as tea people call it, Western-style. The 1 minute steep was perfect. I made sure to watch this steep like a hawk. I took a sip and felt that ‘first sip high,’ where my whole body and mind just took a deep, contented sigh. I felt like there wasn’t enough pistachio flavor to go around and thought to myself, “oh hell, might as well add something to sweeten the deal.” I added about half a packet of sugar in the raw and stirred well. While this was too sweet for me, the heavenly flavor became much more present and delicious.
The next time I brewed this, I tried one drop of liquid Stevia. While this was just the right amount of sweetness, it did not have the same complexity and caramelized flavor quality as the raw sugar.

Man, I have never encountered anyone who has bothered to flavor a CTC before. This is an amazing concept that is quite flawlessly pulled off. Its like having a flavored syrup already built in to a espresso drink. I am so glad I didn’t pass this blend up!

Super Sunday Sipdown! February 2015

I really love the thought that Tea at Sea puts into their packaging. Everything from the cute cork sailboat to the resealable printed samples. There is no guess as to what company this tea is from!

I got a trio of Indonesian tea samples. There was a black, a green and an oolong. All these teas had one other thing in common. I looked at them all and was surprised that all of them are rolled on one way or another. The Indonesian black looks almost like a gunpowder, there are broken leaves as well as teeny tiny rolled leaves,

The steeped leaf leaves behind a thick, malty infusion that has a stone fruit and honey taste. It gets lighter in body and sweeter with the honey-ness with each steep.

I was happily surprised by how much I liked this! It’s a great breakfast tea. I steeped this tea in my porcelain-lined travel tumbler (275ml) three times in near boiling water. I used the whole 5g sample.

Woohoo! This makes me excited to try the other two Indonesian teas!