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I have to start by saying that I’m not a huge coconut fan. I don’t hate it, but I also don’t love it. It’s not something I search for, but I do enjoy it from time to time. I do, however, hate coconut scented things (body lotion, shampoos, etc.), since they just smell fake and nasty to me. :(

But I figured this would be a good tea to go with my Thai leftovers, so I decided to do this one today.

Now, this is an award-winning tea, and I had high hopes for it, even despite my not-loving-coconut-ness. When I opened the packet, a heavenly toasted coconut scent came wafting out, making me really hope that this scent would come across in the tea itself. A bit of the scent, however, did resemble the fakey coconut scent I dislike, but the toasted coconut scent was primary.

Brewed, it smells a bit more like fakey coconut. :( However, the taste is sweet and creamy, with an underlying hint of earthiness that tempers the coconut flavor. I honestly can’t help but like it! It tastes kind of buttery actually.

I’m a bit perplexed on how to rate this. I like it, but I don’t think I love it, and I don’t think it’s something I could have all the time, but it’s still very yummy. Hmm.

I opened the packet of this, and it just smelled amazing! The cinnamon came out on top, combined with a sweetness. Brewed, it smells like cinnamon and clove. It reminds me of pumpkin pie, since those are two of the main spices. (Then again, chai has always reminded me of pumpkin pie! :P But I think this one does more so because of the sweetness I smell.)

I brewed this just like a normal tea, but I would really love to try doing the simmering-with-milk thing. Perhaps I’ll have to buy it just to do so. :P

The taste is definitely strongly cinnamon. Mmm. Tastes kind of bakey too. After a few sips, I decided to add some sugar, and I NEVER add sugar to my hot tea. But sugar in this just tastes incredible!!! I’m getting a warm and spicy taste with the tea, and an aftertaste of sweetness from the sugar, with bakey. The lingering taste is like the last bite of pumpkin pie crust. It really just leaves me wanting more!

I really may need to own this… ♥

I reeeeeeally don’t want to do work today. This week. This month, really, lol. So I decided another cup of tea was in order. It is, after all, a more delicious way to spend my time. :P I was in the mood for genmaicha and was feeling pretty sad that I hadn’t brought my ginormous bag of Kyoto Rice with me today, until I remembered that I DO have my Den’s samples with me! Though I drank my Genmaicha Extra Green teabag sample, I still had the whole loose tea sample of it. Yay!!

I gotta say, the loose leaf version has a really scary look to it, hahaha. Everything’s covered in the matcha, which gives it this glowy, fuzzy, so-bright-it’s-unnatural green look. I found it minutely entertaining. :P (This is the time of day where I go a liiiiittle bit crazy from wanting to go home so badly.)

Anyway, I think I didn’t use enough leaf per amount of water, as it doesn’t taste quite as strongly awesome as it did with the teabag, but it’s still tasty, and still hits the spot! :D

One hour and 5 minutes until I can go leave…

Sample 4!

After the smokiness of Jackee Muntz this morning, I felt the need for something with some sweetness, and this sounded good to me. I was a bit worried about the strength of the licorice taste, but I do like licorice. I just wasn’t sure I’d like drinking it. :P

The leaves smelled nice and licoricey and sweet, and perfect for the mood I was in.

Thankfully, the tea itself had just a hint of licorice flavor combined with an overall freshness and sweetness.

This kind of tastes like pizzelle with anise, but a bit less bakey. :P I like!

This isn’t a tea I would drink regularly, but it’s great for today! :)

This is a tasty, tasty tea. Definitely woke me up this morning, which is awesome because I really needed it! (Getting up when it’s still dark out is so hard. :( )

First steep was bold and smokey. Mmm. Kiiiiinda made me feel like I’d had bacon for breakfast. Not a bad thing. :P A little odd, though, but I can’t really complain. I used a lot of tea, and I was worried about it having that mouth-drying-out thing going on, like when black tea is too strong, but it didn’t have that at all! Very smooth. :) I didn’t get the caramel taste that others have mentioned, so I decided to try a second steep to see what would happen.

Second steep is a bit sweeter and a little less smokey than the first steep, but not any less flavorful, and it definitely retains its smoothness. Still not getting any caramel, but shrug it’s still really yummy. :) It makes me feel like I’m snuggled in a blanket in front of a fire, which is great for this freezing, miserable February weather.

I’ll have to keep experimenting for that caramel awesomeness, but it’s still an enjoyable tea without it. :)

No. 3 of my sampler! I was REALLY excited to try this, ’cuz it just sounded sooooo good.

The leaves smell sweet and caramely, but not overly so. There’s still definitely the scent of earthy tea under there. The combination smells really yummy.

The tea itself… has an odd, slightly bitter aftertaste. It’s possible I steeped for too long. The package said 2-3 mins, and I did 3, so this could have been my own fault. But aside from that, it has a nice, lightly sweet flavor that I really enjoy. The caramel/sugar flavor does not overpower the oolong, which I’m really happy about! I’m definitely a fan. Overall, I’d have to say it tastes earthy but sweet.

Perhaps I’ll have to add this to my collection (and not oversteep it next time)! :)

Second Golden Moon sample!

The leaves of this tea smell like pear and flowers. I didn’t really get a honey sense from it. In any case, the scent was so strong, I was a bit afraid of what it would taste like!

The tea itself tastes mostly like pear juice. The black tea gets hidden behind that flavor, though it does temper the juiciness, I’m sure. Still not really getting honey from this, but the pear really comes through. The flowers, which I thought were a bit strong-smelling in the dry leaves, are just a hint behind the pear. This is also a very sweet tea.

Overall, I’m not wowed by it. It tastes a bit too much like juice and not enough like tea for me. :\

This is a really really tasty tea! I think I prefer Den’s Genmaicha Extra Green, but I really like this one too! (Which is good, ‘cuz I have a 4oz bag of it. :P) It’s warm and toasty, with a nice balance between the green tea and the toasted rice. Mmmm.

My Golden Moon sampler came! Yaaaay! :D I’m drinking this one this morning, because I need some caffeine. :P

This smelled so good when I opened the bag! Unfortunately, I’m a bit disappointed by the tea itself, as I like the aftertaste more than the tea. Based on the scent, I was anticipating a much richer taste, but I do enjoy the sweet vanilla aftertaste.

LOVE this! This is just the right combination of everything. I love the smoothness of it, and the roasty taste of the rice. I’m definitely going to have to get some of this!

I’m also really loving the fact that Den’s Tea really transports me back to the time I spent in Japan. It’s funny how tastes can do that!