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I’ve been meaning to try this since I got it a week and a half ago!

The leaves look really nice and have a light, floral scent.

Brewed, it smells quite buttery, actually!

I only steeped it for 3 mins, ‘cuz the water here is kind of hot. I haven’t measured it, but I do think it’s above 180, which is what Adagio recommends. But also, 5 mins seems long to me for a tea this green.

In any case, it’s got a really light, slightly sweet flavor. It’s very very smooth, and there are definitely buttery notes that I quite enjoy! I’m a fan! :) When this sample’s done, I may just have to get more!

Thanks for the recommendation, Cofftea! :)

Brought this tea to work with me, and it was calling me after lunch. I’m glad I chose it, because this is a tea I can relax with. It inspires good feelings. And for some reason, the office is ridiculously noisy today. Grr. But I can peacefully sip this tea and drown everyone out. (Normally, I would say something like, “Mwahaha” here, but this is not a tea that inspires evil laughter.)

It’s just so light and tasty! I’m really glad I invested in a full size of this. Mmmm.

Okay, so first of all, the steeper mug from Golden Moon is NOT good with rooibos/mate/other small-leaf things. Ewwww. Unfortunately, I don’t have any paper filters with me, so I will have to deal.

And my verdict is that this is tasty warm as well (though I could have brewed it stronger than I did). :) It’s got chocolate (though not very pronounced) and spiciness and nuttiness. Mmm. Not something I would want to have everyday, but it’s enjoyable! Muuuuuuuch more so than MateVana on its own, which was blech.

Logging this from yesterday.

I got Rooibos Chai to blend with the MateVana I couldn’t stand drinking on its own. I was considering trying the Rooibos Chai on its own, but it smells a lot like Haute Chocolate, so I was like, “:shrug: I’ll just dump it in with the rest of my MateVana.” After combining it, the combo did smell quite good, I gotta say. (On its own, the MateVana smelled good, but I just couldn’t drink it alone. It fell flat, or something. I don’t even know. But I didn’t like it.)

So I tried this combo for the first time yesterday. Usually, I like drinking my teas hot with no additives, but I was working at the cafe yesterday, which gets pretty warm, so I prefer drinking iced. So I brewed this up reeeeally strong in hot water for 10 mins, then added some vanilla syrup and soy milk and poured it over ice. I probably should’ve let it cool off a bit before doing that, because I think it would have been a stronger base for adding soy milk, but it turned out pretty all right!

I like the spice and the depth that the chai adds to the MateVana. I think it’s that depth that the MateVana is missing, imo.

It would probably taste better with milk rather than soy, but milk and I aren’t very good friends. But next time, I’ll let the tea cool before pouring it over ice, and see how that works out. Even though I made it strong, I want to see how it works when it keeps that strength.

I also want to try it hot, which I think I will do right now… so I apologize in advance for the double log. :P

I decided to revisit Jackee this morning to see if I could achieve caramel bliss. But, I thought, even if I couldn’t, I could definitely use the wake-up kick I got last time! Getting up at 5:30am is so hard. :cries:

I used considerably less leaf than I did last time – about half the amount I usually use. (I couldn’t tell you exactly how much that is, because everything is just an estimation, haha.)

It’s gotten a lot smoother this time. When it was still piping hot, the smokiness was still there with strength, but it’s fading a little bit as the tea cools, and I’m getting a little burnt sugar hint. I’m definitely closer to caramel with this cup, but still haven’t gotten it. Maybe my start temp isn’t high enough. I’ll have to try at home, where I actually have control over how hot the water gets. Or maybe I should heat my mug first, so I don’t lose water temperature when I fill it. Oh, the many many things I could try.

But I gotta say, smokiness is a good waking-up tool, so I’m happy about that. :)

I decided to go for another Golden Moon sample this morning, and the description of this one sounded good to me.

The leaves smell earthy, maaaaybe with a floral hint in there. But pretty much just your basic earthy smell.

Brewed, I smell maybe a nutty hint.

The taste is really nice! It’s smooth, which I always like. It’s definitely got some depth. Unfortunately, my tastes aren’t educated to the point where I could tell you what I’m tasting. All I can tell you is that I like it!

I am getting a tiny hint of bakeyness to it, to the point of it reminding me of Thomas Sampson, even though that’s an Assam, and this is a Ceylon. Hmm. Maybe I just don’t know what I’m talking about. :P

Now that it’s cooled a bit, though, I am getting that tiny hint of ripe berries that the description speaks of.

All in all, this really is a very tasty tea! :)

I’ve been wanting to revisit this one for a while now, but I’ve been too distracted by the New and Shiny. :P

Even after all the new teas I’ve tried lately, this is still one of my favorites. :) I love how smooth and creamy this tea is, and I like the vanilla in it, but nothing overpowers the bergamot. Yum! :)

Tried this one again today with a shorter steep time. 2 mins down from 3, since it was a bit too strong with 3. Unfortunately, it wasn’t strong enough with 2, so next time, I’ll have to try 2.5 mins. :P (Or more tea!) But it was still a tasty cup! :)

In other news, I’m wondering if this snow will ever stop. o_o