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Ho Hum. Just another in a long line of delicious old/wild arbor black teas from YS. This is not raisiny and malty like the Yi Wu mountain Assamica tea, with more brightness on the tongue, some caramel sweetness and a little bit of that leather/cherry flavor that you find in Keemuns. Amenable to all kinds of brewing approaches with absolutely no harshness.

This was included in my latest Laoshan Black order and I have to say, it’s quite delicious. The chocolate notes that dominate the flavor profile of the Laoshan are sublimated in favor of a deliciously sweet caramelized sugar taste. It’s also more effervescent and complex than the Laoshan Black, which can sometimes overwhelm me with its strong cocoa flavor.

I’m still somewhat of a neophyte when it comes to Oolongs, but I think I can recognize a truly spectacular one. This is both delicate and substantial at the same time with the perfect balance of melon, lemon and orange flavors. I’m still experimenting with steep times, but the tea is pretty forgiving and there’s something in each steep to enchant.

This Sheng is developing nicely. The bitterness is fading and a strong throat feel is emerging along with camphor and mint. It takes a little while to get going but once it gets up to speed it’s hard to stop. Strong buzz from this one.

I know I just reviewed this wonderful tea, but I wanted to also note how the experience of drinking this tea invalidates a lot of the thinking about tea types and caffeine. Personally, I’ve always felt that caffeine levels are not a true indicator of how a tea affects someone and that caffeine labels should be taken with a grain of salt. Case in point this shincha which shouldn’t be sending me for a loop based on caffeine alone but clearly has a chemical profile that is making me quite tea drunk! I’ve had many black teas that haven’t affected me nearly as much.

The 2016 version of this is absolutely delicious, incredible, and powerfully energizing. Getting my hands on some of this each spring has become a requirement and I’m not even much of a green tea drinker. But this transcends individual predilections and stands as a tea everyone should taste for its smooth, fresh vegetal taste.

The Greek gods ate ambrosia. . .this essential nectar can’t be too far off.

By the way, I brewed this three times in a Kyusu at 1 minute, 2 minutes and 2.5 minutes and didn’t experience any bitterness and the flavor endured.

I found this to be super flavorful with a heady perfume reminiscent of a darjeeling muscatel. Sweet apples and melon dominant the profile. Teabox has so much to explore and these Nilgiri teas definitely deserve attention. I’m thinking of signing up for their monthly subscription—there has not been one tea in the sample pack that I split with Big Daddy that I wouldn’t be happy to drink on a regular basis. So many seasonal varietals of Darjeelings, Ceylons, and Nilgiris!

I’m actually commenting on zy83, purchased in the fall of 2015, but no matter—I find Upton’s Yunnan rare grade to be a reliably tasty brew that hits all the right notes for this style of tea: malty, caramel sweet, with a subtle peppery note. A great choice for those fans of Yunnan Sourcing’s Imperial Mojiang.

“I woke last night to the sound of thunder,” to quote Bob Seger, tremendously odd for February in Maine, and when I walked outside to 60 degrees, I knew I had to start my day with Spring Wonder. While this tea is less overtly honeysuckle-sweet than most first flush darjeelings, it is delicious nonetheless, with a buttery grape flavor and absolutely no astringency. I know spring hasn’t arrived yet, but for one day I can pretend it has.

I had a very nice session with this Bada yesterday; last time the tea was mercurial, but this time I discovered a pretty stable flavor profile comprised of mint, nuts, and apricots, with a steady increase in sweetness throughout the session. The leaves were small, so even the early steeps were flavor-rich.