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This is a very strange tea. I’m supposed to be cutting back on caffeine, so technically this isn’t an acceptable option…but I had to give it a try.

It brews up greenish gold and has a mellow grassy taste to it. Not like green tea grassy, more like the way the high desert smells around March – there’s a dusty back note and a little bit of what I’d almost call alkalinity; it reminds me of sitting on a cold, barren hill huddled underneath a scrubby little juniper at about 8am.

It’s woody and strange, but not bad. I’m not sure if I like it, but I’ll have no issues drinking this cup down…it’ll take a few more cups to determine if I’ll re-stock it, though.

Disclaimer – I dislike jasmine but adore crème brulée, so it’ll be interesting to see how I feel about this one.

I’ve sipped a quarter of this and I’m not quite getting the dessert notes I was hoping for. I’m picking up on a lot of vanilla, a bit of apple and some mild caramelized notes…nothing too strong on the jasmine, but also not what I think of when I fantasize longingly about crème brulée.

It’s a solid tea – smells amazing, tastes good – but it’s just not what I hoped for based on the name, so I doubt I’ll drink the sample down.

This smells divine. Seriously, I couldn’t help but plant my nose in the bag and take a few long drags before getting around to the brewing.

I think I might’ve accidentally brewed it a bit under 185, but the result was still delicious. Strange, but delicious. My first impression was that it still smelled amazing – rice and that light sweet note – but the flavor was all broccoli. As it cooled it cycled through spinach, wet popcorn and settled at something resembling rice once it was close to room temp.

It’s a fascinating oolong and I can’t wait to toss a few leaves in the bottom and have a go at grandpa-ing it while I pack for my next trip.

Half a teaspoon in about 10 oz, brewed grandpa style.

Rich and earthy with an almost malted tone at the end. Da Hong Pao was the first oolong I ever tried and it holds a special place in my heart and on my palate…I’ll admit I’m more into milk oolongs lately, but this is still a solid option.

Brewed it up about 7 min and was solidly unimpressed by the result.

Watery, flowery and not overly enticing…if this is what they think a tea “for her” should be like then I’m not sure I trust the tea-blender’s opinion.

I’m in the middle of having to do a bunch of admin work, so tossed a half tsp of leaves into my trusty mug and I’m brewing this one grandpa style. There’s definitely more stems and sticks than I’d expected when I tossed everything in, but it’s not a huge issue.

Once brewed – about 4 or 5 mins in – it smells soft and light, almost floral, in a way that brings up pastel green when I close my eyes. It’s vegetal, but in a way completely unlike a green tea; more reminiscent of sitting in a flower garden at dawn when the blooms begin to open. I could sit and sniff this tea for ages.

The flavour is comparable to the aroma; not as intense as some other oolongs I’ve tried, but light and comforting without being thin. This should hold up well to this style of brewing and may become a cupboard staple.

Update: It lasted through a solid 4 or 5 of my 10 oz steeps before lightening to a point where it was no longer what I felt like drinking. This is…a very nice oolong, in my opinion.

I have the worst luck with darjeeling – like assam I always tend to oversteep, so I kept this one on the short side of the spectrum.

It’s…mid-range. Brews up deep amber and the flavors are solid – a bit tannic, some mineral notes – but nothing that really sparks to life on the palate. This, to me, would be a mindless tea – something to drink while working or focused elsewhere since there’s nothing to really pay attention to in the cup.

(Tbh, though, if I’m going that route I’d pull an earl grey or chai first. Perhaps this would be better suited for blending with…something?)

Received this as part of a sampler.

It smells…indulgent. I’m very curious to see how pu-erh will function as a chai base – I’ve had black and oolong (both were quite satisfactory), but this will be a first.

On a side note, I’ve been experimenting with making low-carb blueberry muffins…and (objectively speaking) they’re really quite terrible. I don’t know why I’m this bad at muffins – I can make biscuits for days, but my muffins are always just sweet biscuits with blueberries in. Sweet, gritty biscuits. :/

As to the tea? I’m not sure I enjoy pu erh as a base for sweetness; it just comes across as slightly discordant. There was mild chocolate and graham, but the chai was a quiet backnote…which wasn’t what I was expecting at all.

I have enough for one more brew, so I’m going to try it again with different expectations later.

I tried this tea once before – at 1 tsp / 10 oz / 4 min – and wasn’t impressed. For this steep I upped it a bit – 1.5 tsp / 10 oz / 5 min – and I’m still getting not much of anything from the brew.

I understand that this is supposed to be a primarily herbal restorative blend, but there’s simply no chance I’ll drink it long enough to see the effects. It smells strongly of potpourri with faint fruit notes and a bit of cinnamon…not that any of that comes through in the flavor.

It tastes…watery. Thin, with no real oomph behind it. No flavors I can pick out with any kind of consistency other than a dusty sweet-fruit note that’s rather unpalatable. It doesn’t make me loathe it, but there’s nothing to make me want to drink it so I’m going to feed it to the sink.

Brews up deep golden and there’s a satisfaction in watching the tightly curled leaves unfurl in the infuser. Definitely one that needs room to breathe – very tempting to just drink the second steep grandpa style and say screw the finely honed infusing process.

There’s a mellow earthy flavor that reminds me of the smell of freshly broken twigs with a mouthfeel that’s almost silky. It’s not a robust kind of tea, but the mild comfort of its mineral notes are soothing in a way that entices you into multiple cups before you realize what’s happened.