New Tasting Notes

This tea just keeps getting better. It is one of my all time favorite ripes, one of the best from Yunnan Sourcing. It is a great bargain, and is still available. If you like deep dark strong ripe pu erh, this is a great one. It’s all cleared and very tasty, if not terribly complex.

The library where I work is having a Jane Austen 250th birthday event later this month, and one of the only tea sites that I could find that had all three teas I wanted to feature was New Mexico Tea Co. As an added bonus, they are also one of the few that allows to order a single ounce at a time, has very flexible shipping rate options, and allows you to request a sampler of your choice. I was so disappointed by the “Cranberry Orange” green tea from Simpson & Vail for having zero cranberry flavor, that I figured I would try this tea as my sample. Traditionally, I have a hard time tasting cranberry in teas, so a no-risk sample seemed ideal.

The tea itself was pretty broken and I felt hesitant to brew it as long as suggested, but it remained very smooth. The base has a coppery maltiness without bitter astringency. Most surprisingly, though, is I actually do taste cranberry! It isn’t a wallop of flavor, but there is a noticable tart berry note… it doesn’t taste medicinal but it does lean slightly in that direction. I like it, but I do wish it was even stronger. But this tea certainly fairs better than the majority of cranberry tea blends I’ve tried in the past.

I would also like to point out the sampler was very generous! I was able to make three 500ml cups using 3.5-4g of material each time in what they sent. Those are big 16 oz cups, so the leaf would’ve gone even farther drinking smaller cups. So you get a chance to steep a few times.

Thanks, New Mexico Tea Co.!

Bhakanje, founded in 2019, doesn’t have the name recognition of gardens like Jun Shiyabari, at least to me, and I don’t recall seeing its tea on vendors’ websites. It’ll be interesting to see what a supposedly gonfu-able fall black tea from Nepal is like. I steeped 5 g of leaf in 120 ml of 195F water for 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 75, 90, 120, 180, and 240 seconds, plus some long, uncounted steeps.

The dry aroma of these pretty, tippy leaves is of honey, lemon, lavender, and wood. The first steep gives me notes of honey, lemon, lavender, other herbs, florals, malt, tannins, and wood. The tea is also drying if held in the mouth for too long. The second steep adds baked bread and a fruity note I’ll call pear. In the next couple steeps, I get more distinct lemon, lavender, orchid, violet, and wood, while the tea remains drying. Steeps five and six have more malt, earth, grass, wood, and tannins, though there’s still lots of lemon, pear, orange, and florals. Subsequent steeps are less fruity, though the lavender, herbs, and florals persist. The final rounds of this tea have notes of wood, earth, tannins, minerals, and malt, and some remaining lemon and florality.

Not only can this tea withstand gongfu steeping, but it can perform this way really well. It reminds me quite a lot of the Floral Lapsang Souchong from Wuyi Origin, a light, lemony, floral tea from a very different region. It had some woodiness and was a little more drying than its Wuyi counterpart, but overall, it was very pleasant to drink.

Adagio Advent Calendar Day 6

Chamomile? Ugh! Not a fan. HOWEVER, I kinda liked this one. I think it was the peppermint that saved it for me. Not enough to re-order, but I could certainly drink it again.

I honestly don’t remember which advent from Adagio I ordered, but I am going to assume I got a non caffeine one, since every tea so far has been herbal. I quite like that, as my habit is to sit down with a cup shortly before bed while I do my advent devotional.

Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 6

I love maple, but this is awful ha ha. It smells and tastes strongly of nutmeg, and then there’s a pile of stevia on top. I don’t get maple at all, just nutmeg and maybe cinnamon, a lot of sweetness (it has sugar and stevia) and a touch of questionable coconut tang.

No thank you!

additional notes: I forgot how much I loved this one, with only one tasting note that I wrote from 12 years ago. Wow. It’s a solid assam. Easily one I could stock up on.

Simpson & Vail Advent 2025 – Day #6
Ooooo… another one I have stocked up.  I swear, I don’t have every S&V tea stocked.  ha.  I used the entire sample for my mug, probably not even a teaspoon and a half, and if anything, this advent calendar taught me that only one level teaspoon is enough for a steep session of this particular blend.  Anything more than a teaspoon and it seems like too much stevia to my tastebuds.  Otherwise, I really love this creamy, perfectly minty green rooibos.  These awesome elements make this a blend I can actually tolerate the stevia in.  It always looks festive too. It is VERY spot on candy cane.  I do love a candy cane tea.  (Another Adagio tea I almost bought the other day.)    
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 18 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 5 minute steep

Tea Thoughts Winter Countdown 2025 – Day 5

Wow, it seems like this one can resteep endlessly. I’ve been drinking it gong fu all day and it’s still giving me flavorful steeps! Smooth and round mouthfeel, with a honey-like sweetness, that savory hay note white teas always seem to have for me, no astringency, and just a bit of dryness at the end of the sip. Great paired with Reese’s Pieces, or on its own.

Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 6

I am honestly so confused by this one. The package describes it as cinnamon and vanilla rooibos, and the website description makes it sound like a sort of Mexican hot chocolate vibe. But then it has hibiscus and rosehips in it… It doesn’t taste bad, but it comes out tasting sort of like an apple cinnamon infusion with a bit of tartness? Which is not at all how it’s described ha ha. Oh well, at least it tastes decent! :P

knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 6
Theme: Deck the Halls
Song: Deck the Halls by Tabernacle Choir

I think this may just be Adagio’s Blood Orange infusion, but I made a new entry for it regardless. I cold steeped it in a mason jar, for several hours this morning and afternoon. Perhaps this wasn’t the wisest method, as there is a large amount of orange peel here and it did come out a little bitter. But otherwise, it has a Tang or vitamin C sort of tangy orange flavor, along with oodles of hibiscus tartness. Not bad, but not something I would order for myself. Still, it was refreshing, even with the bitterness!

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=bVg32d5citA&si=q1TpWVFYVKferuUK

DavidsTea Workshop Calendar 2025, Day 1.

I tasted this tea for the first time today. It is bright and cheerful – like a sunny winter day. It’s also a lightweight tea – not heavy like many fall and winter blends. So, it’s a nice contrast that just lifts your mood in the morning. The Oolong gives gives it an undercurrent of pleasant roasty toastiness, but the dominant flavor is clementine. The sweetness is smooth and honey-like with minimal acidity. It’s just a little tangy – like the satsuma oranges I used to buy around the holidays. (Hard to find them now). Looks like this tea debuted last year, and I’m sad I missed it. This year it’s not for sale individually, but if it ever comes back, I plan to buy it!

Kaylee Advent Day 5!
H&S makes pretty decent EGs! I taste a good amount of bergamot, though the base tea may not be quite my favorite. Looks like I rated this 88 in the past, and I still think this is a solid option, but I’ll lower the score a little. The resteep was pretty nice! Kaylee also included the cutest little snail teabag string holders, which I will 100% use, so thank you!!

Compagnie & Co Day 2

Empresses’ Tea! Such a luxurious name gives me high expectations. I steeped the 2 g sachet in 250 ml of 190F water for 3, 5, and 7 minutes.

The dry aroma is of raspberry and pistachio. In the first steep, I notice the pistachio first, followed by subtle, quite realistic raspberry and a little malt from the black tea base. The raspberry builds the more I drink, but though it’s sweet, it doesn’t venture into candy territory. I also notice faint tannins near the end of the cup. Marzipan emerges as the tea cools. The second steep yields even more jammy raspberry notes and clear pistachio flavour; it reminds me of the pistachio filling in a croissant made by a local cafe, complimented by the malty, bready black tea. The final steep has clear but fainter notes of raspberry and pistachio, with some woodiness from the base.

This tea is a decadent treat without being as sweet as the Creme Caramel from yesterday. The base complements the berry and pistachio, and the tea is elegant, balanced, and well executed. It lives up to my expectations for a French tea!

Advent tea swap!
I used too hot of water for the first steep and only got a hint of coconut and banana. The second steep is a very nice genmaicha with a slight banana finish. A nice cuppa.

I had a sampler of this tucked away from a Mei Leaf order back in November. I haven’t been ordering much from them lately, owing largely to the better value I’ve been getting out of the W2T orders. Nevertheless, I have so much tea that I’ll probably be putting non-club orders on hold for a while. It gives me the opportunity to clear out my drawers and try some teas that I had forgotten about.

Bliss Beholder is one of Mei Leaf’s most expensive sheng puerhs that is available right now, retailing at about 180 USD. I purchased this sampler right when it came out, and now it only seems like the tea is available in whole cakes. It is a sheng from Man Zhuan, advertised as one of the six ancient Puerh mountains dating back to the Qing dynasty.

Initial impressions off the bat were strong, steamed rocks and the fruitiness characteristic of much of the Mei Leaf sheng catalogue. However, the rest of the session was largely lacking especially at the price point. It’s a fruity sheng with an exotic nature to it; I can detect the hints of sandalwood to complement the apricot, and it is buoyed by a strong minerality, but I have had much better.

I still have two more sessions of this tea so this review may be subject to change, but as of right now it’s ‘ok’.

Stash Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 6
Tropical Snowflake

I guess this is only called “snowflake” because it’s in an advent, because it’s a passion fruit flavored green tea. It’s pleasant enough, the flavoring is a bit generically tropical, not specifically passion fruit to me. I think I would guess mango if anything, but maybe only because it’s more common. I only steeped it for one minute, so the green tea is mellow and subtly earthy. A nice enough cuppa, though not something I would feel the need to purchase (if it were available).

Rating: 68

knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 6 (my pick)
Theme: Deck the Halls
Song: Deck the Halls by The Five Fifths

The song made me think of holly and holly berries, so of course I had to pick a tea with red berries in it! So I chose this cranberry and cream black tea from Simpson & Vail. Love it, the cream is very much in the forefront, and it’s buttery and rich, almost like a buttercream frosting. Then there’s a tangy red berry note swirled in, and a subtle, deep cocoa note. Delightful!

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=3gry2zD57no&si=boyKPwsJgRn9VE8W
https://www.instagram.com/p/DR7y2G9D7v2

2025 Steepster Advent Swap: Day 6

Today’s advent pull from Michelle definitely makes up for the lackluster B&B oolong from this morning!

I accidentally oversteeped the first cup, but got it right on the second. This is so good, and I can see how it could become a daily drinker! It’s just a little bit malty and bready, with hints of molasses and brown sugar. Almost no astringency here.

Smooth, tasty, and eminently drinkable… what a winner!