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This unobtrusive orange pekoe tea from Sri Lanka is smooth and very drinkable, I much prefer it to any assam tea. This would be good to have on hand when you’re busy and just want to mindlessly drink something hot and aren’t looking for something to tantalise the tastebuds. Got more than 1 steep out of it, so it’s economical. Contained quite a few bits of stem I see now (examining the wet tea leaf), but it was just average priced so it’s to be expected I suppose.

Miss 5 chose this for me to drink today. She was also intrigued with a tea by the name of ‘gunpowder’. Not sure exactly how to describe it – It definitely tastes like a green tea, but if it’s possible it partially leans towards tasting like an oolong.

The dry leaves didn’t exactly look like in the picture , not rolled up into grey-green pellets but close, there were also little sticks/stems in the mixture. The description said large leaves rolled up but when wet it was just cut pieces of large-ish leaves.

I recommend this tea but it’s not something I would stock up on. I’m not a huge fan of green tea anyhow but am trying as many tea samples as possible so had to give this a go.

I had been shunning tea with rose in it ever since my experience with the ghastly artificial rose flavoured tea I bought at the start of my tea sampling days.

But I have a newly-found love of Chinese black tea, and the ingredients promised only that and rose petals, so I gave it a chance. It lived up to the description on the packet and no nasty chemical ‘rose’ scent.

The rose petals added a very subtle flavour to the Chinese tea base. I desperately wanted to love this tea, rather than just like it. But the rose was just a little too delicate, like a beautiful flower hiding in the tall grass.

With the remaining sample I may try to either brew it for longer or use less water. This tea shows promise, maybe add a few more rose petals or buds.

I got a free tin of this (4 pyramid sachets) with my latest tea order. T’is the season so I brewed one right away. Reasonably spicy, and strong enough to fill a large infuser mug using 1 sachet (second brew much lighter). It’s quite nice. Since I don’t associate Christmas with “spice” in any way, it didn’t really conjure up any Christmas feelings, but I hadn’t expected it to. It may do for somebody else. I recommend this tea, although it doesn’t stand out in any way that makes me think ‘wow’.

Lovely black tea from the Yunnan province. I could drink this as an everyday tea, no maltiness (that I dislike) and can resteep even if it does lose a little flavour. I can easily brew 2 two-person teapots using just a rounded teaspoon of the tea leaves. First brew had slight resemblance to something in the loose leaf pu-erh I drank last night from the same company. Possibly they sourced it from the same place. I found this familiarity comforting. If I was given some of this in a blind taste test I could probably tell this is Yunnan going by the flavour alone (which is something seeing I’m still somewhat of a tea newbie).

It’s not all tips but a mixture, but it’s price does not suggest it should be all tips. I am going to venture into some of t Leaf T’s other black tea types that are hopefully not malty.

Quite possibly didn’t use enough of this tea. Instructions said to use 1-2 tsp per tea pot (I used 1 as I know these leaves swell up considerably in water and I was being conservative). Large green leaves after steeping, fairly bright yellowish hue of the tea). I was surprised it lacked the complexity of the other oolongs I’ve tried. Maybe my mistake for not using enough, or maybe a characteristic of this tea. Think I prefer Iron Goddess of Mercy. The scent of the dry leaves reminds me of some kind of putty/paint, a bit of a chemical smell. I love love love most oolongs but this one’s a bit different to what I usually like. I will give it a try with double the amount of leaves next time and see if there’s anything different.

Drinkable pineapply coconutty tea. Pretty sure this is my first flavoured green besides the standard jasmine or genmaicha additions to some green teas. It’s a little weird in that I’m not really tasting tea but the flavouring. In saying that, it is moderately light and tastes pleasant. (Read – no hibiscus icky ness that some fruit flavoured teas have). Would I buy more? Possibly not, I have a few more samples to get through first but I’m looking to stock up on a fave tea I can have when I’m out of milk. Most black teas I need to add milk and I’m not always in the mood for oolongs or genmaicha. So to find a pleasing flavoured green would be good but don’t think this is it.

Exotic name, but that’s where it ends. The red refers to the rooibos, Africa maybe it’s origin, but where’s the fire? It’s a natural orange flavoured rooibos, with tiny safflower petals to make it look pretty. Doesn’t really have the wow factor I was hoping for. Maybe it’s nicer iced.

Definitely taste the raspberry in this flavoured rooibos, even if it’s probably mostly from artificial flavouring. Vanilla? Not sure that I can taste that. This tea has a palatable flavour, but the raspberry doesn’t make it through to a second steep. This would be nice with a high tea or Devonshire tea (think scones with raspberry jam and whipped cream). Being caffeine-free is a plus point, but I think I prefer t leaf T’s strawberry rooibos

A delicious oolong from Taiwan. Not my absolute favourite though. That honour goes to Da Hong Pao. This Formosa Oolong is less vegetal, less robust but still pretty good. I’m slowly making my way through samples of all t leaf T’s oolongs – 6 in total if you don’t count the homegrown Zealong (New Zealand), which I might add is ridiculously expensive! (And you cannot buy samples). This oolong from Taiwan would suit beginners new to oolong tea. I do recommend it even if I like something else better. :-)