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Thought I was going to get “puerh” and ended up getting the world’s most glorious nut and raisin trail mix instead. I was not expecting that twist, but I don’t resent it at all.

Setting: a pretty big mug. Temperature: boiling. Time: 1 minute rinse (maybe that’s too long to be termed a “rinse”), 30 second steep. I’ll write a more serious note later.

Second steep of 40 seconds at first tasted more like olive oil and wood smoke, but took on sweet finish which made the earthy trail mix of my mind materialize again.

I went to visit my parents for the week, expecting to try a bunch of new teas (mostly green and oolong), and then their temperature variable kettle decided to go kaput! I can’t help but feel it broke down just for me. Now we’re all using the pioneer copper stove kettle for boiling water. I recall something similar happening around this time last year too..

Pictured here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151486232145406&l=8ba0ae4cef

It’s quite the experience and adds a unique sensory profile to the water, but it’s not the kind of thing I want to use for my greener teas. That’s why amazingly tolerable black teas like this one exist, right?

The first time I tried this tea I wasn’t completely wowed, however these last two steeps today have been sweet, in so many amazing ways. I may need to keep this rich tea around.

Apparently I tasted citrus the first time around, but I’m not tasting that at all now- maybe there’s a note like a lemon in a meringue pie? It’s somewhat of a stretch though. It’s more like delicious sweet potatoes, cream, with a bit of syrup.

This was generously included as a sample in my Mandala order.

Today’s turning out to be a floral kind of day. I’m pleasantly surprised how heavy on the orchids this one is turning out to be. Besides flowers, there is a strong note of richly buttered grass. The finish is sour, with an increasingly sweet aftertaste. This combination of flavours creates one interesting cup.

I did a long rinse and some 30 second steeps in my tiny glass pot, using about 200F water. Puerh preparation techniques are currently a work in progress.

EDIT: After a 30 second rinse, I did a casual western mug steep for 1min and it came out incredibly rich and syrupy sweet.

It only took a month, but my Wanja order is finally here! Yay for delayed tea!

Something in the dry leaf and liquor aroma makes me want to roll around like a cat on catnip.. except I’m not a cat so I did a lot of hopping and skipping around instead. After taking a sip, I did even more of that. Being caffeine sensitive is usually good for the spirit but bad for gaining a respectable public image.

This bright, vivid orange-brown cup is like floral silk and citrus rind. The finish is brisk but not drying. Second steep is even more floral silk, almost thick enough to be a thin cream.

I’m not sure I’d pick this over my favourite mouth shredder, the Wanja OP, but I’ve an ounce-length span to make that decision if I need to.

While I enjoyed the Shan First Flush, this one’s a complete miss for me. It has a delicious fruity note near the finish, but I’m not a fan of the amount of “marine” this tea throws at me. Or the metal taste. I think that last one is the biggest deal breaker for me; I don’t want to feel like I’ve been rolling pennies all day when I’m drinking tea.

I’m going to try some different steeping parameters, water, and palates (lucky roommates) before I move on.. hopefully my assessment as it stands now doesn’t stick!

Thanks, SFTGFOP, for another new green tea to try!

I do not drink this one near enough.

This is your classic, straightforward breakfast tea with milk, and it’s all kinds of amazing. It gets huge comfort points. The wisp of smoke is an added bonus today.

Vegetal greens aren’t really my thing, but I really enjoyed the citrus notes in this. The whole flavour profile reminds me of eating lobster (or insert your preferred seafood), with a good squeezing of lemon and a dash of butter.

This isn’t the cup to win me over to Team Green, but I don’t mind drinking up two individual tea bags of it. Thanks, SFTGFOP, for sending this smoky smelling Myanmar tea my way!

I finally got a HB temperature variable kettle for school. Now it lives in my room with the soul purpose of manufacturing oolong-perfect water at my whim. It’s so satisfying knowing I can do that!

I really should be prepping for bed, but instead I thought I would celebrate the new kettle with a cup of this. It’s crazy floral-sweet today; undeniably like honeysuckles. The salty butter on the back of the tongue wasn’t apparent at first, but it has saturated my mouth with a vengeance now. I’m getting something almost minty too today.

I told myself I’d only do one steep tonight but I lied. I forgot how much I love this one.

Main notes for me are Sour Cherry Blasters and roses. There are some muscatel, vegetal, and citrus notes that pop up now and then but they are less defined. The coconut is barely apparent at all, but when it is it’s more akin to an oil or water than coconut shavings.

This isn’t a bad tea, artificial cherry and all, but it has to be steeped with some care. I think I burnt mine the first night and it had a bitter green veggie note midsip (between the rosy cherry and coconut-rose). Luckily the second steep that night came out smoother.

I may have my complaints and I would never add this to the “search and hoard” list, but I wouldn’t pass up a cup either. David’s has me excited about seasons months before their time, so there’s that too (my sense of time is a mess).