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OK, so I’m officially catching up on tea reviews, I guess. Picked this up at the Toronto Tea Festival (boy, was THAT whole weekend a blast!) and just started digging into it recently. The flavoring is a bit overpowering when you first open up the bag, kind of astringent with a super strong apple scent, but I think it makes the taste hold up well after brewing. Just don’t get your nose too close to the bag! Super fresh apple and green tea flavor, which makes a nice pairing. I manage to get 3 infusions (one minute each) out of this, which I think is amazing for a flavored green tea.

Had a pot of this last night after dinner, caffeine be damned. Rich chocolate, juicy raspberry, a great dessert black tea with a teaspoon of amber sugar (highly recommend that as well!) and some milk. Glorious.

A gift from my friends over in Europe – they are the best! Creamy, milky, caramel flavored black tea that is comforting and dessert-y, especially with milk. I shamelessly have it with breakfast often. Once the weather gets warm enough I may look for less rich fare, but this is a favorite, and such a treat as it comes from a small teashop in Berlin that doesn’t do online orders or ship (the proprietor doesn’t speak English at all, my German is nonexistent, and so I’d need my friends to translate!). Makes it that much more special.

Normally I go for Bellocq’s No. 1 Breakfast Blend, but awhile ago I was in the atelier and picked this up as well – couldn’t resist. Awesome stuff. I love Ceylon teas, and this is a wonderful example of why. Bright yet still rich, with honey notes and that fruity, citrus-y quality particular to Ceylon teas. Super enjoyable. Great with milk, unsweetened, per my usual.

Deleted this from my cupboard as I finished it, but then realized I have no tasting notes for it! I bought this as a comparison to Song Tea’s Eighteen. This one’s heavy on the honey (I love that), and I got maybe, six steeps or so out of it, which is great, IMO. Super enjoyable, but it doesn’t have quite the depth that Song’s does. Still, an excellent tea. I didn’t put it through all its paces, since I ordered a 25g bag, so I only gaiwan’d it.

A dear friend living in the Netherlands gifted this to me for Christmas (along with another flavor that I’ll hopefully get around to adding soon). Apparently the Dutch have a drink called Advocaat, which is kind of like eggnog, but much richer and creamier. The ingredient list also includes “cat’s paw” but I don’t think it adds flavor so much as pretty tiny yellow flowers to the tea.
I am utterly hooked on this stuff. It’s so delicious, and very natural tasting compared with my ultra-artificial (but still beloved) Eggnog’n tea from Bigelow Teas. Honestly, they are completely different things even though they are both eggnog flavored black teas. Add a little milk and a tiny bit of amber sugar and it’s just heaven. When I go to visit her in the late spring, I’ll be sure to get some more as I don’t think this will be around for long in my stash!

I had tried this one a couple of years ago and didn’t really like it, so I let it sit for awhile, hoping that it would improve. Sadly, it has not. Love the idea of puerh stuffed into a green mandarin, but even after a rinse, it tasted like musty old papers. Very wood forward, as expected, but not sweet wood. There was a leather-like note as well, but honestly, it just didn’t taste good. And not even a tiny bit of citrus to be found. I’ve tried other shou puerh teas, so it’s not that I don’t enjoy that type of tea, I just think this one is not to my liking. Unfortunate because TeaVivre is a favorite of mine, putting out really nice teas in general. I’ve got three mandarins left. Maybe shove them back into my stash to age for awhile longer?

My go-to lately when I feel like a gongfu session – it’s just so drinkable. Sweet, honey, caramel notes that keep going steep after steep. The taste and aroma is such a pleasure! I also don’t do full-size cakes generally – I like more of the little coin or tuo variety – so it’s fun to get out the beengslayer and be a badass getting chunks off this thing. Since it’s a Dianhong, I’m not really concerned about what happens aging-wise, just storing it appropriately and going for it periodically. If I didn’t have so may teas (I know, many of us have the same “problem”), I would have drunk this down by now. Basically, I’m enjoying the heck out of this, and can’t believe it took so long to review.

Bagged tea from Tazo, great for a quick, no-brainer, I-need-something-sweet-and-comforting kind of brew. I mostly use this while traveling because of the convenience of teabags vs. loose leaf. It’s nice and vanilla-y with a tiny, tiny hint of warm spice. Honestly, the bar was really low on this one, so it passed with flying colors. Brewed according to the instructions on the box.

Sample from a pack of spring teas from Teavivre. Loved this – just as others have noted, it’s nutty and sweet. Subtle vegetal notes for me, but I love that! No bitterness, although when I munched on some almonds it did bring out a little bitterness, but blame it on the food, not the tea! I used the whole packet for my session, and used shorter steeps averaging around 6 oz per steep. Got three steeps (counting a quick and not necessary rinse) and it was still going but my belly was full. Rinse, 45 sec, 1:30. I would definitely add this to my repertoire. Excellent as always, Teavivre!