A Southern Season

I had a cup of this earlier today and thought it was a little bland. I added sugar to make it more interesting. A couple of hours later, the fresh buttermilk bread came out and I buttered a slice and added Smucker’s Red Plum Jam and had another cup without additions. This time the tea tasted richer and the little smokey edge came out to play. It is amazing what a food pairing does to a tea! We like to combine any good flavored tea with cheese cubes as it seems to make the tea so much sweeter.

This keemun has the classic keemun flavor you would expect – cocoa and a little smoke. But it tastes like a resteeping of leaves you had already enjoyed! A while back we tasted this one side by side with the Hao Ya A from Harney and Sons, and this is weak and pale by comparison. If you want full, powerful Hao Ya A flavor, get Harney. If cocoa notes and light smoke are a little much for you, this one should do nicely. My youngest daughter loves this tea and our tea party guest liked it very much as well.

Decided to do a side by side taste test at the tea party today. My youngest loves this Keemun but likes really mild tea for the most part. The Harney and Sons version was more aromatic, more robust, and darker. Although Harney says it is a little more astringent than some Keemuns it was not too astringent for me. I would give it a 1.5 of 5 for astringency! I do not care for astringent or bitter teas. The tea is mild to a fault in my opinion. If you want a good all around tea to serve to a group of non-tea-drinkers this might be your tea. But if you love good, strong, cocoa-y Keemuns, look elsewhere.

This is a wonderful tea from the fine tea wall at A Southern Season. It is very mild and smooth, and when I tasted it beside Premium Steap’s Emperor’s Red I realized it had more of a plant flavor while ER had that toasty nutty chocolate but oh so smooth thing going on. My youngest daughter loves it. I like it a lot, but I think I want something with a little more gumption.

Second attempt today on this one. This tea was so mild I thought perhaps I had measured my leaves incorrectly, or that my scant measure I usually use for my Beehouse teapot was not enough. I added an extra teaspoon of leaves. I detect no change in the amount of flavor. This tea is good, but it isn’t even close to being as strong as the Harney and Sons Hao Ya A. Even though I like it and it is a good keemun, it doesn’t have the character and body I find in even the English Breakfast tea by Harney and Sons, which is 100% Keemun, though it is not Hao Ya A. This would be a fabulous tea to serve to people who are new to tea. It is mild, smooth, not smoky, not bitter, not astringent. It didn’t hold my attention without sugar, although on this second pot I am leaving out milk, since I usually use milk to smooth a strong note, and this tea has none. Don’t misunderstand! I like it, it is just very different from the strength of Harney and Sons, and much milder than the aroma in the store led me to expect. Six months ago I would have rated this in the nineties, but now I have tasted Golden Monkey and Emperor’s Red, and that changes EVERYTHING….

I was looking for a tea exactly like Emperor’s Red. Do you know what tea is exactly like Emperor’s Red? Emperor’s Red. Sigh. It was wrong of me to ask a tea from Qimun to taste like a tea from Fujian.

This tea is not without merit, however. It is a very good breakfast tea, not as strong as I expected, with good body and flavor. The cocoa notes are not nearly as strong as ER but they are there. This was definitely a milk and sugar tea for me. Very good. This was the “fine tea of the month” at Southern Season, so it was a very good buy. I will enjoy the two ounces I purchased, and would definitely buy this again. Next time I will add a tad more leaves. I was careful with it since I thought it would be strong, and should have used to full recommended measure. Smooth, no bitterness, not astringent at all.

Thanks to Ashmanra for this sample. This is a delightful tea- malty and not astringent. And of course, no milk and sugar needed. This almost seems like a high quality yunnan….

Delicious and oh so warming, satisfying, and cobweb-clearing on (yet another!) rainy morning. Thank you ashmanra!! This one reminds me a lot of Golden Moon’s Irish Breakfast – full bodied and fruity. Excellent with some milk and sugar. I do believe I’ll make another cup :)

I am giving this an ambivalent rating because I am not actually sure if I like it. It doesn’t taste bad but I am not sad when I get to the bottom of my cup. It is a great red color and smells like cloves with a hint of orange and lemon. The taste is flat to me. There is a broad note of clove and hibiscus but I don’t get the licorice root or the citrus notes. I have tried it hot and cold but haven’t been truly impressed. I kind of want to mix it with fruit juice or sprite or something just to give it some pizzaz. Is that even legal?

Wanted an unflavored decaf for evenings. Tried Decaf Assam by Harney and Sons, but it was weak and watery. Alas! This one is just as weak and watery. I had heard that decaf Ceylon orange pekoes were the only unflavored decafs that tasted like real tea, and now I must agree. Both Harney and Sons Decaffeinated and Southern Season Decaf Orange Pekoe are great teas, so I guess Ceylons just hold up better to the process. Not buying this one again.

Still working on my tea scheduling! I made a pot of this with breakfast this morning. I was trying to get too many things done at once, so I bypassed the measuring spoon and guessed how much to add to the pot, then I forgot to set the timer. By the end of the steep it was a very strong pot! Then, I raced through breakfast, bypassing the tea altogether. It has sat on the table all day. So then, with dinner, I decided the tea wasn’t great to start with so I might as well microwave it. To make it more palatable, I added soymilk and sugar, and by the time I had a few cups they struck me as a lot like coffee (the way I was introduced to it: with lots of milk and sugar)… except a strong tea flavored coffee instead. It ended up being a fun surprise, but not one I’d choose to duplicate. :)

Kicking off the day with this one… and I like it a lot more than the Carolina Breakfast Blend from the same blenders. It’s a standard breakfast blend, but was pretty inexpensive, so it’s a winner in my book! :)

I picked this one up when in Chapel Hill the other day. I figured, I like breakfast tea, and I live in North Carolina, so this ought to be fun. It was pretty inexpensive, and it’s a pretty indistinguishable tea. I don’t think I’d get it again, but it’s not bad enough to get rid of. It might make a good iced tea, which would be a way to run through a lot of it quickly. We’ll see.

sipdown! a pleasant enough cup to go with my very late breakfast!

thank you kittylovestea for this one. Overall not a bad little blend. It’s nothing magical but it’s a smooth blend that isn’t overly sweet but has a really pleasant nutty taste, though it does remind me more of hazelnut than pecan (similar to what kitty found) Happy to have tried this one

Thank you Josie Jade for this sample.

Good morning everyone! The sun is shining in the UK today :) I hope the weather stays like this, I shall be going to Brighton on Friday and wont be back on Steepster until Monday. Also HAPPY ST GEORGES DAY!!!

In raw form this tea has visible long, thin pieces of black tea leaves including stem mixed with yellow sunflower petals and small pieces of pecan and white chocolate drops. It has a sweet yet dry nutty scent.

Once steeped this tea is red/brown in colour with a sweet and nutty cocoa aroma.

Flavour is light with gentle earthy elements, a touch of cocoa sweetness and a dry nutty finish. There is also something slightly sour about it too. It reminds me of hazelnut more than pecan. It’s nice and very nutty but for me it lacks depth, perhaps it’s something you would love if you were a nut fanatic. I remember trying something similar from Della Terra but can’t remember which one.. I think it was their white chocolate one that was similar.

Working on another ancient sipdown…. I over leafed this because of the age and because I’m trying to get rid of it….which made it was more tasty than the last time I had it!

It really was quite creamy and caramelly. I was surprised. I enjoyed the cup!

I went for a resteep but it really didn’t have much flavour so I dumped it.

Probably one cup let before this is all gone! Huzzah!

Bumping my previous rating of 67 up a smidge.

Thank you Josie Jade for sharing some of this with me!
I brewed some this morning, and it was pretty decent. The dry leaves look and smell good, I like the marigold petals. Nice touch, though I have no idea if they greatly add to the taste.

I did taste it before adding anything, it was pretty subtle so I decided to sweeten it a bit. That made the caramel flavor come out. I am still on the hunt for a ‘perfect for me’ caramel tea, but am glad to try this and will enjoy the rest of my sample for sure!

(85 degrees, 3-4 min)

This is the last new tea that I purchased last week from A Southern Season. I shared some with my Mom in her Easter basket, and had a cup on Easter afternoon while we were cooking. I’m really loving this one. The dry leaves smell just like lemon cake, and the tea liquor has a sweet, creamy lemon aroma. The flavor is tart lemon and there is a rooibos, honeybush and sweet lemon aftertaste. You can definitely taste the rooibos and honeybush in this one, but I actually don’t even mind because it blends so well with the other flavors. Adding a little sweetener brings out some of the cakey notes, and a little milk makes the cup nice and creamy. This is really delicious tea, and I am so happy that I can have a cup right before bed! :)

-Dry blend has red rooibos and honeybush with blue and yellow petals and pieces of dried lemon.
-Dry blend smells like lemon cake. Tea liquor aroma is of sweet and creamy lemon.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium reddish brown color.
-Tart lemon flavor and finish. Rooibos, honeybush and sweet lemon cake aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Excellent tea. A creamy and sweet dessert tea. Reminiscent of lemon cake.

This is another tea that I purchased from A Southern Season. They also sell Mariage Freres and I was SO close to purchasing a tin. I had it narrowed down to two of them, and then pulled up Steepster quickly on my phone to help me decide. Some of the reviews that I read for both teas made me think that I wouldn’t like them. I couldn’t justify spending $24 for tea that I didn’t know if I would love, so no Mariage Freres this time. Next time I will definitely be doing my research beforehand about which blends I would probably like so I know what to get!

On to this tea . . . it smells heavenly – all cinnamon and nutty. The flavor is fruity and nutty with a really fresh nutty aftertaste. It’s a little sweet on its own, but I added a little sweetener and it brought out a tiny bit more of the fruit flavors. Then I added milk, which made it a little creamy and comforting, but definitely dulled some of the flavors. After reading the list of ingredients I thought this tea would be more fruity, but nuts are really the main taste in this cup. This is one of those teas where it smells so much better than it tastes. I just wish the flavor was a little stronger. Smelling it you think it’s going to be overwhelmingly flavorful and it’s actually a little weak with the mellow, nutty taste. I think this would be a nice cup for the wintertime.

-Dry blend has red rooibos with pieces of candied fruits, coconut and nuts.
-Dry blend smells sweetly of cinnamon and nuts. Tea liquor aroma is of warm spicy fruits.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark reddish brown color with an oily sheen on top.
-Fruity and nutty flavor and finish. Fresh nut aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. A fresh nutty flavor with just a hint of sweet fruit. No rooibos taste.

I picked up this one on Thursday also. I’m not sure why I wanted to try it so bad, but it was one of those things where I would pick it up, look at it, then put it back down and move on to another tea. Then come back to it again. I eventually just decided to get it. The dry leaves smell like sweet marzipan and coconut. The flavor is a lot stronger than I expected, with vegetal and nutty notes and a strong, fresh coconut finish. I think this would be a good iced tea during the summer also, since it tastes a little tropical and is refreshing. Glad I decided to purchase this one!

-Dry blend has large long flat green tea leaves with slices of almond and small pieces of coconut.
-Dry leaves smell very sweetly of marzipan and coconut. Tea liquor aroma is of fresh green tea and sweet nuts.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium yellow color.
-Vegetal and nutty almond flavor with a strong fresh coconut finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Very good tea. A strongly flavored cup of sweet almonds and fresh coconut.

I purchased this tea on Thursday when I stopped by A Southern Season. We had it yesterday at our afternoon tea, but for some reason I didn’t love it. I had another cup this morning and did love it, maybe because I paid more attention to the steeping time. Anyways, without milk and sweetener it’s a strong black tea with just a really light hint of vanilla. With milk and sweetener it becomes rich, creamy vanilla. It’s more of a sugary dessert vanilla taste, rather than an authentic vanilla bean taste, but nothing artificial in the flavor. A nice dessert tea!

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs.
-Dry leaves smell like rich and sugary vanilla. Tea liquor aroma is of vanilla and black tea.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium brown color.
-Strong malty flavor with a hint of creamy vanilla.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. A malty cup with a creamy rich vanilla flavor.