McNulty's

This used to be my all time favorite black tea. It has a pleasant round quality without any harshness or bitter aftertaste. It steeps up lighter than many black teas, hence the ‘golden’ moniker. Not too malty…it is really hard to put your finger on it; it’s just a lovely delicate black tea, if that makes sense. The only reason why I say it used to be, is that I’ve until recently become a slave to convenience (and teabags), and I’m not sure if it was the batch had gotten old in the cupboard (been over a year), but I had a cup of this from my cupboard and found it not as remarkable as I’ve had in the past…

I have had a really lazy Saturday, and thought I would wind down with a cup of decaffeinated Lemon Mint Spice from McNulty’s.

When I opened the bag, I could immediately smell mint. Even after steeping, the primary smell I am getting is mint.

I think I am only getting a slight lemon note when I sip this. I first taste mint, but it isn’t overpowering. A moment later, I can taste the tea. It has a very light taste.

In my opinion, this is a good tea to have at the end of a day. I find mint teas kind of relaxing in general, and this one is no different. I wasn’t looking for a strong tea to have a night. I wanted something light and refreshing, and that is my opinion of this tea.

The stamp on the bag says “Jasmine China Green Tea”. I thought this tea was refreshing, and was a good afternoon pick-me-up.

After steeping, I thought it smelled more on the vegetal than jasmine. You could definitely taste the green tea with just a hint of jasmine.

I would have preferred just a little more jasmine, but I really like green tea, so I still give this tea a good rating. I will most likely drink this again tomorrow morning.

This is the second day I’ve had this, and damn am I enjoying it. This is my favorite black tea that I have had so far.

Also, I feel more energized after a cup of this tea than when I have coffee in the morning.

Time to go make more!

I am starting my morning off with a cup of this, and I think this is an excellent cup of tea.

It has a rich taste, and is not bitter at all. It leaves a good aftertaste in my mouth.

I haven’t tried a wide variety of black teas, but this is definitely one of the better ones that I have had.

A slightly more oxidized Tikuanyin, so the color of the dry leaves similar to some first flush darjeelings, but in the classic rolled Tikuanyin oolong style. Absolutely delicious aroma – when I opened the bag I knew it was going to be a special oolong. Slightly earthy, just enough punch. The color of the brewed tea is lighter than expected given the leaf color, and the aroma transforms into something lighter than that of the leaves. Just buttery enough, just green enough, just floral enough. Very solid Tikuanyin.

this special mixed is good as a basis for ‘milk tea’ blends.
I often blend it with an Assam and a ctc like red label or Taylor’s gold
I settled on this for it’s chocolate notes.

After being told by one of the employees at McNulty’s that this tea wasn’t exactly new (but what do you expect for the price?) I was skeptical. After purchasing 1/4 pound I can say that it is well worth the price. The leaves are not broken (at least not any more than your average sencha) and it produces up to three refreshing infusions that tolerate varied steep times quite well. While this tea won’t be winning any awards anytime soon it is a perfectly acceptable affordable every day sencha.

I was pleasantly surprised by McNulty’s Golden Assam. The tea has a very pleasant smell that produces a very flavorful infusion. It has also been my experience that this tea can survive a 10 minute infusion without losing flavor or becoming overly bitter. The leaves are fairly uniform and open up quite well. Overall this is a good everyday tea.

A very average green tea. I’ve steeped every which way but I cannot get a satisfying cup.

This is a decent black tea. It is fairly mild, not what I would call bold but it does have a certain strength to it. It has some lovely fruit notes to it. It is sweet and pleasant, with an agreeable astringency at the tail … it is quite a gentle astringency that allows for the sweetness to continue through to the aftertaste.

This is one of my favorite teas. It is simple, straightforward, and beautiful to watch in a glass tumbler as it unfurls. Each pearl is comprised of two leaves and a fuzzy bud that are rolled by hand, which means between actual human fingers. The care and precision that goes into making each pearl is apparent in the taste, which is silky, honeyed and refreshing. My notebook reads, “[the flavor] is subtle and sweet. I get the image of goose down floating on still, clear water.”

An after-sweetness in the back of the throat provides a nice cooling sensation. It’s similar to sucking on the rind of a honeydew melon. The cooling sensation is not so strong as menthol, but there are similarities. The tea itself has the effect of focusing the mind and inducing a sense of calm, more so than other green or white teas. (Is this a white tea? McNulty’s is unclear on the subject…)

I could drink this every day. For a while, I did drink this every day, and when I didn’t feel like steeping and re-steeping in a teapot, I’d simply drop a few pearls (3 or 4) in a mug that I would refill with warm water until the flavor slipped away. Delicious.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea.

This is really good. Before reading anything about it, by the look of it I assumed it was a black tea and brewed it the way I’d brew a black tea. Fortunately, if there is any green tea or Oolong tea in there, I don’t get any taste in this cup that indicates that I scorched the leaves, so that is good.

I definitely taste black tea – but a lighter black, perhaps a Ceylon or a Darjeeling, but, I am not detecting any of that muscatel that would indicate to me that it is definitely a Darjeeling. I also taste a toasty flavor in there – possibly a roasted Oolong or a Kukicha? There is earthiness to the cup, and a fruit note.

Overall, a very pleasant cup that is keeping me guessing. But I like that!

A perfect fruity blend. A great alternative to high-sugar juices or your usual sweetened black.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this one.

This is a good Ceylon … a bit more finicky than a typical Ceylon. It is a lovely, rich tea with an interesting fruit and floral taste.

It’s a good cuppa.

One of the better Souchang’s I’ve had. When I steep it for three minutes it almost has a chocolate after taste.

This is a lovely black tea. I’m not totally sure how it should compare to plain Assam, but it seems a little lighter and less malty, but still with nice body. I had this both hot in the morning, and resteeped and iced in the afternoon — delicious both ways.

It seems like I haven’t had a “regular” black tea in awhile! So at first sip, this tasted strange to me. It tastes like a “typical” black tea. Like the most average black tea you can have. Like a Lipton tea bag?

Further sips, a woodsy note appears and something papery and old—like parchment? This is very drying on the tongue and surprisingly refreshing!

A very basic, mild-tasting yet potent black tea.

I think this would be perfect to brew into an iced tea.

A nice tea for breakfast as it has some body, but is not overwhelming. Especially tasting some sweetness and roasted notes this morning.

This oolong definitely has a pu-erh-like flavor. The leaves themselves actually look almost identical to the pu-erh I have from McNulty’s – very large and fairly flat leaves. The earthiness is more subtle than the pu-erh, and it has a smooth taste with no astringency.

This is a very rich oolong. It smells roasted when dry and maintains that scent once steeped, but with an added earthiness that reminded me of a pu erh, which created a bit of unfounded anxiety as my pu erh experiences have been less than stellar. For an oolong, it’s a dark tea and has a dark liquor. 195/3.5 min. There’s no bitterness at all and I can most definitely taste a woodsy, chestnut like taste. It’s a very savory tea.

Just as I suspected, this is delicious iced! I couldn’t quite finish my mug of hot tea this morning, so I poured the rest over ice and took it with me to work. The plum flavor and sweetness are more intense when iced rather than hot.