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I’m feeling a bit under the weather so I was sorting through my overflowing cupboard for something that might help me out a bit. Sage, rosemary and lemon sounded like they would do the trick so I decided to give this one a try. Sniffing the dry leaves I was a little concerned as it smelled heavily of roses with no other scents noticeable.

Steeped it’s still very rosy, but thankfully some of the other flavors are coming out as well. I can definitely taste lemon which works surprisingly well with the rose. I wish the rosemary and sage were more noticeable, as that’s what drew me to the blend in the first place, but they’re barely noticeable hanging out in the background. Overall it’s a perfectly nice tea if you’re into florals. Well balanced with strong bright flavors and no astringency. I appreciate that they used gunpowder in this blend, as most tend to chose sencha for flavoring. I think the vegetal sencha would have seriously clashed with the flavors in here.

I probably won’t restock this one, but I enjoyed this cup. A nice fresh spring-like tea in the dead of winter.

While I technically have about 25g of this hanging out in a tin with some Madagascar vanilla beans, I’m still counting this as a sipdown since the package is empty. I bought this during Teavivre’s Anniversary sale and will probably pick some up during their next sale (If I’ve gotten my cupboard under control) as it’s well priced and quite tasty. Nice and cocoa-y with some citrus notes and no astringency. I’ll miss it, but I’m sure it won’t be gone for long.

Sipdown! Thanks for the sample Marzipan, I enjoyed trying this one. I have to say I didn’t get cheesecake from this at all. It was just kind of creamy and rich tasting, but not particularly cheesecake like. Not bad at all, but compared to the super rich French Vanilla flavor this just doesn’t compare.

No surprise, this is pretty darn yummy. In all honesty I don’t get much of a difference between this and sticky rice flavored shou. This is a bit silkier and more creamy, and it seems to be a much better quality with no dust in the cup like I often get with the cheapie mini tuos. But the flavor is pretty much the same. That’s fine by me as I absolutely love sticky rice flavor. I’m currently on the fourth steep and the flavor is still noticeable. Obviously not as strong but you certainly aren’t under the impression you’re drinking straight shu.

Any chance of a sheng version in the future? I bet it would be quite incredible.

Boiling with 2 quick rinses – 10s 10s (left overnight and rinsed again) 15s 15s 20s…

Seems this is my 150th review!

Thanks for the sample Marzipan!
This isn’t bad, but I can’t say I get pumpkin pie out of it. It’s a nice light spicy matcha, more pumpkin spice than pumpkin pie. It’s heavy on the cloves with a bit of cinnamon and maybe a sprinkle of nutmeg. No discernible pumpkin unfortunately. But, still, it’s a lovely tea for a cool winter afternoon.

I fondly refer to this one as my “Christmas tea” because it just tastes like Christmas to me. Cloves + Orange always remind me of the holidays, but the additional touch of Lapsang Souchong reminds me of a lit fireplace as well. It’s every Christmas Eve I remember from my childhood. I take it with and without (vanilla soy) milk, and it’s beautiful each way.

Merry Christmas Eve, all. I hope everyone here has an absolutely beautiful holiday tomorrow. And to those who don’t celebrate, I hope you have a nice Thursday :)

I’ve been working on this one since I got the shipment yesterday afternoon, and it just keeps getting better. I’m somewhere around 10ish steeps in and the little ball has only just come completely apart. My little teapot is stuffed with huge leaves and buds. Lovely to look at.
I’ll have to give it a proper review when my arms stop feeling like they’re filled with helium. I didn’t even know it was possible to get this tea drunk.

Sipdown This was a really lovely tea. With the ridiculous amount of Assams I currently have in my cupboard, I don’t think I’m going to pick up a full-size tin of this one any time soon. But I will certainly take an oz or two with my next Tao of Tea order. I did have to lower the rating just a bit, because it seems super dependent on temperature. Even 5 degrees off and it looses a bit of its magic. But no matter how I brew it it’s still quite lovely.