Daylon R Thomas Send Message

I’m so excited to try all of the awesome blends that I bought from Liquid Proust! I had a REALLY hard time deciding, so I opted for the most breakfast-y blend I got. I smelled the coffee and the grapefruit immediately from the bag. It reminded me distinctly of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee (Yes, I’m an EX-coffee snob, though I indulge in Kona every now and then.) So I brew this up at boiling, not exactly sure the amount of leaves I used, but I had at least 2 big grapefruit pieces and maybe a teaspoon and a half of the black tea mix. I pour over the water and smell the same things and then HAHA a cocoa note in the smell! Oh, Yunnan Dianhong, you sneaky delight.

Finally getting to drink it, it tastes exactly like an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe with the exact same notes. My mom also liked it, but she LOVES grapefruit…and so do I. As it cooled, it changed. I tasted more of the cocoa profile from the Dianhong and the Keemum, a little bit of coffee, and the grapefruit came through more with the Pu-Erh as the earthy background. Grapefruit is dominant, but again, it tastes like coffee. This is slightly lighter than coffee in terms of body, but it’s pretty damn close to being a lighter blend of one.

The grapefruit was a really clever addition to this one. It makes the tea taste like breakfast, like a cup of Joe and grapefruit with a spoon. It’s also really clever because the grapefruit makes the mouth feel and taste considerably acidic and the same as coffee. The black teas blended together makes this even closer to coffee-all of them are smooth bodied teas; pu-erh has an earth base like coffee; Dianhong can be subtly sweet like coffee; and keemum has a chocolate note that isn’t quite chocolate note like coffee.

Steep two, I taste all three black teas more though it’s coffee light: the Dianhong, the keemum, and the pu-erh with the grapefruit now in the background. Dianhong comes in more now with that weird malty sweet potato-I probably wouldn’t know that if I hadn’t tried a Dianhong before.

Now, the consensus-it’s a really good tea and the great breakfast tea in my opinion, though that may change as soon as I try the French Toast. This is the perfect tea for coffee lovers, hands down. More experienced drinkers would appreciate the Chinese black teas, and younger ones will have to figure out their preference on it. Sugar and cream probably would work for it in an unexpected way, but I like it as is.

Also: notes are starting to get too pretentious for me in tea descriptions. I am going to figure out a better way to describe it without being too vague or over descriptive. There are some things like cocoa, chocolate, and fruit that are definitely there to me, but to someone reading this, they’ll either think “WTF is he talking about” or “Chocolate? GIVE ME!” then “This didn’t taste like chocolate. WTF!”

I’m in a loopy mood today…

This one remains a one of my favorites. And when I thought I had no more income to spare, I found some I forgot about, and totally decided to get this tea. I said in the original review that I wouldn’t get this any time soon, but since I had the freedom to, this was one of the teas I had to have.

I actually tasted different notes this time, and different notes from day to day. Lately, I’ve been getting mango, caramel, peach, and coconut, but all of them so subtly there. I still do this gongfu, but I’ve experimented more and been steeping this a little more western style on occasion being equally good for different reasons. The flavor profile is still the same western having notes of cream, flowers, grass, butter, milk, sweetness, toffee, and vegetal. The floral aspect is now closer to a lilac. I still rinse it 10-15 seconds every time. I had some today with hotter water at about 200 F and it tasted like cotton candy in the rinse. Apparently, I prefer this one with hotter water. Who knew?

Oh, and for you people trying to decide whether or not to get this tea, look at my previous review. It’s something that you should try, but some may be turned off by the buttery aspect to it, or if you’re newer, follow the recommendations exactly on the website. It also may take some time for you to figure out the steeping parameters that you prefer to get the flavor notes you want for this tea.

This one is really changing, and like it, my preferences change from day to day and mood to mood. I’ve steeped it several different ways, and only once was I able to get the sweetness that made me love it in the first place. Even when I first sampled it, it was a weak orchid that changed into a sweeter lilac that reminded me so much of plumeria. I liked the Milk Oolong most, then this one became my favorite. Now, I prefer the Milk Oolong more again save one day of a singular, stronger brew. The cost of a gram per ounce or more is great, so I try to use less water for less grams or stay with it lightened. Even when this tea is fainter, though, I keep on welcoming it and it comes as an honored guest. It will always be a must try for anyone, but nothing will compare to the way it was when I made it sweet by accident. Perhaps I’m romanticizing the favored experience, but I swear it was just as sweet as the Milk Oolong was, tasting of plumeria, warm milk, and a dash of caramel.

Now, it’s been a few days, the smell has changed from orchid, to plumeria, to lilac, and back to orchid now. I miss the sweetness so much, but I couldn’t bring myself to add sugar to it. A stronger brew with more leaves and time is the best way that I can get it to be sweet again. The same wonderful notes pervade, with more butter and cream some days, more vegetal others, but a transformation of flowers persists. I wish I wrote down what I did when I rated this as a 98 because I still miss it. Nevertheless, this tea still does what a good Tie Guan Yin is supposed to do: provide serenity in a cup of purity. The plumeria smell remains, and I continue to think back to Hawaii when my life was more fortunate. A divine gift from the Goddess of Mercy indeed.

And now, I don’t know what to rate it. Some days it’s been a 90, others an 85, and unfortunately some days a 80 or 75 because of how faint I brewed it. I’ll keep on coming back to this one for I will be drinking it for days. For those of you who are trying to decide whether or not to try it, look down at my first review that is on the bottom of this particular review.

….but then I figured it out! Less water, hotter water just under boiling, more leaves! 15 seconds, then 30, then add fifteen subsequently at 1-1.5 grams per ounce. Sweet plumeria, you have returned!

I used less leaves, just a tea spoon in eight ounces, and it was much better. Still syrupy and sweet with the caramel and toffee being the doubtless flavor, but it didn’t need any sugar or honey to sweeten it this time. It was what I was craving, though I’ve been craving caramel in general. I still taste the papaya and I ate it again. I’d recommend this to a lot of people, and for a black tea, it looks a lot like a Hojicha and tastes very similar to one. More than likely it’s an Ceylon, but still it’s good. I actually liked it better this time, though I still think it would be great with as a Pu-Erh or a Hojicha. Interestingly enough, there is an oolong like this on their website. I would recommend this to a lot of people except tea purists. Otherwise, the caramel flavor is sweet enough for a palette craving candy and the tea base is decent enough for an experienced drinker.

So this is pretty good, and surprisingly syrupy for a tea. I had this straight western and it is what it says. I could also taste the papaya and loved that aspect to it…and I ate it. It is a little too sweet, but somehow sugar ties the sweetness together. Probably good with cream but I prefer it as is. I think I would probably like a Pu-Erh version of this….they are every where a stores.

Thank you Nichole! This one certainly catches my fancy as a sweeter green tea.

When I smelled it, I instantly got the vanilla and it definitely has a coconut character to it in smell and taste. The notes on here already describe it perfectly.

I like it on it’s own, but sugar is not a bad compliment. A lot of people would like this, especially newer drinkers. More experienced drinkers would love the deep green powder color, but want the liquid to be a little bit frothier. Flavor though is fresh and rejuvenating-it’s almost a desert tea to me.

There’s an entire page for this, but apparently, it’s misplaced. Oh well, here’s my review of it.

I like this one a lot, and makes me feel relieved in terms of budget. I was actually recommended this one as a bagged, and based on the descriptions of caramel, I had to try it.

First time, I tried to do it Gongfu, but wound up Western on accident. I definitely got something like a spicier yet lighter black tea, but the more subtle notes like caramel were overwhelmed after two minutes. There were even seaweed notes that were kinda good, but something I have to be in the mood for. It got sweeter in the later steeps with something that reminded me of a cooked cherry, but not entirely.

Finally got to do it Gongfu tonight, with a ten second rinse at 195 degrees, using six grams in six ounces. The first rinse had a taste that replicates rose water. This tea is VERY close to a Laoshan black because it has the same type of rosy, cooked fruit character. Laoshan’s are one of my favorites, and in comparison, this one is a lighter brother or cousin that does not have the robust malt or chocolate of a black. It also doesn’t have the same dehydrating effect that a black does.

Steep two, 30 seconds, and still very rosy with a faded molasses bitter sweetness. Steep three, a full minute, and darker, redder, and something closer to a black tea. Four at two minutes, and something like a cherry black, but lighter. Five at three, and cooked cherry.

I really liked this one, but it is a toss up. When I’m in the mood for it, I would probably rate this one a 90; when I’m not, an 80. I still need to figure out better steeping parameters for this one. It was sweet, but not as sweet as I was expecting. I didn’t get the full caramel or honey like described, so I’ll be back on this one pretty soon.

Thank you Garret for this tea!

I steeped it as instructed online: 5 second rinse, 1 minute, two, then four. I really like it. To me, it was very similar to Imperial Pearl by Mountain Tea because it had the same type of roasted character, but with a sweet aftertaste. I want to say there was some cherry in the second steep, but not quite. Honey perhaps? Both times had a wonderful earthy, floral character very similar to an oolong. Also surprisingly nutty, though it’s a considerably light black tea. The final steep reminded me of stone fruits and honey.

I steeped this again the full four minutes, and all the notes that I got from the Gongfu in each brew came at me at once in a balanced way. Definitely better western, and I was even able to brew it again for another four minutes and it tasted almost the same though it was lighter. It was spicy, and fairly complex. The Imperial Pearl from Mountain Tea and this one are almost the same in terms of taste, and both had a dried cherry flavor that lingered on the tongue for a while.

I had some jitters earlier today from a lack thereof working out. I naturally have a lot of nervous energy, and with a lot of tea, the caffeine can get to me….so yay! More caffeine. I noticed though, that this had a focusing effect on me. I wouldn’t say calming, but slowed me down a little bit and reminded me to breath. I see why this is taken before exams.

Still flowery and creamy, but not nearly as sweet as when I first tried it. I’ll double check my brewing, and try again. Thank heavens I had notes on it from before. More than likely I need more leaves and perhaps brew it longer. Is there a way to brew this sweeter, Garret? Or because it’s been a few months since harvest it loses it’s sweetness?