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My coworkers got this one for me today…very nice gesture! It’s a somewhat sweet but vegetal sencha, a little lighter than I like for my senchas, but still very nice. Despite its lightness, it held up well to 3 steeps. A bunch of people on the Teavana page mentioned that it was bitter…I have a feeling that the water they used was way too hot because I didn’t detect a hint of bitterness.

This was my second try with the loose leaf version of this tea, and I overdid it with the leaves again. The first steep was okay, but the second steep was awesome, the smooth Ceylon I love so much. I need to start measuring my leaves to be more precise. Anyway, I’m finishing it up now and am a happy Cheapster Steepster (Thanks, Boychik :P).

Wegmans is a pretty impressive company…quite a few options for good quality inexpensive loose leaf and bagged teas. Last time I was visiting my sister in Virginia, I bought their Tomo Sencha, and was pleasantly surprised. This tea is also very good. It’s a smooth and creamy sencha/matcha mix, vegetal with no bitterness. Sometimes I like bitterness, like with the sencha from Yamamotoyama, but I think I prefer this one. Gyokuro is still on top, when it comes to green teas, but this is a nice inexpensive alternative.

This is another everyday favorite of mine. Simple, smooth, and very inexpensive. I like to have it in the afternoon, because it’s not super strong, but it gives me a little bit of a kick to finish up the work day. I think I was a bit overzealous with the leaves today, but the tea didn’t get better despite me overdoing it a little. I love the Ahmad Tea Company, good quality teas at a reasonable price for the everyday tea drinker.

I love the Ahmad Tea Company, and I love this tea. I think I paid $8 for 16 oz! It tastes great to me; malty, good strength, with kind of a raisin or plum flavor. It holds up well to multiple steeps. I went with 3.5-4 minutes, as you guys recommended on here.

I have had this one every morning this week…good mix of malty and sweet, without bitterness. One sachet is strong enough to hold up for 16 ounces of water. I recommend it when you’re looking for a morning Assam and want the convenience of a bagged tea.

I have grown to love this tea…in just one week. I liked the smoky flavor at first, but thought it was too mild. I think I was used to my loose leaf gunpowder green teas, because I make them much stronger. I adjusted to this tea’s lightness and actually like it quite a bit. Numi is 2 for 2 for me…I’ll have to try more of their teas!

This tea has a nice smoky and pleasantly bitter flavor. However, it is way too mild and light. I’ve had it twice with one bag for 8 ounces. I think I’ll double up on the bags next time…should make for a nice product. It’s too bad that it is so light, because it’s a nice quality tea otherwise.

I’m not huge into flavored teas. This is good; fairly fruity with a hint of vanilla. The flavors complement each other nicely, not overwhelming at all. I had to try this, given all the positive comments about Harney & Sons’ products. Also, it smells incredible. It’s good, and I’d recommend it if you like flavored teas, but I’m good with just finishing the tin out…no need to buy it again. I’ll look for more of their plain black teas…I liked Ceylon and India quite a bit, and have read about a few other ones that sound amazing.

I liked this tea…malty and smoky, but smooth at the same time. I steeped it for 2 minutes, and it seemed to work out well. This tea also had more of an earthy flavor than the other Dian Hong’s I’ve tried. Thanks for the sample, Nicole!