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Oh, my. This is bloody delicious. It’s also my third coconut Oolong in a week.

I’m at that point where I have so many teas that I can’t recall what’s in my cupboard, and that the less-than-stellar ones never end up getting used. So there is just a backlog of mediocre teas I try to force myself to drink while the new ones and samples pile up.

And THEN I realized that I had a Tao Tea Leaf voucher expiring March 1. Oh dear. I knew I wasn’t going to have time to visit the store in the couple days I had left to use it, so an online order it was. I’d never tried anything from them before and obviously don’t have any big vacancies in my collection, so I thought lots of samples was the way to go. This left me with the box that arrived today, full of no fewer than 20 samples and three 25 g bags. It’s also left me still never having visited the store, though their online customer service was really great. They were helpful by e-mail and my tea came very nicely packaged and quickly, with a 5% off coupon.

Anyway, this tea. I was going to save it until I finished the Tealish Coconut Bongo, I was. But when I opened my Tao package I lost all control and opened the packet for a sniff. It was so overwhelmingly aromatic that I immediately had to have some. I’d just boiled the Zojirushi so I went gong fu with this one, so it’s not really a direct comparison to the two previous coconut Oolongs I’ve had. But it’s enough to say that it is very similar. The same sweet, toasted coconut flavour on top of fresh green Oolong. These might be my two favourite flavours in the world, so I’m pretty ecstatic to see that there seems to be a coconut Oolong niche out there. I think I may become obsessed with trying every one I can.

The only thing striking me as any different about this tea, apart from its general awesomeness, is how vibrant the Oolong is. Green and (subtly) floral, and impossibly creamy and silky-smooth. It steeps a really bright yellow-green, and tastes incredibly fresh. I will have to try it Western-style soon.

Interesting! I was so scared of this one, but it’s not abrasive like I expected from the scent. It’s actually quite sweet, and the citrus balances out the ginger really well. Actually, it didn’t taste like a ginger tea to me. I could taste ginger, but not GINGER. Tasty! I can see why De likes it so!

I … don’t know. This one smells absolutely incredible. The caramel and grapefruit really grab me, and I was looking forward to what I was sure was going to be the Earl Grey variation I’d fall in love with and always want on hand. But it’s falling short. I’m only getting mediocre EG from this. No caramel. A lighter, more buoyant citrus note that must come from the grapefruit, but not what I was expecting. And, I’ve had it three times now and it’s always gone bitter on me at 2.5 minutes. Drinkable and not at all unpleasant, but a disappointment!

Wow! The lack of hibiscus makes all the difference. It was actually surprising to see how pale this was, and made me a bit worried that it was just going to be flavoured water. It’s actually very tasty, though. It’s a sweet and tart concoction of an interesting blend of fruits. Very different to anything else I have.

Sadly, I found that I needed a lot of this per cup. I’m glad that, without hibiscus, I can steep this as long as I want. But I steeped for seven minutes and still found it a bit light. It’s heartbreaking to find a great fruit blend and not want to stock it for how expensive it ends up being! Anyway, I’m glad to have some and will probably steep longer next time.

In keeping with my overall opinion of Tealish’s flavoured senchas, this was nice. I was a bit underwhelmed on first sip, but then the subtle flavours grew on me. Sweet strawberry and more earthy rhubarb were both detectable, and blended really nicely with the green tea. I don’t know if it’s something I’d reach for often so I’m thinking I won’t buy any at this (over-inundated with tea) point, but I did enjoy it.

I forgot about this tea until I noticed tonight that my cat had somehow chewed on the bag, presumably in one of his fits of hunger. He will go for anything even somewhat resembling the bag his food comes in.

It is so nice! Really mild, sweet, and a little smokey. I love it, and am glad to rediscover it. The package suggests a surprising 4-7 minutes, so I went for 4 and am surprised at how much I like it that way.

This is a nicely-done fruity black, a type about which I can be picky. I appreciated the substantial-but-not-bitter black base, too. But, I agree with the other reviews that say it’s just kind of underwhelming. I don’t think anything about it is memorable. In fact, it just made me want to drink a cup of Notting Hill from Yumchaa for a little more fruity kick! I expected from the scent and the ingredients list that this one would have too much going on, and I think that is the case. While the fruit flavours are nice, they all just blend together.

To-go from the store yesterday, this didn’t quite live up to what I expected from sniffing the canister. It turned out a little bitter, and the super-fragrant peach was a lot more subtle. It was a nice peach flavour, though. Gentle but juicy.

I had to get this today in hopes that it would make a good stand-in for the Spice and Tea Exchange coconut Oolong. Then, I had to try it pretty much as soon as I got in the door. The Tealish employee said this was her favourite tea in the universe, so that was promising!

Coconut Bongo smells incredible, and quite close to the S&TE one. Very similar both dry and once steeped, though less potently aromatic. It, thankfully, doesn’t disappoint in the taste department, either. It has the same creamy, bakey, toasted sweetness that the other version does, and a similar relationship between the coconut flavour and the green Oolong. But, it’s lighter. Both the flavouring and the body of the tea are a little lighter. This is an awesome tea and a good substitute, but I think less mind-blowing.

I had this to-go from the store today, since I’ve been thinking for a while that it sounded like an interesting idea. I asked for it with milk, and it was a tasty milky, mild chai effect. I really like cardamom and find it soothing and warming so it was a great cup to walk around town with. It’s exceedingly mellow. I think it would be nice with the addition of a litlte cinnamon, but the simplicity of the blend is pretty cool.