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Today’s brew of this is tasting especially good to me. I think some times the planets align and the factors for the steeping turn out perfect, right amount of each parameter… temp, time, qty, sweetner… and you get a great cup of tea! This malty brew is strong but at 2 minutes and a few, it’s not astringent. It has some earthy notes in this as well as some sweet potato. The lingering aftertaste is just mmmmm good.

Trying a sampler of this oolong tea. The dry leaf has a floral aroma that carries on into the steeped brew. It’s not a strong aroma but more subtle but noticeable. The flavor is floral and sweet with some hints of fruitiness. It’s a light brew almost like a green tea. The second steep was just as good with no noticeable weakening. The leaves had not even completed their un-furling of their crinkled blobs after the first cup. I enjoyed this one.

Enjoying this tea after lunch. It’s a bold solid assam with a nice malty finish. The aroma is even nice, not something many assam teas can boast. I drink it black with some sweetener.

Trying this once again and finding it too strong and at 2:15 steep time it does have some very noticeable astringency in it. I am realizing I’m putting too much leaf in my brew or this tea really does need some dairy to tame it down. I’m not enjoying this very much. Rating is going down some more as a result.

This darjeeling is truly a quality 2nd flush. I prefer the 2nd flush over the 1st as I prefer more oxidized teas over the less oxidized varieties. The leaf is dark green, brown and black mix with long twisted-curled leaves. The brew is a robust floral and fragrant muscatel flavoring that is pleasing without being overpowering. It has a freshness to the taste with some notes of honey sweetness. This is one of my favorites when it comes to darjeeling 2nd flush. If you love a 2F darjeeling give this one a try.

Yummmm!

Visited the Tao of Tea shop yesterday and among my purchases was this oolong tea. I asked the attendant for one that has a “buttery” flavor. First pick was the Ali Shan but they were out so this was the next best option. I picked up a can. To keep freshness, each of the two ounces in the beautiful tin was shrink-wrapped.

The leaf of this tea are tightly curled and a dark forest green in color with some lighter yellow-green color showing in places. The aroma of the dry leaf did indeed have the buttery flavoring, but it was not strong.

I steeped the leaf in about 185 degree water for 3 minutes. It came out a pale yellow with a hint of green to it. The aroma of the brew was wonderful. The flavor of the brew is equally wonderful with a smooth buttery flavor that is not overpowering. This is a great evening tea. I’m enjoying my 2nd steeping and I believe I will get another one easily, maybe more from this quality tea.

Friends I was with stopped at Peet’s after lunch today. I wanted to try this Keemun and took the opportunity. The person preparing it for you puts the leaves into a T-Sac and adds the hot water and hands it to you, telling you to remove the leaves after 5 minutes. Ha! I thought to myself. I steep most if not all black teas no more than 3 minutes to avoid bitterness, if a tea is to have any. So I removed the T-Sac after about 3. The brew has a mild version of the “keemun” flavoring, the hint of smokiness and pine, but is not very distinct. I found this to be an ok tea but I’m not sure I’d ever spend the money for a can of this tea. If you like the “keemun” flavoring like I do, there are some fantastic Keemuns out there.

I’m sipping this tea today and also had it yesterday morning. This tea is really good. Being from the Fujian province of China, It’s not a Yunnan golden tea but has similarities. It’s a golden monkey that is very smooth and delicious. The aroma of the dry leaf is as chocolatey as I’ve ever found in any natural tea. It carries through into the brew as well. The caramel and chocolate notes present along with some fruity notes and maybe some honey notes make this tea really pleasurable. I highly recommend it!

This is my afternoon tea today. I have to say each time I try this it seems to taste better to me. Today it tasted better than I remember and I have bumped up the rating even higher.

The appearance of the dry leaf of this tea is nice with black and gold tips mixed in. After steeping 2 minutes, the flavor is smooth with no noticeable astringency. It is sweet and malty with fruit notes, offering a kind of caramel flavor about it. Yes I am seeing why this won an award. It is yummy! It’s gray outside but this tea is brightening things up inside.