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This was a Christmas present…sort of a stocking stuffer. I was expecting trash tea; I got a gold mine! I love Ceylon teas and this was advertised as a pure Ceylon based Earl Grey. The tea has a wonderful, sharp, acidic bite with a nice citrusy bergamot scent. For what is probably a bargin basement box of tea, I am much impressed.

A friend got a sample of this and I got to finish off his sample. I’m not sorry there isn’t any left. The dry tea smells clearly of dried blueberries. That is important, because I know that (to me) blueberry juice is just a sweet ho-hum… On to the tea…
It brewed up surprisingly dark for an herbal, reddish like a Ceylon. Blueberry = Sweet in my mind. This tea wasn’t sweet — It was sour! A direct kick to the back edges of my tounge with no apologies. The true components of the tea shine through…rose hips and hibiscus (I looked it up). I don’t get blueberries out of the this — I get cranberries! There were a lot of dried apple pieces, easily 1/3rd of the bulk of the tea mix. I didn’t detect any apple flavor directly..the other components were just too bold, but I think the apple smoothed over the sour components and kept the result from being puckering sour.
Bottom line: I’d drink this again, but I think blueberry isn’t an accurate representation of what it delivers.

Had this with lunch yesterday…its not what I expected. If it has “orange” in the name, I expect orange in the flavor. Didn’t get that, not a single peice of orange peel in the tea bag; what I got was a bit of flowery jasmine and smooth vanilla creme. Still quite nice with my Chinese food lunch, but I consider it a bit of a “bait-and-switch”.
Brewed very light in the cup, I blame the instant hot water tap with being not hot enough…that and the bags a bit skimpy.

Royal Tea B.O.P [the blue tin] is a ceylon blend brought back from Sri Lanka by a workmate. This is advertised as a pure high grown ceylon blend and it delivers everything you’d expect. Brews clear and bright in the cup with a hit of red in the brown. Light in the mouth with a nice astringency and good flavor. A nice bite without being bitter.

Pulled this one forward on the shelf. As I mentioned before, its finely granulated; I didn’t trust a measuring spoon, so I did the “two full pinches” method…perfect for a 12oz mug. Again, nothing really outstanding, a good tea that is very drinkable and forgettable (not in a bad way).

A small tin, the Clairvoyant Tea Tin…its seethrough, of this has been sitting around for some time. I had no idea what flavor it was, I thought it was “Clairvoyant Tea” by Serendipitea. I found out, after brewing and deciding how to describe it. So here goes: “Grass clippings, I’m pretty sure that this is a tin of grass clippings. The tea is all straight, flat, 1/2” pieces just like out of my lawn mower. Its green, with little blue bits (cornflowers)…did I mention grass clippings? Smells green and fruity, tropical, in the tin. Brewing at 185F, the steam reminds me of cranberries, sour fruit. The taste is high quality green tea. Very light, crisp, none of the steeped-athletic-sock mustiness I get from cheap green teas. Oh look, there is a paper label on the bottom of the tin. FIJI, Wild Pineapple, Papaya & Green Tea…really?…."

Its raining in Central Texas…gloomy grey skies and the constant, vertical rain that we need, yet is so depressing. So whats to do when its boringly wet outside…dust off (literaly) the teapot and the Palm Court from the back of the stove. Yeah, I know, probably shouldn’t store tea there; but in my defense, its in an airtight metal can. Put 4 heaping teaspoons into the infuser and 1.5L of water just off the boil through it. stand for 2 or so minutes and a fine cuppa. Its oxidizing in the pot, getting darker with every pour, but not getting bitter or otherwise “off”. Drinking it straight, but can tell that just a touch of sugar would be really nice I think. Good “Generic Black Tea”…doesn’t have any one thing that stands out like a varietal/regional might.

Restocked this a little while ago as a side benefit to a business trip to Atlanta. Still as good as I remember from a few years ago, perhaps better. I don’t know if their supplier changed the weight of the balls, but I’m using 3 per 16oz mug now. The “burnt” edge is not present in this batch. Strong flavor but not a heavy tea. Its smooth, slurpable (is that a word?). A very good wake up tea. ratings bump over a few years ago for consistency in goodness.
Needs boiling water, I think, to get the balls well-saturated quickly.

Made this in the Keurig this morning since I was in a hurry. This tea has an earthy, woodsy flavor, almost like it was aged in a wood barrel. Otherwise, it has a strong keemun taste sets it apart from other black teas.

I was initially put off by this tea..it smells sweet and flowery. But I’ve decided its not half bad. It doesn’t brew like it smells, but still has a light sweetness…more fruit than flower. I’ve mentally assigned this tea to an “afternoon tea” slot.