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This was one of the free samples included in my (very generous) order from Han Xiang Ecological Tea via AliExpress. I must say, so far I am quite impressed with this seller – their tea seems to be of high quality, especially for the price I paid. The samples were two bucks for two small baggies of tea, and I was actually sent three baggies in some cases, along with four bonus samples and a little tea strainer. Huzzah! Thanks to yyz for the awesome recommendation!

So, this tea itself. The leaves are quite beautiful, they’re a lovely combination of white/silver and dark grey/green colors. The contrast of the two colors makes them very striking. I don’t really get much of a dry scent from the leaf, there’s a bit of jasmine but that’s definitely just contamination from the jasmine pearls that they also sent. I was unsure how long to steep this tea, so I started at 1 minute and then kept going until 2 minutes after tasting it.

The brewed aroma is surprisingly smoky and mineral? There’s a bit of the expected vegetal quality hiding in the background too. At first taste, this tea is definitely different from what I expected! At the forefront are fairly sturdy savory smoke and mineral flavors combined with a bit of a seaweed note. The smokiness almost reminds me of smoked meat, ha ha. Somewhere near the middle, that vegetal tone starts to come out and assure me that this is, after all, a green tea. At the end of the sip is a nice mild floral taste that suggests honeysuckle to me, and a light dried apricot flavor, and these continue into the aftertaste. I am left with a fresh and sweet taste in my mouth that lingers long after I’ve finished drinking.

Overall, this tea was unexpected and very enjoyable for me! I’m very happy that the seller chose to include this sample in my order. :)

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Aw, I overleafed this a wee bit and it came out somewhat bitter. I guess in the future I should just throw out that awkward amount of leaf that would’ve been left over, since it’s not really worth it ruining my final cup. I first had this tea in my Den’s sampler and then Ost sent me another packet as a bonus sample in a swap. I like it a lot, it’s definitely one of the best senchas I’ve tried so far. Hooray Den’s! :)

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This one is definitely my favorite of the Star Wars fandom blends. It’s a nice combination of almond and hazelnut flavors with just a bit of cinnamon. Super delicious with sugar and vanilla soy milk! And you can’t really taste the rooibos or honeybush much, which is nice.

This sample came from Mandy. This tea seems to get quite a bit of love around these parts, so I was rather excited to try it. Jasmine is one of the few florals that I can stand, assuming it’s not overly powerful. The green tea leaves are dark blue/grey/green and quite thin, and they’re curled up slightly. There are also very thin pine needles mixed in. I used 1.5 teaspoons of leaf and steeped at 175 degrees for 1.5 minutes.

The brewed aroma is very sweet with jasmine and just a little bit of pine scent. Hmm… Brewed this way, this tea is a bit too light for me. Perhaps next time I’ll try a longer brew time. The jasmine is at the forefront, but it’s not too strong. The green tea is quite mild and buttery with a sweet edge. The pine mostly manifests as a nice cooling sensation near the end, but I can also taste hints of it throughout the sip. Overall, I can see this one being nice and comforting and relaxing, but I think I would either brew it with more tea or for longer.

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Trying my second (and last) packet of this in cold water today, just to make a fairer judgment of it. Last time I had it hot with vanilla soy milk and it was delicious, but I could definitely taste the milk more than the tea itself. In water, it’s not bad, but not nearly as good. It has an almost woody flavor, which is odd. Still pretty tasty though!

Not going to rate this as I don’t really have a point of reference for it. :P

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I find that I just don’t enjoy this one. Yes, it’s strong, but I don’t mind that about it… It’s the weird mineral/earth taste that I don’t like. I’ve tried it with sugar and milk and even then it’s not great, plus I don’t really want a tea that I can’t drink straight. This time I tried a 2-minute steep and it’s better, but still very… dirt and rock-like. :P

Not rating it since I don’t know jack about Assams. :D

Trying another tea from Han Xiang Ecological Tea via AliExpress this morning! I’m very happy to have new and exciting Yunnan teas in the house! Some of these may end up going in the cupboard, but I have to try them all first to determine whether or not they’re keepers. I must say, these are very generous samples for only two bucks, especially since I got three baggies of some of them when I was only supposed to get two! Plus free samples! Anyway, this tea. It looks similar to the other biluochun black tea I’ve had (the Whispering Pines version). The little curls are almost all golden, with some little black stripes mixed in. Dry scent is mild and honey-sweet with stonefruit notes.

Brewed, this tea smells strongly of sweet potatoes. Yum! There are also bread and nice sweet honey scents. This tea is lovely and malty with a rich sweet potatoey taste that fills the mouth. Underneath the sweet potato is a nice bready quality that reminds me of light, crisp, crusty toast with honey spread over the top. Near the end of the sip and in the aftertaste, I taste faint stonefruit notes and something that seems a bit floral. Overall, very tasty!

I need to do a 3-way tasteoff between this tea and the Whispering Pines and Yunnan Sourcing versions (as soon as I order the YS one, teehee).

My last white tea sample from TeaVivre’s last tasting event. I’ve loved all of them so far, even though I’m certainly not a white tea fanatic. I find that white tea makes a lovely evening beverage as it is very light and calming. This tea looks like other bai mudans I’ve had – leaves of various sizes and colors mixed with lovely fuzzy silver buds. Dry scent is hay and alfalfa. I did a 2 minute brew at 185 degrees.

Once brewed, this tea has the usual hay-like white tea scent, but there’s a strange mineral edge that I haven’t experienced before. The taste is mostly lovely hay and grain flavors, and it’s quite naturally sweet. That unusual mineral note is also present here, and it’s throwing me off a little bit. I’m wondering if maybe I didn’t rinse my cup after my last tea, but I’m fairly certain that I did… So odd!

Overall, a nice standard white with an interesting and unusual mineral taste.

This was the first tea to try from my sample order from Han Xiang Ecological Tea on AliExpress. There’s no particular reason that I chose this one, I just pulled it out of the pile and went with it. The leaves are slender and curly, and it’s about half golden tips and half dark brownish grey leaves. Dry scent is vaguely honey sweet with some fruit and malt notes. I did my general “black tea” 3 minute steep at 200 degrees.

Mm, this smells delicious! Brewed, the aroma is rich and sweet, reminding me of molasses with dark, syrupy dried fruits. There’s also a bit of a mineral edge to it. Yum this is a great start to my Han Xiang experience. It’s definitely a somewhat earthy tea, with a little bit of mineral quality to it. But there’s a lovely rich molasses sweetness that really helps to moderate that earthiness, along with a nice dark dried fruit note similar to raisin, prune, or cherry. There’s also a bit of a grain element that pokes its head out occasionally. Interestingly enough, I also get a flavor that somewhat reminds me of slow-cooked green beans? It sounds very odd, but it’s actually very nice in combination with the other flavors. It’s worth noting that this tea didn’t get bitter even as it cooled, and still remained very tasty at room temperature. :D

This tea was one of Ellyn’s gifts for me in the Pass the Stash 2.0 TTB. I’ve kind of been putting off trying it because, well, it looks like potpourri basically, and I am not a floral tea gal. But it’s Mariage Freres, so I have to try it at least. Dry leaf has large white tea leaves along with small black ones, rose petals, and a ton of lavender. Dry scent is sweet and floral with a spicy note. I followed the directions in the tea’s description here on Steepster and did a 5 minute steep.

Smells very… lavender. I can catch a little bit of rose, which does nothing to improve my opinion. There’s also a citrusy quality which I assume is coming from the lavender. First taste and… noop. This is basically lavender tea. I get a little bit of white tea flavor in the aftertaste, but otherwise all I can taste is lavender. Interestingly enough, it has a certain limey quality to it, but that’s not enough to make it drinkable for me. Not going to rate due to bias, and this one is going into the rehoming box.