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Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: 500ml 195°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: strong sweet passion fruit
Steeped Tea Smell: hints of sweet passion fruit, slight toasty tea
Flavor: toasty tea, with a slight sweet passion fruit at the end of the sip
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: slightly toasty
Liquor: barely translucent dark brown

Post-Steep Additives:
agave nectar, brings out the sweet fruit a bit more

Resteep:
500ml at 195°F for 2:30minutes
tastes like a light black tea

Unremarkable, tastes fine but not novel or extremely well done

Gift from a friend.

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2012/02/ching-ching-cha-loose-leaf-oolong-tea.html

Steep Information:
Amount: 4 tsp
Water: 500ml at 212°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 7 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: berry, floral
Steeped Tea Smell: peppercorn, berry, fruity, floral, woody
Flavor: spicy, woody, sweet
Body: Full
Aftertaste: berry, lavender
Liquor: opaque dark red-brown

Good flavorful rooibos, a bit woody for those who don’t like that, nothing too remarkable.

Gift/Swap from chana karma

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2012/02/totalitea-loose-leaf-rooibos-tisane.html

Steep Information:
Amount: 4 tsp
Water: 500ml 212°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 7 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: pineapple, orange, banana, sweet
Steeped Tea Smell: pineapple, banana, orange
Flavor: honeybush, sweet, hints of banana
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: orange, pineapple
Liquor: opaque dark brown

fairly delicious

Post-Steep Additives:
1 spoon agave nectar
brings out all the fruit flavors and puts the honeybush as a secondary, aftertaste

I am really enjoying this!

Rating: 3/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2012/02/52teas-loose-leaf-honeybush-tisane.html

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: 500ml 195°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: grape, fake grape, hints of oatmeal
Steeped Tea Smell: grape, roasty tea
Flavor: roasty black tea
Body: Full
Aftertaste: astringent
Liquor: translucent dark brown

Post-Steep Additives:
agave nectar
sweet, raisin, toasty black tea

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2012/02/52teas-loose-leaf-black-tea-oatmeal.html

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: 500ml at 195°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: Sweet maple, smokey tea
Steeped Tea Smell: maple, toasty black tea
Flavor: sweet black tea, hints of maple, end of sip is a bit oaty, slightly gritty mouthfeel
Body: Full
Aftertaste: astringent
Liquor: translucent dark brown-orange

The maple seems to mask or overpower the brown sugar, perhaps if I add some sugar? Overall a nice sweet (without additives) black wake up tea.

Rating: 3/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2012/02/52teas-loose-leaf-black-tea-maple-and.html

Steep Information:
Amount: 5.4g
Water:750ml at 185°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: floral, sweet, vegetal
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet, floral, lightly delicate vegetal
Flavor: smooth, silky, sweet
Body: Light
Aftertaste: floral, vegetal
Liquor: translucent light yellow-green

Resteep:
750ml at 195°F for 3 min
weaker flavor and smell

Resteep:
750ml at 195°F for 4 min
weaker flavor and smell, no longer silky smooth mouthfeel

Steep Information:
Amount: 4.8g
Water:750ml at 185°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: floral, sweet, vegetal
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet, floral, lightly delicate vegetal
Flavor: smooth, silky, sweet
Body: Light
Aftertaste: floral, vegetal
Liquor: translucent light yellow-green

Delicious, smooth, silky, wonderful cup of tea for just sipping and enjoying. 2 minutes was better than 3.

Rating: 4/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2012/02/teavivre-loose-leaf-white-tea-white.html

Steep Information:
Amount: 3 tsp
Water: 500ml 175F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: cherry cheese danish
Steeped Tea Smell: genmaicha (vegetal, rice)
Flavor: bitter green
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: bitter
Liquor: translucent honey green-yellow

Next time less temp? less leaves?

Steep Information:
Amount: 3 tsp
Water: 500ml 175F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: cherry cheese danish
Steeped Tea Smell: genmaicha (vegetal, rice)
Flavor: green, rice
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: vegetal
Liquor: translucent honey green-yellow

Much better at 2 min, cherry is still mostly in smell, but smooth genmaicha this time.

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2012/02/52teas-loose-leaf-green-tea-cherry.html

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: 6oz boiling
Tool: Cast Iron Teapot with Mesh basket strainer
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: cinnamon, wood
Steeped Tea Smell: cinnamon, cardamom, wood
Flavor: rooibos woody, cinnamon, closes with cardamom kick
Body: Full
Aftertaste: cardamom, hints of wood
Liquor: dark opaque red-brown

Really have no feelings good or bad, it just seemed average.

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2012/02/teagschwendner-loose-leaf-rooibos.html

Steep Information:
Amount: 6.3g
Water: 750ml 195F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet, floral, vegetal
Steeped Tea Smell: floral, sweet, vegetal
Flavor: smooth, silky, sweet
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: vegetal
Liquor: translucent honey yellow-brown

enjoyable, comforting

Resteep:
Not as smooth or sweet

I decided to have a bit of fun, I made some plain oatmeal (you know the kind you never want to eat in the variety pack) with the tea, and mixed in a bit of cranberry and almond. It was good, The tea was hidden by the other flavors and next time perhaps a fuller tea would show more.

Rating: 3/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2012/02/teas-etc-loose-leaf-oolong-tea-green.html

Steep Information:
Tool: Teapot with Mesh basket strainer
Served: Hot

I ordered a 2 person pot, the leaves were brought out with pot, and more hot water was provided.

Tasting Notes:
Steeped Tea Smell: toasty, floral, light peach
Flavor: roasty, nutty
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: floral, slight perfume, hints of ginger
Liquor: translucent brown-orange

The peach comes through as a slight sweet flavor.
The ginger is a back of the tongue tang after each sip.
The tea is enjoyable, but not extraordinary.

Resteep:
Just as good

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2012/01/zhi-tea-loose-leaf-oolong-tea-ginger.html