San Francisco Herb Co.

Should I do something special for my 100th tasting note, or is it just another cup of tea?

How my tea tastes have changed since my first few reviews when I thought Teavana and Mighty leaf were the best teas, through the Steepster Select experiment, to now when I look for tasty bagged tea or a chocolatey yunnan black or a creamy shu puerh.

I thank the Steepster community for introducing me to Butiki, traveling tea boxes, and secret pumpkin swaps. So many yummy teas I have discovered since logging onto this site!

I do love a bargin, and this Vanilla Tea is just that. To me a bargin is quality at a lower price, and I like the challenge of paying less for a similar good product that others may pay more for. I have tried many steeps looking for a flaw in this tea, could it be an aftertaste, a bitterness, too much astringency? I haven’t found much negative here, its a single note tea, but it does it quite well. It reminds me of a Bryers Ice cream natural vanilla, but not so sweet. This is comfort food at its best, the reason why vanilla is a favorite dessert flavor, and why do other vanilla teas end up with a weird after taste? I am still impressed by every sip and have been unable to oversteep. Is it the vanilla bean or the vanilla flavor that is spot on? Maybe my only complaint is the black tea base isn’t really there, its just a conveyance for the vanilla.
I will order this again, and I will savor the sips of this comforting tea that only needs one flavor note to be delicious.

A little goes a long way with this tea. SF Herb says its 4th grade dragonwell tea, and I’m not sure I could pick it out as tasting different from other dragonwell teas I have drunk before. Perhaps this tea only has a one note profile, and other dragonwell teas are more complex. It is fresh, green, tastes like cut grass. Its what I think a cup of chlorophyll would taste like. I’ve not gotten a bitter brew from these tea yet, even with questionably hot water (I get impatient). I added a dab of honey to the second steep and its quite a yummy cup to me. I do tend to reach for a black tea in the morning instead of a green tea, but I should drink more of this for a change of pace.

I’ve been sipping down this tea for a while, and have finally gotten around to a review. I use twice the leaf I would for any other Lapsang, and the flavor is still not that strong. This is a decent tea and I tend to add lemongrass or other herb to make it taste a bit more interesting. Today I had it plain and the first steeping was smoky with a hint of licorice. No complex undertones going on here, and oversteeping to bitterness is not an option. The second steeping was a bit more bland. I will sip down the rest of this tea, but I’m not sure I’d buy again, there are better Lapsangs out there.

There is nothing subtle or delicate about this tea. It’s not very complex, astringency and metallic tastes dominate. Not any lingering maltyness going on here. But I like this tea for what it is, a strong robust cup when I want a morning jolt of caffeine and a taste that will standup to any spicy breakfast burrito. I’d call this a daily drinker though I’d certainly get bored if I drank it every day. I will continue to reach for this when I want a bracing morning cup as I know what to expect, it goes well with cinnamon and lemongrass too.

This is my favorite tea from my first SF Herb order. I only got 1/2 pound, but it’s the one I have sipped down the most, and the reason I made a second order. I have yet to over brew with too much leaf or steep too long. This tea is very forgiving and this is a bonus for me as I often over steep tea in my go cup. This tea is smooth and malty with a hint of cocoa. I would not call this complex, and it won’t steep past two steps, but I think it’s great for a daily drinker, and cheap enough to add lots of leaf for a strong morning cup.

This was my first order from SF Herb Co. and I was amazed at their low price per pound, and a bit dismayed at the shipping charge. This is not a company to be getting samples from, their minimum sizes are 1/2 pound or a pound. I was looking for some cheap drinkable tea as I have calculated in my head that I drink upwards of 10 pounds of tea a year and would like to lower my overall tea cost but still buy new or favorite types of expensive tea.
This Keemun is just ok. I expect a Keemun to be velvety, chocolate, hopefully with other flavors too, and there are hints of this in the first steep(western brew), but any cocoa taste is long gone by the second steep. I find myself using twice the leaf I normally use, and still I don’t get a lot of flavor in this one, and the second steep is more astringent than any particular flavor.
I am glad I tried this Keemun, I did get a whole pound of it, so I may end up blending with other tea or herbs to make it more palatable.

Good daily black tea for the price, about 12 bucks a pound. Takes milk and honey very well.

THIS TEA IS OFFICIALLY PUKKA DANKS

Refreshing. I had it with honey this time, which I don’t recommend. The honey just dulls the flavor of the Mate without adding any sweetness.

I’m a huge fan of Jasmine, and this is one of the better Jasmine Green’s I’ve ever had. And you can’t beat the price!