TeaSource

Disappointing. This tastes more of candied ginger than anything else, and the Yunnan base is a very mildly flavored one. It’s nicely balanced—I’d love an “extra strength” version of this—but probably not for the real ginger fans.

I’ll try a longer steep next time, but as I already let this go for about six minutes by mistake, I don’t see much improvement being possible.

If I could find this blend without the licorice in it, I’d be crazy about it; unfortunately, it’s a sour/dirty mid-note that’s really jarring. Still, this is a really impressive balance of so many different flavors, and it is very, very foody.

ETA about three hours later: I am pretty sure this is responsible for my splitting headache. Never have done well with licorice.

Very pleasant citrus with just the right amount of jasmine. This tea is wonderful hot or cold.

I received this as a sample with my TeaSource order. It’s a green oolong flavored with licorice and ginseng, not something I would have chosen, which may account for why I’m not raving about it they way other reviewers have. The tea itself looks rather strange—like kibble or pellets. To me it tastes a lot like a Ti Kuan Yin with a hint of toastiness. There is a fairly mint-like bit in the aftertaste that’s probably due to the ginseng. It’s enjoyable, but it’s fairly down my list of favorite oolongs, at least on first steeping.

Smooooooooth. That’s how this tastes. Even my aunt I-only-heart-black-tea said she liked this one. This one is more on the green side of oolong. It steeps up a dark amber, has an almost creamy mouth feel and sweet, fruity, honeyed in taste. It reminds me of the Sweet Silk Oolong I had bought from TeaSource. I’ll have to brew that one up again tomorrow since I still have some to compare—decide which one is the go to light Oolong for me to stock. But this is definitely a contender.

So, verdict, I rather like it, although mildly, my aunt does not. Not because she disliked the taste, but because there’s not enough of it—she complains it’s like having hot water. Admittedly, this is a common complaint for her with Green and White teas, but she did like the Darjeeling Green a bit more, and the Clouds & Mist a lot more. This doesn’t have the vegetal taste that puts me off so many Green teas. It’s mild and sweet and refreshing with almost an almondish and minty note.

Edit: I tried brewing this longer, three and a half minutes rather than the 2 minutes suggested minimum, and my aunt then found she liked it a lot more, especially since I alternated this with only a black tea until it ran out and we both had a better chance to get used to it. So this turned out a tea we quite liked and I’m raising the rating from 41 (would not order again) to 77 (would consider.)

This was—Okay. And believe me, after trying the Chun Mee tea yesterday and having my aunt compare it to sewage, not a bad thing. But this is a very light tea—a kind of uber green. Not vegetal, which I dislike, and one we can tolerate enough to get through the two ounces we bought, but not one I’d order again. I found it rather bland. So far, of the five new green teas we recently purchased, the Cloud & Mist is the one we liked best. Tomorrow we’ll see if Pi Lo Chun can beat it.

I share these teas with my aunt, so I try to buy ones we’ll both like. Her reaction was this reminded her of “sewage.” Hardly how I’d describe it. Trying to tease out why she reacted that way, well it is slightly vegetal. I don’t detect the plum-like taste in the description on the packet. There’s an aftertaste that’s a bit metallic and smoky, a sour bite that makes it rather astringent. It’s … well my aunt called it “tolerable” but I think I’m probably going to give this away to my tea-drinking friend and give it another chance to be loved. Definitely not one we’ll order again.

I enjoyed this. I should say, that by and large I’m not a fan of green teas. I’ve ordered a bunch, thinking my tastes in tea might have been refined a bit after a year of drinking fine loose leaf teas. I do like Hojicha, but that’s an atypical green tea, being roasted. I hated the Sencha and Dragonwell I’d tried, which I thought tasted like water in which spinach had been boiled. This particular Clouds and Mist, there is a slightly grassy note, but it’s subtle. It’s a light, refreshing tea, if one perhaps with a little less character than I’d like. My aunt did like this one far more than the Anhui Yellow Flower we had yesterday. For that matter, so do I. (And having now tried the other Green Teas in our order this beat Pi Lo Chun, a Darjeeling Green and Chun Mee.)

I’m not crazy about this one. I prefer the other Yellow tea Tea Source offers, Wild Kwan Yin. That one reminded me a bit of a cross between green and white teas—in a good way. That one interestingly called for steeping at 190 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 3 minutes, like an oolong. This one called for 160 degrees Fahrenheit for two minutes, more like a green tea. It’s certainly very…er… subtle. Too much so for my tastes. Not quite as bad as Silver Needle. It’s not like drinking hot water, but too close for my tastes. There’s also an odd aftertaste. I don’t know how to describe it. Not quite metallic, but not really vegetable. Maybe this is what the description means by a note of “sweet roasted cornhusks.” My aunt out and out disliked it. Not a tea we’ll order again, although drinkable.

I don’t much care for flavored teas, but this is very good as an iced tea. Especially when sweetened with honey.

Very nice flavored white tea. The peach flavor is not too overpowering, and it keeps its white peony flavor throughout. Perfect for summer and makes a great iced tea.

I’m a recent convert from coffe, and finding a green tea that I love has proven difficult. But now I’ve found one. Lovely fragrant and grassy notes, with a clean finish. Excellent everyday green.

i noticed the first steep at 2 minutes was not very strong at all. I steeped a second time at a little over 3 minutes and it was wonderful nice sweet touch but very light. I will try a first steep and 3 minutes next time.

When I want a tea that I can brew for a long time and have no bitterness, this is my go to tea. I put it in my brew cup and just sip it until gone. It gets very dark and flavorful.

Initially, I didn’t have much interest in this tea, but with repeated tastings, I have come to quite enjoy the mintiness. It is a nice comforting cup in the cold mornings.

This is a tea that one has to be in the mood for. That said, when that moment happens, I thoroughly enjoy the smoky flavor and smell.

I love this tea both hot and cold. It is so pleasant both in the mouth and the nose.

This is a super amazing flavored Assam tea. I like my Assams malty and flavorful without much if any astringency. I control the later by keeping my steep time under 2:30 minutes. I have tried many Assams and some are great and some not so. This one has a variety of flavor notes… yams is perhaps the strongest, chocolate and plum, giving a nice sweet finish. This is one of the best Assams I’ve tasted from the 2012 harvests.

I need to get more of this tea, I drank the last of it the other day. Either hot or cold it’s good. No sweetener needed. A great tea to drink late in the day without any caffeine to keep you up.

A lot of cinnamon taste, hints of citrus. The cinnamon is stronger with the second steeping.

It is a good tea, but I don’t care for the added vanilla. It was in the cupboard so I tried it again.

This tea is on the black side of oolongs. In fact, I read that Brandy Oolongs are oxidized from 85 to 90 percent. So if Pouchongs embody the green exteme of oolongs, Brandy Oolongs are at the other end. Personally, I loved the tea, and would rate it at the high end taking only my own tastes into account. But I share these teas (and the expense) with my aunt, and she didn’t like this one at all. The label and description on the site says this tea has a “phenomenal floral/stone fruit aroma.” My aunt doesn’t like flavored teas. I could swear I tasted peach in this. It definitely had a floral/fruity quality more pronounced than in an unflavored tea I’ve tried. Which is a lot of what I did like—and I suspect precisely what my aunt did. So, since I try to rate these to help me decide which teas to purchase again, I’m docking this so it’s just out of that high rated range. But personally, I thought it a winner.