The Tao of Tea

With all the lilacs blooming in my neighbourhood its hard to smell this tea properly. The flowery smell is not overpowering like some Tie Guan Yins Ive had. It is more on the grassy side than flowery. Very nice still.

Got a fresh batch of this Mega Yummy Oolong!
Packed in a bunch of leaves into my Yixing pot and made it coffee strong.

Really complex taste. First gulp has a sour milk taste mixed with wood ash, mmm yummy. After taste is a lingering toasted chocolate with a bit of lapsang souchong. Need to drink much more of this to form a better opinion, but I like it so far.

There must, I thought, while I stood here at my desk sniffing this package of tea, be something wrong with the inside of my head.

Flavored teas aren’t really my metier. I’ve been curious about them lately, though, and had enough success with the stuff I got from 52teas that I’ve been somewhat emboldened to branch out, after having been thoroughly chased away from them by Teavana.

Still…pear? All of the pear teas that I’ve tried have been abominable failures. One of them is probably what I would consider my arch enemy, in terms of tea, because I want to like it…I should like it…it initially promises me that I will like it…and then I spend the next quarter of an hour rinsing my mouth and wondering why I can’t learn that it’s horrible.

So, yes. Pear tea. Pear ginger tea.

It’s actually pretty good. I think the leaves are CTC leaf…they don’t have the appearance of pellets, per se, but they are very small and shredded in appearance. The pale yellow petals in the blend are quite pretty.

I think this blend works for me because it’s subtle. The pear flavor is there, but it doesn’t taste like stewed fruit. The ginger is there, but it’s even more subtle than the pear; it’s mostly notable in a gentle warmth that haunts your tongue after you swallow, with the sweetness of the pear just peeking about its edges.

I’m not sure whether or not I would rebuy this. I think it would make a fantastic iced tea, actually…

The good news is that Tao of Tea has a sort of frequent-buyer program. Every dollar spent with them earns you a ‘tea leaf’, and these can be used to buy…more tea. Or teaware. Or anything on their site. It’s pretty nice.

It’s also nice that you can buy their tea by the ounce…I bought a whole slew of 1oz bags of tea. It seems pretty inexpensive, as well.

Tried this a couple of times hot-brewed, never liked it. It had a little too much astringency/sourness, and the lemon flavor was too strong.

However, I recently tried brewing it the shinobicha method, and it was delicious. It was sweet, lemony, very much like lemonade. I think this tea is meant to be drunk iced.

I lived in my car for a few months last year as I drove around the country exploring and trying to figure out where I wanted to live. Whenever I stayed the night at a national park, I would wake up early, boil water on my camp stove and make cup after cup of Tao of Tea’s Pu-erh Tuo Cha. Such an amazing way to start a day whether among the ominous Colorado rockies, deep in the evergreen forests of Washington, or lost in the Iowa corn fields.

have been drinking this non-stop for two days because I have a head cold. Of what I can taste of it, with the addition of honey, it’s very soothing. I like that it is a really smokey- but plain flavor.

I don’t have a lot of time for a real wordsy note here, I’m drinking this as I head out the door!

I am really falling in love with this tea. Buttery, smooth, delicious. An excellent Dragonwell – EXCELLENT! I’ve even given it a higher rating this time… it deserves it!

Good Afternoon! The last time I visited Whole Foods Market, I purchased this limited edition Dragonwell from the Tao of Tea. I have very much enjoyed their teas in the past so I felt confident that I’d like this one as well. Plus… I love their tins!

The dry leaf possesses a very strong vegetative quality that softens into more of a roasted vegetable scent once it’s brewed. It’s funny to me because there was once a time when I would find these aromas to be rather off-putting, but now I love them! I don’t know if I have become a more skillful tea brewer, or if my palate has acquired a better appreciation for green tea. Either way… now when I smell a high quality Dragon Well such as this… all I can think is … OH YUM!

The depth and complexity of flavor here is remarkable. I love the nutty quality of this tea as well as the faint vegetative characteristic… and there is even a pleasant floral note right at the start as the tea hits the tip of the tongue. There is very little astringency. Slightly buttery, just a hint of bitterness, a delicious sweetness. A lovely tea!

So this was a new experience for me. I now understand the whole ‘chocolate notes’ thing. It was a pretty smokey taste with a chocolatey after taste. I am pretty sure I enjoyed it, haha. I think I will have to try it a couple more times, maybe make the water a little hotter.

pretty average cup this morning. Just letting the bag steep while I sip on the rest, when it comes to teas like this the longer it sits the more bitter, which at times I find really enjoyable.

I buy this tea in bulk and drink it iced in the summer. The mango flavor is very subtle and natural.

Normally I am not one for flowery tea, but when it comes to this tea and the addition to lemon, I am pretty fond of it. The tulsi makes it a really smooth cup of tea and drinking it this time of year really makes it feel like spring.

Agreed, really great green tea. It has a very fine aftertaste. I was trying to compare this tea to Tao of Tea’s Rainforest green – I noticed a difference in the aftertaste, the Jade Bamboo takes on a stronger sense of sencha, and the rainforest green becomes less bitter. Otherwise, they are really similar and both great. I like the Rainforest slightly better.

I was thrown off by the name because it says “scented green tea” but earl grey immediately came to mind as I drank it. I need to test it again before commenting, but it was a fine tea as far as I remember. I understand it makes a nice iced tea, so I will try that as well.