The Tea Smith

Wow. Floral much? Geeeze, this one is floral like the Queen is British.
But I don’t mind too much, I though it’d be more overpowering than it is.
The fruity note seems to cut right through it all in just the right way. Its almost tart, in an apple way, but the way it pairs… well its unlike any other apple tea I’ve had before. Somehow, the crispness is captured, not the sweetness – though there is some sugary aspect, I can’t say that its definitively apple-ish. More vaguely so.
Anyhow, thank you MissB! what a lovely cup :)

Nice tea. Doesn’t have a year, estate, or varietal so unsure of its origin.
Slight sweet fruit skin flavor but flavors not as complex, just staying consistent.
Did bring about a cleansing heat, so this tea has a stronger prana.

I’m sipping on a cup of this evening, it’s very soothing and calming. I’ve had a very busy, very frustrating day. My husband needed to go to the doctor, and the doctor would not address the issues that were bothering my husband, he wanted only to talk about other issues, and so tomorrow I will be spending my afternoon shopping for a new doctor. After the frustrating trip to the doctor, we ran over a metal spiky object that got lodged in our tire, which meant an hour at the tire shop. Not much went right today.

Anyway … now this tea seems to be making up for it, because it’s lovely. Sweet, beautiful, the lovely notes of a darjeeling but with the light, delicate qualities of a white tea … so wonderful.

Backlog:

Thank you Azzrian for sending me some of this tea!

This is really interesting … I’m very unfamiliar with the lulo fruit. I described the appearance of this fruit in my full-length review as a fruit that looks a bit like an orange that had a funky twisted romance with a kiwi fruit. You can read my full-length review here (and see the photo of the lulo fruit): http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/04/14/blue-shadow-flavored-black-tea-from-the-tea-smith/

A very interesting tea. I taste strawberry, black tea, and berry notes. I also taste notes of citrus. Quite a unique tea, I liked it.

I think this was in a little package from azzrian that arrived while the weather was still cold—tried a cup and then set it back thinking it’d be tasty in hot weather.

And it is. Tasty. Not hot—we’re having a lusciously cool and sunny day in late July (mid 70’s).

Cold steeped this in the fridge, adding a little extra straight-up lemongrass from local herb place. Tart, but not unpleasantly so.

This is a fantastic tea – it’s very gentle, floral and sweet, not exactly what I would expect from a Darjeeling but in very good way.
It tastes even better because I’m drinking it from my new cup: http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/home-glassware/26729111.jsp
(I have the blue and white one). I also have a small scone from a local bakery with my tea.
So good!

This is one of the most flavorful unflavored white teas I’ve encountered—had a teeny bit of a sample from azzrian left to enjoy this evening. After cleansing my palate with Braum’s ice cream with caramel topping (sorry, no fancy sorbet available), my taste buds were all vanilla’ed out and I could catch the grapey, fruity tones bouncing around in these big ol’ white leaves. Wouldn’t add ice, but I bet it’d be good chilled.

When I pulled this up to read the description, I saw Darjeeling in big letters and missed the white tea in little letters. So my first sips surprised me some…typical Darjeeling this isn’t.

Of course it isn’t, silly … it’s a white tea, and a fine one at that. Held up well to nearly-boiling water and a 3:30 steep time. Nice satiny feel on the tongue. Light on the flavor, but then again, I was light on the leaf, not realizing what variety I was making.

My thanks to Azzrian for the sample. Enough in the packet to add a little leaf and give this a more informed tasting.

(We’re 2 for 2 on Tea Smith varieties. Further investigation pending.)

This smells heavenly—like blueberry pastry or blueberries and marshmallow. Which may be a clever trick or a sign of my own olfactory incompetence. Not a blueberry in it. Strawberries and lulo. I wouldn’t know a lulo if I stomped on it :)

But at any rate, this is a wonderfully sweet tea—berries drizzled with powdered sugar glaze. Belongs to the Tower of London/Marco Polo family of fruity goodness. My thanks to Azzrian!

I love Pu-erh! #tea

Very good as a hot or iced. I perfer it as a Iced during the hot summer months.

Loose
Appearance: dark brown-black, crinkled leaf
Aroma when Dry: slight fruity notes hints of creamy maltyness
After water is first poured: slightly fruity, musty
At end of steep: faint fruity, malty
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: light muddy brown
Staple? Unsure, first tasting
Time of day preferred: afternoon, evening
Taste:
At first: balanced fruity maltyness
As it cools ? Gets slightly fruitier, tea deepens, notes layer
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? no
Lingers? Yes, with slight tang, fruity, faint metallic note

Second steep (8min)
Taste: notes flatten and weaken, tea smooths out a bit

The chocolate in this tea tastes great! I expected the star anise to clash with the chocolate but it really doesn’t. The anise is very mild- don’t buy this tea if you’re looking for a spicy blend, but it makes a delicious choice for a unique chocolate tea.

Dang this is GOOD! I mean REALLY good! I have never had a white darjeeling before but there are notes of grape, peach, honey, and a very flavorful white tea leaf here. I am HIGHLY impressed and thank goodness I got 2 ounces as I would totally be ordering more of this stuff right away!
Delightful!
Nice lingering after taste.
I am not a huge fan of white teas but this has won me over!

What an interesting cup!
Sweet but its like the lulo sort of cuts it giving it an almost savory twang.
I need to focus on this more and will probably do a longer review for SororiTea Sisters but right now I just want to immerse myself in the cup.
I just had a really creamy sweet strawberry tea before this tea, and I was almost expecting this would be really sweet too but its not – yet it is – but its not – what the? LOL

Had a bit more of this today thanks to Azzrian
See previous notes :)