thepuriTea

Sipping on this one right now. I didn’t have any kind of instructions on how to brew, so I went with my standard for less oxidized oolongs. Pre-boil water, 5 second rinse, 45 second first steep. (Then a 1 minute steep, which I’m currently drinking.)
Hmmm. The smell of the wet leaves was very toasty and milky. It doesn’t carry over into taste so much, though. It’s sweet, nutty, vegetal, and slightly creamy. Kind of peachy-fruity. I’m getting more sweetness before I swallow and a lot more fruitiness in the aftertaste. The longer I wait between sips the more it leans toward a dry, white wine kind of fruitiness. That was unexpected. It’s not very “milky”, but that doesn’t make it any less appealing to me. I feel like I’m getting a hint of astringency—not very strong and certainly not unpleasant. Maybe I’ll use slightly cooler water next steep. Overall it makes a decent cup. Tastes better when it’s hotter! I might be getting some of this when it’s back in stock. (: I expect that I’ll be able to get at least 2-3 more infusions from the leaves. The third one will have to wait until I get back from a gallery opening! Grrr! I was so looking forward to it, but I’m out of time. Thanks QueenOfTarts for the lovely swap sample!

Chilly sunshine streaming, cat napping, husband puttering, turkey breast cooking, me sipping. Thank You, Lord, for a slow morning not driven by a checklist.

My mug was a little too big for three pearls, so this cuppa came out lighter than ideal, but it is still pleasant—-noticing the stewed apple flavor mentioned in the vendor description, which is perfect for the day and occasion.

Be sure to close your eyes sometime today and count the blessings you can’t see or touch.

Vendor description says: Try it with breakfast, brunch, grilled duck or dark chocolate. Something about grilled duck makes me chuckle, especially since we have two little white neighbor ducks across the street.

After two good strong steeps of these cute little yarn balls, I’m at a loss to pin the flavor down. The inner chocolate addict notices the cocoa first; maybe some of the baked apple vibe when I frown and really concentrate. A very good “think about” tea for a deliciously foggy Sunday morning. Thinking of you, Terriharplady, with a smile as I drink it. Thanks.

Sipdown! Can’t let Terri catch up! haha

This was one of the teas my lovely tea sister sent me, that i have apparently been drinking but not recording. Oopsy.

Those who know me, know that most oolongs i can live without. I really only dislike most green ones, but even the roasty dark ones sometimes have that distinctive taste that i’m not a fan of. This one borders being delicious and being a dark oolong that i’m less a fan of. There’s a touch of astringency but not enough to be a bad thing. There’s a sweetness to this as well, though i can feel a bit of floral hanging out in the back. Overall though, it’s been a decent cuppa to drink!

Holy cow, this is unflavored? Even with my cold I am still getting SO MUCH caramelly goodness from this tea! Could it be that I’ve never had a milk oolong before? How did that happen???

Thank you so much BrewTEAlly Sweet for this sample! This is definitely something I want to explore in more detail!

It smells and tastes very strongly of dark chocolate and not at all like you’d expect from the region. Very malty and rich in flavor, with an aroma to kick you awake in the morning. This tea also resteeps really well. Its price range is pretty much out of everyday drinking for me though. Likely an excellent cup for a downer day instead.

Very very pleased. An excellent, non-overpowering jasmine that pairs well with the yunnan. Sipping this tea is simultaneously uplifting and satisfying, with a nice mouth feel and a subtle chocolate note at the end. It’s as aromatic as it is tasty. This is probably going to be an every day tea for me.

bwahaha SIPDOWN! I had a small cup of this tonight to say farewell since i’m including this in omgsrsly’s package! All i can say is.. not cheating! haha. I do find that this one is one that i’d drink again. I wouldn’t go out of my way to order it, but if i needed something to get to free shipping or some such, this would be one to consider :)

Another Darjeeling for the day, though it’s not really helping with my sipdowns :) This is another tasty cup, brought to me by my lovely tea sister Terriharplady! One of the many joint purchases we’ve made together :)

This is closer to a black tea that i expect from darjeelings. It’s got a little boldness, a side of sweetness and a dash of delicious! :)

My morning cup, courtesy of Terri Harplady and the BBBB. Another solid cup from the puriTea. It’s maltier than most yunnans and definitely reminds me a bit of an Assam. Very yummy! Thanks Terri!

P.s. does anyone else always want to yell out “YUNNAN” in the voice of “NOONAN”? I can’t drink one without that thought.

I had this tea as a free sample that came with my order. It’s pretty great, with a nice body and sweetness to it and I’ve steeped it twice so far (and may squeeze a third or fourth one out still). With this tea I find a little goes a long way, though this may be attributed by the fact I’m not a huge fan of extremely strong teas.

This was a free sample that came with a few other bought teas. While this tea doesn’t really blow me off my feet, this tea avoids the perfumey taste that comes with certain jasmine teas while still holding a strong aroma and flavor. The aftertaste isn’t as lingering as the description may imply and if it wasn’t for the high price I’d enjoy it mostly as an everyday tea.

This tea came from the lovely Terri Harplady in our BBBB traveling box. It is a pretty decent Assam, but nothing about it makes it amazing. Definitely a solid cup and holds up against my cream and honey. I love the puriTea’s little sample packages, but I haven’t really loved any of their teas yet. I have a couple others from Terri left to try, so maybe one of those will win me over. And if they don’t, oh well, it’s not like I need to buy any more tea for the next 100 years anyway.

Sweetish, woody, malty and a bit smoky with fruit tones.

These are pretty delish little pearls. Thanks, Sil, for finding more and sharing!! :)

Sip down! Won’t get too many of these unless I can find time in the next couple of days at the cottage to drink more tea but I did bring a few with me so that I could at least try. Having a cup of this while I wait impatiently for the boys to get up. Lots to do today in Ottawa before we finish the drive up to the cottage! I’ve really enjoyed the teas Terri share d with me from the puritea….enough to think about a small reorder in the future, especially since the little sample packs are so cute! Tanks for sharing Terri. Rating this one later as iPad rating is the suck lol

Loving a small cup of this today on my sore throat. Still enough to have another last cup once I’m feeling better, but this morning, this is delicious.

sometimes the days are long…sometimes they’re short. today was a long one. I can pretty much recall nothing about the teas i had this morning besides the fact that they were all excellent picks! Luckily i have more of this one to have another cup or two of.

SIPDOWN! not that it means much because not only did i get my stacy order today (in record time) but i also picked up my swap from Charoma…sooo i’m back up again.

TERRI! I love this one! Great choice my tea sister! I had this today as my “what new tea am i going to drink to get close to some more sample sizes tea” and it was super delicious. Certainly not what i expected in my tea mug this morning. Plus i love how cute the curls of tea are :) it’s malty and sweet and just downright delicious. I don’t know what else to say because i drank it so long ago, but this is one i’d order again for sure. I think Cavocorax might enjoy this one a bunch too…maybe :)

sipdown! finished up this one and it’s for sure one that i’d consider reordering in the future. I like that it’s not your typical malty black dragon pearl – the fruitiness adds a bit of uniqueness to this that i like. Maybe not a staple, but for sure something i’d rotate in and out :)

Another tea from Terri I was epxecting somethling closer to a black pearl when i tried these so the fruitiness in these was totally unexpected. Chocolate/cocoa notes mixed with fruitiness that is reminiscent of those fruit and nut bars… Really enjoyed the uniqueness of this one! Nice purchase for us terri!

I got a sample of this in my swap with moraiwe. It’s malty and cocoa-y – it reminds me a teensy bit of Laoshan Black, but with less roastiness and, I think, a bit less body. It resteeps very nicely. This is clearly a high-quality tea, and I did enjoy trying it, but I’m beginning to wonder if maybe Chinese blacks are just not my thing. I’ve only started exploring this genre of tea relatively recently, and while I can see why these deep, intense teas with strong cocoa notes appeal to so many people they’re not quite what I’m looking for (most of the time, anyway – I could see myself enjoying a tea like this on occasion, for a change from my usual lineup, and I also wonder if I might enjoy teas with these sorts of profiles a bit more in the winter). The only black teas I’ve really loved have been Darjeelings, and this is kind of like the anti-Darjeeling. I’m definitely not done experimenting with Chinese black tea, though – I know it’s a huge category, and there may be something I’ll adore out there.