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Due to me keeping myself occupied by posting some of the oolong and black tea reviews I have allowed to accumulate over the past several weeks, it would be impossible for anyone who reads my reviews to know that I have actually been spending most of my time drinking white teas and tisanes. This was the final tea I drank during the first week of the month and the one that was responsible for getting me started on my current white tea kick. Though I have had better teas of this type, I found this to be a very enjoyable Bai Mudan.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. My review session was honestly pretty sloppy due to the amount of broken leaf present, but I was still able to get through it. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of leaf and bud material in 4 ounces of 180 F water for 6 seconds. This infusion was chased by 14 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry leaf and bud mix produced aromas of honey, hay, malt, and straw aromas that were underscored by a vague woody quality. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of peanut, cinnamon, and pine. The first infusion introduced scents of white pepper and spruce. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of honey, hay, malt, straw, pine, and cinnamon that were chased by subtler notes of spruce. Scents of lemon zest, lettuce, minerals, and ginger emerged on the subsequent infusions along with stronger peanut and white pepper aromas. New notes of minerals, cream, butter, lettuce, lemon zest, field greens, ginger, cucumber, and honeydew appeared in the mouth along with belatedly emerging white pepper hints. The final few infusions offered impressions of minerals, field greens, ginger, cucumber, and lemon zest that were underscored by hints of malt, honeydew, and butter.

This was an interesting and enjoyable Bai Mudan, but I could not help feeling that it was missing something that would have offered just a little more balance. I could not quite determine what that something was at the time I was conducting my review session, and quite honestly, I still can’t. I also must state that I have had several other teas of this type that were smoother and longer-lived in the mouth. Still, this was a very nice Bai Mudan. I think people who like their white teas a little spicier and/or more vegetal would get quite a bit out of it.

This was yet another of the Darjeeling oolongs I finished during the first week of September. Of the bunch, I found this one to be more like a second flush black tea than the others. The folks at Teabox felt that this was not a tea suitable for beginners, but I disagree with that opinion to a certain extent. Since it was (I say was in this case because this tea does not seem to be currently available, and I do not recall a 2018 version being offered) a higher oxidized oolong displaying aromas and flavors similar to a number of second flush Darjeeling black teas, I could not help thinking that it would have made a suitable gateway tea for those looking to make the leap from Darjeeling black teas to Darjeeling oolongs.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose leaf material in 4 ounces of 185 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 7 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of hay, straw, wood, dark chocolate, and roasted nuts. After the rinse, I detected a heavier wood presence and new aromas of Muscatel, malt, dandelion, and grass. The first infusion revealed rose and violet aromas as well as a subtle fennel presence. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of hay, straw, grass, malt, Muscatel, rose, violet, and wood underscored by hints of fennel. The following infusions revealed distinct roasted cashew and roasted almond scents as well as aromas reminiscent of marigold and wintergreen oil. Impressions of roasted almond, roasted cashew, dandelion, and dark chocolate belatedly appeared in the mouth along with an unexpected roasted walnut note and new mineral, pear, marigold, and wintergreen flavors. The last infusions offered mineral, dandelion, dark chocolate, hay, and wood notes that were balanced by impressions of wintergreen, violet, Muscatel, pear, and roasted nuts.

This was a complex and very likable tea, but I must admit that I found it to be very heavy both on the nose and in the mouth. It offered a lot, making it a tea that rewarded very patient, focused sniffing and sipping. I would definitely not want to have it regularly, though I found it to be a very good Darjeeling oolong. Overall, it was definitely an oolong that would not shock established drinkers of second flush Darjeeling black teas as it was almost as filling as some of the heartier, more aggressive teas of that type.

This was the last tea I finished in July, and to be honest, it did not do all that much for me. I’m something of a Keemun fan, but I do not go out of my way to try them very frequently since there are other black teas I enjoy more. This one, while pleasant in the early steeps, faded very quickly and revealed a harsh texture in the mouth that I did not enjoy.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a very quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 205 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 14 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes. I normally take black teas to at least the 5 minute mark in my gongfu sessions, but I did not do that with this one because I was not getting much out of it at 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of honey, chocolate, cedar, and sweet potato. After the rinse, I noted a stronger sweet potato aroma and a new aroma of butter. The first infusion then introduced a subtle plum scent. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered thin notes of cream, butter, cedar, and honey that were chased by subtle sweet potato notes. Subsequent infusions saw the chocolate presence grow stronger on the nose as new aromas of malt, cream, orange zest, and toast also showed themselves. The honey and sweet potato notes swelled in the mouth while new impressions of malt, orange zest, minerals, toast, and roasted almond appeared. Chocolate also belatedly revealed itself on the palate along with a very subtle plum presence. The swallow imparted some interesting herbal notes that reminded me of both camphor and tobacco. The final few infusions washed out very quickly, though I could pick up mineral, malt, cedar, and cream notes that were framed by some very vague, fleeting hints of honey and sweet potato.

As some of you may have guessed two of the things that I weight heavily in my reviews are texture and longevity. Initially, this tea had a very pleasant milky, creamy body, but that soon faded to reveal the kind of harsher, sharper, more mineral-laden mouthfeel that I would have expected and welcomed in a Wuyi oolong or black tea. Here, I did not find it all that enjoyable. Also, this tea faded fast. It was a mixed bag overall. The first third of the session or so was nice, but the remainder was not very satisfying. A few points above the 50% mark feels fair to me.

This has to be a turning point for me. With the completion of this review, I will have reviewed at least three teas in the same month I finished them for the first time in what feels like a very long time. To be clear, I finished a 25g pouch of this tea last week. I’m a big fan of Yunnan white teas, but I was especially impressed by this one. It was a very visually appealing tea; those little rings were just so cute. It, however, also produced a very satisfying drinking session.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of rolled leaf buds in 4 ounces of 185 F water for 10 seconds. This infusion was chased by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry earrings produced aromas of hay, sugarcane, and smoke. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of malt, cooked lettuce, and corn husk. The first infusion then introduced scents of asparagus and bamboo. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of bamboo, hay, cooked lettuce, malt, smoke, corn husk, and sugarcane that were chased by impressions of apricot and sour plum. Subsequent infusions saw the nose turn creamy and buttery, though scents of lemon zest and eucalyptus were also evident. In the mouth, notes of asparagus arrived along with new flavors of artichoke, minerals, butter, cream, grass, marshmallow, lemon zest, straw, and eucalyptus. The final infusions emphasized lingering mineral, cooked lettuce, cream, lemon zest, and stone fruit notes that were underscored by hints of corn husk, butter, sugarcane, malt, and grass. I also managed to pick up a very subtle spinach note that came out towards the swallow on the final two or three infusions.

This was an interesting and very likable Yunnan white tea. I am certain that fans of such teas would enjoy it. Definitely consider giving it a shot if you are looking for a flavorful, aromatic, and visually appealing white tea. I doubt it will disappoint.

This was another of the Darjeeling oolongs I finished during the first week of September. Honestly, I did not find it to be quite as appealing as the spring oolong from Jungpana, though it was a very appealing, likable tea overall. I appreciated its range of floral, fruity, and nutty aromas and flavors.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a brief rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose leaf material in 4 ounces of 185 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry leaf material produced aromas of raisin, fruit leather, prune, and fig. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of roasted almond, wood, hay, straw, and citrus as well as a stronger fruit leather scent. The first infusion then introduced aromas of violet and dandelion. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of roasted almond, dandelion, wood, raisin, and hay. There was also something of a sugary presence in the mouth. Subsequent infusions introduced stronger violet and dandelion aromas along with some rose-like scents. New impressions of roasted peanut, grass, green bell pepper, marigold, minerals, rose, and toasted cashew appeared in the mouth along with belatedly emerging flavors of violet, orange, prune, and fig. The later infusions offered lingering mineral, wood, roasted peanut, hay, and grass impressions along with subtle dandelion accents in places.

Like the other Goomtee Estate teas I have tried, this was a very quirky and often surprising tea. I could see it making a good entry point to the world of Darjeeling oolongs for fans of first flush Darjeeling black teas. My only real knocks on this tea were that it displayed a tendency to get a bit chalky and astringent in the mouth on some of the longer infusions, and some of its most appealing aromas and flavors faded a little too quickly for my liking. This was still a very nice tea, however, and though not previously mentioned, it worked tremendously well when brewed in the Western style. Overall, I would recommend that fans of Darjeeling teas give this one a shot.

Back around the start of September, I took a couple days to work my way through some Darjeeling oolong samples that I had purchased back in late summer and early autumn of 2017. This was one of them, and I have to say that I was impressed by it. Of course, it should also be noted that I am a huge fan of the teas produced by the Jungpana Estate. I particularly appreciated this tea’s depth and complexity.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a brief rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose leaf material in 4 ounces of 185 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry leaf material emitted aromas of toasted cashew, hay, raisin, vanilla, malt, and wood. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of grass, straw, spinach, and roasted almond along with some hints of fennel. The first infusion offered a hint of green bell pepper on the nose. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of toasted cashew, wood, hay, malt, vanilla, and roasted almond that were backed by surprising notes of mango and tangerine before impressions of green bell pepper and grass popped up on the finish. Subsequent infusions saw aromas of mango, tangerine, jasmine, and spearmint appear. Notes of fennel, spinach, raisin, and straw belatedly appeared in the mouth alongside new notes of spearmint, minerals, sugar, orange, and jasmine. The later infusions offered some lingering mineral, tangerine, mango, and fennel notes that were backed by impressions of grass, roasted nuts, green bell pepper, and spinach.

This was a complex, challenging, and refined first flush Darjeeling oolong that managed to remain approachable throughout a lengthy drinking session and never turned sour, bitter, or astringent. Fans of Darjeeling teas would probably be very pleased with it. I would have no issue with recommending it to oolong fans looking for something new or fans of Darjeeling black teas who are looking for something a little more challenging.

This was the last tea I tried before I was knocked out of commission for a time due to that snakebite in the latter half of August. That would mean I probably finished my sample pouch between August 16th and August 19th. At the time I was finishing this tea up, I recall thinking that it was pleasant enough to drink though somewhat boring and forgettable overall. Indeed, if I did not have session notes to go by, I would have been able to recall absolutely nothing about the review session I conducted. In my opinion, this tea lacked the mineral bite, spiciness, woodsiness, and/or strong, thick sweetness that frequently make many Wuyi black teas so compelling, and it also lacked the strong fruity and herbal qualities that make many contemporary Taiwanese black teas so memorable and endearingly quirky.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of cocoa, raisin, and cinnamon. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of roasted peanut and blueberry to go along with an odd banana-like aroma and a considerably stronger cocoa presence. The first infusion then introduced some mineral hints to the nose. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of cocoa, cinnamon, raisin, honey, roasted peanut, and blueberry chased by a subtle banana impression. The subsequent infusions introduced smoke, pine, malt, baked bread, and citrus aromas as well as a stronger mineral scent. New notes of cream, leather, baked bread, pine, caramel, orange zest, and malt appeared in the mouth along with strong, belatedly emerging mineral impressions and some subtle smokiness. The final infusions offered mineral, caramel, orange zest, malt, and cocoa notes that were accompanied by faint cream, baked bread, and roasted peanut accents.

All in all, this was a respectable tea, but it ended up not being one I could ever see myself tracking down and trying again. Its quirks were a little too subtle for my taste, and since it did not offer the thick, robust sweetness of many Wuyi black teas or the pronounced fruity and herbal qualities of many other Taiwanese black teas, it ended up falling into a gray area for me. It was simultaneously reminiscent of both a Wuyi black tea and a Taiwanese black tea, but it had too few of the best qualities of either to truly impress me. I could see people who like very smooth and often very subtle black teas being into this tea, but quite frankly, I am not one of those people. Overall, this tea was not bad; it was just not for me.

This was the last of the samples from The Teaguy that I got around to trying. Of the bunch, I found it to be the best. It should be noted, however, that I am still a huge sucker for a good, straight-ahead Earl Grey, so it should come as no surprise that I was more taken with this blend than the others I received.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 1 teaspoon of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 4 minutes. I neither rinsed the leaf material nor attempted any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material emitted a strong bergamot aroma. After infusion, the bergamot aroma was still heavy and strong, though I could also detect some subtle scents of toast, cream, and malt. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered strong bergamot notes on the entry that were chased by subtler malt, toast, caramel, cream, and orange zest impressions. The finish was dominated by a lingering orange zest impression and a suddenly rejuvenated bergamot note.

As Earl Grey blends go, this one was pretty basic and did not offer any surprises, but it was also a ridiculously aromatic, flavorful, and drinkable blend that was just heavy enough on the bergamot oil to avoid coming off as unbalanced. Truly good Earl Greys seem to be getting harder and harder to come by, so with that in mind, there is no way I could refrain from giving this one a high score. If you are an Earl Grey freak, make a point of checking this one out sometime.

Alright, I’m back again with another review. This was another of the tea samples I received from The Teaguy in the spring of 2017 in exchange for a Steepster review. I finally got around to finishing it during the latter part of August while I was off my feet due to the snakebite I have mentioned in several previous reviews. Even though I have shied away from black tea blends like this over the course of the past year or so, I still found this to make a very drinkable and energizing cuppa.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 1 teaspoon of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 4 minutes. I neither rinsed the leaf blend nor attempted any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material produced aromas of malt, raisin, and wood. After infusion, I detected a smooth, dominant malt aroma underscored by wood and citrus hints. In the mouth, the tea liquor was milder than expected. I detected notes of straw, wood, malt, lemon zest, leather, roasted chestnut, and roasted walnut that faded towards the finish and revealed a very faint raisin note. The finish was surprisingly brisk and astringent though some lingering roasted nut, malt, lemon zest, and molasses notes were still evident.

Generally, Irish breakfast tea is not one of my favorite black tea blends. By the time I got around to trying this one, I had been shying away from blends like this for a considerable length of time, and honestly, I continue to avoid them. If I need a brisk, malty, woodsy, and astringent cup to get me going in the morning, I tend to lean toward single origin black teas from Yunnan Province or Vietnam and very occasionally will still break out an Assam black tea of some sort. Still, this was a very appealing Irish breakfast blend. It took me a couple tries to get it dialed in, but once I did, I could see why the other reviewers enjoyed it. As a matter of fact, I think this may have qualified as one of the best Irish breakfast teas I have tried to this point. If you are the sort of person who enjoys blends of this sort, give this one a shot sometime.

I received a free pouch of this tea in the spring of 2017 in exchange for a review. Because I am an unfocused slacker, I forgot about it and only got around to trying it while I was recovering from my snakebite in the second part of August. I think this blend was a little past its prime when I got around to trying it because I did not find it to be all that satisfying or memorable. It also could have just been me. I was not in the best of places when working my way through this tea, and anyway, I only drink blends like this sporadically.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 1 teaspoon of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes. I neither rinsed the leaves nor attempted any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf blend produced subtle aromas of raisin, prune, and fig. After infusion, I detected new aromas of malt, toast, cream, orange, and pine. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of cream, toast, malt, orange, prune, raisin, pine, honey, and fig that were backed by hints of black pepper, straw, and nutmeg. The finish was mostly creamy and malty, though I could find some touches of honey and dried fruit here and there.

For the most part, this seemed to be a pretty standard black tea blend. I’m fairly certain that I would have enjoyed it more had I been in both a better physical state and frame of mind at the time I committed to drinking it, but I still doubt that it would ever be something I would choose to seek out on my own. For what this was, I suppose it was decent, but honestly, blends like this are not really for me.