I ordered one of each of Shan Valley’s teas when they first came out with the 1 oz samples, which are very reasonably priced. I love my roasty oolongs and houjichas, so I was expecting a little more from this than what I got. For the first few sips, I was snacking on some heavily flavorful foods, so I didn’t even notice any taste at all from this tea. After I stopped eating, though, I did notice a very mild, subtle roasted flavor and not much in the way of a typical green tea. I usually take my teas very mild, but even for me this was too subtle. Perhaps I need to play with the steeping parameters a bit, but I have a feeling that this tea is just fine, but nothing extraordinary. I’m curious to see how the other teas fare.
This is You :-D
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I’m a California girl temporarily located in Boston for school (brrr). I only recently got into teas because I’ve never really liked coffee (too bitter), but I have been a daily barley tea drinker since I was little.
Through some timid tastings and exploring, I so far like:
-Japanese green teas (genmaicha, hojicha, sencha, etc)
-Oolongs! (Most kinds except formosa and dan cong so far)
-Straight black teas
-English Breakfast teas
-Fruity teas (peach, apple, strawberry, other berries)
NOT a huge fan of rooibos, matcha, heavily artificial tasting teas, or anything gingery or peppery, but I’m trying to keep an open mind and taste everything that I can!
I’m trying to sample more straight teas and have been having pretty awesome discoveries so far. Thank goodness for sample sizes!
My tentative rating system:
90-100: Woohoo! I’m loving it, and I’m definitely restocking when I get the chance and/or crying when I’m out.
80-90: Yum! I’ll try to restock if it fits in my budget when I run out.
70-80: Probably would not buy again, but it was nice enough to finish the cup.
50-70: Would not choose this tea for myself if given the situation, but would not reject it if someone offered it to me and would gulp down politely.
50 or less: Nope. Don’t care to taste that tea again, sorry!
I’m always down to swap, so send me a message if anything in my cupboard is calling your name!
