Nicole Send Message

I had this with lunch at Save On Meats in Vancouver last week. It was a tea bag of fannings. It was very light and very floral. I’m pretty sure the water was not at boiling. I left it in the cup all through lunch, steeping 3 cups off of it. It didn’t change much in character over the steepings. Not excellent, but better than expected for a restaurant.

I grabbed a pouch of this after my morning tea at the Queen Mary Tea room in Seattle. (I have also reviewed the tea room itself in Places) They blend some of their teas and some they buy blended already. I’m not sure which this is.

I like it. It seems to be a light oolong. Medium nuttiness with a decent coconut taste. Some might find it a bit fakey, but I actually find it mellow and fairly pleasant. A bit of sweetness in the background.

I’m not sure I’ve had a golden yunnan before. I’ve had tippy yunnan from Harney, perhaps that is the same thing.

I picked this up while waiting for the ferry to go from Edmonds, Washington to Kingston, on the way to Olympic National Park. The size I got said there were 2 teabags in it, but when I pulled out the bag to avoid oversteeping, there was only one. It was not the round bag I associate with the Republic of Tea cans. This was a square bag with a fold over top, like I use sometimes for some of my loose teas. I wonder if they use loose leaf behind the counter. What was out for sale were the tins with the bags.

Regardless, this definitely hit the spot on a cold and misty day. It was strong and malty (I’m also noticing a preference that I have for malty teas…) and a lovely deep chestnut color. It was delicious while hot. It then sat for a few hours in the car and it was equally good when cold. Really surprisingly good. I don’t expect much from tea when I travel, especially not from coffee shops but this one means I need to try more golden yunnan. :)

This has a good apricot flavor. There is a background flavor of vanilla as well. A nice base that goes well with the flavor.

There is something a bit “off” about this, though. I really can’t place what it is. I’m glad Teajo is offering samples now – and their customer service and shipping speed just rock.

Glad I tried this and I will share it around but I think I probably don’t need a whole package of it. So far Harney has my favorite apricot.

I notice the caramel right off. No distinct apple taste to me, but there is a slight hint of sweet that might come from the apple. The bergamot is very light in this, almost to the point that I’m not sure I’d call this a “grey.” It’s very nice, though. One of the better caramel teas I’ve had.

The brew is a lovely deep mahogany color but be careful not to let it steep too long and in fact, you might want to go on the short side. This does get bitter quickly.

Slight hint of sweet, possibly from the apples.

I think I may be in love. Darjeelings are my favorite tea. This may be at least a temporary end to trying to choose a favorite among them. This beats even my beloved Sungma.

All the hallmarks of a second flush, smooth and with a lovely amber yellow color. Hints of malt in the background, maybe. Definitely a muscatel note. The steeped leaves are everything I love about Darjeelings – medium sized leaves with a beautiful mix of brown and green colors.

I do wish that Kally Tea offered more information on the origin, however. I’d like to know what estate this came from or if it is a blend of estates.

I can foresee regretting that I didn’t order more…

Going to have to try this one again. For now, though I don’t notice any spices or honey. Smells of cinnamon when steeping, though. And there is a kind of bubble gum sweet smell to the dry leaves.

This is again, a very mild black tea (to my palate anyway) and it is nicely fruity and sweet. Nothing jarring or bitter about this. Mellow and smooth. Given my tastes in tea and my (admittedly limited) previous experiences with Mariage Freres I did use more than a teaspoon for this cup.

I’m very glad I got to try this. Thanks, Ysaurella!

EDIT: I tried this again out here on vacation. I definitely get notes of cinnamon, vanilla and what tastes to me like almond. A very complex and interesting tea! This steep I used boiling water but still steeped for about 5 minutes.

And this reminds me of why 2nd flushes are my favorite. Full of flavor and distinctively darjeeling. This was my tea of Halloween night. Smooth and luxurious, with several steeps for this cup. A hint of astringency, which I do associate with darjeelings, which is all good.

I have had tea previously which was labeled as darjeeling mim. I’m now no longer sure if it really was. I didn’t care much for it and I love this.

Though I couldn’t drink it with my makeup on from the day:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25072757@N04/8146183259/in/photostream

Lovely, lovely tea. Malty indeed. Not a bit of bitter. A hint of astringency at the end, but it does seem to build over the cup and about halfway through, the astringency makes my mouth a bit dry.

I can see that this would stand up to milk and sugar very nicely. I also suspect it makes a nice cold tea.

Tea Club at work has been doing chai in the afternoons a lot and mention was made of trying to find one with heat in it. This seemed like it would fit the bill nicely.

Well, while the logo of ManTeas was greatly appreciated by the guys in Tea Club, the overall reviews were not stunning.

None of us really picked up any chocolate at all. The spices either blended well together or were muddled, depending on the reviewer. I didn’t really taste the tea at all. The heat was there, but as an afterburn more than up front heat. It was all drank (drunk? Both of those look strange to me) but the overall verdict was that it was not a reorder.

We made it with half skim milk and half water, adding about 1/3 cup sugar for 4 servings.