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I found this tea in the back of my pantry this morning and thought, “It’s an oolong kind of day today.” Last time I had it, I drank it “grandpa style” and remembered it being quite good that way, so that’s what I am doing again today.

It’s still a great tea—I especially love looking over at my glass tumbler on my desk and seeing the floating leaves throughout the morning. I’ve been neglecting oolongs these past few months while focusing on blacks and greens throughout the day—this tea tells me that I have to remedy that going into these next few months.

This is one that has been on my shelf for about 6-9 months and I had forgotten about it. I first had it as a sample and liked it so much that I ordered a larger quantity. It arrived, and I promptly forgot about it as I wasn’t in the mood for a second flush for a number of weeks. I found it again this week and I am glad I did! It has a smooth mouthfeel with pleasant sweet flavors of Muscat grapes and apricots. It’s a great afternoon tea—light and fruity. Slight nutty flavor as well.

Sipdown of the last of my Ancient Forest! :(

I hope my local tea shop still has some in stock—I couldn’t find it listed on the Art of Tea website anymore, so I am not sure if they are distributing it.

I will miss this one—it was a surprise find and one that I have thoroughly enjoyed.

After reading so many wonderful reviews of this tea by other Steepster users like Rosehips and ashmanra, I finally decided to include an order for Queen Catherine in my latest H&S shipment. I am so glad I did—this is a wonderful tea!

I steeped nine grams of the dried tea leaves in 20 ounces of near-boiling water for four minutes. The brewed liquor came out very dark—like coffee.

The tea did not have any revealing aromas that I could pick up. Drinking it, though, I was immediately presented with a hint of cocoa flavor behind the tea. There is absolutely no astringency to this tea at all—very smooth and creamy. It has a full mouthfeel to it as well, enhancing the experience with this tea.

I am very happy to have finally tried this tea after hearing so much about it. I was not at all disappointed in the quality and the flavors. A tea this smooth would make an excellent choice for regular/daily drinking and I will be glad to add it into my regular rotation while my tin lasts.

A blend of Assam, Darjeeling, and Ceylon black teas? Yes, please!

I’ve been having this as a morning tea for the past few days and have been deeply satisfied with it. It is a strong, dark tea, sure to wake you up!

I brewed the tea using my usual guide for black tea: nine grams of dried leaves in 20 ounces of near-boiling water for four minutes.

The dried leaves are broken and small—consistently dark with the occasional lighter tip.

I can definitely taste the Assam in the tea—bread-like and malty. It isn’t as malty as a straight Assam, though, so the blending with Ceylon and Darjeeling leaves seem to have tempered the flavor a bit. The tannins haven’t affected me as much, either, so that is plus. I normally don’t drink my teas with cream/milk or sugar, so I always worry about being affected by tannins in my morning cuppa.

Overall, I am enjoying this tea and have worked it into my morning routine, taking turns with a straight Assam, depending on my mood. Given the location and clime from which this tea gets its name, this is a perfect tea for a cold, windy, dreary morning like today.

This is definitely one of the best teas I have had in recent memory!

I have been drinking this tea in the evenings the past few days, and finally got around to typing up my notes.

I steeped five grams of this tea in twelve ounces of near-boiling water for four minutes. The leaves themselves are twisted, orthodox leaves.

The brewed liquor had a golden color—not as light as what is shown in the picture here, but still light. The aroma coming off the liquor was an inviting blend of apricots, peaches, and muscatel grapes. These aromas all carried over into the flavor of the tea as well, with apricots being the primary flavor I noticed. It also had a slight sweet, floral flavor—not a specific flower as far as I can tell (I’m not good at identifying specific flowers), but floral nonetheless.

Overall, this is an excellent, fruity first flush Darjeeling—very light with minimal amounts of caffeine, which make it an excellent afternoon or evening tea. I will miss this tea when it is gone.

NOTE: My package had a date of picking of March, 2017.

I was really disappointed with this one.

This was another sample from the black tea sampler I bought from Vahdam last summer. This one has a date of picking as June, 2016.

The dried leaves are dark, with a few light tips (gold? silver? I couldn’t tell).

I steeped 9 grams of dried leaves in 20 ounces of near-boiling water for four minutes. The color of the finished liquor was brownish-red—like a dark copper.

While brewing, the tea had a sour aroma—not appealing at all. There was also a very light muscatel aroma, which carried over into the flavor of the tea. The muscatel was barely noticeable; the flavors which stood out the most, though, were plum, peach, dry paper, and dried leaves.

Overall, I found this to be a disappointing, tired tea. The sour aroma which introduced the tea set the tone for the rest of the experience, which was underwhelming. I didn’t hate it, but I also certainly didn’t love it. I’m glad this was just a sample and not something I’ll have in stock to finish.

Drinking this “grandpa style” today. I looked at my To-Do list for the day and realized I just needed a tea to keep me going through the day, so I decided on this one. I loaded my glass tumbler with 9 grams of dried rolls of leaves and have been filling it with water as needed throughout the morning.

This is a very smooth and light tea, with a silky taste and mouthfeel. I haven’t been paying any attention for specific flavors today—just enjoying the tea. This is an oolong that I’d like to keep stocked in my collection, as it is one that I come back to fairly regularly.

This Assam tea has recently become my standard breakfast tea most mornings, and for good reason!

The dried leaves are beautiful—mostly dark brown, with some golden tips. All machine rolled.

I brew 9 grams of dried leaves in 20 ounces of near-boiling water for 4 minutes, but it would probably be okay with 3 minutes, depending on how strong you like your Assam. I prefer mine to kick me awake in the morning, hence the longer steep time.

The brewed liquor is dark brown with a reddish hue to it—a beautiful color. It has a very strong malty aroma while it is steeping.

The malt aroma carries over into the flavor of the tea as well. The malt flavor is accompanied by flavors of oats and barley. It is like a hot breakfast cereal in a teacup! As with most Assam teas, this one has some astringency to it as well, which you will notice immediately when drinking it. The tea ends with a very slight caramel flavor.

Overall, I am very happy with this tea, as it has earned a permanent place in my cupboard. I highly recommend this tea to any Assam fans out there!

I realized I recommended this Ceylon tea to someone on Steepster without having ever posted an official review of it, so here we go!

I brewed 9 grams of dried leaves this morning in 20 ounces of near-boiling water for four minutes. The dried leaves themselves are small, broken pieces (not fannings, though), so I probably could’ve gone with a shorter steep time.

The brewed liquor comes out dark and quite full-bodied—like coffee. I didn’t pick up on any specific aromas from the liquor or the dried leaves.

The flavor is definitely unique—astringent almost to the point of bitterness (but some of that would definitely be relieved with a shorter steep time). I am picking up on what others have described as the wintergreen flavor in the tea, but it seems more menthol to me than wintergreen. After sipping and swallowing the tea, there is a lingering coolness in my mouth that is similar to menthol. This is definitely a unique tea experience for me—not unpleasant, but I don’t think I’d want to drink this every day.

Overall, it is a good tea that I’ll continue to enjoy having. It is an excellent replacement for the fullness of coffee, if that is what you’re looking for, but with a pleasant cool finish.