When I poured in the hot water, the scent became overwhelmingly strong. My coworkers even commented. One thought that the coffee roasting house down the street had burned a batch of beans. I found very heavy overtones of dark chocolate and hard wood.

I let the leaves brew for about three minutes and hesitantly took my first sip. What a surprise! This is definitely the strongest tea I’ve ever tried but it wasn’t the awful mess I expected from the scent. In fact, it had a very hearty green tea flavor, with no bitter overtones whatsoever. I would drink this tea on a cold, rainy day but it is not for the faint of heart. Once the tea steeped for about four minutes it became far too bitter to drink.

Initially I thought there was no way a tea could carry the delicate flavor of papaya, but the Tea Guys succeeded! The fragrance invoked tropical drinks on a beach in the sun but the taste made me think of dried, candied papaya and mango. This sweet and fruity tea was an immediate hit in my home. My husband and I drank it straight, which let us focus on the white tea flavor but my son sweetened his with a bit of honey which really brought out the papaya flavor. This one might be fun over ice with a length of sugar cane and a drop of rum!

Pears are one of my favorite fruits and I really looked forward to tasting this blend. When I opened the box, I noticed quite a bit of tea dust had sifted through the bag. I didn’t see any of the pear bits
mentioned in the ingredients. The scent of the leaves didn’t strike me as pear-like in any way, either. Admittedly, pears have a very delicate scent but I didn’t smell them or even white tea, for that matter. What I did get was a medicinal twang that reminded me of some of the natural house cleaning products that are becoming popular.

I threw caution to the wind and brewed the leaves. As most people can attest, scent and taste are very closely in tune. If a smell turns you off, chances are you won’t like the taste either. I know from the ingredient listing on the box that this tea contains nothing but white tea, pear bits and natural pear flavor. I can only guess that it is the quality of the white tea that sent this tea down the wrong path for me. White tea usually strikes me as smooth on the tongue but this was nearly bitter and sour. I actually thought of white vinegar at one point! There was an aftertaste that I can be called nothing short of chemical. I started to wonder if something had seeped out of the paper of the box into the tea. There was nothing subtle or refreshing about this tea and I couldn’t bring myself to finish it.

I was disappointed with the taste and quality of this brand but now feel compelled to begin a quest for the perfect white pear tea!

Connoisseurs would probably be horrified to know that I like my black tea with milk and sugar but I always try to give new brands a try without the add ins. This robust tea was too powerful to consume black but admittedly had some notes I liked immediately. In goes the milk and sugar and I have another go. Wow! This has muscles! I used my usual amount of milk and sugar but it was still to rich. I must point out that it wasn’t bitter in the slightest, just mightier than I can handle
early in the morning.

I threw in a pinch more sugar for good measure and sat down to enjoy. Enjoy I did. This tea has a completely original taste, full and flavorful in the front and dark and sweet in the back. I actually enjoyed the second cup more than the first, as the flavors had more time to develop. True black tea lovers should give Dragon Pearl’s Premium Black a whirl but watch out for the caffeine kick!

After a short brewing time of maybe only three minutes, we were ready to
go. Casimir requested his tea over ice and declared it a mighty success
with about a teaspoon of sugar. The color was quite beautiful, similar
to the color of tree buds in the spring after a long, cold winter. I
poured my tea at about five minutes and the color had deepened to a rich
amber. I took my tea hot and naked. It was earthy and slightly tart,
giving the impression of, well, a really good quality green tree. I
found my second cup, which had developed a few minutes longer, took on a
wheat grass flavor. I’m fighting tonsilitis and I have to say that this
tea soothed my scratchy throat, too, which was an added bonus!

I liked this tea and would drink it again, although I would definitely
use fewer leaves in the future.

I like my tea exceptionally strong so let this one brew a good 8-10
minutes before taking my first sip. As an experiment, I tried it first
without my normal milk and sugar. It was very bitter, just as one would expect. I believe it would have been quite mellow if I’d thought to taste it earlier in the process. With milk and sugar, it was a dream. The bitterness was completely counteracted and transformed in to maybe the best cuppa I’ve ever had. It had a rich feel on the tongue and a delightful aftertaste as well, almost as if I’d just eaten a marzipan covered chocolate. My son, who prefers green tea, had a cup as well. He downed the whole thing in less than two minutes. In my house, that is a sign of a raging success.

I’d say my only disappointment with this tea was that I only had enough for one pot!