#Tea review series: 3 samples from @roleaftea

A couple of weeks ago, I received a batch teas for review from the RoLeaf.

Now that's kind of a lot to review at one go!

I'm an avid tea drinker but this is the first time I'm actually going to write reviews (What do I say? How do I describe them?) so I'm just going to put down my thoughts about the tea.
I'm also adding a section called "How I would describe this to my mum" where I compare the tea to more common teas (because she always asks "what does it taste like?")

Here's my review of the first 3 teas that I sampled at random:

I started off with the Osmanthus Fragrans, mainly because it smelled really nice. And because I was feeling fancy that night, I decided to make it in a fancy cup and take a photo. (I normally just use ginormous mugs, but figured that this one needed some special treatment.)

Anna's review: This is a very beautiful, light, flowery tea, naturally sweet to the taste. And yes, I drank it at night. It's an herbal tea so it probably doesn't have any caffeine, I think, not that it would personally affect me. I'm not a big herbal person, but I kinda liked it.

How I would describe it to my mum: Something like chamomile but sweet. Maybe something like chamomile and chrysanthemum together.

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The next tea I chose was Choju Hojicha, mainly because I wanted something light and this one didn't have a very strong smell.

Anna's review: It put me in mind of roasted rice/nuts and I thought it might have been a Korean tea, but when I looked it up, it's actually a Japanese roasted green tea. (I apparently can't tell from the name. Haha!) I would definitely buy this if I were looking for something in the Oriental/Chinese-type tea range.

How I would describe it to my mum: Like the watery free flow tea they served in that Korean shop in Prima Tanjung (that's now closed down), only thicker and "roasty-er" tasting.

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The last one I picked for this review was Chava Chai. I'm normally wary of chai, because it uses a lot of spices that I hate so I really wasn't sure if I wanted to drink this. Then again, it smelled okay (as you can tell, I go by smell a lot when it comes to tea).

Anna's review: I found it to be a thick and rich black tea, but surprisingly neutral (i.e. no overwhelming spice taste). I initially thought I might have over-brewed it because it was thick and bitter-ish, but I checked the brewing time and temperature of 4-5 mins and 100° C, which was kind of the range I made it at, so I suppose that's how it's supposed to taste. Tried it a second time, just in case. This time it wasn't as thick (made sure to take the tea bag out after 5 mins), but there was still a bitterish, strangish after taste that I didn't quite like. I guess this wasn't really my cup of tea.

How I would describe it to my mum: Normal black tea with a bitter taste at the end probably from the weird cinnamon, cardamom, ginger things. You might like it if you like those kind of stuff.

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A huge thanks to RoLeaf for the wonderful tea samples! Check them out at their website, facebook, twitter and instagram.

Check back next week for more tea reviews!