So I’ve been drinking What-Cha’s Discover Russia Premium Non-Black sampler, and I have been surprised by how much I like some of the teas. I decided to post all my thoughts in one post rather than in multiple because I only had enough tea to formulate my first impressions.

Before I get to my impressions on the tea, I have to state that these are my first Russian teas; I’ve had Russian Caravan before, but I never had loose leaf Russian teas before.

The dry leaves on this particular tea can be quite wide and flattened to thin and twisted. I brewed 185°F for five minutes. The liquor was quite dark brown-orange. It had a slightly grassy aroma as well as a mild woodsy scent and a really fruity taste, although it tasted very similar to a run of the mill Russian Caravan tea, but it lacked the smoky Lapsang Souchong taste. There was a moderate tobacco taste edge to this tea that lingered.

If this tea was sold individually I probably would not buy this particular tea, I don’t particularly like teas that taste like tobacco. Although this is a nice tea that straddles the line between oolong and black, you may enjoy it.

Like most of the other teas in this sampler, the dry leaves are quite dark for non-black teas, and have some lighter browns. The leaves feel a little like crispy bark. I brewed at 176°F for four minutes; this produces very dark golden-amber liquor. There was a slight aroma, although it was too minor for me to identify. There was asharp taste to this tea that took me a couple minutes to identify. At first I was thinking something acidic, but then I realized it has a watered down lemon juice taste, I have to note that this is not an acidic tea, but is very reminiscent of one. I also noticed a dry hay taste to this tea.

I enjoyed this tea, and would probably buy this tea if it was sold individually. This is a definitely a yellow tea, between a white and a green, although if I tasted it blind I would probably say it is a green. This is definitely an everyday type of tea that should pair well with most foods.





The dry leaves were olive green and a very dark green; the leaves were twisted although there were a couple flattened leaves and a few light stems. I brewed at 176°F for two minutes this produced a tea with a very light yellow liquor. The taste was mostly grassy, but I could taste an intense sweet peach edge to it as well.













I loved this tea. I would definitely buy it if it was sold individually, although I don’t think it is the type of tea I would drink often; it felt very much like a tea to enjoy on a hot summer day.



Krasnodar Solohaul Tea Estate Green Tea













The leaves were dark with a little olive green mixed in, and were flat and looked like thin strips of tree bark. This time I brewed at 176°F for three minutes, it produced yellowish liquor. The major taste was nectarine although there was a grassy finish that I quite enjoyed.













This felt like a better version of the Krasnodar Premium Dagomys Tea Estate Green Tea and I definitely would purchase it again, which may be ironic because I have the least to say about this tea.



Krasnodar Premium Dagomys Tea Estate Green Tea









Like all the others the leaves are considerably darker then what you would expect for a green tea and the leaves are twisted, although the leaves were softer than the others in this sampler. I want to say the leaves had a crumpled look to them, the dry leaves reminded me very much of crumpled velvet. I brewed at 176°F for two and half minutes. The liquor was light yellow, there was a slight cherry aroma. The taste was very mellow, a little fruity that was hard to narrow down, but there was a lingering grassy aftertaste.









I probably would not buy this tea, like the other premium tea in this sampler it had a very light taste, too light for me. This felt more like a white then a green to me.



Krasnodar Premium Solohaul Tea Estate Green Tea









The dry leaves were long thin strips that were light olive green and a little rusty brown mixed. This was the only tea in this sampler that was not twisted. I brewed at 176°F for three minutes. It didn’t have much of an aroma, although I wouldn’t say any of these teas had an easily identifiable aroma (I had a hard time smelling most of these teas). There was a light grassy taste and nothing else.









I wouldn’t buy this tea again; I don’t know what is wrong with the two teas with premium in their names being so light. I saved the premium teas for last, but the real quality was in the yellow and green teas in this sampler without premium in their names.



