You may have seen Shifting Senses a few times on my blog. Late 2021, Shifting Senses launched a new line of teas for everyday brewing called “Teas We Drink”. Instead of their normal single-serve containers, this set of teas comes in 35g in a re-sealable, airtight tin with multiple servings. They sent me two of their teas (Find the Single Bush Gushu review here), but today I am further looking into the Honey Orchid No.1. Here are my thoughts:

Honey Orchid No. 1

Since this is “the teas we drink” I wanted to drink this tea how I would typically enjoy a lazy Saturday morning – with avocado toast (Avocado toast is my absolute favorite thing – just ask my coworkers, I take a 10 a.m. avocado break every workday). I figured that the avocado is pretty neutral, letting the tea be on its own and let all notes shine through. This is really how I drink my tea and I do not always have the time to sit down with tea on its own.

The leaves are long, twisty, and dark. I noticed as I was brewing this tea in my gaiwan, the leaves transitioned into a lighter brown. As I started awakening the tea leaves (that always feels funny to type), I noticed a really sweet, honey-like aroma initially. It brewed a light-tasting tea at first, developing moreover each steep. The aroma shifted more deeply floral, balancing with a sweetness aspect as more infusions occurred. It reminded me a bit like dates honestly, quite a decadent aroma. I noticed the sweetness lingered the most in the back of my throat and it was very smooth overall. Naturally, the tea held a lot of sweetness, like honey granules and dates. This was stated multiple times throughout the session in my notes.

As I brewed towards my seventh infusion, the tea rounded out to more floral notes and held less of a sticky sweet taste. Even when I ended the tea session, I felt as if I could continue a few more steepings and still have quite a few pleasant cups.

Origin: Wudong Mountian, Hubei, China
Harvest Date: 2020

Pricing: This tea is $16 for 21 grams of loose leaf tea in a re-sealable tin.

Packaging: This tin is resealable and had come with a peel-off top seal. Again – tins are my favorite way of storing tea, so I was very happy with the packaging.

Sourcing: As always, Shifting Senses provides great transparency for their teas and where they source it from.

What do you typically eat when you have a casual, everyday tea session? What is your avocado toast? Let me know – Happy Brewing!

-Danielle