Favorite Teas Tasted In 2025

Posted: 2026-01-08

Tea was purchased and tea was drunk. Here are the nine teas I first tried in 2025 that I really loved. If you get the chance, give them a try yourself. This list excludes new versions of teas that have appeared on list in the previous years. This list is all about the teas that were new to me.

  1. 2025 Inkstone
    A tea cake wrapper that is a gradient of white to black with the Kuura logo and the Instone logos. On top of that sits the tea cake just off the edge of the image frame black, dark brown and tan leaves in a white porcelain gaiwan the tea, super dark caramel in color in a multi colored ceramic cup the steeped leaves

    Type: Ripe / Shou Puer

    Vender: KUURACORP

    Dry Leaf Scent: Wood, rain soaked trees, leather, earth, hay, campfire, and plain donuts

    Wet Leaf Scent: Wood, Honey Nut Cheerios, leather, earth, and plain donuts

    Mouth Texture: Milky, thick body

    Taste: Wood, milk, earth, and the perfect touch of chocolate

    This was the best tea that I have tried so far in 2025 by a long shot. The dry and wet leaf scents of this tea are so damn intoxicating and the taste is woody perfection. Inkstone is now my favorite tea that KUURACORP makes, topping Kuura-Cola, and I can't believe I just wrote those words. This tea has everything I look for in a ripe puer, the wood, the milk, the earth, the chocolate, and of course the intoxicating scents. When I go on hunts for older ripes, these are the exact flavor and scent profiles that I'm looking for. For such a young ripe it feels like it has years of age on it already. As many of you may or may not know, my favorite tea of all time has been for years the mighty Lumber Slut from white2tea. My favorite tea of all time is no longer a single tea, but now two, Lumber Slut from white2tea and Inkstone for the fine purveours of tea from the future KUURACORP. Go with me on this, Lumber Slut is the punk rock version of this flavor profile whereas Inkstone is the art gallery version. The character of Inkstone is ever so more rounded and settled, whereas Lumber Slut has some bite to it depending on the day and how you are tasting things. Both are fantastic and have a place in your week. I just ordered a tong of 2025 Inkstone!

  2. 2013 "w2t shou"
    A white wrapped rectangle of tea sitting a wood floor. The wrapper has a pixelated image of a duck with the words w2t 2013 shou puer tea display next to the duck The rectangle tea brick sitting outside of and on top of the tea wrapper dark brown, brown, and tan leaves in a white porcelain gaiwan the steeped leaves

    Type: Ripe / Shou Puer

    Vender: white2tea

    Dry Leaf Scent: Wood, leather, hay, and milk chocolate

    Wet Leaf Scent: Chocolate brownie, wood, and leather

    Mouth Texture: Milky, watery, medium to thick body

    Taste: Milk, wood, chocolate brownie

    This awesome warehouse find by Paul, with 12 years of age, smells and tastes just like a chocolate brownie! The smell and taste that lingers on the tongue is a chocolate brownie. It's wild! I wish more of you could try this tea, but sadly it was only available via the white2tea tea club. Another reason for you to sign up for it if you haven't already done so. Last thing I must say about this tea, it is intense. If you have ever consumed way to many chocolate brownies at a party then you know what I'm talking about.

  3. 2024 Shixi
    A dark brown mulch like looking tea cake sitting outside and on top of a yellow wrapper with red Chinese characters on it dark brown, brown, and tan leaves in a white porcelain gaiwan the tea, dark in color in a multi colored ceramic cup the steeped leaves

    Type: Ripe / Shou Puer

    Vender: white2tea

    Dry Leaf Scent: Cheerios, bread, and earth

    Wet Leaf Scent: Wood, earth, cheerios, bread, and a slight hint of a campfire

    Mouth Texture: Milky and watery, medium to thick body

    Taste: Milk, wood, and milk chocolate

    Another fantastic tea from Paul at white2tea. I love when Paul is able to create teas that taste like they got 20+ years of age on them when they are super young in age. 2024 Shixi is only a year old, but I'm getting strong late 90s / early 2000s vibes from it. Wood, milk, and chocolate bliss. I love this tea!!!

  4. 2002 LC Brick
    A tan colored mylar package with the words 2002 LC Brick 7g - 202025 white2tea displayed on it brown, blackish gray, light tan leaves in a white porcelain gaiwan the tea, caramel in color in a multi colored ceramic cup the steeped opened brown and greenish gray leaves

    Type: Raw / Sheng Puer

    Vender: white2tea

    Dry Leaf Scent: Cereal, donuts, and (this is going to sound weird) barbecue

    Wet Leaf Scent: Leather, orange juice, cereal, and lemons

    Mouth Texture: Milky, thick body

    Taste: Wood, milk, leather, lemons, unsweetened cereal, and a hint of astringency in later steeps

    This is the kind of raw puer I like, aged and tasting of wood. 7 grams of this tea was given to the white2tea tea clubbers last year, in March, and I'm just getting to it now. Shame on me for that because this tea is fantastic including that barbecue note in the smell! I know that sounds crazy, but go with me on this, it works. The moment I have the chance, I will be buying a full brick and I would suggest you do the same! Paul's warehouse finds are always the best.

  5. 2025 Book Cover Green
    a small tan colored mylar package with the words book cover green displayed on it small very green almost sunflower seed shaped leaves in a white porcelain gaiwan the tea, very light green to yellow in color, in a multi colored ceramic cup the steeped very bright green leaves

    Type: Green

    Vender: white2tea

    Dry Leaf Scent: Corn on the cob, hay, and rice

    Wet Leaf Scent: Corn on the cob, salted butter, and hay

    Mouth Texture: Milky, thick body

    Taste: Milk, corn, steamed/cooked spinach, and butter

    Note: This tea is only available mid to late March

    My favorite thing about fresh green tea is smell, that of corn of the cob and salted butter and hay, and this has that in spades. It's intoxicating. Book Cover Green is extremely good green tea for it's price at $6 USD for 50 grams. It may be inexpensive but it is packed with quality. It has all the flavors and smells I except from green tea sold by Paul. I wanted to get this last year but missed out, glad I did so this year. It's not my favorite green tea from white2tea, that honor goes to Cloud Mist Green, but this is definitely a close second. Nothing from any tea vendor out there can beat Cloud Mist Green. There are contenders though in Hulk Spring Simao from Bitterleaf and Meadow from Longleaf Tea Co. which is made in Laurel Mississippi, yes a quality tea produced in the USA.

  6. Roasted Meadow Green Tea
    a brown mylar package with label displaying Longleaf Tea Co. Meadow Roasted Mississippi Green Tea limited release the back of the mylar package with a label that displays the Longleaf Tea Co. tea brewing instructions in a simple straight forward way. It shows how to brew the each type of tea that produce dark brown, grayish brown, and tan colored leaves in a white porcelain gaiwan the tea, very light brown in color, in a multi colored ceramic cup

    Type: Green / Hojicha

    Vender: Longleaf Tea Co.

    Dry Leaf Scent: Toasted rice, rice cakes, seaweed, coffee, pine trees, grapenuts cereal, chocolate, and hay

    Wet Leaf Scent: Toasted rice, rice cakes, seaweed, hay, grapenuts cereal, and a hint of coffee

    Mouth Texture: Milky, thick body

    Taste: Milk, toasted rice, corn, grapenuts cereal, and hints of chocolate and coffee in later steeps

    This tea, which was harvested in summer and roasted in bamboo baskets, is awesome. The dry leaf scent is mind boggling with hints of toasted rice, coffee, pine trees, and so on. Oh yeah! If you have ever had genmai cha or hojicha, this is hands down the best version of those flavors that has ever graced my lips. If you are a coffee drinker and have been thinking of getting into tea, you have your entry point right here. Thomas and the crew have an absolute winner in this tea.

  7. Legacy 2018 Ripe Puer
    a white mylar package with a decorative stylized label showing two people at the foot of a small bridge the tea, dark brown and tan colored leaves, in a white porcelain gaiwan the tea, dark caramel in color, in a multi colored ceramic cup the steeped leaves

    Type: Ripe / Shou Puer

    Vender: Bitterleaf Teas

    Dry Leaf Scent: Honey nut cereal, wood, blackberries, and milk chocolate

    Wet Leaf Scent: Wood, fresh baked bread, milk chocolate, blackberries

    Mouth Texture: Milky, thick body

    Taste: Unsweetened chocolate milk and wood

    I'm a big fan of Smooth Operator from Bitterleaf, but I think I may have found my new favorite ripe puer from them in Legacy 2018. This tea is banging! Woody chocolate milk, my kind of thing.

  8. Lumberjack Breakfast
    a tan colored mylar package with the wording Lumberjack Breakfast 25g white2tea the tea, dark grayish brown and caramel colored leaves, in a white porcelain gaiwan the tea, caramel in color, in a multi colored ceramic cup the steeped caramel colored leaves

    Type: Black / Hongcha

    Vender: white2tea

    Dry Leaf Scent: Grapenuts cereal, milk chocolate, wood, and soy sauce

    Wet Leaf Scent: Grapenuts cereal, oatmeal, milk chocolate, wood, and soy sauce

    Mouth Texture: Milky, thick body

    Taste: Milk, wood

    I agree with the naming of this tea. This is definitely a black tea geared for your lumberjack friends and their breakfast beverage drinking. If you are an English Breakfast fan but wish it had more of wood note in the taste, then this tea is definitely for you. I might have just found my new favorite black tea with Lumberjack Breakfast, but I'm still mulling it over in my brain. If you are looking to show your friends the wide world of tea, and they love generic black tea, this tea would be a great entry point. Last thing I will say, adding additional flavors to tea such as honey or milk is not my thing, but this tea would be just as fantastic with milk thrown into the mix. It has the strength to balance all the flavors out.

  9. 2023 Body & Soul
    a white mylar package with a label that displays a black triangle shape, with smaller white shapes and the words Body & Soul enclosed in it, coming out of a white robot's head the tea, caramel, brown, and tan colored leaves, in a white porcelain gaiwan the tea, dark caramel in color, in a multi colored ceramic cup the dark caramel colored steeped leaves

    Type: Ripe / Shou Puer and Dianhong Black

    Vender: Bitterleaf Teas

    Dry Leaf Scent: Chocolate candy bars, cereal, Grapenuts, hay, plain donuts, and crackers (Saltines)

    Wet Leaf Scent: Wet wood, chocolate candy bars, cereal, Grapenuts, hay, plain donuts, and crackers (Saltines)

    Mouth Texture: Milky, thick body, smooth

    Taste: Chocolate milk, hot chocolate, cereal, leather, wood, and earth

    This is a damn fine tea. I love what can be done when you mix black tea with shou and 2023 Body & Soul is a good example of that combination. It's no longer available, but Bitterleaf continue to make a new version o this tea every year. So if you get the chance, definitely seek it out!