Customer Reviews

Davidson's Tea Bulk, Gunpowder Green, 16-Ounce Bag

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This has to be one of the best bargains on green tea ever. No, it's not a high-end gourmet tea - but it's not intended to be. What it IS, is a terrific everyday green tea. Mellow, slightly earthy, and very pleasant on the palate. Second brewing yields a good cup, as well. As with every Davidson' tea I've ordered, the quality of the leaves was wonderful, with very little dust, or stems. It's obvious that they care about their product, and it shows. The origin is not stated, but who cares? The tea is just fine.

EDIT: I recently received my third order of this tea, and this batch was, quite simply, awful. The bag was mis-labeled, and is not green tea. As we immediately store tea in sealed containers when it arrives, I do not have the original packaging, and can't return it (thank heavens it was inexpensive). I have had great luck with Davidson's in the past, and assume that this was a fluke mistake, but, BE CAREFUL TO CHECK THE CONTENTS!

Perhaps I received a "bad" batch, because I found this tea to have a significant amount of dirt and debris. I found sand-like grit, black and slightly metallic-looking flecks (not in anyway related to the tea) and so far, one piece of some sort of fuzz-like fiber and some other cork-like debris. I did not expect this. As for the taste, it's okay; not our favorite gunpowder green, but for the price, the taste was acceptable. Although, we felt it's a little too smokey, bitter and not enough "grassy". I think this would be a good tea mixed with other things, such as mint. A little of this goes a long way. I'm not sure if I'd order this brand again, perhaps one more try sometime in the future. Hope this helps!

I like tea, in fact I like it a lot. I've had some good gunpowder green tea in the past from adagio as well as Twinnings and it is a beautiful thing. You put what look like little BBs of green tea into your cup or teapot, add the water, and you can see the tea practically explode into nearly full size leaves of tea (hence the name).

Davidson's tea disappoints. The tea leaves really don't expand much which tells me they weren't really rolled the way gunpowder green tea is supposed to be. This tea also lacks flavor (at least compared to the other gunpowder green teas I've tried). I used the same amount to brew the same cup of tea I've been enjoying with Twinnigs and frankly the Davidson's version tasted more like hot water than green tea. This may be because the leaves aren't as compacted as a proper gunpowder green tea so the same tablespoon of tea now has less actual mass of tea leaves, it could be because this tea has a lower quality tea leaf in it, heck it could be because this is an old batch of tea for all I know.

The point of this review is to say that this tea was a complete waste of money. I am sorry to say I paid for an entire pound of it. I will try it once or twice more, but if the results remain the same I will likely have to throw out the rest of the bag and that would just make me sad because it would mean that I've wasted both money and tea.

I have added a photo of the actual tea I received (compare it to that in the original product photos and you'll see a huge difference). Mine is the one that does not look like it is magically hanging in the air and defying gravity.

TL;DR version: Don't buy this tea. It isn't really gunpowder green tea and is not worth your money.

Caution: I had never tried gunpowder tea before ordering. My wife refused more than the first tiny sip of this tea. I forced myself to try brewing this several different ways before giving up. We consider it completely unpalatable. This is very different from a normal mild green tea. Yes, it is very smoky and somewhat oily; a very powerful tea.

This is pretty good tea! It's not the best gunpowder green that I've ever had, but it is certainly a bang for your buck for the price. Someone previously said that it's a good "everyday" tea, and I 100% agree with this. It's good, it's almost great, but it's not a tea that I would anticipate curling up with in a blanket on a cold evening and savoring the experience. It's just a good cup of organic green tea. I'm still so pleased with it and the price--you can't beat that! Buy it!

This was my third shipment of gunpowder green. The first two shipments were great. This one was worse than horrible. I had to throw it all away. I think they got it confused with the rotten, moldy tobacco.

This used to be really good tea. For two years we drank it and really liked it.

The last two batches have had some kind of sludge that comes off it, so much so that it cloggs the filter on the coffee maker I use to brew it. (The same one I've used for years.)

It would be good if we had a way to contact the manufacturer so we could alert them that their good product just went bad, from one month to the next.

Hope this helps.

Frustrated Green Tea Guy

I'm not a connoisseur of fine teas. But, I do enjoy my tea, and gunpowder green has been a favorite of mine. A big problem, though, is trying to find it. There is a tea store near by that is very expensive. If you buy 2 oz or more, it's $4.00 an oz. Too expensive. I finally found a couple of health food stores where it ranges in price from about 70 to 85 cents an oz, but it is such a hassle to drive there; and too many times they're out. I've found it on-line, but the shipping costs haven't made it such a good deal.

Well, with the "subscription" purchase, this is a great deal. It's cheaper than anywhere I've found it, at $10.20 a pound or less than 64 cents an oz. And I love that 48 hrs after placing the order, the post office delivered it to my house.

So, the big test, then, is how is the tea? Well, like I said, I'm not a connoisseur, but I do enjoy Davidson's Gunpowder Green. It's as good as any that I've bought. Since the stores where I have been buying it are anywhere from 10 to 25 miles away, and not even near anywhere I normally go, I can say that I have found my new source for tea. I would recommend it if you're looking for a great deal on a very good tea.

This tea is an awesome value, and tastes pretty good for the price. It is slightly smokey, like a gunpowder should be, but still grassy to remind you that it is still a green tea. The leaves can be brewed at least three times. I love this tea, and the price.

Product was as described, and arrive quickly and in excellent condition. Flavor is good, but not great, a little more smoky and less grassy than I would have preferred. Overall a good product, at a great price!!!