Alphakitty

My parents requested candy for Christmas—not as a present, but they asked me to make some to go along with dessert. I was already making Pannetone Eggnog bread pudding (yes, as delicious as it sounds) and didn’t feel like making anything elaborate, so I went to my old standby english toffee. But with this matcha, since I just got it in the mail!

I also added a layer of chocolate, because hey it’s Christmas and no one judges you for eating too much chocolate. The top layer was just not setting and it was getting kind of late, so I put it out on the back porch. Note that this happened on Christmas Eve… in NY. Yeah, looked out 10 minutes later and it was snowing. Aaah! Well, it certainly chilled the toffee to the right temperature, though it’s a little sticky on the bottom from interacting with the snow. Still delicious! I need to try this on its own before I rate it, but in candy the flavor is pleasantly subtle.

Day 8, courtesy of Purrfect Cup! This is one of my all time favorite teas so I was really happy to see it in the swap. I mean cantaloupe and cream with a divine white base, how much better does it get?

I cold brewed this because the weather here is just weird. It’s not winter at all, more like icky fall with rain and a bit of a chill but really, it’s so un-Christmasy. So instead of doing hot tea I am drinking iced. Yeah, take that NY weather! You’re not the boss of me!

Anyway, I am reminded of how much I adore this tea. It’s so scrumptious! I kind of want to make angel food cake and infuse it with this tea.

My last sample from Nature’s Tea Leaf! Oddly enough this is the first black tea of theirs I’ve tried. The majority of the teas I drink are black but their other blends just caught my eye more. But when I saw this, I knew it had to be! Especially after their amazing cinnamon oolong which is a tea near and dear to my heart because the cinnamon is absolutely perfect. And I just noticed that I am writing up two cinnamon teas in a row—it really is that time of year!

In the bag this tea smells heavenly, like pure apple cider. And there are the big chunks of cinnamon bark like in the oolong blend! Often I don’t mind artificial flavors, but I am a staunch believer in natural cinnamon only. There are also chunks of orange peel, it’s a festive looking blend—or maybe I just have Christmas on the mind haha.

Sipping this is… wow. Apple cider! The apple is really strong with a nice hint of cinnamon, clove and something kind of caramel-y? That might be the black base, which has some nice malty tones that bring everything together. There’s a lot of flavoring going on here but you can definitely still taste the base! It’s an utterly perfect mix of apple cider and tea. It’s even better than the real deal (plus, of course, way less calories.).

Onto Day 5 from DaisyChubb! Of course I am late again. Too much time spent traveling!

Cinnamon teas and I do not always get along. Sometimes they verge into way too spicy territory, not good spicy but tongue-numbing spicy. Cinnamon can either be very good or very, very bad, especially when it has that holiday store artificial kind of smell. You know, like those cinnamon-scented decorative pinecones that make you a bit nauseous. This, however, is the perfect cinnamon tea! It’s just enough hint of spice combined with tasty cloves, and for me the vanilla is really in the forefront making it smooth and creamy.

Plus, it sparkles! How much more perfect can a tea be for 5 Golden Rings? It’s like this tea was made for this swap. Not to mention the totally adorable (and presumably time-consuming) artwork on the package. I love seeing everyone’s creative ideas!

My second sample from Nature’s Tea Leaf. I requested this because I absolutely adore floral teas, but have never had one with globe amaranth. I’ve had it in the garden, but never in tea! Also, I kind of thought it was berry flavored as well—though of course, amaranth is called that because it looks like a berry. Duuh, kind of a silly mistake on my part!

In any case, I’m pretty glad there’s no berry like I originally thought. This is an almost impossibly light, effervescent blend. The amaranth isn’t really floral surprisingly, but refreshing and almost a bit sour, though not in a negative way. It also makes the glass a nice shade of light pink, almost rose-colored. I think the white base is what really shines here, it’s crisp and has some luscious cucumber and green apple notes. One of the most refreshing teas I’ve had for sure! I think this would be best iced in the summer, definitely a tea that you could chug down on a hot day.

My samples from Nature’s Tea Leaf came today! What perfect timing, since I have a bit of an upset tummy and could use a soothing herbal blend. I was really happy to find this on their site since I’ve wanted to try the Teavana blend with the same name, but it has pineapple. What is up with that? Do they just add fruit to all of their blends to make them heavier or something? But here it’s just lemon, sage and lavender.

I happen to love sage teas, though I know they are a bit divisive. I have 2 others, Bergamot Sage (Rishi) and Ginger Sage Spa Blend (Verdant), but this one is quite different because of the lavender. It reminds me of Sleepytime, if that tea was slightly savory! The lavender and sage are an absolutely perfect match, the sage tempering the floral nature of the lavender while adding a nice mellow effect.

The lemon brings it together with a bright pop of citrus and adds another dimension. It’s a simple blend where every ingredient gets a chance to shine, and nothing is overpowered or overdone. It’s a perfect after-dinner or before bed tisane, relaxing and soothing!

As usual, I am a day late on my tasting for the 12 days of Christmas swap! This is one of the 3 Day 3 teas from Liberteas, sadly the only one I’ve had a chance to try thus far. It’s been a busy week—my boyfriend is in the hospital so much of my time has been spend traveling & visiting. I actually brought Day 4 with me today but the water they gave me was icky and tasted like coffee :/ So I am going to cold brew it and the French Vanilla from Day 3 to bring to him tomorrow.

Anyway, this tea! I love maple and this is scrumptious. It’s not a heavy, rich maple but quite light without losing that inherent maple texture. It’s not quite as maple-y as the Tea Guys blend so it’s quite nice for an afternoon tea, not something that has to be relegated to dessert status. It’s a bit malty too with some caramel notes, perhaps a hint of vanilla? Nicely complex, especially given how overwhelming maple can be!

I am a day late on Day 2 of the 12 Days of Christmas swap due to, well, not having internet on day 2 but better late than never!

I made a small iced latte with this (since it’s late and I would rather not od on caffeine) and it’s Valentine’s Day in a cup. Sweet strawberry, smooth champagne, and I think in combination these flavors are better than separate. I found my champagne matcha a little bubblegum-y, but there’s none of that here. And the strawberry definitely doesn’t taste artificial! I put quite a bit of sugar in (come on, it’s a love tea!) and this is such a sweet, creamy treat. And such a nice twist on day 2’s theme! People are being so creative, makes me a bit worried about my day. I hope everyone likes it!

On a side note, I think I am going to make some little tea cakes with this for Valentine’s Day, maybe with whipped cream frosting. Mmmm.

The 12 days of Christmas swap starts out with a bang! This is a rich, intoxicating blend courtesy of Autumn Hearth who did such a fantastic job. It’s got fruity elements from the apple and pear, a bit of cinnamon spice, sparkle from the juniper, floral elements, richness from the pu’erh and a wonderful lightness from the yabao. This tea’s got it all! It’s also nicely seasonal without screaming ‘holiday tea’ in your face. Definitely a soft-spoken but assertive blend.

I didn’t think it would be possible to improve one of Verdant’s blends but here I am, sipping a cup of this and in heaven. It’s pear tree perfection! I think it has a ton of resteep potential too, so I’ll definitely be experimenting with gongfu style as well. Though seriously, if this was a blend I could buy I’d do it in a heartbeat.

This was one of my many Black Friday splurge purchases. Tiesta is already pretty reasonably priced, but they had a 50% off deal plus free shipping, so less than 6 bucks for 2 teas. How could I resist?! Well, I’m really glad I did because this tea is seriously already bordering on “cupboard staple.” Yeah, it’s that good.

The smell alone is amazing. Nutty, warm, cinnamon, like a baked good! I think the name is a little misleading though, and the ingredient list is more telling of the actual flavor: almond, apple pieces and cinnamon (along with beet, which adds no flavor but makes your cup hot pink and slightly sweet!). This is like an apple danish in a mug more than an almond cream tea. Rich, creamy, nutty, apple sweet with a perfect amount of cinnamon. It’s not sharp, slightly spicy cinnamon but the warming kind you find in a really good apple loaf. It’s one of the most comforting teas I’ve had, it’s also fantastic and slightly sweet without any sugar which makes it a calorie-free treat. Plus caffeine free! I only have 2 ounces of this and I think it’s going to run out really fast.

It’s been a while since I wrote a tasting note! It’s been a busy few weeks, but I’ve also been drinking a lot of tea which means I’m woefully behind. The holidays always seem to be the busiest time of the year, even though a lot of the stuff I am working on isn’t at all holiday-related. Just a lot of work piling up at once, coupled with a really bad immune system that seems to think that perpetual sinus infections are the way to go. Which is probably the worst illness for me to have for a long time—I have chronic headaches for a multitude of reasons (TMJ, migraines, muscle tension, & stress headaches) so having sinus pressure on top of all that is really awful. Tea, however, seems to help—especially TMJ & migraines, which seem to respond well to caffeine.

Anyway, this tea! It was in the RoT little catalog they sent out every few months. Or is it every month? Seems like I get a lot from them! This is their holiday blend, and… well, it’s a pretty generic mix of flavors. Orange, clove and other spices. It’s nice although they included licorice which makes my mouth feel kind of numb. It’s not an ingredient I usually like in blends, especially when combined with clove which has that same almost numbing effect. Clove I love, licorice not so much. Together they both overpower the orange.

It’s not a bad tea by any means, and I’d happily take a cup if someone offered it. It’s quite strong, especially for the rather small bags they have, and it does have a nice holiday vibe. Just not something I would go out of my way to have, there are a lot of similar blends that have a better balance of spices.

I bought this along with my Eggnogin’, mainly for completionist sake. I felt bad just getting one holiday tea! Leaving that poor little box of Ginger Snappish all alone… err, surrounded by dozens of other teas. Well, they’re only like $4 a box, so even if this was icky it’s not a waste of money. Yeah, this is how I justify my crazy tea buying habits.

I’ve had this tea 3 nights in a row now, so yea, I think it’s money well spent! I read a lot of the past reviews and I think they changed the formula—I definitely get a gingersnap vibe. The ginger is very strong with backing notes of cinnamon, giving it a tasty, bake-y feel. As close to gingersnap as you can get in a bagged tea, I think! And while the lemon is there it is VERY toned down, just the mildest hint of citrus which makes it seem pretty unique and special.

I was a bit worried that this would be similar to Twinnings’ Lemon & Ginger (my go-to sick day tea) but it’s really quite different and perfectly seasonal! One of my favorite night-time teas so far, plus the ease of making it is definitely a bonus.

This was a free sample included in my recent DT order! I thought it was really generous of them, since I only ordered 2 teas and it was during their 50% off Halloween sale to boot. The timing happened to be perfect though—I had a rather rough day and needed something comforting and dessert-y that wouldn’t keep me up all night. Well, it’s 4 in the morning, so I guess I mean won’t keep me up until morning!

While I’m not the biggest fan of rooibos, I don’t mind it in fruity blends (for example, it doesn’t bother me at all DT’s their Black Cat or Blueberry Cream!), and with dessert teas I can handle it with milk and sugar. Though this time, I actually added dulce de leche instead, which will give the desired sweet/creamy effect while also amping up the caramel notes.

This is pretty much just what you’d expect—nice, warming cappuccino and espresso notes with a backing sweet caramel. I found the coffee element to be a lot stronger than the caramel when I tasted it sans dulce, though after it was obviously a lot stronger. It’s got a very light quality, almost foamy. The rooibos is present but not enough to make me put down the cup thankfully. Just what I needed tonight!

I went to pick up some cream soda from the drugstore, and lo and behold they had a display of the Bigelow seasonal teas! Personally, I like bagged tea. Loose leaf is superior in almost every way but sometimes you just want it to be really simple. And when I’m sick/busy/lazy, bagged tea is what I turn to. So I’ve been on the hunt for these and the Celestial Seasonings ones as well! Oh and the Stash White Christmas if I find it laying around.

This smells SO strongly of eggnog! One of my favorite holiday treats, bu the dairy does make me a bit nauseous. So I love tea substitutes! With milk and sugar this has a really strong eggnog flavor and a mild black tea taste. Super delicious! Without additions it’s not really very strong tasting, but with them it’s great. Like a creamy chai. I think I’ll have no trouble blowing through a box of these this holiday season. Now to find Candy Cane Lane!

After being held hostage by my post office, my Halloween order from Della Terra is finally here! Of course even thought it’s now the Christmas season I had to try the most Halloween-y of my new teas first.

Probably the best thing about this blend is the color. It’s green! A perfect witch’s brew. In the bag it smells candy-sweet and kind of overwhelmingly fruity, but once brewed up it’s much more mellower. It reminds me of a calmer Mother of Pearl, only a bit more tropical from the passion fruit. I’m only getting a hint of pineapple, with passion fruit/mango as the dominant flavors. The rooibos is wayyy in the background which I really like, no weird medicinal taste with a slight woodiness. A nice fruity tea, and probably a great one to serve to guests just to see how they react to dark green tea!

I am so behind on tasting notes! I have officially vanquished NaNoWriMo and am currently at 55k, but I’m only finally getting to the third and final arc of my book so my writing is far from over. As such, I’ve been devoting all my writing time to it and not to Steepster, though I have tried to keep up on everyone else’s tasting notes and threads!

I got this in a very generous swap with Dinosara. Raspberry + earl grey? Hell yes, sign me up! In the bag this smells intoxicating, super yummy and fruity. Since I got it I’ve tried it both cold brewed and hot, and I like it equally both ways. Cold brewed the raspberry is very prominent and quite authentic and juicy. Hot it has a rich black base, strong for an EG but I don’t mind it. The bergamont is subdued but nicely citrus-y both ways, and it’s distinctly an Earl Grey. This is definitely a tea I could see adding to my permanent rotation since I don’t have a solid fruity EG—maybe I’ll have to try out some of Ovation’s other blends before I make a decision!

NaNoWriMo has made me kind of forget to do things like… eat, or sleep. I get so caught up in writing that I look up and it’s 8:30 and all I’ve had so far is a small bowl of cereal. Considering that I have low blood sugar and not eating in regular intervals makes me very ill, that is not a good combo! So I wander into the kitchen and think man, I want some hot chocolate. Okay it’s not dinner, but I need some sugar!

In college one of the dorm standbys was 1 cup milk + 1 spoonful nutella = the best hot chocolate ever. So I stood there whisking my concoction thinking that it would probably be good with some cinnamon, maybe a little nutmeg. Chai spices, yeah! And then it dawned on me: chai matcha. So yes, I am drinking Chai Matcha Nutella Hot Chocolate right now and it is the greatest thing ever. I think this would probably work with tons of flavors (berry nutella, caramel nutella, cheesecake nutella…) so if you have milk, matcha and nutella you should go do this RIGHT NOW. Well maybe not right now but try it, it’s fantastic.

I have been neglecting my Steepster friends! NaNoWriMo has kind of taken over my life, and every time I think about writing a tasting note my brain goes “noooo, you could use those 200+ words in your book!” I shamefully admit that I haven’t even kept up with everyone else’s tasting notes!

But on the bright side I should hit 36k words tonight—I am actually shooting for about 80k words instead of 50k, which should be enough to wrap up my plot. And then I get to do national novel editing month, haha. Anyway, I’ve been drinking this tea hot and iced kind of nonstop. It’s become my inspiration tea. I grew up on Earl Grey so when I think of ‘tea’ it is the first thing that comes to mind, and this is one of my absolute favorite kinds. Plus, you know, it’s nice to have a tea with a name based on a book when you’re writing!

Oh man, this is one delicious tea. This is another one I wasn’t sure about but it’s a seasonal blend so I wanted to snag it before it’s gone. Chestnut is kind of a finnicky flavor, but once again Lupicia has nailed it.

It actually smells heavily of caramel. It’s like caramel-covered chestnuts! Sweet, dense, and delicious. It is a really nostalgic taste, it reminds me of childhood. The green base goes perfectly and keeps it from being too heavy or sweet. It’s like airy holiday treats in a glass! I am seriously so in love with this tea. It also stands up to tons of infusions: I’ve done one hot brew and two cold brews with the same leaves!

I’ve almost hit 10,000 words on NaNoWriMo and the 3rd day isn’t even over… I’ve decided I need to cut myself off and cool down with some tea reviews! I also can’t sleep, and writing about tea is pretty soothing.

I think this is the tea I meant to order when I got their Jasmin Mandarin last time. Not, you know, exactly—but I thought the Jasmin Mandarin had actual mandarin orange in it and was hoping for a light citrusy green. Sadly it’s just a jasmine tea (which I ended up giving to my mom!) but this is essentially what I was looking for. It’s an oolong not a green tea, but that’s even better! I love oolongs.

In the bag this smells SUPER overpowering, and fake. But I trust Lupicia, and brewed it’s very light. Japanese Tangerines are sweet but also a bit bitter, like marmalade, and that transfers over to the tea. It’s very lightly citrusy, with some floral qualities from the oolong downplaying the “bite.” It’s one of the most refreshing blends I have ever had, and I bet this would be perfect for a hot summer day. It’s good all year round though, since I associate clementines and similar fruits (like tangerine!) with Christmas. I think this would make a really good brine for a nice holiday chicken actually! Mmm, maybe with some cloves.

(Also, is it just me or do the tangerine bits/candies in the photo look like gummy bears?)

When writing I like to drink complex teas, ones that grab the imagination and put it to work. I think this blend fits the bill more than any other one in my cupboard: Yabao on its own is almost infinitely complex and then you add in floral notes, a bit of berry, creamy vanilla, a pop of citrus. Every sip is like an adventure, and it helps stir my creative juices. One of my absolute favorite teas!

I am going to keep this one brief since I am NaNoWriMoing! I’ve flung myself head-first into it and am currently at 7,456 words… on day 2. And it’s not even over. I am amazed at myself! I keep double-checking in case I calculated it wrong. But unless Word is telling me terrible lies, yup, almost 7,500 words! Hooray! However, it’s not a “new” project: it’s a book that I’ve been wanting to do for months, so I suppose having the scenes planned out makes the writing part smoother.

Anyway, this tea! I love osmanthus but I’ve only had it with green or oolong tea. So when I saw this at Lupicia it was really what pushed me into a big order. I’ve loved all of my teas so far, so definitely a happy purchase!

This blend is GORGEOUS. The osmanthus flowers are whole and look like little stars in the black “sky” of the tea. I definitely know why it has the name ‘Moonlight Osmanthus’, it’s like nighttime in a cup. The smell is very faint but has that distinct citrusy-floral tang. Interestingly enough, this tastes almost like a green tea. In fact, when my bf tried some he almost didn’t believe me when I told him it was a black blend. It does have some soft malty black quantities, but it’s a very soft and gentle tea. The osmanthus is nicely citrus-y but soft, like… well, moonlight! Such an evocative name for an evocative tea. The interplay of floral and citrus is perfect, and so so delicate. If you like lightly flavored/scented teas this will probably be right up your alley, it’s an elegant and dainty cup.

I’ve found that you can make the most delicious cocktail ever with this.

Iced Bangkok + pineapple juice + guava paste + dulce de leche + rum

The guava and dulce need to be room temp so you can mix them together into a syrup. Pour into the Bangkok + pineapple, add a splash of rum, and perfection!

After two missed deliveries due to Sandy, my Lupicia order is finally here! I was planning on trying a different tea first, but this one stuck out because it came with a recipe for an iced latte. It’s funny, this isn’t a tea I ever would have ordered without Steepster. I tend to stay away from strawberry teas since they can be so easily artificial-tasting, but this has so many reviews and seems to be a really popular blend. I needed one more tea to hit the $60 for free shipping and the one I wanted was out of stock, so into my cart Strawberry & Vanilla went!

The latte is pretty simple: simmer the tea with water and sugar, add milk & matcha, heat to a boil, then strain over ice. Voila, latte is done! First off, it smells amaaazing. Super bright strawberry scent, and very smooth and creamy. I did try this before adding all the extra stuff, and the cream/vanilla is really strong even before the milk & matcha step. There’s matcha in the leaves, just a bit, which adds a nice grassy/smooth taste. And of course, the sencha base is as fresh and bright as you’d expect from them!

I think Lupicia is one of the few companies to always nail fruity flavors, at least in my mind. The strawberry is pure, sweet, delicate and so on-point. However, it doesn’t overwhelm the tea—it manages to be strong but also complements it. It doesn’t taste heavily flavored, though the strawberry and also the vanilla are super-present. And as a latte, god almighty it’s perfect. Uhnf, creamy sweet grassy fruity perfection. I really didn’t even think I’d like this tea that much, but I LOVE it! I’m looking forward to digging into the rest of my order even more now.