Amanda Earl

part of a set of three coconut teas; lovely coconut aroma. steeped for 5 minutes, tasted w/o milk or sweetener & found a wee bit bitter; added milk & honey & it’s still a wee bit bitter. shall have to steep it for less time in future. all flavours are very subtle. licorice & cinnamon stand out a bit more than anything else with the coconut being more of an aftertaste. i’ll try again another time, heating it up directly with milk in a pot. that might bring the flavours out a bit better.

finally found boxes of this tea again after eons of going without. this is my morning must-have. i steep it for 6 minutes usually & take it with one sugar cube and enough milk to turn the tea a caramel colour. it remains my favourite tea, especially in the mornings. it’s strong & tastes right. growing up in a British family where tea was steeped in a Brown Betty tea pot for ages has left me needing strong tea. this Irish Breakfast fits the bill nicely.

2nd time round, this time i steeped for only 3 minutes; followed the directions to the letter, putting the leaves directly into a tea pot & straining. yes, it was much, much better. no trace of bitterness, just a good substantial cuppa. i’ve always used those tea balls or some kind of in-yr-cup strainer. never occured to me to use this right-in-the-pot method before. revelation!

the 2nd in my first shipment from Kimicha’s Black Tea by mail club. i’m not a huge fan of Earl Grey. usually i find the bergamot taste a bit cloying, but this cream version is deliciously creamy, to state the obvious. the fruit taste is very understated, just a wee taste toward to end of the sip. unfortunately i’m still tasting a bit of bitterness, as i did with Kimicha’s organic black assam. i’m wondering if a slight decrease in temperature from boiling would make the bitterness go away.

have just received my first shipment from Kimicha’s Black tea by mail club, which is quite different from a blackmail club, thankfully. The Organic Assam is one of two teas I received this month & it is the first I chose to try because I eAssam as part of Irish Breakfast, my favourite tea. the first thing i noticed was its fragrance when i opened the package. It is an olefactory delight. usually i have to steep teas beyond their longest recommended steeping time because i like my teaspoon to stand up in the cup, but in this case the max 5 min steeping time may be a bit much. i taste a wee bit of bitterness that probably wouldn’t have been there if i’d steeped for less. still, it’s a full-bodied tea. it’s the first time I’m drinking Assam on its own. I can see why it’s used as a base for blends. i like it, but feel like there’s something missing. i might try blending it with another tea. if anyone has any experience with Assam blends, I’d be delighted to hear…

leftover from a wonderful international tea swap group i used to belong to, this Bushmen’s Brew is probably ancient, but it still tastes quite nice to me, perhaps a tad too sweet for my liking, but it is, after all, a honey-based teasan. the colour is very red. i had never heard of honeybush before. that was the joy of the tea swap, new discoveries.

this is a tea i drink for comfort & to ease stomach aches. it’s very gentle, has a subtle floral flavour. i like it best with a wee splash of honey. it’s not an adventurous tea, but when your stomach needs soothing & your body feels icky, it’ll help. in Mexico, i drank manzanilla tea when the stomach turned.

purists are going to be horrified by this, but because this tea isn’t particularly strong, to bring out the flavour a bit more by way of contrast, i sometimes add lavender & i find the combo delicious. if you are someone who likes sweet smoky, this might be a way to invigorate this tea if you have a bunch of it left (like i do).

i love all things coconut & the smell of this tea had me at hello; however, the taste is not that interesting. the label promises all kinds of fine treats: almonds, chocolate, yada yada, but i fear these delectables are in the tea blurber’s head because they certainly don’t show up in the tea. even at a fairly low temp for green tea, this was still quite bitter & needed honey, more than a dollup. this is a blah tea. very disappointing. don’t believe Teapia when they tell you they’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts, at least not for this tea.

this is smoky, malty & strong. goes great with milk & sugar. 6 minutes steeping gives this tea a good, strong flavour. it’s a perfect tea for an early spring morning, evocative of wood smoke & a warm fire.

my husband brought this home for me one night, mainly because he knows i like tins & this tea was in a delightul square tin. he also knows i love tea. it was such a loving, thoughtful gift. the vanilla aroma is the first thing to praise about this tea. makes me feel cozy and at home. i find it tastes best with a bit of milk & sweetener, either a teaspoon of honey or a sugar cube. i have a South African friend who is horrified by the addition of anything to roobios, but i find roobios can really hold flavour. the only thing i dislike about this tea is the licorice taste. it really doesn’t need it, in my opinion, kind of clashes with the rest of the sweet flavours by adding a touch of bitter, medicinal taste. but aside from that, this is a delicious tea. love the wee triangle see-thru bags too. i like to see the twigs & bits in my tea.

back to the tea bags again, alas. i prefer to make this by steaming it with milk in a pot on the stove. i’ve tried to do it in the microwave but it just isn’t as tasty. so i boil a cup of milk & a bit of water with the chai tea bag. for this brand of chai, i need only one tea bag. another brand, President’s Choice (Loblaws) requires two, while a chai from Starbucks is ridiculously peppery to the point where it’s too much to handle. after the milk boils, i simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally. i add honey to my cup & strain the grotty skin off the concoction. this is tasty, perhaps could be simmered for a few minutes longer to be as strong as i normally enjoy.

desperate for strong tea in the morning, i’m now drinking afternoon darjeeling. call it an act of rebellion. i find it almost as strong as my beloved Twinings Irish Breakfast. i found it as bag tea in my local grocery store. first thing in the morning, i am not competent enough to handle tea leaves. this tea is good with a long steeping, at least five minutes, a sugar cube & a wee dollup of milk.

love the jasmine taste. this tea really rehydrates a body well. it could have even more jasmine in it.

my husband loves this tea. he’s a big fan of mint teas. it’s subtle but not overwhelming.

have tried again, steeping for 7 minutes, which is the outer limit of steeping time recommended by David’s. it’s better, but the flavour is still quite subtle. love the golden colour.

i mostly buy this tea bagged, except when i’m desperate. it makes a good strong cuppa first thing in the wee small hours. my local grocery store has stopped selling the bagged version though, so i’m screwed.

a dear friend brought this tea back from Paris for me. i love it. it’s subtle & delicate without any bitterness.

i don’t have much experience with oolongs, but this one wasn’t that flavourful for me.

i love how delicate this tea is, its beautiful aroma & the long needles.

i adore this tea. love the combo of coconut, lavender. & it’s very pretty with the cornflowers.

i love lapsang souchong tea, but this one isn’t as strong as others i’ve tried. the Tea Store in the Byward Market in Ottawa has a stronger, smokier version.

i have had only a small sample of this tea & that sample has left me yearning for it. i love how creamy it is. the creamy taste doesn’t distract but adds to the flavour. [i can’t seem to drag my rating bar over to the highest green smiley face, but if i could, that’s where it would be]