Avrilkira

24 Days of Tea (day 1)

I love tea…. I love Rum…. Tea… Rum…. Tea.. Rum.. Tea. Rum. I think I see a wonderful combination here… The smell was wonderful, and the taste? Very enjoyable! Not sure if I could detect the rum in the tea, but it was definitely a great cup of tea ;)

This is one that I can see trying again

Dang! I think I just got hooked! I had my first sample of this fine tea brewed for me at my local David’sTea. On the first sip I was in heaven – and though I had already paid for all my purchases (some more Kanpe for my kids, Long-Life Oolong for my oldest, some Swampwater for making some iced tea, and 100g of Organic Stormy Night for myself), I ended up going and purchasing 50g of this wonderful treat :)

As a tea latte, this tea has managed to quell my sweet-tooth craving for some cookies or cake – I mean the real, calorie crammed stuff, instead of this delicious liquid treat ;) I foresee many “liquid cake” desserts in my near future!

I can honestly say that when David’s came out with the cake flavoured teas earlier this year I wasn’t too keen to try them…. Now I’m kicking myself for having not tried them earlier!

I asked my oldest daughter to prepare my Timolino travel mug with some dry tea, so I could steep some tea at work. Her choice for me today was this tea! I love the light citrus/floral taste of Midsummer Night! Sitting up here in my little isolation chamber trying to keep warm… This tea is definitely hitting the spot :)

One thing that I really like about this tea? It still tastes great after steeping for over 1hr ;)

This lazy sunday afternoon, trying to decide on which tea to have (my mom may be right, I seem to have quite a few to choose from – she thinks too many). Decided that I would give one of the 3 samplers from my last online order a go, and this is the one that one out. The aroma sorta reminded me of the Chocolate Rocket tea… but maybe berrier? If that makes sense.

Made it into a tea latte (god I’m on a roll with them) and find that the taste is really amazing in the latte. But I want to hold off on a true taste decision till I’ve had some plain (right now its about a 75?). I definitely get a light berry flavor that is enjoyable, and not much of the chocolate…

Edit: Did a resteep of this tea and drank it plain. Actually found the taste to be quite subtle, and I did enjoy it though I’m not sure it’s one I would add to my tin collection – I do have a slightly digger sample (from the “Sweet Indulgence” sampler) that i will try another day.

So today I went in to my local David’sTea and picked up 50g of this wonder tea :D

Decided I’d make a mixed tea Latte by adding some Caramel Spice. I had tried the Caramel Spice before finding this wonderful community, so I havent rated my opinion of it here yet (just leave it for now as not really a favorite, but i digress).

Now if you are from a family like mine, Terry’s Chocolate Oranges are a christmas tradition… Last year Santa left me a Toffee Crunch orange… Where am I going with this? I was trying to replicate that taste in a tea latte!

Not sure I got my combo down well – definitely got the caramel spice taste in the latte, but still also get the Oh christmas treat taste too so?

We’ll leave this one unrated for now – and leave with a side note of I NEED TO GET MORE O.C.T.!!!!!

Chocolate Rocket… What do I make of thee?….

I put some of the dry tea in my steepster earlier planning on making a cup of tea before my oldest came home from her homework “play-date”. Never managed to add the water, and when my girlfriend dropped her off she decided to stay for some tea with me :) so I made some Chocolate Rocket lattes (again I’m on a definite tea latte kick).

While the tea was steeping we were discussing the smell – and I thought I was getting a definite cherry aroma ?! and my girlfriend agreed :o

Then I made the lattes, we had our first sips…. and divine is all I can say! We both found the raspberry flavour that is mentioned! The Chocolate Rocket Latte was definitely good to the last drop :D

Just resteeped the leaves for a second, albeit a naked cup of tea this time. The raspberry is very mild now as with the other flavours…. was definitely a more pronounced taste in the first steeping. Still very happy with the taste, and am going to enjoy this cup while going over a friends FB commentary on women and flirting :)

Having the teas out of my “24 Days” sampler a bit out of order… Getting ready to settle down and thought a nice tea latte was in order. Out comes this sample as I thought it might make a good latte. The smell of the dry tea was decidedly creme de menthe for me (have a bottle and a bit sitting in my cupboard for my after a cold day’s hike hot chocolate…) The steeped tea also smelt minty, though a bit different from my liqueur. I tried a sip of the tea nude (the tea that is), and could really smell and taste a minty taste. Then I sat down to enjoy the latte, and am very undecided. I get a mint-ish aftertaste to it, mixed in with I think the licorice… The tea/latte isn’t very “creamy” and feels like its lacking something (maybe a shot of real Creme de Menthe?).

Really not sure where I want to rate this tea yet – Maybe when I finish the rest of the sample (with some creme de menthe)

After a long day at work I decided to try this one from my 24 Days calendar… The first few sips were definite green tea – but then the taste became something else as well. After reading other posters’ comments I have to agree with it tasting a bit like an Earl Grey (although I also still get the green tea taste, akin to the cheep green tea I’ve bought from Superstore or Walmart). I’m still undecided as to whether this is a tea that I would go out and buy, but it is one that I am going to resteep tonight and enjoy some more before having a post dinner tea latte ;)

I’m really not a pumpkin lover… I think. I’ve never actually tried anything pumpkin before this tea – that’s right no pumpkin pies in this household… And before you get on my case, let me say I blame my parents and that (again) British upbringing where you stay with the tried and true and never sway from the norm… That being said, I am the adventurous one in my family – no boring every sunday is roast and potatoes, every monday is… well you know.

So skip forward in time to my introduction to David’s teas less than a month ago. I bought the fall sampler, got a whiff of this tea, tried a cup plain (no milk no sugar – ahhhh those ancestors love me for that), and liked it enough to by 100g. Then decided I really like it so bought another 100g on my last order…

Did I mention I’m not a pumpkin fan? So why do I LOVE this tea? The smell is amazing and the taste? Amazing too!

So tonight this not-a-pumpkin-lover freak made a Pumpkin Chai Latte and am in heaven. Definitely glad that I made the extra order before it went out of stock!

(For those curious made the tea with 1.5 tsp tea steeped in boiling water with a squirt or two of agave syrup added to steamed and frothy skim milk)

Sampling time :D

Got a sample of Green and Fruity to try and after a long, very windy day at work (BC Coast windstorms crazy action!!!), I think this might hit the spot. The dry tea smells deliciously fruity and very tropical… The instructions said to steep this tea for 4-7 minutes, so being cautious to not over steep I went for 5 minutes.

The first smell of cup of tea? Definite exotic fruit! Smells wonderful, good enough to “eat”… So I take the initial sip and I get the slight hint of the exotic fruit, and a very light rooibos taste. Really like this combination so far, and am glad the rooibos isn’t overpowering. Plan on re-steeping this one and letting it sit longer to see how that goes ;)

So I just received my most recent David’sTea order and am in tea heaven!!! (wallet please forgive me because I’m also already planning my next tea order). This order consisted of my 24 Days of Tea advent calendar (which I started tonight as I will finish it right before leaving for my christmas holidays), some pumpkin chai, read my lips, Goji pop, and the Organic Cream of Earl Grey teas.

First up on my sampling tonight is a nice cup of organic Cream of Earl Grey… As mentioned in my profile I grew up on the old British standbys of teas (with gasp milk in it). So my first impression of this tea? Man I can smell the Vanilla in it, and it reminds me of some of my essential scents I have, or scented candles… very subtle though.

So I brewed this cup-o-tea as per David’s recommendations, steeping for the minimum time as I find over-steeped black teas don’t agree with me. Still smelling alright ;)

Nows where I chicken out a bit…. I’ve never been able to handle the taste of a strong tea plain (my British ancestors are rolling over in their graves) and have always gasp had to add a bit of milk gasp to it (I’m the same with my coffees too). So I add a bit of milk to the tea, walk over to my computer, and sit down to taste it.

WOW!!! As I come in for my first sip, I get the scent of the creamy vanilla – smells delish! I take a sip… I take a bigger sip (no I don’t gulp it, no need for those ancestors to get out of their graves and come after me and all)… Did I mention WOW?!?!? I really like the taste of this one (even if I did doctor it with a splash of skim milk). The vanilla is very subtle but WOW. Definitely can’t wait to try this one with a completely clean palate (not after a sweet dessert) to see if I still get the same WOW factor, and may even get my courage up to try it without the milk ;)

Right now, pleased I got 100g of this one!

On my tea latte roll now. I’ve had the read my lips tea plain (before I found this wonderful web site…) and felt it was time to try it as a latte.

The smell as it was steeping reminds me of the spiked hot chocolates I would make after a hike on the weekend (made with some creme de mint). Even has me wondering how it might taste with a small splash ;)

The taste is very light. Kinda like a very weak/mellow spiked hot chocolate… Not to chocolatey and not too minty – just right for when you don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but want something (if you know what I mean).

My next though is that I’m now wondering how this tea would taste mixed with the Oh Christmas Treat – thinking chocolate mint Terry’s christmas orange…

So my day at work today wasn’t anywhere near as cold as yesterday (I got to spend my day in a little booth with a heater that somewhat works…), but I decided I really wanted to try my girls out on a tea latte – and what better way than with a tea that smells like a Terry’s X-mas orange?

I made the tea latte the same way I did last night with the Chocolate Chili Chai – which was how I watched the girl at David’s in Guildford Mall make one – adding some agave syrup to the steeping tea.

So here goes…

I love the smell of the tea once brewed, and in the Latte? Delish! This is one amazing latte! I’m sitting here waiting for my girls to try/drink theirs; cause if they don’t drink them I sure will!

This tea is a definite keeper for me – I will be picking up some more very soon (sorry wallet)…

I’m now wondering how to make the other Terry’s Chocolate orange flavours with my teas…. any suggestions of some combos to make with the Oh Christmas Treat tea?

So I spent a very cold day working outside in the cold, wind and rain today (to those that don’t know in Lower Mainland, BC anything colder than 5*C is to the bones chilly as it is a damp wet cold!). Had to go to a meeting right after cold day at work, and got home wanting a hot drink to warm me up…

Enter the Chocolate Chili Chai! I had this tea as a tea Latte made at my local David’sTea on Remembrance Day and really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it so much that last night, before my training session at my gym, I went and purchased a milk frother!

So excited to try out a homemade Chocolate Chili Chai Latte, off to work in my kitchen I went. Took me a few moments to figure out the milk frother… and then I was down to business!

So EASY to make! Smelled like HEAVEN! Tasted….. Dare I say? Better than S… E… X…?

The first Chocolate Chili Chai Latte was amazing. So good that 20 minutes after I was done the first drink I had to go and make another! I resteaped the tea from my first drink and although not as strong as the first drink, and not as chocolatey, it was definitely just as good!

Out of the Winter Teas that I have so far tried this is my favorite and as much as my wallet is going to be groaning… I will definitely be buying a tin!

I’m really undecided on this tea so far. I can’t say that the smell from my Winter sampler pouch is very appetizing to me… I get a bit of a rancid nut smell to it?

I grew up drinking black teas (again British parents), and always drank my tea with some milk in it – well as this one was steeping i could very definitely smell the bitter smell of the black tea (to me anyways) so I immediately decided I’d have to try this one with a splash of milk (and went for a small squirt of agave syrup as well).

So I sit down to my first sip… I can taste the hint of banana in it and maybe a bit of the nut (not smelling the rancid nut anymore TG!). But my overall impression so far? Its really not one I see myself wanting to sit down and relax with. I’ll finish my cup ‘o tea and after that? Well, I will be brewing a pot in the next little bit for the kids to try – but I don’t see myself rushing out to buy more of this anytime soon.

I love how the other notes/reviews talk about the amaretto scent/flavor because I was trying to put my finger on what it was that smelled so great about this tea.

This afternoon I let my oldest smell all the teas in the holiday collection (I bought the sampler), and I had come down to debating between the Organic Hot Toboggan and this one as the tea to try tonight. I then let my youngest decide which tea we were going to make out of the two, and this is the one she chose.

So what was the big review? Neither child liked the tea, but I’m in love! It has such a great aroma, and I find that it’s taste is quite mellow (compared to how strong it smells). I can easily see myself trying this with some amaretto or other liqueur in it at some time and definitely am feeling that this one is tin worthy!

Now I’m debating if I should take some in my Timolino tomorrow to work ;)

Lazy day today, decided to try a tea from my Sweet Indulgence sampler. This tea was the one I grabbed. For the 1st steeping I set the timer and steeped it for 6 min. Have enjoyed a second steeping, but didn’t set the timer for that one.

Love the smell of the tea both before and after steeping – fruity but light, not overpowering at all. I found it to be mild (but then I used the little sample tin to make a pot), and very pleasant tasting. My oldest daughter seemed to like it and even had a cup of the second steeping. Youngest on the other hand is very fussy about her teas (she’s only 8) and didn’t enjoy it.

It is one that I could see purchasing in the future ;)