CHAroma

I split an order of this and the other new V.I.T. with tattooed_tea, so we both ended up with 0.75 ounces of each tea. Thanks tattooed_tea!!! The dry leaf aroma is discernibly pomegranate. The brewed tea aroma is woodsy, dark oolong and smells exactly like salted peanut shells to me. Uh oh. Where’d the pomegranate go?

Hmmm…the taste is different than other dark oolongs I’ve tried, namely Formosa oolongs. And by different, I mean better. ;) I read the back story on this tea too, and it’s hard to believe that this tea is more valuable than gold. Who’s the crazy loon who spent over $1600 on 20g of this stuff? I mean, I think it tastes good, but no where near that good!

Luckily, that salty peanut shell aroma doesn’t make its way into the flavor. This is a medium to light-bodied cuppa with virtually no pomegranate flavor. Maybe I didn’t use enough leaf or I understeeped it? I can detect a tiny hint of fruitiness, but it almost tastes like a naturally occurring flavor rather than an added flavoring. And it’s definitely not a pomegranate specific taste. It’s more generically fruity to me.

I picked a couple extra pomegranate arils from the bag and added them to the second steep for 2 minutes. Hmm, sadly there’s still no pomegranate flavor. I triple-bagged it and stored it in a tin, so I’m not sure how it lost flavor. Oh well. It’s a good oolong, but it’s no more than that. It’s really too bad. I can imagine pomegranate being a nice complement to this.

Ahhhhh!!!!! French toast tea!!!!!!! I didn’t hesitate for a second to purchase this tea when I read the e-mail announcing it. I’m not sure if it’s just because I’m really hungry or what, but when I lifted the brewing basket from the steaming cup, I was assailed by a strong, authentic French toast aroma! Yum! The brewed tea aroma is spot on!

I first tried this tea a few days ago with skim milk and Truvia. I do NOT recommend milk with this tea. It squashes the flavors and creates a bland, heavy mouthfeel. Sans additions, this tastes like a buttery, cinnamon black tea. But with only a little sweetener, BAM! The flavors really meld and come to life, and now I’m drinking liquid French toast! If I owned any maple syrup, I’d definitely try that out as a sweetener. In fact, it might be worth a trip to the store just to see how it’d turn out. ;)

If I had to compare this to Pancake Breakfast, I’d say it’s heavier on the bread and lighter on the maple syrup. And of course, there’s the addition of cinnamon, which Pancake Breakfast doesn’t have. Mmmm! It’s hard to choose a favorite between pancakes and French toast, and I’d have a hard time picking a favorite between these two teas as well. They are both delicious in their own right!

Wow, my cup disappeared fast. That’s always a good indicator. This tea is hard to categorize because it’s not sweet enough to be a dessert tea. But it’s also not brisk enough to be a breakfast tea. For me, this is best as a late morning/mid-afternoon tea. Overall, this is deliciously yummy regardless of the time of day. Not quite as good as the real thing, but tea hardly ever is. :)

I bought this sample on a whim on the mini-moon trip to NYC. I had a bunch of DAVIDsTEA samples I wanted to buy, and when I mentioned I love apple, they brought out this tin. Wow! One whiff and I knew I had to have it!

The dry leaf aroma is amazing!!! It smells like some kind of rich fruit spice cake. Like apple cake or even carrot cake complete with the sugary, cream cheese frosting. I forgot tea could smell so enticing.

The brewed aroma is virtually the same. Yes! I love when that happens. Now for the taste…aww, sadly the taste is slightly lacking. I added a bit of Truvia and that helped to awaken the flavors. But it’s still not as yummy as that gloriously tasty aroma. It is growing on me the more I sip it though, seeing as my cup is empty.

I let the second cup steep for 15 minutes. Kind of forgot about it as I watched Eat Pray Love. That is one depressing movie. I’d probably enjoy the book better. Anyway, this second cup was really good too. No idea why it’s called Forever Nuts though. It’s more spice fruit cake than nutty.

So, the verdict is I like this tea. It’ll be especially good when I get pregnant and can’t drink caffeine. Of course, that’s still about 12 months off or so. But I’m always preparing for it in my heart and mind. :)

I reached into my still large pile of samples from Shmiracles and randomly selected this tea. The dry leaf aroma is surprisingly floral. Last time I checked, there’s nothing floral about genmaicha. It’s simply a medley of bancha green tea leaves, popped corn, and roasted brown rice.

Luckily, once the water hit the leaves, a nice roasted rice aroma floated up into the air. Oh thank goodness! You had me a bit worried there, genmaicha. ;)

The flavor is roasted rice with a very light green tea background. There’s something floral in the taste as well. Strange. Floral notes do not belong in my beloved genmaicha. It’s fighting the roasted note, which now only emerges in the aftertaste.

It’s nice for what it is, but it’s not my perfect genmaicha tea. How interesting to find a floral genmaicha though. I’ve definitely never come across this before. Thanks to Shmiracles for the sample!

Mmmm, these two were made to be together! The sweet, buttery caramel blends so smoothly with the creamy, tangy cheesecake. I am loving this! It’s a fantastic combo!

SIPDOWN!

I drank 3 cups of this one tonight just to make it a sipdown. :P I’ve enjoyed its spun sugar yumminess, but I don’t think I’ll re-stock it. I’m ready and excited to continue my Red Leaf Tea adventures with some new-to-me flavors. There’s so many I want to try! How do I choose??

SIPDOWN, and a Gongfu brewing session!

According to Verdant Tea’s website, you should steep this tea for 3 seconds and then increase the steeping time after the third infusion by 3 seconds or to taste. Three seconds seemed like an awfully short amount of time. So, I opted to start out at 10 seconds. The resultant liquor is an unsettling yellow color. I won’t tell you what it reminds me of…

But the flavor is incredible! So very different from what I remember from the Western steeping. It tastes like snap peas and butter. It’s very flavorful and very delicious! Second infusion also for 10 seconds was similar but a little bit greener. There’s more of a grassy note apparent now.

(Start unrelated rant). Why do people fight you on stuff when you’re the expert in it? I know what’s best. You don’t. You came to me for my assistance, not the other way around. If you think you know best, then do it yourself and leave me out of it! I had to waste an hour of my time for people to come to the same conclusion that I told them in the first 5 minutes. And then they try to give me an extremely unrealistic deadline. I can’t work on 4 different projects at once and get them all done in 30 days. Are you serious? They can’t all be at the same priority level! Some things are just more important than others! And if this is really that important, then hire more people to work on it! I shouldn’t be the only one! Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest. And now I have to wait for the water to boil again. Ugh. (End rant).

I don’t know what I did wrong, but the third infusion for 10 seconds was bitter. Blech. Ironically, the fourth infusion for 13 seconds had no bitterness at all. The cup returned to its beautiful creamy, buttery, vegetal self. I wonder what happened? Maybe taking a break in the brewing session allowed the wetness in the leaves to sit and create bitterness. That’s the only explanation I can think of that makes sense because the fourth infusion picks right up where the second one left off. Weird.

Fifth infusion for 16 seconds was less flavorful. The liquor color remained strong though, and the aftertaste was a nice buttery grassiness. Sixth and final infusion for 19 seconds was pretty much the same as the fifth. I think this tea is done. The first two infusions were definitely the best. I had hoped that the interlude wouldn’t color my opinion of this tea, but I think it has. Phooey. So much for relaxing with a nice cup of tea this afternoon. :/

The dry leaf aroma is floral oolong. Oh yeah! That’s what I’m talking about! I woke up craving a nice green oolong, and I think this tea will assuage my craving nicely. I wasn’t entirely sure what brewing parameters to use, so I opted to do what other Steepsterites here did.

The brewed tea aroma is more developed but otherwise the same as the dry aroma. The taste? Ohhhhh yeaaaahh! This was exactly what I wanted! It’s a lovely quintessential example of floral green oolongs. Buttery, silky smooth, and full of flavor!

I agree with Dinosara’s assessment that this is an unscented oolong with natural Osmanthus-like qualities. It tastes very naturally floral to me as well and not flavored with real Osmanthus flowers. I’ve only tried one other Osmanthus oolong and that one definitely had more of a flavored feel to it. It was from Lupicia, and it was a very long time ago that I had it. But I do remember it being lovely and quite enjoyable.

Second infusion for 4 minutes was equally as delicious as the first infusion! As the cup cools, it loses luster. This is definitely best enjoyed piping hot. Third infusion for 5.5 minutes was less floral yet still tasty. This is a great green oolong, and I’m very happy that I had the opportunity to try it. Thank you to Shmiracles for passing along this sample!

I’m really enjoying this one today. Creamy cheesecake in matcha form. Tangy and delicious! This one is a keeper and almost better than the real thing. :)

First, I made this with only hot water. Then I tried my first ever cold matcha latte with skim milk! It wasn’t bad! But I do think I prefer matcha with just hot water. It’s less calories that way too. ;)

The dry leaf aroma is bergamot and hazelnut, which is kind of a weird combination to my nose. It’s definitely very unique and unlike any other tea I’ve smelled. This is a tea that requires milk. I added sweetener too, which may have been premature.

The dominant flavor is definitely hazelnut, followed by bergamot and something floral, and then finally a little caramel. I don’t particularly like this Adagio base. It’s fairly bitter even with milk, and normally I don’t find it so. Hmm, I want to like this. I really do. But it’s just…

I think it’s the hazelnut that I’m really not a fan of here. It’s very heavy and artificial. No, this is just not my cup of tea. Oh well. Thanks to Shmiracles for the sample!

My first Kusmi tea thanks to Shmiracles!! The dry leaf aroma is caramel but not in an overly sweet, sugary manner. The brewed tea aroma is much more tea heavy than I would have thought. The taste is more tea and less caramel as well. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But if you’re in the mood for a dessert tea, this may not hit the spot.

The caramel flavor is light and tastes almost syrup-y. Yes, that’s it. It tastes like caramel syrup. The base tea flavor dominates the sip. The aftertaste is where the caramel shines. With sweetener added, there’s much more caramel flavor noticeable in the sip rather than exclusively in the aftertaste. Now this is more to my liking!

I can understand the caramel chew similarity now. This does have an interesting mouthfeel. The base is really a lovely complement to the added flavoring. There’s just the tiniest hint of malt, which I’m really digging. This is a wonderful tea and one that grows on you the more you sip it. Thanks Shmiracles for sending a sample my way!

This smells and tastes amazing! I’m not sure what else there is to say about it.

Artichoke and green bean are the primary vegetables present. There’s lots of butter and a touch of creaminess. This is luscious and silky and just plain delicious. It reminds me a lot of one of Teavivre’s green teas. I can’t remember which one because I’ve tried so many. But it tastes almost identical. If I figure out which one it is, I’ll update this note to let y’all know.

This was brewed Western style. As the cup cooled, it seemed to lose its complexity and grew slightly heavy on the tongue. Of course, part of this sensation could be because I’m very very full right now. I ate French toast for breakfast and had probably twice as much as I should have. I’m stuffed!

Second infusion for two minutes was less vegetal and more creamy. Third infusion for three minutes was still flavorful but had even less buttery veggie notes. The first infusion is definitely the best. It’s not my favorite unflavored green since it seems to get less tasty with each subsequent steep. To me, this tea is good but not rave worthy. Still, I’m glad I got a chance to try it!

I really feel like lime right now. Not sure why, but lime just sounds so good. I also want to do something that is minimal effort so I don’t have to keep washing out my tea paraphernalia to brew another cup of something. Plus, it’s finally summer weather!! Iced tea sounds like just the thing!

This tea bag was purchased last year, but I don’t think that’s affected its quality or strength since it’s been sealed in the original, airtight packaging. The dry leaves smell really lime-y! Ooooh, I can’t wait!

I certainly have gotten better at making iced tea since my first time with SBT’s Cotton Candy. This was super easy! Why don’t I make iced tea more often? For whatever reason, I bought 7 of the 8 flavors released last year and then didn’t make half of them! Silly me. But the time has finally come for Lime Jello!!

Mmmmm, this tea is pure lime goodness! I added sweetener and that’s when it really came alive. Lime and black tea were just made for each other! Waaaay better than lemon and black tea. ;)

Looks like Frank hasn’t re-released this one yet. I hope he does! This is a GREAT tea, especially for only $3!!! This tea really doesn’t get enough credit. It’s super lime-y (and not in an artificial way), amazingly tastes just like jello in liquid tea form, and is simply super delicious! Thanks for making this Frank, now bring it back!!!

After the wonderful experience with Mariage Frères’ Wedding Impérial yesterday, I decided to try their competitor’s caramel tea: Dammann Frères’ Caramel-Toffee! I don’t know if they’re really competitors per say, or if these teas will be at all alike, but this is my tasting note and I’ll do what I want! LOL! Man, I’ve been feeling wonky lately. I hope you’ll excuse my weirdness.

The dry leaf aroma is pure caramel toffee sugary sweetness! It has little toffee cubes and smells much more sugary than Wedding Impérial. Mmm, I can’t wait to try this one! I much prefer Chinese and Ceylon blacks to Assam. So, maybe I’ll like this more? It hardly seems possible, but one way to find out!

Hmm, the brewed tea aroma is good, but the flavor is much less intense than I was expecting. With Truvia added, it’s more enjoyable. But I don’t think there’s any chance this will steal the limelight away from Wedding Impérial. It’s sweet and has a nice caramel toffee flavor. The base seems weak and quiet, which surprises me. I steeped it for 4 minutes! Maybe Assam is just a better base for these flavors.

I definitely like it, and it’s a very enjoyable cuppa. But if I’m craving a caramel tea, I have other teas I prefer to this one. I do have to add that the caramel seems to become more buttery the longer I sip it. This is a tea that grows on you with its flavor instead of whopping you upside the head with it upon the first sip. Thanks to Shmiracles for making this tasting possible!

WOW! The dry leaf aroma is pure salted caramel! OMG, it smells INCREDIBLE!!! I’m brewing this up immediately!

I requested this tea from Shmiracles because I’ve heard so many great things about Mariage Frères teas. The downside is they’re so expensive and you can only buy large quantities of them. BUT, I’m going to France in October!!!! So, I figured I can save shipping costs and pick up some tea while strolling the streets of Paris! Still, it’d be best to try a few things first and figure out what I want to buy exactly.

And this brings us to today and my first Mariage Frères tea!!! Thanks Shmiracles!!!!

Wow! Have I already said wow? Well, let me say it again! WOW! The brewed tea aroma is even better than the dry leaf! It smells of black tea and salted caramel. Holy cow, this is going to be good! First sip sans additions…mmmm, malt and caramel show up first. Then a hint of bittersweet cocoa appears in the middle. Then more caramel, salted this time, appears at the end of the sip. THIS IS GLORIOUS!!!!!!!

I feel like cackling like a mad witch right now. This is a magical tea! First of all, it’s assam. And I don’t even like assam. Second, everyone finds it really strong and leaning towards bitter. I hate bitter and hardly ever drink black tea straight. But this is great straight! (Rhyme unintended). :P I’m sure with milk and sugar it would be a delicious dessert treat too. But even as is, it’s a really really delicious cup of tea!

Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. I love this soooo much! I can’t wait to go to France to stock up on it. Wow! :D Thank you sooooo much to Shmiracles for sharing this amazing French creation! I am in love!!!!

YAY!!!! First sample from the swap box Shmiracles sent me!!!! I’m so excited! There are sooooo many teas in this box! You really outdid me. I thought we were shooting for 10. I think I gave you 13. And then I open this deceivingly small box to find 20 samples!!!! Wow!! You are amazing, girl!

So, on to the first one! :D I do have to ask though…What does this tea have to do with North Africa? When I think of houjicha, I think of Japan. When I think of chai spices, I think of India. And when I think of peppermint, I think of Christmas and the North Pole. LOL! No Africa in any of that! But let’s just get brewing already. :P

The dry leaves looks like chai and are chock full of spices and big cardamom pods. Mmm, I LOVE chai! This smells heavenly! And I don’t even remember the last time I had houjicha. It’s been too long. I loved houjicha long before I loved sencha, matcha, white tea, and even oolong! Okay okay, it’s done steeping and now I can finally get to the taste!

First sip…hmm, all I can really taste is chai spices. It probably didn’t help that I just ate three slices of pepperoni and sausage pan pizza. LOL! But I was starving!! I couldn’t wait any longer! Man, I am talkative tonight. I apologize for my ramblings. Just very excited! Second sip…now I’m getting a hint of mint amongst all the spicy goodness. But the houjicha seems very quiet still.

Well, even just as a cup of chai mint tea, it’s yummy! I’m surprised I like the introduction of mint in chai. I think it works because it’s a very small amount of mint compared to the other flavors. Now if only I could get the houjicha to shine! Houjicha has such a nice roasted toasted taste. The base here feels more like a backdrop to the mint and chai spices so that you’re not drinking a purely herbal tea. No roasty toasty elements to be found, sadly.

Oh well, if I didn’t know what houjicha was supposed to taste like, I wouldn’t know what I was missing. So overall, I’m enjoying this cup for what it does taste like. ;) Wow, my brain is just kooky tonight. Is any of this making sense? LOL! Thanks Shmiracles!!!!

The dry leaf aroma of this tea is AWESOME! It smells like creamy, lemon-y goodness. Like lemon meringue pie! There were huge chunks of dried lemon in the blend and lots of yellow calendula petals too (which look exactly like marigold petals by the way).

The brewed tea aroma is mostly woodsy green rooibos with a hint of lemon zest. That’s sad. I hope the lemon creaminess returns in the flavor! I really dislike red rooibos, but flavored green rooibos is usually okay. This brewed aroma is making me second guess myself. Time to try it and find out!

Mmm, lucky for me, that lovely lemon creaminess has returned! The green rooibos base is still pretty strong though. But the added flavorings are nice. It’s worth noting that the lemon in this is very natural and zest-like. It doesn’t taste incredibly tart or citrus-y like lemon pulp or juice. It’s definitely more akin to zest.

I’m going to add a tiny bit of Truvia to see if I can make the flavors really pop. Well, it kind of worked. There’s just no way past that rooibos base. :P This is just okay in my book. But I can see how this would be the perfect late night treat for rooibos lovers. At least it won’t keep me up past bedtime. :)

I really wanted to make this Gingerbread Cookie recipe by DaisyChubb: http://www.daisychubb.com/recipe-zombie-gingerbread-men-matcha-ginger/

But I didn’t have any ginger matcha. :( I did have cotton candy, maple syrup, caramel, and cheesecake matcha in my stash…so I opted to make Gingersnap Cotton Candy Matcha Cookies!

To see photos of my creations, go here (although they are nowhere near as cute as what DaisyChubb created. I am simply not as talented a baker): http://www.flickr.com/photos/96132028@N08/sets/72157633585326552/

My improvisation kind of worked out. It made for really sweet, really sugary cookies with a ginger zing. In all honesty, I could have done without the ginger I think. But my mom and husband (fiancé at the time) loved them!

This is a recipe probably best left unaltered. But hey, it was worth a shot because I was really craving matcha cookies! Thanks to DaisyChubb for posting the recipe! And by the way, those zombie gingerbread men are soooooo freaking cute!!

I finally got around to brewing this one up for my kitty, Mr. Frodo! He rubbed his face on the bag for a while before indulging in a cup of brewed catnip tea. He was so cute! I captured the whole thing with my iPhone camera. To see the photo play-by-play, go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/96132028@N08/sets/72157633587132206/

While waiting for it to cool enough for Mr. Frodo, I tried it myself. If you didn’t tell me this was catnip, I’d have no idea! It tasted like green yerba mate with a touch of mint. Or just a very weak peppermint tea. It’s not bad! I gave some to my husband and he really liked it, even after I told him it was catnip. ;P

This is a fun one to have around. I’m glad I picked up a packet. If you have a kitty, you should definitely get some for him or her too! It makes for really cute photos. :) And I have a ton of it, so feel free to request some in a swap.

SIPDOWN, and a Gongfu brewing session!

Hmm, I’m not really enjoying this as much as I did when I brewed it Western style. As before, the first few infusions are my least favorite. As the dark chocolate notes wane and are replaced with caramel and honey notes, it becomes more to my liking.

I prefer sweet over bitter, and this tea leans more towards the bitter end of the scale. It doesn’t reach bitter, but it definitely leans in that direction and comes fairly close. The early infusions are dark and roast-y and maybe a tad bit woodsy. By the fifth infusion, I started getting less dark cocoa bitterness and more honey sweetness. A warm spicy note emerged as well. Now this is getting yummy!

I gave up after the eighth infusion even though the leaves could have gone longer. I can definitely see why people love this tea so much. While I can appreciate it, I don’t love it myself. I am excited I had the opportunity to try it!

This is a really delicious flavored oolong. I really like the plum flavor. It’s not the average fruit of choice for fruity tea blends. I let my husband sip it. It’s his first oolong experience, I think.

He said, “Mmm, I really like it. It tastes buttery or creamy.”

“YES!” I replied. “That’s exactly right! Green oolongs do taste buttery.” :)

I love introducing my hubby to tea. It’s so much fun! And now that I know he likes green oolongs, I have soooo much more to share with him! :D

After that Harney and Sons tea this morning, this Tazo tea just does not compete. Sans additions, it is really bitter. With additions, it’s just a weak, noncomplex drink posing as tea. It would do in a pinch, but it’s not something I’ll stock.

This is the last of the individually packaged tea bags I picked up on my mini-moon from the Cliffside Inn. Awww. :( I guess the mini-moon is officially over. Well, in reality it’s been over for weeks. LOL! The dry leaf aroma is strong oil of bergamot. That’s not my favorite way to flavor an earl grey, but I’m holding out hope. I saw a couple silver needle leaves in the sachet. What’s that about? Well, one way to find out!

Mmm, this is a smooth cuppa! I could probably drink it straight and enjoy it just fine. But with skim milk and Truvia, this is a really yummy tea! I’m unsure I can taste the soft flavor of the white tea amongst all this black tea and bergamot oil. Don’t get me wrong though, it’s still very delicious! I just don’t know if the white tea is really contributing much in the blend. Overall, I’d rate this tea a success, seeing as my cup is empty. :P

Mmm, how I love Paris! This is just as delicious as I remember it. It tastes like berries and vanilla cream. Yum! I added a little milk and sugar to experiment, but I think it’s better sans additions.

This is another individually packaged tea bag I picked up on my mini-moon from the Cliffside Inn. I enjoyed a cup then too and knew I had to grab a sachet to have later. I think it’s finally time to invest in a tin of this stuff. It’s a near perfect creation! I bet it would make an amazing iced tea too.