CHAroma

The divine Lady Grey is getting a boost from 75 to 82. She’s been very good to me lately, and I find that I’ve been craving her as soon as I arrive at work. :)

So, it’s been a long weekend. I went to a socially awkward party, had to move everything in my kitchen out of it and then back in (roach spraying, yuck), got about 6 Ezpass violations in the mail (apparently there was a problem with our transponder) and fought with my boyfriend. All in all, not one of the better weekends.

But there’s always my loyal friend, Tea, to turn the day around! Tonight, it’s Adagio’s Silver Needle. This is the third Adagio white tea I’ve tried from the sampler pack.

The dry leaves have that familiar hay smell, but the leaves themselves are very different! I’m sure for all you out there that have had white tea countless times, the long and skinny white-haired leaves aren’t that interesting anymore. But I thought they were wicked cool! It was that much more fun to measure out the tea leaves. I can’t believe how pristine and uniform they are. But on to the tasting…

Slightly sweet, slightly vegetal. Definitely getting artichoke. Overall, a very pleasant cup of tea. It’s not amazing and probably not my favorite of the three (white peony takes the cake). But I can feel the stress melting away. I think I’ll need about 11 more cups to be back to my normal self. Time to find out if this tea is up to the challenge!

Mmmm!!! Uber spicy!!!

Starbuck’s Chai Tea Latte doesn’t leave anything to be desired, except more when your cup is empty. It’s delicious, hot, creamy, and ultra-chai spicy!

The cinnamon wasn’t overpowering, so I was still able to taste the other spices underneath. That’s uncommon in chais I’ve had, where usually the predominant (and sometimes only) taste is cinnamon.

This latte was so spicy it actually burned my throat a little on the way down! Not a bad burn. More like piquance. Totally unexpected!

This is a good place to start if you’ve never had chai before. It’s a great experience and woke me up for work. I ordered it with skim milk, and it was still frothy and creamy and delicious. Two thumbs way up! :)

Pro: great blend of chai spices. Con: not very strong.

This kind of tastes like watered down hot apple cider. I wish it were stronger. The spices are nice, and I can taste the apple. But it’s just not quite there enough for my liking.

I added a small amount of milk & sweetener, and it did bring out the apple a little more. But I think I’ll make this again with 2 teabags.

Overall: good, not great.

The dry leaves smelled very hay-like, quite similar to the White Peony. But as soon as the leaves were wet, they smelled completely different! More like steamed vegetables. The liquor is very pale and almost colorless.

The taste actually mimics the flavor of the dry leaves. Primarily, I taste hay in the sip and steamed veggies in the aftertaste. I’m actually surprised how long the flavors linger. And the flavor just keeps changing, even though there’s no tea in my mouth! It’s insanity!

It’s sweet and complex and delicious. There’s one element I’m tasting that’s almost like half and half, but very light and subtle. So good! This tea just keeps changing and showing me new dimensions.

Hmm, but the second steep is a little disappointing. It seems to have lost all of its complexity and layered flavors.

I’m a little confused on steeping time though. I’ve seen completely contradictory information on the Internet. One site said to steep the leaves for over 5 minutes, even up to 15 minutes on the first steep. Another site said to steep the leaves for only 1 minute or less. What gives? Can anyone give me some advice?

Here’s what I did: 1st steep at 185 degrees for 2 minutes. 2nd steep at 180 degrees for 4 minutes. 3rd steep at 180 degrees for 9 minutes.

WARNING: Read the label before drinking this tea!

Where to start? This is my first Yogi tea. This one in particular was recommended to me by a friend. It’s advertised to “ease tension and promote relaxation.*” The asterisk elaborates that “These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.” Fairly standard language. I actually work for the FDA, so I’m used to seeing this kind of disclaimer on products. What I wasn’t prepared for were the major warnings listed on the tea packet:

“Ask a health care professional before use if you have or have had liver problems, frequently use alcoholic beverages or are taking any medication. Stop use and see a doctor if you develop symptoms that may signal liver problems (e.g., unexplained fatigue, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, fever, vomiting, dark urine, pale stools, yellow eyes or skin). Not for use by persons under 18 years of age or by pregnant or breastfeeding women. Not for use with alcoholic beverages. Excessive use or use with products that cause drowsiness may impair your ability to operate a vehicle or heavy equipment.”

JEEZ!!!!! And these warnings are contradicted by the advertisements on the box:

“We think before we blend. How will our recipes work with body and mind?” And “Health is found in nature. We work with what nature already offers rather than trying to concoct it. We don’t have laboratories. We have kitchens.” And “For a stronger effect, use 2 tea bags. On especially challenging days, drink 3 to 4 cups.”

So, first you warn me not to drink it excessively. Then you tell me to use 2 tea bags and drink 3-4 cups a day. Isn’t that somewhat excessive?

Additionally, you tell me not to drink it if I’m taking ANY medications at all. How can you expect the average consumer not to be taking any medications at all? What specifically are you trying to warn me against combining? Should I not drink this if I take an Advil? Should I not drink this if I’m on birth control? Should I not drink this if I’m on cholesterol or blood pressure medication? Does this tea really interfere with ANY medication that I take? Giving a warning that vaguely lumps all medications together seems fishy.

This is scary! My first impression was that the tea smelled weird. There’s something a little off about it. But I generally get that impression with herbal teas, so I didn’t dwell on it. I took a sip and found that even though it smelled funky, I could only taste hot cinnamon water. I’m really not getting any other flavors at all. Just cinnamon.

But after reading the box, I’m afraid to drink any more of it! Especially because I can’t taste that funky thing I’m smelling. I’m afraid of what this “tea” will do to my body. I don’t drink alcohol very often, but just the possibility that drinking this tea will hurt my liver is a huge concern!

I thought tea was supposed to be healthy. I thought tea was supposed to be good for you. All I’ve ever heard are the positive impacts of drinking tea (with the exception that it inhibits the body’s ability to absorb iron).

What the heck is this in my cup?? I personally have not had any ill effects from the two tiny sips I’ve consumed today. But I warn everyone out there, beware of Yogi teas!

A tea that requires this much warning before consumption isn’t normal. I’m tempted to alert my FDA colleagues to this tea just because a warning label might not be sufficient for keeping an unsafe product on the market.
Consumer beware!

It’s a Tazo tea day!

Hmm, this doesn’t taste much like a green tea. The liquor is very dark, golden/amber in color. It reminds me of the color of honey.

It actually tastes a little like honey too. But not the honey from bees, more like agave nectar. With a little sweetener, it’s drinkable. But not delicious.

Strange, this. I’m getting a bitter taste that’s reminiscient of oversteeping a lower quality tea. Really no grassy greenness at all. Not much in the way of floral lotus either (unless lotus smells/tastes like agave nectar).

It’s too bad they market this as a green tea. The average American consumer who has never tried real green tea will be led astray by this imposter.

It’s back to my loose leaf stores at home! No more mass marketed bagged teas for me!

This is one of the best drinks I’ve ever had in my entire life! Don’t bother to drink this tea hot without the lemonade. Suffice it to say, it’s not a pleasant experience (see oozing rose hips: http://steepster.com/Charoma/posts/85951).

But this, THIS is my one true love!

This tea has me a little frightened. It looks like red wine, and rose hips oozed out of the tea bag when I squeezed it! Here we go again with the oozing rose hips!!!

I’ve had this tea before as an Iced Passion Tea Lemonade at Starbucks. But I’ve never tried to drink it hot and by itself.

Wow! That is tart! I think it needs the lemonade to dilute and sweeten it. This is much stronger than I would have expected from an herbal tea.

I’m actually not even sure if I can drink it like this. It’s giving me an instant headache. I think I’ll stick with the Starbucks creation instead.

It’s so strange because it is AMAZING iced with lemonade. This is a completely different experience. If you told me this was the same tea as in the Starbucks creation, I wouldn’t believe it. Crazy.

If it goes down the drain, it gets a rating of 10 or less. Sorry Passion tea. :(

The dry leaves smell just like hay, but that’s a positive for me (I grew up riding horses). The brewed tea has a light hay smell with an added component. The tea, I’m assuming.

Wow, this tea is interesting. I’m getting so many flavors! One of the flavors is almost like lightly toasted pumpkin seeds. Yum!! Of course, now that I’ve picked out that flavor and identified it, I can’t taste anything else.

Mmm, but this is good. Really different from any of the other teas I’ve had. I’m not even sure I’ve ever had white tea before! This might be my first!

I didn’t know what to expect, but I guess I thought it would be like an oolong. More vegetal, but less grassy. That’s what I thought anyway.

This isn’t grassy or vegetal at all. It’s a unique flavor all of its own. I’m really impressed, and I think I’ll be drinking this a whole lot more. First white tea is a success!

The dry leaves smell exactly like grape fruit snacks. I can’t stop sniffing the bag! The aroma of the brewed tea is heavenly! I can still detect the grape smell, but it’s underneath a lovely grassiness from the oolong. I can’t wait to try this!

Oh, wow! I think this is going to be a new favorite. I can’t believe how good this is! (Thus, the overuse of exclamation marks)!!!!

This is Lupicia’s tea of the month, and therefore a free sample. Grapes seem to be the theme. The newsletter lists all of their grape teas and talks about how grapes have been added to tea for years.

I’ve tried Lupicia’s Muscat tea, a grape-flavored black tea, in the past and found it undesirable. The grape was too overpowering and candy-like.

But this is delicately flavored! I can still taste the grassy oolong underneath (which actually makes it taste more like a flavored green tea than an oolong). The grape is much more subtle in the taste than in the aroma. The aroma is like gummy snacks, but the taste is more like the grape taste in wine. In fact, it could do with a little more grape!

I’m not so sure about that “clean, crisp finish” though. The finish is a little bitter to me, thus the lower rating of an otherwise wonderful tea. Perhaps a shorter steeping time would remedy that?

Nonetheless, adding this to my list of teas to buy…Thank you, Lupicia!

This tea had me worried. It brewed up exactly like the Formosa Bai Hao #40 with the unmistakable aroma of a salty peanut shell.

But as soon as I tasted it, I got a much sweeter liquor than expected with a buttery mouthfeel. It does have that nutty peanut shell taste in the background, but almost like it’s an afterthought.

It’s nice that the peanut shell is taking a backseat and letting other flavors come to the foreground. Not what I was expecting at all from that aroma!

By the way, I think what I call “salty peanut shell” is what others call “woodsy” or “earthy.” I keep seeing those descriptions pop up on these formosa oolongs, and I think that must be what I’m experiencing too. It’s just too pronounced to be overlooked. Woodsy. Hmmm…

Second steep yields a less woodsy but still deep, amber colored liquor. Third steep was the least woodsy and fairly bland.

Good, but still not the best oolong from Adagio’s Dragon Sampler. My favorite is definitely Wuyi Ensemble. Wuyi Ensemble has a much more classic oolong, vegetal taste and benefits the most from multiple infusions.

Mmm, this is really hitting the spot tonight.

There’s slightly more astringency than I remember, but the quietness is just what I needed after a hard week. It’s a light oolong that I have learned to appreciate.

This sample is courtesy of the benevolent SimplyJenW. My very first Lapsang Souchong!

If this is Lapsang light, I don’t think I could ever drink the heavier version. After an awful experience with a smoky Keemun, I was expecting to hate this. And I was pretty confident in that expectation.

But luckily, this doesn’t taste nearly as scary as it smells. The dry leaves and brewed tea are very smoky. It is reminiscent of liquid beef jerky, as another user pointed out.

Still, I don’t think smoky teas are for me. But I would highly recommend this Lapsang to people new to Lapsangs. Thank you, SimplyJenW!

Pro: strong flavor. Con: needs milk to cut the bitterness.

The fig comes across very strongly in this tea’s aroma and taste. If you love fig, this is the tea for you! Unfortunately, I don’t think I do and it took this tea to figure that out.

The black tea base is complementary to the flavorings. I’m not getting much in the way of brown sugar here. I think the fig overpowers it, so I added my own sweetener.

This was my first Ovation Tea experience, and it was a good one to start with. The high quality of their teas definitely comes through.

Thank you, SimplyJenW, for giving me the opportunity to try this! I was hesitant to order from Ovation Tea since they don’t sell small samples. But now I can be confident that the money I spend will be worth it. Thank you! :)

The four minute steep yielded a beautiful amber liquor. It smells the way oolong should!

It tastes way more beautiful than the last time I brewed it too. I’m getting a little bit of woods-y with very slight floral notes. Maybe there’s a hint of nuttiness in here, but it’s not overpowering like in the Formosa Bai Hao.

Mmm, just the beauty of the Wuyi Mountains on my tongue. I’m impressed by this tea. It offers all the complexity it promised. The longer I drink it, the more I notice its astringency. But it’s quite tolerable. I like this tea.

Yay! Finally, an oolong from Adagio that tastes like an oolong. I’m a happy customer at last.

I don’t know how my opinion of this tea could change so much in such a short time, but I don’t think I like it anymore.

The coconut tastes artificial and leaves a gross aftertaste. So strange, ’cause I really loved this before. Rating of 80 is dropping to 47. Phew!

I decided to give this tea another shot.

The first infusion was definitely still salty peanut shell. But it had a certain sweetness that I don’t remember the first time I tried this tea.

The second infusion was still nutty, but less so. The end of the second cup was fairly astringent. On to the third infusion!

Finally, the salty nuttiness is gone and I’m left with a pretty pleasant cup of tea. Still astringent, but much better flavor overall. Sweeter notes are making themselves visible.

I’ll change my rating from 45 to 50. I might be able to get even more infusions out of these leaves, but I think I’m done.

This tea should go on on to someone who would enjoy it more than me. Would anyone like a sample?

Where to begin! The dry leaves smell like heaven. Very peachy. Very fragrant.

There’s an abundance of pink rose petals, tiny blue cornflowers, and little hard translucent crystal-like rocks (sugar perhaps?). That might explain why this tea is so sweet! I’m impressed with how much is in here besides green tea leaves. Lupicia never skimps on ingredients.

In Japanese, Momoko means ‘peach child.’ It’s an interesting name because this tea reminds me of cotton candy and bubblegum, which I associate with childhood. The peach is very present, but there are also some lovely rose notes.

I can taste the vanilla, and it’s blended so well with the peach flavor. My only negative comment is that this tea is somewhat heavy because of all the rich floral notes. And something sour is pinching the back right side of my mouth. I have no idea what that could be!

This is a very flavorful green tea! It’s very sweet and only a little bit astringent, though not bitter at all. At the end of the sip, I’m getting classic sencha grassiness.

Overall, this is a good flavored tea. Not my favorite of Lupicia’s flavored greens, but still a contender. The second steep was almost identical to the first.

I read the adorable letter from Uniquity to Lady Grey & knew I must try this tea!

But after waiting for it to steep and smelling the aroma, I thought I might have made a mistake. This isn’t like Earl Grey at all.

I took a tentative sip. Yuck! The citrus overwhelmed everything else and almost made me gag!

I re-read Uniquity’s letter and thought I might have to write its antithesis. But I decided to add a little bit of milk and sugar before completely giving up hope.

What a difference!! Suddenly, this tea was more than stomachable; it was wonderful!

The lemon complements the bergamot nicely, and now I’m truly enjoying my cup of Lady Grey (who I always mistakenly call Lady Earl Grey). She definitely is much sweeter than her husband and quite forgiving.

Thank you, Uniquity, for writing such a persuasive letter that I couldn’t help but try and love Lady Grey. I followed your steeping instructions and with the addition of a little skim milk & Truvia, I’m a convert.

Sincerely,
CHAroma

Delicious! Dee-lish!

Not at good as Lupicia’s Earl Grey (which surprised me because this is Twinings!), but still a good substitute when I’m craving that bergamot flavor.

It’s not overly strong bergamot, which I guess a lot of users dislike this blend for. But nevertheless, I still like it!

I don’t want my bergamot eating a hole through my stomach. This tea contains just enough to let me know what I’m drinking without making me woozy.

With just a little bit of sugar, this tea has me ready to tackle anything!

I can’t help but compare this to English Breakfast. It’s a little darker, a little malty-er, but still a robust black breakfast tea.

I actually might like it more! It’s missing the bite that English Breakfast sometimes has. It’s smoother and milder and just a great addition to an otherwise dull, rainy morning.

Also, the cheesy aftertaste is gone that I experienced yesterday. I definitely blame the tap water. It can no longer be trusted. No more funk here!

It’s equally as good as English Breakfast. But I still think the English has a little more get-up-and-go pep! But the Irish is definitely just as good. Yum!

Ah, I just love my English Breakfast. It never disappoints. Thank you, Twinings!

Strange tea, this.

It has a spicy note to it that reminds me of an herb I cook with, but I can’t put my finger on it. Oregano, maybe? But not quite as powerful as oregano.

Overall, it tastes like a light black tea. But it has an interesting vegetal quality that’s probably coming from what I think is the green tea or it could be
lemongrass.

There’s no added fruit flavorings that I can tell. No astringency. Only a slight bitterness from oversteeping since I left the leaves in my cup as I drank it.

I haven’t tasted anything quite like it before. Maybe it’s a custom blend?

If anyone knows what this tea is or where to find it, please message me! It’s driving me crazy that I can’t find any information on it! Also, if you’d like a sample to try for yourself, please message me! I have a limited supply, but I’d appreciate the help identifying it.

It’s not the best tea I’ve ever had, but it’s far from the worst. So, it’s getting a middle of the road rating from me.