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I ripped open this sample package I bought back in June and took a deep whiff of a pineapple, coconut, apple yumfest!! I know this is supposed to be a great summer iced tea. And quite frankly, I’m not ready to give in to fall yet (despite my love of pumpkin and spice teas). Everyone was raving about this tea a few months back. Who cares what season it is? I’m sure I’ll enjoy it just as much now as I would have then.

I’ll make the first cup hot and ice the second. Seriously though, the dry leaf aroma is a cornucopia of awesomeness! This will definitely help me stay cheery while I do a ton of laundry. I’m surrounded by mountains with a kitty who has a desire to mountain climb. Mr. Frodo!! Stay off my underwear!! LOL!

Anyway, time to try the hot version. Mmmm, yum!! This is delicious! Tropicalia is the perfect name to describe these flavors. I don’t think DAVIDsTEA could come up with a better combination of fruity summery flavors. I’m not gonna’ lie, I kind of chugged this cup down. Time to try the iced version!

Since I re-steeped the same leaves, I decided to go for a solid 10 minute infusion. Of course, then I left the apartment to go down to the laundry room and missed when the timer went off. So, who really knows how long this steeped for. Even though this is a beloved iced tea, ironically I enjoyed it better hot. It’s just okay iced in my opinion. As good as this tea is, it doesn’t really qualify as dinner. Therefore, I’m off to make some!

I’m emotionally and physically exhausted. It’s time to sit back and relax with a nice cup of tea. Lots of people have given these dragon pearls high marks, so I thought it would be an easy winner.

I used 5 pearls instead of the recommended 3-4 because I prefer strong tea to weak tea. Last thing I want is to brew up a new tea and then find that it tastes like barely flavored water. I’m really glad I added that extra pearl! The first cup was pretty calm. Light cocoa notes playing in a sunny field of Yunnan. Anything lighter than this and it probably would be barely flavored water.

The second steep was for 2 minutes, and it has a much richer and more developed flavor. There’s an added component of spiciness to this cup too. This is a much better tasting cuppa than the first. Let’s go for a third steep for 3 minutes. The spiciness has dissipated, but the Yunnan flavor is still going strong.

This is truly an excellent tea. It’s not bitter or astringent, and it’s put me in a better mood. The world just doesn’t seem as dreary when you’ve got a nice cup of tea in your hand.

I’m soooo sleepy but there’s still a couple hours left in the workday. I need a cuppa! I grabbed a free tea bag of this at work several months ago, and it’s sat in my office desk drawer ever since. Time to drink it down!

I let it steep for about 4 minutes, give or take a little. The resultant brew is a lovely reddish brown with a divine earl grey aroma! I’m actually looking forward to this now! (Earl Grey is not one of my all time favorites, but beggars can’t be choosers).

Hmm, not bad! This stuff actually tastes halfway decent. I can feel a bergamot-induced headache coming on though. Ugh. From sleepy to headache-y. Why don’t I just bring my good teas in to work? Oh yeah, ‘cause they’re a pain in the behind to brew. I just can’t win.

Oof, where did this pessimism come from? I need another cup of 52teas’ Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake to turn this day back around. Really, this tea is okay though. I think I’m just feeling overly sensitive to bergamot today.

I’m starting the morning off right with a cup of the new 52teas creation! The dry leaf aroma is immediately creamy cheesecake and sugary caramel, followed by a pure pumpkin and spice undertone. Mmmmm!! This is going to be decadent! The aroma alone is to die for!

The brewed tea aroma is all I could hope for and more! It smells like pumpkin spice tea at its best. Now this, my friends, may cure me of my Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte addiction. First sip is spice with an aftertaste of sweet caramel. I’m going to add skim milk and Truvia to try and coax out more flavors.

Hmm, the tea base actually tastes a little weak here. The predominant flavor is caramel followed by pumpkin spice and then maybe a hint of something cheesecake-like. Overall, I really like it! It’s super sugary sweet, so if that’s not your thing, you may want to steer clear. But I have a big sugar tooth, so this is hitting the spot nicely. It’s definitely a dessert tea. I probably should have chosen something a little stronger to wake me up this morning. But waking up is overrated.

The more I sip on it, the more I notice how perfectly balanced the spices are. I don’t think the proportions could be any better. Bravo, Frank! It’s also a mood lifter. I have a feeling today is going to be a great day! I’m loving this tea!! I’m going to take the second cup to go so I’m not late for work. Enjoy this beautiful Wednesday everyone! And if you haven’t bought a pouch of this yet, I suggest you do soon before it’s gone!

52teas always seems to create something magical that pulls me in even when I’m hemorrhaging money into an over budget wedding. Gooey butter cake?? Who can resist that?! Obviously, not me. ;) Budget smudget.

The dry leaf aroma is butter and…something fruity? That’s unexpected. Reading the label, it must be the lemon myrtle. What’s lemon myrtle doing in my butter cake? Ironically, I had some butter cake earlier today. It was definitely not fruit-flavored, although it was paired with cinnamon apples and vanilla ice cream (which by the way is a to-die-for combination!).

The brewed tea aroma is most definitely lemon! Lots of lemon with black tea, and a hint of butter. Reminds me of that lemon, marshmallow, green, kitten-in-the-sky tea from a while back (if you couldn’t tell from that horribly inept description, I’m referring to Sun and Cloud Mist Tea). Kind of tastes like a black tea version of that too.

I’m not sure why lemon was added to this blend. It’s not a normal ingredient in any butter cake I’ve had. And it overwhelms the butter flavor almost completely! Hmm, well that’s a bit of a disappointment. It’s not a bad tea. But it’s not the gooey, buttery, cakey tea that I wanted.

It’s also a little bitter. I’m going to add some skim milk and Truvia and see what happens. Wow, much better! I also altered my expectations whilst exiting the kitchen. If I sip this thinking I’m about to have a nice black tea with lemon, it surpasses expectations! It’s really very yummy. But if I think I’m about to indulge in a liquefied butter cake, I’m left disappointed.

Goes to show that expectations really can alter our perceptions. I think I’ll stick with thinking of this as a lemon black. Because in that respect, it’s very very good.

Apricot Guayusa! My first flavored guayusa. This is definitely better than unflavored guayusa. Nice apricot flavor. It’s not bad. I wish I had more to say about it, but it’s a fairly simple cup of tea. There’s not a lot of dimension to guayusa in my opinion. It’s a unique flavor, just not one of my favorites. It is nice every once in a while for a change of pace. Thanks to Kittenna for the chance to try another Butiki creation!

Hmm, this tea is pretty bland. Not sure what all the hubbub is about. I received this sample from the lovely Kittenna who also sent along a giant assortment of teas (thank you!!!). The entire package smells like a hodge podge of tea aromas. So every time I open a baggie and have a whiff before brewing, there’s no way to tell it apart from the rest. It just smells like hodge podge.

But usually once I steep the tea, the brewed tea aroma is clean and whatever the tea is supposed to smell like. But this one? The brewed tea aroma still smells like hodge podge! Which leads me to believe that maybe this little sample overwhelmed all the other aromas in the package…but then it should be quite flavorful, no? Hmm, I’m perplexed. It’s not a bad flavor per say. Just light and kind of neutral and a tad hodge podge-y like the aroma.

I’ll go for a second steep before calling the verdict though. This time I used less water and let it steep for a full 6 minutes. Hmm, there’s really no nutty pistachio flavor to speak of still. Perhaps I let the sample sit too long in my cupboard…Suffice it to say that this tea is not a winner with me. Sad. It had so much potential.

It’s fall, so it’s the perfect time of year to try this Pumpkin Chai from DAVIDsTEA! I’m so excited. I’ve been drinking Starbucks’ spiced pumpkin lattes to get my fall fix. But I’ve really wanted to try this Pumpkin Chai from the moment I heard about it. Thanks to Kittenna for making it possible!

The dry leaves definitely smell pumpkin-y. Part of me really wants to grab these orange hearts out of the mix and pop ‘em in my mouth just to see if they do taste like pumpkin. But alas, I’ll have to wait until the tea is brewed. Pouring hot water over the leaves releases a whoosh of pumpkin spice aroma. Mmm, wow. This smells awesome!!

And it tastes just as delicious as it smells. Mmm yum yum yummy yum! I’m not sure it can replace my Starbucks addiction, but this is pretty incredible. I’m definitely going to have to stock up on this myself! Thanks again Kittenna!!

I’m in an adventurous mood this morning, so I’m going to try something new. My very vocal kitty watched as I quickly brewed up this sample from Kittenna. The dry leaf aroma is chocolate and herbs and spices, while the brewed tea aroma is chocolate and licorice. Really strong licorice! No strawberry is detectable.

There’s lots of floaties that escaped from my strainer, and the liquor is a strange muddy, translucent brown. The taste is kind of strange too. I’m not sure what to make of it. The aftertaste is too funky for my liking. I guess chocolate, herbs, and licorice just isn’t my love elixir. Thanks to Kittenna for the chance to try it! Although I’m not sure it’s bothered me in the past, I think I share your opinion of licorice in teas now.

If anyone is looking for a true chocolate covered strawberry experience, go with Love Tea #7.

Time for an oldie but a goodie! I’ve only tried this milk oolong (or any milk oolong for that matter) on one other occasion. It was delightful!! And I believe I even forgot about it at one point and let it steep for an hour or two and it was still good!

I’m definitely in the mood for oolong, so I picked this one out of my stash, set the tea kettle to boil, and pulled up my favorite application, Word! Today is going to be the day of exclamation points, I can just tell. ;) I can hear the water beginning to boil, and I’m getting super excited!! I’m going to try the first infusion at 1.5 minutes.

It really feels great to be drinking tea and blogging again. It’s very relaxing. And God knows I could use some relaxation after the non-stop dishwashing tour I went on this afternoon. Stupid dishwasher is broken. The maintenance guy came in, looked at it for 15 seconds and said it’s irreparable. On top of that, they don’t have any replacement dishwashers in stock. So, I’m on my own for the foreseeable future.

Thank God I’m leaving this ****hole in a month. It’s just one thing after another. Earlier this week, I went to check the mail and my key didn’t fit in the mailbox. I went by the office and they said they “accidently” changed the lock. What idiots. Seriously, who does that? Ugh.

So yeah, I could use a nice relaxing cup of tea. Mmmm, this is a yummy first cup! It’s sweet and floral and very honey-esque. I’m going to have to take the second infusion to go because I’m off to meet my fiancé, father, and step-mother for dinner. Although it wasn’t a whole lot of time to relax, this tea definitely settled my Ch’i. I’m feeling good!