CHAroma

I used to own a Piao I Teapot, but it broke. The stainless steel ball came loose, and I had no idea how to fix it. I couldn’t find pictures of what it was supposed to look like, and no one could tell me how to put it back together. Since I bought it when on vacation in Seattle but live in Maryland, I couldn’t just go back to the teashop where I purchased it. It took me forever to figure out how to fix it, and even then, it wasn’t a lasting solution.

In the end, it turns out that this product was not made to last. Apparently if the mesh strainer doesn’t stay down, the whole thing comes apart and the ball moves off the track. I tried super gluing the mesh strainer back in place so that it would stay down, but even that didn’t work. It kept popping up anyway any time I turned it upside down, which I had to do to clean it. Tea leaves really stick to that thing!

So while it was great while it lasted, I can’t recommend this infuser. Your money is better spent elsewhere.

I had this yesterday at Panera. Per CupofTree’s suggestion, I used two teabags in one cup. The results were fantastic! Mmm, nice hot peach tea with a pinch of ginger! This tea has 100% yum factor, assuming you like peach of course.

I added a little bit of Stevia in the Raw (kindly given to me by my co-worker) and then a splash of skim milk. This is just a lovely cup of peach tea. The ginger is a side note and not overpowering. It mingles nicely with the peach and adds to the overall warming sensation of drinking hot tea on a cold winter day. I really liked this a lot more than I thought I would!

Thanks for the tip, CupofTree!! That extra teabag made all the difference. :)

Yum! I’ve been drinking this a lot lately once I get to work. I especially like it with just a tiny bit of sweetener to really make the rose sing. I can only manage to get one floral rose steep out of it though. Second steep is always very watered down tea with no rose aroma or flavor. Still, this first infusion makes up for the lack of re-steepability.

Mmm, it’s like walking through a garden of roses in the English countryside. Or at least that’s where I imagine I am instead of my drab government office. (I exaggerate, it’s not that drab). Yay for tea! Rose tea can turn any office into a more enjoyable place! :)

This is the last tea in my swap package from Kittenna!! Thank you soooo much for sharing all these teas with me! I’ve really enjoyed them and found some new all-time favorites. :)

I really need this highly caffeinated cup of guayusa this morning. I have not been getting enough sleep lately, and I have a big weekend full of bridesmaid dress shopping with my girls! I’m also trying on my wedding dress for the first time :D and seeing Skyfall. Woot! (For anyone who’s interested…here’s a link to my wedding dress, although I’m wearing a bejeweled belt instead of the flowery doodad that’s pictured here: http://www.jlmcouture.com/Tara-Keely/Bridal/Spring/2012/Style-2200).

The dry leaf aroma of this one is mostly guayusa. I’m not detecting much else, although there is a little cube of something beige colored in here. I let it steep for 4 minutes, and when I took the infuser basket out of the cup, there was about ¼ less water!! These guayusa leaves really soak it up I guess.

As for the taste? Well it may just be me, but this pretty much tastes like unflavored guayusa. There is a little bit of caramel-like sweetness at the beginning of the sip, but 95% of the flavor is plain guayusa. Maybe it didn’t hold onto its flavoring well? Or maybe it was lightly flavored to start with? I don’t know.

But as far as guayusas go, this is all right. That little bit of added sweetness cuts through some of the oddness of the guayusa base. I like this stuff! And I do feel more alert to boot. Thanks again to the ever generous Kittenna!!

Why is everything sold out on the DAVIDsTEA website??! GOD!!!!! *huff. It’s so inconvenient. I guess no advent calendar or Pumpkin Chai or Love Tea #7 OR Mom’s Apple Pie for me! Ugh. :(

Oh well, on to the first tea from my recent swap with Indigobloom!! I have about 30 teas from swaps anyway, so I really shouldn’t be ordering new tea. It’s getting late so I believe a white tea is in order. This is my first tea from The Persimmon Tree, and it sounds good. I wear a guava-flavored lip gloss every day. ;)

This tea has spot ON guava flavor! The white tea provides a nice floral, sweet, nutty base that complements the guava fruit perfectly. I love this!!! Only a tiny bit of astringency sneaks its way into the end of the cup as it cools. It’s really very nice, balanced and even keel. It’s hard for me not to gulp it down! Thanks for sharing Indigobloom!! I’m really enjoying this on a somewhat boring, tiresome day.

Well, this night is turning around. I just found out that a movie I worked on about 2 years ago was finally released! Looks like it may have gone straight to video, and they changed the name. So, that’s why I haven’t been able to find anything about it. But in case anyone is interested, it’s called “A Little Bit of Heaven” starring Kate Hudson. I did the visual effects in all the heaven sequences, mainly rotoscoping, blue screen keys, and mark removal. It’s available on Netflix watch instantly. :D

I requested a sample of this and Kittenna generously obliged. :) These little balls of herbs and sucrose sure are interesting. They unravel into yellow-ish green leaves that look like clovers. The aroma and flavor is very light. I used one ball in about 8 oz. of water. Anything less and I think this would be a flavorless cup of warm water.

As others have said, it does kind of remind me of green tea, but only because it’s not even remotely similar to any other type of tea. It’s not vegetal to me though nor is it herbal-y. This really does have its own unique taste. It also seems to have more flavor as it cools. I’m definitely getting more sweetness now too.

Interesting! I rate it slightly above average. Overall, it’s not something I would frequently crave. But I’m glad I got to try it because I would have remained curious forever. Thanks Kittenna!!

This is an interesting tea. I can’t decide how I feel about it. The sweetness of the strawberry seems to conflict with the hay in the silver needle. It’s strange. The immediate aftertaste is cloyingly sweet strawberry fruit snacks. But once that fades, the taste that lingers is actually pretty great. Just perfect silver needle with a light strawberry essence. That after aftertaste is what I like most about this tea and keeps me sipping. I think I’ll re-steep this one and continue to enjoy it! Thank you Kittenna for sharing yet another great tea with me!

I enjoyed a cup of this tea on the flight home from my brother’s wedding in New Orleans. The wedding was great, and I especially enjoyed reconnecting with family I haven’t seen in a decade. We flew back safely on Saturday afternoon before Hurricane Sandy hit. Thank goodness we didn’t stick around all weekend for Voodoo Fest or we might not have been able to get home at all! Luck was on our side.

But man, the weather was cold that last day in New Orleans! It was supposed to be sunny and 84 every day we were there. Then on Friday evening, we walked outside and the temperature had dropped about 20 degrees in 10 minutes. Yikes! I don’t think people had turned the a/c off yet either, so we pretty much froze everywhere we went.

The plane ride home was especially cold, so I asked for a cup of hot tea. They served me this Mother Parker’s Orange Pekoe. It wasn’t the best cup of tea I’ve ever had, but it was hot and tasted like tea, so it met my expectations. :) I’d rank it somewhere in between Lipton and Twining’s. Not bad stuff!

On to the next herbal! The aroma is strongly ginger followed by light strawberry. The taste is just like the aroma. Hmm, this one’s not bad. It’s not uber delicious, but that’s because it’s an herbal. :P

It’s not my favorite combination of flavors. But it is nice and calming after my earlier bamboo experience. I think I need something dessert-y though, so I’m off to make another tea! Thanks to Kittenna for the sample. Only 3 teas left from your giant swap package! :D

Hurricane Sandy came and went and oh, we made out like bandits! The power only flickered on and off a couple times. We’ve had no damage at all. Very lucky indeed. My in-laws-to-be, on the other hand, lost several trees that took out their shed and are blocking their driveway. So, they’re stuck until further notice! :/ But we’ve got power so I’m having some tea! ;)

Oh dear Lord!! The aroma of this tea is potent to say the least. I don’t think this is going to be a winner with me. I let my fiancé sniff the cup and he said, “It doesn’t smell good.” LOL! I’m afraid I concur with his assessment. I also set the cup down across the room so I didn’t have to smell it as I wrote my initial thoughts down. Phew! I better gather my courage and take a sip already!

At first, I thought, “Hmm, it’s not as bad as it smells.” Then the aftertaste overwhelmed me and I thought, “Oh yes, actually it is.” Yuck! I am not a fan of bamboo tea. Oh no! I’m so sorry to write such an awful review, but I just can’t take this tea. I suppose I’m more of a traditionalist who favors blacks, greens, and whites. Herbals have never been my first choice.

But hey, life is all about new experiences. Maybe I would have loved bamboo tea! You never know till you try. Thanks to Kittenna for the sample. I’ll leave the rest for you to enjoy. :P

I’ve gotta’ get another cup of tea in before the power goes out. Thanks Hurricane Sandy! (That was sarcasm in case you couldn’t tell). This tea’s aroma is weird. It smells like blueberry and…something else. You know, it almost smells like green unripened blueberries. Hmm, it’s a weird aroma to be sure.

Ook! Yeah, that aroma is even weirder and, I’m sad to say, grosser in the taste. It’s definitely an unripened blueberry taste. Tart and bitter and blech. I’m not sure what could save this tea. I find it undrinkable. Just yuck all around. :( Nope, two sips and I’m done. This one is going down the drain. Thank you to Kittenna for providing the sample though! Sorry, I’m just not a fan.

Holy crap!! This tea is EXCELLENT! I guess I wasn’t expecting much from a coconut tea, but this is truly incredible! It tastes strongly of coconut and vanilla, as described. But the black tea base lends a chocolaty flavor too. Yum! I especially recommend adding some sweetener. Wow!! Pie indeed!

Too bad it doesn’t hold up to a second infusion very well. But the first cup is well worth buying a package anyway! Thanks sooooo much to Kittenna for giving me a sample. I’ve only wanted to try this for over a year. :)

I woke up with a very nice cup of 52teas’ Butterbeer and then remembered that I had meant to brew up a new tea. Whoops! So after having a second cup of Butterbeer, I washed out my tea paraphernalia and began anew with this sample from Kittenna.

The brewed tea aroma smells strongly of nori (seaweed). The taste is a fresh, spring green and luckily not grassy. I’m surprised this tastes so wonderful considering it’s a rather old sample and hasn’t been stored in ideal conditions. But it tastes great! No bitterness or astringency. Just a nice nori flavor.

The description on Verdant’s website describes this as sweet and juicy with citrus lime notes and a creamy grassiness reminiscent of matcha. I’m definitely getting all of that! Although I do have to say that in my opinion, it’s more sweet/juicy/citrus than creamy/grassy/matcha-like. Which is a good thing for me because I’m not 100% sure that I like matcha yet. But a sweet, juicy, fresh, spring green?? Oh yes!

On to steep number two at 175 degrees for 2 minutes. Hmm, maybe I should have let it steep just a little bit longer. I can still detect nori, but it’s much quieter now. I am getting a bit more creaminess than in the first cup. For steep #2.5, I tried putting the tea back in the second cup for another minute, but that was definitely a mistake. It brought bitterness to the forefront of the sip, although the aftertaste retained its lovely nori self. I won’t hold that against the tea though. It’s my fault for shoddily infusing it.

On to steep number three! I’ll try 175 degrees for 2.5 minutes. Success! This third cup is back to the perfection of the first. Not a trace of bitterness to be found. Mmm, yum! This is such a lovely tea. I’ve had a very relaxing Sunday. I slept till noon, laid around all day with my kitty cat watching Halloween movies, and now I’m enjoying a truly wonderful tea from Verdant. Thanks for making it possible Kittenna!!!

I NEED some tea. You don’t even know. I’ve had the worst past couple days of my life. The only thing that could have made it worse was if someone close to me died. Emphasis on the close to me part because someone did die, my dad’s best friend’s father. My finances are in tatters, I didn’t get a promotion that I was really counting on, my fiancé and I have been fighting nonstop, and my eye doctor sent my glasses out for new lenses and UPS lost them!

And did I mention that I can’t wear contacts because my eyes are allergic? I don’t have back up glasses, and my brother’s wedding is in 3 days, for which I’m leaving tomorrow. GREAT! Now I get to be blind for my brother’s wedding!! The eye doctor refuses to pay for the glasses, so I just went to Lenscrafters and spent about $450 to buy new glasses, which I can’t even see out of because they don’t carry the anti-reflective lenses in the store. They’re special order only. I need to see NOW, not in 10-14 days!

These glasses literally suck. I’m seeing at about 60-80%. I’m so upset and frustrated. It’s just problem on top of problem on top of catastrophe. My face is completely broken out, my eyes are super irritated from trying to wear contacts anyway, and I’m having a huge allergic flare-up from my cat. Yes, I’m allergic to my cat. Don’t ask me why I bought him in the first place. I love animals, and he wriggled his way into my heart. I just want to scream. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, now that I got that off my chest…I’ll try and concentrate on this tasting note. Sadly, I think my rant has tainted the tea. It just tastes mediocre, like barely flavored water. I think this is another sample that I let sit for too long before trying it. Oh poop. I’m giving up on this one. I’m gonna’ go brew something else. Thanks to Kittenna for providing the sample, and my apologies for ranting my problems to all of you and high jacking this tasting note with negative crap.

Oh wow! Yum! This is great! I don’t know why this tea has received mediocre reviews. The brewed aroma is very reminiscent of apple pie: the buttery cinnamon apple filling and the flaky pie crust. The taste is uber delicious! It’s not exactly like apple pie, but this is tea. It can’t be exactly like apple pie or that’s what it’d be! This is the next best thing and waaaaay fewer calories.

I added a little sweetener (gasp! I know!) and it did bring the flavor profile closer to sugary pie goodness and less like apple flavored green tea. I’m really enjoying this! In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I finished the first cup before even starting this tasting note. Time for a second cup!! Thanks Kittenna for this fantastic sample!

Sipdown…finally finishing this up after it’s sat in my cupboard for seriously about 3-4 years. I’m enjoying this last cup, but I don’t think I’ll restock it. I’d rather have a whole leaf, fresh houjicha. Not much more to say about it than what I have in the past. See my other tasting note.

Like Dinosara, I picked this up at Panera with my chicken caesar salad for lunch. Salads are cold, and I wanted something warm to go with it. So this seemed to be a safe choice. I drank it straight.

In the end, the tea was fairly weak but the flavor that was there was good. It definitely needs a lot more mango in my opinion. I didn’t taste much mango or fruitiness in general. I suppose the tea was slightly sweeter than if the mango flavoring had not been added. I think if I had added milk or sugar, then that’s all I would have tasted.

Overall, it warmed me up and was pleasant enough. It’s one of those teas that I’d rather have than no tea at all. But if presented with a lot of other tea choices (especially loose leaf), I’d go with something else.

I’m feeling kind of wonky, so I think that may translate into a wonky review. But here goes anyway! I’m enjoying my first cup of tea in my new apartment! This place ROCKS! But there’s sooooo much work to be done. Unpacking, organizing, decorating, and lots of trips to Lowes and Goodwill are in my future. I am super tired just thinking about it, so I thought this tea might be a good one to start with. Isn’t ginseng for energy? Well, there’s A LOT of ginseng in this tea! So, if you’re a fan of the taste, you’ll love this tea.

While waiting for the cup to cool, I read the purported health benefits. Prevents the decaying of teeth…?! Okay! Well, I can’t dislike this tea now! I wonder if that’s really true…anyway, this is an interesting tea. It reminds me of Blue People, but heavier on the ginseng and minus the awesome cooling sensation in the aftertaste of Blue People (see that tea here: http://steepster.com/teas/vital-tea-leaf/1803-blue-people).

First steep was 1 minute. Second steep was 2 minutes. Second cup is actually too strong for me. I don’t think I’d drink this regularly. The oolong is overwhelmed by ginseng, and I much prefer a plain oolong flavor. Still, it’s not bad and it fits the high quality standard of all Teavivre teas. It’s just not the tea for me. Also I’m still feeling just as tired as when I started drinking this tea, so not sure how energizing it really is… By the way, broccoli soup is gross. And it definitely does not go with ginseng oolong tea. Eww. I think I’ll call it a night and go to sleep.

Oh YEAH!!! This one smells AWESOME! I’m on a white tea kick since the closet flooding episode last night. This is going to be an incredible feast of chai and white tea!

Just the aroma alone is amazing. The taste? HEAVEN!!! I agree with others that the peach is a very subtle flavor and easily overlooked. It lends a slightly fruity, sweet taste to the nuttiness of the base. But the most prominent flavor is the chai spices. Oh, and what a perfect balance of spices too!

This is a soft and quiet chai. It’s not in-your-face spicy, but rather creeps up on you softly and makes you wonder what exactly you’re drinking. I don’t mean to say it’s diluted though. It’s not watery; it’s just a soft flavor.

I LOVE THIS!!! My kitty seems to like it too. He keeps sticking his nose in my cup and inhaling the yummy aroma. Doesn’t seem to want to give it a lick though. Silly kitty. Thank you so much to Kittenna for sharing a sample with me! I wish I wouldn’t have skipped this one when it was released. Yet another winner from 52teas!

White Peony Tea always reminds me of hay and sunshine. Today, it’s a little different. Today it’s dry summer grass lightly laced with salt. Yum!

It’s the perfect calming cup of tea that I need after a stressful day of packing. We’re moving in 3 days, and we’ve been packing for 4. Tonight I tried to tackle the front coat closet, which I use to store a lot of my old costumes from high school plays and musicals. Somehow, the entire closet was wet and moldy! I have no idea how, but it’s as if the water is seeping up through the carpet. I think my costumes made it through mostly unscathed, but my computer software didn’t fare as well. Mold covered the boxes that were on the floor. Ugh. What a pain.

Anyway, this cup of tea is hitting the spot nicely. After two cups, I’ve mostly gotten over the closet. Mostly. :/ Maybe the third cup will take mostly to completely. I think if any tea had that power, this would be the one. :)

My favorite part of Bai Mu Dan is the prominent flavor of hay. And with the hay always comes the sunshine. It reminds me of happier days riding horses with my best friend, returning to the barn after a long trail ride and kicking a bale of hay down from the loft into our horses’ stalls. But more than just bringing up happy memories, it promises future happiness as well. Thank you to Teavivre for this beautiful white tea!

This tea has gotten some really low marks from the Steepster community. Therefore, I had low expectations but was holding out hope nonetheless.

There is a surprisingly potent aroma and flavor to this one. But honestly, it does taste like Cherry Coke in my opinion. The cherry is prominent, as is that classic Coca-Cola flavor: overly sweetened cola nut with a caramel aftertaste. I’m drinking it hot and sweetened by Truvia. It would probably be more enjoyable and Coke-like as an iced tea.

However, just because this tastes like a tea version of Cherry Coke doesn’t mean that I like it. In general, Coca-Cola upsets my stomach since I stopped drinking soda a few years ago. This tea is similar. Although I don’t necessarily feel sick, it doesn’t make me feel 100% right as rain either.

My body anticipates feeling ill just by tasting the flavor of Coke it seems. So although it was fun to try a new tea, I think I’ll avoid this one in the future. Thanks to Kittenna for the chance to try it!

Cherry Garcia Black Tea complements of Kittenna!!! As others have commented, these leaves are interesting. There are big pieces of freeze-dried cherries, small nuggets of chocolate, an abundance of tiny minced leaves, and then some more normal whole looking leaves. Interesting is the right description. I wonder how this will turn out.

I’m not much of a tea purist when it comes to 52teas’ dessert blends. So I added skim milk and Truvia before tasting it. The brewed tea definitely smells like cherries and chocolate. Mmm! And it tastes wonderful too!! The most prominent flavor is dark chocolate.

I’ve never thought that ice cream translates into tea well. And honestly, this tea is no exception. I don’t taste ice cream. But I do taste a creamy, chocolaty, yummy, cherry tea. Thanks again Kittenna!! I’m surprised by how many teas I still have left in this swap box! You’re one generous gal! :)

Reading all these posts about matcha really makes me want some! The closest thing I have at the office is this bagged, minced green tea. When I say minced, I mean shredded into itty bitty tiny dust particles. And yes, that means they escape from the fine mesh of the bag. Still, it’s green tea (or close enough to it) so I can’t complain.

I used the tap at work, which says the water is about 200°F. I then let the cup sit for a little while before adding the bag, so I can’t say for sure what temperature the water was. Definitely not hot enough to scorch the leaf particles. After a three minute steep, I removed the bag and took a sip.

Just as I remember, it’s vaguely grassy swampwater. Not terribly sophisticated but could be worse. I gulped it down and promptly re-steeped the bag. Sometimes all you need is tea! And now I’m a couple minutes closer to the end of the work day. :)

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!