Courtney

Thanks Artp for sending me this :)

This is a great tea. It’s so flavourful, yet light and airy. I can’t taste genmaicha at all and barely any, if at all, the strawberries. The tea itself is delicious though.

I’m getting a light green tea with a subtle taste of coconut to sweeten it ever so slightly.

Update: The second steep is also great, very flavourful.

So vanilla, fragrantly vanilla. And creamy black tea. It smells so good. I don’t want to order from Harney & Sons again because I was not happy with their customer service, yet all their teas seem amazing. Gah.

The taste is lovely, but not quite as good as the smell. I’m thinking I may have steeped it too long at just over 3 minutes. The black base really comes through but it overtakes the vanilla just a wee bit too much. I’ve got more to experiment with so I’ll adjust the steeping time next round.

The vanilla does come out more as it cools.

Update April 20/13: The second steep is also pretty good. I find the vanilla more present, while the black is not quite so strong. It’s quite nice.

Thanks jessiwrites!

I’m trying to finish off all my one or two cup sample bags before we leave next week – and trying to get as many swaps in the mail as possible – with any luck all the teas sitting on my counter waiting to leave will be in the mail by the weekend. I’m also trying to decide which teas to bring with me. Any suggestions would be much appreciated :)

This smells quite lovely steeped. This is a lovely black tea. The black tea base tastes like a breakfast tea, which I love. The peppercorns are so great in this just adding enough spice to make this perfect. I can taste the cloves as well, but I’m not so sure about the orange peel.

I’m really enjoying this tea. It’s a nice mid-morning tea that isn’t a plain black but not too flavourful either. A great balance.

Thanks jessiwrites for sending me this to try out :)

This tea is fascinating. The dry mix looked bizarre – like some sort of holiday spice mix you’d use for the dressing. I made the first cup for the fiance while I enjoyed Watermelon Mint Chiller and he said it tasted like spices with a saltiness at the end.

My take is that the caramel is there, the chocolate is there too. And the salt. The salt is there. And that’s what’s making me not fully enjoy this cup. It’s so good up until the end of the sip and the salt comes out. I keep drinking it, hoping the salt will go away, but it’s not leaving. Gah.

I’d say the name of the tea is perfect, and if you like sweet offset with salt, this would be amazing. Evidently, I’m not that person. I’m glad I got to taste this to see what it’s all about though.

I picked some of this up today on a whim. I so LOVE watermelon, and I’m slowly coming around on mint, thanks to Jessi.

The dry scent of this was a mix of appealing and not so appealing (I’m thinking the scent of the eucalyptus threw me off), but the reviews seemed so great so I just decided to go for it. And you know, watermelon!

I was a little thrown there’s not actually watermelon in the ingredients but it does capture the watermelon flavour. The mint is there as well, but not overwhelming at all. I think the eucalyptus and mint come together nicely to even each other out.

The taste mostly reminded me of Nerds. A watermelon flavoured Nerds candy. But not in that sugar, fuzzy teeth way. Just the best flavour part of Nerds, minus the sugary sweetness. I really enjoyed it hot and I could see it being pretty tasty chilled as well.

The only downside is the actual amount of tea. There are next to no white tea leaves and it’s awfully expensive. This may as well be sold as a herbal tea so the price could be cut in half, that way I’d definitely keep it on hand permanently. I’ll have to think about it for now.

I put the resteep of the leaves in the fridge to cold brew, so I’ll update that tomorrow.

Update April 19/13: This is delicious chilled, but nearly completely different then hot. The raspberries really, really come through in the cold brew. I can also taste the eucalyptus but next to no mint. I’m not getting much of a watermelon flavour chilled but it’s still great.

Thanks cteresa for sending this one my way.

There is certainly that signature rooibos medicinal taste here, but it’s not the worst I’ve had. The baked apple I’m getting as well. I’m not so sure about the toffee, though there is a subtle sweetness to it that could be the toffee? Overall a smooth tea, even with that rooibos taste!

I’m glad I got the chance to try this one out :)

Thanks cteresa for sending this my way :)

There is a lovely warm apple scent to this tea, along with a hint of rooibos scent. Hopefully there won’t be too much, if any, rooibos taste.

I would say the taste pretty well matches the smell. Apple with a hint of rooibos. I’m not getting anything pastry-like or resembling a strudel though. It’s not a bad tea at all, probably not one I’d purchase for myself, but I’m happy to have tried it.

Thanks jessiwrites for sending me this to cross off my list :)

My first sips are quite enjoyable. Mostly nutty with a hint of banana. There is a bit of a strange aftertaste. Not aversive, but strange.

I could see this being quite delicious with some sweetening, but I’ll pass on that since it’s good as it too.

I’ll be at my halfway point for exams today! Once the afternoon rolls around I’ll have 3 down, 3 to go. Yes!

Update April 18/13: I just wrote my 4th exam, just two to go now.

I cold brewed this overnight last night to see what would happen. I’d say I like it about equal to the hot version. It doesn’t necessarily taste the same, I’d just drink it either way happily. It has a much more banana scent and taste here, and that bizarre sweet-like aftertaste is slightly stronger in the cold version. It’s as though the cold just made the tastes pop out.

jessiwrites sent me this treasure :)

The smell is so delicious! Gah banana and chocolate. And not a hint of rooibos! Ahh yes. I would actually consider keeping this around in smaller amounts.

I’m definitely getting banana and chocolate, but I don’t think I’m really tasting any nuttiness. Perhaps an ever so subtle hint of coconut in the background, but I’m not completely sure.

Thanks jessiwrites for sending me this one to try out :)

I kept smelling this one waiting for it to cool, and I couldn’t really smell anything tropical or pina colada about it.

However, the first sips were lovely and tropical! Evidently the taste is hidden away in there. I can slightly smell is now that I’ve had a few sips, but still nothing compared to the taste. I think this tea really nailed the pina colada flavour. I’m actually quite impressed.

The resteep is not quite as flavourful but I’m going to enjoy every last drop since I had enough for only one cup :) I also put the used leaves in the fridge to cold brew overnight.

I’m much more impressed with Della Terra’s rooibos teas than their black teas. I don’t know how they do it, but I went from not even being able to handle the scent of rooibos tea to ordering 7 oz. of it in my most recent order. Gah!

My fiance had the first steep of this so I’m now enjoying the second. But sometimes the second steep is the best. The scent wafting out at me is reminiscent of apple cider, yum.

Ah the first couple sips are so comforting. There’s an ever so subtle hint of rooibos taste in the background but it isn’t bothering me tonight. A lovely apple and cinnamon balance. The yogurt must be what gives it the slight creaminess.

This just seems like the perfect tea at this moment. If I didn’t have to finish this chapter before retiring for the evening I could see myself kicking my feet up and just sipping away as I relax and clear my mind. I’ll have to save that moment for another day and just enjoy my cup while making notes about attribution errors and the like tonight.

Only one week left until I’m completely done my exams and we’re off to Vancouver though!

I think perhaps it’s me, and that maple is somehow hard-wired into my taste buds? Both this and Blueberry Crumble were overwhelmingly maple scented and tasting! What’s up with that?

I let this cool and the maple certainly wore off somewhat. I want it to be pineapple though! Should I be steeping this longer or shorter? Different temperatures perhaps?

Update April 16/13: Everyone raves about this tea so I had to try it again. What am I missing? It still smells overwhelmingly of maple. Maybe I’m getting a cake taste? When it was still piping hot I think I caught a hint of pineapple, but not as it cools. I was so hopeful for something delicious here. Darn.

Anyone interested in swapping? I’ve got a few cups worth of a few different Della Terra’s and David’s blends I posted on the swap discussions.

The name of this one intrigued me. Strawberries and kiwi? YUM. I just steeped myself a hot cup and put the resteep in the fridge to cold brew for a while.

It’s alright hot, but in checking out the other reviews, I must say I could see it being better chilled as well.

There’s a taste of strawberries there with a subtle hint of underlying kiwi. I’m thrilled there’s no artificial taste here.

Eeeeee! I got so many awesome teas in the mail today from jessiwrites! http://instagram.com/p/YJMDSOOZAf/

This is my first official honeybush tea! Well, not counting Lemon Chiffon which is rooibos and honeybush. It smells quite cinnamon-y and spicy. I’m intrigued. I have a love/hate relationship with 52Teas blends – not because they aren’t good. The ones I’ve tried have been delicious. But I almost don’t want to try them and love them and then not be able to get them.

Just from the name I was expecting a tea that may have been too sweet for my liking but I’m pleasantly surprised here. This tea is not at all sweet, the cinnamon is there but I’m not getting too much of a baked “roll” type taste. There’s another foreign, but not bad, taste in there I’m guessing is the honeybush. Another pleasant surprise since I really wasn’t sure what to expect, I was just hoping it didn’t have the same medicinal taste as rooibos.

I’m happy I got to try this tea out :)

My kettle has arrived!!

http://instagram.com/p/YBKG2SuZB9/ —> I’m not sure if you guys can see this or not since I’ve got my Instagram on lockdown, but you can always request I add you :)

I decided to try Lime Gelato and Bamboozled together today. Since these are two of my very favourite David’s teas, I wanted to see how well they fared as one.

Okay so this is not too bad at all. I do think I prefer either tea on it’s own but this mix was refreshing in it’s own way. It does somewhat diminish the best of both teas, but not so much that it’s tasteless. I find the bamboo really comes through the most. Very interesting for sure :)

I saw this neat discussion on Russian Tea and I thought I’d give it a go with some strawberry jam in my Kusmi Russian Morning No. 24. Here’s the link to the discussion.

http://steepster.com/discuss/5191-russian-guys-love-tea-too?post_id=90636#forum_post_90636

I do so love the few Kusmi black teas I’ve had the opportunity to try. This black tea is nice and strong, perfect for a bold wake-up tea. Upon seeing this discussion I thought of the strawberry jam sitting in my fridge, just waiting to be used up.

I brewed up my tea normally, then added a dollop of jam and swirled it around. It’s actual quite nice! I didn’t know what to expect. The boldness of the black is ever so slightly diminished but not in a bad way, and the jam flavour lends a sweetness that’s different than adding sugar. I’m not one for overly sweet and the jam seems to be great here and not too sweet at all.

This is a fascinating way to have tea! I’ll have to keep it in mind for when I enjoy this tea next.

This tea is just sitting next to me now and I attempt to work on my presentation. The scent coming from it is not very “real” smelling. I’m excited to try it, but I’m so picky about my fruit. I like fresh fruit and that’s it haha – not chocolate fruit, not fake fruit – just fresh and delicious. Hopefully it will come off more as a strawberry dessert made with real strawberries :)

The taste is an improvement from the scent, but there’s something in there that comes off as “artificial”. It’s certainly nice and creamy, especially for a green and white tea, which is quite lovely. I really wish the strawberry flavour was more true to actual strawberries.

I may put my leaves in the fridge to see how well it tastes cold brewed. Update: It’s better cooled, but I’m still not enjoying it enough to repurchase.

Thanks jessiwrites!

So I over caffeinated the other day in my attempt to keep my caffeine levels relatively stable to stay up late and work on a presentation. However, the delicate caffeine balancing act went awry and for the last 2 days I’ve steered clear of my morning Guayusa and Copabanana.

I have all day to work on a presentation and study for exams so I’m starting my day off with this lovely tea. I’m always a little wary of mint teas, butI like to give every tea a chance. After White Christmas yesterday, mint teas are really looking up :)

This is so creamy and chocolate minty. But it works so well! The mint and chocolate balance each other in the mint isn’t so in-your-face and the chocolate isn’t sickeningly sweet. Then there’s an awesome creaminess. That must be from the vanilla. Considering this tea is made of things I’m usually not fond of and generally avoid – it’s pretty delicious!

This held up well to a resteep :)

Thanks jessiwrites!

Thanks jessiwrites :)

This one is definitely what made all my other teas smell maple-y.

I suppose I could say this is more “crumbly” than “blueberry”, but really when I think of crumble I think of cake, not maple syrup. I’m not getting too much blueberry, perhaps a bit in the background but the maple flavour is much too overwhelming for me.

The second steep was more tolerable, but I still don’t think it does the name “Blueberry Crumble” justice. Thank goodness I enjoy so many other Della Terra teas :)

This was a sample jessiwrites sent my way, to add to my awesome collection of samples she sends.

I really only like mint when I’ve got an upset stomach but the review jessiwrites wrote on this really intrigued me. So today I made a cup and actually ended up pouring it out – not because it was bad, because being in an envelope for a week with other teas had given it a very maple-y scent that made me feel nauseous.

However, once I got a chance to make a resteep the maple-y scent had worn off and I could actually smell the tea itself. Yum. I’m really impressed with the resteep – I actually have to keep reminding myself it is a resteep.

The black base works really well here and the mint is not overpowering at all thanks to the marshmallow root. The marshmallow root also gives this tea a subtle sweetness. This tea is really quite awesome, I’d actually consider keeping this in my cupboard, only that isn’t an option. Darn!

Yet another successful day in my quest to love the traditional matcha! I do so love these matchas in smoothies, but it’s a nice break from my normal tea routine to drink a straight matcha from my bubble teacups, which I reserve just for this use.

The nutmeg in this is definitely the strongest here. It does make me crave pumpkin pie, which is my favourite pie. Now, if only it took away the craving rather than creating it!

I’ve been really trying over the last few days to acquire a taste for traditional matchas and in my Caramel Matcha experience today I’ve noticed some success in the acquisition. Yes!

Also I wanted to make this tea note to share that my fiance ordered me a new kettle today :) The silicone round the handle of my current kettle has split, so he ordered a lovely glass Breville kettle. Yay!

I went to David’s today to refill some of my herbal stash since they’re all getting low and I decided to pick up 10g of this, despite my “meh” feel about chai teas. It may be wise to take this tea note with a grain of salt considering my limited experience in the chai department.

This has a creamy texture to it that I wasn’t expecting. I can taste the fennel and peppercorns and a sweetness that must be the “candied fennel”. The peppercorn scent reminded me of Hot Lips, hence the reason I picked this up. I do so love Hot Lips. The cardamom adds a nice flavour as well. I’m not too sure I can taste the ginger – thank goodness, I don’t care for ginger at all – or the vanilla flavouring. I’m thinking the cardamom and cinnamon blend together, so I’ll say I can taste the cinnamon too.

Overall, the ingredients listed can all be tasted in this tea (with the exception of the ginger, though that could just be me). I’m really enjoying my cup of it but I don’t think I’ll keep it on hand regularly – perhaps every so often when the mood strikes me I’ll pick up another 10g.

I mixed equal parts of Guayusa and Luscious Watermelon for my morning tea today. I’m just sipping away at it now and it’s great!

The sweetness of the Luscious Watermelon really balances out the earthiness of the Guayusa. Guayusa continually amazing me with it’s flexibility and deliciousness.

Happy Easter everyone!

Update April 5/13: I chose Guayusa with Copabanana this morning. This may be the best mix yet. I want to love Copabanana more than I actually do and this mix just makes it for me. I’m tempted to pick up some more for the sole purpose of mixing it with Guayusa. The Amish cinnamon bread I’m enjoying with my tea for breakfast probably isn’t hurting either haha.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Update: Tried this as both a 1:1 and 1:2 ratio for Copabanana. I ’d say the 1:1 ratio is tastier. These teas work so well together in both balancing and bringing out the best flavours in each other.