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BALLS!!!! I’m not going to give S’mores Chai a numerical rating because I knew that my liking it was a long shot. 52teas chai teas are just not for me unfortunately. Too peppery? I don’t know exactly what the problem is, but I keep buying Frank’s new chai flavors because I always hold out hope (and I’m a shameless addict).

Mad props to Frank for making S’mores Chai vegan! It was worth buying it for that reason alone :) I’d love to gift my 52teas chai(s) to a good home, so please let me know if you’re interested. Don’t be shy… yes, I’m talking to YOU!

I need a good kick in the pants because my productivity has come to a screeching halt. I would typically rely on my good friend Queen Catherine to pull me by the ear and make me snap to, but alas I’m out of THE QUEEN. How did this happen?!

I’m hoping that another queen might be able to help me out of my evening malise. Queen Victoria may not be quite as feisty as Queen Catherine, but she’s no slouch! Queen Victoria is an icreadible blend of green and black teas with the sweetness of jasmine and the smoky goodness of Lapsang Souchong.

Two cups later… I’ve not gotten the swift kick in the pants that I needed, but I do feel like I’ve gotten a stern talking to. We will be recomending this tea (the royal we).

I don’t tend to be too fond of flowery teas, but this organic Bai Mu Dan is only very slightly floral. In fact, the liquor is so smooth and delicate that I find myself working overtime trying to identify the flavor elements. BUT then I remember to relax and surrender to the tea. Yeeessss… there’s a sweet, fruity essence that lingers on my pallet. What a lovely, delicate, floral, fruity, and smooth cuppa.

Chocolate rocket. CHOCOLATE rocket! CHOCOLATE ROCKET!!

Imagine me running around the house with my arms extended like airplane wings chanting CHOCOLATE ROCKET! The dogs look puzzled and a little put off that I have awakened them from their afternoon slumber with tea madness, but they don’t really get me anyway.

I was a little wary when I first opened my bag of Date Nut Muffin Rooibos because the aroma wasn’t enticing me at all. As weird as it sounds, I always fear my rooibos having that weird aftertaste that can only really be described as “rooibosy” and I thought I smelled some indication of that in this blend.

BUT I was wrong, wrong, wrong, so blissfully wrong! There is no weird “rooibosy” aftertaste in Date Nut Muffin Rooibos. This blend features a genuinely tasty combination of cinnamon, dates, and walnuts that makes for a convincing muffin(esque) flavor. I’m likin’ it!

P.S. How are my fellow Steepsters doing? I’m going to get my act together and start logging on regularly again because I miss my fellow tea-fiends!

Lemon-Lime Meringue Kukicha is a VIT (Very Important Tea) indeed! The aroma is intoxicating and the liquor is tangy, sweet, and creamy all at once. This tea is very refreshing and satisfying with a bit of agave as a dessert tea. Yum!

I have to run but I wanted to check in with my Steepster friends. I hope you’re all well :))

Yeah, this tea blend is fantastic iced and it’s the perfect way to rehydrate after working out. I can easily polish off a pitcher a day.

The Teavana people can be tricksy and false… but I admit to loving this blend.

This is my cuppa chai! Cool Coconut Chai is a spicealicious red rooibos based chai with a creamy coconut twist. I couldn’t resist adding a bit of agave and coconut cream to this tea and it made the flavors sing. So very, very, very yum.

I’ve been away from Steepster more than I like for the past week and I’m missing my tea-friends. Why must life get in the way of my fun???

Apple Cinnamon Rooibos is a very tasty red rooibos tea. I’m not always a huge fan of red rooibos, but this tea is a delightfully sweet apple cinnamon blend that makes me yearn even more for autumn.

I can’t take much more of this summer weather…

Tea and Gratitude.

I had a bad day yesterday and I was prepared to log onto Steepster and bitch about my day today as well. Then I received a call from my husband at about 4:00 p.m. He called to assure me that I was going to see some terrible news reports, but that he was fine and would be flying back to LA tonight. My husband was on a research trip at the Reno air-show and a propeller came within 60 feet of hitting him. I’m so very, very, very, very grateful that he’s safe and coming home tonight. Yesterday was his birthday…

Ooooh Oolong is a tea that I’ve been saving (because I’m a nutter) for a time that I could really enjoy it. Today felt like the right day to finally try it. The magnolia in this tea is gorgeous and soothing. The aroma takes me back to my parents’ home in FL. My mother adored her magnolia trees and they were so fragrant in the summer. I would dangle my feet in the water off of their dock and watch the otters steal fish out of the neighbor’s nets. I’m sure that it was also super humid and that there were tons of bugs, but in my idealized mind’s eye I only smell the magnolias. This oolong is smooth, sweet, and the perfect tea for a celebration of gratitude. I’m so thankful that LiberTEAS was kind enough to share this fine tea with me. That LiberTEAS lady has been mighty good to me!

My heart goes out to the families of those who were injured, or worse lost their lives today in Reno. I vow to complain less and be far more grateful for the good life and luck I have.

Edit After my husband arrived home he told me that the propeller actually came with in 6 feet of his group, and that a guy standing 2 feet from him took a large piece of metal to the chest. That poor man.

I’ve had a terrible day. A really, really, bad day. AND I have all sorts of free-floating anxieties because I’ve fallen behind on so many of my commitments and obligations. Gish…

I’m very grateful that I have Minty Kitty Oolong to calm my nerves and sooth my troubled soul. Minty Kitty is a custom blend by our fellow Steepster Little Mew Brew and it’s a fantastic escape from the awfulness of my day. I highly recommend this tea because it’s actually making my night m u c h better. Get some! You won’t regret it :)

You can buy this blend in the Little Mew Brew’s shop: Http://www.etsy.com/listing/81332982/minty-kitty-oolong

First, I have to raise my cup to the lovely Indigobloom who is enjoying her last day at a crappy job today. Here’s to new beginings :)

Oh, golly. I have a huge tea-crush on The NecessiTeas, and I’ve yet to try a tea created by Ms. Linsey that isn’t rave worthy. Blackberry Maple Waffle will receive my first lukewarm review. This is a good quality flavored black tea, but I don’t get any maple or waffle flavor from it. The blackberry essence shines in this tea for sure and I guess that’s reason enough to like it. I just had my heart set on a true Blackberry Maple Waffle breakfast experience… I didn’t get that.

I have no clue where this tea came from, but it was in a sealed container so I decided to use my found Melon flavored white tea for a pitcher of iced tea. I cold steeped it overnight which may have been a bit too long because the iced brew has an alkaline tinge to it. Fortunately, it’s just a tinge so I’ll have no problem drinking the rest of the pitcher. All in all this white tea is pretty tasty with a natural melon flavor.

Oh yeah! Banana Split is really hitting the spot tonight. This is a delicious rooibos blend that delivers a powerful dessert punch. I’m not sure how many banana teas I can support in my collection, but I may have to add this one because it’s pretty damn great. It’s really more of a banana/ strawberry tea so that makes it different, right?

Why do you make it so difficult for me not to buy every tea you make Ms. Linsey? Why????

Edit: Banana Split tastes even better after it cools a bit. So good!

My tea of happy hour! I’ve never had a rooibos and black tea blend before, so I was intrigued to try this tea.

This is a pretty blend. Saffflower and marigold blossoms make for a very colorful mix with dried fruit, black tea, AND rooibos. The infusion is a dark, ruddy, very wine-like color with a fruity/vanilla aroma. At first sip, I do get a sangria flavor. Lots of fruit notes but it’s difficult to really distinguish what they are. Blueberry? Raspberry? Blackcurrant? Yeah, all of them I guess. And vanilla… I defiantly taste vanilla or something creamy. I don’t know if the rooibos and black tea blend makes much of a difference. I like the combination I guess. Maybe the rooibos serves to mellow the black tea a bit which helps to achieve the fruity wine flavor?

This tea is a pretty good tea and a nice start to a fun Friday night. Now off to have the real deal and some tapas :)

Edit: This tea tastes better cold than hot. I’m not going to change my rating, but it’s worth noting.

This tea makes me sad. The aroma of Cherry Potion is intoxicating! I want to put Cherry Potion in a small sachet to be worn around my wrist, and sniff it when I feel that I may swoon from the pressures of the day. I’ll need a fainting couch and a bustle in order to make this look work.

BUT once Cherry Potion is brewed, something goes very wrong. I don’t mind hibiscus in teas most of the time, but hibiscus is a big, bitter, bully in this tea. I can’t taste enough of the beautiful cherries in this blend because hibiscus has beaten the life out of them. The more I drink of this tea the more frustrated I become with it because I can see its potential for cherry(fide) greatness.

You’re a jerk hibiscus. BOOOO!!!!

Edit: My lips looked like this http://www.caufields.com/productimages/Valentine/Images/77885.jpg after I drank Cherry Potion! Not really, but what an oddly specific feature/ selling point.

Organic Vanilla Almond comes in a tea sachet which I much prefer to tea bags. With a sachet I can still see the black loose-leaf tea and sliced almonds inside. I won’t abide by tea-dust!

This blend smells incredible dry! The infusion is a dark copper and the aroma is more almond than vanilla. At first sip, I can taste the almonds. The body isn’t particularly full, but the black tea has a nice enough flavor. The finish is all creamy, rich vanilla, which always works for me. I added a dash of almond milk and raw sugar to my second cup and that really helped the flavor develop.

All in all this tea makes for a decent afternoon cuppa.

Dong Ding Oolong is different than any other oolong I’ve tried so far. At first sip, there’s s a pleasant, vegetal flavor that develops into a rich, roasted grain essence. The body is full and nicely astringent. The finish is lingering with a sweet, delicate floral note.

This was my first exposure to a medium roasted oolong and I quite liked it.

If Jane Austen Mafia were a band I’d buy every song in their catalog, and I’d wear my band tee long after they sell out and go mainstream. That’s the kind of dedicated fan I’d be!

Jane Austen Mafia isn’t a band even though it is the best band name ever. Jane Austen Mafia is a tea. A pretty damn fantastically grand flavored black tea! Vanilla and blackberry combine with black tea for a marriage built on equality and true love worthy of a 19th century novel penned by an idealistic forward thinker.

This tea sample tasted particularly sweet because it was given to me with sacrifice in the spirit of true tea-friendship. Teawing sent me the very last bit of Jane Austen Mafia that he had left and it’s one of his favorite teas. Who other than a true gentleman would do such a thing? I owe him a huge debt of gratitude!

I love this tea! The peach flavors are very natural and it’s just a joy to drink. Live Long Oolong is the kind of tea that I could see myself ordering again and again.

I have the lovely DaisyChubb to thank for this sample as well as for reminding that I have a bag of this tea that I’ve yet to open. I’ve been suffering from tea overload recently which is bliss, but I clearly have to pay closer attention because there are gems that I’ve been overlooking. Must drink more tea!

Nope, this is not the chai for me. I don’t taste any of the caramel and vanilla flavor I was so excited about in this blend, and the pepper notes are so over powering for me that I’m unable to taste much else. I’m a huge 52teas fan but I couldn’t even finish my cup.

I feel a bit like the only kid that doesn’t get the punchline to the joke here after reading all of the positive reviews for this tea. BUT truth is truth, and truth be told this tea is not for me.

Please don’t let this terrible picture from Tiesta’s website fool you. Gojiberry Superfruit is a tasty sencha blend with very natural fruit flavors. This tea is naturally sweet without being overly sweet, and it has a power-packed-punch of antioxidant rich goodness.

This is an enjoyable tea that’s also very refreshing, and it defiantly deserves better photographic representation.

I tried Strawberry Zabaglione last night and it made for a fantastic dessert! I’m so pissed at myself for not buying this one when it was still available from 52teas. The strawberry is very natural tasting and the black tea doesn’t overpower in this blend. A little coconut cream and raw sugar made this tea sing! My husband drank 3/4 of my cup when I wasn’t looking because it’s steal from your family good.

A big thank you (((hug))) to Ashley for sharing this fantastico tea with me :)