Jenn

This tea is saving my life right now. Big cyber non-germ-transfering hugs to the wonderful QuiltGuppy for sending me such a generous sample of this soothing herbal tea.

Mint, eucalyptus, other stuff… I’m tired and not feeling very descriptive at the moment. I must be off to bed.

I have fixed this tea! Well, for my use anyway. I had about two servings left in each of my Adagio Orchard Sampler packets, so I dumped them all into a jar and mixed them together. I mixed that fruity melange with the Raspberry Nectar. Alakazam! It makes for a drinkable iced tea. No waste. \o/

I’m sick of being sick and I’m sick of drinking crap tea. Florence is one of my tried and true favorite teas, and I could really use some comfort about right now. I’m feeling a little less congested so I was actually able to taste this tea pretty well. I deserve a chocolaty treat and I shall have it!

At first sip, the promise of a chocolaty treat is delivered. That chocolate flavor quickly moves to a biscuity, smooth, black tea body. A nice, creamy, hazelnut tone quickly follows and the finish is all rich chocolaty goodness.

Ah, chocolaty goodness…

I’m drinking Tazo China Green Tips because I don’t want to drink my good tea when I’m too sick to enjoy it. I keep this tea in house to make for my MIL when she pisses me off. Yup, I get passive aggressive with tea.

I mixed crystallized ginger and mulled mint into this tea and that helped the flavor a bit. This isn’t a terrible tea… but it’s not a great one either. Meeeh…

I’m sick. Like really, seriously, worthless, coughing a lung up, sick! How does a SoCal vegan girl who drinks at least one glass of green juice a day, and who works out religiously get a f’n chest cold in August?! If I could demand my money back from someone I would. AND to make matters worse, I have an abundance of new teas to try from the lovely LiberTeas and amazing Ashley that I’m too sick to begin trying. Booooooooo!

Well, my complaining aside, I have antioxidant packed Goji Pop to sooth my cough and fortify me for what’s to come. I hate being sick! Gish…

This tisane smells incredible dry, and it filled my kitchen with the most lovely blueberry pie smell as it steeped. At first sip, I get the blueberry flavor I’m looking for… but then I taste the sage. Sage and rosemary are tricky spices for me. I like them only when used in very specific savory dishes. The sage overpowered my pallet, and then it was as if two sage and hibiscus bullies beat the delicious blueberry flavor right out of this tisane for me. I’m not a hibiscus hater but I do have to admit that the bitter finish was too much even for me.

A big thank you to Tea Forte for this sample. This flavor just wasn’t for me. However, I have high hopes for the three other samples I still have to try.

I love this tea hot as a dessert tea, but I may like it even more iced! It’s really, really, really good iced. I know that many people dislike this tea because it’s so strong, but just remember to use 1 tsp. of tea for every 10-12 oz. of water. I’m not even a huge cinnamon fan… go figure.

I have a terribly sore throat today. The kind of sore throat that keeps you up all night desperately trying to swallow. I need something soothing and I figured that Cherry Cosmo may be the ticket.

I actually kind of like this herbal blend. I’m always a fan of cherries and this tea defiantly delivers on that front. My only quibble is the slightly medicinal flavor that hits you after the first sip. To be fair, it does taste like the vodka you find in a cosmo. The problem for me is that I don’t care for vodka. Fortunately, the vodka taste fades pretty quickly and it’s all cherry loveliness for the finish. So, the flavor is accurate but not one I would gravitate to on a regular basis. All of this being said, this herbal has soothed my throat and made me a far happier camper.

Thank you kindly Tea Forte for the complimentary sample pack of your herbal blends. I LOVE to try new teas :)

Edit: This tea’s cherry flavor really develops as it cools off! I needed to drink it hot this morning to soothe my throat, but I half wish I’d saved it for iced tea later. Oh well…

Wow-o-wow-eeee-wow! Piña Colada Honeybush is FANTASTIC!!! Stop reading and go order some right now! I apologize for my excessive use of exclamation points, but I’m blown away by just how good this tea truly is. Yes, I know it’s an award winner but… I’ll stop gushing now. I think you get the point.

I cold steeped this tea overnight. At first sip, there’s a distinct very natual, sweet pineapple flavor. That moves to a nice kick of smooth, delicous rum. The finish is sweet, creamy coconut. I well on my way to drinking the entire pitcher in a few hours time. Yum!!!!!

First, I just want to thank Frank for making so many of his awesome teas vegan. I’m so thrilled to be able to enjoy fantastic teas like Cinnamon Roll Honeybush with the rest of my Steepster pals. I received three of my 52teas orders today, so it’s tea Christmas at my house. Tea Christmas!!!!!

Second, this tea isn’t good… it’s damn good! This herbal is dead on delicious cinnamon rolls through and through. I’m in love with it hot, but I also can’t wait to try it iced.

Third, I’m super tired and I need to get some sleep. Goodnight Steepster. Goodnight Frank.

Do I like this tea? I don’t know. I know that I don’t hate it… yeah, I defiantly don’t mind this blend of herbal oddness. I cold steeped a pitcher of this interesting melange of herbs and berries and it’s a refreshing brew for sure. Northern Lights is minty cool with a slightly fruity something or other going on too. I feel compelled to continue drinking even if every sip perplexes me more than the last. I’m refreshed and confused… mostly refreshed.

I’ve tried this tea a few times now, and I have to admit that I wasn’t that impressed the first time I tried it. The black tea tasted very bitter to me, and the blueberry flavor wasn’t strong enough to compensate for the bitterness. I felt particularly bad about not loving this tea because the lovely Rachel of iheartteas not only rescued this tea from retirement, but she also graciously sold me a package from her private stash. sigh

I’m happy to report that I like this tea better today. I adjusted my Breville to a medium strength brew, and this helped a lot with the bitterness. I also let my tea cool off to room temperature which brought out more of the blueberry flavor. I’m considering cold steeping Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish as iced tea, like Rachel did the other day, to see if I can get the cream cheese flavor to come through.

Toasted Nut Brûlée Oolong is a very poorly named tea. I don’t hate this tea… it simply doesn’t taste a bit like the description. Well, that’s what I get for letting my nose determine my tea purchase. Toasted Nut Brûlée Oolong smells pretty damn amazing dry.

I brewed TNBO with double the tea measurement as advised by my fellow Steepsters. At first sip, there’s a very strong cardamom and cinnamon flavor. That moves to a smooth tea body but I’m hard pressed to detect much of an oolong in this tea period. To be honest, it tastes more like a mild chai than anything. The finish is but slightly nutty. Not terrible… but certainly not great either. Let’s hear it for just okay!

I’m still stickly and I’m tired of feeling listless. I need a tea that will give a boost so that I may feel purposeful again. And then it hit me… Chocolate Rocket! Big hugs to Taryn for sending me such a generous sample of this maté that I’m convinced will turn my day around.

Bam! Pow! Whap! Chocolate Rocket has given my sickly listlessness a run for it’s money. I still feel unwell, but I’ll at least feel unwell getting things done. Oh, and did I mention Chocolate Rocket is also super delicious? Chocolatey, nutty, energy packed goodness in a cuppa. Take that stupid July flu!

Dear The Republic of Tea,

We’re over. This tea is horrid. I can’t even put my finger on what element makes it so bad, but nondescript horridness is enough for me to bid you farewell. Remember Bing Cherry Vanilla? That one was terrible too, and don’t even get me started on that Meyer Lemon iced tea… that was just mean!

We will always have Mango Ceylon, Plantain Coconut, and oh so lovely Coconut Cocoa. Those three teas aside, I have been underwhelmed or dissatisfied with your tea more often than not. I vow to no longer be tempted by you at Cost Plus World Market where, let’s face it, I buy all manner of nonsense. The End.

Oh Taryn! Heaping, great, grand hugs to you for sending me such a generous sample of this wondrous tea. Oh Canada is everything I’ve ever wanted every maple tea I’ve ever tried to be. It’s mapletastic! I’m making up words tonight, or this morning, because I’m sick and quite possibly delusional. My questionable mental state aside, I’m so enjoying this super good tea.

I’m a bit on the sickly side today, or yesterday, my sleep schedule is all off. My husband took the day off, so we spent the day sick together, napping, watching movies, and drinking tea. Of course, now we’re both wide awake.

One of the teas we drank today was Strawberry Pie Honeybush. This is a truly outstanding tea! The dry tea smells incredible. At first sip, there’s the naturally sweet flavor of ripe strawberries. That moves into a rich, creamy, vanilla body. And the finish… the finish tastes exactly like a cinnamon graham cracker crust! I kid you not, this honeybush blend is utterly delicamazing.

To quote my dear husband, “Huh, that tastes exactly like carrot cake”. Honestly, NecessiTEAS has perfectly captured the deliciousness of carrot cake in this beautiful tea. The spices are right on, and with a bit of almond milk I can actually taste the cream cheese frosting. I highly recommend this tea to anyone who enjoys dessert teas the way that I unabashedly do. SO good!

I received a sample of The Skinny with my last David’s Tea order. Wait! Is David calling me fat?! In my defense, I’m wearing my laundry day sweat pants and they’re not the most flattering pair I own. David’s opinion of me aside, I’m always grateful to receive complimentary samples with my tea orders.

I’ve recently fallen deeply in love with oolong teas, so I was very excited to try this one. The Skinny has a very strong herbal scent dry. At first sip… yeah, this tea isn’t for me. I don’t know if it’s the ginger, the pu’erh, or the extreamly woodsy flavor but I don’t think I can finish the cup. Hopefully, what I was able to drink will help to cancel out the English muffin with extra preserves I ate for breakfast.

Okay, this is a weird but super good tea. I had to try this one despite the somewhat lukewarm reviews because I LOVE root beer. To be fair, the consensus seemed to be that Root Beer Float was a delicious tea that was a bit odd to drink warm. Solution… drink it iced. It’s so hot outside today and drinking a hot tea just seems unthinkable anyway.

I cold steeped this beauty overnight and this morning I had rich, delicious root beer tea. Creamy, sweet, wonderful root beer flavor through and through. Very good!

I have the adorable Taryn to thank for sending me a this yummy tea. I cold steeped this lovely for two hours and it made for a very refreshing treat. This tea smells like sweet, ripe mangos dry. At first sip, I get a wonderful mango flavor that moves into a clean white tea with citrus tones. The finish is sweet and fruity. I’ve had some bad luck with bitter white teas lately, but I’m happy to report that this white is not the slightest bit bitter when cold steeped.

This morning I decided to splurge and have a proper fry-up for breakfast. Well, proper sans the bangers, fried eggs, bacon, and butter. A little grape seed oil, tomatoes, mushrooms, and beans on toast is still a respectable fry-up in my book. Ooooh, it really hit the spot and it gave me the perfect opportunity to give Queen Catherine another go.

The last time I tried Queen Catherine I experienced an overwhelming and inexplicable rose flavor that didn’t seem right. Well, I’m pleased to report that my rose hallucinations have passed and the Queen is good! Very, very, very good indeed! At first sip, there’s a malt flavor that progresses into a strong almost coffee like black tea body. The finish is rich and chocolatey. I love this tea!

A big thank you hug to the wonderful QuiltGuppy for sending me such a generous sample of this amazing tea. If I hadn’t had enough to give the Queen a second try, I wouldn’t have known how wonderful this tea truly is. I’m defiantly buying this one!

Am I really the first person to review this gem? I have a long day of creative mischief planned in my workshop (read as my corner of the garage where I ruin perfectly good materials with hammers and dremel tool attachments). So, I made a huge pitcher of Lemon-Lime Cheesecake Honeybush to stay hydrated because it is HOT today!

I first tried this tea hot a few nights ago. At first sip, the tang of lemon comes right through. It’s a very pleasant tang with no bite or bitterness. The lemon flavor moves into a rich, creamy body, and the finish has a nice lime kick. Lime can be a tricky flavor component for me to enjoy, but Frank got it right. Cold steeped, this tea is citrusy and refreshing! Hopefully this delicious honeybush will keep me hydrated on this sweltering day.

I’m celebrating today. I know that it’s not attractive to be too self-satisfied, but today I’m enjoying a victory. I have a neighbor who leaves his poor dog outside day and night, and it cries constantly for want of care and attention. The weather has been so hot lately and I’ve been very worried about the pup. I give him water and food when he runs out, and despite my talking with the owner, nothing has changed. Just when I thought that call calling the Humane Society may be the only option to help this dog, I called my homeowner’s association first. It turns out that my neighbor is in violation of several of the association’s rules! I received a call from the association president today letting me know that my neighbor has been fined, and that another neighbor has adopted the dog. He has a good home now!!!!! I’m so happy.

I’m celebrating with Midsummer’s Peach iced! Wow, this is a tasty tea that gets even better cold steeped. I’m even going to up my rating because it’s that good. I still taste something a bit floral in it, but it’s not bothering me a bit. Today’s a good day!