Jenn

Oh no, I’m disapointed! This doesn’t happen very often with David’s Teas. All I can figure is that I must have done something wrong in the brewing process. What I ended up with was a weak tea that tasted slightly bitter. Not at all what I wanted or expected. Boo!

I’m going to try brewing ithis tea again before I rate it. Now, to figure out what the heck I did to ruin this by all accounts great tea. Hmmmm…

Why am I so mad at Teavana lately? Is it because I have to steel myself for a hard sell before I walk through the door? I feel like such a jerk because I have to shut the persistant sales associates down when they try to sell me over-sized tins and pounds of tea at a time. It’s unfortunate because I love to learn about new teas, but I feel almost afraid to ask any questions lest I be subjected to a long sales pitch.

My most recent visit was particularly edgy because I had misread a forum thread, and I was convinced that the Tevanaites were adding sugar to the dry tea they sell. My husband said I had a crazy look in my eye and I believe it. I was going confront those tea posers about ruining pefectly good tea. Well, it turns out that they add sugar to their tea samples but not the actual dry tea you buy. I’m glad to know this because I really do enjoy a few of Teavava’s teas, and I was ready to write them off with my sugar misunderstanding.

I’m pleased that I purchased both Youthberry and Wild Orange Blossom. This white tea and herbal combo make a fantastically refreshing iced tea. Yes, it’s a super fruity tea but I make no bones about loving fruity teas. It’s hot like the surface of the sun in these parts, so a refreshing iced tea really hits the spot.

When a fellow Steepster is moved to poetry by a tea, I take notice. The lovely Ms. JacquelineM wrote a moving ode to Golden Snail that convinced me that I must try it. Oh my, am I ever glad that I ordered this brilliant tea!

Backlogging… I tried my first cup of Golden Snail one beautiful Sunday morning on my beloved terrace. A picture perfect Sunday morning when the weather is warm with a cool breeze, the petunias are particularly red, wind chimes tinkle in the background, and the soft scent of jasmine wafts through the air. What could complete this picture of decadent relaxation better than a cup of Golden Snail? Curled up in my overstuffed chair, the soft, chocolatly flavor washes over me and feel completely at peace. Life is good.

My Harney & Sons order arrived on Saturday!!!! I find it hard to log on over the weekend, so I’m backlogging a bit today.

This is a simply lovely dessert tea! I had a few friends over for dinner on Saturday night, and one of them is let’s say “particular”. This is “particular” friend is my plain green tea drinker. Always plain green tea after supper, no exceptions! Well, much to my delight she was willing to give Vanilla Comoro a try after I forced her to smmmeeeelll it. Who could resist this amazing tea after they’ve inhaled it’s vanilla goodness???

The vanilla aroma of this tea dry is just like a hug from an old friend. At first sip, this tea is creamy vanilla deliciousness. The body is a smooth, high quality black tea that has all of the flavor of fully caffeinated black tea without the worry of being up all night. The finish is warm, lovely, rich vanilla. Aaahhhh, so wonderful!

This tea is delicious iced! The berry flavor isn’t quite as strong as I’d like, but that may change after the tea has had a chance to steep overnight. I love the refreshing green tea and bright minty finish. I may need to take Meghann M’s suggestion and try it with a spot of rum :) Very tasty indeed.

I have no recollection of buying this tea. I was afraid that it may be OOOld, but the tea is still very fragrant, colorful, and flavorful. So, yay for found tea!

This tea has a very strong tropical fruit aroma dry, but the flavor is far more delicate than the aroma would indicate. The papaya flavor is very natural and there’s a lovely sweetness to the body. The finish is clean without the odd aftertaste that tropical fruit teas can sometimes have. Is it just me, or does artificial tropical fruit flavoring sometimes taste like the smell of BO? Especially guava! Eeewww… Rest assured this tea has a delicious natural flavor, and I’ll defiantly be going for a second steep.

This will be short and because I may fall asleep while I write. This tea is a bit minty with a soothing herbal flavor. It’s naturally sweet and the perfect before bed cuppa. The valerian root is a really nice calming touch.

I made a cup of this tea for my hubby because he had a rough day. He loved it and he’s yawning away now. I didn’t tell him about valerian in it because he gets fussy about certain herbs… that’s not wrong, right? It’s not the same as mashing up Prozac in his pudding, or is it? Well, ethical dilemma aside, my sweetie will get a good night’s sleep :)

I enjoyed this wonderful tea last night after an unexpected treck to San Diego. It’s only about a two hour drive from where I live, and the ocean was particularly blue and beautiful yesterday. We arrived back home fairly late, and I need a nice, caffeine-free, desserty tea to wind down for bed.

Coco Chai Rooibos is a spicy but surprisingly smooth chai. I steeped this beauty in coconut milk for one of the most outstanding chai lattes I’ve ever had! The chocolate flavor isn’t overly strong and it pairs so well with the chai spices. Yum!

I tried this tea on Saturday because I had a very busy family dense day ahead of me. I was exhausted from staying up far too late on Friday having fun, and I desperately needed an energy packed treat to convince me that faking sick wasn’t an adult solution to getting out of forced social situation. POW, Jungle Ju Ju did the trick!

This tea is brilliant! Super fruity and full of energy promoting herbs. Jungle Ju Ju helped me get dressed and be a generally civil human being for most of the day. I crashed at about 6:00 pm but that’s not this wonderful tea’s fault. It’s a delicious cuppa not a controlled substance ;)

Where has Forever Nuts been all of my life? I’ve read a few reviews that complain about this it not even being a proper tea. Well, that’s true because it’s a tisane. This doesn’t bother me in the sightest because I have room in my heart for everything from black tea, to oolong, to honeybush, and beyond.

I love this yummy cup of warmth for what it is, a sweet, delicious, caffeine free treat. Forever nuts smells and tastes like candied almonds! I don’t taste marzipan, and I think that may be what some people are looking for when they see almond featured as a predominate flavor. Candied almonds are a favorite treat of mine, so I’m happy and Forever Nuts is a keeper. Yum!

My Breville tea maker finally arrived last night! This morning, I decided that the perfect tea to christen my beloved happiness maker with was Dan Cong. How wonderful is it that I can now brew a beautiful oolong exactly right. It really is so exciting!

What a treat! Dan Cong is simply gorgeous. I’m finding it hard to separate all of the flavors in this tea. I get a floral, fruity, roasted, and a slightly nutty taste. It’s as if these flavors rush in almost all at once, swirl around my taste buds, and then melt away. I’m just enjoying the experience.

A big thank you to the wonderful QuiltGuppy for sharing this amazing tea with me. I feel so fortunate today :)

I read one review of this tea that described it as “too raisniny”. What the what?! Who eats cinnamon raisin toast and wishes there were fewer fat, juicy, delicious raisins? That is just crazy talk!

I’m really enjoying this tea. The aroma of this tea dry is intoxicating! At first sip I taste sweet toasted raisins. That flavor moves to a warm cinnamon, and then an almost bready smooth black tea body. There’s an ever so slight sweet cinnamon finish. This is the perfect breakfast tea!

Thank you to Wifey_Woman (Little Mew Brew) and 52teas for bringing this tea back. I’m so glad that I had an opportunity to try it :)

Yay! My order from Ms. Rachel at IHeartTeas arrived today!!!! I had a very late night last night and this delicious Butter Pecan black tea is the perfect afternoon pick-me-up.

Butter Pecan is one of my all time favorite ice cream flavors. One whiff of this tea straight out if the bag makes me weak in the knees! At first sip the black tea was a little overpowering, but after I let the tea cool a bit the butter pecan flavor really developed. I added a little raw sugar and a splash of almond milk and WOW what a treat.

I’m so glad that I had a chance to try this delectable tea! Thank you Rachel for brining this one back :)

I have to agree with DMTea. This tea tastes like straight roobois to me. I do detect a slight aftertaste of some sort, but I’d be hard pressed to say if it were raspberry, citrus, or whatever else. I’m a very loyal David’s Teas drinker, so I’ll just say that this tea isn’t for me… which is too bad seeing as I have an entire pitcher of it in the refrigerator. If anyone wants the remainder of of the bag, please let me know and I’ll gladly send it to you.

I wish that I could give QuiltGuppy a HUGE hug for sending me this tea! Her generosity has put to rest a long running tea mystery involving an unmarked grey clay urn, the most incredible cinnamon tea I’ve ever tasted, and my crazy friend Rachel.

First, you shall have a story. I once had a friend named Rachel who was a sane(ish) individual. Rachel was from NY and she would go back home for the holidays every year. We would exchange gifts after the holidays, and one year she gave me an unmarked grey clay urn with the most fantastic cinnamon loose leaf tea inside. I asked where she purchased the tea and she said, “An Asian place in NY”. What?! That’s not an answer! But, I let it go and I figured that I’d ask again another day.

I did ask again. Rachel became more and more vague until she eventually began to deny that she’d given me the tea at all. Now, that’s just crazy! I eventually gave up asking and I resigned myself to parceling the tea out as if it were gold. I kept the tea in a special “safe” place in the cupboard. Safe until one day it fell over, rolled out, and smashed on the kitchen floor. Destroyed! My favorite tea ever was gone and crazy Rachel wouldn’t tell me where she’d bought it. I was so upset!

Decaf Hot Cinnamon Spice is my beloved anonymous cinnamon tea reincarnated. Its wonderful sweet spicy flavor fills my heart with joy. This tea has a name and I can buy more! I can’t thank you enough QuiltGuppy :)

I have the wonderfully generous and beautifully kind QuiltGuppy to thank for my sample of this tea.

We all know that Lapsang Souchong teas are smokey, but the aroma of this tea dry gives my smoked salts some seriously smokey competition. The smokey aroma lessens a bit as the tea steeps. At first sip this tea is, you guessed it, smokey. This develops into a slightly peppery and far less smokey body, and then to a nice savory finish. The black tea is very smooth and not the least bit bitter. This is a very good tea, but I have to admit that I’m not a huge Lapsang Souchong fan in general. However, I do find myself wanting to marinate shiitake mushrooms in it. Add some diced shallots, olive oil, a splash of mirin, a little tamari… yum!

On a side note, my puppy really seems to enjoy this tea. I’m having a weird busy morning, so I decided to have leftover yellow curry for breakfast. Leftover yellow curry and a cup of Lapsang Souchong makes for a dicey breakfast combo at best. Well, I left my questionable breakfast unattended for a moment and my puppy apparently figured out how to jump onto the cocktail table. When I returned, he had eaten a few big bites of curry and lapped up a good 1/4 cup of my tea. I called my vet, because I worry, and he’ll be fine. BUT my afternoon may prove to be very interesting… I can hear his belly gurgling now :/

Fantastic! At first sip there’s a very natural tasting rich banana flavor. That moves to a smooth black tea with a touch of walnut, and then a lovely buttery finish. So very, very, very delicious. I’m going for a second steep.

I love green tea and I shamlessly adore fruity teas. I brewed this one iced and I think that I may add one less tsp. of tea in the next batch. The tea came out far more grassy than fruity. All of this being said, it’s still a super refreshing and delicious. I think that I’ll like it even more once I get the brewing proportions right.

This tea is freak’n fantastic! At first sip I get a warm maple syrup flavor which I expected from both the name and the amazing aroma of the dry tea. What I didn’t expect was the complexity of this tea. That initial warm maple syrup taste moves into a buttery rich pancake flavor. It literally tastes like you took hearty bite of your pancake breakfast and washed it down with a sip of smooth high quality black tea. This tea is making me so happy this morning!

Holy honeybush Batman! Coconut Cheesecake Honeybush is just plain delish. Lovey coconutty yumminess from start to creamy finish. As I’ve read in a few other reviews, I didn’t get a cheesecake flavor from this tea but the rich finish is enough for me. Very good indeed!

Squeeeeeeeel! Okay, I haven’t tried this one yet because I’m saving it for tomorrow morning. BUT I had to share that I just received TWO 52teas orders that I’ve been anxiously awaiting. My cup runneth over with foodie tea goodness. I have six new teas to try! Life is good :)

P.S. I’m not complaining about the wait, and I hope Frank is feeling much better.

A great grand thank you hug to the incomparable QuiltGuppy for sending me this sample. Through QuiltGuppy’s generosity my tea selection seems so much more well rounded. Left to my own devices, it would be all foodie/ candy teas all the time. Cucumber and cream cheese tea sandwich green rooibos? Yes, please!

This tea… This tea is very interesting. At first sip I get a malty and even smokey flavor. That moves to a sweet and, dare I say it, floral tone. The black tea has a hint of bitterness to it for me. I’ve noticed that some people dropped the steeping temperature to lessen the bitterness a bit. I have just enough in my sample pack for one or two more tries. I don’t mind the slightly floral tone of this tea, but I don’t think I’d buy it. It is lovely for a try though.

I finally made Luscious Watermelon iced today. WOW! It’s a delicious punch in the face. I was actually afraid that this tea would taste too similiar to Goji Pop iced, but that was silly because both teas stand out in their individual greatness. YUUUUMMMMM!

I’ve already reveiwed this tea hot, but it’s so much more wonderful iced! My husband nearly drank my entire pitcher of iced Goji Pop himself. This morning he asked me to order more. MY husband requested that I buy more tea! What?!