1711 Tasting Notes
I LOVE this tea, but I think I may have had it for too long. The banana is fading and the smoke is left as the prominent flavor. I was trying to find the most comforting tea in my cupboard today. I’m glad the election is over, but instead of bubbling joy, I feel relief and waves of heavy sorrow. It’s like I’ve been in an emotional survival mode for a long time unable to process or feel each blow as it came and now that the fight or flight situation is over there is a lot of decompressing to do. Self care time starting with good tea and naps and relaxation. I wonder if there is a way to get a massage safely during the pandemic. I wish I was more into baths, but long showers have been a nice way to cope.
Even though this tea is old and past it’s prime, it’s still a warm familiar cup of tastiness that is bringing me some solace.
Preparation
This was an add on purchase to my advent calendar to get me to the free shipping bar! The advent is huge and prettier than I had expected. This is the first T2 I think I have ever had and I love the idea of pop corn/caramel corn flavored tea. Unfortunately the translation didn’t quite work out. It has little popped bits in the mix, but the flavor is light powder. Like baby powder, which make me think of teas I’ve tried that were supposed to be almond, but came off powdery instead. It’s very strange, but didn’t stop me from drinking the whole cup.
And let’s talk packaging! This was a bag that can’t reseal in a box that looks like a popcorn box inside a sleek looking black box inside a brown box inside the giant box the whole order was delivered in. The amount of packaging compared to the amount of tea was phenomenal!
I’m super excited to break into this advent to try a bunch of their teas and really hope that this one falling flat is a fluke. Fingers crossed!
Preparation
T2’s packaging (as well as the fact that they only sell 99% of their stuff in 100g as the minimum size, which I hate) is the main reason I hardly ever purchase from them. Most of their tea is in an non-sealable plastic bag and then inside a cardboard “cube”, so anything you purchase from then has to be repackaged into either a tin or a re-sealable foil pouch.
Got a sample of this from a friend. It’s nice to have local tea loving friends! She suggested I try this with cream, so I added a almond/coconut creamer that unfortunately added a slightly plasticy taste to my cup. BEFORE the creamer incident my cup was super minty with a strong undertone of chocolate, but there was an edge that was rough. Maybe a shorter steeping time would be better. The creamer did mellow the edge out a bit, but I’m not sure the expense was worth it. If I ignore the yuck part of the creamer, it’s a decent cup that I’m enjoying while working. I don’t think I like it enough to buy some though. My favorite chocolate mint tea was one by Teavana and this one is close, but not close enough to gain that spot in my tea heart.
Preparation
I had a delightful cup of this yesterday that I sipped on for hours. Today I’m resteeping those leaves and the cup isn’t as nice. There is a sharper edge to it that I dislike. Something that I bet cream would even out, but my preferred creamer has been out of stock for a while, so I’ll continue to mindlessly sip through this cup.
I like this tea enough that I tried to order more right after getting an email about a site restock, but two of the teas that were in my basket were sold out from under me while I shopped for an add on tea. I’m new to this company and a little put off that it seems so competitive to purchase her tea and that it appears to only be an in her spare time kind of business and not one that is being taken seriously. I worry about getting hooked on a company that is inconsistent and frustrating to order from. :/ Have others had similar experiences with Necessiteas?
Preparation
I know that any time I’ve browsed the site, everything but maybe three items have been sold out, and I’ve heard likewise stories about Hunger Games wars to get items the second they release and them disappearing from order carts. I, for one, am not into that as a shopping experience and moved on from the thought/desire of ever trying them out.
I mean…. I’ll shank someone for a good cup of tea if I /have/ to, but it really doesn’t set the mood I’m looking for when enjoying a cup. Shanking is more of a whiskey mood thing IMHO. :P
I’m with you on the maybe it’s better to move on thing.
You are DEFINITELY not alone – VariaTEA, Sil, and I all had an incredibly frustrating experience trying to order during her last big restock. She didn’t add all the new teas at once, but rather staggered them as uploads to her website. We actually, as a group, noticed that they were being uploaded to the site BEFORE the announcement was made on IG/via email – but in the time waiting for the rest of what I wanted to order (waiting on two teas during the staggered launch) from when she started adding to the site, more than half my cart (about six teas) sold out! I was super pissed, and ended up just not ordering.
It was the last restock that I tried to make a purchase as well! I too didn’t buy anything and was upset about the issue. I was on the site within 20m of the email announcement too. It’s so disappointing that the business is being run this way. I’ve seen features that give you a certain amount of time to shop and a warning of when your time is up, which would have been nice. I don’t get why she isn’t blending bigger batches if she has this much demand. It leaves a lot of money on the table. Makes me want to blend my own tea to avoid the frustration.
Oh my god I looooooooove this tea! So glad there haven’t been any fires burning in my area lately so I can enjoy smoky thing again. I’ve been hoarding this and still have half a tin. I should really allow myself to enjoy it more frequently before it looses it’s edge, but I’m trying to prolong a final farewell. I even drank the rest of the second steeping after I had to spit a mouth full back into my cup so I could choke out the drop that went down my windpipe while snarfing it down like a fool. I swear I can drink tea like an adult!
Preparation
I had a cup of this last night while standing around a burn barrel on Halloween under a blue moon with some friends talking about the old days at our camp at burningman. Mini Deathguild/Thunderdome Halloween reunion! This tea kept me warm and I’m having a resteep of it tonight. This cup is heavier on the cinnamon and clove, which is fine. It’s a really comforting evening cup and the spices make me feel cozy inside!
Preparation
This was a sample that came with my order. It said to steep it for 3 minutes which seems like a long time for a white tea. This is heavy on the citrus… kumquat? It reminds me of a Theodor tea I liked, but a lighter version lacking something in that other blend. I’m guessing this would be really good cold steeped. It’s not a bad cup, but not something I’m motivated to buy.
Also, IT’S HALLOWEEN!!! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! I need to find an appropriate tea to celebrate the best holiday of the year.
Preparation
I’ve had this tea for SO long now! I think it is one of the teas my brother picked up for me on a long ago trip to France. It keeps getting buried in my tea cupboard and reemerging periodically. It smells of blended spice and fruit. Star anise with cinnamon to round it out and a sprinkle of citrus? There is a slight edge that I’m not sure if it’s due to age or having overleafted it in the excitement of a pending sipdown. It has a fruity finish, but I can’t pin the fruit. It’s not a horrible cup, but I’m not really enjoying it either. :/ Does a sipdown count if you are composting the rest of the tea? It feels sacrilegious to even suggest that with a MF tea!
Preparation
Having my second steeping of this. I drank the first one faster than expected while working, but enjoyed the flavors when I’d stop to think about it. The orange is the most present flavor in the cup. The chocolate hides behind a little rounding out the orange. I didn’t see many tea leaves in this mix, it was mostly rooibos, but I’m not getting that awful rooibos woody dry mouth finish. I don’t know that I’m getting much caffeine either, something I’ll have to remedy with my next selection. Not sure about the biscuit cake part of it as it’s mostly a tasty orange chocolate.
Thanks for the sample, VariaTEA!
Preparation
I want to request a sample of this next time to try! I am a bit hesitant to because I do not mind there being rooibos in my tea, but I dislike it being the predominant flavour like you said. But I am glad you enjoyed this blend! :)
The name of this one sounds so good! I’m glad to hear about the rooibos too.
Yay for good tea. I hope you find a method of relaxation. :)
<3
This sounds delicious-I love anything banana!! Reminds me I made 1 Q2T order a few years back and never opened anything from them, should go find that box…
OMG, you should save that box for an Xmas gift from 2017 you to 2020 you!
How one can leave box with not opened teas?!
I manage to take the teas out of the box, but am known to keep unopened packages of teas for years… I’m a terrible tea parent.
I was so surprised to find I had three envelopes of unopened/untasted AQ2T blends about a week ago and was stupid excited about it. Usually I tear into them and sip them one after another.
I’m sure I opened the box but I don’t think I drank any teas I’m also a terrible tea parent lol
I hope you feel better, Dustin.. I know what you mean, the last four years have been brutal and now many a worry will be off the shoulders.