Ellyn

SNOWSTORM NEMO SAMPLING DAY
While I drank this during blizzard Nemo I couldn’t log into Steepster. So it is a bit of a back log.

I have had trouble with Pu’erh tea in the past. I WANT TO LIKE IT! However, no matter what I did it just did not seem like my thing. HOWEVER, I REALLY like this tea. (As you can see from my copious USE OF CAPITAL letters!) The earthy pu’erh tea in conjunction with the citrus flavors was REALLY great. Also, I am not a HUGE licorice fan but the lingering taste in the back of my mouth of licorice was actually a nice flavor-feeling element. I put this tea in the shopping list and will savor the rest of my sample.

I got this as a sample in a swap with Aimeepopovacki. Thanks Aimee for sharing!

I love butterscotch tea. This is no exception. The flavor is yummy sweet without being over the top.

I got this as a sample from my tasting box I purchased from LiberTEAS . Thanks for putting together such a great bunch of samples!

SNOWSTORM NEMO SAMPLING DAY

I got this sample from Itachi. Thanks Itachi!

The oolong base in this gets a little lost. HOWEVER, the fruit flavors are wonderful. It tastes like a tropical cocktail! I LOVE this tea and put it on my shopping list.

SNOWSTORM SAMPLING DAY

I am going to spend today drinking as many different types of tea as possible. As I am at home with all my tea-making products and a proper kettle I don’t have to make a GIANT batch of one tea in a thermos to bring to work. I got this tea as a sample from Nicole over at the tea traders facebook group.

To me this was okay. I wouldn’t purchase and it was not bad but not spectacular. I think I am just not a cinnamon tea girl. THE DRY LEAF was SO PRETTY! The tea had a pretty shimmery look to it. As an aside, my husband really liked it.

I was excited to try this tea as I love a subtle smokey flavor. Russian blends often work well but a full on lapsang souchong can be too much. This tea has a much more delicate flavor then I was expecting. It tastes more like a basic black tea then anything with a smokey flavor. Maybe I can slightly pick up the smoke…nothing to exciting. It’s okay tea, made with good steep time / temp but that’s about all that is going on with this cup

Made this tonight as my evening herbal…it is VERY sweet even without sugar. I taste the pineapple and other generic tropical flavors. I will say it has a VERY sweet and cloying aftertaste.

I will drink the remainder of my sample but will not re-buy this one. (I got this in an exotic iced set for the holidays.)

This was my morning cup on the way to work. The dry leaf smells very earthy. When wet I get more of the earthy smells like damp woods and early morning damp summer day. The tea itself has all of the earthy flavors but with a creamy note and also is very light. This is a winner for me.

Drank this today at work. I got a much stronger vanilla note this time. I am upping the rating….

This is one of my all time favorite teas. I looked in the package this morning and do not have a ton left – and it is a limited edition! boo. I have “collecting” tendencies and must always remember that tea does not AGE like wine! A collection only loses flavor or value as time goes on!

See my other tasting notes. This is a great tea, I love Handmade tea. IT is a great product.

SIPDOWN!

I am sad to see this tea go. The slightly smokey orange is a true delight.

Backlogging this tea from yesterday evening…had a greasy-spoon dinner with a friend at a local bar and when we got to my house we wanted something sweet—but no more heavy food…so we tried this tea.

It smells JUST LIKE cake mix. I was shocked at how much it smelled like a decadent treat!
This is one of my favorite rooibos blends. What a great treat! It was vanilla-y creamy,

I made this iced last night and drank it with a spicy dinner – it was everything I had wanted out of an iced herbal – I brewed it with a little sugar – it was slightly sweet and VERY tart.

Drank this on the way to work this morning….the dry leaves smell like sweet potato and starch. The tea is slightly sweet. Once I brewed this I didn’t get as much of the sweet potato but more of a flavor-packed black tea – which is surprising given that this is a basic black tea base with much flavoring added. I think it is that the sweet potato notes mellow out and are slight giving a sweetness. The flavor does not knock you in the face like other flavored teas. I got this in a swap a while ago but am not sure from who—-sorry but thank you!

This is easily the boldest and most robust English Breakfast blend I’ve ever had. I LOVED the malty notes and the fact that it tasted balanced. Some English breakfast blends end up being really muddled and taste grayish but this is bright, balanced, and a really great morning tea.

I had a sample of of this tea from the tasting box I purchased from Liberteas. If anyone is looking to try a large variety of samples I highly recommend purchasing one of the sample boxes from Liberteas.

Today I visited the David’s tea in downtown Boston. It was the first time I had been inside a David’s tea shop. This was the tea of the day. I really liked the oolong and vanilla combination. The tea was sweet and just creamy enough.

The smell was very vanilla but the vanilla does not overpower the taste. I HATE super artificial tasting vanilla and this one avoided that tinny on your tongue feeling>

I love this tea. I will likely purchase some of this loose next time I visit a David’s shop!

I am not adding a score for this one…it tastes like pickles! I had my husband try it and he thought it tasted like pickles also….very strange. Any reason why this would taste pickle? I got it in a swap but it had never been opened…..

anyone want it? maybe you will get lychee or bamboo….

I got this in a swap…although I am not sure who sent it. (SORRY, but THANK YOU, etc. etc.)

I tried it 1.5 tsp/cup, boil, 5 minute steep and it was somewhat week. I LOVE maple and am going to give it another try. I want to get the MAPLE!!! flavor that other tasters found. I am not going to rate until I give it a chance…Does anyone else have any good steeping parameters for this one?

I picked this tea up when I was in London and got to visit the Mariage Frères boutique located within the Selfridges department store. I chose this tea because I LOVE my Kusmi Violet and wanted to try another Violet tea…of which there are not that many. This tea has a much stronger violet aroma then the Kusmi and it tastes lovely, silky and floral. I am thrilled with this tea and the boutique was wonderful also.

Drank this tea on the way to work this AM. I needed something sweet to help celebrate the new year! I’ve been drinking lots of tea of late but nothing noteworthy (hence my disappearance). I love the steepster community and am VERY THANKFUL to have you all as we ring in 2013. I adore this tea and love to celebrate!

No notes yet.

I am not really a chai person but like the black pepper in this. Otherwise it is pretty unremarkable. If you do not like peppery teas this would not be for you. I can’t really taste any other individual notes.

I often have trouble with Chai teas. I can never seem to find one that I like. The same thing happens with pumpkin spice teas. HOWEVER, I LOVE this tea! As someone said in a earlier note this TRULY tastes like PUMPKIN. The spices are balanced and it has a very nice flavor. I drank it without any sugar/milk and I thought it tasted like a great pumpkin tea. When I added in a little bit of rock sugar / milk the chai flavors really became apparent. Since I am not a HUGE chai fan I will go back to drinking it straight. THIS IS A REAL winner for me.

P.S. I got this from the tea review blog monthly swap. If you are interested you can look check it out at http://www.teareviewblog.com/?page_id=1706 or on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/teaswap/.http://www.teareviewblog.com/

I like Darjeeling and I like fruity hibiscus blends…Why don’t I like this? It almost tastes…rusty? Dumped this one down the drain…

This is not for me. I have tried it several times and all I get is a bitter malt brew. Not rating it because I am unsure if this is me, how I am brewing or the tea. Putting this up for swaps. Anyone want to try it? I have quite a bit I brought back from London a few months back.