Feisty

A David’s Tea just opened in my town!! YAY! Unfortunately I am on a strict no-tea-buying diet until I have room in my tea chest for more goodies. So going into a brand new tea shop who’s offerings I’d been very fond of when I was sent them by friends in cities already blessed with a David’s Teas was well, masochistic to say the least. Possibly damaging to my psychological well-being, I think I strained something in exercising my restraint and not buying any loose leaf. So while I simply marveled at all the offerings, I left only with one cup of brewed tea, specifically this Pumpkin Chai.

I love pumpkin (my favorite kind of pie!), and a chai is just the best tea for this time of year in my opinion. As this is one of their limited time only seasonal teas I just had to try it while I could (it narrowly beat out another seasonal selection, the Lemon Cream Pie which also smelled intoxicating). I’m not exactly sure of either the amount of leaf, or the water temperature this was brewed in since the lady behind the counter made it, but I definitely think the water was cooler then boiling. Unlike many other places I get tea I didn’t have to wait half an hour for the drink to cool enough to avoid tongue-scalding, making me think the water was much cooler initially.

In the big tin the tea smelled lovely, a warm black tea note mixed with a subtle combination of chai spices (compared to some of their chais that have peppercorns in them this one was positively mild). There was a hint of the creamy, sweet, slightly…vegetable-y? note of pumpkin as well which seemed to give it a nice depth.

The lady gave me the cup with the tea in one of those little tea pouches and suggested waiting 2-4 minutes to let it steep. No suggestion of sweetening it unlike the package directions so I didn’t, though I think a hint of honey or brown sugar would have really brought out some of the flavours. I went on a walk, and sort of forgot about the pouch of tea, and so it probably steeped 10+ minutes. No bitterness resulted, even when the amount of water the tea was in steadily decreased. The flavour of the liquid tea wasn’t as strong as I had hoped, the black tea was rather milder then most I’ve had before (as evidenced by the fact I was happy to drink it without milk or sugar, generally an absolute necessity when I drink blacks like English breakfast). There was a hint of chai spices, mostly cinnamon that I noted, but again, not terribly strong, more something you noticed when you swallowed. The pumpkin well…I can’t really say I got a real pumpkin note from this. It’s a pretty subtle flavour most of the time so I wasn’t too surprised, and there was definitely another part of the tea that wasn’t “black tea” or “chai spices” but without the title I don’t know if I’d have identified it as pumpkin. More of just a bit of creamy richness to the tea rather then an actual pumpkin taste maybe. I enjoyed this tea, it was nice having a black that I didn’t feel needed any additives, and it was pleasant just to sip on a brisk fall evening.

One other note, I was rather disappointed in the layout of the David’sTea store. The had all their teas in big tins on a shelf behind the counter, necessitating that a sales person bring the tin to you. Now I’m a person who likes shopping on my own, I’ll ask questions if I have them, but otherwise I’m not big on conversing with sales people etc (prefer to slowly come to my own decisions without the pressure of someone standing there waiting) and this layout basically forces you to stand at the counter and chat. The sales people were very nice, friendly and helpful, but I also found them a bit pushy, bringing me all sorts of teas I hadn’t asked for and sticking them under my nose. While many of the David’sTeas teas sounded/looked/smelled amazing and so I’ll be back, I much prefer the layout of tea stores in my town like Teaopia/The Tea Store/Cha Cha Tea who have their teas along the walls and let people sniff and comparison shop undisturbed and on their own. Just my two cents, just in case a David’sTea representative comes across this note :)

After sticking my nose in many a tea-filled can at the Teaopia shop at my local mall I decided on a cuppa of this one, mainly because it smelled powerfully fresh, green, creamy and surprise, surprise! – like coconut! Prepared according to either Teaopia’s specifications or whatever the woman working there decided to do with it (I confess being too busy talking myself out of buying a nice lidded mug to pay attention). I enjoyed the cup, although I’m not sure if that was mostly because of the flavour or because it was a nice, hot beverage on a distinctly nippy day. Unfortunately despite the tempting smell the taste was decidedly lacking. Sniffing the bewed tea delivered the scent of coconut, and a sort of creamy, maybe slightly sweet note, but my mouth got just a hint of the green tea base and a mild sweetness towards the back of my tongue that faded quickly. There was none bitterness you can get from improperly prepared green tea which was nice but it was pretty bland overall. Definitely more of a temptress to my nose then a lover to my tongue. Alas.

So now that I’ve been reunited with my tea (if not all my tea-making toys alas) I’ve been wearing away on my big stash before I make any new purchases, and because it somehow looks a lot bigger then it did two months ago before I went away!

Since I have a nice big tin of this, and since it’s pretty hard to mess up a honeybush and I’ve been going ka-razy! with job applications/interviews/licensing exams I’ve been making it quite a lot. I had to look back and see what I had written about it the first time, and I think I was a little bit harsh, but generally correct. This doesn’t have the rich, decadent coconut-ness I was hoping for, probably because the tarter tropical notes of the pineapple and the sweetness of the honeybush have equal roles to the coconut in this production. But despite not being “what I was hoping for”, this is GOOD. It’s refreshing and surprisingly sweet (go very sparingly if you add sweeteners, this needs little to none or it turns candy-sweet ick!). It comes out a nice amber colour and full-flavoured no matter the random steeping it gets (frazzled me is not so good on water temps and timing), and while I find the flavour is noticeably more pronounced when it’s cold I prefer it hot when there’s still room for a bit of tangy pineapple and creamy coconut to shine through the sweet honeybush.

I’m upping the rating a bit on this one since I’ve gotten over my lack of coconut snit. All and all a good, reliable cuppa!

No notes yet.

I have been absent from Steepsterton for way too long simple because I HAD NO TEA. Living at the tip of James Bay (northern Ontario) for two months with a 25lb weight limit for baggage to get up here has put a major cramp in my tea drinking style. The only thing available to me has been bagged Tetely Orange Pekoe (drinkable but not really postworthy). But (drum roll please!), courtesy of my amazing friends down south, and my birthday, I received no fewer then three packages of delicious looking loose leaf – one of which is this blend that I’ve been wanting to try forever (being a huge fan of grenadine-filled Shirley Temple’s as a child).

YAAAAAAAYYYYY! happy tea dance

So expect postings fellow Steepsterites, I’m through with lurking!!

Oh, and to make this slightly about the tea, while I haven’t gotten to brew it up yet the dry tea smell is just lovely – sweet-sweet melded with a nice black tea nippiness and warm vanilla notes – YUM!!

Another bagged, flavoured green I picked up at work. Compared to the Mint Green from Tetley that I really liked this one was a bit of a disappointment. The blueberry flavour didn’t seem to meld well with the green tea, you got this hit of very sweet (and slightly fake) tasting blueberry and then the flavour of the green tea and even though it was from the same sip it just seemed…disjointed somehow? If the blueberry had tasted more like actual blueberries rather then sugary-sweet blueberry candy it probably would have been a good combination, as it was it was meh.

Ending on a good note the green tea didn’t turn bitter even though it was probably overcooked and oversteeped which is handy in a bagged tea which I at least tend to drink it non-optimum tea conditions.

I snagged a bag of this at work today and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The mint flavour is quite definitely present but doesn’t overwhelm the green tea, I could definitely tell this was a green tea with mint, the green was the centerpiece, the star, and the mint made a nice supporting cast.

I used the hot water dispenser in the cafeteria and was a bit worried it would turn out bitter from scortching the leaves or oversteeping but no bitterness to be found at all! While I’m sure there are probably better mint greens out there in the loose leaf world I’m bumping the rating up a bit on this one because it was really good for a bagged tea, and the convenience factor cannot be denied. I might consider picking some of this up when I need a bagged green for on the go.

Caved and got this tea a while back (before it showed up on the Select obviously, d’oh!) because I was seduced by the idea of a tea that tasted like a) ice cream, and b) a type of ice cream I love. Mmmm creamy and sweet and nutty oh my!! ::happy dance!:: Ahem, okay back to the tea…

I steeped according to the package directions, but I was a little worried I might end up with something ickily bitter because I wasn’t able to control the time as much as usual (moving (the bane of my existance), has necessitated me packing up all my beloved tea stuff, and the only strainer I have on hand is incredibly leaky resulting in a lot of the tea actually ending up in the bottom of the cup, and hence oversteeped). But no need to fret, the cup has no trace of bitterness, even from the little bits still swimming around happily in there (thankfully they settle well). The dry tea smelled lovely (say it with me: creamy and sweet and nutty oh my!) and there were big chunks of pecan amongst the leaves. The taste seems a bit muted compared to the smell. It definitely has a faint sort of maple-y sweetness, and a creamy sort of note when I swallow but the nutty pecan goodness is hiding from me.

The black tea flavour is definitely present and pleasant with decent strength but little bitterness. This could be a cup I could drink sans milk or sweetner, but in the name of experimentation I added some to see if it’d round out the tea and maybe bring out those elusive nuts? A spash of milk and half a sweetner packet did make this taste creamier and sweeter, helping the ice cream comparison, but unfortunately didn’t do anything to make it taste more pecan-y.

Overall from my first cup of this I say that it is a yummy, fairly mild and easy to drink black tea with a natural sweetness, creamy notes, no bitterness, and good with or without additives. Unfortunately it seems closer to a “Vanilla ice cream” or “Maple ice cream” tea then a Butter Pecan one because I just can’t find the nuts! I’m hoping playing around with the steeping might bring it out a bit more? Does anyone have any suggestions?

UPDATE: Okay, when I stick my nose into my cup and inhale I can definitely smell pecans and when I exhale after taking a sip I can sort of smell them for a moment. Are all my ten thousand or so taste buds just broken? o_O

Backlogging

I got a big, beautiful tin of this during the Memorial Day Blowout on Steepster Select a while back and I was super-excited to try it because of my love of all things coconut and the fact that it was blended with honeybush which I’ve come to enjoy rather more then rooibos.

The dry tea smelled AMAZING. Like “wow!”, “yum!”, and “can I eat it?” all at once. There were giant chunks of pineapple (a wee bit shocking at first) and nice big flakes of coconut. The scent was sweet with that rich creamy note I associate with coconut.

I made a cup of this following the directions on the tin, and went up to the 10 minute steep time because I wanted to maximize the flavour and since there’s no worry about bitterness why not? I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t a sheen of coconut oil floating on top of the tea which I’ve come to expect from my other pina colada blend. I first tried it neat, and found it rather lacking in flavour. From the smell I’d expected a solid punch of tropical-sweet and coconuty goodness but it just wasn’t coming through, instead I mostly tasted honeybush (a slightly sweet woodsy flavour). I added a bit of honey to see if that would bring out the pina colada flavours and it did to a certain extent, the pineapple notes got more prominent but it didn’t do anything for the coconut.

The coconut in particular was a let down, I’d really hoped for the rich, almost oily mouthfeel I’ve gotten from other coconut teas, and the chunks of coconut in this one should have provided that…

Overall it was an alright tea that tasted okay, so I’m not really sure whether I’m actually disappointed or my expectations were just too high. Based on this I’m going to score it generously in hopes that my next attempts are more satisfying. Next time I’m going to forgo the honey and try a bit of milk/cream and see if that gives this tea more of the decadent heft I was hoping for.

I got this as my free pouch for being the 10 respondent with the right answer to the email quiz (thanks Frank!), and was very excited about it as I have fairly recently discovered that despite not liking actual solid coconut (it’s the texture I think), I LOVE coconut milk and coconut flavored things (thanks to Adagio’s pina colada tea). So getting this was quite a treat, and to celebrate I was determined to make a fantastic cuppa.

Since I happened to have some coconut milk left over from a curry recipe I figured what better cream-substitute for coconut cream pie tea then actual coconut cream (the nice thick part that separates on top of the coconut milk – Mmm mmm good!).

I made a cup of this according to the package directions, going with the longer suggested steep time to get maximum coconuty-goodness. The result neat was a smooth black tea with no bitterness and a delightful rich-sweet coconut-cream note. Now I’ve never actually had coconut cream pie, but I imagine this would be what it tasted like. I didn’t seen as much of a coconut oil sheen on the top of the tea as I have with other coconut blends, but the flavour definitely didn’t disappoint.

As good as it was plain, I just had to try it coconut-ed to the max, and added about a teaspoon of coconut cream. The result was fantastic. The coconut cream just punched the coconut flavour up and added more richness that complimented the sweetness of the tea very well. It was like a topical desert in a cup, and even my friend who stated he “wasn’t really into coconut” loved it.

UGH.

I got this from my local coffee shop when I went with a friend and didn’t feel like a rich latte after a big meal. It sounded like it would be refreshing, cleansing maybe, just what I needed.

Not sure of water temp and I just left the bag in the cup. The smell was exactly like that NeoCitran lemon drink you make when you have a cold, which for me is a good thing as I always thought that hot-lemonade taste was great.

With high hopes I take my first sip and initially it’s fine. I get a nice tart lime flavour that gives my taste buds a tingle. And then I swallow and I get…chemical? Like serious, metallic, tastes-and-feels-like-its-got-to-be-poisonous chemical flavour on the back and sides of my tongue. It sort of makes me think of when you’ve touched coins and then put your fingers in your mouth, that sort of tongue-puckering metallic taste. In a hot cup of tea. Yeah…not so good.

Because I didn’t make this myself I can’t say whether something went wrong in the preparation but I certainly hope so. Otherwise this tea is supposed to taste like this.

UGH. UGH. UGH.

I’m going to go brush my teeth now.

Disclaimer: This was my first matcha experience. Because of this and other factors I am not rating this tea because well, it would be entirely unfair to grade this poor tea based on what I did to it.

I got this matcha a little while ago but held off making it because well, I was intimidated. The whole process sounded so complicated, and I don’t own a single proper matcha-making utensil. So I was planning on doing a little research, figuring out the exact specifications of water, tea and temperature, and maybe running down to the Asian grocery in search of one of those little whisk thingies. In essence trying to make it “properly”. Instead I made this at midnight, in a *#$f&! mood after hours of studying, and based on some vague memory of seeing “1 tsp matcha to 8 oz. of water” somewhere. So much for research.

I went with a flat 1/2 teaspoon of matcha to 3/4 cup of hot-ish water. As I also don’t own a thermometer I poured the water when it was steaming but before I saw any bubbles in hopes that might be somewhere around the proper temperature. I just dumped in the powder, no sifting, and attacked it with my electric frother. It didn’t froth much, just producing a little pile of loose bubbles that disappeared quite quickly but it did suspend the powder decently.

As for taste…I was disappointed. But then I don’t know what I expected, for it to taste like green tea ice cream? It was a little bit bitter, but I imagine that’s because the water was too hot, and a little weak tasting, either because my unrealistic expectations or because I should make it thicker next time. It tasted like a sort of fuller green tea, or maybe a green tea with creamy notes?

At first I didn’t taste the strawberry at all, though as it cooled I caught hints of strawberry randomly, though when I really tried to pin them down they vanished. I found I enjoyed it more as it cooled (more indication that I started waaay too hot), and I think I’d actually like it better if it was thicker, as towards the bottom of the cup I was picking up more creaminess (I think how I perceive the “matcha taste”), and strawberry notes.

So…good? I think? At least I’m definitely inspired to do it properly next time. Oh, and I apologize to 52teas and matcha lovers everywhere for butchering this ancient and honored elixir.

Singing*: “If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain…!”

Ahem. Excuse the little musical interlude. But seriously, that song runs through my head every time I drink this. It’s a good thing. Sort of.

We’ve had a few deliciously warm days (shockingly early for us Northeners) and this tea is perfect for this kind of weather. It makes me think of summer, which is funny because I don’t think I’ve ever drank an actual Pina Colada (during the summer or otherwise), so I guess it’s just the fruity-creamy flavour with the of coconut-suntan oil scent that make me think summer.

Since I don’t know what actual Pina Coladas taste like I’m not qualified to compare, but this tea tastes like fruity coconut. I assume the fruity notes come from the pineapple, apples, rose hip and maybe hibiscus flowers? The coconut flavour is easier to explain and I like the description of it as “savory”. It’s sweet. It’s rich. It’s creamy. It gives you that decadent almost brothy mouthfeel that makes this feel much thicker then your average tea. It’s OILY. And it’s delicious! Which is funny because I don’t like solid coconut (icky texture!), but mmmm the taste in this tea is wonderful!

I found the rich-sweet-oily taste balanced very well with the more tart fruit flavours (apple is the one that came through most clearly for me, not surprising because there were tons of chunks of dried apple in this tea). I’m very tempted to try Adagio’s coconut-only flavoured tea since it’s the coconut in this one that I found really unique and great, but I do wonder if it would taste as good (or maybe become cloying) without the fruit complement.

I’ve made this by following the tin’s instructions (I think seven minutes and slightly below boiling but I don’t have the tin here to be sure), and also by massively oversteeping it with boiling water (who me? lazy?). Both turned out great. In fact I didn’t really notice any difference at all, which makes me love this tea even more for being so forgiving.

So if you like coconut, or pinapple, or apple or especially if you like all three…try this tea!

Wanders off singing*: “Then I’m the love that you’ve looked for, write to me and escape…!”

*The term “singing” is used very loosely. VERY.

From my flavoured black Adagio sampler comes…vanilla tea! Now I’m a huge vanilla fan, and this is my first “straight vanilla” tea, so this was one that I was most excited to try.

I’ve made this several times now (very behind on logging my tasting notes), and I followed the steeping parameters on the tin each time to very tasty results. Thankfully it seems quite forgiving of over-steeping and only once did it turn out icky-bitter (which was overcome with some milk and sugar).

The dry leaves have a pleasant tea-vanilla scent that is quite natural (more vanilla bean then super-sweet vanilla dessert). The liquor continued with the vanilla scent just milder then the dry leaves. I tried it first straight and found it drinkable with very little bitterness, but also not much vanilla flavour. I find vanilla is one of those full flavours, it should have some heft and substance you know? Straight this tea had a pleasant black tea flavour and a hint of vanilla-bean taste/scent but without the sweet-richness I think vanilla should have.

I added some milk (really want to try it with cream!), and about half a spoon of of sugar and found this really brought out and filled out the vanilla flavour nicely. This would make a nice dessert tea with some cream or flavoured creamer and I definitely want to try it combined with some of my fruit teas! Vanilla-strawberry…drool

I don’t have time for a proper tasting note for this one right now (damn you research critique!) but I just had to say after a cup and a pot of this today: YUM!

Also, this tea is oily.

But wait! This oiliness is a good thing!!

Oh mouthfeel! I’ve read about you, searched for you, longed for you…and found you at last!

This was one of the stranger offerings in my Adagio herbal sampler. Maybe it’s just me, but rooibos and jasmine just don’t seem to go together; I associated rooibos with sweet (chocolate, vanilla) or spicy (chai) but not florals like jasmine. Ah well, it’ll be an adventure right?

Uhm, not really.

I brewed this approximately to the package instruction although I was a little iffy on the water temperature (the tin said 180 degrees which surprised me as I thought tisane = boiling?). I don’t have a thermometer and I was feeling lazy (damn you paper writing!) so I just let the boiled water sit for a minute or so to cool down a little. Steeped 7 minutes with approximately 1 teaspoon of leaves for a cup of water.

Both the dry leaves and the liquor had a strong jasmine smell with maybe a bit of “woodiness” underneath that I assume was the rooibos. The taste? Pretty much zilch.

When I sipped while breathing in I got the strong jasmine floral scent, but it felt like my taste buds didn’t have anything to work with at all, no matter how much I slurped or swished. When I held my breath there was nothing indicating I wasn’t drinking hot water. Even when I exhaled after a sip the “after taste” was more the scent coming at my nose via my mouth then any true flavour.

I know jasmine teas in general are more about the scent then the taste but other examples that I’ve tried at least had some flavour. My taste buds feel left out.

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

I see this tea elicits very…strong…reactions, which I guess is unsurprising as it is such a strong-tasting tea. I have to agree with other reviewers that calling this a “tea” may be slightly misleading. I’ve almost made it through a whole box of this and I can’t say I’ve ever found it tasted like tea, the sheer strength of the orange flavours vastly overwhelm any tea-notes that may be present.

I personally really like this tea, but then I bludgeon my palate regularly with super-spicy, super-salty, super-everything food and so I often find the subtler notes of many teas are simply not perceptible to my taste buds. I can definitely taste the orange here, it’s a kick-to-the-tongue sort of flavour that almost makes me think more of a commercial ice tea or weak juice then a tea. I find it quite natural tasting, though maybe a bit more of a tart-sour mouth-puckering orange-peel flavour then a sweet orange-flesh one. I just looked at the ingredients and realized there’s a lot more then orange in here, and this is a surprise, because according to my tongue there’s just…a lot of orange. Sorry licorice, I’m just not finding you.

I find this is a good morning tea when I need something bracingly citrus-y and don’t want to worry about the effects of caffeine. I also like that it’s impossible to mess up (assuming you don’t think the actual taste of the tea is a mistake!). I stick a bag in my travel mug, dump boiling water over it, and can leave the bag in the entire time I drink it without worrying about bitterness. A hit of honey tends to smooth and round out the taste nicely.

All in all one of the most distinctive teas I’ve tried, and a tasty one. If you’re big into orange, give this tea a try at a Starbucks or sample pack, the orange-demon-tea just might be your thing!

Backlogging from earlier this weekend…

So a road trip isn’t a road trip (at least in Canada) without Timmy’s. But what to do when your tummy is a little unsettled and you don’t feel up for crazy-caffeinated coffee or even their usually decent bagged chai tea? Pepermint tea!

Now I have to say, this was an experiment for me. I’ve had a couple bad experiences with peppermint tea in the past causing tummy-upset but I know that it’s actually supposed to be good for your stomach so I decided to give it another go.

This is the second time recently that I’ve given a “don’t like it” tea another try, and as with Earl Gray I think I’m going to have to take peppermint tea off the banned list. This cup was tasty, soothing, and being trapped in a car for hours I liked that I didn’t have to worry about over-steeping it or caffeine content. I got a little bit of cream added to mine and I think the peppermint flavour (which I found just a little bit weak) may have come out stronger had I gone without. I liked the peppermint notes in this tea more then previous peppermints though as it seemed sweeter and rounder (more like a peppermint candy) rather then a very sharp, “natural” peppermint flavour.

I had a couple bags of this at a friend’s house over the weekend. I’ll admit I was first seduced by the pretty box (sigh, it’s a weakness). The tea inside the pretty box was only “meh” unfortunately. I didn’t find it had a whole lot of flavour even though I left the tea bag in the travel mug the entire time I was drinking it. There was just a hint of berry tang/sweetness over the mild green tea flavour and that’s about it. The fact that I added a bit of table cream (craving creamy drinks all weekend, no idea why!) may have been at least partially responsible for the somewhat bland tea. Thankfully (and surprisingly!) there was no bitterness whatsoever, despite the fact that my friend made it with boiling water and the aforementioned oversteeping.

I’d say this is a tea I would drink, but not bother to buy myself.

For anyone who noticed: Yes, I did say I drank this twice, but I feel I can only base my review on the one occasion as the other was rather affected by adding a generous helping of Amarula Cream Liquor. Though that drink deserves a tongue-sticking-out-smiley rating ;).

Ok, so I’m trying this tea again with my “early” morning study session. I’m trying to get better at trying the same tea several times in a short period to make comparisons between more accurate.

This time I set out to only steep this tea for 4 minutes, less then I would ordinarily do for a black, but with the aim of avoiding the beastly bitterness of the last cup. However after 4 minutes a little sip told me the brew was very weak (hot water with a hint of tea flavour) with already a distinct bite of bitter in there. So I’ve concluded that the “intense bitterness” I was complaining about in my last tasting note was probably, well, just what properly steeped straight Earl Gray is supposed to taste like (rating will have to be adjusted I think).

I let this cup steep for another two whole minutes or so (need. morning. jolt.) and the bitterness increased a bit, but seemed much more bearable today for some reason. A bit of 1% milk, honey and one sweetner package has a nice morning cuppa for me.

Earl Gray has been officially been brought back into my life.

Preface: I don’t like Earl Gray tea. Mind you I determined this from drinking a friends London Fog latte, finding the taste unpleasant, feeling sick to my stomach, and declaring Earl Gray the worst tea ever which I never wanted to drink again.

But…I happened to be given a tin of this tea and waste not, want not…

The dry tea smells like…tea. Now my nose is so far from being sensitive it’s not even funny, and I thought I could catch an “other” sort of smell which I took to be the bergamot, but mostly this smelt like black tea to me.

Last time I made this for my boyfriend (who is a big Earl Gray drinker) he commented it was a little weak, so this time I put two teaspoons of tea in (my teaspoon is smaller then regulation size) for my somewhat jumbo mug (I really have to figure out how much it holds). Steeped it for 5 minutes on the dot.

The liquid tea again mostly smelt like…tea. Are there like some exercises you can do so your nose can pick up subtle notes of this and that from a tea? I don’t have the knack. But it was a good smell, it made my brain want to drink it. Which stopped after the first sip, which was face-scrunchingly bitter. Second sip was bitter too, as was the third and the slurp. Now I should say I don’t tend to like black teas straight, so this may have just been a normal tasting Earl Gray and my taste buds been spoiled by milk and sugar.

I dumped in a bunch of 1% milk and honey, and then a Equal sweetner packet to finally end up with a cup I was able to drink, though any notes of anything in the original flavour are long gone.

I based my steep time off other tasting notes for this tea, but I think next time I’ll try a shorter steep and see if that helps with the bitterness. Also, I just stirred the tea and realized how much of the leaf somehow made it through my infuser, it’s possible the bits of tea sitting in the cup have been over steeping and contributing to the bitter taste?

At least my tummy feels fine so far…

These are individually packaged tea bags (environmentally bad but soooo convenient!), and when I rip one open I get a very strong sent of cloves…a hit of cinnamon…maybe a bit of ginger. I give another sniff looking for the orange peel smell but I can’t say I really find it. There might be a slight citrus tang sort of rounding out the spicy smells, either from the orange or the dried lime. Overall, a very yummy smelling tea!

No instructions on the box, but thanks to the informative people on this site I now know that white teas should be brewed with cooler water. Unfortunately I don’t have a thermometer, so I guess with the water temperature based on the noise my kettle is making (that lull between the louder sighing noise and the full-on boil).

Steep for ~9 minutes (oops, got distracted making breakfast), and I expected it to be very bitter. Nope, no bitterness, just a delicate spicy-tea taste. I figure the delicacy of the taste is because this is white tea, not the stronger-tasting black I’m used to.

The liquid tea smells like cinnamon and cloves, though I like to think I can catch a note of orange in there, a slightly different zing to the scent. First sip is…hmm a little bland? I try the slurp, that brings out the spice taste a bit more, and there’s a tingle on the front of my tongue. No spicy burn in my throat though. And not much tea flavour (maybe because of the white again?). I sip a bit more, but my taste buds aren’t really getting the flavour much. I know you’re typically not supposed to add things to white tea because it drowns out the flavour but…in goes a little squirt of honey and a tiny dab of cream. I like the result, but it may be because it now tastes like a faintly spicy creamy-sweet hot drink of indeterminate composition. Oops.

Thankfully I have a whole box of this to experiment with. I think next time I’ll try either hotter water or an even longer steep, just to see if that brings out more taste. And be a purist and resist the urge to sweeten-cream everything I drink…