Jackie T

Really just logging this to share this link with you all about tea meditation:

http://www.wherewegonow.com/debbies-blog/have-you-stopped-tea-meditation-today

This is pretty mild, and I do taste the butterscotch as well as the caramel but it isn’t strongly flavored. It’s a good black tea base so it’s easy to drink even if the sweetness that I hoped for isn’t there. Of all the teas I’ve tasted from the huge order I have in my house from Culinary Teas, this is one of my favorites so far. I wouldn’t reorder it, there are teas I like far more, but since there are 3oz lying in a box in my house, I will drink it.

I actually really didn’t mind this tea. Living in Vermont and having Maple as the official state flavor (who knew that even existed?) I have high maple standards. This is not in your face sweet, though I was kind of hoping for that. This is very mild, with a caramel type flavor that didn’t get bitter. It was a nice cup of tea, I would like to blend it with something else, maybe a vanilla and a fruit flavored tea. That’s something I like about this tea, I think it would be a great one to blend.

Now I thought this smelled awesome until I handed the bag to my boyfriend, Rick and he said “Blech! It smells like Robitussin!” I smelled it again, and sure enough it had that same cherry with a kind of tangy spicy medicinal tinge to it. Brewed it anyway, I just so happen to kind of like Robitussin. It tastes more like a cherry cordial than cough medicine if you ask me, but sometimes I find that I have to be thinking about the flavors while I’m sipping the tea to really taste them. This one is kind of like that. Not my favorite, but I’ve had worse.

I’m not really impressed with Culinary Teas so far, I placed a huge order with a gift certificate about a month ago and it took exactly a month to get the package. I’ll review everything I try, I have a lot of them to go through. I’m a dessert tea freak so unless it’s up there with 52teas Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake, Della Terra Smores, or DAVIDs Red Velvet Cake…my ratings won’t be too high.

Ok this tea is wicked cute, I love the sprinkles. It’s not too spicy, but I don’t taste a lot of pumpkin. I think in comparison to DAVIDs Pumpkin Chai this is more chai and DAVIDs is more pumpkin. I truly think that chai lovers will enjoy this tea, and I bought 3oz of it so I’m up for swaps haha. It didn’t wow me but I definitely don’t dislike it.

Now I’m always up for some new mate in my cupboard for those times when you get home after a long day with a pounding headache and you just NEED a strong dose of caffeine…hence buying this.

It brews up nicely, but I would recommend timing it at maybe 5-6 minutes because the sweet fruitiness did get overwhelming and bitter by letting it sit untimed. I could definitely taste the chili, and of course the longer it brews the spicier it is. I don’t handle spicy as well as most people though so my version of spicy may be more mild than yours.

The mango isn’t obvious, it’s definitely a fruit, it’s kind of more citrusy than anything else. I think this would probably rock as an iced tea, and the sweetness of it would be more appealing cold. Overall I’m glad I have this and it’s not just a sample size. I would recommend it to fruity tea lovers, mate drinkers, and those looking for an iced tea mate.

Got this from Lariel in a swap, thank you!

I’ve had a lot of pumpkin teas, as I’m sure a lot of you also have. I love pumpkin chai from DAVIDs, I love Chocolate Pumpkin Pie and Grandma’s Pumpkin Pie from Della Terra…I don’t love this pumpkin. I see that it’s also a chai, but I just don’t taste ANY pumpkin, just chai spices and clove. I don’t smell pumpkin either. I personally wouldn’t order it, but I’m stoked I got to try it because otherwise I would have thought every time I was on the website “should I get it? nahh I’ll just wait.”

I got this sample in my DAVIDs order and was slightly intrigued by it but not crazy excited to try it. I once had a coconut gelato and threw up later that night, similar situation with a coconut coffee…needless to say I’m a little afraid of coconut. Also, to me…mint is an on it’s own flavor in teas, but let’s give it a go.

It smells incredible, the coconut smells creamy and smooth, the mint isn’t overpowering (which I was afraid of.) Seriously I might keep the little sample bag so I can just sniff it. It’s like tropical with a cool refreshing breeze.

I just didn’t want to forget to log this, I will finish the tasting review and rating once it cools down!

Ok, brewed this has an extraordinarily comforting smell to me. A combination of the peppermint tea I drank growing up and the coconut reminds me of running outside in the summer where I lived on the coast in Connecticut during my year of service where I met my boyfriend. I miss “home” so much, but he doesn’t, so grasping any fleeting feeling of it is like a dream to me. The sip is minty first, then a vanilla coconut. The vanilla and coconut come in more when the liquor fills my mouth, I get it more in the back of my tongue. The mint is surprisingly fresh tasting. I actually really love this tea, it’s such a treat to me. I hope I can stock up on some for the summer before it’s all gone. This may be my go to tea for bad days or homesick days now.

I got a very generous amount of this in a swap from Artp.

Upon first sniff I get literally just pure honey, which makes my mouth water. So I brew it up and the smell is similar but a little more bitter. The taste is fabulous- it’s smooth and sweet, but fresh. I love that it combines mate, honeybush, and rooibos for a worry free zero bitterness brew. I love to keep some fun flavored mates on hand and I think this one might be added to my permanent collection :)

oh right, it also reminds me of honey cough drops but in a good way.

Seriously if my boyfriend weren’t so amazing I would marry this tea

using this lovely little basket for my Vermont Liberty Tea Company Jade Oolong :) best for resteeps

Sometimes I want to appreciate the time I have during the day a little more, so brewing an oolong does that for me. I can appreciate the tastes of multiple steeps, see the beauty of the leaves getting fuller as they brew, and smell the sweet floral crispness :) I have about an hour and a half before my next appointment so I think I’ll sip slowly.

There is a run in my new tights and the vending machine ate my dollar. It must be a Monday…hopefully this tea helps.

yummm buttery! I’m drinking the sample of this that elizabeth229 sent me (along with bunches of Pumpkin Chai and a sample of Oh Canada). My first sip is a freshness and a buttery feeling and flavor. I taste the green tea, it’s a grassy tea which I really like. I think it’s too hot to taste the apple and maple right now so I will update this in a little bit :)

update—> ok so I still don’t get any apple flavor but I get a LITTLE LITTLE bit of maple. I love the smell of this tea, but the taste is just kind of whatever to me. I think I’d reach for it more if I wasn’t in the mood for a flavored tea (which is like, never). It’s not one I will re purchase but I will enjoy what I have of it.

Now I was a little surprised that this tisane barely changed the color of my hot water…and was therefore afraid it would just taste like hot water. I was also afraid that it would have that artifical dried pineapple kind of taste that I find some company’s banana teas do. NOPE, this is freaking awesome.

It smells like its hot in the oven, and it tastes a little less like the breadiness that I smell and more like the warm toasty banana-ness I want! My non tea drinking boyfriend again liked a tea! He didn’t want a full cup of it, but he also had real banana cream pie so it’s probably not comparable to him.

I love this, but I’m bummed at how little of my tin it fills when I empty my two 50 gram bags into it. Guess I’ll just have to buy more!

This seems to go as fast as it comes in. I am swapping loads of this tea and not drinking nearly enough of it myself, so I sip now. Marshmallowy, chocolatey, graham crackery goodness. It’s smooth and rich without being bitter. It’s a summer bonfire in a grey kitten mug and I love it so much.

Because who doesn’t want Buttered Rum tea for breakfast? Just logging my sips, and man were they good! I left all my DAVIDs teas at home so I can truly enjoy them later and also greatly appreciate them this weekend :)

I got my DAVIDs order!!! oh my goodness I was so excited to have a cup of this after my shower last night, sitting on the couch with my grey kitty and my birthday cake tea! I’ve reviewed this before, just logging it, and also to share a story.

So last night my kitty, Jude, was feeling like he wasn’t getting enough attention, so I kneeled down on the floor with him and decided to play. Well his back arched, his tail poufed out, and he ran sideways across the apartment. He then crept back to where I was kneeling on all fours and tilted his head to the side, then rolled over on his back. So I did the same. He then stood up and proceeded to do this cycle 3 more times. I then put my hand out to him and without claws he batted my hand and ran. I think he thought I was another cat for a little bit last night, and I must say, I enjoyed it too. Oh cat people.

Since there are no notes or ratings I thought I’d whip one up quick before my meeting! I tried this first with almond milk and german rock sugar and did not like it, not much earl grey and NO chocolate. So they other day I tried it with nothing added, which is how I typically drink my tea and it was much better. I got the bergamot, though not much it was still there, and the chocolate is like a melted hershey kiss kind of taste and smell. It’s an interesting combo, I don’t think I would reorder this but I love the name and it’s such a fun idea!

ok so the first bag of this I had I wasn’t very fond of, but since it has such great reviews I thought I would give it another try. Point blank, I can’t imagine living without it. Maybe this bag is just better or maybe my taste is more refined (doubt that) but this is legitimately one of the most delicious teas ever. I am finally getting the mapley deliciousness and the true golden brown pancake flavor! This and Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake are WONDERS!!

The reason I’m logging a review on this again is because my NON tea drinking boyfriend (a loyal consumer of NAS energy drinks and black coffee) asked for a sip of my tea last night to make some Advil while he was studying. Not a minute later he said “Can I have a full cup of that?” Ummmm WHAT?! He has taken a few sips of teas he has liked, or at least not hated (he likes Walter Bishop Tea too) but he has NEVER had a cup of tea. Well, he had a small cup of Walter tea when I had a pot of it, but he wanted a full mug of Pancake Breakfast tea. Miracles. Now I need to order more because I have discovered a new love of it and my boyfriend (Rick) actually enjoyed a full mug.

I used the last of my samples of this over the weekend :( I was hoping I could hold onto it until my DAVIDs order came in. No such luck, I couldn’t resist it. I’ve logged a review of the flavor before, but this time the taste of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven prompted me to make cookies…which turned out more like muffin tops but oh well:

1 banana
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp ground flax
half cup flour
2 scoops of protein powder (I used chocolate)
1 tsp cinnamon
quarter cup chocolate chips
1 tsp baking soda

mix, blend, put in 1 inch drops, bake 8 minutes. Then I “frosted” them with almond butter.

still going on this amazing sample from Vanilla Beans

I made a latte with this yesterday and I’ve been testing out different temps and amounts of original almond milk. So I used a little more than one third almond milk, heated in a glass container in the microwave for 1 minute and frothed with a hand frother. Put that in the mug, then put in the teabag that I made (1.5 tsp of loose tea), then poured hot water over it, and added a few rocks of rock sugar. I realize that with a latte you pour the water and milk together or you pour the milk second so I will have to try that.

Overall, I think it came out really well. I know a lot of people shy away from anything other than whole milk in lattes because other types of milk are too thin. A local tea shop owner here told me that soy creamer works really well. I find that the almond milk has a creamy thickness to it that lighter cow milk and soy milk don’t have. There’s also a nice sweetness to the almond milk I use, so it was a really nice treat!

and in just reading the other reviews, I think that adding BROWN SUGAR needs to happen in my very near future…ummm that’s basically a pumpkin chai pie latte.

This is insane. I’m not a huge Earl Grey drinker, my dad is, but I bought this to host a tea tasting at a work retreat (breaks were centered around self care so I did this during one). This has a definite vanilla flavor, and such a fresh strong bergamot, but there is something else. Some other little kick. It is such a smooth tea, I would even call it beautiful, it’s an artistic blend.

If anyone would like to try some of this, I bought more than I will drink and I’m more than happy to share it. I love that it’s local for me, the owner of the shop is the nicest guy ever, and I have never been disappointed by his teas. OH! And you can order online, his prices are nice and teas come in tins! www.vermontlibertytea.com

I was so excited to try this since it has such great reviews here. Thank you to Vanilla Beans for yet another extraordinarily generous sample of an incredible tea!

At first I thought this was a lot like Della Terra’s Grandama’s Pumpkin Pie but at the end of the sip I get that chai spice that sets is apart. The pumpkin adds a little sweet tasty extra to the chai. I made it with a third original almond milk and two thirds water and it was such a great treat to settle in with for the night.

Another one I will be adding to my DAVIDs official shopping list!