Jillian

I’ve got maybe 2 cups worth of tea left.

This seems to be a morning staple for me, mostly because when I first wake I’m too sleepy cough lazy cough to want to fiddle around with strainers and loose-leaf tea.

Yes, I’m bad. I know.

Does this count as adding to the ‘Vanilla Vogue’? I added some honey to the tea and that improved the flavour slightly from the last time I drank this tea – I’m actually getting a bit of vanilla now, though it’s still pretty weak.

I’m also, incidently, eating a bowl of Vanilla-Almond Honey Crisp cereal. XD

I drank two cups of this after supper tonight. The first steep, for 3 minutes, was a little weak, so on the second I steeped it for five minutes which tasted much better. It had also taken the edge off of the ginger the second time ‘round so that it was only a nice, pleasently-warm compliment to the tea instead of the spicy, dominating flavour (although still not nearly as strong as a lot of other ginger teas I’ve tried) it was on the first steep.

This tea is delicious as always.

I just ordered from Adagio today and got a surprise: if you spend $19 or more you get a sampler pack of those new savory teas they have. Anyone else feeling brave enough to try them along with me?

Anybody want to start a Vanilla Vogue? XD

Okay so this tea isn’t pure vanilla, but there are nice vanilla notes complimenting the peppermint. I’m almost finished this box of tea so I’m really hoping that they’ll have it out again for this Christmas.

I’m drinking this sweetened with a bit of honey which alleviates some of the bitterness. It brings out a very vague sort of fruitiness but certainly nothing that could be distinctly called ‘mango’.

This got lost for a little while in the back of my tea cupboard which is a shame since this is one bagged tea that doesn’t deserve to languish in obsquerity.

It’s sweet enough to almost be considered a dessert in its own right, and that’s without any sweetener – it doesn’t need it! But I don’t find the caramel and vanilla to be artificial tasting like a lot of ‘flavorings’ are; you could close your eyes and imagine easily caramel syrup and real vanilla whipped cream in this tea as you sip at it.

Although the steeping instruction say to steep for 3-5 minutes I thought it seemed a little weak at 4 minutes. I did notice a bit more sweetness coming through in the flavour though. Plus it went quite well with the leftover thai spring rolls the boyfriend-creature brought home for me. ~_^

I re-steeped the leaves from the last cup (adding a minute onto the previous steeping time) and found that the taste this time around is lighter and there’s also a curious hint of spice. Le gaspeth Could this be the elusive pepper flavour the tea gurus speaketh of???

I honestly have no idea, but if you squint and use your imagination I suppose the flavour might be considered peppery. shrugs Maybe I’m just crazy and this tea has finally driven me mad! ;)

Six minutes is too long to steep this tea I think, as there’s a bitter bite of tanins in the flavour. Some milk might leaven it out so maybe I’ll try it that way next time.

My throat was feeling scratchy again today so I dug out this tea. I wonder if I might be slightly allergic to something in the air right now, or maybe I just need to catch up on my dusting and house cleaning (urgh).

This seems to be turning into my go-to tea for sore throats when I don’t want the sleep-inducing effect of the cherry bark that’s in Traditional Medicinal’s Throat Coat tea (which is awesome BTW and also has licorice root in it).

Eyes the level in the tin Damn we’re drinking this tea at an alarming rate, I guess it’s the tea’s own fault for being so incredibly delicious. ;)

sighs If this tea tasted as good as it smells it would be heavenly, but unfortunately it doesn’t although the spicy taste isn’t unpleasent although really it’s too coarse to have without milk.

The problem with getting down to the bottom of a bag of tea is that you get all the little bits that escape the strainer and they slosh around in the bottom of your cup and get stuck in your teeth.

BTW I think I finally found the only dried red current present in my entire supply.

My morning tea.

I wanted the gentle energy boost yerba mate provides but I felt like I wanted something a bit more interesting than the normal nutty/vegetal flavours of the drink. All it took was a few crumbled leaves of dried mint and this cuppa has a nice refreshing kick to it. :)

I sipped this drink while I perused the books and magazines as Chapters Bookstore. Good times. :)

I steeped this a bit longer than maybe recommended with a white tea but it didn’t seem to hurt it, maybe because the delicate whites are mixed with a few different and possibly more resilient greens in this blend. The apricot flavour is quite strong but there’s a perfumy flavour present aswell, possibly from the the jasmine blossoms.

I kept the brewing time short, but it still has an astringency I’m not really that fond of.

I made this cup a bit stronger than usual with a bit of extra dry leaf and a longer steeping time. The result is more robust with a hint of bitter tanins starting to come through but the dark chocolate takes care of them nicely.

Oddly enough, while I can taste the hibiscus in this tisane, I don’t mind it that much as it isn’t very strong or prominent, and it just seems to ‘go’ with the other ingredients. I added a bit of honey to sweetened it, but after deliberation I think it tastes better without. I guess the fruit in it is so naturally sweet you don’t really need anything extra.

I’m getting a distinctly nutty flavour this time around but it isn’t a ‘heavy’ taste and the tea still tastes quite smooth and light in the mouth. This was just a small sample and I’ve maybe got enough leaves left for one more small cup. is a sad panda

The smell of this tea is delightfully peachy and conjures up images of sweet, ripe fruit, that’s dripping with juice when you bite into it on a hot summer day. Mmmm…

The taste was surprisingly light and delicate without any of the biscuity/baked flavour I’m used to tasting in oolongs. But then again, I’m not exactly an expert with this type of tea – if there was a ‘Oolongs For Dummies’ I’d totally be there! Suffice to say I have no idea what a Wuyi oolong is supposed to be like, so I’ll skip that and just evaluate it on it’s own.

The flavour is smooth, sweet and fruity and the peach isn’t overwhleming. It tastes very natural unlike some flavoured teas which taste like someone dumped in a bottle of perfume. I’d say this is probably my favorite Stash tea to date.