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Second cup of the day on this busy day. I would’ve liked to have saved this one for an at-home movie night, but it smells too good to wait for that. And I think I will have just enough left to have another cup. :) The dry leaves smell exactly like caramel popcorn, yummy! I was a little surprised to find out that there are apples in this one, and there sure are a lot of them. This tea actually tastes mostly like the apples to me when it’s hot. There is a sweet maple finish, and a really quick aftertaste of popcorn. As it cools the buttery popcorn flavor comes out more. In fact, I like this tea much better after it has cooled. It does taste like caramel popcorn! Thank you whatshesaid for this sample! :)

-Dry blend has pieces of dried apple, popcorn and long thin green tea leaves.
-Dry blend smells like caramel popcorn. Tea liquor aroma is of apples with a caramel maple scent.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark yellow color.
-Tart apple flavor with a sweet maple finish. Short buttery popcorn aftertaste.
-Best with sweetener.
-Very good tea. Flavor is reminiscent of caramel popcorn when cooled.

I am so happy to sit quietly this morning and enjoy this sample from whatshesaid. A normal appointment for backing up my laptop at the Apple store on Monday led to a big problem being discovered, and me spending pretty much all day yesterday at the Apple store trying to have it fixed. It was something to do with my iPhoto, and I really really love my pictures. Luckily all seems to have been saved, but I was up until the late hours trying to reorganize everything when I got home. Whew!

I LOVE rose teas. Like could drink them all day, every day love them! This one sounded so promising with the addition of white chocolate that I have been wanting to try it for awhile. The dry leaves have that perfumey rose smell mixed in with sweet white chocolate. I noticed a really lovely rose scent filling the air while the tea was steeping. The flavor is sweet and malty with a nice rose finish. And a wonderful perfumey aftertaste. The tea was just a little bitter, so I would probably drop my original brewing time down to 4 minutes from the 4.5 I originally tried. I added a little milk and sweetener and this tea is just perfect! Thank you, whatshesaid!

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves, rose buds and pieces of white chocolate.
-Dry leaves smell like perfumey rose and white chocolate. Tea liquor aroma is of toasty rose.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy dark brown color.
-Sweet and malty black tea flavor with a rose finish. Lingering perfumey aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Sweet creamy rose flavor.

I’ve been wanting to try this tea since forever, so a big thanks to whatshesaid for sending it to me, and in a festively decorated envelope no less! The dry leaves are covered in a fine, powdery cocoa and smell like rich chocolate. The banana is noticeable in the tea’s aroma. The flavor is of heavy milk chocolate with a sweet banana finish. The tea really fills your mouth, and it is a robust flavored blend. The chocolate flavor is definitely more noticeable, with just a little banana mixed in. I added a little sweetener and just the smallest amount of milk to made it nice and creamy. This tea makes me want to crawl back into bed with a big book instead of going to class!

-Dry blend has small black tea leaves, cocoa nibs and pieces of dried banana all covered in a fine cocoa powder.
-Dry leaves smell like rich chocolate. Tea liquor aroma is of chocolate and bananas.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy medium orange brown color with an oily sheen on top.
-Heavy milk chocolate and black tea flavor with a sweet banana finish.
-Best with sweetener and the smallest amount of milk.
-Very good tea. Mainly chocolate flavor with just a hint of banana.

Coconut and rose? This could be love! Typically I’m not crazy about white teas, so we’ll see. While briefly researching this tea I discovered that it is named after Coconut Grove in Miami, so that ups the points in my book, haha, since I love Miami! The dry leaves are pretty, with big green tea leaves, rose buds and petite blue flowers. The tea itself smells floral, with just a little hint of coconut. The flavor is very light, with not much rose noticeable, just a light floral taste up front. The coconut in this tea is very authentic, probably the most real tasting coconut tea that I’ve had. It reminds me of the way a fresh coconut tastes. I don’t love this tea, but I don’t hate it either. I wouldn’t decline a cup if offered one, but I probably won’t seek it out either. It is a nice ode to Coconut Grove, though! Thank you to Alphakitty for this sample!

-Dry blend has large green tea leaves, large rose buds, small blue flowers and coconut slivers.
-Dry leaves smell faintly of coconut. Tea liquor aroma is sweetly floral with a hint of coconut.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium yellow color.
-Grassy and floral flavor with a wispy nutty finish. Light fresh coconut aftertaste.
-Best with sweetener.
-Fair tea. Lightly flavored with a very fresh coconut taste.

I couldn’t resist a cup of this tea this morning, with its pretty mixture of tea leaves with pink and yellow rose petals and blue lavender. The dry leaves smell like an Earl Grey, with a little lavender thrown in. The tea itself smells floral, with sweet vanilla and bergamot. The flavor of this tea is different than expected from it’s aroma. There are malty and jasmine notes, followed by a light vanilla. The bergamot only really becomes noticeable in the aftertaste. I originally steeped this one for 5 minutes, since the range said 3 to 7, but I think that next time I would only do about 4 minutes to keep down the bitterness. I can’t quite decide if I love this tea or not. It’s the lightest Earl Grey flavor that I’ve ever tasted, with a lot of floral notes added in.

-Dry blend has small and medium black and green tea leaves with pink and yellow rose petals and blue lavender. Petals float to the top during steeping.
-Dry leaves smell like bergamot and lavender. Tea liquor aroma is floral with sweet vanilla and bergamot.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy medium reddish brown color.
-Malty jasmine flavor with a light vanilla finish. Bergamot aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. Light floral and malty flavor with notes of vanilla and bergamot.

Last cup of the evening. Today has been productive, I got my tea cupboard organized and all of my new tins labelled. Spring break is over, so tomorrow it’s back to school and this will be a very busy week indeed!

I’m kind of obsessed with trying plum flavored teas, so this one was a must have when we visited The London Tea Room. It steeps up to a really pretty dark purple color. The flavor is different than expected, as the plum is very tangy and tart. Sadly, there is a strange artificial taste in the finish. I tried adding a little milk to see if that would help diminish the fake flavor, but the milk curdled, so I threw out that cup and started over. Adding just sweetener helps a little, but that icky plasticky taste is still there. Really unfortunate, since the plum flavor is so nice!

-Dry blend is a trail mix of dried fruit and pieces of cinnamon bark.
-Dry blend smells like sweet plum with a hint of cinnamon. Tea liquor aroma is of spicy cinnamon and fruit.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy dark purple color.
-Tart plum flavor with an artificial finish. Warm cinnamon aftertaste.
-Best with sweetener.
-Poor tea. Tart plum flavor with a strong artificial note.

I always say that I don’t like rooibos, but then I come across a rooibos blend that is decent. This one isn’t my favorite, mainly because it has a pretty strong rooibos aftertaste that I don’t like. To be fair, that does lessen as it cools. The flavor is completely strawberries and cream, and the tea even feels creamy in my mouth – like really creamy! I added a little milk and sweetener, and it’s not bad for a caffeine free cuppa at night. Probably not an everyday tea for me, but I will keep some on hand for a nice nighttime tea.

-Dry blend has fine red rooibos leaves, yellow petals and pieces of green strawberry leaves.
-Dry blend smells heavily of rooibos with a hint of strawberry. Tea liquor aroma is of strawberry and cream.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark reddish brown color.
-Fresh strawberry flavor with a sweet whipped cream finish. Creamy mouthfeel. Rooibos aftertaste present.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Fresh creamy strawberry flavor with an unfortunate rooibos aftertaste.

Ahhh. . . another favorite from Tin Roof Teas. And a sipdown! There is a tiny bit left in the bag, but I think I will just put it aside to send out with a swap since I just transferred all of my tea to tins and don’t want to use a clean tin for just a small amount of tea. Plus someone else will get to try this wonderful tea!

It’s very fragrant – both the dry leaf and the tea liquor. It smells florally and fruity and sweet. Every time I make this tea it makes me smile just smelling it. The flavor is malty and fruity, with a nice floral finish that you continue to taste for awhile after swallowing. This tea takes milk and sweetener well, and it seems to enhance all of the flavors and meld them together. I will definitely be picking up more of this on my next visit to Tin Roof Teas!

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs.
-Dry leaves smell fragrant and fruity. Tea liquor aroma is sweet and fruity.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark brown color.
-Malty and fruity flavor and finish. Light floral perfumey aftertaste that lingers.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Excellent tea. Perfect balance of fruit and black tea. A delicious florally cup!

This tea was one of the first ones that I purchased from Tin Roof Teas, and it’s remained a favorite. I love chocolate and coconut, and this tea has both! It’s a pretty blend with large flakes of dried coconut, cocoa nibs, and small pieces of white and dark chocolate. The tea itself smells of black tea and chocolate. The flavor is nutty, with a sweet chocolatey finish. This tea is really good when mixed with Tin Roof Tea’s Mazipan blend, ah-may-zing!

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs, large flakes of dried coconut, cocoa nibs and pieces of white and dark chocolate. Coconut and chocolate float to the top during steeping.
-Dry leaves smell of coconut and chocolate. Tea liquor aroma is of black tea and chocolate.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy dark brown color.
-Malty coconut flavor with a sweet chocolatey finish. Slightly creamy mouthfeel.
-Best with sweetener. Milk optional.
-Excellent tea. Perfect chocolate and coconut flavor.

So today is the Duke/UNC game, which means it’s practically a holiday in our state. We have plans to watch the game at a local sports bar, and my fiancee has us on a strict schedule of what time we need to leave in order to get a good table. I kind of wish it was one of those lazy Saturdays where we had no plans. I’m right in the middle of rearranging the tea cupboard and found the perfect cute little tins at Michaels for $0.50, so I’m dying to get everything neatly organized. But I’m definitely not missing the biggest game of the year, so the tea organization will have to wait until tomorrow.

I generally love anything from Harney’s, so I was excited to try this sample from Alphakitty. I like most of the ingredients in this blend – lemongrass, coconut and vanilla, but ginger is so hit or miss for me. Ach, sadly this one seems very gingery. It’s definitely the strongest flavor, and I am only sensing a little of the coconut and vanilla. Those two seem to be contributing more to the creaminess of the tea, rather than the flavor. I can only detect a little of the lemongrass, and there is a strong, lingering ginger aftertaste. I don’t hate this tea, but it’s not exactly what I was expecting. I will have to try it cold brewed, like Alphakitty suggests. And hey, if Duke beats the tarholes tonight I will gladly drink this tea every game day! :)

-Dry blend has long flat green tea leaves and lemongrass.
-Dry leaves smell lightly of green tea and ginger. Tea liquor aroma is of coconut and ginger.
-Tea liquor is a clear pale greenish yellow color.
-Strong ginger flavor with a soft coconut vanilla finish. Lingering spicy ginger aftertaste.
-Best with sweetener.
-Fair tea. Very strong ginger taste that overwhelms all other flavors.