358 Tasting Notes

90

First cup of the morning that I randomly picked out of our new teas bag. I totally get swept up in the pumpkin madness in the fall, and always want to try all of the pumpkin flavored teas. The aroma is always wonderful, and then the first sip hits and about knocks me over with the spiciness. I don’t like ginger and I like cinnamon, but if it’s a pumpkin tea I want to taste the pumpkin! This Pumpkin Milkshake 2.0, my friends, is the answer! I can taste the fresh pumpkin flavor that reminds me of pure canned pumpkin. There’s a creamy vanilla note and some spices, but they are far in the background and just compliment the pumpkin rather than completely overwhelm it. This is a perfectly balanced cup and my favorite pumpkin tea by far!

It’s a dreary day outside, but so warm! I walked the dog this morning in a short sleeve shirt and have our heat turned way down. I think it’s supposed to rain all day, which is fine because I’m going to bake cookies with my mom and the 92-year old man that she cares for. He is the cutest little thing, and is so excited because I’m bringing along my little Chihuahua, who he loves. We sent out Christmas cards this year for our dog (she has her own Facebook page for animal rescue/awareness) and my mom said that he wants to frame the card because it’s from her. Haha! Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday!

-Dry blend has very large green and brown tea leaves with pieces of dried pumpkin.
-Dry leaves smell of fresh pumpkin with a hint of sweetness. Tea liquor aroma is of sweet vanilla with a touch of fruitiness.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium orange yellow color.
-Fresh pumpkin flavor with a small sweet/spicy finish. Creamy vanilla pumpkin aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. A creamy cup full of fresh pumpkin flavor with a hint of vanilla sweetness. No overwhelming spices.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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80

We went on a little getaway trip to Asheville for the past couple of days. It’s hard dating someone who’s family is 12+ hours away, since it means that holidays are always stressful figuring out who’s going or staying where. We usually switch for Thanksgiving and New Years, but Christmas is always spent apart with each of our own families. So this year we decided to go to Asheville for a little trip to spend some quality time together before the boy heads to St. Louis. We love Asheville and had plenty on our to-do list, which included the Biltmore Estate. I had been plenty of times in school, but Gary had never been, and it is decorated beautifully at Christmas time. We spent a nice, relaxing part of the day browsing around the house and gardens and then went to the little winery on the estate and had lunch and sampled some wines. I saw that they have their own tea that they sell in the little shops on the estate, by Oliver Pluff & Company. When I saw this one, the only other choice in that particular shop was Earl Grey. Later in the day, in other shops I saw a Southern Mint blend and a Blackberry black tea. This is a pretty good tea. It has that deep, malty flavor with just a little sweetness that I love! Glad I picked this one up, and every time I drink a cup of it it will remind me of our Christmas trip to the Biltmore Estate. :)

-Dry blend has large black tea leaves and twigs.
-Dry leaves smell malty and musty. Tea liquor aroma is sweet and malty.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark reddish orange color.
-Robust flavor and finish. Rich malty aftertaste with a hint of sweetness.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Deep malty flavor that is a perfect cup with milk and sugar.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Tuscanteal

I think even if they weren’t 12 hours away, you’d still be in that predicament. I know we go through it every year as well. I feel guilty when I don’t go with my family and then miss them too. But then I feel bad dragging him to see just my family.

Josie Jade

You have a point there, Tuscanteal!

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70

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this tea. I’m not a huge fan of green teas, but I like eggnog and praline flavors and the dry leaves smell good. The tea itself doesn’t smell quite as good, since it has a strong vegetal note. The flavor is fresh and vegetal with a light pecan note. I tried added sweetener and that helped, and then decided to try adding milk like another reviewer did. Bingo! It created a creamy eggnog flavor and perfected the sweet praline finish. You can still taste the freshness of the green tea, but maybe with a lesser steeping time that taste wouldn’t be as noticeable. I doubt that I would order more of this one, and the fiancee is quietly sipping his cup without exclamations of “OMG this is amazing”, so we will just enjoy finishing off the rest of this little pouch. It is a unique tea, so I’m glad I got to try it and it does suit this time of the year perfectly!

-Dry blend has medium green and brown tea leaves and twigs with small orange safflower petals.
-Dry leaves smell like creamy eggnog and of roasted nuts. Tea liquor aroma is vegetal and nutty.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium bright yellow color.
-Fresh vegetal flavor and finish with a light pecan aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. A very unique cup. Vegetal flavor with a strong nuttiness. Milk and sweetener brings out a creamy eggnog and sweet praline flavor.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 30 sec

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80
drank Nutmeg Cream by Butiki Teas
358 tasting notes

This is the tea of the day from the tea bag. This was my first order from Amoda Teas, and I was happy that they let everyone know that Butiki would be providing the teas for December. I instantly ordered my box and ended up purchasing from Butiki any way on Black Friday. I’ve only tried I think one of Butiki’s teas in a swap, so I was exciting to taste some new ones. This one is unique and interesting. I don’t think that I’ve ever had just nutmeg before, usually it’s mixed in with all kinds of other spices. It has a nutty flavor and isn’t too spicy like cinnamon can sometimes be. There’s a lot of flavors in this tea – malty, chocolatey, spicy, creamy, etc. Of course I prefer this tea with milk and sweetener and love the orange taste that comes out when these are added. I like that this is a hefty tea and doesn’t feel at all thin. The cup seems to thicken as it cools. Hooray for another winner!

-Dry blend has medium black and brown tea leaves and twigs with large yellow petals and powdery nutmeg.
-Dry leaves smell freshly nutty and spicy. Tea liquor aroma is malty with a hint of chocolate and nutmeg.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium reddish orange color.
-Thick malty flavor with a slightly bitter finish. Lightly spicy nutmeg aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Unique nutty and spicy nutmeg flavor with a heavy cream note. Milk and sweetener brings out a hint of citrusy orange.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec

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60
drank Sugar and Spice by DAVIDsTEA
358 tasting notes

This is the tea of the day from our new teas bag. I was looking forward to this one, but I’m a little disappointed. It’s not a bad tea and all of the promised flavors are there, but it’s very weak. It’s lacking the bready cake note that I was hoping for. I can taste cinnamon, cloves and a creamy vanilla flavor, but it’s like they’re all muted. Maybe next time I will try really overleafing, since I usually tend to overleaf a little anyways. As it is, this would be a good, calming tea for the afternoon. I don’t think I would reach for this on a morning when I need to wake up and go. It’s kind of nice for today, though. I’m spending the day getting organized for Christmas stuff and planning our trip to the mountains next week. Today is our anniversary so we’re going out for a nice dinner tonight. Even though it’s weak, this is a nice tea to ease into the day.

-Dry blend has large black tea leaves and twigs with large pieces of dried apples and carrots, pieces of cinnamon and large yellow petals.
-Dry leaves smell lightly of cinnamon and carrot cake. Tea liquor aroma is of spicy cinnamon with a hint of vanilla.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium yellow brown color.
-Dull vanilla flavor with a clove finish. Light musty cinnamon aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. A very soft cup. Weakly flavored of cinnamon, cloves and creamy vanilla.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 6 min, 0 sec
Jackie O

Happy Anniversary :)

Josie Jade

Thanks, Jackie T!

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70

This was our new tea of the day on Friday, I just forgot to log it. I like this one, but it had more of an artificial candy raspberry flavor than a true fruity raspberry flavor. The chocolate was very nice. I don’t know if I would order more of this one, but I definitely will enjoy what I have left!

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs with small pieces of green raspberry leaves and small chocolate chips.
-Dry leaves smell richly of cocoa with a hint of sweet raspberry. Tea liquor aroma is of malty chocolate and candy raspberry.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark orange brown color.
-Malty flavor with a dark chocolate finish. Light cocoa and raspberry aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. Heavy chocolate flavor with a slightly artificial sweet candy raspberry taste.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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100

I am officially on break! I took my final yesterday and did better than I thought. By my calculations I am less than 2 points away from an A. I’m hoping once they grade the parts of the test that we had to handwrite in that it will bump my grade up. If not, I will have to be happy with a B-but-almost-an-A, which I think I can handle.

This was the tea of the day from our homemade 12+ days of tea box. I’ve seriously been wanting to try this one for forever, but I think every time that I’ve placed Della Terra orders it has been sold out. Well, no surprise after tasting it! This is a cup of marshmallow sweetness with a touch of burnt caramel. This satisfies every sweet craving I have ever had, and even some I didn’t know that I had. The fiancee thinks this tea smells a little like cotton candy in the bag, and I agree. It has that sugary sweetness to it. This is one tea that might actually taste even better once it’s steeped than it does in dry form! Glad I’m starting the day off with this delicious tea. :)

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs with cubes of caramel, small gold balls, small marshmallows and blue and white star sprinkles.
-Dry leaves smell sweetly of caramel and sugary cotton candy. Tea liquor aroma is of marshmallows and caramel.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy medium orange brown color.
-Creamy caramel flavor and finish. Light burnt caramel and sugary marshmallow aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Excellent tea. Fluffy and sweet marshmallow flavor with a hint of burnt caramel.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec
keychange

I’m so excited to try this!

Josie Jade

I hope you like it, keychange!

Shmiracles

it IS seriously yummy. i don’t need a full tin, but if i place an order with della terra i always throw 1oz of it in my cart.

Josie Jade

I’m glad that I went for 2 oz, I think we will go through this pretty quick!

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60

Almost all of my Black Friday orders have arrived, so I dumped all the teas in a bag and will be randomly picking one each day to try! I was excited that I have new teas to try when I woke up this morning and discovered that it is raining yet again. I managed to stay in the house all day yesterday to escape the yucky weather, but it’s inevitable that I have to run errands today. I really should be studying for my final that is tomorrow morning, but I am so easily distracted by all sorts of holiday-ish stuff and being curled up reading on my couch with my new perfect tea mug from Davids Tea!

This tea smells wonderfully of very sweet and tangy strawberry with a hint of rich chocolate. I was surprised when I took the first sip to find that there’s almost no chocolate flavor at all! The strawberry flavor is perfect – very juicy and not artificial, but the chocolatiness is completely missing. After I added milk and sugar, I could taste a tiny bit of what may or may not be chocolate in the aftertaste, but not enough to warrant putting chocolate in the name of this tea. It’s still a good tea, but I’m renaming it ‘Juicy Strawberry Tea’ in my head. :)

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs with pieces of dried strawberries, pieces of green leaves, and small chocolate chips.
-Dry leaves smell of sweet and fruity strawberry with a hint of rich chocolate. Tea liquor aroma is of tart strawberry.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium orange color.
-Fresh strawberry flavor and finish. Light berry aftertaste with just a hint of chocolate.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. A thin cup. Juicy strawberry flavor with a very faint chocolate note.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec
keychange

I know what you mean about feeling annoyed about having to do things while wonderful holiday goodness demands our attention!

Josie Jade

Haha, yes, keychange it is so difficult to stay focused! How did your exam a few weeks ago go?

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80

I missed out on all of the 12 days of tea boxes because I couldn’t decide. I enjoyed opening the teas each day last year, but there were some that I wasn’t really excited about tasting. This year I decided instead to make my own 12 days of tea by just ordering teas that I’ve been wanting to try and adding them to a big bag that I’ll randomly draw out of each day. Except that I went overboard and ordered so many teas that it’s more like the 25+ days of tea! This is the only new tea that’s came so far, and I decided to go ahead and try it today. Yesterday was actually hot here (80 degrees!) and so sunny. Today I woke up to a freezing house from where I’d turned the heat down yesterday, and a rainy, windy day outside. It’s definitely feeling more like Christmas with the change in weather, so this tea is a perfect fit!

The dry leaves smell wonderful, and the tea itself has a rich vanilla and mint aroma. I like the flavor, too. It’s rather light on the vanilla and mint flavors, but the cream flavor definitely makes up for it. It’s absolutely wonderful with a little milk and sugar. This is a wonderful tea for people like me who enjoy minty flavors, but sometimes want a cup that isn’t overwhelmingly knock-your-socks-off mint, and this tea is just perfectly minty without overdoing it. I’m more of a cream flavored than mint gal, so this is (literally) my cup of tea. I hope I enjoy the rest of my new teas as much as I’ve enjoyed this one!

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs with pieces of green mint, small gold balls, small red and white candy canes and pieces of popcorn.
-Dry leaves smell like soft and creamy mint. Tea liquor aroma is of rich vanilla with a hint of mint.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium orange brown color.
-Smooth creamy vanilla flavor with a light minty finish. Heavy cream and mint aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Light vanilla and mint flavor with a deep creamy taste.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec

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60

I think my fiancee picked up this box of tea a while ago. It’s been sitting in my box of teabags to rate. It smells very nicely of peaches. The flavor is initially a little tart and fruity, with a strong fresh peach aftertaste. The only flavor that I’m getting is the peach, there’s not really any mango noticeable. I don’t dislike this one, but there’s just a little too much artificial sweetness in it for me.

-Silken pyramid-shaped teabag with a tag.
-Teabag smells faintly of peach. Tea liquor aroma is of ripe peaches.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy dark yellow color.
-Tart and fruity flavor and finish. Lingering fresh peach aftertaste.
-Best with sweetener.
-Good tea. Strong fresh peach flavor with a small artificial note.

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec

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Profile

Bio

Just a Southern girl who loves sunshine, little dogs and all things tea!

I love animals and animal rescue. We have a rescued Chihuahua, Greyhound, Siamese and 2 Tabbies. We also foster kittens for the local humane society.

My favorite teas are sweet and malty black teas but I try to branch out and taste them all. :)

“Come, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things.”

Rating Guide:
10 – Awful tea, wouldn’t purchase again
20 – Poor tea, wouldn’t purchase again
40 – Fair tea, might purchase again
60 – Good tea, likely to purchase again
80 – Very good tea, very likely to purchase again
100 – Excellent tea, will definitely purchase again

Location

North Carolina

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