KittyLovesTea

Thank you NofarS for this sample.

My first cold steeped jasmine tea. I usually brew my jasmine tea hot and leave it to cool anyway as to my preferable taste. This was left to cold steep for roughly 4 hours.

This has a thick and sweet jasmine fragrance that’s so strong it smells like jasmine perfume. I sell jasmine perfume made from essential oil at work and this is exactly the same, uncanny.

The flavour is as thick as the smell and I’m glad that I didn’t leave it to steep overnight. It edges on being too strong and perfumey with a little bitterness but it quickly subsides. It’s nice to have a jasmine tea with some punch to it. There is also a grassy taste amidst the jasmine.

Glad I cold steeped this, it’s fresher than I thought it would be. I have enjoyed cold steeping so much over this weekend that when I return home tomorrow the first thing I’m going to do is buy a couple of these funky sealed large mugs so I can make them whenever I please.

I couldn’t see this on the Le Palais Des Thes website any more. :(

Thank you Lala for this sample.

My third cold steep, I have caught the bug and will be trying them out all day. The weather is bright and warm here today so it’s just as well.

In raw form this tea smells lovely, very orangey and sweet. Not quite blood orange but more tangerine like. Still nice though.

Cold steeped for roughly 5 hours this tea is orange in colour and has the same juicy tangerine scent. Flavour is delicious, delicate and juicy, refreshing and sweet. Orange is one of my favourites and I was curious to see what the cold steeping would do to it. It tastes like a tropical orange juice that suits the hot sun perfectly. The sort of thing I would enjoy daily…may have to pick some of this up.

Thank you Lala for this sample.

In raw form this tea had a delicious sweet strawberry scent, juicy but somewhat artificial. I decided to cold steep this one and have left it in the fridge for roughly 16 hours. My previous cold steep worked nicely so hopefully my second one will be just as nice…

The tea is a fairly dark yellow/green colour and it has the same yummy strawberry scent. Ooohh that’s lovely! It’s light and refreshing with sweet fruity tones and a gentle grassy green after taste. I was worried that the green tea would be steeped too long but it’s just right, not bitter or harsh in anyway but thick enough to be noticeable.

This would make a delicious cocktail if mixed with fresh strawberry pieces, a bit of mint and a splash of vodka over ice. :)

Thank you Sil for this sample.

This is my first cold steep and I have been so excited to try it. I steeped 2-2.5 teaspoons (double amount I would normally use for hot tea) and used filtered water. Stored it in an airtight liquid storer (I think it’s for soup but works great for this) and left it in the fridge for approx 15 hours.

I’m glad I prepared these yesterday because I have the start of a hangover thanks to the JD I was gulping down yesterday. Big mistake!

Separating the leave out was easy with a strainer and piece of kitchen cloth to catch the small pieces. Left behind is a pale yellow tea with a very gentle and fresh pear scent.

In flavour it’s a delicate and refreshing as it’s scent. The Bai Mu Dan is still sweet and ever so slightly floral but in comparison to it’s warm form this is much milder in flavour. I think it works though, softer than an iced tea made traditionally but keeping enough flavour to be tasty. Instead of a tea this is more like a flavoured water drink, could be because it’s white based.

I think I preferred this being cold steeped than I would the usual hot method. I will definitely experiment with cold steeping in the near future. :)

Thank you Sil for this tea.

I have tried one or two teas before from Kally and have been impressed, it’s a shame they don’t ship to UK. :(

Usually I don’t deal with Chai but there are times I make an exception to the rule and this is one of them. In dry form this smells like spicy cola cube sweets, it’s amazing! I have never heard of cola being mixed with Chai in a tea before. Also reminds me of a strong ginger beer.

Once steeped the tea is orange in colour with a thick cinnamon and cola essence. Yummy! The Rooibos is noticeable but down down slightly by the spice medley. It’s sweet and spicy with cola candy elements and a light, refreshing after taste. Luckily for me it’s not cardamom heavy :)

It might taste more like cola cubes and less like Rooibos if I were to add a sugar or two which I will try next time. The first cup is good though, I’m glad I gave this one a try. It goes to show that you can’t judge a tea by it’s ingredients alone.

Thank you Sil for this sample.

I have the start of what I call ‘tea belly’ so something light would be best to continue my tea marathon with. As a blend it’s attractive and fragrant, nice to see the tea pearls blending in nicely. Scent is very floral and sweet, like a secret rose garden with one bench and your sat there in the sun with your eyes closed just absorbing it’s beautiful aura.

Once steeped the tea looks mushy inside the teapot and weird..not as attractive as it’s raw form. The tea soup is golden in colour with a sweet rose scent.

Flavour is stronger than I thought it would be and I wish I opted for a weaker steep time (maybe around 2-3 minutes). As it’s so strong it has a little bitterness and a sort of waxy tone but only on a minor scale.

The rose is sweet and natural tasting and there is something sweeter in the background that I believe to be jasmine. I think as a blend it’s too floral, the rose and jasmine are competing against each other for dominance and I just don’t think it blends as smoothly as it should. It’s alright but just not for me so I wont be rating this one. Would suit someone that loves strong flower teas.

One of the more interesting shaped teas that I have experienced. It looks like some sort of grassy shell, I like the different shades of yellow, brown and silver.

The scent is very gentle and hard to detect other than a slight hint of flowers. A gentle sweet pea, jasmine medley.

Brewing this in my Gongfu for the suggested three steeps.

Steep One – 80°C – 4 minutes – The tea is pale yellow in colour and has a gentle peony type floral fragrance. For the first steep it’s quite strong which is probably a result of the long steeping time. It has some astringency but only slight at this point. It’s quite light and refreshing.

Steep Two – 90°C – 4 minutes – Yellow in colour with the same peony flower scent. The tea itself has fully blossomed now and looks like some strange tropical underwater plant. Flavour is thicker and more flowery with sweet honeyed tones. Still refreshing and peony like.

Steep Three – 100°C – 4 minutes – Paler slightly in colour but still yellow. Deeper in scent. Still no bitterness and now very light and hard to detect much apart from an extremely subtle floralness.

Overall – It’s a pleasant enough blooming tea that goes well with summer/hot weather. It’s floral, delicate and refreshing and a great introductory piece for people that are new to blooming teas. As always it’s a great show off drink, friends and family would love this.

PS. Thank you to Lala for the lipgloss.
https://twitter.com/kittylovestea/status/330628269210742784/photo/1

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Thank you Sil for this sample.

Is there anyone better to sample an English breakfast tea than an English person? This would be my first cup of the day which starts my marathon off quite late today (it’s 10am). I do aim to post as many tea reviews as I can this weekend while dog/house sitting. May the 4th be with you all.

The pyramid bag is nice and see through so I can note the teas quality whilst raw. The Keemun looks to be of nice quality and consists of small, dark black leaves that have a few golden stem pieces amongst them. It has a malted fruit scent.

In true British style I have added milk and half a spoon of sugar to my tea. Once steeped this tea has a rich, dark malt aroma with a gentle floral tinge.

Sipping reveals a delicious dark Keemun with malt and floral tones and no bitterness. A little smoky but soothed by the milk and sugar which makes it easier to drink more quickly. The floral tones pick up further down the cup and it adds more depth and a slight dry perfume taste. That doesn’t really amount to much though, all in all I would say this is a nice ‘cuppa cha’.

When grading teas that claim to be British I always ask myself one thing… would my Grandad drink this? He is Welsh and in his 70’s, he does not drink anything other than traditional bagged black tea. If it would be good enough to serve to him then it must be a true British tea. And with that reasoning I have concluded that this is indeed a true British tea, not strong enough for me to be considered a breakfast tea but more of an all day, every day tea.

I must have watched around 10 episodes of Criminal Minds now back to back…that’s some hard core marathon activity. I have nothing better to do, packed my bag with copious amounts of tea ready for being picked up in the morning and taken to my parents house. They have the largest collection of horror films that I have ever seen so I will be in good company. :)

In raw form this tea is very dark brown/black in colour and is long and thin in shape. The scent is thick with a strong musky fruit tone. A little tobacco like or leather like with a sweet wood finish.

The packaging says to infuse into a teapot for at least 2 minutes so my first steep shall be as such.

Once steeped this tea is gold in colour with a rich, toasted aroma.

Flavour is toasty, fruity, fresh, honeyed and perhaps a little vegetal. There is no bitterness or astringency to speak of and flavours remain thick. I keep picking up a thick green taste like spinach which reminds me of a few Oolongs I have had recently. Food wise it would be a fresh loaf of bread with small pieces of spinach inside and glazed in honey. Interesting and strangely delicious!

ps. I’m still digging Dr Reid ;)
http://tinypic.com/r/33mqw6f/5

Another random Oolong sampler from Tea from Taiwan. My husband is away all day at work and then poker tonight so I’m all on my own…roll on my Criminal Minds marathon. Dr Reid ;)

The packaging for Tea From Taiwans Oolongs is always cute and shiny. Plus the foil backs make for good freshness. This particular Oolong is dark and medium brown with a green tinge. It has a dark, slight smoky and floral scent. Similar to a few of the mature Oolong’s that I have tried before but on the lighter end of being mature.

Using my Gongfu for 1 minute – first steep this tea is yellow/brown in colour and has a light wood and floral scent. Very woodsy really…like being in a carpenters shop.

Flavour is sweet and wooden, medium strength with a green, floral after taste. The sweetness is honey like but is made darker by the dominant wooden taste. It’s starting to remind me of pencil shavings.. that dark, dusky, wooden scent that they have…very similar to this Oolong.

Steep 2 – 2 minutes – Remaining amber in colour with the same wooden scent. It’s perhaps a little thicker now with more sweetness than previously.

I really don’t know how I stand with this tea…drinking wood shavings is not my ideal Oolong but at the same time it’s not disgusting. I suppose I can say it’s not something I would buy again. I can see why this has such mixed reviews. Sorry but I think this one is just not for me.

No notes yet.

Another random Oolong sampler from Tea from Taiwan. My husband is away all day at work and then poker tonight so I’m all on my own…roll on my Criminal Minds marathon. Dr Reid s not something I would buy again. I can see why this has such mixed reviews. Sorry but I think this one is just not for me.

Another random Oolong sampler from Tea from Taiwan. My husband is away all day at work and then poker tonight so I’m all on my own…roll on my Criminal Minds marathon. Dr Reid s not something I would buy again. I can see why this has such mixed reviews. Sorry but I think this one is just not for me.

Thank you shakirah1984 for this sample.

I had to call in sick today due to a sore throat and cough and the general feeling of crapiness. My boss (my mother) is going down to Wales tomorrow for the weekend to see my grandad after he had his pace maker fitted. He had to have it done twice because one of the tubes came out apparently after it was fitted, so two operations in two days. I don’t want to give him a cold so thought it was best I stay away from them and ergo stay away from him.

I do have the task of house and dog sitting for them though this weekend, it means I will take copious amounts of tea with me to review. That’s my plan anyway.

The raw leaves are large and long with some sticks/stems present. When held up into the light I can notice small hairs that glow like cats eyes. I haven’t seen a tea so shiny as this one since drinking Golden Monkey – Tea Palace which is a golden tip Yunnan tea.

They have a distinct smoky scent with sweet and thick floral tones. Very leathery and robust.

With a 20 second rinse and a 1 minute steep using my Gongfu for 5g of Pu Erh my tea soup is light yellow in colour with a smoky and sweet woody aroma.

Flavours are darkly floral and woody with subtle sweetness and some astringency. The dark notes gradually lighten and eventually leave a fresh, light, floral after taste. Reminds me of mild Lapsang Souchong, the smokiness is definitely the strongest character.

There is something magical about drinking tea from 100-300 year old trees from a tiny village in the middle of no where. It gives me a warm glow. :)

The leaves were large to begin with but once steeped they have doubled in size and unravelled, also lightened in colour and looks very fresh. Some leaves are whole, unbroken.

The second steep – 2 minutes – Very light and fruity with double sweetness in comparison to the first steep. Now there is little smokiness but the wood tones remain. A very different tea than it’s first steep…I’m finding it hard to pick which steep is my favourite.

It’s also much more delicate and I don’t think there would be much left for me after this steep. Detecting more dryness in the after taste now too.

Overall it’s a pleasant enough Pu Erh and I can finish the rest of my sample with ease. It was however smokier than I thought it would be and needs to be the type of tea I’m in the mood for before I drink it again. Not bad for the price at all. :)

This was on my shopping list for the better part of a year and finally today I managed to get my hands on some, I feel like Gollum when he had the ring my precioussss! I’m even crouched over the matcha hiding it from the world and examining it’s beauty. Cookies & Cream… there cannot be a better tea flavour out there for me. Well watermelon is a close second.

It’s scent is strong and sweet, it reminds me of some caramel biscuits I had in America last year but cannot recall the name. Oreo is pictured with them which is my favourite cookie/biscuit but the scent is not quite the same, lacks the chocolate to be Oreo. It does smell cookie like though and sweet.

First brewing method will be something deserved…a Cookies & Cream latte me thinks. I don’t have matcha that often but have been craving it lately, had some that tasted like fish and put me off for a while.

Once brewed this has a much more real cookie aroma, baked and warming like fresh cookies and so sweet and delicious.

sip …. HOLY MOLY! I must have died and gone to heaven checks pulse. The milk has brought out the real creaminess and left a sweet pure cookie essence. If I close my eyes and sip it’s like having a very thin Oreo milkshake that has been warmed slightly. Unbelievably good. So worth the wait.

I cannot taste any matcha/green tea at all, no bitterness or anything tea like can be detected. I’m going to trick my husband with it later…say it’s a new milkshake for him to try and see if he can tell there is tea in there. Muhahahahaha!

Overall – It’s mine and you can’t have any! :p

Coffee is not my drink of choice and it’s been over a year since I had a cup of it but I still like to try coffee blended tea infusions as part of my ‘something different’ tea campaign. “What do we want? Unique tea. When do we want it? NOW!!!”

While I’m not a fan of coffee I do love a nice slice of coffee cake every now and then. :)

In raw form this tea has a wafer (as in ice cream wafer) like bitter smell that is more cakey than coffee like. Very interesting and unusual but I’m kinda liking it. It’s hard to see what the ingredients are exactly but the most I can work out is black tea and a few coffee beans with what may be nuts and or fruit?

Once steeped this tea is golden brown in colour and has a strong and spongy coffee aroma.

Hmmm… a little bitter and sweet at the same time and a definite wafer like flavour. It smells more like coffee than it tastes but could perhaps be mistaken for a weak flavoured coffee. Also a little dry on the tongue which I remember is a coffee symptom I always got. Also it does have a nutty maybe popcorn like taste.

Overall it’s a strange blend and I have certainly not tasted anything like it before. I’m enjoying my pot of it but it would not be something that I would purchase again. Imagine a warm coffee flavoured ice cream cake with wafers and that is what it tastes like… to me anyway.

I bought a puzzle book on holiday for the car ride home from my holiday, there is nothing like a pot of tea and a crossword puzzle :) Plus the little troll on the end of my pen is catching the attention of my cats so it may be play time.

The tea in raw form contains long and thin Keemun leaves with lovely blue cornflowers and large curly orange flower pieces. It has a very strong bergamot and orange essence that is fresh and floral with a touch of sweetness. The quality looks very nice but there are a couple of Keemun stem pieces amongst the blend.

Brewing Instructions: Add 3g of tea per cup into a teapot and steep with boiling water for 4-7 minutes according to taste.

As my teapot holds roughly three cups full I will be using three fairly heaped teaspoons of tea. One good teaspoon of tea works out to be roughly 3g. Plus I adore strong Earl Grey so I will be going for a 6 minute steep. Also for the sake of this review I shall not be adding any milk or sweetener.

Once steeped this tea is light amber in colour and has a strong waxy orange aroma.

In flavour this is strong, sweet and refreshing with pure orange and bergamot tones that are waxy yet juicy. There is a mellow misty aura which helps to tone down some of the strength which I believe is down to the Keemun base. Also detecting a subtle perfumey after taste with a little dryness. Very smooth and velvety.

Usually because I like my Earl Grey strong I have to add milk and maybe even a sugar or two to tone down the bitterness but this tea is light enough that I wouldn’t need to add anything to it to enjoy it.

I didn’t know what to expect from a tea that claims to be Posh Earl Grey but now I know Posh means delicious. This is the kind of Earl Grey blend that stays traditional enough to still be Earl Grey but also has enough added to give it that extra push in flavour. Simple yet effective. I do love my Earl Grey and I now also love this blend. I would happily recommend this to any other Earl Grey fans out there.

For pictures please visit my blog. http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2013/04/30/what-makes-an-earl-grey-posh/

It’s been a few hours since I arrived back from my long weekend in Eastbourne/Brighton and I’m absolutely knackered (British slang for exhausted). We had a nice time, luckily the weather held for the most part and I even managed to find a gorgeous Crown Derby antique cat to add to my ornament collection (even if it did cost £80 it was worth it).

I got this tea out to pack it as part of a tea exchange and my husband asked where I was hiding the Jaffa Cakes because he could smell them :) This tea has such a strong scent, it’s gorgeous. Fooled him anyway.

In appearance it has good sized orange and chocolate pieces along with large yellow petals and finely chopped black tea leaves.

Once steeped the tea was dark brown in colour with a rich chocolatey aroma.

Flavour is very chocolatey and tastes like a thin/watery cocoa drink. The orange is not strong but subtle citrus and fruit tones are noticeable. Amongst both the orange and the chocolate there are slight velvety, smoky and sweet tones that blend well together and make a delicious chocolate based tea.

This is on the upper end of the scale when it comes to chocolate tea but only reaches average grade for orange tea, purely because it’s overpowered by the chocolate. So what I am getting at is that this is more of a chocolate tea with a hint of orange rather than being a chocolate and orange drink or even an orange and some chocolate drink.

It’s nice and a shame that Ovation closed down so I can’t get any more but I have a feeling it could be fairly easy to replace. Still a nice warm welcome home treat.

Since I’m going on holiday tomorrow I still need to do a multitude of checks and make sure my house is spotless for my kitties to play nicely in. I will only be gone three nights and my Aunty Ann is coming in to make sure the cats have food and water etc but leaving them always makes me panic. I know they will be fine and I also know I’m going to miss them so much.

When I return on Monday 29th April I will be doing a tea swap with Sil and this sample is one she wanted to try. So if I have one cup to quickly review I can then put it aside for her. :)

In raw form this tea is a lovely mixture of brown colours with quite large caramel pieces, it does look chocolatey. It also smells like chocolate mixed with butterscotch and caramel. Very sweet and very delicious, one of the best smelling dessert teas I have encountered.

It’s a long 10 minute steep but I have a feeling it’s going to be worth the wait. Once it is steeped this tea is brown in colour with a sweet and delicious chocolate treacle aroma.

This tea is sweet, dark, chocolatey, treacle like and full on flavour but the body is light (meaning it won’t make me feel heavy or bloated). You can taste the honeybush but more of it’s sweetness above anything else and I think the balance of flavours is perfect.

It tastes like a hot chocolate drink rather than a tea based drink. :) Also reminds a little of Oh Canada – Davids Tea due to it’s dark syrup like flavour.

Sil you are in for a treat :)

A busy day requires a very large pot of tea, especially since this is my first of the day. To start with I had work and afterwards I ended up in the hairdressers for over three hours (my mum had her hair dyed before our holiday), so my desperation for tea has grown and grown throughout the whole day.

In raw form this tea has large pieces of dried peach amongst it’s dark brown leaves. Also something green and finely chopped..some sort of herb or leaf? There is a sweet fruit scent but not recognisable yet as peach.

Once steeped this tea is dark brown in colour and has a juicy fruity peach/apricot aroma. Not as sweet as it’s raw form but much fruitier.

The first few sips reveal a rich, malt black tea base with sweet fruit highlights and a rather toasty after taste. For me it’s sweet enough to not need any additional sweetener. The peach is juicy and sweet and the raw pieces were really soft like gummy sweets. It’s a nice balance, fruity enough to be a fruit tea but with an actual tea base that also makes it a tea with a touch of fruit.

I bet this would be amazing as an iced tea. The majority of Butiki blends that I have tried so far have a delicious natural sweetness that’s like magic. It makes a lot of their teas familiar so they do have that unique factor down, their blends literally are their blends.

Another tea I’m sorry to see go but at least I can enjoy the cup and half left in my pot. :)

Thank you adagio breeze for two samples of this tea.

Black vanilla based tea always makes me think latte so I might as well steep this into latte form. :) Gives me a good excuse to use up the milk before we go on holiday.

The teabag smells spicy and sweet like a vanilla chai. Also a little dry.

Once steeped this tea is sweet and vanilla scented with a dark and dry under tone. As expected the tea soup is dark brown in colour.

My milk froth looks good and the chocolate powder star on the top has promise so here we go sip sip sip Taste is rather dry but sweet and vanilla, very similar to the smell. The vanilla is more sweet than creamy and has an edge that makes me think it could be artificial. The black tea is very dry and rather dull, reminds me of leaves in autumn that are so dry they crunch in your hand.

I couldn’t tell it’s decaf and neither could my husband. He did however say that it’s very plain and I have to agree. This would not be anything that I would re stock or crave. Some sweetener would be better in this if I ever receive any more samples.

Ps…my throat is so dry I had to have a cup of water after drinking this tea.

In raw form this tea is a vibrant mixture of green, red, dark purple and yellow colours. The ingredients are large for the most part and look dry, crisp and fresh.

It has a very dry woody and peppery herbal scent with a touch of flowers.

Brewing Instructions: Add 3g of tea per cup into a teapot and steep with boiling water for 7-10 minutes.

Ingredients: Hibiscus, orange flowers, rosehip, sea buckthorn berries & lemon verbena.

Once steeped this tea is dark red in colour and has a gentle sweet fruit and herby aroma. Very berry like.

The first few sips reveal a soft berry fruitiness that quickly becomes dry and herbal tasting. The hibiscus is not overly sour or tart and it’s largest influence is on the colour above all else. The rosehips are quite dominant and dry tasting but is also lightened by the subtle citrus flavours from the orange flowers and lemon verbena. All of this leaves a floral berry like after taste which sits well with the warm weather today.

All of the ingredients taste natural and uplifting. Honestly I didn’t know what to think of this blend as I am not usually a fan of hibiscus or rosehips BUT this is so light and airy that it’s enjoyable and a good exception to my rule. You get used to the herbal taste which admittedly is not for everyone (as my husband will tell you) but I like herbal tea so this was right up my street.

For more information and pictures please view my blog.
http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2013/04/23/spring-is-here-and-its-fruity/