KittyLovesTea

I’m in the mood for something light and floral and I couldn’t think of anything more perfect than jasmine pearls. I usually go for Teavivre’s ‘Superfine Jasmine Downy Dragon Pearls Green Tea’ but today I thought I would try this brand.

What surprised me first of all was that this brands ‘pearl jasmine’ came seal packed like many Oolongs do to ensure freshness. When I opened the sealed pack I could see small dark green with silver striped balls with a beautiful sweet jasmine scent. One thing I did notice is that there is no fuzziness at all which I have noted comes with the fresher and higher quality pearls.

I am brewing with three steeps: 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes. I used 7g of pearls in my gongfu with 80°C water.

The tea once steeped for 1 minute is light yellow and remains fresh, mellow, floral and sweet. Just as jasmine pearl tea should be. It’s very light with only a hint of jasmine and it’s a very pleasant first steep. It’s the sort of tea I could drink every day. :)

My second steep now. The pearls have now unravelled. The tea is still yellow in colour but the jasmine scent is stronger. It’s a little stronger, sweeter and more floral now. Much more preferable to the first steep. It’s still light but now it’s more like a green tea as it has some depth instead of very little.

My third steep. Everything (colour, scent and taste) has weakened slightly and resembles the first steep again.

Overall it’s a nice jasmine pearl tea but at the best steep it was the same quality as what you would expect. Meaning it’s suitable for every day drinking but not for those special occasions. Still it is what it’s called and nothing more and I do love jasmine pearls … if this is the lesser grade then I cannot wait to try their higher grades. :)

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

I’m half chuckling that people say this tastes like curry whilst the other half of me is thinking that I really don’t want to drink a curry tea… I wanted it to be sweet.

The raw mixture looks and smells perfect. It smells like apple and caramel in a fairly strong way. It also looks aesthetically pleasing with it’s little red candy pieces, brown caramel pieces and white/yellow apple pieces.

Once steeped the tea becomes reddish brown in colour with a sweet and slightly sour apple smell.

Yummy. I can taste sweet caramel with a hint of apple but it’s smooth and a little creamy… like vanilla but not quite. The apple tastes fresh enough with that slight sweet and sour tang that it naturally has but the caramel and candy give it that oomph in sweetness for a nice boost. I can’t taste curry like other people have stated but I haven’t tasted every single curry in the world so it is still possible that it does.

I wish I had this tea for Halloween… I want to bob for apples and eat ream caramel apples now. :( So long to wait until next Hallows Eve. Watches the clock and waits …. I will be here a long time.

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I’m in the mood for something sweet and also pre bagged for ease as my newly tattoo’d arm is absolutely killing me. Plus I’m rather engrossed into the FA cup football matches as I have placed a cheeky bet for the wholesome sum of £2 and I’m sat here in anticipation with my fingers crossed.

This tea was part of a sampler box I received for Christmas with lots of different flavours, each in a tiny box with two samples per flavour.

The bag looks like normal rooibos and other than a slightly sweeter than average smell it pretty much is the same as original rooibos. Not sure why I wanted to try this since I dislike rooibos at the best of times but I just got the craving for it.

I will be adding a touch of milk (which I don’t usually do). It was nice to see the milk slowly mixing into the red tea :)

Once brewed the tea smells like normal rooibos, the sweetness has vanished. :(

The taste is like your average rooibos too. There is maybe a smidgen of sweetness but I would certainly not say it was sweet enough to be categorised as caramel. I would have to add sweetener into it before it became as sweet as it’s name sake and that would feel like a waste because I shouldn’t have to manually turn something into what it should have been in the first place. Alright I need to calm down it would seem :/

So to sum things up this was rooibos and nothing more. As far as rooibos teas are concerned this was as fresh and tasty as expected but it did not over exceed anything above average. Such a shame… I will just have to pick something sweeter for my next drink to make up for it.

Thank you reasoned_melody for my 24g pouch of this tea. Cookie dough is one of my favourites and I have wanted to try this for a while now.

I opened the pouch and took a sniff not really knowing what to expect but I was greeted with a chocolate odour. I take it these cookies are chocolate based then? :) Chocolate chip maybe. The mix looks like your standard white tea (similar to peony) but with a few twigs and delicious sweet extras.

A 7 minute steep is a fairly long time but I am sat here eagerly waiting with what little patience I have. So far I can note the colour is lightly honeyed (yellow and orange) with a chocolatey and somewhat baked essence that is becoming stronger and stronger. It really is like cookie dough but more store bought than home made.

The flavour is interesting at the beginning. It’s creamy and sweet with a touch of being nutty and chocolatey. There is deffinately some sort of baked flavour there (different to an Oolong but also in a way rather similar). The chocolate flavour is more of the cocoa nibs so it resembles a cup of hot chocolate rather than a chocolate bar or real chocolate chips but it helps to sweeten the mixture so it’s not too bad.

I don’t like that this contains artificial flavouring. Surely if you create a blend correctly you will find you don’t need to add artificial extra’s? Butiki do a great job using natural flavours as do many other companies and I imagine it can’t be too difficult as long as you test it properly and have the passion to create.

I’m not so sure I would pick this cup out of a line up either. Put this tea amongst other chocolate based teas and it would be hard to differentiate the differences. Smell would be an easier job than taste I think.

Overall it’s a fairly average tea and I was hoping it would be so much more. Perhaps my standards were too high, as I said cookie dough is one of my favourite foods so perhaps my bar was held too high in advance? Either way this tea was nice but far from extraordinary.

I’ve just spent 3 hours at my local tattooists to finish off a half tattoo sleeve and once I got home the pain started to hit me. It feels like very bad sun burn but it’s all over my arm and it’s gotten to the point where I am having to preoccupy myself. What better way to do that other than to write a tea review?

My second Earl Gray sample from Canton Tea Club and I am looking forward to my teapot full of this. Upon opening the packet I noticed this smells stronger than their classic version, the orange is much more potent but still remains sweet and somewhat waxy. It smells like someone has been peeling an orange, it’s so fresh and juicy. :) Also the colour is a little lighter in comparison and with the occasional silverish yellow leaf and blue cornflower it looks quite attractive.

Steeping 10g sample spread over 3 teabags in my teapot and taken without milk. Lets get started.

The dark brown tea soup smells just as strong as it’s raw form but also richer. The Darjeeling is really standing out in comparison to the classic. It’s strong and rich with only a touch of waxy orange and a green/floral taste. I would say this is double the strength of the classic but even so it’s still smooth and flows nicely.

The flavours take you on a journey. It starts off thick and rich and you start to think it’s too strong but then it cools down to a waxy orange affair and ends with a light floral/perfume after taste.

Definitely my favourite out of the two blends but it’s not my favourite ever Earl Grey. I do admire this blends strength and I think that’s why I prefer it overall.

My second pot of tea tonight with my husband whilst watching 300 (again…my husband loves that film).

I know this is a breakfast tea but we felt a strong caffeine boost would be perfect for us right now as we have both had such a long day.

I will be adding a drop of milk to my tea but no sweetener. The tea bags were sealed individually in foil packets but upon being opened they looked like any other slightly dusty black tea bag.

Once brewed this tea smells rich and malty with a touch of sweetness. Upon tasting I can note it’s strength is adequate but for me it could have been a little stronger. Despite being on the stronger side there is no bitterness (which may be due to the milk) making is strong yet smooth. The thing that strikes me the most about the tea is the malty taste and smell which is unusual for most bog standard black tea’s…it’s almost like a Yunnan black tea but not malty enough, it makes for an interesting drink. I do love malty Yunnan.

I can feel the caffeine kick already after half a cup which is impressive enough and I have roughly another 2 cups to go. My husband even said it tasted like the special tea I have (he means the Black Dragon Pearls from Teavivre) so I’m glad that I’m not the only one that can taste the malt.

The tea is fresh but around your top average teabag standard so it’s far from being anything special. Still it’s very nice for an every day tea with that slight difference.

Earl Grey is one of my favourites and I was more than thrilled to receive this sample. My husband is also a lover of Earl Grey so tonight we are sitting down and having a large teapot which uses my 10g sample which works out to roughly 3 teabags.

Before I steep I should note the loose tea looks like your average Earl Grey (dark brown small twisted and finely cut leaves) but with it came a tremendously strong whiff of fresh orange. Almost like orange essential oil, waxy yet sweet.

In my teapot goes the water and all I will be adding is a little milk.

The tea has steeped very nicely in my new teapot. With the milk added it smells very sweet and orangey with a slight earthy background.

Sipping a few times has definitely put a smile on my face. It’s naturally sweet, strong and smooth which is exactly what I look for in an Earl Grey. The reason I love Earl Grey so much is mostly because of the bergamot and I think what I look for the most with Earl Grey teas is strong but fresh bergamot/orange. This is strong but not quite to my personal liking, in other words I like this tea but I do not love it. It’s just missing that extra orange oomph that makes me go wow.

Still this does beat most bagged Earl Greys and it is certainly fresh and potent. My husband who drinks Earl Grey every day agree’s that while he can tell this is fresh it would be hard to differentiate between this and another fresh Earl Grey. But considering this was the basic Earl Grey and along with this I receive a sample of organic Darjeeling Earl Grey I would say I have not been off to a bad start.

So yes it’s true, this is a classic Earl Grey and while it’s not as special as it could be it’s still pretty darn tasty.

I just looked at my previous notes for this and saw I listed it as bitter and a little unpleasant. Well it’s amazing what a spoon of 0 calorie sugar and a splash of milk can do. :D Now it’s almost perfect.

My fifth flavoured Pu Erh of the day :) I’m on a roll!

The little tuocha’s are so cute, I love using them. The tuocha’s are dark green in colour with a slight sweet ricey fragrance. Sort of like rice pudding without the cream.

After a 10 second rinse the tea smells much more like cooked rice but not as thickly so as Genmaicha. I haven’t cooked rice in a while and this smell is making me crave it.

Ooh I forgot to mention I am using my gongfu with two of these tuocha’s. Copying other peoples steeping time of 30 seconds (as that seems about right).

Steep 1 – The same sticky rice smell with a light yellow colour. The Pu Erh is mellow and a little floral with a light rice flavour. The smell is thicker than the taste which is good because stodgy rice would not be nice. It’s also still sweet but naturally so and not overpowering.

Steep 2 – A little darker in colour and thicker in smell. The taste is also much stronger now with a thick floral perfume flavour taking over the light rice which is now mostly in the after taste. It’s also picked up more of a toasted flavour.

Steep 3 – Now it’s a light gold colour rather than yellow. Now it’s twice the strength it was before and a little bitterness is noticeable along with a fairly harsh and dry perfume taste. The sweetness has almost gone but the rice remains at the back of the throat as the after taste. Not as pleasant as the first steep.

Steep 4 – Same gold colour but more toasty in smell. Not as strong as the previous steep (thankfully) but that wonderful rice flavour has still been over taken by this perfumey one.

I’m leaving my steeps there, it started off well but ended abruptly shortly after. I have never had a Pu Erh that has changed so much between first and second steeps. The first steep was pleasant where as the second and third were much too strong for my personal liking. It’s low score comes down to this tea’s problems with re steeping which is mandatory for most Pu Erh.

No notes yet.

This will be my fourth cup of flavoured Pu Erh today. The snow has stopped falling but a few inches have settled, for how long is anybodies guess. The snow is beautiful to look at but it’s cold and dangerous. Last year it snowed on my birthday but it doesn’t look like there is much chance of that happening this year, it’s arrived too early. (My birthday is 6th February).

The tea whilst raw is dark brown with small red strawberry pieces and it smells absolutely amazing! It’s real strawberry and it smells so sweet and juicy, very natural like and thankfully not the leaf. I’m licking my lips due to the smell alone which for the record is quite potent.

Once the tea has steeped it’s dark brown in colour and smells just as strong, fresh and naturally delicious as it’s raw form.

Wowzers this tastes as lovely as the smell! The first few sips reveal sweet strawberry which is then followed by a rich and smooth Pu Erh after taste. The strawberry is slightly more dominant but with it being so sweet and fresh I put that as being a positive thing. Besides I can taste the Pu Erh fairly well despite being overtaken. This is another blend that reminds me of sweets.

Earlier I drank Mother of Pearl- Della Terra and noted that was mostly strawberry flavoured (and Pu Erh based) and I think any fan of that tea would love this. This tea is stronger than MOP and sweeter without having to add anything extra.

I think this tea alone would be worth placing another order from NBT for but considering I also love their Orange Pu Erh and Orange Black I’m thinking I should do so sooner rather than later.

In a few words this tea is … Tantalizingly strawberry tastic!

“If you are cold, tea will warm you;
if you are too heated, it will cool you;
If you are depressed, it will cheer you;
If you are excited, it will calm you.”
― William Ewart Gladstone
Maybe that is why I love tea?

Following my next cup with another flavoured Pu Erh after catching the Pu Erh bug today. Well it is hard for any tea to follow after a delicious cup of Pu Erh after all. The snow is still falling and after walking (carefully) through it a moment ago to post jewellery to my wonderful customers at my local Post Office I am cold and in desperate need of being warmed up. The exotic part of this sounds nice right about now (shivers).

While raw this tea is a mixture of brown, yellow and blue in colour with a refreshing woody and orange scent. Not quite as exotic as I had imagined.

Once steeped the tea is dark brown in colour with the usual woody and earthy Pu Erh scent. I can’t pick up the fruit by smell alone which is a shame.

There is a hint of orange in the flavour but the Pu Erh is much stronger than the fruitiness meaning the balance is not quite right. It says their are raspberry pieces in this tea but I can’t taste anything remotely berry like, just the waxy orange and thick woody Pu Erh.

I have Nothing But Teas Orange Pu Erh and it’s nothing like this tea, this is a much weaker version and not as tasty. It’s a shame that it’s disappointing but it’s still good enough to drink and finish my sample pouch. Still I feel the word exotic is a little misleading..I was sort of thinking pineapple or melon…not just orange and raspberry that I cannot taste.

What an attractive looking tea this is, all the better to drink you for my dear.

I would usually be at work at this time but because it’s been snowing fairly heavily in the last couple of hours I have been told to stay at home. Having my mother as my boss works out some times. :)

The raw teas smell reminded me of strawberry gummy sweets I used to buy as a kid. It smells very sweet and fruity. Yum.

After steeping for 4 minutes with boiling water the tea soup is now dark brown with a sweet yet slightly astringent strawberry smell (due to the pu erh I believe).

The raw smell was stronger than the steeped smell and the taste is also a weaker version. The pu erh is nice and earthy and the strawberry adds a little sweetness and fruitiness, enough to blend very well together. There are other fruity tones in there too but not as strong as the strawberry and I thankfully cannot taste the rosehip at all.

I think their own description of “perfectly fruity and sweet tea with a slight smoky undertone” is spot on.

What do we want? Flavoured Pu Erh
When do we want it? NOW!!!
Yum yum yum.

I had a cup of this tea last night before bed and when I awoke this morning I was shown that it had snowed over night. What a strange coincidence :)

The tea was very vanilla and pineapple in smell but I also found it a little soapy, something very familiar but I could just not put my finger on (so to speak). The colour was yellow.

The taste was very creamy pineapple, almost like an ice cream but less sweet. It was also smooth and rather full on flavour to match it’s potent smell.

Overall it was very interesting but in a positive way, still I wish I could think of what it reminds me of. Never mind.

Thank you Jillian for trading for this tea. The blend of saffron and mango interested me too and it was something I really wanted to taste.

I have had this for a while and over that time had many cups of it so I was surprised to see that I have not yet reviewed it. Until now that is.

Steeping time and temperature as stated on the box (despite my distaste for boiling green tea) I have followed instructions exactly.

The liquid created is burnt orange in colour with a potent juicy mango fruit smell. The fruit is not as strong as the smell (unfortunately) and there is also a little sweetness with a slight bitter and perfumey taste.

In honesty it’s hard to detect anything special about this tea when it comes to pure flavour. It’s quite tasty for a bagged tea don’t get me wrong but it’s not quite what I had in mind.

Thank you to Jillian for this sample. It’s been on my shelf for too long and I’m going through my one off samples today.

The teabag smells like cinnamon with extra spiciness, not exactly what I thought I would smell with it being chocolate flavoured.

Once steeped the tea is dark brown in colour with a very strong cinnamon and fruity orange smell. There is also a slight earthy smell from the pu erh.

If it doesn’t smell like chocolate does it at least taste like it? That’s the question I am asking myself at this moment in time while I count down the remaining steeping time.

Well I can now answer that it has a slight taste of chocolate (or cocoa anyway) but the cinnamon is overpowering it. Now don’t get me wrong I love cinnamon but I was hoping this would be a little more chocolatey than it is. As for this being a pu erh based tea I would have never guessed it by taste alone.

While it’s not what I expected it’s still not bad for a bagged tea and it has it’s own charm. It’s more of a weak fruity chocolate spice cake than just chocolate by itself but perhaps that’s not such a bad thing.

I was given a teabag of this tea last year and it was my first David’s Tea item that I received. Since I found that I couldn’t buy them here in the UK I kept it as a special treat for one day in the future. Well that day is now, my nan passed away 8 years ago next month and today would have been her birthday. I was very close to my nan and her passing has been extremely difficult for my family and not a day goes by that I don’t think about her.

My nan was a very strong woman and at only 63 she was taken away from us all much too young. I sometimes think that she was taken to cook for her beloved cowboy and Indians (her house was decorated with pictures and statues and she loved Western films).

To celebrate her life I am drinking this Long Life Oolong. My nan (Jean) was more of a coffee drinker than tea but I know she would love my quirky tea addiction and see it as being healthy and interesting. She was my best friend.

The tea comes in a see through square with easy to see ingredients. A sweet and peachy/apricot scent is subtle but there.

Once brewed the tea is yellow in colour with the same but much stronger peach/apricot smell that really is quite mouth wateringly good.

The taste is similar to the smell but with added extra’s. While the peach and apricot are the most dominant there is also a hint of waxy citrus orange and something slightly dark and gently toasty which must be the Oolong. Even though it’s rather fruity it still remains refreshing and light with a fair balance of flavours and sweetness.

It’s a shame I only had the one bag of this because it really is quite tasty. I may have to see if this re steeps well. Plus the cooler it becomes the more I can taste the Oolong and smooth almond. Yummy.

To my nan Jean West, I hope you have found peace and eternal happiness. We all miss you down here but we know you are watching over us. Know that we all love you and will miss you until the day that we are reunited. I am trying my best to make you proud of me. Even though it was short I’m thankful to have had you in my life. I love you nan.

With such simple ingredients (lychee and rose petals) this tea will either be a hit or a miss. The teabags are pyramid shape and I can see the ingredients inside which I am happy to say look rather fresh and natural.

The colour once steeped is dark amber with a sweet and rich finish.

Well that is interesting…the mixture of the two ingredients has created a somewhat chocolate affair. It has sweetness yet there is that cocoa nib feel about it whilst being a little fruity. The balance works very well, it’s smooth, rich, sweet, fruity.

For a pre bagged tea this is very tasty and for such simple ingredients it is very impressive.

Thank you Reasoned_Melody for this sample.

The teabag smells strongly fruity and a little fermented. I can understand why people have been saying this brews up strongly.

Once brewed the tea becomes a reddy brown colour with a sweet yet strong grapey wine fragrance.

Despite the low steeping time of 2 minutes it’s rather bitter, making the whole tea sweet and sour. I can taste grapes and fruit and there is a little dryness there which has a wine effect. While it may not be the nicest flavoured tea it still has charm. Drinking it gives me a sort of…glow…like real wine does.

If the bitterness could be improved then this would be a wonderful bagged tea but for now it remains average.

No notes yet.

I’m having a cup of this deliciously minty tea whilst reading The Treatment by Mo Hayder. :)