Scatterbrain

This one was interesting. It was not what I expected at all as the flavor was all cinnamon and orange peel, no detectable taste of cardamom or other spices (even though they were clearly in the blend. The taste of this reminded me of Good Earth’s Sweet and Spicy tea only it had much more character. The black tea was bold and smooth and the cinnamon and orange peel blended perfectly. Even without sugar or cream, this tea was CREAMY. It was a little odd at first, I don’t even mean to say that was reminiscent of something creamy, the texture of the brewed tea was actually physically THICK and the taste matched in that department. Like I said, the closest thing I would compare this to is Good Earth’s sweet and spicy, but it’s on a much higher level as far as taste and quality go. Very much enjoyed this.

I actually really enjoy this. Like others have said, there are a lot of competing flavors in here and the only thing that I can really pick out as dominant is the lemon flavoring. It is a strange concoction and the flavor is unlike anything else, but I do find it to be very pleasant and relaxing. I understand the mentions of medicinal flavor as it is lemony, slightly minty, and it coats your throat a little bit going down. Overall, I can’t quite explain why I like this stuff so much. I admit that it’s strange, but I love it. As a side note, I also definitely notice a slight cognitive enhancement when I sometimes sip on a 36 ounce jug of this stuff iced throughout the day. It provides an energy boost, but at the same time relaxes…this is definitely due to the eleuthero (which I also recommend as a great herbal supplement) and B-vitamins. Overall, I really like this stuff. Definitely my favorite bagged tea.

Bonnie sent me a sachet of this, and I’m really glad she did. I bought Paris once before and loved it, but now I’m convinced that the tin I bought before was a little stale as the tea that I’m brewing right now has a much stronger caramel and vanilla aroma than the tea I bought a few months ago. If I loved it stale, I can’t wait to see how I like it fresh. Now I wait a few minutes for it to cool down… It’s now five minutes later and I just took a few sips. Yep, the flavor is definitely a lot more pronounced in this batch. I’m getting much more vanilla, caramel and fruit whereas with the last time I had this it was mostly bergamot with a hint of cream. I’ve gotta say, I love it both ways.

Desperate for some decent green tea while traveling, I picked some of this up (the full leaf sachets).. It’s okay. A little pleasant vegetal flavor, but other than that it’s flat, boring, and has a little bitterness to it. It’s definitely the best I can get around here, but it leaves a lot to be desired when you’re paying $7.99 for under an ounce of tea. I could get a very high quality loose leaf for that much. But it’s what I’m stuck with. Tazo just really bothers me. The description on the can makes it sound all nice and high grade, and there’s something written about how their “tea shamans” pick the finest teas and masterfully blend them and blah blah blah… But in Atlantic City, this is as close as I’m going to get to real tea.

This comes in a big 100 set at Costco, and it’s my go-to tea for travel. It’s not the greatest tea in the world, but as far as bagged teas go it’s one of my favorites. It’s a little watery, but it still has a little bit of that signature Japanese green tea flavor. This is actually an Ito En tea marketed under the Costco name Kirkland signature. I’m guessing it’s just the leftover fannings of Ito En’s bancha, so it’s not the highest quality but if you’re looking for cheap Japanese tea for traveling, then I recommend it.

Sitting in Starbucks on the New Jersey coast. The only tea I have with me is some Ito En teabags and I wanted something different so I came here. I ordered a small China green tips tea and they gave me this instead, which is saddening but I’ll deal. This stuff is enjoyable, my problem with it is that I really can’t see or taste the green tea in it, it’s all lemongrass and mint. But for now, it’s soothing as I watch the waves crash on to the shoreline. I just wish the staff of Starbucks knew that just because this says green tea, doesn’t mean it’s the same thing. Haha

I’M GOING TO SEE RADIOHEAD LIVE IN JUNE, WOO!!! Anyways, this is another sample provided generously by Tommy the Toad. This one really caught my attention. The tiny square wrapped in gold foil reminded me of a piece of candy, and I will admit that that probably subconsciously caused me to want to try it so much. Well, it was great. This one is more mellow and black-tea like than the Twin Elephant pu-erh I had before it. It’s still got that distinct earthy and musty taste, but it is very mellow and is more in the background. The tea is very smooth and definitely had a sweetness to it that I wasn’t expecting. I LOVE this. Thanks, Tommy.

2nd steeping: I broke the brick apart this time and it produced a much stronger brew but was still delicious, this time there are HUGE notes of chocolate. Rating is going up a notch…

Tommy The Toad was kind enough to send me some samples to introduce me to unflavored pu-erh, this being the first of them I decided to try. I can’t thank him enough for helping me branch out. To be honest, I was a little scared to dry it when I smelled the brewed tea, but I kept an open mind. There was definitely a little bit of that “fishy” odor that I had heard about, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. When I tasted it, there was no fishy taste whatsover. It was just an earthy, smoky kind of taste that made me think of fall leaves, campfires, and dirt (I never thought I’d drink something that reminded me of dirt, but really it wasn’t a bad thing). This was a very new experience, my mind was not fully prepared for what my taste buds experienced, and I’m glad I got to try it. Once I get used to the taste a little more, I can see myself becoming a pu-erh fan. The whole process of making pu-erh is very intriguing to me. The amount of effort and expertise that goes into creating a good pu-erh is something I can really respect, and I want to experience all of the different facets of the tea world. When it all comes down to it, tea in general is a form of art and allows me to feel a spiritual warmth and a connection with the nature. I am consuming the ESSENCE of nature, and at the same time the product of a rich culture of my own human race. As you can see, I’m getting a bit contemplative…and that in my mind the greatest quality of tea. It gives me a few minutes out of a hectic day to truly feel centered and be able to THINK and BE in the moment. I truly enjoyed this new experience.

This was another one of my samples from Bonnie, and I quite enjoyed it. I added a little sweetener and it was smooth and creamy, with a mellow coconut flavor and a hint of savory spices. Good stuff.

This arrived today as as sample from Joy’s Teaspoon. It’s finally a sunny, somewhat warm day here in Pennsylvania and this tea is suiting that mood perfectly. The aroma of the dry leaf smells strongly of sweet-tart cherry, but the brew is more mellow. Mellow green tea blends with smooth almond flavor and leaves a sweet/slightly sour cherry note on the tip of your tongue at the finish. I love it.

Alright, this HAS to be my last tea of the night. Last night I didn’t fall asleep until three in the morning because I just had to have those late cups (I thought I was playing it safe going with white tea). Anyways, this is a nice cup to finish off the day. Unfortunately, I think I overdid the cream this time so the tea flavor isn’t as strong as I would like it to be, but it’s still very good. To me, this tastes EXACTLY like a pumpkin spice latte, but that’s not a bad thing…I love lattes. And yes, I do drink coffee…I’ve tried to replace it with tea in the mornings but I’ve found that tea doesn’t come close to giving me the energy that coffee does. As you can see I tend to ramble off-topic sometimes. But anyways, I am enjoying this tea. As a side note, I love the little candy pieces and other assorted decorations that DavidsTea puts into their blends, it’s a little cheesy but it makes the experience a little more fun and I imagine buying from one of their stores would be like being in a candy shop of sorts.

You can pretty much understand what this tastes like just by the name, not much else to say. It is indeed creamy, I would say the vanilla aspect outshines the bergamot a little bit in this blend. Both flavors are subtle and blend together very well into a very pleasant tea.

Another one from Bonnie. I was a little perplexed when I smelled the dry leaf, as it smelled strongly of what I perceived to be strawberry. It reminded me of the strawberry zabaglione I had earlier today. The taste was also similar, just without the creamy aspect and with a slight floral flavor. I would say this one is similar, but a little more refined and less dessert-like.

First dance with pu-erh. Bonnie sent me this one and judging by the name, it seems like the perfect introduction. Being a bit apprehensive, I went shorter than recommended on the steeping time and added a little sugar and just a splash of cream. Well people, it’s delicious. It’s super creamy, caramelly, butterscotch-laden and delicious. The only way I can tell this isn’t a regular black tea blend is that there is a musty, earthy flavor that pops through the creamy sweetness and gives the tea some character. It’s a little woody, and causes me to think of the taste of cured tobacco and, well… damp caverns. Don’t take that last statement as a bad thing though, it’s very good. Overall, this was definitely a new and different experience to me. I was a little apprehensive about pu-erh, but this blend at least is very good and approachable. I like it. Now to try some unflavored pu-erhs…

A package arrived for me today with a bunch of samples generously provided to me by Bonnie. Many thanks to her. All of the teas smell DELICIOUS and I can’t wait to try them. When I came home, I was in the mood for something sweet because this one just SCREAMED sweet when I smelled it. I tried it plain and it wasn’t quite up to satisfying my massive sweet tooth on its own, so I added a packet of sweetener and now it’s perfect. Smooth and very sweet, a little creamy, and I like that the tea base isn’t overpowered. It reminds me of this strawberries and cream oatmeal I have at my house. This is very good. Thanks again to Bonnie.

I’m enjoying this more tonight than I was last night. Although I enjoyed it then, I found it a bit too heavy on the floral notes at the time. But… that was totally my fault. I have a really bad habit of gulping and quickly finishing tea rather than sipping it and savoring it. Anyway, I’m bumping the rating up. This stuff’s great.

Wow. All previous ideas of what Chinese green tea is are shattered. I’ve enjoyed other Chinese greens I’ve had before, but originally thought them inferior to Japanese greens taste-wise. This proved me wrong. This was transcendental. Light and brothy, super buttery and silky. I’ll have to add this into my “permanent collection” along with my beloved Japanese sencha. Blew me out of the water. Now, I’m off to go drop the ratings for other so-called dragonwells I’ve had, they don’t hold a candle to this. Nicely done, Teavivre.

This sample was generously provided to me by Teavivre and I am very thankful. This is my first milk oolong and this is probably the one I was most excited to try. The first thing I noticed was that the “milkiness” was not as pronounced as I had imagined it to be, but it was definitely there. I guess I just imagined it in a different sense, because what I got from it was better classified as “buttery” like I was used to with a Japanese sencha, just more mellow. While the floral taste of the Tie Guan Yin I tried sometimes got a little too intense for me, I felt that the balance of flavor in this one was just perfect. This was a very pleasant tea to drink on a late night.

This is my first white peony, and my second white tea experience. It was fairly good, but definitely not my favorite that I’ve had out of my Teavivre samples. It’s got that soothing hay/fruit/floral flavor that I loved when I had Rishi’s silver needle, but to a lesser degree. I feel this may have been partly my fault as I’m still a little shaky on how to properly brew a white tea (all I have equipment wise is a basic cooking pot to heat the water in and I have to totally guess on the temperature). This one was just so-so for me. I’m sure it’s a high quality white peony, it’s just not my favorite.

I thought the Tie Guan Yin I got from Teavivre was good but this stuff right here is AMAZING. I didn’t even consider myself a big black tea fan before because I was naive to what a truly high quality black tea was. I didn’t even know that black tea could possess the kind of flavor “wow” factor that this does, my eyes are now open. For me, the most dominant smell/flavor in this is that of maltiness with little hints of chocolate and raisins, in a more refined sense it kind of reminds me of those Whoppers candies (the malted milk balls). This is smooth, comforting, a little sweet, a little earthy, chocolatey, malty… Just all around delicious. I drank it with homemade General Tso’s chicken and fried rice and it really complimented the meal. I will definitely be buying some of this.

Today is the day I’ve been waiting very impatiently for the past couple weeks…the day my Teavivre samples came. Words can’t explain how excited I was when I saw the beaten, tattered box with Chinese writing on it sitting on my counter after school. This is my first Iron Goddess and my first green oolong in general. I was surprised when I smelled the brewed tea because I am naive to green oolongs. I had always heard “floral” as being a commonly used word to describe the taste of an oolong, but I never expected it to be this strong, to me it smelled like straight up jasmine green tea. The smell alone was very soothing and therapeutic. Being new and not yet having a refined palate, it’s hard for me to tell what all is going on in this tea. The floral flavors are very obvious to me, as well as a “slightly roasted” green tea type of flavor, and something I’m picking up on that I would describe as “minerally”. But it is a very delicate tea and I can tell there is a lot more going on then what my untrained taste buds can pick up on. Still, I like what I am experiencing. This tea is very mellow, and very soothing, and it’s doing a very good job of helping me wind down a little bit after a hectic week. I’m very much enjoying it and look forward to trying the rest of my samples (after 3-4 more infusions of this). Thanks to the generous people at Teavivre for allowing me this opportunity.

It’s all tea bags for me right now as I’m out of loose leaf and have zero cash. This is one of the few I somewhat enjoy. Still not high quality or remarkable, but with a little sugar it’s smooth and comforting.

I picked some of this up today because I’ve been on a bit of a black tea kick lately (which is strange for me), and I no longer have any loose-leaf blacks in the house. I had heard that this was the best black tea you could get in a grocery store. While I obviously didn’t have high expectations, I thought it would be better than this. I smelled it and thought “this smells like any other grocery store black – dull, flat, and uninteresting.”. And when I brewed it and tried it at different temperatures, it didn’t get much better. Still dull. Still flat. Still uninteresting. But along with that, I was also greeted with a bitter punch it the face. So yeah, I guess it is a little more “bold” than most grocery store brands, but I didn’t find it any better.

This is growing on me. I’ve decided that whether or not I like earl grey can change at any time given my mind state. It’s not gonna be something I want all the time, but I’ve found it to be a great cup when I need something to breathe life back into me on those long evenings of studying and homework after an already exhausting day of school. The taste is bold, and it can be a little overbearing, but it turns out that sometimes that’s just what I need. It’s refreshing and invigorating. Man, my opinions change like seasons…