LiberTEAS

At the request of another Steepster, I am trying this blend for the first time. I ordered it a while ago, but, haven’t gotten around to trying it until now.

I tried it first without any milk but I think maybe I used a little too much leaf when I steeped it because it was quite strong and needed the milk addition. With the milk, it is delicious. Creamy and smooth.

But before I rate it numerically, I’ll try it with a little less leaf and without addition to see how it fairs.

I have to agree with TeaEqualsBliss about this one, it does remind me of the powder-dry gum that used to be packaged with baseball cards (well, in my case, I collected the Wacky Packages instead of baseball cards, but you still got a stick of that dry gum inside).

It doesn’t really possess any notes that taste distinctively like “tropical” to me. It’s not bad tasting though… it’s just a bit different than I was expecting… and once I get past that, I find that it’s an enjoyable cup.

We’re having a late lunch (I made stir fry) and I decided to brew some of this to enjoy with my lunch… delightful as always! I love this tea. The flavor is rich and buttery (almost creamy) and smooth. Sweet!!! The floral notes are enchanting. Very nice – I like how well it is pairing with my lunch today.

Backlogging from earlier today – I had some of this iced. It makes a very good iced tea, but I think I prefer this one hot.

Backlogging from this morning – this was my first cuppa… while I do wish that the chocolate notes were a bit stronger (more chocolate = more yum), this is a very tasty tea.

YUM!

I enjoyed a cup of this with the birthday cookies I made for the birthday party (my daughter requested cookies – her favorite peanut butter blossoms – instead of a cake for her party)… and it is so good with dessert! Then again, it’s good instead of dessert.

Still my favorite… although I think that the chocolate malt honeybush may give it a run for it’s money.

My first cup of the day! Today has been a really busy day… My youngest daughter is having her birthday party (sleep over!) tonight, and I’ve been busily preparing, decorating, baking,

YUM!

I’ve been drinking this all afternoon – iced – and it’s been delicious. It’s even better iced than it is as a latte! YUMMY!

The flavor here is sweet and tasty. The black tea base is good, and the Lychee adds a delicious taste to this cup.

Two Oolongs in one day? Yay!

OK… this is totally yum. Like YUMMMMMM!

This has a very lovely honey-esque note to it, sweet, with a roasty nutty taste too. A very light buttery touch, and a very pleasant floral note.

This is why I love Oolongs!

No other teas can match their complexity, in my opinion… such a unique depth of flavor, rich mouthfeel, it’s like drinking liquid gold.

This is actually the Ali Shan Spring 09, but, since there wasn’t an entry for the Spring offering, and Norbu no longer has the Spring available, I decided to just use the fall.

Delicious. In my opinion, Norbu offers the best Ali Shan. And I love drinking it out of my new Yixing mug. It makes Ali Shan even more special by distinguishing it with it’s own mug.

The flavor is only slightly nutty, pleasantly floral, buttery, rich, absolutely SUPERB!

This is a very delicious blend of tea, fruit and spice. The tea is brisk and alive with flavor. Surprisingly strong tea flavor when considering the other flavors that are represented in this blend.

The spices are pleasant – not too heavy – and provide a really nice accent to the juicy sweet orange flavor. Very autumnal, this blend, and it makes me long for the cool, crisp air and the colors of fall!

Thank you Doulton for allowing me to sample this tea!

This is smooth, rich, fruity, sweet-tart and delicious. It isn’t my favorite Dammann Freres tea that I’ve tried, and that is actually kind of weird for me to declare, because, it seems that with every Dammann Freres tea that I do try, I have a “new” favorite.

That doesn’t mean I dislike this, I am enjoying it very much. YUM!

I was in the mood for latte so I grabbed this Chai today – it is rich and spicy. The Assam is of good quality – no bitterness, malty and toothsome. The spices are delicious here and are nicely balanced: cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and ginger… the spices are warm and comforting on this overcast day and there is a very nice peppery kick at the finish!

This latte is smooth, rich, creamy and YUMMY!

This is a very good variety of Earl Grey. The black tea is strong here, robust and tastes very rich and smooth.

The bergamot is subtle… and a bit different than some other Earl Grey/bergamot flavored teas I’ve encountered. I’m not getting a strong “flowery” essence from the bergamot, instead I’m getting a very juicy citrus-y note possessing an interesting complexity. It is sweet, fruity, and instead of the “sharp” note that I usually get from bergamot, I am getting a tart citrusness – yes it’s a word, I just made it up – from this bergamot.

I like it very much. I don’t know that I like it as much as I like Lupicia’s… or even Stephen Smith’s… but it’s right up there.

My first cup of the day and chose this one by random selection from the many zoomdweebies teas I have.

This is good. The black tea is strong and smooth and the berries have a sweet yet pleasantly tart flavor. Juicy! A nice tea with which to start the day.

Another tea from TeaEqualsBliss – THANK YOU!

This has such a nice flavor. I can taste the raspberry, and it even seems to “sparkle” on the tongue much the same way that a champagne might. Sweet. The white tea base is distinguishable from the flavors – it is delicate and fresh.

I love Pouchong tea, and this is a fantastic Pouchong!

The flavor is sweet, mildly vegetative and smooth with a fruit-like aftertaste. I am getting a very nice creamy mouthfeel and only a hint of astringency. A nice nutty note to this too.

I am pleasantly surprised by this tea. It has a bold, malty character that I didn’t expect – I was expecting something fairly mild and “tea-baggish” – but I didn’t get that here… this is really very good… one that I think the English might consider “moreish”

ETA: another THANK YOU to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me this tea to try!

This is a pleasant enough Earl Grey tea. The bergamot is not too strong or overwhelming, nor does it leave that kind of perfume-y taste on the tongue. The black tea is smooth and strong with a little astringency.

I like it.

ETA: Thanks to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me a sampling of this tea!

A very mild-mannered Ceylon. I can taste the notes of cocoa which is not something I often taste with an average, everyday Ceylon. Very smooth and I’m even getting a pleasant malty note (another something I don’t usually get from an average Ceylon)

Not as fruity as some Ceylons, but I do get a slightly fruity quality at the finish. Sweet and mellow. Nice.

Ok… so, I’ve got all these teas from Zoomdweebies… I might as well play with them, right?

I like this SO much better than the two teas separately. Yummy, sweet… and I added just a drop of milk to give it a little creaminess. Perfect.

This is a fairly mild Chai, the black tea base is pleasantly smooth but not particularly strong. Not very astringent. The spices are not particularly strong either (which is why I say it’s a fairly mild chai) but I can taste the cardamom in particular, as well as notes from the ginger and cinnamon. In the aftertaste I can taste the black pepper, which I like.

This is a good chai but not a great chai… but I still enjoyed it and am glad I had the opportunity to try it.

Enjoying this iced this evening… it makes for a delicious glass of iced tea! Fruity and delicious, but still with the green tea flavor coming through.