LiberTEAS

Trying this one again. It is an enjoyable cup. Bold and brisk and somewhat woodsy. I am enjoying this with a Italian fig cookie (cuccidata), and it’s a really nice pairing. The tea brings out some of the delightful fruit notes in the cookie, while the sweetness of the cookie brings out hints of honey and flower in the tea.

YUM!

Starting my day with Earl Grey! It’s lovely.

So nice. The lavender and bergamot really work so well together. Smooth, sweet, delicious.

I have to admit that my very first sip of this tea was a little scary, because I could taste that funky Adagio black tea dry-starchy taste that I’m not terribly fond of. But, as the tea cools just enough to sip it comfortably, the flavors begin to come through very nicely.

I LOVE chestnuts, and I can taste them here, together with the cinnamon and the light touch of caramel – and it’s a very pleasing combination of flavors. The black tea flavor is still there, but it’s less pronounced and it isn’t quite as dry/starchy/aggressive as it was in the first sip.

I am liking this one a lot.

I have a morning filled with appointments so I need something with as little fuss as possible (aka tea bags) but with enough gusto to get me going. This is what I reached for.

This is actually very nice. Bold and gutsy – strong and just what I needed this morning.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending this to me!

This is one that I hadn’t tried before from Tea Forte. It has a nice mango flavor – although it isn’t incredibly strong. The green tea is smooth and mellow and really pleasant as an after dinner cuppa. A nice buttery finish.

I brewed some of this yesterday for iced tea today.

This is A-MAZ-ING iced! So much so that I think I will even increase my numeric rating for it. The fruit flavors really come into their own when it’s chilled, it is refreshing, and fruity, but not so much that it becomes like a tropical fruit punch.

Light and lovely. I love it!

Thank You to TeaEqualsBliss for sending this tea my way!

This is a really nice tea. Smooth and sweet. Very nice and relaxing to sip.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending this my way!

I recently learned that Teahouse Kuan Yin is in Seattle – I think I may just have to go there and check them out someday soon!

This is very lovely. A very nice buttery flavor to it. Smooth and rich. SWEET! Oh-so-pleasant.

I’m just going to sit here and not say anything more… it might ruin the moment!

This is unexpectedly really good. But then, it shouldn’t BE unexpected because I’m rarely disappointed with teas from Two Leaves and a Bud. My apprehension is because of the goji berry. I’ve had a few blends that were just too tart for my personal taste, and since that time it’s left me with apprehension when it comes to the goji.

This is a very different tropical blend – the flavor is much smoother and more berry-like than a typical tropical blend… the combination of the berry and the tropical flavors creates a silky sweet flavor that is fruity and yummy. Really nice iced!

This is a nice tea to sip after having something a little spicy (which I did). A nice, refreshing flavor. Ahhh…

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending this sampling my way…

OK… as most of you probably already know, I am a tea artist… or I used to be. That is, it was my occupation (self-employed) to flavor teas. I don’t do this on a regular basis anymore, so that is why I say “used to be”…

Anyways… amongst my collection of successful flavors was a flavored yerba mate. It was one that I created to taste a lot like my favorite mocha – because, well, I can’t drink mocha coffee drinks anymore. They’re just too harsh on my stomach. The flavor was a chocolate almond toffee blend… or what I called almond mocha mate… basically, it was a mocha version of Almond Roca – one of my favorite candies.

And it was yummy.

All of this really has very little to do with the mate drink I’m consuming at the moment, except that they have this in common – over the top yummy-nummy-ness. Well… that and a rich chocolate-y flavor.

The green yerba mate is earthy and deep in flavor. The roasted carob gives this a chocolate flavor, but not so much a sweet, chocolate-bar kind of flavor, but more of a rich savory cocoa (or mocha) kind of flavor. The mint is balanced well with the other ingredients and does not overwhelm the flavors… I am getting a nice mint-chocolate-y flavor that is absolutely delightful.

I’m loving this!

I made a smoothie with a couple of scoops of Matcha, a banana, yogurt, and frozen peaches. Yummy… The Lychee flavor gives this smoothie a very different flavor… I really like it though.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me a sampling of this tea!

This is a very smooth tasting tea. I can taste the Irish cream liqueur… which adds nicely to the smoothness. The blackberry leaves add some sweetness and a fruit-like essence that lingers throughout the sip. Very little astringency.

Just a very pleasant cuppa… a pot of this would be an excellent way to spend the afternoon.

Thank you to Rachel for sending me a sampling of this to try.

I am not a Twilight fan. I think that Robert Pattinson made a better looking wizard than he does a vampire. And… if I were a Twilight fan I think I’d probably be on team Jacob. but… that being said, I AM a fan of Rachel’s tea blends!

The aroma of this tea is very intriguing. I can smell the orange, the chocolate and the rum. The orange flavor is very well pronounced here, sweet and juicy. The chocolate is yummy, and the rum seems to bring out both the flavors of the orange and chocolate very well… it’s a great accent to this blend.

I like it. Go Team Rachel!

I really like this Earl Grey a lot… I like the unique flavor that the Oolong and white (both Darjeelings) bring to the cup. It gives the tea a very interesting complexity that is sometimes absent in a “standard” Earl Grey.

The bergamot is a pleasant balance of citrus and flower-esque notes, and the vanilla smooths the edge of the bergamot just enough to make this a very smooth, rich, and delightful cup.

Yesterday I brewed some of this for the fridge (in addition to enjoying a hot cuppa) – and am I glad I did! Today is quite a warm day, but, it sure is nice inside with a cold glass of this tea!

this makes a very nice iced tea – the flavors do mute slightly though vs. the hot cuppa. It is very refreshing, however, and really hits the spot. The pineapple is sweet and juicy (just softer) and the lemon seems to stand out a bit more than it did yesterday because of the softer pineapple taste.

This is a very satisfying cuppa! The tea flavor is very well rounded and rich tasting. It has a hint of honey-esque sweetness to it. I can also taste notes of flower and even a woodsy tone to it. It is a very deep and complex flavor… really good for a sachet! REALLY good!

One of the better “bagged” black teas I’ve tried (although, I don’t really think sachets belong in the same category as the old fashioned bags).

Starting my day with this (yes, I slept in this morning).

It is a bold, brisk tea, a good choice for the first tea of the day. It has a very rich, well rounded flavor, although it is almost on the verge of being bitter (it isn’t exactly bitter, but, there are hints of it that suggest that if I had brewed it a little longer it would have been bitter). Next time I brew it I will have to go for 2 1/2 minutes instead of the full 3 minutes and see how that works out.

But… I will say this, for a bagged tea – this one is not bad. It has a lot of gusto! A nice one to enjoy at breakfast, it is good with a little honey (or agave) and it would also be very nice with milk although I didn’t want that today. The bergamot is very distant in this, but not absent, and the flavor develops as I continue to sip.

It has a lot of depth. A very nice, rich tea. Good!

This is such an amazing green. The flavor is nutty and buttery and smooth and sweet. Not too Vegetative. and Oh-So-Nice!

I can feel the stress in my shoulders just sort of melt away when I sip on this tea. ahhhh…

This is one that had been on my shopping list for a while, so I finally broke down and placed an order.

This is an enchanting Oolong tea. The dry leaf smells very floral. I can taste the jasmine notes in there. It has a smooth, rich mouthfeel although it’s not as rich as a typical green Oolong. A very pleasant floral flavor, however, the floral notes do mask some of the Oolong flavors.

It is a good tea if you’re looking for floral flavor, but as far as Oolong flavor – not so much. It is tasty, though.

This is alright. The black tea base is smooth and the bergamot is mild. Not my favorite Earl Grey, but, it is certainly not the worst either.

Yummmmm… this is a very summer-y blend – perfect for iced tea.

The green tea is sweet, smooth and and mild – there is a hint of fresh “vegetation” but it is just-barely-there. The pineapple is juicy and sweet. I can taste a hint of lemon also, but, it is not a super-tart, puckery kind of lemon, it is very pleasant and accents the pineapple very nicely.

I really like this tropical blend. Very nice!

YUM! This is a very flavorful chai!

The masala spices has a nice balance to them, so it is difficult to discern one flavor from another, they all seem to work in harmony to create a seamless spice flavor. It is spicy and sweet and very tasty!

The other day I went to the mall with my youngest daughter, and whenever we are in an Oregon Mall, one of the stores I always visit is the Made In Oregon store, I like to shop there because I like the idea of supporting local business. That is where I found this tea.

I have had a couple of teas from The Jasmine Pearl in the past that I’ve purchased from Whole Foods, but, I have never seen this particular flavor of tea. The FIG part intrigued me first, because I love figs. I was further intrigued when I saw that it was a Darjeeling tea … and when I read the ingredient list and saw anise… I was sold! I had to try it.

Lovely! The strongest note in this tea is the tea itself, this is a very nice Darjeeling with a pleasant muscatel flavor that really compliments the blackberry flavor very well. The fig is present at the end of the sip. The anise reveals itself throughout, although it is strong it is not overwhelming… just very pleasant. I really like it.

It has a very nice balance of flavors, with nothing overwhelming anything else… everything is light and crisp and flavorful. NICE!