LiberTEAS

This is very nice. The Sencha is very light and the orange flavoring is in balance with that – so I can taste the fresh sencha as well as the refreshing orange.

This one is awesome iced!

I made a big pitcher of this last night for the refrigerator, and I have just enough for one more hot cuppa.

The flavors come together well in this tisane. The coconut and pineapple are sweet and don’t taste artificial. There is a low woodsy note from the honeybush, as well as a honey-esque finish.

YUM! I really look forward to this as an iced tea later today!

I’m starting my day with Thomas Sampson today – and finishing the last of the sampling that Jillian so graciously shared with me. Thank you again Jillian!

This experience with Thomas is much like my first. Malty and brisk. Bold. A lot of gusto which I need today – my first born is graduating today.

Anyway, on with the show Thomas! We’ve got a lot to do today.

I just got back from errands, and I could use some cooling off with iced tea, but I can feel a caffeine deprivation headache coming on so I decided to have a cup of hot tea first. I really like this Darjeeling a lot! It has a very nice complexity to it. In one sip, I can taste notes of fruit, nut, and honey. Yum.

Here is a link to the review I wrote of this tea:

http://sororitea.wordpress.com/2010/06/03/darjeeling-goomtee-from-leafspa/

Experimenting a bit with this Earl Grey today. I tried “awakening” the leaves with a quick 10 second boiling water rinse before infusing to see how that would affect the first infusion.

The first infusion is now a bit smoother than the previous first infusions of this tea, which is definitely a plus for me. Interestingly, the tea has a slightly smoky flavor to it this morning – something i didn’t pick up on previously. It is not a strong smoky essence, but definitely there… almost like I brewed it in coffee (which I would not do, especially since the only coffee we have in the house is my husband’s instant coffee). It’s an unusual taste, but I don’t dislike it…

The bergamot also tastes a bit lighter.

My supply of this is getting low – just as well, herbals don’t have a very long shelf life.

Exhilarating and fresh. I contemplated adding some of this to my ultimate chocolate rooibos from 52Teas (still might do that) have a chocolate mint treat.

Trying this tea courtesy of TeaEqualsBliss – Thanks!

Not my favorite rooibos tea, but it isn’t bad either. The raspberry flavor is very faint, as if it’s competing with the flavor of the rooibos. I experience more of the tart tingle on my tongue from the berry than I do actual berry flavor.

I can also taste the cream – but it too is quite delicate.

What I like best about this particular blend is that the flavors have managed to mask that artificial sweetness taste that I often get from rooibos, so what I’m left with is a slightly woodsy, slightly berry, with a touch of vanilla cream tasting cup. I’m tempted to allow it to cool significantly to see how it might fair as an iced tea.

Enjoying the last I have of this tea. It will be missed, but, having it gone gives me something to look forward to next spring when Den’s releases their 2011 batch. In the meantime, I’ve plenty of tea to keep me occupied!

This is my favorite cherry flavored Sencha because the Sencha takes the leading role. This doesn’t taste like cherry flavoring with tea, it tastes like tea flavored with cherry. I love the buttery flavor of the Sencha and how well it marries with the cherry – which is a lighter, tarter cherry (more like a cherry you might use to make cherry pie, rather than a sweet cherry like bing or rainier).

Lovely!

Wow! This is a tea by which I am so very pleasantly surprised.

This tea is really tasty! The pear flavor is there – and stronger than I would have expected. Succulent, sweet pear! The pomegranate is there too – and softer than I expected. I thought it would completely overwhelm the pear. But it doesn’t. Instead, it offers a pleasant tart finish to the cup. Nice!

I only purchased 1 ounce of this when I visited Townshend’s last week, and the rest that I have is going out to some steepster friends… so I am going to definitely have to put this one on my list for my next visit! And I will definitely have to buy more than just 1 ounce of it!

It is always a pleasure to start the day with this tea in my favorite mug. It is so good. (so good in fact, I’m increasing my rating for it a little bit)

The roasted cocoa flavor is so delightful.

So, I had to order the final installment of the trilogy of white teas that 52Teas released during the week of February 24. The other two were pretty darned good, so I figured I had to give this one a go too.

Wow! It looks like I have a new favorite in this trilogy!

This is delicious! Fruity, sweet, and light tasting. The coconut is the most prominent flavor for me, but I can also taste the pineapple, as well as a bit of banana in the background. It is so yummy! Like a tropical fruit salad! YUM!

I must admit that when I first opened the tin of this tea, I was a little disappointed. I am extremely fond of jasmine, and I could barely detect the jasmine aroma of the dry leaf.

Upon brewing, that changed. The fragrance of the liquor is soft but beautiful!

The flavor is so pleasant. The jasmine is not overdone in this blend – it doesn’t hit me over the head to let me know it’s there. Instead, it just gently eases its way onto the palate. Lovely.

As I’ve said, I’m extremely fond of jasmine. Most of the jasmine teas I’ve tried up until now have been the type that are very strong and assertive – this one is gentle. You might wonder which I prefer – the answer is both! This one is good for the times when you want to relax and enjoy a softer, sweeter jasmine. The stronger jasmines are good for when you want some floral intensity.

Thank you Doulton – I am so grateful to be able to taste this Dammann Frères tea!

This tea smells amazing. This is THE ULTIMATE fig tea! The best fig tea that I’ve tasted thus far (I haven’t tried a lot … but this one is awesome!)

The black tea base is smooth and unassuming. There is a baked character to the tea that works well with the fig flavor, which is rich and sweet and delicious.

YUM! I love this tea!

This tasting note comes courtesy of Jillian – thank you so much for sharing Thomas with me!

A very nice Assam. I didn’t follow the steeping suggestions by A&D – it’s been my experience with Assam that any longer than 2 1/2 minutes and I get bitterness. But contrary to the suggestions – I don’t feel that this tea is “pale and gutless” – just very pleasant! Brisk and malty. And no bitterness! Definitely one of the better Assam teas I’ve encountered.

I love starting my day with an Earl Grey tea!

This is a very robust black tea base. The bergamot is not overpowering… like the description suggests, there is a pleasant orange finish to it. I like!

Enjoying this as my last cuppa of the evening.

This is one of the best mint tisanes I’ve had, because, well, it’s pure mint. It’s strong and tastes clean.

I hope all this caffeine doesn’t keep me up all night. Usually caffeine doesn’t affect me in that way, but, I don’t usually like to chance it and I do usually switch to some sort of tisane by this time of night. But, I received this sample today from TeaFrog and I really wanted to try it!

Yum! Lemon! The tartness of the lemon lingers on the palate, but it isn’t a sour lemon-y taste – tart but not sour

I like it!

Another delightful Dammann Frères tea – courtesy of Doulton – thank you!

Yum! I love cherry sencha. This one isn’t as good as Den’s but then, it’s different. Den’s has a stronger vegetative quality to it, and the sencha tea is of slightly better quality. This tea still has a very good quality sencha though. The cherry flavor is rich and sweet – and very abundant! YUM!

My Order arrived today! I was shocked at how quickly it arrived… I hadn’t expected to receive this until sometime next week, because I figured his orders from Memorial Day were probably CRAZY…

But then, Frank is always surprising me – and this Chocolate Cheesecake Chai is surprisingly GOOD!

I was about to get the frother out and go latte with this, but I tried it first, and found that I really like it the way it is! It has a nice, creamy flavor going on with the cheesecake essence. The chocolate adds some sweetness to it – yummy, rich chocolate! Together with the cheesecake, this chai becomes seriously indulgent.

But it IS a chai. The peppery kick from the ginger stands out most to me. The spices really give this a delightful depth of flavor. YUM!

I ordered this tea at the same time I ordered the Lemon Drop Cooler because Frank suggested it (since I do love the chocolate banana tea so much). This tea is awesome!

It really does taste like a smoothie in tea form. And as good as it is as a hot tea, it’s even better iced!

I think I’m going to go over to 52 Teas now so that I can buy the last package of this before someone gets any wise ideas.

Enjoying the last of the sampling that TeaEqualsBliss sent to me… thanks!

I think I have found the secret for this tea – because this cup is so much better than yesterday’s cup. This tea does well with a rinsing (or awakening) of the leaves. It helps remove some of the astringency and tannic quality of the tea – not all of it, and I didn’t want to eliminate all of it, but, yesterday’s cup was just a bit too much for me. But a quick 10 second rinse of the leaves and the tea tastes so much better – all flavors are in check!

It is still a rather robust tea, but the vanilla softens it a bit and I can really taste the caramel this time around also. A little fruity and a little sweet, together with a very pungent black tea.

Since this one is so much better, I shall increase the rating just a bit.

I’m having a smoothie with my lunch today – Strawberry Matcha, frozen peaches, a banana and some vanilla kefir. I’m eating some spicy Mexican food so it’s a nice way to cool down after the heat of the spices!

Even with the other fruits and vanilla flavor, the strawberry flavor of the matcha is evident, as is the fresh, sweet taste of the Matcha. Yum!

I love the aroma of this tea. Mighty Leaf is one of the few teas that I really don’t mind getting bagged because their bags are so roomy, and I can see that the tea hasn’t been cut into teensy tiny pieces for “uniformity.”

I’m increasing my numeric rating of this tea this morning, just because I feel like it!

A sampling that I received from TeaEqualsBliss – thanks my friend!

This smells yummy! Fruity and sweet!

I am getting a lot of sweetness – as well as quite a bit of astringency from this cup, which makes for a bit of a dry aftertaste. The vanilla notes are subtle yet present. The grenadine is the strongest flavor of the cup and it’s yummy, but I wish it lingered in the taste. It’s more like a quick wash of grenadine with notes of vanilla and then an astringent dryness.