LiberTEAS

Yep – this is another tea that I purchased just because it sounded weird. And yes, I am more than willing to taste a vinegar flavored tea before trying a peanut butter flavored one. I am a bit more fond of vinegar than of peanut butter…

This is a tea that really needs a “rinsing” before you steep. I brought a small amount of water to a boil, poured it over the leaves and then strained after just 10 seconds. This really improved the taste of the tea for me.

This is – surprisingly enough – a really good tea.

The aroma of the dry leaves is a lot like vinegar. Not as pungent-smelling as it would be if I were to open a bottle of vinegar, but it’s definitely vinegar. After brewing, the leaves take on a smoky aroma, as does the liquor.

But, as long as the leaves have been rinsed, the flavor does not present a strong smoky element. Don’t get me wrong, the smoky flavor is there, but it is quite in harmony with the other flavors of this cup.

After enjoying my breakfast blend and Allergi-TEA this morning (as usual), I decided to treat myself to a chai latte.

Not much more for me to say about a good chai (and if I do say so myself, this is a REALLY good chai!) than YUM!

Time for some Oolong!

Honey notes, floral notes, a very pleasant, smooth, even flavor that glides over the palate. I love it!

Good Afternoon! The last time I visited Whole Foods Market, I purchased this limited edition Dragonwell from the Tao of Tea. I have very much enjoyed their teas in the past so I felt confident that I’d like this one as well. Plus… I love their tins!

The dry leaf possesses a very strong vegetative quality that softens into more of a roasted vegetable scent once it’s brewed. It’s funny to me because there was once a time when I would find these aromas to be rather off-putting, but now I love them! I don’t know if I have become a more skillful tea brewer, or if my palate has acquired a better appreciation for green tea. Either way… now when I smell a high quality Dragon Well such as this… all I can think is … OH YUM!

The depth and complexity of flavor here is remarkable. I love the nutty quality of this tea as well as the faint vegetative characteristic… and there is even a pleasant floral note right at the start as the tea hits the tip of the tongue. There is very little astringency. Slightly buttery, just a hint of bitterness, a delicious sweetness. A lovely tea!

I’m preparing dinner, and I thought that this would go along really well with dinner. The black tea is astringent and quite brisk for a Ceylon (as I’ve commented before on Adagio’s black tea base), but what is even more remarkable about this tea is the sesame flavor. It’s so unusual, yet, quite tasty. It’s savory nature goes well with dinner.

We just got home from running errands. I just grabbed something from my enormous supply of bags of tea, and this is what I happened to grab. Fortunately, I am quite happy with that choice. YUM

The peach flavor is bright and juicy, and the ginger adds just enough peppery kick to it. Peach and ginger were made for each other! They compliment each other so well.

I really like that the flavors of this tea are strong enough to enjoy, yet not so incredibly strong that they overwhelm the flavor of the tea. Nicely balanced.

Ahhh… I love my Breakfast Blend!

I really didn’t want to get up this morning! Fortunately, I have my Breakfast Blend to get me going. I have only taken a few sips but already I’m starting to feel more lively.

Nice bold flavor with a delightfully smooth vanilla touch! Mmmmmm!

I am finishing the last of the Genmaicha Extra Green that I received as part of the Green Tea Sampler pack from Den’s Tea. Yum! Delightful roasted rice flavor, sweet green tea, just a touch of bitter, delicious! Green tea doesn’t get much better than Genmaicha!

This morning, I was looking for simplicity since it’s Monday and that usually means errands. So I reached for a teabag, and this is the tea that I grabbed.

As a tea purveyor, I have had a lot of tasting experience with Metropolitan Teas. They were one of the first big wholesale companies I encountered when I first started out. Some of their teas are very good, others, mediocre. I guess it could be argued that it is that way with all tea companies, though, since every tea tastes different to every individual palate, and what is good for me may not be good to you.

Anyways, I received this tea in a swap a while ago. I had tried their ice wine tea years ago, but not one that I wanted to sell since I wasn’t interested in teas flavored by other companies.

It is a good tea. I like the wine-like quality of it, it seems to capture the taste of sweet wine well. It has a nice, fruity flavor to it. The Ceylon black tea base is mild, although that is not uncommon for Ceylon tea.

Even though it tastes good, I find myself missing my usual “breakfast blend” this morning, so I have chosen not to rate this one with a numeric rating today. I don’t think it would be fair.

Yep… you guessed it, I bought it because it was one of those “weird” ones. And, hey, artichokes are one of my favorite vegetables. So… I had to give it a chance.

And I am really glad that I did!

The aroma of the dry leaves is very unusual. It doesn’t really smell like artichoke to me. It does give off a certain vegetative scent but there are also sweet notes in there, sort of fruit-like, and maybe even a little floral. The brewed tea is much more vegetable, though.

Already I know that this is going to be a difficult tea for me to review, because when I steam my artichokes, I usually add garlic, lemon, pepper and laurel to the “steam” water. These additives give off their definite own aromas and flavors to the artichoke. I can’t honestly say that I’ve ever eaten an unseasoned artichoke… so like I said, it will be difficult to say definitively that this tastes like artichoke.

With that in mind, my first few sips, I wasn’t sure that I was tasting artichoke. I did, however, taste distinct lemon-y notes which is quite on par with how I would prepare my artichoke.

But I like it… and it was definitely worth buying, and it will definitely be worth trying again!

Time for my daily Oolong fix! What a delightful time of day it is!

Having a “daily Oolong” is something that is fairly recent for me. I would try an Oolong, fall in love with it (this happens with almost every Oolong I try!) and then I’d put it away and hoard it… deciding it was far too special and needed to be preserved and cherished. Finally, one day I realized I wasn’t doing me or the tea any favors by hiding it away and not drinking it. So now, I celebrate and cherish Oolong in a different way – by trying to make time for it every day!

I have but just enough for another day of this Formosa Pouchong – but oh how I’ve enjoyed it. Buttery, smooth, luxurious mouthfeel! Lovely! So good.

The best part is that more infusions will follow! One of the things I really love about Oolong tea!

Mr. Grey! I do love his artfully suave ways!

As I’ve said before, this is absolutely one of the best Earl Grey teas I’ve had. The bergamot is strong but not perfume-y. The Keemun is such a great base for the bergamot because it is strong enough to withstand the power of it. Interestingly enough I am picking up a slight cocoa note in the finish. I’m not sure why this is. I didn’t pick up on this with my first cup of this tea… I don’t know if I just missed it, or if my taste buds are a bit off this morning… the other two teas I’ve had this morning tasted spot on, though.

I haven’t yet tried this Earl Grey with milk – perhaps the next time I brew it I will add a bit and see how it fairs.

More backlogging… Once the seasonal allergies hit, they hit me hard! After I have some caffeine, I usually reach for this to help alleviate the symptoms. I don’t always log it, though, because it is more like routine for me starting by about mid-February and on through about May or June.

Lovely minty taste. I’m not a particular fan of herbal blends for the most part, but I like this one. The mint gives it a nice flavor, and by the time I’ve emptied the cup, my symptoms are beginning to subside and that is a definite plus.

Good Morning, and for those of you who celebrate it: Happy Easter! For those who do not… happy Spring! It doesn’t seem much like spring to me lately, we’ve been having cold, wet, dreary weather here in the Pacific NorthWET!

A bit of a backlog – I started my morning with a bit of breakfast blend, much the way I do most mornings. I like the way it prepares me for the day. Deliciously bold, with a sweet note of vanilla. YUM!

Yum… I decided for my last cup of the night, that I’d have a “late night snack”! Carrot Cake!

It is remarkable to me just how much like Carrot Cake this tea really is. So yummy!

OoOoOoOo-long! Delightful! Pleasant aroma – floral, vegetative – much the way I would think a meadow kissed with spring flowers would smell in the morning after a light rain.

Even more delightful than the aroma is the flavor! Floral notes, buttery, even a hint of fruit hits my palate. And of course, a hint of vegetation. Not strong… but it seems to linger lightly in each layer of flavor of this complex cup.

Several more infusions to follow!

Guess what arrived today! I was very surprised (happily so!) to receive my package from 52Teas!

The strawberry flavor is a bit tart. Or it could be that the slight bitterness from Matcha brings out the tart of the strawberry. The sweeter strawberry flavor arrives on the palate in the finish as sort of a low note. The strawberry flavor is a really nice addition to the flavor of the Matcha. I think I like the mandarin matcha a little better though. Overall a very pleasant Matcha.

I had received my order from Teany a few weeks ago, but, I have been ordering tea like crazy (something just sort of came over me when I decided to switch over from being a tea business to a tea consumer and I started buying tea like mad!) that I hadn’t yet tried it until today!

My initial reactions to this tea: Well, first of all, the tea is really beautiful. I like Teany’s tins, they have a clear top so you can see the tea. Slivers of nuts and flower blossoms. Beautiful! When I opened the tin, I could smell the cocoa. It is a very prominent aroma in the dry leaf, and while the brewed tea smells a bit softer, it is still there – soft, yet delicious smelling!

I wish that the cocoa was a stronger flavor in the tea. Perhaps this is one that I will need to experiment a bit with as far as steeping time to see if I can extract more flavor from it. It’s a tasty tea. I think that the flavors have sort of melded together into one “new” flavor – and I am finding it difficult to discern the individual tastes. Definitely worthy of another attempt in the near future.

This morning (well, technically, it’s afternoon, but I slept in so it’s morning for me), I decided to brew up a special treat. This is the very last of this tea that I had from a small “tester” batch that I made. Assam and custard go well together, I think.

The sweet, creamy custard flavor brings out some of the Assam’s malty characteristics. Very nice, just slightly bitter (but not in a bad way), very pleasant way to start the day!

I have two favorites from Mighty Leaf, this one and Mayan Chocolate Truffle. However, somehow… some way… this tea is not as good as it used to be. Or at least as good as I remember. It was one of the first teas I remember trying out about eight years ago when I was contemplating opening a brick and mortar tea room. And I fell in love.

The orange flavor has what I would call a sharpness to it rather than a sweetness. It is very a very bergamot-ish orange flavor. The vanilla softens this flavor a bit, and the jasmine is very subtle but offers a pleasant floral tone to the finish.

Even though the information on this site about this tea doesn’t say it, this tea has green tea as well as black to it, so I steep it at a lower temperature so that it doesn’t become bitter.

A very nice, well-rounded cup.

I created this blend a couple of months ago, I call it “dude” grey because it’s got a California feel to it (citrus-y flavors) but with a pleasant Earl Grey note.

I like inhaling this tea through my mouth just before I take a sip. The aroma wafts over my palate and yum! The black tea is smooth, not too robust, nice for afternoon or early evening. The Earl Grey is softer than in “straight up” earl grey teas (such as the one I enjoyed earlier this afternoon) as it is softened by the other citrus notes. I especially like the grapefruit in this blend.

I am so excited that my order for this arrived this afternoon. I love this chai! It’s available to the general public – I don’t know if it’s for a limited time or not, but what I do know is that when I contacted them back in October about purchasing a small amount they would not sell to me because I was not a coffee shop or similar. So I was happy when I happened across their website last week and noticed that they’re raising money for Haiti relief by selling smaller (personal size) portions of their tea to the public! woo hoo!

What makes this chai so unique is that it’s a MATCHA chai! I prepare it the same way I’d prepare matcha, except that I heat milk (yes… for this tea I’m even willing to heat milk) instead of water. It doesn’t need anything else… just milk and stirring — you can do this without a chasen, but I do use mine for it because I have one.

The flavor is chai-spicy with the natural sweetness of matcha – it’s creamy and thick and oh-so-good. You can read my review I wrote of it several months ago here:

http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=8088

Oh wow, this is so good I might make myself a second cup!

I just got my order a few days ago from Lupicia, but this tea has been calling my name ever since receiving it. So I finally caved in and decided to try it.

Aroma – not surprising – it’s Earl Grey! It is a very strong fragrance, but that’s not a bad thing. I love the smell of bergamot in the morning! (Yeah, it’s 12:30 pm, but, for me, it’s still morning!) The dry leaves possess a stronger scent than the brewed liquor. The brewed tea is still pleasantly bergamot, but the Keemun tea can also be detected in the scent which adds a slightly earthy note to the aroma.

Initial sip – awesome! Lovely citrus notes, hint of floral. The Keemun base is pleasantly pungent. I love the way the bergamot and Keemun play together in this blend.

As I continue to drink, I note that this is a skillfully flavored Earl Grey tea. Speaking from the standpoint of one who flavored teas for many years, Earl Grey was one of the most difficult (if not the most difficult) flavors to create. This is because there is a fine line between not strong enough, just right, and too perfume-y when it comes to the bergamot. This one is planted firmly in the just right position! Well done!

I don’t know if it’s my favorite Earl Grey, but if it isn’t, I don’t know which one is better, either. It’s really, really good!

Backlogging a bit: I started my morning (late morning!) with my breakfast blend. Lovely – as always. A good way to get the blood flowing!