Marcel Duchamp

Wow this is different. The tart of lemons / lime mixed with a grassy spice of green tea! Its actually quite good. I could see myself drinking this hot with sweetener for a dessert or iced in the summer for something tart and light. I’m always looking for new green teas because I haven’t explored them as widely as other varieties.

I just checked their website and this tea is pretty affordable too, which is a plus and good option for Iced Tea. Spring is coming… hopefully. haha.

Thanks Jackie T :-)

This is a smooth French inspired tea. The flavor is very good but I wish it was a little stronger. Maybe I’ve been getting spoiled from trying teas that were made in France that are very fragrant. This is a yummy caramely & vanilla type of tea though.

Ok, I had to edit this… The bergamot is coming through now that the tea is cooling. I forget that when these flavored black teas are HOT, the flavors don’t come through as well as they do when the tea is WARM. haha.

Thanks Jackie T! This has been on my wishlist to try for ages :-)

What a fun blend. Chocolate & Pumpkin! I made a latte of this today. Nice balance of spices and chocolate. Great flavor.

This is a cheap and delicious Ice Tea bag that I buy for $3.99 a box at World Market. It makes that generic sweet tea that you find at your typical Thai restaurant. I usually add a generous amount of cream and sugar with this and steep for extra long (it never gets bitter). This is not a perfect Thai Tea but its a very affordable and quick solution. I’m still a big fan of the Cha Yen Thai from Teavana.

This is my #100 Tasting Note!

This tea has more champagne going on than raspberry. But that’s ok, I love champagne! Its still delicious. Also, The base of this tea tastes like green tea rather than a white tea. It has slight grassy qualities and hint of citrus. Not really getting raspberry though. I bet this would be great iced as well. Thanks Jackie T, this was a really good tea to try.

This is pure lemon bliss. Its both light and smooth yet flavorful. This is definitely one of my top white teas. You can taste the white tea and the lemony dessert aspects of this blend. In my opinion, this is better than Lemon Chiffon blends that I have had. Thanks Azz!

This is a yummy and sweet first cup of tea today. This tea suffers from the same problem as other “salted” teas I’ve had… Where is the salt? Don’t get me wrong, this is a yummy tea, just doesn’t match the name. It tastes identical to Caramelissimo by Teavana. This is a good tea for when you are in the mood for creamy caramel. I used some sweetener and milk with mine. I’m just acting like this is a maple creamstick. lol

Thanks to Jackie T for this sample.

As I try these rare and exotic teas (at least that’s what I consider them), it really opens my taste buds and my mind to what is truly out there! Teas like this make me realize that I had been missing out on this whole other world of flavors. It sounds hokey but it makes me feel closer to other cultures and regions trying all these interesting teas from different parts of the world. Its just so much fun.

Anyhow… This is a such beautiful tea. It starts off kind of earthy or woodsy and as it cools it has a floral & honey way about it. Finally, it ends with a citrus aftertaste. All of these notes in a very smooth oolong base. This is the type of tea I like to savor and hold in my mouth to appreciate. I decided to make this at the end of the night, so I could relax and sip slowly. I love the smell of this tea brewed as well. The scent has a dark and exotic way about it and tastes so different than the typical Oolong.

Thanks Azzrian for this delicious sample. My tea journey just gets more and more fascinating with every taste.

Another Strawberry Teavana Tea… This one is better than the strawberry pu-erh, which seemed to have an imbalance of flavors. It seems that the green & white tea compliments the fruit flavoring better. I guess I’m just not in love with this. It’s very flat, like warm unsweeted strawberry Kool-aid. No “tea” taste with this one at all. It is not bad just kind of boring.

I think the Strawberry Rose Champagne Oolong is their best strawberry tea so far. This may be a lot better iced, a lot of ‘fruity’ teas I prefer cold. It does have a pretty color once steeped

This is part of my teavana taste testing at work. My co-worker is a die-hard teavana fan and we get to share tea a lot of the times. This Pu-Erh is just ok. The biggest flaw is that The strawberry is kind of artificial tasting. I do like the earthy, smokey, peppery tones of the Pu-Erh. Definitely not one I would buy. Glad I got to try of course.

This is a flavorful and quality green tea. The fruit flavors are delicate and yummy. I do like it warm but I may try it out cold as well. I really love green / fruit blend teas cold. This isn’t a cup I would drink all the time but it is very good for what it is. Thanks Azzrian for the sample :-D

I got a used one as a gift from a friend and it is heavenly! I am no longer guessing on water temperatures. It heats water very quickly. It is such a luxury to have this in my kitchen. For as much as I drink tea, I can’t believe I’ve not had an electric kettle sooner.

I was very excited to try this oolong, partly because I’m just over the moon about milk oolong teas lately :-) I know, I’m like the biggest tea dork ever. This isn’t called a milk oolong specifically but according to the description it should behave like one.

This tea dry looks like most milk oolongs I’ve seen. After infusing, it has some creamy notes and hints of savory vegetal notes but overall has a very strong buttery flavor. Which, I’m not complaining, it is delicious! For not being flavored, this is an incredible flavor actually. To me though, I was hoping for more creaminess and complexity. This is worth trying and I have enough from my sample to have a few more cups another time (thanks Azzrian).

When I’m in the mood for this type of tea, I think I still prefer the creaminess (and the price) of the Quangzhou Milk Oolong by The Whistling Kettle.

If I were looking for a tea that gives Laoshan Black a run for its money, it would probably be this tea. Honey Orchid Black does have its own qualities and subtleties. But the two teas are part of the same “family” to me. For those who have come to love LB, Honey Orchid Black is THAT type of black tea in my opinion.

I looked on their website and there weren’t brewing instructions that I could find. So in my limited tea experiences, I decided to wing it. I went with boiling water at 4m 30s. Obviously I was not disappointed.

Dry, this tea looks like bark or something. I updated the picture on steepster from their website and its way prettier than my sample looked.

Visually, it is not too terribly exciting but once steeped, this tea has a beautiful honey color and it smells similar to Laoshan Black (sorry to keep comparing but its the only thing I can compare it to). I get the same mouth feel as well. Yet after tasting this, I get honey, light floral and a touch of vanilla instead of those dark chocolate and brownie notes that I have come to love from LB.

I could easily drink this tea every week. The only major factor is the price. I logged on to see how much this bad boy will cost me and its around $20 for 2oz. Not outrageous for what it is but just a little out of my personal budget for as frequently as I would drink it. Regardless, I will order this tea eventually to have it on hand.

Thank-you SO MUCH Azzrian! You have introduced me to many great teas and I am very thankful. What the hell did I do before steepster? Fart in line at teavana? seriously.

Who knows if this will change as I try more samples but this is currently in my top favorite teas.

After the Cantaloupe & Cream from Butiki it is hard to go back to drinking black tea at the moment. This oolong is a good follow up for something light and sweet. I’m finishing up my sample of this one, I may have one cup left (yikes!). I’ll add this to my next order from DAVIDs.

WOW! This tea is my first Butiki Tea and it may be the first white tea that I’ve gotten really excited about. I’ve been drinking a lot of black tea lately, so it’s really nice to take a break and try something different. To be honest, most white teas I could take them or leave them.

This white tea is special; its so delicate and light yet refreshing at the same time. It is just unlike any other white flavored tea I’ve had before. I could see this being wonderful iced as well but as a warm cup, it is very enjoyable. I love the smell and the comfort of this tea. Thank-you so much Stephanie for the swap on this one.

I feel funny giving so many high ratings lately but all the tea I’ve been receiving in swamps have been SO good. Steepster thank-you for keeping my tea cup interesting :-D

This is another tea that I’ve heard so much about but haven’t been able to try until today. Thanks to Jackie T and our fantastic little swap. I’m still sipping away on these samples :-)

This is such a treat. I love the smell of this one dry and steeped. I see those little white chocolate pieces in the bag and I almost cheated and ate them out of the package. haha.

It has great cakey, chocolate, and cream cheese vanilla flavors swirling around in this cup. I could see friends who don’t usually like tea, loving this one too. After i sipdown some of my cupboard, I may have to order this to have it on hand as a dessert every so often. This could easily replace a real bake good with less guilt. haha.

Je T’Aime is a good caramel tea. Comparing this to the Marie Antoinette and the Earl Grey, this one is not as special. It does have good flavor but it could be richer. The other teas from Nina’s Paris, I could resteep because they were so potent. This one is weaker. Some people may prefer that but I like my flavored black teas strong and dark. Overall a good tea just not as memorable as the other two I’ve tried from them so far. Thanks Nina’s Paris for this sample! All of these teas have been so fun to try.

This tea is so comforting. yum. I need to try more Milk Oolongs but everytime I think about trying another milk oolong sample, I just keep making this one instead. haha.

Ok, this one didn’t behave at first. I tried it without sweetener (because I always try to be good and not make things too sweet). Needless to say, it tasted like a wet graham cracker. Gross.

Magically with sweetener and a splash of cream, this is delicious. The marshmellow, cocoa, and cakey graham flavors come through just fine without being too overpowering. Definitely make this one a dessert and you won’t be disappointed. Thanks Jackie T, my dessert tea angel, for all these wonderful samples.

Well, I thought this was an exceptional Earl Grey. Dare I say, one of the best I’ve had. I did steep mine a little extra but I added a dash of cream and sugar. This is a very smooth cup. Perfect touch of bergamot and malty black tea. Thanks Nina’s for these samples. It may be the type of bergamot oil used in this blend that I like so much. It is not overpowering yet bold and present. The orange citrus works with the black tea. Often I feel like one of these elements dominate. I will make a 2nd cup soon and try to articulate why I like this so much.

Oh Marie…. where have you been all this time? My samples arrived yesterday from Nina’s. This has the most lush and autumn smell of apples and flowers. It tastes like a mix of cider and tea with delicious floral undertones / smell. I added sugar to this one to balance the tart of the apples and it is heavenly. I don’t think I can drink this tea everyday but I do love the taste. I will have to buy some for when I’m in the mood.

This is my first experience with French teas. I’m really excited to try more.

NOTE: I was able to get 3 steepings out of one teaspoon. This tea is potent in a good way. haha.

This has a buttery rum flavor. I didn’t really pick up on the caramel but I am satisfied with the rum. It was actually a really nice evening tea with a friend. I was able to get two steepings from this because the flavor was so strong and just let it steep extra long while we drank the first batch.

Wow, this tastes exactly as described. I taste the pear and cranberry. Its a little sweet and tart at the same time. I think I oversteeped it a little bit, so I added some sugar. Its like warm juice or cider. I don’t think this is something I would stock but I’m glad I got to try it. Also, I bet this would be great iced. Thanks Jackie T for the sample.