Meg

Another one of the free work teas. I really like this one, almost better than the English breakfast. For anyone who knows how addicted to caffeine I am, that’s surprising. But this is more smooth, more mellow. I think I may enjoy this more than the harsher breakfast in the afternoons to combat the “food coma” from lunch.

The liquor is a dark gold, very lovely. The smell is actually not that strong, which I rather like. You get a burst of the black tea taste at the front of the sip, then a nice easy smoothness comes that I can only describe as “leafy”. Reminds me of a warm forest in early fall. Not too astringent, either. I like this one.

Yay, it came today! Tearing the bag open… Oh my. I can see the nibs and it smells like… Like a delicious artisan dark chocolate bar. I could barely wait for the water to heat. It steeps to a beautiful dark amber liquor. And the smell… Like melting chocolate, dark chocolate, with that faint hint of bittersweetness and the tang of the malt behind it.

Yet the taste is even better than the smell! I don’t know how these guys do it with these flavors, but the supporting base is so mellow and smooth. This reminds me faintly of Godiva liqueur, only not sweet. I’d go into overload if I actually put sugar in this. I seriously need to be alone with this. Bravo yet again.

(I have a KitchenAid mixer with attachments, and I think this spring, this would make some DAMNED incredible ice cream if I simmered it in the cream.)

Finally. The free tea provided by my workplace is bagged, but they’ve just switched to Bigelow. This may not be a particularly great tea, but it suits my “I’m not awake yet” pre-meeting needs. It’s not too harsh, benefits well from sugar and those little half-and-half cups, and has enough caffeine to wake me up. Plus, I don’t need three teabags to get it strong enough like I did with the Stash or Tazo black teas. We do have filters on our water lines, so that makes a big difference too. It’s drinkable for what I need.

Not impressed. This sample came free with my RoT catalog. They’re out of the normal black tea in the breakroom at work, so I figured I’d try this. I must admit, seeing Rooibos on the list was NOT a plus for me. It did smell good when opened, like chocolate covered strawberry candy. I was a bit surprised at how small the bag seemed. Brewing it smelled ok too. You could definitely get the scent of the chocolate behind the strawberry note, but there was an odd musty sort of underscent. I presume that’s the rooibos.

It steeps quickly to a reddish-amber and the color of the bag indicates there probably isn’t a good second steep in it. Which is not a problem, as this isn’t very good. You can taste the chocolate and the strawberry, but they’re almost artificial in some way, overly sweet. The musty rooibos aftertaste isn’t very appetizing either. Now that I’ve had this, I’ll know to refuse a cup in the future. Poor taste, unappealing stamina, and severely overpriced. Bleah.

It sounded like an odd flavor, but what the heck. And the shipping was very speedy! I opened the envelope and the scent was coming through the bag… I drooled. It smelled EXACTLY like buttered cinnamon raisin toast! I have no idea how they did that, but it’s amazing.

Put a wee bit in a T-sac and used my Chinese cup with the lid to keep all that lovely scented tea steam in… I am in love with this tea. The tea base itself is an incredibly smooth and mellow black tea that brews a dark chocolatey-liquor quickly. I let the sips sit in my mouth before slowly swallowing so I can enjoy the hint of cinnamon, the over-note of the raisins (both of which you can actually see in the bag), and the totally yummy hints of butter all the way through. This beat things like hot buttered rum or apple cider by MILES. I really find myself feeling all comfy and warm with this tea. Bravo, gentlemen, I can’t wait to try something else by this line. In a few days. After I’ve gotten all I can out of this pouch.

(NOTE: second steeping of the same T-Sac for a few minutes longer equalled another great cup of pretty close to the same strength. I may try a third this time.)

Two things get me about this bagged tea. The color and the taste.

It doesn’t have a strong aroma, but it’s fascinating to watch it steep. I pour the hot water over the bag quickly, then watch as the deep ruby red color pours out of the corners of the bag into the clear water, filling the bottom of the cup like a crime scene. When it stops, a quick swish of the bag disperses the infusion evenly before removing the bag. That first steep is such a pretty shade of dark rose.

The taste is good. Not too heavy on the hibiscus, you can definitely taste the raspberry and it does taste “real”. There’s a little bit of a grassy after-note, but this is a decent cuppa raspberry tea.

I highly recommend a brand of cookie called “Cougar Mountain”, made here in the Pacific NW USA. The specific cookie that marries perfectly with this tea is their soft and chewy Lemon Snickerdoodles. The light lemon cookie balances the strong raspberry beautifully. Nom Nom.

I like this. I wouldn’t call it thirst-quenching, as it definitely has the bit of pucker power that pomegranate Anything does. I certainly can’t taste any chamomile or green tea at all. It’s quite fruity and juicy, and actually makes a very good iced tea. I’m having it hot tonight, though. It doesn’t need any sweetener as it hits the edge between sweet and tart. Not bad to unwind with, and another bagged tea out of the drawer. I can taste the hibiscus that gave it that immediate rosy ruby color, and the raspberry balances the pom quite evenly.
EDITED: I take that back. I’m on a second steep which still tastes good, if not as dark rose colored as the first. I can faintly taste the green tea as a high note when I sip against my upper palate. Not bad. Just a side note.

I really like this. The jasmine isn’t too strong, but the scent really lingers faintly, like fine perfume. It brews up to a light-medium gold and also smells faintly sweet. Sipping it, the flavor takes a moment to really come into being on your tongue. Then it’s bright and warm, with the faint jasmine as a sweet aftertaste and smell. It keeps drawing me back, and is a bagged tea I can actually say I like. Bigelow is a rather decently predictable brand, in my opinion.

I need to get more of this. A small-leaf tea with roasted rice (some bits popped like popcorn) in it, I love this for relaxing. The smell is sweet and not very grassy, and the liquor is a pale gold. The taste is smooth and has a nutty undertaste that’s very subtle, almost like a cornsilk infusion.

This is another of the ones free in the breakrooms at work. Not bad! Dark honey/amber liquor, not too overpowering on the orange scent, not bitter from the oranges either. The taste is nice and mellow, although I personally would like more cinnamon. Maybe if I used a cinnamon stick for stirring… Good with just a bit of sugar and it still has the caffeine I need in the am. Decent desk tea.

I don’t actually recall where I got this sample, I think it was at a vegetarian food festival. The bags are paper with cotton twine in a rectangular paper envelope and say “product of Thailand” on the back.

You have to kind of poke at the bag in the water to get the osmosis going, as the paper bag seems to be a little thick. Hence I start steeping it a little on the hot side. The leaves leak a pale mint green into the water that slowly turns to a gold-green, somewhere between citrine and peridot. On a positive note, the thicker paper means less dust or leaf “leakage” into the cup. There really isn’t much smell to it.

What seems so unassuming in the cup is really lovely on the tongue, however. It’s smooth and the mulberries add a slight sweet and woodsiness to it so that you don’t need any sweetener and it’s not astringent. It’s calming and refreshing all at the same time. I really like this for an evening relaxing tea and will need to find a reasonable source for it. Definitely more than meets the eye.

(yes, I’m trying to use up all my bagged samples to make room for good loose tea…)

This was another tea in my sampler tin from Nordstrom’s. The jasmine scent is strong when you open the foil, but it doesn’t overpower the taste. The scent while brewing becomes blended with a slight woodsy note, although it’s green tea with it. The liquor is a pale orange, almost gold, and the taste is okay. It definitely would benefit from some honey, as the jasmine adds no sweetness at all. Not too astringent. This is a good tea to relax with and I like the silk mesh bags the company uses.

Not bad for bagged. The spice aroma is definitely there, although it takes 2-3 teabags per cup to get the real strength of a chai. I also end up using about 4-6 of those little creamer cups we have at work since I don’t keep milk in the work fridge. Some sugar, maybe put it over some ice… It’s not the best chai I’ve ever had, but it suffices as a nice change from the cheap black tea during the workday without sacrificing my caffeine.

This was part of the variety pack in a tin I’d purchased at Nordstrom’s. It brewed up well, but didn’t seem to have much of a scent. I took three sips and had to pour this out. There was a strange taste that I can only say reminded me strongly of the sweetness with the bitter under-flavor you got from cough syrup as a child. I don’t know if it’s the “tropical” flavor or what, but it was horrible.

I just bought a tin of various Mighty Leaf Teas from Nordstrom’s E-Bar coffee shop. This one has a nice aroma blend of apple and orange when dry. Once in the hot water, the hibiscus and rose hips start bleeding rose color into the water, but complete submersion gives it a nice reddish-gold color like mild honey.

I find the Egyptian chamomile they use to be a lot milder than German, and the citrus is really what comes out in this tea. The aroma really makes you notice the little pieces of orange rind and bits of lemongrass. I do really like this brad’s use of silk mesh bags because you don’t get the stray leafage in your tea. It strains it perfectly.

Upon sipping, the chamomile taste is much more apparent than it is in the scent. It balances the citrus to the point where I can’t really taste either one over the other, and the rose hips come out nicely with a tiny bit of tanginess. Lightly astringent, I enjoy this tea’s effect. I can also imagine it would settle an upset tummy quite well. Afternoon to evening for this one, it’s definitely going to mellow you out.

Not bad for a bagged tea. This another of the ones free in my work’s breakroom. The jasmine scent is a bit strong, but I like that. Very grassy, a little acidic, it really benefits from a spoonful of sugar. But, all in all, a nice alternative to the sweet milky black tea of every morning.

Whole leaf in a silk bag. Probably the only bagged tea I’d willingly choose, LOL. Nice and grassy but not too astringent, lovely pale color, and gentle aroma. I got a couple of these as a free sample somewhere and I may have to get more. I bet they’d make a refreshing iced green.

I don’t personally care for the fruity teas served warm, but this one does make a nice change to normal iced tea in the summer. Mix it half and half with regular tea bags for just a hint of the fruit and sweeten it for a Southern twist.

I love going to Pike Place Market and picking up more Market Spice tea. It’s heavily cinnamon, which I love, and not too heavy on the orange part. I have found you need to keep this in a tin or airtight bag, however, as the oils will end up soaking through paper or a ziploc baggie. But at least the whole drawer ends up smelling yummy!

My company provides tea and coffee in the breakrooms, and Stash teas are the brand we use. While better than Lipton’s, it’s still a plain black bagged tea. It does suffice to wake one up in the morning if I use two bags to the cup.

I’ve found that Lapsang Souchong is, for a lot of people, rather like Guinness: You either love it or hate it. I love it. The scent and taste remind me of hot cups of tea around a campfire when I was young. This is one of the few dark teas I can stand without a sweetener even though it’s a little astringent. I love breathing in the smoky steam and it just makes me feel cozy.

A favorite from childhood, the orange notes were always what I drank when I had a cold. Mom’s “Spice tea, please”, a perennial comfort food.