SimplyJenW Send Message

Tea of the afternoon…..

I have been checking out all of the produce markets in my area, and to my surprise, one of them stocks a few Steven Smith teas. Score! I was so hoping this was among their offerings, because I am a sucker for a good Earl. Or, I guess it is a Lord for this blend! It has been on my list because my picks for Earl Grey seem to line up pretty well with what LiberTEAs likes in an Earl, and this was one of her favorites. This is the first I have had with an Assam in the base. I quite like this. I can tell a good amount of effort was put into this blend so that the bergamot does not overpower the base, nor the bergamot get lost in the heartiness of the tea base. Could it be in my favorites? Quite possibly. And I have 14 more sachets to figure it out! I will have to check out the other Steven Smith teas I can get locally. (Mustard Seed Market for those in the area…)

Travel mug method…..boiling water, about 14 oz, one individually wrapped sachet (unwrapped, of course!), 4 minutes. Lightly sweetened. YUM!

Tea of the afternoon……

From ScottTeaman. (Thank you!)

I notice fruit notes, and an overall brightness. I knew that Darjeelings were brighter tasting teas than your typical blacks. In a way, I kind of liken this as the un-black tea. You know, kind of like Sprite is the un-cola….. It really is its own category even though I do think it is classified as a black tea.

The fruit notes are of apricots and citrus, and there might be slight floral notes of flowers that are sweet like gardenia. I can enjoy drinking this without additions, which makes me want to investigate Darjeelings further. Thank you, Scott!

Tea of the afternoon……

And my last sample to review from Teavivre from my Steepster tasting activity. I do have a few samples of their new teas in my most recent order, so there will be a few more reviews to come. Again, I am very appreciative of this chance, and it has really changed my views on green tea and pu’erh. I was pretty much only a fan of black teas and the occasional oolong prior to this.

I had to try this one a few times before I could really put it into words. The lighter teas are subtle, and they require just a little more time to test. I agree with others that the first scent of the dry leaves is of fresh hay. The leaves are long, very light sage green and covered with a downy fuzz. The brew is a pale yellow. The flavor gives light hints of hay, melon, and cucumber (I agree on this one KS!). I brewed it a second time, and it almost seemed a little bit more intense than the first steep. I did steep a little longer, and I guess the leaves were primed and ready to give up their true flavors. While I am not usually a drinker of white tea, I did like this one enough to order some! Even though it is on the pricey side, the resteepability makes this one within a range I am comfortable spending on a quality tea.

Mug method, 175 water, 2 perfect tsp tea (the entire sample bag), 2 minutes first steep, 3 minutes second steep. No additions.

Tea of the afternoon…..

I this is the last Teavivre sample I have to taste, but I have one more than this to review. Then I will probably be going through my samples to put an order together. In general, I am thoroughly impressed with the tea I have received from this company. Thank you so much to TeaVivre for the opportunity to try the samples. I know I sound like a broken record, but I greatly appreciate their approach to tea, as well as the quality I can purchase for the price.

Onto the tea. This one is very good. The leaves are green like you would expect with a green oolong. The brew is light yellow with only a hint of green. The vegetal notes are light. There is definitely a hint of butter and a creamy, heavy mouthfeel. Yum. I really like this one. I think I need some soon, but I need to go back to my Tie Guan Yin for a cup just to see how it compares.

Mug method, 2 minutes, 175 degree water. No additions.

Tea of the afternoon……

And I brewed a whole pot. Yes, I am feeling like I want to hoover any chocolate in the house, so I was trying to think of what would be decadent enough to distract me. A whole pot of this won.

There are notes of caramel, malt, chocolate, and caramelized sweet potatoes. Very complex and very good!

Usual teapot method.

Tea of the late afternoon……

I have not been very good at getting to my samples, lately. There are still issues with my Dad’s health (far away from me) so my mind is a little distracted. I just have to wait for the right time to try something new so that it has my full attention for several minutes, rather than just fixing a stand by when I know my mind is not on the tea.

This one was sent to my by ScottTeaMan. He sent me a very nice sampling of things I am very excited to try. There is this one and a few Darjeelings of which I have not tasted any, really, unless you count Harney’s Viennese Earl Grey. I think it hardly counts as it is not an unflavored variety. Anyway, thanks so much Scott for sharing your tea!

Ahhhh. I really like this. I know there are several kinds of tea in this, and really, not one of them stands out. That is as it should be in a good blend. All of the flavors should work together to make a great cuppa. And this is a great cuppa. You know when you take a sip and you just feel your body relax. To me, this is the power of tea. It has the power to bring me back to a state of balance. I really wish I could tell you what this one tastes like more specifically……maybe on the next cup.

Usual mug method.

Tea of the afternoon…….

..with a little change. I almost always drink my black teas with a little Splenda. I know it is not the greatest choice, but I do revisit healthier sweeteners from time to time (honey, stevia, etc.), and they all have a weird taste to me. I am also trying to shift my tastes away from sweet things and eat a more plant based, whole food diet. Fewer chemicals in the diet has to be a good thing. After drinking this tea yesterday, I remembered having it without additions for my first sampling. Today, I decided to try it plain again. I think this will work. I do still get the cocoa notes, but it is a little more malty without adding sweetener.

Usual teapot method. No additions.

Tea of the morning……

Just a double check that this one is as good as Gong Fu Black (which is organic) from Zhi Tea. Yes, this works as a substitute for me! I have not tried TeaVivre’s organic version of this tea, but I am guessing it is very similar. Yum. The tea I love at a cost I can live with drinking it everyday.

Usual teapot method.

Tea of late yesterday morning…….

This one I have had to think on a bit. The leaves are very interesting looking with the green that you would expect from a green tea, and a little bit of white fluffiness thrown in that makes it very pretty to look at. I brewed it up at about 175 for just a minute, even though I usually steep greens for at least two. I must have been worried about this one being a little strong. One should not worry so much, as the tea was light and refreshing. It brewed up a lightly vegetal green, but there were definitely floral notes. It is lighter than an oolong like tie gwan yin, but kind of along those lines. It also is not near the amount of floral you would get in something with a jasmine scent, but it is definitely there.

I am not usually a drinker of green beyond Dragonwell or flavored senchas. However, this was good. I definitely see some in my future at some point, as I am really trying to explore green things in my life, even beyond tea. Thank you to TeaVivre for this sample, and again, opening my eyes to how wonderful green tea can be!

Tea of the morning……..

I have not had this one in a while. I love gong fu black tea. The cocoa notes are so wonderful, especially when you are trying to avoid too much sugar in your life. I really should be drinking this type of tea more often, but I always seem to get distracted by the teas that are more fussy than this. This is awesome, but still, everyday tea.

Usual teapot method.