SimplyJenW

1 part White Peach to 1 part Wild Strawberry was my pitcher of iced for yesterday and this morning. Yum. Lightly sweet and fruity without needing any sweetener, and definitely refreshing. I don’t officially have this one in my cupboard, because I usually blend it for iced tea. I blended by weight, and needed to break up the hibiscus in the Wild Strawberry a little.

The breakfast cup of the day. This one is a little smokier than I remember, but still great. I need some more English Breakfasts for comparison! Sweetened and I think I am going to add milk…..

Second steep at 5 minutes…..not as smokey, and does not require milk for me!

Still loving this one, and I keep bumping up the rating….it was a great pick me up late in the afternoon, as I was dragging from the weekend.
Second steep at 5 minutes. Just as good as the first.

My afternoon tea of the day. Smooth and easy to drink. It is pretty strong on the vanilla. If you are a regular drinker of oolong, this will probably seem like a kids tea to you.

Seond steep was as good as the first, but brewed for 5 minutes.

This was my evening cup last night. This one is always good with a little sweetener. Definitely one of my favorite decaf varieties.

This is my first go at this sample. Again, since it is a Harney’s variety, I went a little lighter on the tea than I do with others. This one is really good….I can taste the tropical blend of fruit flavors. I may consider buying more.

Ack…I did not read the fine print about the green in the blend…I do think it will be better brewed at a lower temp for my next cup.

First cuppa today. I went a little lighter on the amount of tea per cup. I do think this works well for Harney’s blends to avoid bitterness. Also, a 3 minute steep seems to do the trick. This blend has the perfect amount of ginger and peach.

I am starting to think this one might edge out Golden Monkey as my favorite black. I seeem to prefer the slightly deeper flavor. I know it really should not be that way due to price (Aren’t we supposed to like the more expensive ones better? ;) ), but how often does it happen that your favorite costs less? I think I will just enjoy it…as I will my Golden Monkey. Bliss. x2

Edited to add….the second steep was as good as the first….boiling water, 5 minutes.

I am breaking with tradition and drinking this one in the morning. Still a very good, relaxing tea. I do catch the slightest scent of rose as I drink, but it is the perfect amount to go along with this base. If there were too much rose, and I think it would remind me of soap. And I finally ordered more. I am curious to try some other versions of this tea.

I had this one for the first time yesterday afternoon. It will definitely require further tastings to get a good read on it…I think I was pretty tired and unfocused, hence the need for a cup. I do remember it not being quite as smooth as the English Breakfast from Adagio that is a keemun. The smokey note was a little more intense than I expected.

Yesterday’s evening cuppa at a friend’s. This one is always good. Very reliable. Won’t keep me awake….and delivers a hot steamy cup of vanilla goodness.

This one was my hot tea yesterday at the spa getting my long overdue pedicure. There is nothing like hot tea, and a pedicure that was a gift during a blizzard. Thank you, Laura! Light notes of peachy goodness!

I have started carrying teabags…it is so easy to just ask for hot water.

This is probably my current favorite black tea. So light and smooth. After about the third steep, I think it loses something.

As far as decaf goes, this one is very good. Because of the bulk the peppermint adds, I recommend adding a little more tea to your brew for a more satisfying cup. It is lightly mint and a hint of chocolate. I started with a sample, and then requested it as part of my Valentine tea. I can see it being a staple, as it tastes like a creamy chocolate mint candy with sweetener and milk added. I do prefer Tea Table’s regular version of this as the coconut in the Chocolate Mint blend adds another interesting layer of taste.

From the journal:
You can definitely smell and taste the rum flavor in this one. I remember quite liking it. And for a pseudo dessert flavor, this one was really good. It has been a while since I had some……I will queue it up for tomorrow!

From the tea journal:
I am just going to the source on this one. It is readily available at many vendors. I tried mine from Culinary Teas, and then purchased a larger amount from The English Tea Store. I do like the maple and blackberry flavors in this one. I don’t think I would rate it as among my favorites, but it is a pleasant cuppa. I probably won’t get more for some time once I am out. Too many more teas to try to keep purchasing one that is just pretty good.

From the journal:
Another dessert type tea that did not really impress. Something about it seemed weak….like you needed twice the amount of leaves to brew as you should. Sent it to a better home.

From the journal:
I got this one as part of an herbal sample pack. This one is good! Lots of berry flavors going on with a little hibiscus tartness. It brews up deep red. I did order more from another source. (I am pretty sure it is available lots of places.)

From the journal:
After the first cup, I was not sure it was necessary to order more. It seemed like a watered down cup of hot cocoa. I probably did not know what to expect as it was one of the first things I tried from The Tea Table very early on in my tea adventure. After the second cup, I decided it was not too bad. Tastes like tea and hot cocoa together. Third time is a charm? We shall see….

From the journal:
With a name like Chocolate Caramel turtle, you would think this tea would be wonderful. Unfortunately, I think the flavors are trying too hard. The tea itself seems weaker than others. I can taste all of the flavors, but it is just too much going on. This one was sent to a better home.

From the tea-journal:
Very good on its own, but I have not even tried a resteep on this as the chips are gone with the first. It is divine with a bit of peppermint added. I love a chocolate peppermint tea where the peppermint flavor is light so you can taste the tea.

From the tea-journal:
This one was very reminiscent of coffee. Since I used to be a heavy coffee drinker, this one tasted pretty good if I added the usual coffee dressings of milk and sweetener. I am not sure it is smooth enough to entice me to buy more, though. I will have to give it a few more tries.

From the tea-journal:
This one was not anything special. A little on the bitter side for my kid-like tastes. I passed my sample along to a friend.

Hmmmm. Did not like this one, and I am pretty easy to please when it comes to fruit flavored decaf blacks. I was not even able to try it a second time, because the memory of the first was so bad.