SimplyJenW

Tea of the morning… (SRP #45)

Leaves are large and loosely packed due to their size and very dark brown. The tea brews up a little lighter than I expected. Not a very red brew, but somewhere more caramel in color. Resteeps well which does help offset the cost a little. Definite notes of honey, but much lower on the cocoa notes that I usually search for on this type of tea. I don’t get as much of a complexity that I would need from a tea in this price range (just over $17 for 80 grams). I would choose Imperial Golden Monkey for a similar flavor profile from Upton at a slightly better price.

Usual teapot method at 4 minutes. Resteep at 5.

Tea of the afternoon….. (SRP #44)

I have had this sample in my stash since last November. Not sure why I have not tried it until now, but I am pleasantly surprised. The tea base is very smooth and complements the almond flavor very well. Yes, pleasantly surprised. I find it very relaxing. And very much like dessert in a cup. I would definitely consider purchasing some.

Usual mug method. Lightly sweetened.

Tea of the morning…. (SRP #43)

This is the end of my sample of this tea, and I loved it while I had it. Thank you, again, narwhalclub!

It is probably about the smokiest I could handle, but it is very good with a little sweetner. I do have others that I like better that have a slightly smoother, more cocoa-noted base, so I will probably stick with one of them for the future. There really is only room for about 1 or 2 versions of Lapsang in my cupboard for the amount that I actually drink it.

Teapot method at 3 minutes. Lightly sweetened.

Tea of the afternoon…..

This one is from Dinosara. Thank you! OMG! This is so right up my alley! It is a good tea base and a super yummy citrus flavor. I am guessing it is orange and bergamot. It is just a little more lemony-but-not-quite-lemon than an orange tea would be. It is also nice to have such an orangey tea without spice! If there was an easy way to get some of this (besides Dinosara’s generosity!) I would be buying some. I guess for now it will just go on the list in hopes that I can get more one day. For now, I have about two more sachets and I will thoroughly enjoy them.

Usual mug method with a sachet.

Tea of the morning…..

I am down to the dregs of my first 50 grams of this tea. (Luckily, my pack rat tendencies had me purchase 100 grams from the outset!) It is wonderfully caramelly, sweet potatoey, with a bit of maltiness. I love this one. And I am enjoying my crisp, nearly-summer morning before the wheels get rolling.

Usual teapot method.

Tisane of the evening…. (SRP #42)

This one comes from Amanda. Thank you!

Surprisingly, I was in the mood for a hot drink this evening as the temp is cooling pretty well and the humidity is going down. I think it got up to the mid 80s today which necessitated my favorite Lychee iced tea for the afternoon. I am so thankful for the break in the heat. My new a/c system (since the old one pretty much died) comes on Thursday. I can definitely handle a high of 71 for tomorrow! Since I grew up with a/c, I am such a wimp for heat and humidity. I know some love not using it, but I pretty much need it to function on hot days. Low 70s is my favorite weather!

I am usually not a fan or rooibos, but I will admit that this one is interesting. I do agree with other reviewers that it kind of reminds me of yogurt. I did not really get rhubarb, but I do detect a creamy tartness. After the first few sips, I sweetened it to the point where I actually could only taste the sweet and the rooibos, so that was kind of an error on my part. I know it is not something I would buy, but it is always good to see how different flavors blend with a particular tea base. I am always up for a little palate training as well as flavor blending ideas, so I am thankful for the chance to try this.

Mug method. 3 tsp, about 15 oz. boiling water for 5 minutes.

Tea of the morning…..

We have been on a short vacation. We spent a few days in the area of Williamsburg, VA. It was nice to get away, and it looks like our construction is mostly done except for the painting we need to finish ourselves. It has been a great face lift for our house, even though it was necessitated by minor storm damage. Next up is a new a/c system. Yes, definitely first world problems. However, I do feel blessed that we can fix what needs fixing at this point, and the only real issue is the inconvenience. Yes, we are blessed.

Tea by Oliver Pluff seems to be teas that are offered at many touristy type period general stores. This particular listing is sold at Charleston, mine was sold at the Prentiss Shop in Williamsburg. They had a few other types of tea like Young Hyson, Earl Grey, Pinhead Gunpowder, Darjeeling, Oolong, English Breakfast. They come in a heavy zip baggie inside an envelope. I paid about $9 for 1/4 lb of this Bohea. The ingredients are Orange Pekoe and Lapsang Souchong. I figured it would be a nice, lightly smokey tea. I will eventually sample a more expensive Bohea, but this just sounded good. It is pretty much what I expected. I am amazed at how large the leaves are. For a tourist vendor tea, this is actually pretty nice. Lightly smokey, decent quality black teas. I did see that Oliver Pluff has a website and the prices are a little more reasonable there (really, I would expect that.) Would I buy it again? Probably not, but only because I will likely mix my own out of the two teas mentioned in the ingredients. I will enjoy this to the end, though!

Usual teapot method.

Iced tea of the day……

So thankful I have enough of this in my cupboard now for making iced tea! This is a good one. The notes of berries and bergamot is great cold. The vanilla kind of adds just the perfect bit of smoothness in the beginning and a slight bite at the end. I can tell that I will be drinking this iced for years to come. I love it when I find a tea that is great iced or hot.

Usual iced tea method. (Brewed at boiling double strength and then iced.)

Second tea of the morning….. (SRP #41)

My computer hates me today. I just lost my review.. Anyway, the short version of my intro is that I appreciate the new way they are packaging free samples. Less waste is always good in my book. Also, I appreciate that they have moved toward putting labels on the small manufacturer packages of samples, too.

This sample was provided by TeaVivre for review. I think I am on my last round of these. This has been so fun! Thank you so much to Angel and her team for introducing me to teas beyond my favorite China black teas.

The leaves are a tight ball and dark green. The liquor is an amber yellow rather than golden like greener oolong varieties. I am pretty sure the leaves are slightly roasted in this tea. It could just be the variety, but there is a light roasty or baked scent as well as flavor. It really reminds me of roasted green vegetables. The notes of butter with the heavy mouthfeel are there, but the roasted flavor is the most prevalent. I generally prefer greener oolongs, but this is good. It lies somewhere between the green and dark oolongs as far as flavor.

Mug method, 2 minutes, 185 water. No additions. Getting ready for a resteep.

Tea of the morning……

This sample was provided by TeaVivre for review. (Thank you!)

I decided morning was a great time to try this one. We are in the midst of a slight cold spell…or maybe I just feel like it is a cold spell because it was a sweltering weekend last week. Anyway, a sweet smokey tea was a good match for the weather today.

Leaf is actually kind of fluffy for a black tea. There are even some golden pieces in there! The smell is of smoke and earthiness. I brewed it is with a little hotter water then they recommended (I used boiling, they recommended 195) but I still had a fabulous tea. I get notes of malt, cocoa, and smoke with a sweetness. Since I usually sweeten my hot tea, I ended up with a smokey sweet liquor. Once the tea got in the temperature range for drinking, I noticed that my cup was empty in a flash. That means it is incredibly good. I think I will try a resteep, too. Yes, this goes on the shopping list! I think I will replacing my Lapsang Souchong Black Dragon with this. I do think it is a sweeter tea than the Lapsang from Mountian Rose herbs, too, plus their shipping is cost prohibitive.

Usual teapot method with a 2 minute steep. Lightly sweetened.

Tea of the afternoon…..

Of course I could not resist this one. Part of the whole reason for my horrible experience trying to order online with a long standing English company over the holidays was for their Diamond Jubilee Tea. When Harney posted about their blend, I immediately ordered as I was getting painfully low on Paris. Of course, I am very pleased with this.

First of all, the tin is so elegant. I love the muted color tones they chose. Pale aqua, cream, gold, and a muted berry tone. Beautiful. I opened the tin and was immediately drawn to the scent of grapefruit paired with bergamot. The bergamot is light with the addition of sweet grapefruit. For those of you who are fans of Earl Grey Supreme, it is like EGS with a grapefruit kicker. Perfectly lovely. All I can think of that would make this tea more wonderful, is if it came in loose leaf. Please, Mr. Harney?

12 oz filtered water at boiling, 4 minutes, lightly sweetened.

Edit to add: I will no longer lament the loss of a refill of Countess Grey. This is so much better!

Tea of the morning…….

I have recently added some Lapsang to my Assam/Keemun/Ceylon/Yunnan/Congou blend. We now have notes of chocolate, malt, and smoke. It kind of reminds me of Mark T. Wendell Victorian Afternoon.

I am in love! I will be drinking this to the end of the tin, and then starting anew. Fortunately, (or not for my goals of stash reduction) I have a whole box full of things to blend for breakfast tea on my next go around.

Usual teapot method.

Second tea of the morning….. (SRP #40)

We finally have weather cool enough that I am craving oolong. I still don’t know how all of that works for me, but I seem to be craving green and oolong tea less with the warmer weather. I guess it is that I crave iced tea, and for me that is usually a black tea. I blame my midwestern upbringing on that one. At least I have moved beyond Lipton Instant…or Lipton sun tea. Maybe there is still hope in that I can move beyond the black teas for iced….. After all, this is a journey, and my tastes have all ready changed a little.

My sample was purchased. The leaves are tight bright green pellets. The scent of the dry tea is of cream and butter. I am pretty sure I am going to like this one better than the unflavored. The liquor is a golden yellow, and really a little deeper than I expected. The leaves brew up absolutely huge. The scent of the brewed tea is of cream and butter, again, with a hint of something very lightly floral. I definitely like this better than the unflavored version. If I am ever in the market for a milk oolong again, this will be the one I purchase. It is still not quite as good as the Milk Oolong from American Tearoom, but then I am not willing to get a second mortgage on my house to buy tea (meaning it is way too expensive a tea that is not in my absolute favorite type.) This one is very good and a great value at around $11 for 100g. For comparison, the other is $60 for the same weight and it has a Tie Kwan Yin base.

Usual mug method for 2 minutes, no additions. I followed the brewing parameters on the label.

Tea of the afternoon……

I still have a good amount of this, so I really can’t count it in sample reduction…because I am sure to finish all that she sent. This one comes to me in a swap with Dinosara from her continental hopping. Thank you so much for sharing this one with me as I love jasmine teas.

I don’t have a huge amount of information on this one. It kind of looks similar to a pouchong, but then again, I am still very much a newbie to green tea. Leaves are long and twisted with shades of dark green and a lighter sage green. There really is not much in the way of a vegetal taste like you would expect with most greens, but it does have the heavier mouthfeel of a good quality green. The jasmine is floral and sweet at the same time. Yum! I wanna go shopping for tea in China! Until then, I will just have to live vicariously through her…. Again, thank you!

Mug method with about 170 water and a 2 minute steep.

Second tea of the morning…. (SRP #39)

We are at the end of my malty tea with hints of bacon and light smoke! I may get more one day, but it is time to get a handle on my stash. Farewell, Hunan Golden Twist. You make an awesome breakfast tea!

Usual teapot method.

Tea of the morning……

This one is nice and strong. Very present notes of malt with a slight edge of smoke. It is actually a little on the brisk side for me. I get mostly Assam in this Assam and Keemun blend, which usually makes me long for my Malachi McCormick that is mostly Keemun in a blend of similar, but probably lower grades of Keemun and Assam. I now think I know where my heart lies for a permanent breakfast tea, because all I can think is how a little more Kemmun would fix this for my palate.

It has been a rough weekend. And, yes, I know I am a total wimp. I am owning it. Our air conditioning has been out and I had to brave the hot weekend without it. Hence, it is the origin of my lack of tea postings (way to hot for hot tea…I can’t believe I found my threshold for hot tea! Apparently, it is somewhere over 90 degrees.) and general crabbiness from not sleeping well. I had much iced tea and water….to the point of depleting my ice supply. Now we are back to the weather I love……mid 70s, and the air should be fixed on Friday. Did I mention that I am a wimp as far as heat is concerned? School is out, but the construction goes forward.

Usual teapot method with scant Perfect Teaspoons of tea and a 3 minute steep.

Iced tea of the day…… (SRP #38)

This is the last of my Apricot black tea. It was not a favorite, but it makes a stellar iced tea. It has a nice malty base and a hint of apricot. I know the apricot comes out just a little more with adding something to sweeten it, but that is not the way I roll for iced tea….I like it as is. Refreshing and so welcome on a hot weekend.

Usual iced tea method.

Iced tea of the day…….

I probably have enough left for one more pitcher. This one comes out crisp, slightly brisk, and with overtones of a tangy sweet fruit. It is excellent iced, but I like the Lychee better!

Usual iced method. No additions but ice!

Tea of the evening……

It is a bittersweet day. Tonight was the last official meeting of my scout troop for good. The girls are going into High School next year, and have all become pretty busy to schedule much of anything. I have had most of them for 8 or 9 years, and they have grown up before my eyes. Luckily, for my daughter, they are all such good friends and I am sure they will be spending a good deal of time together in other school activities. While they are ready to move on, and I am completely out of new material to keep this going, it has been a fun ride.

Decaf Paris is quickly becoming my top choice for decaf. It is a little lighter of a flavor profile and cannot replace the richness of regular Paris, but still very tasty for when I need an evening black. Yum!

Mug method with a 3 minute steep and 190 water.

Backlogging tea of the late afternoon….

It is true. I have fallen for Paris all over again. I know I will need more when my 2 oz from the Millerton Shop is gone. (However, I am really waiting for a bit to order more tea! It is so funny that I have reached a point where I am not compelled to buy more…..but once this small pouch is gone, all bets are off!)

Loving the rich tea base, the notes of black currant/berry, slight vanilla, and the touch of bergamot. This flavor is so well done….and I am drinking the decaf version this evening. So glad to have my love for Paris back.

Usual teapot method.

Backlogging tea of the afternoon…. (SRP #37)

This one is from my Foodzie Box from LiberTEAS.

I requested this sample, because it sounds like a great blend for yerba mate. The yerba mate is roasted, so it comes across as an herbally light coffee taste. Then add just the light kiss of mint plus vanilla, and you have a really good flavor profile. What I love about this is the level of mint. It is actually just an addition to the flavoring….spearmint with restraint….rather than an overpowering force. It is wonderful with just a slight amount of sweetness added.

Mug method with a 5 minute steep.

Second tea of the morning…. (SRP #36)

I received this one in a swap with the wonderful Tina S.. I was just reading her note, and I kind of have to agree with her that this is a tough read. It really wants to be a very good cinnamony and chocolately black tea, but for some reason, the cinnamon hearts kind of come out as this weird cinnamon taste…maybe kind of artificial? I probably am just spoiled by my favorite cinnamon-in-overdrive tea, though. I do get the notes of chocolate, and the tea base is warm and roasty tasting. I think the chocolate tea on its own would be pretty good. Maybe I will just pick out the cinnamon hearts if there is a next time….. Anyway, thank you for a fun taste of tea from across the boarder! I love to try things I can’t get here!

Usual mug method with a 3 minute steep.

Backlogging the Iced tea of the day…. (SRP #35)

And at the end of a generous sample from QuiltGuppy.

I have to admit, I like this one iced more than I do hot. However, since I do sweeten hot tea, the mango is a little more prevalent when hot. When iced, you just get a fruitiness and a bit of briskness. The briskness really does work in an iced tea, though. Not sure it is super remarkable as an iced tea, but it is good enough that it might make a pretty good addition to a cart to get to the level of free shipping.

Usual iced tea method.

(I am spent for the day. If you had only seen the typos that I fixed….I kept typing ‘toe’ in place of ‘tea’.)

Iced tea of the day…. (SRP #34)

I have been waiting for a warmish day…. The first time I tried this tea, I steeped it up according to my usual mug method. It was bright and limey and reminded me of a margarita. Then the wheels started turning in that this would make the most awesome, refreshing iced tea. Today is the perfect day. We are working outside and it is going to get up to the 80s. I brewed this up using my iced tea method (double strong, pour over copious amounts of ice…) and what I have now is the best iced tea EVER! I love how the lime flavor is incredibly refreshing, and the pineapple and stevia leaf make it ever so lightly sweet. The Ceylon adds a light briskness. Perfect on its own. I need some!

Thank you to Thomas at Fusion Tea Room for the sample.

Usual iced tea method. No additions but ice!