Tea Sipper

Thanks Dinosara for this lovely tea that you sent a while back. I really like it! It’s a nice option to have around if you want bergamot at night. This one is sweet lemon with a hint of bergamot and a nice green tea. Very balanced! The water was very cooled and the steep was very short, so that may have helped.

Am I drinking the wrong tea? I jumped at the chance to try five Verdant teas for $5. What a deal! I especially wanted to try this one. It looks like I have enough for at least two more steeping sessions after this one. I just wish the sample pouches for the $5 were resealable. (I think the others usually are.) The dry leaves smell like a dry field of grass. The leaves are twisty and super black… which is possibly why I expected a deeper flavor? I think I just read so many amazing tasting notes for this one that it sounded like a very rich black tea and not so delicate.

FIRST steep // closer to four minutes // a few minutes after boiling // The steep color is a lighter brown. The fragrance is chocolate but it doesn’t taste a ton like it to me. Mostly it reminds me a bit of a Fujian tea with a bit of a burnt charcoal flavor. Those aren’t my favorite, but this one is better.

SECOND & THIRD steeps // closer to four minutes each // just boiled // These steeps were also pretty much the same. They actually reminded me of the pu-erh I had from Verdant a while ago. That’s weird. But it reminds me of cedar or some sort of tree bark, rather than cinnamon or chocolate. I’m not sure why my taste buds are so different from other tasting notes!

Such a high pedestal it’s on! I don’t particularly love the flavor with this one. That’s too bad. I was getting NONE of the flavors that everyone else has had for this one. I feel like it has been mislabeled! I don’t understand how this one has one of the highest steepster ratings, but I’ve heard that other batches of this were better. It’s great to try it though!

I went for a random tea bag tonight and I wanted a white tea. I don’t know when the last time was that I had a tea bag… I’ve had so many amazing loose teas lately. The instructions on this said almost boiling? No way. I saw the splenda in the bag right away.. it’s like a bright white beacon. I’m lucky I was looking at the steepster page for this tea as I was steeping because I saw blackberry leaves on the ingredients list and ran over to pull the teabag out real quick. Oversteeping blackberry leaves tastes like peptobismal to me. The first taste I’m cringing a bit at the splenda. I think that is supposed to be half the pear flavor. I’m super sensitive to ginger but I don’t find any here. The splenda kind of drowns everything out, but it isn’t terrible. Maybe splenda is why I’m avoiding teabags now.

Additional notes: I had this a while ago, and last time the green tea in the Steepster description tricked me, but this time, I guess my palate has changed enough to know that this is a black tea. I checked Golden Moon’s site just to be sure. Last time, I let the water cool way too long and there was hardly any vanilla, jasmine or black tea flavor. This time must have been perfect (I waited for the water to cool about 10 minutes) because there was definite vanilla sweetness and a hint of jasmine that seemed to hit the roof of my mouth. The black tea is tasty! It must have been very week last time steeped at green tea temps. I will up the rating now and also change the steepster description. I have enough for one more cup after this…

I needed an Earl this morning! This blend sounded amazing when I requested some samples from Bluebird. Strawberry, lime, papaya, jasmine, bergamot?? Sadly, this isn’t a tough black tea and it didn’t have much of a bergamot flavor either. I’d say the first hints are strawberry. There really isn’t much of a fruit addition to the blend (pretty much the same as the picture), so I’m not sure how much flavor would be possible from a few tiny pieces of fruit anyway. The black tea doesn’t have much flavor to begin with. This is nice, but not enough of a kick in the morning. It isn’t my favorite from Bluebird. I’m glad I don’t love ALL of their blends though… I would want to order them all!!

holy wow, this one is divine and luxurious and I think it was blended just for me. Pecans, walnuts, hazelnut, coconut, pineapple! Such an amazing flavor. It’s so creamy and sweet. It’s almost too sweet. I steeped these green tea leaves for 3-4 minutes and they didn’t get bitter at all. I didn’t immediately think of pina coladas… but maybe I haven’t had many of them. There was definite pineapple flavor, coconut sweetness and nuttiness to it. It seems like it wouldn’t work but it does! It kind of reminds me of SpecialTeas Vienna Winter Green or California Tea House’s Pistachio gelato… just without the pistachio.

This is the first of many teas I will be reviewing for the three DT try-me packs I had to buy! 30% off sale that included the try-me packs this time! I bought three try-me packs a while ago but they are always introducing new blends that I have to try! They all sound amazing and usually taste amazing too. I wanted to try the lime chiffon first since I heard it isn’t as good as the lemon (I think I got samples of ALL the lime/lemon teas.. they made up a whole try-me pack! Also… they sent me a blackberry cream that isn’t even on the site, so that must be a new one!) But WOW, this one is so good! Equal parts lime and cream. I love that the tanginess of the lime is amazing with the sweet cream. The rooibos is hardly noticeable, for those who don’t love rooibos. It’s kind of a shame since DT’s rooibos base is delicious on its own… I think I like their rooibos base better than their black tea base. But with these flavors, I’m not complaining! It kind of reminds me of the flavor of some of 52Teas blends for some reason. Lime meringue pie! Can’t wait to try the others if this is supposedly the worst one?!?

I bought some of this from Yssah with Ovation’s sad going out of business sale. thanks! I had a cup a while ago but wanted to wait to review to see what another cup tasted like…pretty much the same! The dry leaves are super black and twisty. There were MANY fig pieces in my infuser, so much that I added more tea leaves. Hopefully all of the fig didn’t find its way in my infuser this time! I steeped for a few minutes (wasn’t paying attention.) I think the only fig I’ve ever had is from those fig newton cookies. I had them at the babysitter’s as a four year old, mostly. Would a four year old like those? I did! Though they wouldn’t have been my cookie of choice. Other people have said they don’t like the dark tasting base with the brown sugar/fig flavors, but I think they are perfect together. I just wish for more of a fig/brown sugar flavor. The black tea base is definitely different but that makes it interesting. I really like strong dark teas, so maybe that is why I like this one. It’s kind of like malty molasses. (One of my favorite teas is even more like molasses— Golden Moon’s Sinharaja.) I think this was my least favorite from the many Ovation teas I tried (around 10?), but I still really like this one.

Thanks so much, Amanda! I like this more than I thought I would! I steeped this for 5-6 minutes,, about 1 1/2 teaspoons. There were two big fruit pieces in the infuser. The flavor in this one is addicting for some reason. The earthiness of the guayusa is delicious with the peach and papaya (not sure if I ever had papaya before). It’s very smooth and it pairs perfectly with the fruits. The second steep was just as delicious. I wonder if this blend has artificial sugar in it? If not, it kind of tastes like it, but in a good way. I think guayusa would be interesting to sweeten soda AND add energy to it. Guayusa makes for a nice change from black tea wake-me-ups in the morning. I definitely appreciate all of the types of tea! I never get bored… at least not yet! I’ll have to drink more guayusa in the future, and I’ll definitely keep this in mind if I need some more guayusa later on… this pouch has a few more cups in it! I could see drinking this a LOT in the summer. I’ll have to try it iced.

Additional notes: I bought some of this from Yssah a while ago. This particular blend tastes a bit more flavorful than the Tower I tried before, probably because this was fresher. I just love this blend. Plums, a bit of cherry, honey and hints of bergamot on a lovely black base that doesn’t get astringent. It tastes like a jammy Danish. I thought I loved Paris more, but the new blend of that I bought from Yssah doesn’t taste the same as the sample I had before (kind of alcoholish). So I might like this one better, or else it is very close. Paris = berries Tower of London = stone fruits

Additional notes: Sample sipdown! Oh wow, I just saw the last tasting notes date and it was May 5, 2012! Exactly a year ago! I’m not sure how that happened. I followed the steep instructions this time.. (no three minutes) 50 seconds first steep, 70 seconds second steep. The flavor wasn’t the same as the last time (since I didn’t steep it correctly last time). The flavor still wasn’t your typical oolong, but it didn’t have those pumpkin notes like last time either. It’s tough to describe this one! It isn’t really peachy, floral, or vegetal. Not sure what is going on… but I kind of liked the pumpkin flavor better. Also, the new blends from Butiki sound AMAZING.

I’ve been the first to review so many of Tealux’s teas! So sad. This one is a solid black tea from Tealux… a bit tough to describe. In the description, it mentions volcanic land, and I guess I would describe this as what some Fujian teas taste like, but I haven’t actually had a black tea that was Fujian, I don’t think… only oolongs. There are a ton of flavor qualities I don’t think black teas usually have. It’s a bit of everything: the first thing was that it reminded me of BBQ. Usually only roasted yerba mates remind me of BBQ. I guess it has a spicy flavor with a HINT of smoke. There is that “volcanic” flavor, that is a bit charcoaly, and also a bit dry in the mouth. Hints of maltiness. It’s dark and light flavored at the same time… like a Darjeeling, but not. Did anything I said make any sense? The second steep is biscuit, and has a fuller flavor. Really, just a nice black tea that has a different flavor than other teas. A nice change!

Additional notes: I’m sipping this one right now and I LOVE it. It will definitely be my replacement Earl Grey Cream when my others run out (since my favorites have disappeared by now). This one is just delicious. Next cup will be a sipdown of my sample.

thanks so much Crow Kettle, for sharing a bit of this one! There was an entire star of anise in my infuser: I suppose that is why they call it ‘Ceylon Star’! Also some chocolate, big coconut flakes and really black and twisty leaves. Steeped, the cup is a very light brown and very cloudy. I think I steeped for five minutes, I kind of expected more of an anise/licorice flavor. There isn’t much! There is more of a coconut flavor, but that was because there were so many coconut flakes! There wasn’t much of a chocolate flavor either, but I like the combination of flavors… I just wish there was more! The second steep I poured right after boiling and it does have more anise. I like it combined with the coconut… it helps smooth it out.

Additional notes: Sipdown! I like this one, but I don’t think it’s my favorite vanilla tea (Della Terra, Adagio, Harney…probably forgetting so many). I don’t think either the vanilla or the black tea has enough flavor. But it was nice to try, anyway!

Additional notes: I had been thinking of this treasured tea that I’ve only got a couple teaspoons of, but I had some anyway. I think it’s my favorite 52 Teas blend. I just love the balance of banana and coconut flavors. Both creamy! And the hojicha is perfect with this blend. I steeped for 45 seconds this time and it was very nice.

thanks so much again for the teas, Dinosara! This one is good. I’ve tried a few English Tea Store teas so far, and they have all been nice! The dry leaves sure don’t smell like chocolate though. And there are flower petals in it, which seems odd for a chocolate tea. Luckily, the tea actually has a smooth sweet chocolate taste on a nice black tea base. I think Harney’s Valentine’s blend has a slight edge over this one (that Dinosara also sent me a bit of!) but I really like this one. It’s like a milky bar of chocolate!

I should have known… hibiscus. But the other ingredients sounded so good! I only steeped this one for three minutes, but I could tell right away it would be hibiscus overload since the cup was so red. I even threw out a big piece of hibiscus before it went into the infuser. This is why I don’t understand hibiscus in tea blends… hibiscus might as well be the only ingredient because it drowns all the other fun tastes out. This isn’t terrible if you actually like hibiscus. I wouldn’t order this one from Bluebird but I should have known that with the hibiscus in it. Ah well, I appreciated the sample anyway!

How am I the first to review a YUNNAN tea from Steep City? Yunnans are so good! Steep City is so good! The dry leaves smell peppery, but they also have a fragrance that reminds me of pizza for some reason! I love the gold and brown mix of color in the leaves. After a four minute steep, I get a malty, chocolatey, slightly peppery, sweet, honey, slightly molasses like, DELICIOUS cup. I love the complexity of all the notes, how you can pick out all of those yummy notes. It tastes a bit light and a bit dark at the same time, if that makes sense. It’s like the honey notes match the gold leaves of the tea! Yunnan teas are one of my favorite types, and this one definitely proves why. I’d call this the ‘Yunnan flavor profile’. It’s a nice example of Yunnan for beginners, or for those who already love Yunnan that want another good one. The second steep was just as delicious and I probably should have went for a third. This is the sixth tea I’ve tried from them and I can say I would definitely order full ounces of all six of them. If these six are any indication, you can’t really go wrong with Steepcityteas.com!

No one has written a tasting note for this lovely tea yet? I love this one. Honestly, I can’t see too much chunks of fruit in the blend itself, but maybe that is the fault of me having a sample of it and I didn’t get a fair mix of the blend. Also, this is supposed to have my favorite fruits in it! And fig! And lovely peony petals to make it look pretty! The dry leaves certainly smell fruity, but it is more like the fruits are blending into an anonymous berry smell. I haven’t had any familiarity with figs other than in fig newton cookies. Not sure that counts! I love the taste of this tea though. The sencha is buttery and a bit vegetal and the fruits really give it a sweeter flavor. No hibiscus here! Only berries. I love this blend and would certainly order actual ounces of it… not anytime soon though. Della Terra just suckered me into ordering some try me packs for the teas I’ve had my eye on for a while. This has to be the last tea I order for a while though.

ETA: Honestly, in the picture of the tea you don’t see any of the freeze dried berries either. But I love the flavor anyway!

Alphakitty included this in Momo’s traveling tea box a while ago… and Alphakitty is the original creator of this blend (I just noticed, scanning the tasting notes.) thanks for including it! I haven’t actually had tamarind before, but I’m always willing to try any Butiki blend. They are extra special. This is nice! The black tea base isn’t a strong one, so it doesn’t overpower the sweet flavors, but it tastes a bit earthy. There is a bit of a tangy flavor there, which I’m guessing is the tamarind. I wish I knew what the tamarind really tasted like to compare! I like this but I feel like a tamarind fan could appreciate it more. The closest thing I can imagine to tamarind pop is like a cream soda with a citrus tang to it? If so, this is it (and makes me want to try some right now!)

thank you Starfevre for sending a bit of this to sample a while back! A chai genmaicha sounded unique. This blend looks like it has more popped rice than tea leaves.. that’s fine with me.. more toasty goodness! It didn’t seem like there were too many spices though. I went for a 45 second steep after the water had cooled a while. The flavor is great! The buttery toasty genmaicha is nice with a slight spicy flavor. I think that pesky marketspice tea I have may have flavored this one slightly. Luckily, I have all the spicy teas stored together for this reason. This was nice!

Oh, this is exactly the tea I was hoping this was! This blend features a delicious buttery sencha with the perfect apple… and some cinnamon! The apple pieces floated in my basket infuser and took up the entire top of the basket, so I’d say there are a ton of apples here! Apple blends are usually wrong for me, but this one is just authentic, genuine apples. No weird flavor added. I absolutely love the idea of the buttery sencha with the apples because it tastes like an apple dumpling or apple pastry. It’s just perfect. But the only thing I might change is add a dab more of sweet cinnamon. Probably the best apple tea I’ve tried and one of the best green tea blends I’ve tried. This is going on the MUST BUY list when my tea stash is reduced. These samples were a great idea from Steep City because they are all delicious blends. I wouldn’t even need samples before buying full ounces of their other blends.. I trust how tasty they are now!

thank you Crow Kettle for sending me some of this one! I always have such an appreciation for all the generous Steepsters who send me teas! I love this one. It’s a malty chocolate with a black tea base that really blends nicely with the chocolate. It has a darker flavor to it that I love. And banana! Just a hint of banana, but it’s there. So very good! I don’t understand where the “pie” in the name comes from, but I love this just as a “chocolate banana” tea. I don’t think I’ve tried many from Davids but I think this is my favorite so far. I’m trying to sip slowly but it ain’t happenin! (Also, if I didn’t sip slowly I’d probably be drinking about 20 cups of tea a day.)