Tea Sipper

I thought I would like this one more! I’ve heard such nice things about it… but this one tastes just like the cough drop flavor that I didn’t like in the Raspberry White Melange. I didn’t get much of a blueberry flavor either. It’s odd that there were flowers in the blend, but no flowers listed in the ingredients on my bag. I really wish this one didn’t have that cough drop flavor, as I know I would have liked it. Oh well, just not my thing I guess!

thanks starfevre for sending some of this in our trade! The only other Fujian tea I’ve had that I remember is an oolong that I really didn’t like because it was so charcoaly. It was too much for me! Luckily, this one is much better. The dry leaves are mixed — some are longer, twisty and black while some are yellow. The flavor is a lighter black. It does have a bit of a charcoal flavor, but just a hint, and also something like tobacco. This one is very good for a light black tea (and much better than the Adagio Irish Breakfast that I tried recently), but I like my black teas super dark and strong! It’s almost like I’m either craving a strong black tea or something like an oolong, but I’m sure sometimes I will want a lighter black tea and I will have this one! It’s kind of simple while also unique. If that makes sense.

I opened my sample bag and I have never smelled a tea so sweet…like candy!! I was surprised to read on the bag that they do not do anything to flavor this, but grow it in a specific way to make this so sweet.

First steep // 4 min // I set the leaves free in my new infuser! The leaves are pretty big and a nice jade green color. The first sip, I was surprised at a pineapple flavor! Not as much of a milky taste as I would have expected from such scented leaves, but still sweet and buttery. The color is a pale yellow

Second steep // 3 min // This was still juicy sweet pineapple and not so much milk. But it is so good!

Third steep // 3 min // This one is more of a floral and a bit of pineapple. It’s nice to see these leaves actually are LEAVES. Sadly, I think when I took the leaves out of the dipper infuser before, they were still mostly little bundles. These almost filled the entire infuser.

Overall, a very nice oolong, especially for the pineapple flavor. I wouldn’t mind getting two ounces of this one.

Thanks so much Azzrian for sending a bit of this along! I was in the mood for a pu-erh and this is the first tea I was able to try in my new Bodum YoYo infuser and mug! I have no idea why it is called “yoyo”. (It matches my vintage Bodum electric kettle!) The mug is clear so I have a nice view of the steep color. This one has the color of a draft of beer! So I’m not sure how much caffeine pu-erh has if the color is so light. (I’m assuming the darker the steep color, the more caffeine it has? I don’t know.) I like this mug though.. it’s either because the bottom of the mug is slanted or because the mug is clear, that when I’m sipping it, it looks like the mug has less tea in it than it actually does. I get a bit sad, but when I set it down, I can see that there IS a ton of tea left in the cup!

All of these steeps were for two minutes after two 10 second rinses (not sure if I’m doing that right!) Autumn is what the tea reminds me of. The leaves look like autumn leaves. The fragrance is smokey, like there is a burning pile of leaves in the yard. I wouldn’t guess that this is a pu-erh, because it doesn’t have that typical pu-erh flavor profile. It kind of seems like the flavor of tree bark, in the most appetizing way… so I guess you could still call it earthy! The flavor is smokey.. it most reminds me of a russian caravan. The flavor is smooth, silky, woodsy, light, and a tiny bit spicy… The second steep gets even smoother. It’s interesting that pu-erhs have such a wide range of flavor. I pity the fool who doesn’t steep their leaves multiple times. All three steeps were very consistent! I’m sure I could have steeped many more times. But I’M the fool who only used those dipper infusers until now (those I still will, especially for teas like rooibos that don’t need expanding). I knew for a while that the leaves were being strangled… so it was nice to see these leaves breathe. I like this tea! To sum up: it’s an autumn pile of smokey burning leaves and branches. It made me really miss autumn, even though it’s March (well, I miss autumn the first day it snows anyway.) Very unique… but I’m sure all of Verdant’s teas are unique.

Also, I read some of the tasting notes after typing mine up, and it seems I’ve said a lot of the same descriptions that others have. It seems my palate has improved too! Nice!

Additional notes: Sipdown! I didn’t even have enough for one teaspoon, but the flavor was still amazing. Such a nice sweet strawberry on a black tea that supports the flavors. I will definitely have to order from Lupicia one day!

thanks so much, Starfevre, for sharing this one with me! I love these fandom blends. It really should be time for me to revisit Firefly… maybe in the summer when there isn’t as many decent new shows on TV. (Also, I think now with the success of The Avengers, isn’t it time that Mr. Joss Whedon has his own TV channel to air everything he creates or likes? With no fear of cancelation? I think so!)

I really loved the idea of a chocolate genmaicha! There is a ton of toasted rice here that pairs perfectly with chocolate. I didn’t see too many cocoa nibs, but maybe they are hiding with the rice. Since this is a 52Teas blend, I went with a short steep time at 45 seconds, but decided it needed more flavor so I kept the infuser in for a minute and 40 seconds. This is good! It tastes like a great roasty genmaicha with a tiny bit of bittersweet chocolate milk added to it, though it does leave the mouth a bit dry. As it cools, it tastes like chocolate ice cream. I can see Captain Mal sipping “the people’s tea” while protecting them. I think it would have been a nice touch to add a bit of strawberry, since they are so precious in the ’verse.

It’s sad I’m the first one to write a tasting note for this one. (I think Alphakitty might have a note on the way since I bought some from her— thanks! But I hope we aren’t the only two to try this lovely tea from Ovation.) This one is amazing, as I knew it would be. It has such a smooth, complex, deep flavor. One sip reminded me of a plum with some of the sugar taken out. It reminds me a lot of the assam I also got from Ovation.. I’ll have to try them both again. The perfect black tea!

Additional notes: This was a fresh batch from the Ovation sale! I don’t know how old the other sample I had was, but since this was super fresh, I knew it would taste better. It does! But the first steep was three minutes and wasn’t as good as the second steep at seven minutes. It seems like the longer the steep time, the better this one gets. I really love a stronger bergamot, surprisingly, but this one is mild. But it perfectly blends with the pieces of raspberry and orange in the blend. I’m uping the rating a bit from 82.

This was the one tea I bought from Alphakitty that I was a bit worried I wouldn’t like (thanks, alphakitty!) BUT it is delicious!! Fresh mint teas are the best! This one reminds me of Zentealife’s Chocolate mint rooibos that I absolutely love, but this has a black tea base. I don’t think this batch had peppermint pieces, but that is fine with me. The other ingredients are great. There are some cocoa nibs and raspberry pieces in there. I really only tasted raspberry on the first couple of sips, then it gets a bit fainter. The chocolate gets a bit overpowered by the mint but this tea tastes like a mintier thin mint cookie. So this will be my go-to mint teas for morning and the Zen will be my go-to mint tea at night (rooibos). I’m very impressed with this one. I haven’t not been impressed with the many Ovation teas I’ve tried, which just makes it sadder that they are done.

thanks again, Starfevre for the trade! Another Ovation tea I get to try. What I love with this one is that the steep color is actually caramel colored! After a four minute steep, I don’t find much caramel flavor, though I did see three caramel pieces in the infuser. There is a lot of caramel pieces, at least in the amount of tea in the bag I have. Maybe I should have added sugar for more of a caramel flavor? The black tea itself has a very deep and unique flavor, that I haven’t tasted before. I like it!

Additional notes: Sample sipdown! This has to be one of my older teas, but I was savoring this one. I’ll miss it, though I do have an ESP Emporium blend that is a lot like it. I never stopped being MYSTIFIED by this MAGICAL blend! It is so almondy and sweet. The scent is almost better than the flavor. Any tea lover REALLY should try this one at least once!!

I haven’t forgotten to review this one! thanks for the samples! The oolongs from Tea From Taiwan are the best quality. It’s amazing that even though they are so similar, they are also very different. This one smelled very sweet in the package! Also, even in the samples there are these little packets of something to keep the oolong fresh… almost like how new shoes come with that in the toes! Not to liken this tea to shoes or anything!

First steep // water is very cooled // 45 sec. First and foremost this is very sweet and smooth, silky! It’s almost like a lighter milk oolong, though I don’t think this is supposed to be a milk oolong. It doesn’t have any of the floral/peachy characteristics that oolongs usually have. It’s very good, even on the first cup!

Second steep // water is cooled // 50 sec. This cup is still very much like the first… still no peach/floral/vegetal. The flavor is stronger though. The water might have been a bit too hot. It’s just very sweet, sugary, and creamy!

Third steep // 60 sec. This still isn’t very peachy/floral/vegetal but this time there was a little hint of a cinnamon sugar flavor. It couldn’t have been any actual cinnamon sugar, since my cup stayed the same the whole time. And the last of the cup was a hint of peach! This one was a very light flavored oolong… not as complex and changing as so many of them are.

thanks so much, Azzrian for including a sample of this in that generous package I’m still amazed that you sent a while back. :D This was EXACTLY the tea I was looking for this morning. At this point, I assume ceylon is much different than this: brisker and more straightforward. But this one seem to have all of the elements that the best black teas have. The leaves smelled like a sunny late summer field of dry grass and the first sips tasted of it too. Then there is a lovely malty chocolatiness to it. And even a bit of smoke, which I love. I almost had a russian caravan this morning… but since it is rare (I’m the only one to write a tasting note for it!) I’m really only going to reach for that caravan when I am most craving it. This tea had a very complex and lovely flavor. A bit bread like. No astringency at all. I really like this one! I’d consider buying some if I’m in need of a nice black tea!

I have no idea why this wasn’t a tea I chose when I ordered three sample packs from DT, since chocolate raspberry is entirely my thing… but thanks to Starfevre, I get to try it anyway. Maybe I just didn’t want to try all their chocolate teas at the time, or they had other teas I’d rather try like the oatmeal cookie. This doesn’t have too much flavor. I’d say the very sweet raspberry flavor is the strongest, rather than the black tea or the chocolate. I expect not to taste the black tea with DT though! I think I’m picking DT’s black teas when I want a black tea but not so much caffeine. But maybe I’m assuming it has less caffeine since the black tea isn’t as strong? This is nice, but I’d prefer more flavor!

Additional notes : Had three steeps of this one this time and the flavor stayed consistently vanilla until the last drop. Unlike last time, when it was still very good but tasted less like vanilla by the third steep. I must have timed all three steeps just right, and you could probably get many many more steeps from the same leaves. This one is very divine and luxurious.

Another one I didn’t try yet from my Tealux order… and I’m the first to write a tasting note! I’m hoping that it is because this one is so new to Tealux… and not because no Steepsters are ordering from Tealux! I think they introduced it right before I ordered. I love this one! It’s like a cinnamony mapley kettle corn! I’m not sure what the 71% black tea means… though the black tea isn’t a super strong one. But that’s fine, since the flavors here are so nice. An entire piece of popcorn fell into my infuser, so it does have a hint of a popcorn flavor. And I love the combination of the maple and cinnamon. It does actually smell and taste like I added actual maple syrup to this. Since this was a sample, I would definitely order a full two ounces of this (but that wouldn’t be for a while now.) And when I looked on tealux.ca they have the Maple Souchong back in stock! I was worried they were getting rid of that one when they introduced two other maple teas. I’ll have to try that one too.

This one was sent straight from the creator, Starfevre! thanks so much This is the third Adagio tea I have now with hazelnut, but that seems to be the favorite flavor of Adagio teas that I’ve tried, so it’s nice to have a few Adagio hazelnut options. That seems like it would sound excessive to a non-tea drinker though! With this one, it seems the hazelnut is still at the forefront. I really don’t get any of the caramel or cream flavor, sadly. I think the hazelnut in the blend might just be overpowering the other two, but of course, I don’t mind the hazelnut! It does seem like a really great combination for a blend though. I could also taste the bittersweet flavor of the chocolate chips. There were a few in the infuser!

Additional notes: See first tasting note. TeaEqualsBliss included this in the traveling tea box, even though she sent me some a while back, I had to take a few more teaspoons out of the box. I just love the idea of this blend. It’s like a spicy peachy soup! Though I wish the spice were more noticeable. Now I would love some actual spicy peachy soup!

A big thanks to Dustin for sending some of these my way because they are DELICIOUS. If only Ovation had a really great sale BEFORE they went out of business, I would have known how nice their teas were. The taste here is so smooth, so delicate and super sweet. It kind of reminds me of a milk oolong. With most jasmine teas, I can’t find the flavor, but the jasmine here is definitely noticeable and lingering! I’m not sure if it was because I hadn’t had tea all day, but I was guzzling this down. The second cup is slightly less sweet than it was before, but it has more jasmine.

Thanks so much TeaEqualsBliss for allowing me to be the first outside the Sororitea Sisters to try this blend, via the traveling tea box. It certainly sounds like an amazing combination of things. I was guessing on the steep temp and time though, since it’s a white tea but also a chai and black tea. So I probably didn’t steep this one correctly. It all seems to meld together well. It definitely tasted more white tea than black. The steep color looks more like a white tea too. A bit spicy, but not too much caramel or raspberry. I like it though.

Thanks so much for including this one in the traveling teabox, Alphakitty! I’m always ready to try any Earl Greys. There really should be more literary teas. What pairs better than books & tea? This one is interesting to look at with the purple bluish flowers. There is a nice sweet, creamy bergamot flavor. I didn’t think there was much caramel flavor, but maybe it was just this cup. The steep color looked like a deep caramel though. I love this one! It’s a great mix of things.

Another one from the traveling teabox that TeaEqualsBliss included. thanks so much! I’ve tried so many different teas the last couple months! It’s amazing how many are out there. This is the first Upton tea I’ve had. I wanted to place an order with them, but other sales and things have gotten in the way. This one surprised me! I thought I wouldn’t like it when I saw hibiscus. I steeped this for seven minutes at boiling. The color was a very deep red. The smell reminded me of strawberries, and it kind of tastes that way too. (I wonder if that is the “flavoring” in the ingredients?) No hints of hibiscus, but there WAS roses. I love the idea of a strawberry rose rooibos. This blend would have been awesome just leaving it as that, but I love this as is, with everything included. It is very sweet and addicting. It reminded me a bit of Lupicia’s Strawberry Vanilla. It bodes very well for any future Upton teas I try! I’ll take some of this out of the tea box and leave some in… there is a lot here!

Alphakitty included this in the traveling tea box… thanks! This is another chai that has mostly black tea leaves. I feel like there should be a different name for chai that is only spices and then chai that is also mixed with black tea. After steeping a few minutes, the first sip that I tried had that flavor that I think is associated with…. and I could be wrong… there is like a flavor that comes from preserving the fruit in the Della Terra teas. I’ve noticed that in a couple of their apple blends, but not all of their apple blends. This one might be because that flavor is from the orange. But after the first sip that flavor is gone. I don’t think it’s terrible after that. A nice mix of orange, sweet cinnamon, and coffee beans. If I’m right though (and I really have no idea) Della Terra should really get rid of that preservative flavor. I know they can because it seems like half their apple teas have it and half do not. I’m not sure with the other teas. I’m up for trying any tea though, so I was happy to try this one.

Another one from the traveling tea box! Thanks for including this one, TeaEqualsBliss! It seems you have included many RARE teas. This one has a unique flavor! It almost reminds me of a darjeeling but much much deeper in flavor. It also tastes like a really sweet and lingering yunnan. And also maybe a malty assam. So if I’m thinking there are elements of so many teas here, it’s clearly complex! I seem to be saying malty a lot, but I love malty teas. They are my favorite at the moment.