Tealizzy

Made this iced for the first time and it’s great! Smooth coconut! I have to say though, I poured one glass over ice and it definitely diluted it. I am letting the rest of it cool and will chill it in the fridge, so that should come out even better! Yay! I am having a little too much fun icing teas!

Steeped up some of this tea to see if it was better with a lower temperature, using my new variable temperature kettle (man, that was the best purchase ever!), and it wasn’t. Still super floral. The second steep was more nutty and a little buttery, but it’s just so overpoweringly floral. I didn’t make it to a third steep, but it might have been even better. Only thing is, I don’t want to have to wait until the third steep to get the best cup of tea!

Pure comfort food…I mean tea! ;)

I think the only time I’ve ever had a jasmine tea was when I went out for dim sum. It definitely goes well with dim sum. This tea smells heavenly. I enjoyed two steeps of it, the second of which was more enjoyable, since I didn’t oversteep it. It seems to like about a one minute steep. I think this is a tea I would like to have now and then. Would probably be delicious paired with a rice dish. Thanks for the sample, Nina’s Paris!!

Isn’t it funny how the end of a bag of tea can be yummy or gross? This one was the latter. Super astringent, and I didn’t steep it that long. I ended up dumping the last half of my cup. Nevertheless, I call this a definite sipdown! Yay! Room for new teas!

I just enjoyed the sample of this tea that came with my Nina’s order. It smells amazing! Like piña colada, which is what I assume they were going for. I wasn’t sure about the steeping parameters since it didn’t come with any, and I don’t drink that much green tea, but it turned out pretty good at 176 degrees for 2 minutes. The taste is pretty light, but I definitely tasted some pineapple and maybe some creaminess from the coconut. Not overpowering flavor, but pleasant, delicate. I think I would consider getting more of this tea. It would probably be delicious iced, as long as it’s not oversteeped. Thanks, Nina’s, for the sample!! (Btw, I had this with a mango cupcake…great pairing!)

I’m trying to sipdown more of the teas I have that are just okay. This is one of them. It’s not bad, but it’s not great. Tastes like banana nut, but gets astringent quickly. Now I’m one cup away from a sipdown! So close!

After commenting on a post about how I don’t like CTC teas, I decided to give this one another try now that I have evolved a bit. The dry leaf looks like grapenuts, and it also kind of smells like grapenuts. Ha! I could get malty and fruity notes from the aroma. I decided to steep it for 3 minutes, instead of the recommended 4-6 minutes, at 205 degrees, instead of 208 degrees. I added my usual sugar and a splash of soymilk. Well, it was better than my previous tries. Or maybe I just have evolved to appreciate it more? Malty and a little fruity were the notes I could taste. It still was a little bitter and astringent. Maybe a 2 minute steep would be better? What a finicky tea!

My second cold brew! And I have to tell you I was a little nervous after the way Kokomo green turned out. I really didn’t like this tea hot, but as a cold brew, it’s not bad. Probably because it’s an herbal, so no threat of bitterness from the tea leaves. It smells delicious. The taste is pretty much A WHOLE LOT of banana! So, if you like banana-flavored drinks, this is for you! Personally, I’m not sure what I think. I also got some nuttiness, maybe from the almonds or coconut, or maybe even the banana chips. I also decided it was best with a little sweetener. Couldn’t really tell if I could taste the other ingredients. Not bad, but I don’t know how often I’ll be in the mood for it. It makes me feel better about cold brews, though! Will have to try some other teas this way!

Btw, HAPPY FRIDAY!

I had QUITE the morning today. Got delayed to work because some crazy dude decided to have fun running around on top of my commuter train. Yes, we heard the footsteps on the roof!

Then I had to rush to a training, but wanted to make some tea, so shoved this tea in the brewing basket of my timolino. Well, when I went to remove the leaves, I dropped the whole basket with leaves into my timolino. Ya. I did that. So, I was stuck in my training and couldn’t do anything about it, so tried to still drink it through the lid (I thought the little holes in the lid would prevent most of the leaf from coming through, and yes, I knew it would eventually get bitter) Ya, not so great….I burnt my tongue and pieces of leaf came through, so I gave up. What a morning!

I am LOVIN’ this oolong today! On my second steep right now, and YUM YUM YUM! I love how well this oolong comes out brewed western style, and because of my new variable temperature kettle, I was able to brew it at exactly the parameters Stacy recommends. At this point in my tea journey, I don’t feel like I can be bothered with gong fu style brewing, but I’m sure this tea wold be delicious brewed that way.

I got some caramel sweetness today, and it’s deliciously roasty, but still smooth. Like an oolong hug!

I definitely need more of this tea! On the shopping list it goes!!

I was trying to drink through my stash before buying more tea, but I couldn’t help but stop by DavidsTea during my lunch break yesterday. I was really going there to look for an iced tea maker, since the one I ordered on amazon arrived broken. Unfortunately, DavidsTea was already sold out of their first shipment of them! Really?!! Didn’t they just come in? Geez! I think the world just doesn’t want me to have an iced tea maker! So fine! I’ll make it with the steeping equipment I already own! There!

So, I picked up some of this tea to try, and also a new 36oz. Steeper. I decided it was time to upgrade my little 16oz. steeper from Teavana, which I may have bought before these things were BPA-free (yikes!).

Anyway, I decided to try my hand at cold brewing. My first time! I cold brewed this tea for 10 hours, and well, I think that may have oversteeped it, because there is a bitterness that is pretty yucky….kinda ruins the whole tea. Anyone have tips for cold brewing a green tea? I think I am going to have to try this tea the old fashioned way (hot) for comparison. It smells really sweet and tropical, but the taste is very light on the tropical fruit, and much more astringency than I would expect. I think it’s kinda grassy too. Oh well, I guess I’ll try cold brewing a non-green tea and see how that turns out.

UPDATE: YUCK! Just made it hot, and it still has that bitterness I found in the cold brew. I even disregarded the recommended steeping parameters on the package, which said 5-7 minutes at 200 degrees. Who steeps green tea like that?!! I steeped it at 176 degrees for 3 minutes. Blech. Bummer that I spent money on this tea. At least it was only 1 oz.

Ya know, as I am sipping, I think the bitterness has to do with the enormous amount of sediment, which now has settled to the bottom of the cup and it tastes a little better. Hmmm. Still not a winner.

Btw, this is my 200th tasting note! :D

Slowly sipping a second steep of my last leaf. This is definitely a favorite. Not sure if I will run out and restock, though….so much tea and so little time! Plus, I’m longing to get my hands on some more of the Butiki oolong that tastes like this, except, it’s not flavored, and tastes like peach instead of vanilla. SIPDOWN!!

Enjoyed a cup of this with milk and sugar. Of course I deserve a treat!!

Needed something strong this morning. After even a 3-day weekend, I had trouble getting back to work this morning. Turned into a productive day though. I feel bad not resteeping this one, so I steeped the leaves twice. I still think the second steep is the best. :)

Wanted some marshmallow graham cracker goodness, and this fit the bill! I just made another fan of this tea too (my mom), who asked me to keep her in mind the next time I order from Della Terra! Funny how we’re not satisfied with just enjoying the tea ourselves, but must make others love it too! ;)

Hadn’t had this one in awhile. I’m trying to drink down my current stash instead of buying even more tea, but all the mother’s day sales are killing me! I’ve been good though…let’s see if it lasts!

This tea came out a little weak today. Guess I didn’t put enough leaf. Still good dessert-y earl grey to me.

Dang! TastyBrew, your steeping parameters were right on!!! 185 degrees for 3 minutes is the BOMB! I am so happy to have my variable temperature kettle! With those steeping parameters, the pastry flavor becomes more pronounced and fully compliments the blueberry. Yay!

Guess what I’m drinking this morning?! Surprise, surprise!! Although I think at 5 minutes, it’s getting astringent. Will try 4 1/2 minutes next time. :D Gonna bring some of this for my mom and sister later when I go visit, so they can taste the awesomeness!!

Got a sample of this tea from my mom. I’m still hesitant about green teas, because of their grassiness, but I do like toasty ones. I guess this is bancha, which I’ve not tried yet. The tea reminded more of squash than grass. Like zucchini. It also had a slight floral flavor, and was slightly sweet. I’m not sure why, but I got a little spiciness from it…maybe as a side effect of the floral note? Not sure I’d buy this one, but it helped to educate me a little more on the green tea realm. :)

SO FREAKING GOOD!! Okay guys, now that it’s here, after 2 days of me worrying that it was lost, I am in heaven! I did a little happy dance when I finally got it! The tin is really elegant. I just wish I could read the French that is written on it (although that makes it even more special)! I couldn’t for the life of me remember how long I steeped this tea when I tried the little one cup sample, so I went with 4 minutes.

OMG, totally met my expectations, and every bit as good as the sample!! The most noteable aspect of this tea is how silky smooth it is! I actually think I will steep this next time for 5 minutes, because I don’t think I really need to worry about astringency here. The raspberry and red current are complimented by the caramel and vanilla. Perfect balance of flavors! I am SO happy I bought 100g of this! Now, I think I need a scone! Haha!!

Drinking this again after upping the quality of chocolate hazelnut spread that I buy. Wanted to see if it compared better to the new spread versus the sugary Nutella I was buying before. The result….maybe. It’s a little closer to the new spread. I really like the new spread…far more nutty, with a more crunchy than smooth texture, like there are real nuts in there! Anyway, I still like this tea, but the spread is better! Ha!

Double sipdown! So, I didn’t really have a full cup of this left, so I added the last of the vanilla comoro, and it turned out pretty good! Only steeped it for 3 minutes, since the vanilla comoro gets astringent quickly and the banana teas tend to come out better with less time also. Yay for enjoying the last cup, and yay for clearing more tea out of my cupboard to make room for new tea!

First let me say that the little sample of this that I got awhile back was amazing, which lead me to today, where I was supposed to receive my “giant” order (100g tin) of it, but I am tea-less! :(

So, instead of me writing a great note about how happy I am to finally get this tea, I am super bummed out. The postal service “missent” my tea, so who knows when I’ll get it. It was supposed to be here today, but it didn’t come with the regular mail, and then I finally saw the update that it was “missent.” I really hope that it was just placed on the wrong mail truck, that it is still in my city, and that it will show up tomorrow.

This was a major disappointment to me, because I’ve been wanting this tea for months now and finally ordered it. AND, I had a difficult meeting to lead today at work, and I told myself that once I got through it I would have this tea to look forward to!! Super bummer!!

I really hope it comes tomorrow. New tea is supposed to decrease stress, not increase it! Stupid postal service!

UPDATE: Still no tea :( I hope it’s not lost!

UPDATE 2: It’s here! It’s here! Finally! I snooped through the blinds to see if the postman was putting a box in my mailbox, and he did! My husband was nice enough to go out and get it because I’m still in PJ’s, cuz I’m off work today. ;) It smells delicious! Gonna have some now! YIPPEE!!