818 Tasting Notes

drank Chocolate Malt by 52teas
818 tasting notes

I was a little wary to try this one because the dry leaf smelled a lot like that cheap wine you buy in a box. I know that sounds terrible…maybe it’s the honeybush? This is only the second honeybush tea I’ve tried. I was so looking forward to a super chocolate shake-like tea that didn’t have caffeine, so I could drink it at night. The taste was better, more chocolate-y, but it still had that sweet wine smell and taste. At the bottom of my cup was a malty chocolate residual, so I know it’s in there. It’s not bad, and I feel like it might grow on me. Sometimes, what you expect a tea to taste like doesn’t mesh with what it actually tastes like, but you get used to the new taste. We’ll see.

Fjellrev

Oh weird, but I can see how honeybush would smell sour.

TastyBrew

Hmm… I’m having a similar reaction to this. I’m going to make it with some sugar next time to see if I like it any better. Did you find a way that improved the flavor for you? Maybe I just don’t like honeybush…?

Tealizzy

Hey TastyBrew. I don’t think it’s the honeybush because I love the strawberry pie honeybush. I added sugar and a splash of soymilk, but it didn’t help. Maybe as a latte? I haven’t done one of those yet.

TastyBrew

I’ll try that some time. Something about the flavor just doesn’t work for me. I’ll try the strawberry one tonight. See if I can pick out what exactly honeybush is!

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drank Strawberry by Lupicia
818 tasting notes

I really wanted to try my new Verdant teas, but my husband wanted to go out fairly early, so I don’t have time to drink multiple infusions, so I decided to try this one instead and save the Verdant teas for when I have lots of time :)

I got this as a sample with the Lupicia newsletter, which I FINALLY received after signing up for it around October of last year! Geez! I’m happy it’s finally coming now. Anyway, this came as a teabag, and although I really like the little pyramid teabag (so cute and silky!), I was disappointed that it would only brew one cup.

The smell of the dry leaves and the steeped leaves smelled great! Juicy, tart strawberry, and pretty natural. The taste, however, left something to be desired, in that it was a significantly weakened flavor compared to the smell. Oh well. It was nice to get a free sample!!

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This was a yummy intro to 52Teas! The dry leaf smelled really good, and it was nice to be able to distinguish the strawberry pieces…you can even see the seeds! I steeped it for 10 minutes, based on reviews, and it worked. I was a little worried that I oversteeped it because the liquor was really dark. It smelled strongly of cinnamon. At first, I tasted lots of spice. What was interesting, was that the tart, juicy strawberry hits at the back end of the sip. I think I am liking this honeybush over rooibos. Really delicious!!

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I cannot express how much I LOVE this tea! Every time I drink it, I feel all warm and fuzzy. :) I shared some of my little 1 oz. bag with a coworker today, who liked how natural tasting it is. I now want to hoard the rest of my little bag, and probably buy a whole bunch in the future. Stacy – I hope you plan on keeping this one around! I would be pretty devastated if I couldn’t get more! I am also realizing that you get less of this one because the pecans add to the weight….hmmm, a lot like another nutty tea I love!

Rachel J

It’s on my shopping list. Sounds so yummy, and I’m not even that into flavored teas!

Tealizzy

It’s very light and natural….doesn’t taste flavored. I think that’s why I like it so much!

Butiki Teas

Tealizzy-Yes, we definitely plan on keeping this one around!

Fjellrev

Yay! Year-round warm and fuzzy feelings for us all. I definitely get the same vibe from this one.

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drank Creamy Eggnog by Butiki Teas
818 tasting notes

Got this as a sample in my Butiki order. Thanks, Stacy! I unfortunately had the same experience I had with the pistachio ice cream tea in that the vegetal note was strong for me. I did get a custardy vanilla note, and even a hint of nutmeg. I got more as it cooled. I would have liked more spice though.

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I REALLY love this dragonwell tea from China that I got from my husband’s friend. Stinks that I don’t know where he got it, but I have a lot of it! It is extra yummy with honey. Funny how my tastes have been changing. Lately, I’ve been developing a better appreciation for green tea!

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drank Banana Dream Pie by DAVIDsTEA
818 tasting notes

I am laughing my butt off right now and I must tell you this story! You know I bought my first Timolino travel mug last Thursday, the purple one. I brought it home and washed it that night and left it on the drying rack. In the morning, I had this terrible thought about losing one of the pieces….there are SO many little pieces! I went to work without it, and when I came home, my husband had put it in the cupboard, but the lid was missing! I knew it! So, trying not to blame my husband for losing it, we searched everywhere. I thought, maybe it fell into a bowl or mug and he put it away without noticing. Then I thought, maybe one of our kitties got up on the counter in the night and played with it. We looked everywhere….even the litter box….and we found nothing. I was really upset because I never lose anything, and I hadn’t even gotten to use it yet! We tried looking a few other times but couldn’t find it until today…..I did a thorough search under our couches, and there it was in the last place I looked! It WAS the kitties! LOL!! Guess I better not leave small plastic discs lying around!

On to the tea…so, I applied my new rule of thumb to steep banana flavored teas for less time, and it worked! This one was a lot better. Still wish there was more of a chocolate note. Maybe white chocolate would be better? Thinking this might be good as a latte, although I have yet to make a latte…we’ll see.

Kittenna

Ahahaha, that’s great! Btw, you need the little rubber piece that goes with the lid in order for it to properly seal. Otherwise it leaks! Trust me…

Tealizzy

Like I said, too many little pieces! Thanks for the tip!

Alysha

Luckily they sell replacement lids now on their own, which is kinda reassuring.

Tealizzy

I know, but the replacement lids only come in grey and wouldn’t have the cute purple ring on top! ;)

KiwiDelight

I steeped this tea less than the minimum recommended amount of time (4 mins) for the second try and it still tasted funky. It bummed me out because I was really looking forward to finally having a taste. What’s your rule of thumb?

Tealizzy

I did just under 4 minutes, whereas I normally steep black teas for 5 minutes. I added sugar and some soy milk. I agree with you though…it’s okay, but I probably won’t buy more.

KiwiDelight

Bah! I don’t have soy milk. Now I have a “teas I wish I could like but can’t” list. And I love banana/chocolate teas.

Chizakura

That is so hilarious! xD Little mischevious kitties :D They pick such random things to play with. My cat will just find a random speck on the floor and start going nuts all over it.

Once when I was staying the night at a friend’s place, I didn’t have my glasses case so I just put my glasses on the table, and sure enough, her cats confiscated them during the night! Thankfully they weren’t too far away, but it sure was an interesting choice for a toy. xD

Tealizzy

Chizakura – haha! That’s too funny about the glasses! And those are important! One of my kitties also whisked away a bunched up paper towel the other day…still haven’t found it! (At least that wasn’t important!)

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drank Coconut Cream Pie by Butiki Teas
818 tasting notes

I think I like the second steep of this one best, or maybe it’s just growing on me? This is a nice rooibos, where the coconut is center stage and the rooibos is behind the curtain. I don’t know if I get much pie from it, but it’s good, and I will enjoy having another caffeine free tea for the evening! Best with some sugar. :)

jessiwrites

This one is good, and I totally agree on the second steep. I feel that way about most rooibos.

In fact, I feel that way about most tea, in general.

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This is a good rooibos. The apple cinnamon flavor tones down the rooibos flavor, which is nice. There is also a creaminess to it. It’s great to have an apple cinnamon tea without orange peel flavor. I’m not a big fan of orange, so I like this a lot better.

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All I can say is, wow! This is so sweet, creamy, and cantaloupe-y, I am blown away! White teas are still a bit foreign to me, as I’ve found them to be too subtle in flavor, but this one totally changes all that. It tastes just like it smells and just like it is named. It is silky smooth, as I am finding all of Stacy’s creations to be. Like other reviewers, I’m detecting both cantaloupe and honeydew. There is a definite creaminess too. I added absolutely nothing to this tea. No added cream or sugar was needed.

This would probably be great iced, and would perhaps rival my mother-in-laws’ cantaloupe drink, which is like a cantaloupe lemonade (minus the lemon) with actual pieces of cantaloupe in it. This tea is extremely soothing and refreshing at the same time! Is that even possible?

Fjellrev

Ooh, iced would be fantastic. I could just never justify it due to costs, though.

Tealizzy

Ya, I know. It’s up there! I only ordered 1/2 oz.

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Profile

Bio

Another profile facelift! My tastes have changed a lot from when I first discovered loose leaf tea.

I can trace my tea journey back to October 2012, when I discovered DavidsTea. Before that, I had the occasional cup and enjoyed high tea at An Afternoon to Remember, which has since closed.

I went through a period of wanting to try all the teas, and was really into flavored teas, especially dessert blacks, but my tastes have substantially changed over time.

I still enjoy the occasional flavored black or rooibos, but I’m more into unflavored black teas right now and recently, puerh. Chinese black teas are amazing…with their notes of chocolate or sweet potato, who needs a flavored tea? I had a much steeper learning curve when it came to puerh. I used to dump out cups of puerh for tasting like leather. Now, I am really enjoying them. I think it took finding good quality puerh and steeping them gong fu style to really enjoy them.

I also, on occasion, enjoy a good oolong, white, or green tea.

Favorite tea companies right now include: Mandala, Teavivre, Butiki, Golden Moon, Lupicia, and DavidsTea (for teaware mostly).

Just a note: I don’t rate my teas numerically because my iPad doesn’t like the scroll bar. Maybe someday that will change…hint hint, steepster! ;)

P.S. My profile picture is of one of my 2 cats, Holly, who is a little princess but very photogenic, and she loves boxes, including those that bring me tea! :)

Location

San Francisco Bay Area

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