Uniquity

Wow, another I didn’t review. Whoops. SimplyJenW sent this my way probably a year and a half or two years ago. This is a prime example of why I almost never do swaps, I never seem to get around to drinking the things I get in return. I have had most of this one though, so I’m not sure how I managed to miss reviewing it.

I am not much of an English breakfast drinker as they tend to be bitter assams and other bold teas I don’t drink a lot of. They are nice for a treat though, and I will add a bit of sugar or honey if necessary. This one got the kid gloves treatment of a 3 minute steep so it should be good on it’s own. I get a lot of malt in the aroma, and it has a smell that frequently translates into bitterness. I’m not sure how to describe it, but it’s easy to recognize.

First sips are a bit lighter than I expected, and with a surprising level of sweetness. This tastes more like Chinese blacks than Indian. Wait a minute, I’ve finally read the description. This is a Keemun? Win! I get some sweetness that is almost lightly floral, not much of a smoke note like I sometimes get. This is a nice keemun and extremely affordable. I don’t see why they don’t just label it as a Kemmun, but whatever works. :)

Another very old sample from my box of goodies from LiberTeas – thank you! This is one that made it to the bottom of the basket otherwise I would have drank it all down in the first place. I am not a huge fan of the old 52Teas base and I don’t really enjoy Earl Grey but I DO love cheesecake! I am thinking that the improper storage will have hurt this one though, I don’t get any earl or cheesecake aroma from the dry leaf. Everything in that basket of samples took on a weird aroma which I STILL haven’t identified but really don’t enjoy. Let this be a lesson to all of Steepster: store your samples properly and use them quickly!

Steeped, I get that funky smell (I think it was a mix of Pancake Breakfast and Buttered Popcorn, neither of which I really enjoyed) and a hit of something that puts me in mind of coconut. Bad sign. Da*n you Uniquity-from-the-past for your carelessness!

Unfortunately, the taste is about what I expected. Some astringency, no bergamot or cheesecake. I’ll just toss the rest of this and move on to something else. I bet it would have been wonderful if I had tried it a year ago, heh.

Well I am finally logging a note on this one. I have had it for ages and am not entirely positive that I ever tried it. It seems to be a roasted oolong which is a good start but a lot of the flavours are diminished, probably because I have had it for so long. I do get a note that I could call melon but I am not picking up on fig or any of the other ingredients. Not bad but I’ll be okay when it’s gone.

Okay. A coworker gave me some of this to try a month or two ago but I have been so afraid of it that I held off trying until today. I used a scant teaspoon in my perfect tea mug for 3 or 4 minutes and am rewarded with a golden amber brew that smells like a campfire. This is feeling a bit more like a punishment than a reward, but maybe I’ll like it.

Over the past few years I have come to enjoy and even embrace a light smoke note in tea. Note the word light. This is POW. This might have my coworkers wondering if the office is on fire. Oy. Initially, I get a sweet taste that morphs into smoked ham. Then I am left with a mouth full of ashtray. Hm. The ashtray thing isn’t actually as bad as it sounds, but it isn’t good either. I’m clinging to the sweetness of the tea under all the smoke as if it were a lifeboat. I can drink this, but I really don’t think I want to. I do really want some smoked ham now…

Well, after seeing so many posts from people ordering and loving Red Leaf Tea’s matcha, I decided to do some more experimentation with the flavours I have. I got the caramel and loved it, but the other three (strawberry, cheesecake and cookies and cream) have all tasted TERRIBLE to me. I don’t know what makes my taste buds so different but I just do not like RLT’s flavoured matcha.

Anyway, I took some of my (admittedly old) matchas and mixed them in cold water today. I went with cold to avoid potential bitterness as a lot of people have recommended it to me as an alternative to hot matcha. I used about 1/2 tsp of cheesecake as I found it to be very light and 1/4 tsp of strawberry as that is a roundhouse kick to the face.

I tried to build a froth but that doesn’t really work with old matcha and cold water so I gave in and started sipping. It smells like fake strawberry soap and bubble bath which is the issue I’ve had with strawberry all along. The taste is yummy for about 1.5 seconds and then it is all strawberry bubble bath. There is no way I am finishing this. I think the beau needs to use up the remains of our matchas and I need to accept that I just don’t like it. Ugh.

Trying this again today with much more leaf (the rest of my sample – 1.5, nearly two TSP). I am getting much more aroma during infusion than last time, likely because of the volume of leaf. I think this is overkill actually. It definitely wasn’t enough for two cups but too much for one. I just can’t win with this tea!

The liquor is deep brown and almost muddy – again a result of over-infusion. The aroma doesn’t yield any bitterness which is impressive. First sips are rich and slightly malty with no bitterness at all. This is very smooth but not yielding a variety of complex flavours like I expected. This is much better than my first try but still not a favourite. I don’t know why this one isn’t rocking my world like everyone else, but at least I gave it the old college try. Enjoying but not remarkable. Sipdown!

Here is another from the box o’teas from LiberTeas from way back when. This is one of the samples that had some smell contamination but as it is an unflavoured tea I don’t imagine it will be as much an issue as it was for the flavoured teas.

I actually don’t know anything about pouchongs, and was a little wary when I read that they are a mix of green tea and green oolongs. Those are my two least favourite kinds of tea, both prompting queasy stomache on occasion which leads me to stay away from them.

This is beautiful though, long twisted leaves that open up to be very full and have a very sweet smell without any of that vegetal aroma I dislike so much. The liquor is a golden yellow and smells almost of mild cinnamon sugar. The first sips echo these smells and are really quite nice. I get a sense of creaminess, and it is a very full flavour, much more than I expected by the aroma.

Despite my dislike of green tea and green oolongs, this is really nice. I am very impressed, and look forward to enjoying the rest of the sample. I’m not sure if this is an authentic tasting of this pouching, but man is it yummy. There is hope for me yet!

Edit to add: This is tasting note 600. Yippee!

I was re-steeping yesterdays leaves and forgot about them. For twenty minutes. While I am amazed that this tea can handle a twenty minute steep without becoming undrinkable tar, I am equally amazed that it STILL doesn’t have very much flavour! It’s only slightly more flavourful than yesterday and still doesn’t wow me. Perhaps it’s too subtle for my tastes, but I definitely am not picking up on any of the flavours that other tasters have mentioned. I am glad that I don’t get any sweet potato though as I can’t stand the things. Blech!

I’m positive I’ve had this tea before now but apparently I have yet to log it. It’s good timing as I am considering another Teavivre order and was really impressed with the regular Yun Nan Dian Hong but wondered if the next level up was superior enough to justify buying that instead. This one costs approximately three times the price of the regular dian hong, so I am hoping for a remarkable experience. This has a remarkable quantity of golden leaves, I wuld say it is at least 3/4 golden tips. Very beautiful, and left lots of little tea leaf fuzz in the bag.

I am at work so I steeped this in a T-Sac rather than a brew basket or gaiwan. There is lots of room in it for expansion though, so I’m not too fussed. Three minutes in I have a lovely golden orange liquor and an appetizing aroma. Sweet cocoa, a sense of astringency but it’s not fully developed. It smells rich and almost has some aromas that remind me of bread. I can’t quite explain those so I’ll just enjoy.

First sips yield sweetness but surprisingly little flavour. I expected a POW of cocoa and tea, instead I get a whisper of each. I had some carrots as a snack earlier and I actually taste them more than the tea. Maybe this one requires more steep time? As I continue to sip the flavour builds on the tongue, but still doesn’t reach the level I expect of Teavivre’s teas, especially at this price range ($18.90/100 grams).

I will be fair and admit that this is an old sample (give or take a year) so it may have lost flavour in storage but it was stored well, in a double sealed bag. I will definitely try again, but this just didn’t have the punch I was looking for. A very nice tea but not the flavour I expect for the price and the quality of the leaves. I feel a little let down, but at the same time am buoyed as I can guiltlessly pick up the cheaper Yun Nan in my next order!

Finishing up my sample, apparently I haven’t done a tasting note yet. Out of the bag the aroma is very sweet, far more than I would prefer. It almost has a licorice smell which is not appealing to me at all. I get sickenly sweet icing from the aroma rather than red velvet cake. With some trepidation I steeped it for about three minutes. The steeped aroma is nearly as sweet as the dry and not really my cup of tea. I would like to be pleasantly surprised by this one but my expectations are not very high.

The tea steeps up a dusty rose and smells of buttercream icing, rich and sweet. I don’t like icing at the best of timea so smelling it in my tea is actually bad news. First sips yield moee white chocolate than icing and for this I am grateful. It is still quite sweet bur not as much as the smell suggests. I can taste the bkack tea occasionally but it is easily overwhelmed by the additives. Much too sweet for my taastes but woukd be good for someone craving a strong dessert tea.

Wow, a flavoured puerh that I not only don’t mind but really enjoy! The flavour and aroma are both sweet strawberry, fairly authentic. Will write more when at a computer, I’m just using my new Galaxy iii at the mo. :-)

A wonderful co-worker of mine shared some of this with me and I truly appreciate it as I am sick at the moment and was looking for something more than plain mint! My sample wasn’t quite big enough for the mug I am using so the infusion is a bit weak after about ten minutes but I get lovely juniper and mint at the front, two flavours that I really enjoy. I’m not really picking up orange on it’s own but I think it’s there holding everything together. hey, I’m sick – what do you expect? : )

I think I prefer Detox for the bolder juniper but I love the mint in here. If the beau liked mint like I do I would keep a stock of this on hand but alas, he does not. I feel like this one cost a lot more when it first came out and that deterred me from trying it but now I’m thinking I should have some on hand for at work. If only my head would stop aching so I could enjoy it fully!

A coworker of mine got some of this with her Tea forte order and HATES it. So of course I wanted to try it, but have been too much of a wuss to try it until now! Dry, it smells really nice, I get some chocolate notes, smells like something you’d want to eat or drink. As it steeps the smell really changes though. REALLY changes. I get coconut (BLEGH!) and something sour, almost with a vomit quality. This is very unnerving. Underneath the gross smells there is something distinctly hazelnut, but it is overpowered by the other noxious odours.

Trying this one requires another application of my brave face. Diving in! The taste is not so bad as the smell but it’s definitely not good. First I get something I identify as coconut, then there is a hint of chocolate/hazelnut then back to the taste that reminds me of coconut. Which I still hate. This is really not the tea for me. Bleck!

If you steep this less time it really improves it. The stevia doesn’t have a chance to get so powerful and the base doesn’t have time to get bitter. Smells and tastes like big juicy blueberries. Improved over time…Mmm!!

This one had some smaller pieces that looked like they could get bitter quick so I was very cautious with the steep, removing the leaves at about 2 minutes. This is another outdated sample from LiberTeas that I should have drank sooner but it still holds fairly true on smell. Steeped aroma is bold black tea (very Assam!) with an afterthought of bergamot that comes through to me as a bit of fruit loops. Now, assams are not my favourite and neither are earl greys but I have discovered I apparently have a fondness for jasmine so I’m very intrigued by this blend.

With my brave face on, I delve into the first sips. Bold but then tempered by a flowery sweetness – that must be the jasmine. The sip morphs back into a bit of astringency at the end that prompts me to keep sipping. I’m not picking up on any bergamot and I think this is one that must be drank quickly so I’ll just sit here and do that, I think.

Nice blend, but not remarkable for me. Could be the age or could be the ingredients, either way it was lovely to try a new tea! I have enough left for another 2 or 3 cups, I might give it to the beau for iced tea as he likes that sort of thing. Actually, I might give it to his work as they are all into tea now. I love sharing the tea love!!

This may be my favourite black tea. It’s approachable, it’s easy, it takes a beating well and it always yields rich flavours with a lot of depth. It morphs from light smoke to cocoa to milk chocolate to earthy hay/barn. It is a chameleon and has never failed to satisfy. It’s good hot and good cold (I’m not much for iced tea but this maintains a depth of flavour that many others don’t).

I think of myself as a relatively picky tea drinker, but this one is truly impressive. For a long time, I have saved up my favourite things (tea, treats, etc) as I never want to run out. With this one, I’d rather drink it again and again and just keep re-ordering. From me, this is high praise, and I fully intend to keep this in my cupboard at all times.

Increased my rating for it’s long lasting appeal.

Let’s be real here – I love black currant flavoured things. Black Currant Simpkins drops are one of my favourite candies and I am always on the lookout for a tea that can recreate that taste, albeit with a lot less sugar! When a coworker of mine told me she was doing a Tea Forte order, I knew I’d end up tossing in their black currant to try it out. I piked up the 50 gram loose pouch for $7.00 – if it’s good, that’s a decent price for a flavoured black.

The aroma out of the bag is bold and very closely aligned to the Black Currant Drops I so love. MMM, a deep breath of this is lovely. Weary of a potentially bitter base, I am giving this 2.5 – 3 minutes to steep. Steeped, the aroma has diminished but if you get close to the cup it hangs heavy like fog. I wish the smell were as vibrant steeped as dry, but hopefully the taste holds true.

First sips are a good balance of the tea itself and the black currant flavouring. No bitterness but neither is it sweet. I get the sharp flavour of black currant on the back of my tongue, and it builds throughout the sip. I wish there were a little bit more of the black currant, but this is a pretty good balance. I’m not sure if I prefer it to the Twinings Black Currant (one of the best bagged teas I’ve ever had) but it’s very nice. I’m very glad to have a black currant back in my cupboard as before this I only had the dregs of an old batch from Bulk Barn.

Yay tea!

A coworker made a massive Tea Forte order and let me toss in some Black Currant to try and also a tin of these mints. I opted for the Lime Mojito as there’s pretty much no way to screw that up. I love mint so this was right up my alley – and it’s a success, at least in this flavour. The tea is pretty absent but I like to think it’s good for me (they’re made with matcha). The lime and mint are well balanced and the flavours last the length of the mint. Yummy!

Okay, colour me impressed. This is one from my box o’ teas from LiberTeas from forever ago that I thought I wouldn’t like. It doesn’t have the smell contamination that others do (I finally realized that it is the packaging – the ones in the thicker plastic have no smell contamination but there were some in small sandwich style bags and those ones shared smells. Voila!) but chocolate orange is not a flavour I enjoy. The smell is okay but they just aren’t for me. Another side note: Terry’s now makes a chocolate mint which is fabulous. I bought one as a treat and wish I had more!

Anyway, the aroma of this was very strong and true to the name, I conjured up images of Terry’s Chocolate Oranges right away. Even when steeped both the chocolate and the orange are present, though the orange comes through more as rind at this point.

Apprehensively, I took my first sips. Wow. No bitterness (from the tea or the orange rind) and the chocolate is actually sweeter than expected. I believe it has cacao nibs rather than milk chocolate but there is some sweetness in there that gives more of a milky taste. Accurately it is more of a dark chocolate orange and it is good. Way better than the chocolate.

Speaking of the chocolate, this doesn’t have any nasty artificial taste to it the way many chocolate teas seem to do. This tastes very authentic and natural rather than chemically reconstituted chocolate. Nice!

I continue to be impressed at how smooth this one is. I really expected some bitterness but the base tea on this clearly is quality tea. I thought I may have over-steeped a bit, but it’s holding up well. Very nice! I just checked and am sorry to report that Ovation teas is going out of business…I would manage to finally try their tea after it was too late. If there’s any of this in their closing out sale and you like chocolate orange things, I highly recommend picking some up.

THis is a sample that I thought I had tried but apparently neglected. Luckily it was still sealed so when I opened it up I got a POW of aroma. The leaves are not whole but are in decent shape for an affordable yunnan and there are some golden ones in there. The aroma is richly cocoa, very bold and present, with a sense of bitterness and maybe some malt.

Steeped, the aroma remains as strong with the bitter malty notes over-riding the cocoa. I would like to have a cinnamon note here but I do not. I’m a little intimidated by the aroma, I tend to like my blacks a little gentler but smells can be deceiving. First sips reveal that I have been deceived. I’m getting some earthiness, some hay, some barn-like flavour that reminds me of a puerh. It’s not unpleasant and it is all supported by a sweet note but I can sense that this will build up in bitterness as I sip/the cup cools.

I think it’s the sweetness mixed with the earth that makes me think of fresh hay in a barn, and it’s really surprising for me. I’m not used to this in a yunnan, like I said above it is more of a puerh quality. I am pleasantly surprised by the flavour and feel it is much more complex than the initial aroma led me to believe. I am starting to get a sense of cocoa morphing into the back of the sip which is nice and more what I am used to. While I don’t think can take quite the same beating as my beloved Wild Black Yunnan from Davids, this one is a very nice offering. It also happens to be about $6 less per 50 grams than the Wild Black Yunnan which is a nice selling point. I think that next time I do a Teavivre order I may pick up more of this, or perhaps try out the next grade up in their Yunnan set (the full-leaf which contains more buds. For this price, I might pick up both of them!

I’m definitely digging this one – bold and rich but not bitter, that shows a good quality tea. I have a coworker who is super into Indian teas for their strength and not so much liking the Chinese blacks – maybe this one could help pull her over to my side! :)

This is a LONG overdue thank you to Mercuryhime for providing me with this sample (and others) eons ago. I found it in my basket of muddled aromas and thought it might have survived the onslaught of smells. Steeped, the tea smells tart and is a quite pretty coral shade. I am thinking there must be some rosehip or hibiscus based on the smell and colour, but it’s not too in-your-face about it, which is pleasant.

I’ve googled Anjou pears but I am not sure if I’ve had them before. When I look for pear tastes, I expect a sweetness reminiscent of the pear Jelly Bellies and this actually has that, in a way. The reality of this one is that is very tart though, at least for a pear tea. If we take pear out of the equation it is mildly tart, definitely fruity. More of a crisp sour apple than a pear. I’m not picking up on the oolong, but that’s to be expected with all the additives this has.

While it’s got a generic fruit flavour going on, I actually quite like this one. If this were an offering from a store close to me and was relatively cheap (maybe $5 or 6 for 50 grams) I might pick up some more. Generic, yes, but still tasty and the oolong makes it different than if it had a green or black base. This almost tastes like an herbal, it just has a bit of backbone from the oolong.

Having looked up the ingredients on Teavana’s site, I see this has both hibiscus and rosehips. I am impressed that it is such a light touch though – most hibiscus teas are overpowering. Perhaps Mercuryhime balanced it for me. :)

Anyway, this was my first and only Teavana tea. Nothing to write home about, but nothing objectionable besides the price. Thanks again for sharing, it’s much appreciated!!

The aroma of this one appealed to me so strongly in store a few months ago that I broke my own rules and bought a Davids Tea white blend. Their whites are outrageously priced in my opinion, and rarely have much tea in them. The smell of this one though…MMMM. Apparently I really like the aroma and taste of floral teas, because this one is a floral POW and I love the smell. The sales person had recommended it to me because I really like Three Wishes, another floral blend.

Yesterday was the beau’s birthday and also one of our last days with the rental car as ours has been deemed a ‘total loss’ and now we are working on getting a payout. A very very small payout. So now we get to pay for a wedding and invest in a new car, only 6 weeks after having got the last one. Grr. Anyway, we went to visit my grandmother yesterday while we still could and then went out for dinner and a movie (The Hobbit) to celebrate the beau’s birthday.

Today we are cleaning up the place and trying to relax a bit before his father and sister stop by to celebrate once again. I’ve also made bread and a cake – a busy weekend, for us. So, the beau offered to make tea to relax a bit but unfortunately it sat forgotten on the table and steeped for 20 minutes. Blergh.

Second try, we forgot it again and steeped it an extra minute. This is an expensive tea and we’ve already wasted about half our sample, so we’re determined to drink this one come hell or high water. It is incredibly fragrant, throwing off waves of what I assume must be jasmine. Up close, it pus me in mind of Tim Hortons peach drink from my childhood – in the most nostalgiac delicious way. The taste of this one is very true to the aroma – jasmine that tricks me into peach followed by a bit of astringency from being over-steeped. My bad. Though I would prefer there not be this astringency, this is a remarkable blend. It obviously isn’t one to take a beating, but even this over-steeped cup is perfectly drinkable, though very drying at the end of the sip.

The beau keeps wandering around proclaiming it as delicious, saying that he wants to buy more and wishes it weren’t so expensive. I have a feeling that some of this will end up in our cupboards for a special treat. :)

PS – I don’t notice any white or green tea taste specifically, for which I am very grateful. There also isn’t anything tart so obviously hibiscus blossoms work differently from hibiscus petals. This is really quite tasty!

Another old sample from a box from way back. Improperly stored, possibly smell contaminated. I really regret being lazy about my samples now! The dry smell is pretty nice. I get some sweetness and a hint of cinnamon.

Steeped, this smells weird. It smells like freshly buttered corn, or prhaps popcorn. I steeped it only 2 minutes as the smell really started to intimidate me – as food it would be really appetizing but as tea it’s just weird. And nothing at all like a cookie!

The leaf is not something I’m used to, there were little nubs that looked like the Kenyan Tinderet from DavidsTea. I’m thinking this has Indian and/or African tea in it, neither of which are my forte. I see that Lupicia recommends it with milk. Sadly, I don’t like to add things to my tea, and I can rarely be persuaded to imbibe milk in any form. I’m not familiar with Lupicia as they don’t ship to Canada, but I really don’t like that they don’t seem to list their ingredients, or at least the base tea. Inquiring minds want to know!

Despite my apprehension about the smell I’ve decided to at least try it. First sips echo the aroma. I get BOLD black tea, almost as roasty and bitter as coffee. I definitely do not care for the base here and I can’t seem to get past it. I don’t get any caramel or anything else, though that could be because of it’s age. I even steeped it in a TSac to minimize bitterness, but this one just isn’t palatable to me. I’ll offer it up to the beau’s coworkers, perhaps someone there will take to it. :)

Here’s another from my box from LiberTeas from way back when. This is another I fear has been improperly stored and as a result I am not getting any odour. I could tell that it was a black tea but had no idea as to potential flavourings. Actually, even if this had been fresh i probably still wouldn’t have got it, chestnuts in my world are spiny creatures that really hurt when you get hit by them. Of course I would never do such a thing..

Steeped about three minutes, I have a rich brown liquor which is throwing off notes of.. chocolate? Oy. The smell I am getting is milk chocolate at that! There is also something weird behind that but I think it is the buttered popcorn contamination yet again. Darn you buttered popcorn sharing your yuck!

First sips are a mix of the weird contamination taste and some unexpected sweetness. I get something roasty at the back end of the sip which then morphs back into sweetness – while this is likely a very inaccurate assessment of this tea, it is really interesting. There is some bitterness in there as well, but it doesn’t seem to be the tea base – I’ll chalk that up to smell contamination as well.

Once again, the lesson here is to drink your tea quickly!!