Uniquity

Mmm, grabbed another of these lovelies while at the Market today. The lovely lady who works there informed me that they use their Highland Chai spice mix and their Keemum to make the lattes. I bought some of the Highland Chai mix immediately so I can replicate it myself later. Huzzah!!

I think I love this tea. It’s really hitting the spot right now – amazing berry flavour, and I still think it’s the blueberries that are really shouting at me. But a sweet blueberry flavour, maybe like a blueberry syrup or over-ripe ones. I’m making pancakes for breakfast with blueberries, so this is perfect!

Upping the rating…Had two mugs of this today at a friend’s house and really enjoyed them. I went for boiling water with a shorter steep time, maybe 3 minutes the first and 6 or 7 the second. I did my usual 1 tsp of tea to two mugs, then resteeped for two more, so that was a good tea ratio. This tea has a richer deeper flavour that I enjoy when I am looking for something non-sweet and non-berry. Really hit the spot, and I think I’ll be turning to it more often. Still a strange smell though!

Really nice! Definitely smell and taste the rooibos, and the mango came through pretty strong. It reminded me of something else but I can’t place what. Lovely!

Yummy nummy tea. I was feeling the need for something spicy and tea like, and wanted to try this out. It smells of ginger and cinnamon and delicousness. Don’t have the energy to describe it, but it’s extremely reminiscent of chai. I like it!

It’s really interesting to be so aware of one’s tastes changing. As I drink more and more tea I find myself rarely (if ever) turning to any additions. No honey, no milk, nothing. I also find myself turning more to teas I didn’t previously like, largely unvlafoured blacks, or teas with little flavouring. I think it is a counter to all the berry flavoured teas I so regularly consume. Either way, I turned to this tea largely because nothing else in my tea drawer was appealing to me. I really do need to get a nice bagged chai, I think. The PC one is so-so, but I want a richer one. The thinness of it is extremely confusing. Anyway, A nice cuppa this with no additions was the thing I wanted. Satisfying, though still plan. But hey, that’s what it’s for! : )

This continues to be one of my favourite bags to steep, if only because it is just so beautiful! The purple/red seeps out bit by bit and you can see the swirls of colour mix about. I like to pour the water then sit the bag on top, that way all the colour swirls out but tends to sit on the bottom. Then I get to stir it and marry the flavours with the water! Might as well be a fun experience, if nothing else…

Backlogging:

I made this tea to go with breakfast. Dry, it had a lightly orangey smell, smelled very fresh orange, if that makes sense. I steeped 1 tsp of leaves for two mugs, because I always try teas out that way, to test their strength and to make them last.

I noted a lighter liquor at first, but it eventually steeped up to a deep orangey colour. The smell of the steeped tea was very lightly citrus, and reminded me of a standard orange pekoe. The beau felt the same way, and we both noted a mild taste, again reminiscent of an orange pekoe. I let mine sit for a few minutes though and noticed a deeper flavour as it cooled. It became easy to see that it wasn’t a black tea, though I don’t know enough about oolong to say it tasted like an oolong specifically.

I think I may have over-heated the water as I am not so great with paying attention to temp (no thermometer) and am, as I said, a bit of an oolong novice. All in all I had a nice cup of tea, mildly flavoured but really nice. The beau says it’s not a re-buy because of price point, but I think that if I put more leaf, he might be more impressed. We’ll see how this goes!

Big mug of this to get me to work today. I forgot to put the water on in time so it didn’t get as warm as usual – but it was enough to get me through my -15 degree walk. I even missed the bus, but in a stroke of good fortune the driver stopped for me partway down the hill (there are advantages to taking the same bus every morning – Occasionally one lovely driver will take care to look for you!) Now I am finishing up the last traces of my delicious Ruby Red. I actually transferred the last bit to my regular mug as there were bits of rooibos floating around and annoying me, and when I transferred the tea I got a bit hit of pineapple. I can’t imagine why, but all of a sudden I seemed to be able to differentiate flavours. Magic!

Re-steeped this morning’s leaves this evening while supper was cooking. The flavours were extremely muted, likely because I made 4 cups out of one tsp. Still nummy, though the beau would have appreciated more flavour. Apparently. : )

No notes yet.

Smells rather like a generic orange pekoe when dry, a very familiar scent. Of course, it doesn’t make any sense since this is supposed to be green tea with lemon and tropical flavouring, but whatever. The beau bought this a while back and then forgot about it, claiming he didn’t like it because it was green. Of course, today I prove him wrong as the package is unopened! Huzzah! I’ve brought it to work to give it a go. I don’t hold out much hope because lately the thought of green tea has been turning my stomache (ever since the 52 Teas Peach Cobbler, sorry Frank : ( ) but it is bagged, so it won’t be proper green anyway. There is a strength of flavour chart on the box, with this at 1 out of 5 leaves. I don’t know if they mean the tea flavour, the additional flavour or both together, but we’ll see.

As usual, I didn’t even read the boz directions. I used the water from work and let it sit a few minutes then took a sip. That way I can keep steeping if needed or toss the bag if not.

Okay. Well! The teabag actually has (small) but identifiable bits of tea in it. That’s different. I’m so used to powdered mush. It’s steeping up a pale but bright yellow liquor. The steeped smell is extremely mild, and sort of like orange tang if anything. The flavour is equally mild – Apparently they meant it when they said 1 out of 5 for flavour. I actually like it, I think the mildness works in its favour, providing a taste experience to pay attention to. No discernible green flavour, at least not the green flavour I don’t like. It’s similar to David’s Tea’s Kyoto Cosmo which I love. It’s basically like that in a tea bag, but a little less strong and a little sweeter. Impressive!

EDIT: The picture I found seems to show a flavour rating of 3 out of 5 but my box definitely only filled in one leaf. Maybe they’ve changed their minds/formula since I bought this..

Realized that of all the teas I have, this is the only chai. There is one that is similar to a chai, but not the real deal. Was in the mood for something spicy, so I thought I would give this a go. I am at work so it wasn’t prepared “properly,” but it’s hot so what more can I ask for?

I used my standard “hot” water source and threw in a splash of (cold) milk as there wasn’t any option to heat it. Left the teabag in a few minutes as it was looking pretty watery, et voila!

To be fair, this is a very cheap tea. Chai in a teabag is a bit weird anyway since all the components were smushed down to powder long ago, but still. This is extremely mild. The sort of chai the beau might be willing to drink. One of the spices is kicking up at the end of the sip, but in general it’s pretty smooth. It’s generic, but a nice standard and I will certainly use the rest. It’s nice to have easy bags to pop in the mug while at work. Maybe 2 bags to 1 cup would work better..

So happy to have a big tin of this in my life. I left the tea in the travel mug’s infuser for about an hour today, and found that by the end of the hour, the flavour had taken on a new dimension. I don’t know which component all of a sudden took over, but I don’t think I’ve had quite this flavour before. I also had a giant piece of orange in this mug, so that was fun.

I never really know what I’m tasting in here, but I imagine that the main flavours I’m picking up are beetroot, apple and carrot. My problem is that I don’t know how to identify beetroot or carrot in a tea! I almost get a hint of something spicy at the end of the sip, but I don’t know what that is. I think I should steep this according to directions sometime and see what the difference is. For now though, I just love having a tea I can toss in the travel mug and forget about for hours!

Backlogging:

I love this tea. I really do. I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed lately by all my fruity/berry teas (at work) so a hot mug of gingery zing me was perfect this morning. I quite enjoy the apricot/ginger mixed with black tea but I found that today, like many others, the apricot was hidden under the ginger and black. This is likely because I over-steep it as I am wont to do. It never comes out bitter, but the ginger burn will increase if you leave it too many minutes. I can’t remember ever adding anything to this tea…It was one of the first (flavoured) blacks that taught me to enjoy tea as it, then see if you need something more.

This is one of the teas I would like to have on hand at all times, so it (happily!) escapes the “no more tea” ban that the beau and I have imposed. Exception being Vanilla Comoro if I want to buy some after I try it. : )

No notes yet.

Made this a few minutes ago and totally forgot about it. Was daydreaming about a tea I’ve never even tasted. I am starting to worry that my want for more tea will never end!

No notes yet.

Morning tea – No hesitation at all. I have a large lovely tin of Ruby Red and I intend to enjoy it. Even the beau got on track with this one – He forgot he’d had it before and went on about the amazing smell. It’s true! : )

Second steep came out much more lemoney. Once again, Joys Teaspoon provides great taste value. I brewed two cups out of 1 teaspoon, and I am on my second steep (making 4 cups out of 1 tsp!) The strength of flavour is unbelievable. I lot of the creamy flavour is lost on this steep and I get more lemon. Still lovely!

naomi at joy’s Teaspoon is a devil in disguise. She starts off nice enough, sending you cute little samples for free, but then you’re hooked. Then you need to jusy BUY SOME MORE, MAN! Then your stuff arrives and you can’t wait to smell and drink it, but oh look! Another little sample…It’s vicious.

Obviously, my little sample was Lemon Zest. Now, it’s spent the last two weeks travelling around with Wellness and Ruby Red so you knew it was going to be awesome, because that sort of thing rubs off on you. Smells divine, tastes delicious. I get a strong vanillaish lemon meringue pie vibe from this tea. It comes in really soft on the sip, with what I think of as the typical yummy rooibos flavour, but it leaves a sharper lemon taste at the end of the sip. I love it. I’m already plotting my next order. There’s a sale this week, it’s perfectly reasonable! Plus, I got the new position I wanted, so I’ll be able to drink more tea and be happy.

Naomi, you sneaky minx, I love this!

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

This tea continues to be delicious. I find it to be a very juicy tea, and I’d like toc all it rounded, though I don’t know why. The taste of the currants fill my whole mouth, and there is a lovely juicy flavour the whole way through. It does surprisingly well with a resteep, adn I think I will pop the bag back in some hot water once this cup is gone. I’ve never eaten a currant on its own so I can’t speak to authenticity of flavour, but it is delicious!