Uniquity

I ended up erring on the side of caution with my first steep and took the (awesome!)infuser out of my travel mug altogether after about ten minutes. In a stroke of brilliance, instead of dumping the tea leaves I put the infuser in my work mug, that way I can resteep without any mess. So, that’s what I’ve done!

I know that I’ve drained a lot of the flavour already, but I figure I might as well maximise what I have here at work. I think a big mug of spearmint will come after this, since I’m really enjoying just filling the travel mug with tea you don’t have to worry about. It keeps it substantially warmer than my work mug as well, so I don’t have to get up and make a new tea every 20 minutes.

Last logged Jan. 27? Seriously???

Throat starting to feel more and more like I will be ill by tomorrow, so I filled my travel mug to the brim with some hot water and threw in a teaspoon of mojito. I actually tossed another half teaspoon or so of David’s Tea’s spearmint in there for a mintier kick. Tastes delicious! I’ve actually burnt my tongue, which is a bit of a downer, but I still get the lovely taste.

I persist in deliusions of vanilla in here, with a muted flavour reminiscent of lime bang. (Which I find to be vanilla-ish). I don’t get the black tea, but I definitely get the mint! I’m still on the fence about leaving the tea in the mug for the duration (I’m lazy!) or if I should take it out to avoid over steeping the black tea and ruining the whole thing. Past experience dictates that this is an extremely forgiving tea, so I think I will leave it, unless something terrible happens.

Staring at the tea I realize that one of the flavours I can never pin down is Rooibos…this tea has everything! While others claim to get a coconut taste I (thankfully!) don’t. I do get a hint of a rummish something, sort of reminiscent of a buttered rum life saver.

Sidenote – When David’s Tea discontinues or retires a tea, they remove it from the website. Accordingly, I can’t see the ingredient list anymore which drives me bananas!!

I’m gonna start off with a complaint here. Why does Ruby Red never show up in the first drop-down list off options after typing Ruby Red in the search box? Teas that don’t even have those two words in the title come up first. Very annoying. Happens a lot with my teas. Maybe it’s based on popularity?

Anyway, I brewed up a mug of this to go as I wanted some loose leaf in my morning. I got a different mix this time, more tropical fruitiness. The rooibos is always there, but I love rooibos (apparently!) so that’s fine by me. I picked out an extra chunk of pineapple and threw it in my scoop, and I’ve been realy picking out a pineapple flavour, especially in the aftertaste.

Unfortunately, I’ve got a feeling in my throat that implies an impending sickness. This tea is making me feel happier, though I can see some Detox, mint and ginger teas in my future. For now, I’ll enjoy the lovely tropical Ruby Red (in which I continually want there to be grapefruit. I really want a good grapefruit tea. I don’t even know if that would taste right.)

A good kickstart to the morning. I wanted a little looseleaf, but the beau wanted lady grey. So, I’m grabbing a big mug of ruby red to go! : )

I totally wanted this tea today – out of nowhere! My work brought in cupcakes and I felt unwell after eating one (way too much icing, etc) so I figured no more sweet teas today. Then what do I do? I pick out the raspberry zinger! I gave it a brief steep time, only 2 or 3 minutes and that was short enough to not allow the hibiscus to develop. Right now, this is an exceedingly pleasant cup. And it even looks sort of Valentines-y! (I never knew I was this into themes…)

Giving this a second steep – Mostly out of obligation to not waste tea. Starting off this time with a splash of cream to mute the chocolate a pinch of raw sugar to enhance the strawberries. I really enjoyed it cold last time, so I think I’ll let it sit a bit.

All the flavours muted with this steep. Not a very dark liquor, more of a chocolate milk taste now. I also just realized that the weird waxy feeling on the roof of my mouth/my tongue is from the chocolate in this tea. This is good to know, as it was freaking me out!! However, I do wish it wouldn’t happen. It’s rather unpleasant.

I was inspired by the Valentines Day madness. I thought I’d treat myself to this tea. Of course, after pouring it doesn’t smell like what I want at the moment, but I’m a woman. I’m supposed to change my mind! : ) Pouring it was the usual extravaganza as well, since my little one cup work teapot has a minor flaw in the spout and it makes the tea pour wonky, often dripping down the side. Between the mess and the washing up I almost never use it, but today was an exception. I might give this a shot at re-steeping, so I can keep the leaves in the pot while I enjoy my cup.

Today, this tastes strongly of a liqueur. It smells like there’s booze in my cup…sort of like kahlua mixed with some strawberry liqueur. I’m sure there is one. Still reminds me of thoe little strawberry cream filled chocolates, as well. I definitely got a different mix of things in my cup as this tastes markedly different than I remember – It’s a little heavier on the chocolate and I think there is more rose nosing about in this cup.

As this cools I contine to get the weird liquor flavour. I’ve no clue how that came about but it’s not impressing me right now. For today, I’m bumping the rating down. Maybe next time it’ll show off. I’ve gotta say, I really want to like this but it just isn’t working for me. Maybe I’m not meant to appreciate chocolate in tea.

EDIT: A bit of cream and sugar make this much more palatable but still a disappointment. I see a cup of mojito in my future – My package arrived from Jessie on Friday and I brought it to work….yay!

SECOND EDIT: This is shockingly good cold….maybe that’s the way for me to go? Putting the rating back up a bit for cold! : )

To be fair, these have been lost at the back of my cupboard for a year and a half, largely because I can never remember if it’s the PC cranberry that’s terrible or the pomegranate. I have both.

Steeping this up today I get a vivid red liquor and a smell strongly reminiscent of hibiscus…Which I just noted is of course the first ingredient. That implies to me that the cranberry is the one I always thought was bad. There’s a tinge of a cinnamon smell in there as well, and something that (excuse me) reminds me of vomit. I’m trying to ignore that note…

First sips come in much milder and sweeter than I would expect. I’m not getting the hibiscus right off, but instead a sweet fruit smell (wouldn’t call it cranberry). As I sit with this mug the flavours will change, I know, since hibiscus seems to take the lead as tea cools, but this is a good start.

A few sips in I am finding it a bit more tart. As the beau suggested, I think a tiny drop of honey would work to sooth the hibiscus and possibly enhance the “cranberry” flavour. Of course cranberry is tart on it’s own, so I don’t know why they added hibiscus. Cranberry must just not come out strong?

Anyway, it’s drinkable. Very plain and doesn’t stand out, but I remember serving it to friends who’d never had loose leaf and they liked it. Strange to remember the days of picking up all the weird teas PC had for sale and thinking I was really getting a different tea experience. Thank God for loose leaf!

Holy Hannah, I love this tea. Brewed some up this afternoon while watching Scott Pilgrim Vs the World again with the beau. Unfortunately when we got this they were almost out at David’s Tea and the tea lady was forced to give us the bottom. Accordingly, there are lots of littles broken bits in my tea : (

I strained it through some paper towel to keep the small bits out of my mug and am enjoying it. Still really grapey, I feel confident in saying that I can taste the delicate white underneath it. I’ve had a couple different white teas now and I think I can finally identify the taste of the itself. It’s really interesting, and almost like a fleeting flavour at the end/underneath the sip.

Unrelated, but I think I will try 52Teas Cantaloupe Bai Mu Dan once again soon and see if my burgeoning appreciation for white teas allows me to more fully enjoy that one. I hope so! I also want a mug of their apple vanilla white chai. I think I’m going to end up with a tea queue if I’m not careful!

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. : )