VegTea

2nd steep = a nice surprise. Somehow I didn’t expect it to work. I steeped it an extra long time – probably 10 minutes, and it is delicious.

I had this last night with pumpkin ice cream, so that definitely influenced the flavor. ;) But I did have a few sips before digging into the ice cream. I really like this tea. The pumpkin flavor is definitely there, and I like the spiciness. Nutmeg and black pepper seemed to be the predominant spices. I’m not sure this tea actually contains pepper, so maybe it is the clove that I’m tasting? Pepper flavor might sound a bit odd, but I thought it was a nice balance to the sweet pumpkin flavor (and all the sugar I added to my cup).

I think I need to bump this up a bit. I was craving some fall-themed teas, so I came home from the grocery store with this and Stash’s Pumpkin Spice decaf. I had this one this morning, and I was pleasantly surprised. It definitely needs to be steeped more concentrated – 2 tea bags in about 8 ounces of water, then an ounce or two of milk. I didn’t set a timer, so I probably steeped it a bit long as I was getting ready for the day. The apple came through especially well today – very nice!

2nd steep – the flavors come through well on the 2nd steep. Maybe a little milder – I wouldn’t expect to get a 3rd steep out of this. I tried it with just soymilk and no sugar, and it was very good.

I found myself in the tea section at Target last night, and I thought to myself, “Berry? Chocolate? Earl grey? I love all those things!” It seemed like a lot for a tea to have going on, but it wasn’t too expensive so I decided to give it a shot. It is quite yummy. The strongest flavors are the black tea, chocolate, and berry. I think the bergamot might be hiding itself within the berry flavor a bit.

I tried a sip plain, and it seemed pretty good. I was in the mood for milk and sugar, and adding those seemed to bring out the flavors.

Also, I like that the pyramid bags are plant-based rather than petroleum-based. I’m not sure if it’s compostable, but I’ll give it a try.

Terrible, awful, no good, very bad day. But, good tea, thankfully!

I tried this iced today – just as I suspected it would be, it is delicious! I think I almost prefer it iced.

I bought a box of this to keep at work, since it seems to steep so well with water from the hot water dispenser (not quite boiling, but it works). Having it today as an afternoon pick-me-up! :)

This has been my go-to breakfast tea for a while. It is great on its own or with milk. I’m also enjoying a 2nd steep in the afternoon/evening – sometimes I’ll add a little vanilla and sugar to make it more dessert-like.

Feeling a bit “meh” about this. In all fairness, I’m not really sure I’m a big fan of oolongs. This seems like a pretty good tea, I’m just not all that excited about it. I’ll give it another shot for sure though.

Just trying this for the first time – this is my first hojicha too. I’m on the fence. In a way, it just tastes like plain green tea, but it is smoother which I really like. I thought it might taste roasted, but it doesn’t at all. I just read that hojicha has reduced caffeine..maybe not the best choice for first thing in the morning! :)

I cooked up a big batch of chai – here’s my recipe (approximately):

For 4 cups water plus 2 cups soy milk:
8 black peppercorns
18 cloves
18 cardamom pods
2 pieces dried ginger
1 1/2 cinnamon sticks

I smashed up all the spices with a mortar a pestle, and simmered them for about 45 minutes. Then I added 6 tsp Lipton Darjeeling tea and simmered for 7 minutes more. I added a generous spoonful of sugar to my cup, and I refrigerated the rest to heat up later. It came out delicious! A good balance of spices.

Had this again last night – I steeped it twice, and it was lovely both times. This is growing on me – I think it will be my go-to tea when I want something floral (but not as perfume-y as jasmine).

I just picked up some fresh spices at the Indian grocery, so I decided to make chai with rooibos last night. For a 12 oz mug I used:

1/2 cinnamon stick
1 small piece dried ginger
3 black peppercorns
6 cloves
6 green cardamom pods
half a piece of star anise
2 teaspoons rooibos (Cameron’s)

I coarsely crushed all the spices with a mortar and pestle and simmered them with water and soymilk for 8 minutes. Then I strained the mixture into my mug with a couple spoonfuls of sugar. Delicious!

I haven’t had a lot of oolong, so I might not be the best critic, but I like this very much. I was expecting it to be more floral; although there is a floral flavor there, it is more subtle and not in your face. I think it would be delicious iced. I look forward to having more of this, and trying some more oolongs!

No notes yet.

I had this last night with some leftover vegan sweetened condensed milk I had made, and a bit of coconut cream. Yummy!

Very nice for a lazy summer morning. I haven’t had this in about a month, and I forgot how much I like it! The nice thing is this also resteeps pretty well. I might try it iced later.

A perfect tea for today. I am operating on very little sleep, so I was happy to find this crumpled packet that I had previously rescued from the bottom of my backpack. This is nice and comforting – nothing fancy, but the combination of black tea, lemon, and spices is just what I needed for this afternoon. I think I might pick up some more of this to keep at work.

This is becoming a favorite. It is great for breakfast – full-bodied, and I love the hint of bergamot.

Still a favorite. I’m having this hot with breakfast.

1 1/2 tsp rooibos (Cameron’s), 1/2 tsp dried lavender flowers
Lavender and rooibos make a very nice combination. The flavors blend so well that I couldn’t tell exactly where the earthy rooibos ended and the zesty floral lavender began. This would be even better with a third flavor added – maybe mint, vanilla, or lemon.

Having tried Republic of Tea’s ginger peach black tea, I had to try out this “budget” version (24 bags for $1.99 at Aldi). This was a pleasant surprise! Beware of oversteeping – I steeped maybe a tad over 5 minutes, and the black tea flavor was getting a little bitter. This had a nice ginger peach flavor that didn’t taste overpowering or artificial.

At $1.19 for 24 bags, I had to give this a try at our inaugural trip to Aldi. I didn’t really expect much, and this isn’t really anything special, but it isn’t bad. The scent is very fruity, but I didn’t really taste a lot of fruitiness in the brewed tea. I will drink more of it, but it’s not likely to become a favorite. I think it would be better iced. A better pick would be Bigelow’s green tea with mango.