Veronica

Backlogging. I’m using the month of February to track how often I drink this tea since it is undeniably the tea I drink the most. More for my own curiosity than anything else. I’m counting resteeps as their own cup, but I won’t write a separate entry for them. Total cups consumed so far will be at the bottom of the page.

Yesterday started off great but ended horribly. Bah. So, while the day was going along swimmingly I made myself a cup of this and resteeped it once because this is a happy tea. Then, when everything blew up in my face last night I made myself another cup (which I also resteeped) because this tea is comfort in a cup. Hopefully today will be better.

Cups: 4

My morning cup.

We received our Zen Tea order yesterday (yay!). Before going to bed last night my daughter asked that I make a pot of this for breakfast. It’s definitely a family favorite, and I’m happy to have it on my shelf again.

Caramel marshmallow tea. What’s not to love?

This tea does have a time frame in which I find it truly enjoyable. Too hot and the flavors isn’t there. Too cool and its just meh. Oh, but that spot right in the middle… you get a sweet creamy treat that is sooo good.

I’m really glad I gave this one a try. Yum.

Well, goodbye 64 degrees. cold, Today is rainy, blustery, and cold. This is the perfect tea for keeping the chill away. Lots of warm cinnamon and a bit of orange and clove. I think I will always have a soft spot for this tea.

Now… rain, rain go away….

It is a lovely 64 degrees outside today. I’m sitting on the porch with a cup of this chai and a chocolate chip cookie (made with dark chocolate chips). I am a happy girl!

(see my previous note for actual review of the tea)

This is a lighter, brighter take on the traditional Earl Grey. The white tea is mild but very clean. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the taste of the tea came through. The bergamot doesn’t blend with the tea as much as it floats above it, and above the begamot there is a high floral note that is almost jasmine like. The different layers work well to make a delicate and delicious cup of tea.

I should just accept that I’m not a rooibos person. The only reason I keep trying rooibos is that I am already anti-hibiscus, and avoiding both would seriously limit the tisanes available to me. Who needs limits?

So, I don’t hate this blend, but I don’t love it either. There is a caramel like sweetness, but I’m not tasting the pear. The rooibos is heavy enough that distracts from the other flavors. So what I’m left with is a really sweet rooibos. If I were more of a rooibos person this would probably be very nice.

This one is easy enough to sip. Unfortunately, it’s also easy enough to forget. So the hunt for great herbals and tisanes continues….

I’ve been curious about this tea for a while, so I was excited to receive it as part of a swap package from Dinosara. Thank you!

The smell of this tea reminded me of a country store I used to go to when visiting my grandparents during vacation. The woman who owned the store would always have several candles burning. There were one or two strawberry scented candles and then various other fruit scented ones burning at the same time. The smell should have been overpowering, but to me it seemed homey and warm. Plus, the woman who owned the store always called me “honey” or “sugar”, and I loved that. Happy times.

Once brewed the fruity scent of the tea lingered. I was getting lots of strawberry, but the mango was more subtle. The taste was a bit of fruit, not near as much as I was expecting given the smell, and rich, dark, tea with a hint of smoke. The pu-erh was not as earthy or woody as I was expecting, but I do not have much experience with pu-erhs yet. The richness of the tea and the fruit flavors combined to make an enjoyable tea.

It’s not something I can see myself reaching for everyday, but I can see how this could occasionally find it’s way on my shelf.

I had this today with my lunch. It’s such a refreshing and invigorating blend. I like the bite of the pepper up front and then the lingering sweetness of the fennel after the sip. This is one of my “happy teas” that I drink when I’m feeling down (or when I want something yummy to drink with my lunch).

Tea of the morning as chosen by my daughter. I infused it in the french press so that I can make a second infusion for iced tea. This tea is outstanding iced.

Today the tea seems to be more bregamot-y than usual. A whole lot more citrus action going on. I’m really enjoying it, but my girl put a bit more sugar in her cup. The added sugar seems to have done the trick because she happily finished off her mug of tea at breakfast. I’ve had two mugs of this myself, and I must say I’m feeling ready to face the day.

Yes, yes, I know it’s supposed to be butter cake, but in reality this is one of my favorite lemon teas ever. The lemon flavor is wonderful, and I love the marigold and the floral note it gives. Then there’s the creamy buttery note right at the end. …Sigh… I’m so glad I have this tea, and I’m going to miss it when it’s gone.

A very nice, malty Assam. It brews into a lovely reddish-orange color, and I can smell something sweet (honey maybe?) and fresh baked bread. The taste is rich with a decent maltiness and a subtle sweetness that kind of floats on the tongue. It’s astringent at the end of the sip, but it’s pleasing, not overwhelming at all.

I really like this tea. It’s not the best Assam I’ve ever had, but it’s far from being the worst. Another good, steady tea.

I think I am going to track how often I drink this tea during a month. It is easily the tea I drink most often, but I’ve only logged it here a few times. Part of me is afraid to face my massive Earl-Grey-tea-drinking addiction, but my curiosity is greater than my fear. Maybe I was a cat in a former life. :)

The tea. As always, wonderful bergamot vanilla-y goodness. I can resteep this tea once and get a good flavor. Not quite as intense as the first cup, but still perfectly enjoyable.

For some reason I have it stuck in my head that I don’t like black currant, but the truth is it’s delicious. Lots of sweet berry flavor and a good black tea to go with it. Not sure why I have such a mental block about it when I’ve had this tea multiple times and enjoyed each cup.

And now I can confirm that this tea is especially tasty with biscuits and homemade marmalade! :)

We have heat! It feels nice to no longer be a popsicle.

This is such a great tea. The coconut flavor is excellent, and there’s no oily film on the top of my tea. I find many coconut teas have this, and it kinda weirds me out. I also really love the base tea. It’s rich and gives an additional layer of decadence to the tea. Good stuff!

So the repair man came to fix our heater. It took him a couple of hours to get everything fixed (the exhaust motor needed to be replaced). An hour after he left the heat turned off… and won’t turn back on. Can you hear me beating my head against the wall? Someone is supposed to be here tomorrow morning between eight and noon to fix the fix. Thankfully one of my sweet friends brought over a couple of space heaters, so we won’t freeze tonight. Hopefully. I need tea.

I went to make tea and realized my husband had thrown away my brew basket, but since he was having the same crappy day I was I let it go, grabbed my tin of Vanilla Comoro (pyramid tea bags), and made myself a nice big mug. It’s wonderful vanilla comfort in a cup. I added a teaspoon of sugar which highlights the vanilla even more. Ah, good stuff.

Now I’m off to figure out optimum placement of space heaters when we go to bed tonight. Tomorrow will be a better day, right? Right?

If there was ever a day I needed a good chai, it’s today. Our heater died sometime during the night, so it’s currently 48 degrees in my dining room. Something tells me I’ll be drinking more tea than usual today. At least until the repair man gets here (some time between noon and four).

On to the tea…

I bought this tea on a whim, and I’m so glad I did. It’s amazing. The mix of spices and black tea is wonderful. (side note: When I pulled the container off the shelf I had to use the scoop to mix up the tea because all of the spices had settled to the bottom.) This isn’t a super spicy chai, but it does have a little kick. There’s a bit of warmth in the back of my throat, which is nice. What I really love is that this isn’t a cinnamon heavy chai or a cardamom only chai. The spice blend is very well done, and the tea itself is good. It is strong enough to hold its own with the spices, but it also has a nice smoothness. No bitterness at all.

This is my favorite chai to date. I think I’ll make some on the stove after I take my youngest to school. Anything to help warm up this house!

After reading Indigobloom’s latest review of this tea I decided to give it another try. She was right, time does mellow out teas. This tea is much more drinkable than it was the first time I had it. Yay!

I’ve had a box of this tea sitting on my shelf since before I joined Steepster. The first time I had it there was an overwhelming tartness which I now recognize as the hibiscus. I couldn’t get past it, and I’m not sure I even finished the cup. Tonight there was definite berry and vanilla. I wouldn’t recognize the berry as blackberry if it wasn’t printed on the box, but it’s berry nonetheless. The hibiscus comes out as the tea cools, but as long as I drink it while it’s hot then it is a perfectly drinkable tea. It doesn’t make me want to do cartwheels, but I can see myself adding this tea to my evening teas list.

A friend told me about a tea house not too far from me (close enough for the occasional visit at least). It’s an adorable little shop called The Tea Place, and after trying several of their teas I can say I will be a regular customer.

This blueberry green is my daughter’s current favorite, and I must agree that it’s really good. The tea is slightly sweet with a mellow blueberry flavor. The taste is of fresh blueberries, not an artificial flavor or blueberry muffins. There is also a grassy note from the green tea which mixes really well with the blueberry. The flavors definitely compliment each other. I do like this tea more when it is hot than as it cools, but that could be because it’s so cold here right now.

Anyway, this is good. Sure to be a pantry staple.

I do not have enough basic black teas in my cupboard. In fact, until I bought this I had no unflavored black tea in my house. That had to be fixed! I’m fortunate to have a grocery store with a good tea selection, so I picked up a couple of ounces of this on my last shopping trip.

This is a good Irish Breakfast. A strong Assam with lots of maltiness. There was a lemon-y note as the tea cooled. I really enjoyed it, and it makes me wonder how the tea would taste cold brewed. I didn’t add milk to my cup, but I’m guessing it would make a nice addition. Overall, a really nice cup, and something I’ll probably reach for on a regular basis as a morning tea.

I am loving this this morning! It’s all amaretto with the tartness of the cranberry coming at the end of the sip. Yum. This is definitely taking the edge off this insanely cold weather we’re having.

Vanilla and mint, mmmmmmm. This is just what I need this morning. Most holiday teas I try to finish before the end of February, (when my spring fever usually kicks in full force) but this one is so nice that I know I’ll be sad to see it go.

Right now I’m going to curl up on the couch and watch my kitty freak out at the snow we got last night. She keeps running from window to window trying to figure out what is going on. It’s incredibly amusing. :)

This is really lovely. The smell and taste is mainly jasmine, but there is a crisp, fresh bite from the green tea that keeps the tea from being only floral. I’ve never had a jasmine tea quite like this, but I’m loving it.

Until now I’ve shied away from pu-erhs because I kept reading about some having a fishy smell and/or taste. The idea of a fishy tasting tea was enough to roll my stomach. Then, last night a friend gifted me this tea. I was really tentative about trying it, but now I’m so glad I did. I think this tea mixed with the ginger was just what I needed to step out of my comfort zone.

This is a great winter tea. The pu-erh is earthy and thick (in a good way), and the ginger gives an immediate warmth while leaving a tiny bit of heat in the back of the throat. It’s perfect for chasing away the chills. While I am a huge ginger fan I would like to try a pu-erh on its own. The earthy flavor was intriguing, and I think it would be nice to sit with just that flavor for a while.

So here’s to trying new things and thoughtful gifts from sweet friends. Now I’m off to find my next pu-erh fix. :)