Veronica

I haven’t had this one in a while, so the woodsy note caught me off guard at first. The fruit comes at the end of the sip which is lovely, but the initial taste is of bark or fruit wood (also nice!). This is a great morning cup to help chase away the winter blahs.

Made this tonight and added sugar and milk as an added treat. It was really nice. I still don’t get a lot of caramel, but the tea itself is so good that the subtle caramel flavor works for me.

Rooibos is very hit or miss with me, and this is, unfortunately, a miss. It was too astringent, and while the ginger made an appearance it was overshadowed by the rooibos. I caught hints of sweetness that could be the fruit, but it was only hints. Overall it was just meh.

Sipdown!

I’ve really enjoyed this tea and will be reordering soon. I’ve tried a few other Irish breakfast teas, but this is my favorite so far.

My daughter chose our tea this morning. After digging through my stash she decided on this one, but she looked worried that there was so little left. I had to pinky swear that I would buy more before we could sit down and enjoy our tea. I think I may have her hooked. Or rather this tea has her hooked. The strawberry is spot on, and while this definitely taste like a treat it’s not overly sweet or heavy. It’s just good – really, really good.

Well, 2013 has been kicking my butt so far. I was down with the flu for most of last week, but I think I can safely say I’m on the mend. My celebratory cup of tea had to be this Earl Grey. I know I’ve raved about this before, but Zen Tea has done an amazing job of choosing a high quality vanilla and mixing it with the bergamot. Love it.

Merry Christmas, Steepsters!

I’ve been enjoying this tea for much of the day. I’m glad I held off on rating it because this is so much better than the sample I had tried a few weeks ago. The mix of fruit and caramel is delicious. It has a smoothness that took me by surprise (I’m not sure why, but it did.), and had me sipping cup after cup until I realized I’d had far too much caffeine. No matter… it’s the holidays, so I can sleep in late and spend tomorrow trying a new tea… or two… or three….

This is my last sample from Angel at Teavivre, and it is a good one!

The dry leaves are beautiful. Long and slender with lots of warm yellows mixed in among the black. As soon as the tea started stepping I knew there would be no need for sugar. The honey fragrance is strong. Not overwhelming, but very easy to pick up. And the taste… yum. It’s malty, sweet, and velvety. This is good. I mean really, really good. I don’t usually stick with one tea all day, but I can easily see myself steadily sipping on this while I get an order finished and in the mail today.

My morning cup, and my favorite Earl Grey to date. This is so well blended. The bergamot and vanilla are excellent together. It’s warm and comforting which is just what I need today.

While there is caramel in this tea, and while it does have a creamy flavor, the star of this tea is the tea itself. It’s toasty and has a subtle kick to it. The caramel adds sweetness – sort of a dark molasses flavor, but then the cream flavor keeps everything from being too dark. It’s a great dessert tea, or in my case, rainy day tea.

So much to do today. I’ve been playing nursemaid or been sick myself for well over a week. Now that everyone has recovered (fingers crossed) I have a to-do list a mile long to knock out. Thankfully I still have a bit of this in my pantry. Simple, rich, smooth, and strong enough to kick me into gear.

My thanks to the Irish for knowing how to make an excellent cup of tea. ;-)

Backlogging.

There are holiday teas that hit you in the face with flavor. Kinda like opening a door and having a room full of people shout Merry Christmas at you. It’ll get your blood pumping, but there’s only so many times you want that to happen during one holiday season. This is not that tea.

This tea is more like walking in the door to your favorite relative’s house, having him/her give you a hug, and say – not shout – Merry Christmas. You still feel all happy and festive inside without also feeling overwhelmed. I guess what I’m saying is that sometimes less is more, and in this instance Della Terra did less the right way.

The tea – The dry tea is adorable with the little candy canes poking out here and there. So cute! Once brewed the liquid is lighter than I expected given the three minute steep, but it smells great. All mint and vanilla, but it’s light… soft. I like it. The mint is there, but not in your face. The vanilla gives the cup a creamy dreamy taste. And the base tea is really good. I love being able to taste the tea itself! It’s smooth and lends itself well to the vanilla flavor. Lovely.

This just might be my choice for a Christmas morning cup of tea.

Oh mercy, this is good. This is a tea with no hidden agenda. You get a wonderful strawberry and cream flavor and a solid black tea to go with it. I added a touch of sugar to my cup and found that it was just enough to really bring out the strawberry. That said, this could be a delightful dessert tea with sugar and milk. And by delightful I’m thinking eye rollin’ good.

I’m so glad I added this one to my cart. It will most certainly be a pantry staple.

Thank you Angel of Teavivre for this sample.

I admit I was wary to try this tea. It is one of those teas that people either love or hate, and I wasn’t sure where I’d fall in the mix. Turns out I am a fan. There is a wonderful smokiness that is present in smell and taste, but it does not dominate the tea. There are also sweet notes (honey maybe?) and hints of fruit. Wow, this it’s really good!

This is the fourth Teavivre sample I’ve tried, and I can see myself purchasing each one. I can’t say this makes me sad. :)

Last year this was one of my favorite teas. Now I’m looking in my cup wondering if there’s any actual tea in there. There is a strong mint flavor and then… nothing. I know that a good white tea could easily work with the mint, so I find this really disappointing. Maybe I just know what good high quality tea taste like now, or maybe last years White Christmas was superior to this year’s. Regardless, I will be moving on to other holiday teas.

I dropped the rating to reflect my current opinion of this tea.

6am came way too early. I didn’t even consider the other teas in my pantry. I grabbed this and made myself a deliciously strong cuppa. Even though this is strong there is not a hint of bitterness. Good stuff!

This has been my iced tea for two days now. I love, love, love the blueberry flavor. It is perfect, and as an iced tea it’s very refreshing. I’m not as big a fan of the cream flavor. It isn’t bad. I just find myself wanting less of it and more of the blueberry. Guess I’m a blueberry purist. :)

Thank you Angel of Teavivre for this sample.

Such an enjoyable tea. A bit of maltiness, fruit, and smoke. I really liked the smokey flavor and how it lingered after the sip. The tea is smooth, and while it has some strength I would not call it a robust tea. In the future I’ll drink this as an afternoon tea. I like something with more kick to it in the morning.

Yesterday I took my daughter to the doctor for her well visit. Today I have a sore throat. Go figure. That is why I dislike walking into the petri dish that is any pediatrician’s office. It seems like anytime I take my kids there I come home with some sort of bug. Sorry, needed to vent. End of rant.

This sounded like a nice tea for a sore throat. I measured the leaves into my french press, and followed the steeping directions on the bag (1 tsp for 8 oz., heat water to 185F, steep 2 minutes). After it finished steeping I poured the tea into my teapot. The liquid is a pale green, and the scent is purely green tea – no cherry. The taste is clean. I want to say soapy, but not in a bad way. I still don’t taste the cherry. There is a floral note that I wasn’t expecting, but it’s nice. As the tea cools there is a hint of something that could be cherry, but because of the floral note I would say it’s cherry blossom, not fruity cherry.

I find that the absence of cherry does not bother me. The flavors in the cup are so light and pleasing. A heavy fruity cherry flavor would cover up all of the wonderful flavors from the tea itself.

A nice tea. It feels lovely on my sore throat. I might resteep the leaves later today.

My morning cup. I felt like being decadent, and this tea fit the bill. I love that there is a bright lemon flavor at the beginning of the sip followed by a cake-y note right at the end, and throughout there is a subtle, but present, creaminess that ties everything together. Delicious.

My 100th note! Yay!

I’ve been struck by a touch of insomnia. After deciding I wanted something warm to drink I ended up rooting through my pantry because nothing sounded good. In the back, hidden under all of my caffeine laden teas was this little gem. I mixed it with a touch of honeybush, and I ended up with a cup of peaches and cream yumminess. It was comforting and relaxing, exactly what I needed. I like this more than I remember. Don’t know if it’s because I mixed it with the honeybush or if I’m starting to like rooibos, but this was a really tasty drink.

Today was unseasonably warm. I took my son to the park, and I was wearing a short sleeved shirt and no jacket. In December! Anyway, when we got home I wanted something cold to drink. I had made this earlier in the day, (iced tea has become my replacement for Diet Coke) so I poured myself a glass and YUM. The cotton candy flavor is great. I did sweeten the tea with a touch of sugar to bring the flavor out more. Both of my kids tried it, and they loved it. This is a tea I would love to serve at a summer cookout. For now though I will be happy drinking a glass while I watch the lights on my Christmas tree twinkle.

I woke up craving this. I’ve been slowly sipping on it throughout the morning, and it has been great. This pot seems slightly sweeter than the previous one. Definitely no need for sugar. If I have any complaint with this tea it’s that my sample is gone and I haven’t reordered yet.

This was a gift from a friend. It’s a tea I never would have chosen for myself, so I’m glad my friend was making the choices because this is a very nice tea. Nice to have a friend who knows me better than I know myself!

I have never been a fan of floral flavored teas because they tend to overwhelm me. Not so with this tea. The jasmine and lavender are there, but I don’t feel like I’ve stuck my head in a potpourri bag. The Ceylon tea has a chance to shine. The tea is rich and has a sweetness to it, again not overwhelming. It’s just enough to make you sit up and take notice. That combined with the lovely jasmine and lavender flavors makes this tea almost enchanting.

I can see myself enjoying this one both hot and iced. I have to say, I’ve been super impressed with the teas I’ve had from Premium Steap. Each one has been a delight!