The Purrfect Cup

I made this according to the suggestions of all who liked it. Boiling water and steeped for 3-4 minutes, but mine came out SO bitter! I finished the cup, but I had to force myself to do it because I don’t like tossing out tea if I can help it. I have another cups worth of a sample to try again. Maybe I should let it steep more/less thoughts?

Thankfully this was just a sample size!

I ordered this to go with my desserts PF Changs tonight. They serve it in a cast iron tea pot there which is pretty cool. BUT sadly it’s a pyramid bag, happily it’s loose leaf in said bag. Our server Tim brought out two cups with the tea and my husband gave it a shot! I was pretty surprised. I was more surprised when he asked for a second cup!

This was pretty good. I could really taste the apricot in this Oolong which I liked. But I wasn’t really tasting the Oolong in the tea. My husband liked that it was a mild tea, at least mild to him. I didn’t like that they left the bag in and b/c of this the tea got a little too strong and dark. It started as a light color and got closer to amber before I was able to get the bag out of the pot.

I enjoyed teaching my husband a little more about tea while we sipped. :)

I’ve tried the traditional Earl Grey teas from a variety of places, but none of them ever “did it” for me. But this one is very different. Sure the bergamot is there, but it isn’t as harsh as it seems in more traditional Earl Grey teas.

In fact this one is very light, but pretty smooth when drinking it. I also added a little agave to sweeten it just a little. There’s also a pretty color that comes out in this tea. The smell is amazing – that’s the best way to say it. This is a tea I plan to keep in my stash.

Read more here: http://wifeywoman.teatra.de/2011/09/16/my-gateway-tea/

I enjoy this tea for many reasons. The first is the multiple infusions I get out of just 1tsp of pearls. These five will get me at least three cups of tea! This tends to make me very happy considering the cost of 2oz of this tea (more on that later). I also really enjoy that each infusion is a little different from the last. The dry rolled leaves have a very chocolaty aroma to them. Sadly this is where the chocolate stops. I’ve never had the chocolate flavor come out and play when I drink this tea. This is a bit of a let down to say the very least.

I do taste the malty flavor I have come to know and love in the black teas that I drink. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite things about black teas. If that makes any sense to you at all. This has to be one of my favorite teas to start my morning off. Sadly it is not a tea I can enjoy in the afternoon (even if Teavana says it is) if I want to sleep that night. But it does brew up to a lovely amber color.

Full review here: http://wifeywoman.teatra.de/2011/09/04/hello-not-so-lazy-sunday/

Well, I liked what I smelled in the store…I liked what I smelled again when I opened the bag to prep my tea this evening. HOWEVER, I am not liking what I am tasting at all. Mostly because there seems to be no taste at all to this tea. There is a SLIGHT hint of peach and strawberry and when I say slight I mean I really have to swish this one around in my mouth to bring out the flavor.

So I opted to pour it over ice…in order to “shock” it and hope that would bring out the flavor a little more. Now I can taste the jasmine and it still isn’t a good taste, but at least I am tasting something – right? Anyone have this and done anything to jazz it up a bit with good results? Please let me know. On a side note thankfully I did not buy a lot of this one.

Well, it’s a good thing I picked up two packages….because once again I LOVE yet another tea from Frank! Not only do the dry leaves smell like cinnamon rolls, but so does the tea after steeping. But it doesn’t stop there oh no it TASTES like a cinnamon roll too. There is a perfect mix of cinnamon and honeybush that simply melts in your mouth and dances on your tongue! I may be obsessed with this tea. I am going to have to go easy on drinking this because I can easily see me drinking both pouches in less than a week! I know I really want this to last.

full review here wifeywoman.teatra.de

Tried a cup of this iced last night at my local Teavana. The flavors blend together really well even if doesn’t sound like they should. The fig and chocolate are the stars here and boy do they play nice together. This is one I might consider picking up next time I am in.

Thank you QuiltGuppy for the sample! The tea leaves smell really yummy as I ready them for my infuser. After I poured the water (and treated my hand after spilling said water on my hand) the aroma got even BETTER! I’m very new to oolongs – meaning I’ve had maybe four. It tastes smooth and earthy if that makes any sense. I’m not sure what it’s supposed to taste like, but I like it all the same!

So I opened the package I noted the nutty/malty aroma that I have come to notice with most assam teas. I have to say I love the smell of this one. I set the kettle to just below boiling and began prepping my tea. Today I was using a tea sac bag in order to prepare my tea as I was in the shop and we’re a little short on proper infusers at the moment. By the time my tea was ready for the water, well the water was ready! While I waited for the steeping to be done I really noted the malty aroma come out. My mouth may have also begun to water at about the same time.

The result? Well there is a beautiful amber colored liquid in my cup! So, so far so good. The taste is very crisp and malty – just the way I like my assam teas. I also am noting a slight hint of bitterness coming through that lingers for just a moment.* I’m also enjoying how smooth and rich this tea is with each sip. Again thank you Vivek at Lochan Tea Limited for this and the other samples (more reviews to come).

This is the perfect ice tea pitcher! I use it every day and it is amazing. So much so that I might want to grab another one…I saw one like it in Macy’s too. But I didn’t see a price on that one…might be cheaper. Either way I think every tea lover should own one.

My order arrived none too soon from Tay Tea today and boy did I need it! Very stressful weekend… Saturday – found out my brother will be deployed to Afghanistan in Nov. for 12+ months, then find out my husbands uncle crashed is dirt bike that night and is in ICU (doing better now), finally Sunday my father ends up in the ER and has been admitted to figure out heart/stomach issues….PLUS I started in the new tea shopt today.

SO I really needed this tea! It relaxed me quite nicely. Beautiful aroma when I opened the tin and while it was steeping. It was so good I drained the cup in seconds! I’m thinking round two is coming up. Still very stressed out and not at all sleepy.

I wanted to continue this nice relaxed feeling all day so after a lovely celebratory dinner with my husband I made myself a cup of this. Such sweet fruity flavors come out to play in this tea. I find it very comforting and relaxing and a go to tea at any time.

Back logging from this morning. My thanks to TeaNerdette for the sample. I enjoyed this one today at my last day at work. What a perfect calming cup of tea for such a stressful day. I could taste the hints of apricot and just enough bergamot too. It should be noted that I am basically terrified of Earl Grey teas of any kind (I’ve tried quite a few to get over this). But this one was very light and not scary at all. In fact I just might have to pop into Teavana (there I said it….cover me I’m going in ;) ) to pick up some more.

Finally one from the sample I like and when I say like I mean I’ll probably order some at some point. I love how all the flavors blend together (yes my cold is on the way out so I can taste again). Yummy! I’d say more, but I’m at work (3 days left) and I should do something. ;)

Based on the ingredient list you’d think this would be a Chai tea. From what I can smell (with this cold) it almost smells like a Chai too, but for one little addition…ginger. Ginger, as I have learned in my own tea trials and errors is a tricky thing to work with. BUT it seems to be working as I try to smell this tea.

The taste is pretty good and pretty balanced so no one flavor takes over the other. I actually like this one a whole lot more vs. the throat tea I tried yesterday. Hopefully it helps kick this cold outta here!

This was a sample/gift from the wonderful KeenTeaThyme. I didn’t think I’d be breaking it out so soon! But the quick change in weather has left me with a scratchy throat, stuffed nose and all the joys that come with my body hating me for no good reason. Then again maybe there is a reason and I just don’t know what it is.

ANYWAY…this smells slightly medicinal to me and makes me not want to drink it. But I’m forcing myself to do just that. It actually isn’t half bad taste wise. Not great either, but I can deal with it. I just want to beat down whatever this is so it doesn’t turn into something really bad.

I love this tea blend (even with the coconut in it….must not be enough to bother my allergy). I had a cup of this after heading home from work with a migraine twenty minutes after I arrived. I’m not sure how, but it helped my migraine chill out a little. Still one of my favorite blends from Teavana. Thanks KeanTeaThyme for splitting the order with me!

I received this in the mail today and had to make it as soon as possible. I have to say I had never had prickly pear before so this was going to be an adventure of sorts. I can smell and taste the yummy pear flavor in this tea even iced. SO yummy and so glad I purchased this one from Frank! I’m sure the gallon I made will be gone by tomorrow night!

I won’t rate this as I’m selling it in my shop. But I will say this. Frank really earned the title the Willy Wonka of Teas! Smells very much like cherry vanilla cola when you open the pouch. I smelled more of the cherry flavor while it was steeping. When I had my first hot sip it did in fact taste like cherry vanilla cola. So I opted to serve this one over ice and add in two splashes of regular cola to it and it is delish (at least to me AND my husband actually wants to try it! But I’m not sharing this glass.).

I haven’t been having good luck with Tea Forte as of late (with their herbal sampler), this is one I got in the Exotic gift set that was in a way re-gifted to me. There is an odd vanilla/berry aroma that I’m smelling as this steeps. There is a beautiful amber liquid in my cup, but the true test will be in the taste…which isn’t half bad. Still that odd mix of berry and vanilla flavor that I’m not sure go together well. It was worth a try, right?

This is billed as the “Champagne of Teas”, well I think I got a “bottle” past it’s prime. I’m not getting a whole lot out of this tea as far as flavor goes at all. I really feel like I’m just drinking hot water (first time ever). Maybe it’s an old box? Whatever it is, it isn’t good.

I’m working my way through the sampler from Tea Forte. This was today’s pick. When I opened the package my first thought was holy cherries!! I’m not a really big cherry fan unless they happen to be floating in my Shirley Temple :) But this smelled pretty yummy, so I added the leaves to my trusty leaf holder thingy and waited for the tea to steep properly.

As it steeped the tea smelled a bit like cough meds. This did not make me want to drink it when it was done (even my husband took a sniff and asked why I was going to drink hot cough syrup?). But I was serving it over ice so maybe that would help. I added some sweetener to this which I hardly do anymore and it isn’t half bad. It isn’t a favorite either. I’m still getting the left over medicine flavor at the end which is grossing me out a little. But I will finish the glass.

This was a free sample from Tea Forte and I thank them for it. When I opened the package to ready it for making I could smell the kiwi and lime, but only a hint of the ginger. As it steeped the ginger aroma became a little stronger and I was ok with it after trying a ginger rooibos from another company (the name escapes me at the moment).

I opted to have this one iced as it seemed it would be perfect that way. Sad to say that the ginger is just way to overpowering in this cup. I wish it wasn’t so, but I’m not getting any of the kiwi/lime also in this. I really wanted to see how the three would blend together. It just isn’t happening. Fingers crossed for the other samples!

Another sample sent along with my recent order. Smells super minty and I must say I like that! The taste is a nice blend of chocolate and mint. I’m not really getting the rooibos in this tea and that too is ok. I’m enjoying it and hope it doen’t knock me out too quickly tonight. Don’t get me wrong I want to sleep tonight. But not this early. I go to bed now and I’ll be up at 4am!