The Purrfect Cup

Trying to get my husband into tea. So I figured I’d appeal to his nerdy side and love of Firefly by trying out this custom blend. I have to say I am liking it more this time around even more than the first time I tried it. Which might be due to two things…the perfect temp kettle and my tea tastes are expanding – so I am upping the rating. The tea really gives off a lot of the gunpoweder and the fruity flavors. There is a really great mix of both this time. Hopefully my husband likes it too!

Wow when I opened the tin I thought this seemed more like something better suited to a bath soap/soak. Truth be told it also smells that way while I’m letting it infuse. On the upside it takes me back to my grandparents house and all the fun bath salts and other perfumed products my grandmother kept…which was always very comforting to me when I visited.

I’m getting a lot of lavender and not much rooibos with each sip. I am also getting the hint of rose that others have mentioned. In all a pretty good relaxing tea. Which I really need tonight (well morning as it is after midnight). I think this might end up being one of my “go to” chill out teas for the evening.

Once I got the little sample tin open (and that was almost a mess) the smell of the tea had my mouth watering. However, what I’m tasting is a whole lot of TART. It isn’t a bad thing. I just thought the sweet smell prior to infusion would carry over into taste. Not getting that with this cup. I’m trying not to add sweetener of any kind to my teas these days and just drink them straight up. But I may need to make an exception here before I’m completely done with this cup.

First off we’re not expecting just yet. But one of my friends who is a Doula and also expecting her third little one just after the new year. She recommended this to me as another pregnancy prep tool much like the prenatal vitamins and eating right, and so on. Anyway, I ordered some as she didn’t have any samples to share. (She drinks the stuff 2 times a day at the minimum!)

It smells like it would be a sweet tea from the aroma you get while steeping. But it isn’t all that sweet while drinking. In fact I may need to add some sweetener in a moment. I can taste a hint of the rooibus. But for the most part it is very plain. Which I would imagine is just what you want if you happen to be experiencing morning sickness and all the other joys I’ve been told about pregnancy. I’ll def. keep this on the shelf. Really not a go to tea for me.

Backlogging from this morning. Made this on my way out the door this am to kick me a little extra something today. Allergies have been terrible. Plus I am cleaning out/setting up some new offices at work so all that dust hasn’t helped either. I’m really loving the minty chocolate flavor that this tea gives off. So good. See other notes.

This is one of my favorite summer teas. I always drink this one over ice. The blueberry and strawberry flavors mix really well together and make for a burst of flavor with each sip. I hope Teavana keeps these two teas around for a long time.

First I’m upping the rating as I finally have a perfect temp kettle. So all my tea tastes a whole lot better. I notice less of a tart flavor coming through this time around. I just get a very soothing cup of tea to help me relax and get ready for bed.

Received a sample of this from KeenTeaThyme (KiTT)…thank you!! This is wonderful and really yummy. Not only does it smell like Hot Buttered Banana Bread, but it really tastes like it too. So much so that a co-worker came into my office looking for the banana bread and didn’t believe me when I pointed to my mug. This also turned out awesome because I finally got my perfect tea temp kettle last night…wow was I missing out!

I think I’ll try this as a latte later with my new frother thingy! :)

This is my first matcha ever. I must say it is super good and super messy. (Almost lost most of it as I opened the jar). I mixed this up with some frothy Silk Soy Milk and wow was it tasty. I agree that it tastes more like the baking cinnamon but still yummy.

Backlogging from the weekend. The hotel had this to offer when I asked for tea with breakfast. Now my wonderful grandmother swears by this tea. I swear not to drink it again unless I have no other choice. All the milk and all the sugar could not make me finish a cup of this. Very plain and boring to my taste.

I brought teas with me on my mini break (aka crazy wedding weekend) with the hopes of trying them. I had no time for a relaxing cup of any of my teas.

Backlogging – But I did manage to stop and try this one of the morning we were running around. It might as well be Lipton (and probably is with a Dunkin Label on it). I knew enough to ask them to add milk and sugar because it was the only way I could drink it.

This brews up to a really pretty ruby color. I can even smell hints of chocolate from the Aztec Fire. Sadly I think I used to much Berry Blast and not enough Aztec Fire. Lesson learned and Berry Blast added to my shopping list!

But it isn’t bad. There is a nice mix of tart and sweet. I just wish there were more sweet. Back to the drawing board.

Received this one from my order with Rachel at iHeartTeas from her partnership with 52Teas to bring back some retired teas and I am SO glad they did this! This smells so yummy as it steeps with the watermelon flavors being the strongest of the bunch. Actually had some co-workers eying the pouch I brought in and I nicely directed them to Rachel’s shop! My tea, not theirs!

There is a nice light flavor to this tea and it is the perfect start to my day. Actually I think this is my go to tea for today seeing as it is my Friday. Why not treat myself?

Mmm thankfully I had the thought to bring this sample from KeenTeaTime (KiTT) with me this morning. (Almost had an allergy mishap and drank some tea with “strong hints of coconut” in it! This tea is so yummy I wish we’d had some ice in the office fridge but this is really awesome hot too.

See other note on this tea.

In my opinion this could have used a more of a slap of honey. When I see honey as one of the words in the name I really expect it to be sweet. I didn’t even taste the “tad sweet” that was supposed to be there. Don’t get me wrong the tea isn’t horrible. Just not what I was expecting with the name.

I really can taste the green tea in this and there is a bit of a honey aftertaste. But that’s it just the green tea which as others have mentioned is giving this a veggie taste. Which oddly enough isn’t bad with the salad I got for lunch. I don’t think I will be trying this again. Anyone recommend any of their other teas?

I’m trying this iced today as it seems we are finally getting a little Spring here in Upstate, NY! About time too…anyway I’m really get a tart flavor to this when iced and I love it. I can really taste the current and other berries in my cup. I did add a little sweetener to this as it is a force of habit with anything iced. But this is very yum and I really need to get more of this asap. I only have enough left for one more cup and I am pretty sure I forgot to order some in my last Adagio order…

Interesting aroma as my tea steeps. I can smell the Gunpoweder green mixed in with the sweet of the strawberry. Smells yummy and as I said interesting. The tea is a pretty rose color. It tastes pretty good too. I did add a little Agave to the tea. I think Mal and crew would call it ‘shiny’.

I received a sample of this from LiberTEAS – thank you! To me the tea smells somewhat malty which is a good thing almost makes me feel like I’m smelling (and about to enjoy) a good Irish Stout well before 5pm! It tastes very rich and creamy and not at all what I expected from a black tea. There is a hint of rum in this cup…I wasn’t sure at first but it’s there in the aftertaste, yum! This is great and I feel I might need to look into purchasing some asap!

I’ve only ever had this mixed with Matevana (all in one tin – it was a gift) and that was super yummy. So I opted to buy a little of each on it’s own and try it. It isn’t bad alone. I can really smell the chocolate and strawberry coming through. It tastes pretty mild to me. I think this is a tea that would be better served mixed with something else. I have some Moroccan Mint I think I’ll try blending it with in the near future.

Spices, spices everywhere! I am loving all the spicy smell floating out of my cup! The taste is out of this world. I see why KiTT drinks it all the time. Yummy! This isn’t From KeenTeaThyme (KiTT) by the way I still have her wonderful sample of this very tea waiting at home. This happened to come free in my order today. So seeing as I had my handy-dandy perfect tea maker at the office I HAD to make this after lunch.

Lots of bold flavors! I can taste the black and red pepper of the white chai and the cardamom of the mate. I could go on, but I’m just going to continue enjoying this cup and hopefully get the second steep that this small sample promises too.

I have actually had this tea a few times, just forgot to log it. This was the first tea I ever had at Teavana and it hooked me. I don’t drink it often as I’ve moved on to some of their more complex teas. But I go to this one when I really want to relax or I’m not feeling well as the cinnamon is really nice and that’s all I can taste when I drink it, but I love the flavor.

I don’t ever drink this tea alone. I tend to add it to more potent teas to cut the flavor a little when I want a milder peppermint for example. I might have to try it on it’s own and see how that is.

Thank you LiberTEAS for sharing a sample of this with me. It certainly smells malty as I let it steep. The taste is surprisingly not bitter like I have come to expect with most breakfast teas. It tastes a bit malty and rich is the word I would use. But in such a good way. I might at a little sweetener, but I don’t think I’ll need it, have to see as the cup goes. Perfect tea to kick start this perfectly rainy day in NY.

I needed a pick me up this afternoon and my stash at work only has herbal tea…that wasn’t going to work. So I hopped on over to the campus bistro thing and got this. As it steeped I swear it smelled like fruit loops…yes the cereal. After the first sip I knew I needed to doctor this up with some sweetener and skim milk. I usually don’t add much of anything to my teas, but this needed it in a big way.

Thankfully we’ll be passing a real Starbucks tonight where I can get a Green Tea Latte mmm…