Gal In The Grey Hat

First tea of the morning. I picked this up last weekend in DC for a friend of mine and I snagged a cups worth for myself from the tin this morning…shhh! I needed a little pick me up and this did just the trick! Rich and bold the perfect morning wake up for me today. There is a little hint of honey to this one and I liked that too. I did steep this a little too long and needed to add one cube of sugar to it…but that’s it. Yum!

Well, this tea is tarter than I remember it being. But I may have let it steep too long (suggested is 8 minutes). I got a little sidetracked with excitement over scoring a Dray Dream Coat from Enlightened Platypus over on Etsy! Long story short I’ve been wanting one of her coats for ages and I finally managed to find mine!

Anyway…this time around the orange is really the flavor frontrunner tonight. I get hints of the apple and black currants, but orange def. dominates. Yikes…so much for a nice soothing cuppa before bed. However, I think I’ll still sleep pretty well. :)

*Knocking it down for the super tart flavor going on tonight.

I received this one in my tea of the month selection for March. My first impression after opening the package ’it’s like buttah’! Seriously this has such a buttery scent to it I was instantly in love without even tasting it! That is some serious commitment on my part. As the leaves (which were beautiful) steeped more of the buttery notes came through and the leaves opened up perfectly. I used my bodum Tea for One to steep this in and it came out perfect! (I love this Tea for One cup.)

Now on to the taste of this tea that knocked me off my feet at first smell…WOW! So rich, smooth, and yes still buttery. This is amazing. It is also light, crisp, and refreshing. There’s just so much going on I can’t pin everything I like about this tea because the good just keeps coming with it! I’m pretty sure I’ll get a few more steeps out of this too. THIS is already in my cart over on their site…now to order it (and two other favorites) without my dear, wonderful hubby finding out. ;)

Jenn was good enough to send this to me a while back. I’m finally getting to it after sorting out the tea cabinet at home. The dry leaves are golden and dark in color and smell very much like honey! This excites me a little because I love honey. But I hate having to add sweeteners to my tea. I’m finding I like my teas straight up these days. As the tea steeped I continued to get the notes of sweet coming out of the cup. This almost reminded me of a Yunnan I have a large amount of. (Again another good thing!)

The taste? Very rich and very bold! I really like it. I have to say I was planning on a nap this afternoon, but I have a feeling this tea will keep me from that. Honestly I’m ok with this, this time. I have a lot to do and a nap would just get in the way. There is the slightest hint of honey to this tea which makes it perfect when matched with the rich malty flavor I’m also getting here.

As I was cleaning out and reordering my tea cabinet I came across this sample and thought “why not”? I noticed a really nice smokey scent as the the leaves steeped. Similar to Lapsong and yet different at the same time. I get a sweeter smokey scent is how I can best describe this one. The taste is interesting too. There’s a great smokey flavor there, but also a hint of sweet too. But I’m loving it and might need to order more. After all wasn’t that the point of clearing out the tea cabinet? ;)

I’ve had this iced the last few weeks at a local cafe I visit every day before work. I have to say I am not a huge green tea fan, but I find I do like it iced! It’s very light and with just a little honey makes it perfect for me. I’ll be going back for more.

No notes yet.

Starting my day off with this yummy tea. I let it steep a little too long so it seems very heavy to me. Almost like a fine Irish Stout (which is awesome because I can’t have any beer anymore!) really malty and rich. I didn’t add any milk to it, because we’re out and I thought the soy milk I do have wouldn’t do it justice! But I did add a hint of agave which made it taste just right. I need to stop forgetting this one is in my collection.

Ok, I’m sorry I haven’t been posting many reviews as of late. Life has gotten a little crazy. But I’m trying to organize it a little better these days (heck my house still isn’t unpacked from the move)! Anyway, this is me trying to get back into the swing of things.

So I was a the mall today and stopped into Teavana because I’ve been meaning to try Genmaicha for a while now and I knew they had it so why wait for an order from somewhere else? I also opted to get a cup to co with a hint of agave per the barista’s suggestion. This one is truly an acquired taste. I did like it, but I wasn’t so sure at first. It really had the toasty notes there but nothing else at first. Then halfway into the cup I really got the green tea and it was awesome! I’m going to experiment a little with brew times to see what works for my taste but I think I may have found a green tea I really like. I think I’ll have to try a few other tea locals versions of this tea…oh darn more tea to try! ;)

Received this as a sample with their latest catalogue. So I figured I’d give it a shot. Turns out I really Liked it…a lot. I’m usually not a huge fan of ginger in anything UNLESS it’s done right and Republic of Teas did this one right. Perfect blend of peach and ginger. I might have to order

Somehow I missed this one the other day. Opened it and put it in a small bag. But didn’t try it. But seeing that today’s tea is a coconut tea (allergic), I will back peddle and opted for this one instead. The dry leaf smells just like a carton of sherbet! Not usually my favorite dessert, but as a tea? Well that’s a horse of a different color. This smells super amazing as it steeps, like candy in my cup. The taste is just yummy! :) Yet another hit from Frank!

I missed this one the first time around. So I was thrilled to find it in my 12 Teas of Christmas box today! It smelled just like marshmallow treats….so much so that my husband thought I made some. :) I don’t know how Frank does it, but I’m glad he does. This one was spot on marshmallow treat for me. All the flavors were there and it was a total win! I need more…I mean I would like more please! :)

Tea from yesterday morning. I didn’t have time to brew up a proper cup of tea as I would have liked (due to moving). So we stopped off at our local Dunkin’ Donuts and I got a cup thinking something was better than nothing. Well, as usual I should have done with nothing. This just keeps on getting more tasteless to me every time I try to choke down a cup of it. Lesson learned, next time I will do with nothing!

Thanks to Teavivre for the sample (sorry it took so long for me to get to a review).

This is my second cup of tea today. I steeped this for two minutes and the wet leaves did smell a little like dirt. But it didn’t put me off from trying this out. In the cup is smells – well I don’t know what the smell is, but it isn’t dirt, what it is is yummy. This brewed up a nice strong cup. Which I will need today in order to start unpacking from yesterday’s move. I’m getting a little of the chocolate notes someone else mentioned. But mostly there is a bold flavor I can’t put my finger on. I’m looking forward to my next cup already (with a longer steep) and I’m not even half way done with this one! We have another winner!

So I had to meet the cable guy in the new house this morning at 8am. My husband dropped me off and I figured I’d make my first cup of tea in the new house one of Frank’s! This smelled amazing when I tore open the pouch. My first thought was I had to have this iced. I’m sure it is awesome hot too. But the smell of the strawberries screamed our over ice! (So it was really my first cup of iced tea, but at least it was tea!) I got no tart at all with this one, all sweet which I really like in an iced tea. Thankfully I have enough for another cup this afternoon!

Thank you LiberTEAS for this*. I’m not usually a Jalapeno fan (or anything too spicy really), but this was different and pretty darn tasty! There is a nice bit of kick and spice to it, but not overpowering, just really nice with a smooth finish.

*Purchased from her Tea Trade store. :)

Bit of a backlog here… I tried this out for the first time on Saturday. My husband was good enough to drop it off to me at work. :) Again I was impressed with the way Teavivre packages their tea. Sure it isn’t eco friendly, but as LiberTEAS pointed out is sure is tea friendly! I’m sure I’ve had a Keemun before, but I don’t recall what I thought of them. But I’ll tell you I loved this. The smokey flavor that seemed to turn sweet as I finished my cup, was just awesome. Also I really liked that as my cup cooled the tea didn’t get bitter at all.

Yesterday I mixed in a little of Teavivre’s Yun Nan Dian Hong and wow! This was one of my better ideas when mixing teas. I think I might try it again today. :) I can see Teavivre is going to be very bad for my wallet!

My morning cup as I open the shop and get ready for tomorrows big day. I just love this tea. It has everything I like in a morning tea. A nice malty flavor, natural sweetness, no bitter taste. Not to mention being able to get at least three steeps out of it. I’m still not picking up the sweet potatoes, but maybe that’s the sweet I’m getting, further tasting is required. :) Nothing but love for this tea! (Upping the rating too)

This is probably the fourth sample from Teavivre and I again find myself in love with this tea (ok there was that moment where it went down the wrong pipe – but that was all my fault). It is very delicate and the leaves are light and fuzzy. I used my clear tumbler/infuser to watch the magic happen. It was a good show. ;) The first steep was more vegetal, while the second steep brought out more of the flowery taste. But I enjoyed both. I’m going to try for one last steep. I sense another order to Teavivre coming after the holidays! Many thanks to them for this sample!

I thought I’d give this one a go when I ordered my sampler set from thepuriTea. I’ll say this I can certainly smell the honey as this steeps. It also has a hint of that malty smell I love. The taste is interesting as I am noting a peppery kick on the end that others have mentioned. It is very different, but I like it! I love the deep russet color of the liquid too. Very pretty and fall/winterish. :) Perfect afternoon pick me up.

Malty! I love a malty tea and this is no different. It does remind me of a similar tea from Teavana, but I like this one better. I’m getting the cocoa hints as promised with this one. I’m really picking up the malty flavor and a hint of spice too. I used two too many balls in this cup. But thankfully I was looking for a strong wake-up call with my first cup of tea. I must say we have a winner here! This is a really great full bodied tea. It will be on my next order with thepuriTea!

I included this in my order with Teavivre after trying a few of the samples they sent (I still have a few more to try/review). I’m always looking for a good herbal…this could be a contender. There are nice big fruit pieces in the bag. (Their packaging is awesome – love that they double package their teas.) This tea smelled amazing when I opened the inside pouch. It smelled equally awesome as I let it steep too. I can really taste the black currants (a new favorite). This is very relaxing and I suspect would be awesome iced too. Shame its getting really chilly here or I would be tempted to try it.

No notes yet.

Holy buttery goodness! When I opened the sample package I was hit with a yummy buttery smell and I was in love. Oolongs are quickly becoming a favorite tea of mine. I was once scared of them, but thankfully I’ve moved on to embrace them. Anyway…this one is very yummy. The leaves opened up beautifully as they steeped they look so pretty in the travel tumbler. As to the taste of the tea, so rich and creamy! I’m really in love now. I also enjoy DavidsTea’s Milk Oolong, but I think I like this just a tiny bit more. It is just so smooth and not a hint of veggie to it which I don’t mind, I also don’t miss it either. This might need to be in the tea pantry at all times.