Will Work For Tea

Received this is a swap with Alphakitty last month. I’ve been saving this for when I can taste things fully again since my last allergy appointment. It’d seem wasteful to have a cup if I couldn’t get the full experience…

Brewed up a heaping 1.5 tsp in 8 ounces of water.

This turned out to be pretty tasty as a basic black tea. I liked that it wasn’t weak – there was a nice robustness to it. Didn’t get any fruitiness, at least from what I could tell. It did taste nice and round, if that makes any sense… No bitterness even with a 5 minute steep.

It wasn’t any better with the addition of rock sugar and I wasn’t about to put any creamer into it. I’m not sure if it would have tasted any better cooled, which is sayin’ something – I drank it pretty quick hot! :)

I’d definitely drink this again should the opportunity present itself.

Woke up at 3:30 this morning to take the husband to the airport for another business trip. Needed something that was strong and tasty and got it with this. Lighty sweetened and dairied, I think this is a cupboard staple that should replace some tea from across the pond that I have too much of. Can’t yet justify a replenishment purchase of this until the other said tea supply has dwindled…
:(

Cold brewed this for about 6 hours. 1 tsp for 6 oz of water. Added a little vanilla cream syrup and soda water = tasty new tea soda!

Made a nice strong pitcher of this the usual way: 2 cups boiling water with some rock sugar and resteeped the bag in another cup of water and iced. Pretty tasty.

But you know what? I couldn’t help but put in a splash of half and half into my glass! I think I like it just a tad sweeter, but it tastes pretty close to liquified Neapolitan Ice Cream.

Definitely will do that again!

I don’t usually reach for Earl Grey teas, but if there’s some creamy vanilla added in there’s more of a chance I’ll try it. The bergamot is many times too overpowering.

So enter this offering from Upton provided by Alphakitty! The dry leaf smells a little chocolatey and creamy. Hmmm… that might be because there was a H&S’s Florence sample in the swap too. I’m pressing on anyway.

Brewed 2 tsp of leaf with about 10 oz of boiling water. The wet leaf smells a little like cream soda! Ok, now we’re talking! :)

I did try this without sweetener first and was pleasantly surprised there was very little bitterness. It’s very smooth, which is also something I find lacking in many EGC’s. A little rock sugar added and it brings out more of the creamy vanilla.

This is a really nice offering. I can’t say that I’ve ever had a more enjoyable EGC before. And it’s my first sampling from Upton. It’s going on my shopping list when I get around to building up enough of an order to justify a purchase – thanks Alphakitty!

Thanks again to Alphakitty for parting with some of this – I know how much you like it! :)

Trying to make some progress on all traded tea samples that I’ve accumulated. Three is a good start for today and all of them have been green-type teas. Tomorrow: black teas!

Used a heaping 1.5 tsp of leaf for 8 ounces of water. The brewed liquor smells good – slight lemony coconut over a nice green base. The taste is even more nice. I was tempted to add a little rock sugar, but refrained this time.

I liked this better than H&S’s Tokyo blend. Next time I might use a little more leaf, but it was pretty tasty the way it was.

The dry leaf smells a touch buttery and toasty.

Used a heaping 1.5 tsp (maybe even closer to 2 tsp.) of leaf for 8 ounces of water. Brewed, this tastes like a mix of lightly toasty genmaicha smoothed out with a touch of buttery caramel. The flavor is a little lighter than I’d like. It’s kind of meh, but I think that’s because I’m still a little congested.

A big thanks goes out to Alphakitty for sharing a nice sized sample of this! I look forward to taste testing it again, and maybe even iced.

Thank you Bonnie for passing along this sample!

I brought 4 ounces of water to a boil and let it cool for a minute. Poured it over the teaspoon sample of dry leaf for three minutes, resulting in a pale yellow liquor. This has a slightly fuller body compared to GM’s coconut pouching offering. The coconut flavoring in The Spice and Tea Exchange is very similar to that of GM’s; it light and refreshing.

A resteep with slightly hotter water and an additional minute of brew time provided an equally enjoyable cup!

In the third steeping, the coconut taste is much less so, but there’s still plenty of oolong flavor to press forward for those who are looking to get the most bang for their buck.

This is definitely a contender as a cupboard staple, especially since it’s half the price!

Top o’ the mornin’ to ya!

Looking forward to having tea again after not having it for a week! My allergies were so bad (because I couldn’t take any medication for 7 days leading up to the allergist appointment), that I couldn’t justify having tea – I mean, I couldn’t even taste it!

The Pot O’ Gold dry tea leaves are long and wiry with yellow marigold petals that waft butterscotch goodness. Brewed 3 tsp of leaf with 14 oz of near boiling water. The result is a little less butterscotchy. The base comes through nicely – it’s very smooth without sweetener. I enjoyed the next cup with rock sugar and found the butterscotch flavoring to be enhanced.

I like that this can be drunk with or without sweetener and, to me at least, it tastes like two different teas. Oh, and this is lovely with an apple pastry! :)

Last month Amanda sent me a sample of this and I ended up really liking it – so much that I broke down and bought a half a pound of this offering from Golden Moon. Took advantage of a free shipping promo so I could justify it’s purchase! :) I really love that there isn’t any pepper in this blend, but it’s rather cinnamony and spicy from the cloves and cardamon.

So this time I prepared it as a concentrated chai syrup so that I can just add it to milk when the mood strikes. Here’s what I did:

Brought 2 cups of water and 1 1/3 cup of sweetener to a rolling boil in a saucepan. Let it boil for about 3 minutes to let the sugar & rock sugar combination fully dissolve. Then I added 6 tablespoons of the Kashmiri chai dry leaf, letting it steep for 5 minutes. Strained the leaf from the concentrate and let cool in a swing top glass bottle. When cool, refrigerate.

Now I can have a delicious iced chai latte with a fraction of the work!

This sample came to me by way of Azzrian – thank you very much!

The dry leaves smell quite good – I smell berries!

I brewed up 8 ounces of water and poured over a teaspoon and a half of leaves. Tasting the tea liquor its just a tad bitter for me, so I end up adding a little rock sugar. It mellows out the bite a bit and brings the lemon and berry taste forward. I can see why this is a favorite of Azzrian’s. Thanks for passing a tasting along! :)

I bet this would be tasty as an iced tea!

This was my iced tea of choice a few days ago. Cold brewed it up nice and strong and threw in a few freeze-dried strawberries to make it a little more fruity. Turned out very nice with some sweetener added.

I have had Exotica twice now (does that sound dirty, because I really didn’t mean that). Anyway, I purchased some samplers last month and immediately became a little leary – there are peppercorns in it. I hate pepper in my tea. The only think I loath more is licorice root! So I went really easy with the sample and cold brewed it hoping the pepper wouldn’t be noticeable. It steeped in the fridge for 24 hours and it produced a very light but refreshing sweet lemony water, without the acid lemons will give you. No trace of pepper from what I could tell. Having done this, I knew I’d love it brewed the traditional way.

So my latest DT order arrived at my door today and in less than a week. YAY! I’m becoming more and more of a fan of this company! :) I bought 100 grams of this because if nothing else I can cold brew it and really increase my water intake, something I’m really bad at despite all the tea I drink.

I brewed 1.5 tsp of tisane in about 6 oz of boiling water for just over 7 minutes. I tried a sip of it while hot and it was very lemony! Again no pepper detected. :) Put in a couple rock sugar pieces a few ice cubes and it’s pretty awesome! I may have to rethink my disdain for pepper – at least pink peppercorns, let’s not get ahead of ourselves now…

I’m really glad I got the extra pouch because I’ll be having this year-round!

I enjoy citrus as a fruit. But for some reason I don’t usually like it in black tea = Earl Greys. I’m not sure if it’s the bergamot flavoring or what. But if there’s cream flavor added I’m much more likely to enjoy it.

The dry leaf of this smells like tart tangerines – kind of like when you dig into the peel of a tangerine and the oils from the peel are released. So I couldn’t wait to brew some of this up.

Used 2 tsp for 8 oz of water for a stronger taste as the allergies really kicked my butt yesterday. Today I’m left with a lot of sinus pressure and muted taste buds. Anyway, just over six minutes later I’m left with a darker orange liquor. I tried a tablespoons worth and got lots of tangerine flavor! It wasn’t sour, but it wasn’t sweet either; just straight citrusy tangerine. I don’t have any experience with the guayusa base, so while it may be there, I don’t taste anything other than the fruit. A little rock sugar sweetens the cup by bringing out the smoothness of the cream.

As with other Butiki Teas, I’m a fan of this one. I really like the flavorings Stacy uses. They taste pretty natural to me.

I’m hoping the next cup I can let cool down enough to try it cold or iced.

EDIT: I did resteep this and while the tangerine has diminished, it’s still a great second cup!

Decupboarding this to make room for plethora of tea orders I made over the weekend. (Don’t tell my husband!)

I will miss Pancake Breakfast for the time being, but I know I’ll throw a pouch of it in my 52teas cart the next time I make an order. It’s mapley, cakey goodness is hard to resist!

This (among other 52teas) just came in the mail – WOO HOO!!!

Started out with this one since I had the most of them. Brewed this as originally directed: one 2-quart tea sack in 16 oz (2 cups) boiling water for 3 minutes. Shook in about a third of a cup of sugar and diluted with another 2 cups worth of cool water and ice. This is so tasty! I love the bubble gum flavor! It’s a great balance of flavoring to tea.

I did resteep this in 1 cup of boiling water for about 4 minutes. Added in a little more than an eighth cup of sugar and diluted with another cup of icey cold water. It resteeps very well, just as Frank has said! Quite a deal if resteeped!

I’m keeping this in my cupboard, mostly for the summer months. Looking forward to having the husband try this out too!

As an allergy sufferer, I really have to thank Bonnie for this sample! I used to drink (bagged) nettle tea before moving to California as my hay fever would always get the best of me. Well, since I moving away from my adoptive home, I’m in need of some relief – and BAD! The attacks I have in Indiana have hit me like a ton of bricks. An allergist appointment is in the future to receive shots to help me combat the effects of nature.

Anyway, this nettle tea is fantastic! I remember the bagged version never tasting nearly this good – I always had to choke it down! But Butiki’s version is really wonderful. The artichoke taste is really something I can get behind too! Artichokes are kind of expensive here, and I used to eat them all the time in Cally-land. So between helping lessen the effects of allergies and the fond memories of eating artichokes, I think we have a real winner here!

I only used one Blue Nettle cigar for about 3 or 4 ounces and resteeped. Looking forward to Amy oh’s way of cold brewing these bad boys too! This is going to be a daily drink.

Just placed a Butiki order and included the largest package of this offered. Hopefully I can ration out what Bonnie sent me until it arrives! :)

This was another nearly-full 50 gram bag from Ninavampi!

The dry leaf smells soooooooooooooooo good! I already don’t care if I don’t like this brewed, because I love what it smells like in the bag! It smells very sweet, like caramel and maple. I’m also getting some chemicalish smell, but honestly that doesn’t bother me.

Brewed up 2.25 tsp in 6 oz of slightly cooler water for the maximum 7 minutes. The tea liquor is a slightly murky yellowish color. I immediately put some rock sugar in to maximize the sweetness. This tastes more like a candied apple to me. I get the mapley caramel in the beginning of the sip, but it ends on a slightly tart apple note.

I really like this one! It’s definitely different from other teas I have in my cupboard. I’m interested in trying this one cold.

With the reviews for this one all over the place, I had to try this for myself. Ninavampi was gracious enough to swap this nearly-full 50 gram bag of Carrot Cake (and others) with me.

First off, I kind of like the strong smell of spices, carrot and cake that I’m getting from the dry leaf. I’d be happy enough just huffing the bag. But this wouldn’t be a legit review if I didn’t brew the tea. 1.5 tsp in 7ish ounces of water. For some reason the water didn’t get hot enough when I boiled it on the stove, so I let it brew just a tad longer.

Brewed, this is a yellowish-orange color. I gave it a quick sip sans rock sugar, and thought it might benefit from a small addition. So I added a few pieces. I can taste the spices and cakey carrot confection, but it’s much more muted than it smelled out of the bag. That’s kind of disappointing. As is cooled, all I could taste was spices and carrot. Probably better enjoyed quickly at a hotter temperature.

Overall I don’t hate it, but I’m not in love with it either. It’s just alright. I usually enjoy carrot cake on the few occasions that I have it, but it’s not a dessert I generally choose. I have a feeling it might take some playing around with before I can say I really enjoy this one. Nonetheless, I’m glad I have some to try and play with. :)

This was my breakfast tea! The vanilla complimented the Blueberry French Toast and bacon my husband made this morning – good stuff! :)

I don’t have a lot of experience with puerh, so I’m always looking for opportunities to expand my knowledge of it. Thanks goes out to Bonnie for this nice sample!

I didn’t know what to expect from this tea. Chocolate and orange go pretty well together, but it’s not usually a combination I seek out. Brewed up 8 oz of tea with 1 1/2 tsp of tea. Put in a bit of rock sugar and waited until it cooled a little.

The cup produced a fragrant earthy cup. I smell the puerh and maybe a bit of chocolate. No citrus yet.

Upon the first taste, I got a nice bright chocolate taste – there’s the orange! The earthiness isn’t so apparent in the taste, but I can smell it when I go in for a sip. It’s pretty good. Nothing too fancy, mostly a chocolate taste with the orange to brighten it up.

Thank you Bonnie for sharing a sample of this with me!

I got a decent amount of this from a couple of Father’s Day samplers and have tried this with a bit of rock sugar. It’s quite delicious this way. Creamy, rummy and vanilliay! Mmmmmm!

So tonight I decided to up the ante a bit. I have this really tasty Hot Buttered Rum Batter ( http://liquor.com/articles/in-defense-of-hot-buttered-rum/ ) in my freezer. I have used this to make said drink and it’s pretty good. But I had a lightbulb moment tonight – what if I combine the batter with some brewed Buttered Rum tea and a healthy dose of the Captain’s Spiced Rum. Well, let me tell you this is FANTASTIC! I won’t be making it a habit (because it’s ridiculous calorie-wise), but I’m keeping this in mind when the weather cools off considerably.

Will be ordering one of the larger amounts Buttered Rum once I place another DT order!

Really loving this one – it’s got a permanent tin in my cupboard!

Brewed 2 1/2 tsp (though might have been closer to 3 tsp as they weren’t really level) in about 12 oz of water. Added a tsp of rock sugar to enhance the creaminess. So good!

Also nice with hummus & salty pita chips – balancing the sweet and salty!

I’m pretty low on this and am dreading the day that my tin becomes empty. Hoping to not let that happen! It’ll take discipline, but this is worth it! :)

Thank you Azzrian for adding this as a bonus in the swap!

I like this! It’s cream and almonds in a caffeine-free tea. Added a little rock sugar to sweeten the deal, but it really didn’t need it. :)