Will Work For Tea

Thank you Amanda for swapping this sample out!

I’m very cautious of chai in general. I like the warmth that it can give you, but not necessarily the spiciness. It’s the only tea blend that I religiously check the list of ingredients before swapping/ordering. If it has pepper in it, it’s a deal-breaker.

There is a certain tea vendor’s chai that I really used to like and it had pepper in it, but it was the very last ingredient. Then for some ungodly reason, when I went to reorder the blend a year later, the company changed up the ingredient list and pepper was listed at least 4 ingredients higher. Oh and did I mention when I went to reorder, I bought a POUND of it? So now I’m stuck with lots, and lots of a chai that I no longer like. Ugh! And I’m oh-so-slowly getting rid of it by mixing it with a similar but unpeppered chai. (If you want a coconut chai, PM me and I’ll send you some – probably even more than you’d want!)

Anyway, THIS tea – I was very excited by just smelling it! It’s warm and cozy like my favorite scarf and sweater on a Fall-ish day. I put the sample away, but its been calling out to me for a few days now.

I wish I could share the brewing parameters, but quite honestly I didn’t measure the milk & water. All I can say is that I used 3 grams of tea and 4 tsp of rock sugar. The rest was left to chance. I did brew it in milk first for 3 minutes. Then brewed the leaves again in maybe a third cup of water for another 3 minutes. Having done that, I’m quite happy with the way this turned out! It’s delicious – I really like the way the cinnamon, clove and cardamon mingle in this offering. It really doesn’t taste spicy, but more reminds me of a biscuit or cookie.

It’s going on my shopping list! Thanks Amanda for the sample and saving me from another potential chai-tastrophe!

Made the last 3 grams of this western style with the below prep details.

I think overall I’m a fan of the shorter, multiple steeps. Green oolongs in general tend to be too vegetal for me to enjoy when I brew them longer. Maybe I’m brewing at incorrect water temperatures or too long. I think I need to play around with oolongs a lot more than I do.

I did enjoy this more the first time I brewed it at the shorter steeping times.

Made a half of a pitcher of this to keep in the fridge as it’s currently 102º outside. Oh and that’s not counting what the humidity makes it feel like! Gross…

Anyway, I really like traditional Italian dessert. The coffee and cream in it is so rich that I can only occasionally enjoy it. So I thought this would be a lovely way to have my dessert but without the crazy fullness that happens after I indulge.

Steeped 2 cups of water with 5 tsp. of tisane for well over 10 minutes. I couldn’t wait until it cooled down, so I poured a little of it over a couple ice cubes, some whole milk (no calories spared here!) and some simple syrup. This is DELICIOUS – Definitely a wonderful way to have this! I taste coffee and cocoa and if it wasn’t already in there, the milk takes the creaminess over the top!

I’ll probably be keeping this on hand to have latte-style!

This came in the Father’s Day special “The Gentleman’s Collection” which I purchased… for myself. :)

Overall, I’m not crazy about Brazil nuts, but I do enjoy overall nuttiness. It was the combination of the nuts with the raisins and coconut that intrigued me – that, and it was a sample size (small tin included! yay!). The dry mix smelled very toasty and nutty, similar to peanut butter, but saltier. And the nuts in this mix of tea are T-H-I-S BIG! The coconut shavings are quite sizable too.

Initially I used only 3 grams of tea, but the brew was weak for 8 ounces. The color of the tea liquor was also lighter than I thought it would be. It was more of a darker yellowish color, slightly leaning toward brown and a very watery version of what the second cup produced.

On the suggestion of another Steepsterite, I cut up the giant nut pieces so it would be more evenly distributed throughout the dry tea mix.

Trying once more, I used 6 grams of tea (there’s nuts AND raisins in the blend, making it a heavier blend) for the 8 ounces of water. 5 minutes later I added a little Sugar in the Raw. This was so much better than the first cup. The tea liquor this time around is murky and light reddish-brown in color. The top of the liquid glistens with nut and flavor oils. Not the best tea to be drinking out of a clear glass cup, but I’ll keep that in mind for next time.

The taste is very Brazil-nutty. I’d assume the raisins were in the mix to offset the saltiness imparted by the nuts. The coconut just rounds out the nuttiness of the tea.

Glad I got this as I have a tin to show for it, but probably not something I’d put on my shopping list.

An offering from the Sweet Indulgence sampler…

I have mixed feelings going into this. I really like coffee, but haven’t had it in months. But the fishiness of pu’erh is kind of a turnoff. Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE seafood, but not the old-fish-outta-the-water smell it can sometimes have.

Brewed 3 grams in 8 oz. of water and waited to cool down some. I can taste some fishiness, but it’s not bad enough to not drink the cup. There’s a slight sweetness to this brew, unlike actual coffee.

I added a touch of milk and found that it’s very nice with the addition.

Resteeped for 6 minutes. Added sweetener and milk and found that I like this version the best, even though the coffee pu’erh is sweet enough on its own. The additions tend to bring out the sweetness and muddle the fishiness.

A big thanks to darby for swapping this one! This is my first experience with Culinary Teas. :)

The smell was big and bold upon opening up the package.

“Hhhhhhhhhiiiiii, I’m Pumpkin Cream!”, it exclaimed as I pulled the chock-full, snack-sized bag out of the postal packaging.

I can tell I’m going to have to repackage her. (Yes, this tea is definitely female in my mind.) I’d hate for her to get overly friendly with my other less perfumey teas in my corner cupboard. Finding her a more suitable container to call her own, I dug up a nice canning jelly jar.

The smell is spicy, sweet and creamy – there’s definitely the smell of cinnamon sticks and whole cloves in there. I’d assume the sweet is maybe some vanilla and cream flavor. There’s also something that smells a little burnt – is that the smell of canned pumpkin?

Using dry tea leaf that wavers between 2 and 3 grams for 9 ounces of water, I wait until the infusion looks like a nice pumpkin-orange color – about 3 minutes and 45 seconds. The smell of the dry leaf transfers to my cup.

After waiting a few minutes, I try a taste. It sort of tastes like unsweetened pumpkin pie filling. The spices are well balanced and smooth. Yet the pumpkin flavoring is not dominated by them.

I did try this with a little simple syrup, but it seems to muddle the taste for some reason. I like this better pre-sweetener.

I look forward to playing around with this tea. The smell of the dry leaf scared me a little, leading me to not use as much leaf as I initially planned on. Next time I’ll try a little longer infusion with just a few more dry leaves.

Thanks to Butiki Teas for throwing this sample into my last order!

I thought this would be pretty good to go with the leftover Pineapple-Coconut Chicken Curry and Indian rice – and it was!

This is pretty delicious! I really enjoyed the sweet, creamy mango in this blend. I’m pretty sure I’m missing the rest of the taste in this due to allergies, but what did taste was impressive. First taste was all mango. Then I got the creaminess a few sips later. After adding a tad of sweetener, I could taste some citrus which was kind of a surprise. Next time, I probably won’t add sugar because it really was great on it’s own.

I also like this because it’s not a black tea base. The rooibos base is better in my opinion because it can be enjoyed at any time – without the worry of a late evening caffeine intake.

Oh Rum Raisin, how I’ve missed you! You have been out of stock for many, many months – how could Lupicia let this happen?

I have greatly missed your raisin and vanilla bean flecked tea base. Post steep, you greet me with a sweet rumminess that cries out for a little cream and sugar. I willingly oblige. In return, my cup wafts with the sinful smell that has others wondering if this tea drinker has spiked her cup. Giddy, she eats the lone raisin from her steeped leaves.

You have found your way home, back into my cupboard where your four bags have been properly tined – always at attention, waiting to be enjoyed. To many, many cups of happiness, may my tin never be empty.

I bought a few sampler packs from DT’s a couple weeks ago to get a feel for the range of their teas. This was in the manly-packaged “The Tea Aficionado” – a selection of 5 “mannish” teas in cigar-shaped tubes. Yes, I’m a sucker for packaging… and for manly stuff (I’m a man’s woman, or so I’ve been told)…

Anyway, I’m on an unflavored black kick today (oddly), so this is my second tea of the day. Brewed 3 grams in 8 oz of water at the below parameters. The resulting liquor is very dark – it matches the black-brown color of my furniture!

Uh, wow – this is quite a change from the Bailin Gongfu black tea I had this morning. This one slaps you in the face and demands your attention!

Quite bitter upon first sip, I immediately reached for the milk and sugar to calm this cup down. There’s still a bitterness underneath the additions, but it’s much more manageable now. There’s a slight honey undertone that I’m also getting…

This goes nicely lemon squares, by the way! :)

Overall I like it and will probably keep this around on those days that I really need help focusing, which sometimes is a lot!

This morning’s first cup before heading out to do errands.

My Teavivre order of a ton of samples arrived yesterday morning – woo hoo! Since I had the most samples of this tea, I decided to start with it first.

Three grams of leaf in 8 oz of water at the below preparation notes yielded a delicious cup of black tea. There was heft in the cup, but no sign of bitterness. Some have said this is reminiscent of beer and I’d agree with that. There’s a malty-sweetness to the liquor. I had no desire to add anything to this cup to make it taste any better – it was that good!

Resteep: Water was just under boiling for a 3 minute soak. This turned out to be another delicious cup similar to that of the first cup.

I could see this as an everyday tea, but not something I’d necessarily want if I needed to be kicked out of bed in the morning. But a very nice change to the usual black-tea-with-milk-&-sugar routine.

Thanks goes out to QueenOfTarts for this morning’s sample of Creme Caramel.

There are small bits of caramel in this blend, which provides a nice sweetness to the brewed liquor. Brewed at the below parameters, there’s no hint of bitterness. The caramel flavor is enhanced with a little addition of sugar, but I don’t believe it’s strong enough for milk.

Overall, a decent dessert tea.

Thank you to QueenOfTarts for passing along a nice-sized sample of this! This is my first experience with The Persimmon Tree.

Upon opening the package, the leaf mixture smells sweet and caramely. I used 2 teaspoons of tea for 8 oz at the below parameters. The yellowish-brown liquor smells a tiny bit roasty and sweet. First few sips are toasty upfront, but end with the sweetness of caramel. Very interesting blend. I don’t really feel the need to put sweetener in this as it might overwhelm the toastiness of the tea, but I will for experience’s sake.

Post sweetener, the roastedness is much more muted, but the caramel really pops. Both ways are enjoyable! This is going on the shopping list!

Thanks again QueenOfTarts!

Rehydrating after being sick this morning – this is an excellent way of soothing a still queazy stomach while making my tastebuds happy.

Enjoying unsweetened! :)

Another sample courtesy of Fong Mong Tea – thank you!

Steeped 150 ml of 190º water with 3 grams of oolong for an initial time of 3 minutes. This produced a nice mild oolong – not overly vegetal. It smells more vegetal than it tastes. The second steep (same amount of water with a 5º and 1 minute addition) is a bit stronger in vegetal flavor, but smells less so. The third steep I think I may have left the leaves in too long, because I’m not fond of the taste. There’s kind of a bitter taste in it.

I really like the first steep the best, but next time I’ll try the full 6 minute soak.

Iced, latte-style = DELICIOUS!

Snuck this into the movie theatre – I’ll take this over the regular concession stand fare any day! :)

Kinda surprised no one else has reviewed this tea, especially since there are a few stellar reviews on ATR’s website.

To be completely honest I bought a sample size of this (I really love sample sizes!) before I could pick out that licorice root is not my favorite additive to teas. I think licorice root to me is like rooibos for others… and yes, there’s rooibos in here too. Double whammy!

Anyway, out of the package the tisane smells chocolately and creamy like ATR’s Choco*Laté. But I’m pretty sure I’m smelling the licorice root in there too, but it’s faint. Brewed 10 oz. of water with 4 tsp. of tisane. 30ish minutes later I taste the warmed version. Hit in the face with chocolatey licorice root… Sigh

Iced, the taste is more chocolate with much less in-your-face licorice. Better. A bit of creamer, and the licorice mellows out into the background. I kind of feel silly adding sweetener because it really doesn’t need it at all, but it I do anyway and I think I like it best this way.

If I had to choose between this and Choco*Laté, I’m gonna choose the latter merely for the fact that the licorice root is kind of a downer to me. They taste rather similar anyway.

Had the last of this today – YAY! Not a bad tea, but very minty. I think I like more of a smooth mint. A little of it can go a long way. :)

I’m finally getting around to trying this sample that I bought from my first order with ATR from earlier this year.

Brewed 10 oz. of water at the below parameters with 4 tsp of tisane. Strong, but not overly powerful. This is nice – it’s a lovely non-caffeinated version of lemoned tea. But the taste of the lemon is slightly creamy and smooth, not tart, which I like a whole lot! I can easily drink it this way without additions. I did ice half of this and is great on it’s own. A little sweetener brings out the creaminess more. Will be keeping this one on hand!

Thank you to QueenOfTarts for swapping this!

It smells amazing in the bag! Yes, a little reminiscent of my lemon scented 409 multi-surface cleaner, but I’m not worried. I keep huffing the bag that the tea came in – it’s pretty awesome!

Steeped 2 tsp in 6 oz. of water that was 167º for 3 minutes = probably the best flavored green tea I’ve enjoyed in quite awhile! 3 oz. were reserved for hot unadulterated consumption. It was a little stronger than I like, but easily fixable. The other 3 oz. were iced and lightly sweetened. I like it best this way, but maybe that’s because it’s currently hot and summery out. Drinking it this way is like taking a mini-vacation to a tropical place – laying in one of those really comfortable lounge chairs under an umbrella in a bikini on the beach. I think I just talked myself into ordering a large bag of this…

This sample courtesy of Fong Mong Tea – thank you!

Steeped 3 grams of leaves for 6 minutes at about 187º. This produced a lovely honey-gold colored liquid. I can smell the roasted veggies, and the taste reminds me of roasted asparagus. Delicious! There’s a slight coolness that fills my mouth after the roastiness subsides – fun!

Resteeped at 190º for another 6 minutes the roastiness is still here, but a tad less so now.

The third infusion is probably where I’ll draw the line. The taste is still there, but falling to the point where I won’t peruse it more.

Thanks again to Fong Mong Tea for sharing a sample of this tasty tea!

Thank you to QueenOfTarts for swapping this!

This smells like powdered hot chocolate in the bag. There’s a crazy amount of cacao husks in here, but I’m sure that just adds to the decadence.

Brewed at the below parameters and it smelled just as good. Upon inital taste sans additives, it tastes like chocolate rice. Not sure why, but it did. Like a very chocolatey rice pudding that was less creamy and sweet.

But add some sweetener and a bit of creamer…. OMG – crazy good! And it’s made even more awesomer (urban dictionary!) by the fact that it’s caffeine-free! I already have plans to stock up on this for winter because this might be all I drink outside a good strong morning cup.

My first attempt at this may have fallen a tad short. I didn’t read the brewing instructions on Steepster before making my initial cup. Too little leaf and not brewed long enough!

The second cup with more leaf and less water and a longer brewing time (see preparation details below) turned out much better.

Upon opening the sample package from Fong Mong Tea, I notice how long the rolled leaves are – unusual compared to my other black teas. Almost a fruity smell wafts from the bag.

The brewed cup is a nice clear-reddish color. The liquid is earthy, with a slight sweetness. There’s a smoothness to this tea – no sign of bitterness.

This really does hit all the checkpoints that I’m looking for in a black tea! It’s delicious without additives (and that says a lot coming from someone who regularly defaults to throwing in a dash healthy dose of sugar and creamer)! Once I clear out my tea cabinet of the “other” morning tea, I’m putting in an order for this!

Thank you for the wonderful sample, Fong Mong Tea!

I bought a couple of samples of this when I placed my first Golden Moon order a little over a week ago. Never having tried it before, I didn’t know if I wanted a tin of this hanging around.

In anticipation of my order arriving I was reading up on the teas that would eventually find their way to my front door. I found a recipe for tea eggs using Lapsang Souchong ( http://steepster.com/discuss/14-cooking-w-slash-tea?page=5 ) and knew I had to try it as soon as the tea order arrived.

I tore into the small sample package and scooped out the tablespoon’s worth of tea. Regret of not buying a full tin washed over me – this is deliciously smokey; as in bacony and barbecue-y.

High hopes for the tea eggs were in order. 6 hours later, I tried the first one. The egg had a slight smokiness to it! YUM! I could see myself going through the trouble of using tea eggs as smoked deviled eggs sometime.

I have to try the other sample of this properly, as a beverage. Regardless of whether or not I like drinking it, I’ll probably acquire a tin of this if nothing more than to cook with!