Will Work For Tea

Rationing the sample Amanda shared with me until my DT order gets here….

Wanted to log this tea cocktail to share. Brewed this up strong and put it in the fridge to chill overnight. (Sorry, I went a little willy nilly with the measurements this time.) Put in a little simple syrup, milk and coconut rum – HOLY COW! This is scary good!!!! Will do this again! :)

My allergies are getting the best of me. I really should not be as tired as I am, but a day of multiple deep sneeze attacks and a productive cough are making me feel worse… And I want some hot tea to comfort me, even though I really can’t taste it.

I tend to crave this when I don’t feel awesome. I like it for quite a few reasons. It’s caffeine-free, has great zip and it’s cheap, so I don’t feel guilty having some when I can barely taste it.

Thank you Amanda for this sample!

This smells really sweet right out of the bag. There’s a pretty mix of sprinkles and small pearls of what I’d guess is the freeze-dried ice cream.

3 tsp in 6 oz boiling water for about 3:35. The resulting liquid is halved – one for trying hot, the other over ice. Both versions look dirty. There’s sediment at the bottom that looks to be vanilla bean seeds and floaty stuff at the top, kind of looks like the top of lake water.

Brewed, the liquor still smells sweet. It tastes sweet as well. (I didn’t add sweetener to the cup.) This tastes similar to liquified ice cream with a vanilla bent.

The cold version is less tasty for some reason. I don’t think I over iced it, but I’m finding the flavor a little lost. I _(shamefully) added more sugar to the iced version which helped it out in the flavor department. Will probably get this, but in a small size and especially for the winter.

Thanks again for sharing Amanda!

Another new tea! Seriously though, I really have to stop buying tea. I’m in job limbo right now and playing Russian roulette with my bank account by buying tea. Grrr… I have no self control.

Anyway, I had never seen this brand before. I bought it after consulting Steepster while in the tea/coffee section of the grocery isle this morning, but really the words “Italian Almond” sealed the deal for me. I pretty much love anything almond-flavored and Italian, well… I’m pretty sure if I hadn’t married my husband, I would have sought out an Italian man.

The first thing I noticed upon opening the foil wrapping of the “20 luxury leaf bags” was the smell – amaretto filled the nose. So far so good! The tea bags bugged me a little. They felt like dryer sheets, which to me belong in the dryer, not my cup. After brewing a bag, it became even more weird. Kind of like a tough cocoon. That part I’m trying to not dwell on…

This is not a complex cup. Someone likened the taste to almond syrup, and I’d agree with that having added sweetener to it before even trying it. The taste is not strong enough for milk on it’s own, but maybe if it were brewed double strength it’d be alright. (I’ll try this sometime.)

So the tea itself is pretty good – not fantastic, but I like it and would probably pick up more, especially at 24¢ a tea bag!

Oh, wow – this is tasty!!! Very piña colada-eque and my first DT so we’ve started off on the right foot!

I actually had a hard time not eating the fruit pieces before I steeped. It smelled so sweet!

4 oz of boiling water with 2 tsp of tisane, steeped for 10 minutes. Iced, sweetened and added a tiny bit of cream. The taste is good, maybe just a touch lighter than I like, but that’s easily remedied.

Thank you to Amanda for letting me sample this! I can see this as a summer staple in my cupboard/fridge! :D

Thank you so much to Amanda for this sample – it’s been something I’ve been wanting to try since I found the 52teas website not long ago.

This smells really great in the bag – a nice smooth blueberry aroma. Brewed 2 tsp in 8 oz of near boiling water, steeped for just over 3 minutes and 20 seconds. I can smell the blueberries as I’m straining out the leaves. I’m pretty excited and am having a hard time waiting until the drinkable temperature of 135º. Pre-sweetener, this is a really good cup – I can drink this without sugar. Definately taste the blueberry. I’m finding a smoothness to this cup. Added sweetener mid-cup and – BAM! – there’s so much more blueberry flavor to be found. Delicious!

Resteeped in 6 oz of boiling water for 4:30 and the flavor is waning, but still there. The creaminess is gone, mostly just blueberry

Looking forward to playing around with this a little. Thanks again, Amanda!

Bought this during the very beginning of my tea journey. Earl Grey with lavender is a nice change from EG Créme, but it’s not something I necessarily seek out.

Brewed one bag in 6 oz of water. Added a bit of lavender syrup to bring it out over the bergamot (not such a fan of citrus alone in tea). Added 3 ounces of milk for a latte-style cup. It lacked the strength I look for in a wake-up tea.

Had a few sips of this as is, but wanted a bit of zing in my cup. Overbrewed it a bit and added some fresh lemonade that was leaning more toward the tart side – delicious!

Not all of this was consumed when I made it for the boys a couple days ago, so I poured the leftover in an ice cube tray for later enjoyment.

Both dogs like chomping on ice cubes. In the past, I usually put in small treats in water and freeze them into cubes. Usually they’ll chomp on it to get to the treat and leave the ice to melt on the floor. So I figured they’d enjoy these just as well, and they did! Both of them ate all the cube – Yay! This might be the preparation of choice for them.

Backlog: This is a delicious combination, one I wouldn’t have thought to put together. Both the watermelon and blackberry are equally present.

Used 3 tsp. in 16 oz of boiling water and let it steep overnight. Iced and with a little sweetener its pretty awesome! Makes a great iced tea! I’m already planning on ordering more! :)

HOLY MELON BALLS, PEOPLE!!!!

There’s a lot of melon in this tea! I LOVE it!

This is can be a chameleon of a cup!

First cup: 1 1/2 tsp in 6 oz of water, untarnished – Melon in the front, helichrysum in the back. Added a smidge of simple syrup mid cup – The sweetener brought the helichrysum forward and pushed the melon to the back. WOW!

Second cup: Resteeped leaves in 190º for 4 minutes, no additives – I’m finding there’s more balance between the melon and helichrysum. Interestingly after adding a tad of sweetener to this midcup, the sweetness muddles the other flavors.

Third cup: Resteeped for 4:30 minutes in 200º, no additives – Loosing the helichrysum, mostly melon.

Fourth cup: Resteeped for 5 minutes in boiling water, no additives – all melon. (I’m going to quit while I’m ahead…)

With that many steeps – this is a keeper!

This is a nice, smooth non-fussy almond tea. Its a little lighter in flavor than I like, so I might play around with it a bit to see if more leaf will bring out more almond flavor. The dry leaf smells sweeter than it brews up. I find I like this a bit better with a tad of simple syrup, not because its bitter. I think I just like my nutty teas with a bit of sweetness.

This being the second black tea that I ordered, I really like that the tea base Stacy uses doesn’t get bitter when steeped longer than recommended. So far, I’ve used much less sugar than I have with other teas. I think that’s a testament to how well her teas are blended!

This cup was prepared with 1 1/2 tsp. in 6 oz. of water at the below preparation details.

Received my order from Butiki Teas this morning and am very excited to experience what others have already been raving about!

A cold, dreary, slightly damp June day here – it reminds me of Fall. I chose this offering from my order because it seems to be fitting of a Fall-like tea.

I like how Stacy has included brewing recommendations for her teas because I would have gone heavier on the leaf – that’s my natural default. I did only use 6 oz of water for the teaspoon of leaf and went 15 second too long (from the recommendation) on the steep. But the resulting cup is delicious – and that’s even without adding anything, something I never do! The taste is not really strong, but oddly I like that. Its just enough to stand on its own. Pumpkin and spice fill the nose and the mouth. No bitterness! To me it’s more like a pumpkin pie taste rather than a créme brûlée; I’m not getting the creamy, but that could be due to just having had a peanut butter rice cake before this.

Tried a second cup with (new leaf and) the same brewing parameters, but added a 1/2 tsp. of brown sugar to the cup, but tasted no difference. Another 1/2 tsp. later, it just tasted sweeter, still no creaminess.

A third cup using the combined leaves from the previous two cups and soaking for 3 1/2 minutes produced a still fragrant cup of pumpkin spice, but the spice is lighter in taste.

Nonetheless, I’m a happy camper! I really like that I can enjoy this without sweetener. Come to think of it, this might be the first black tea I like without it! Thank you Stacy!

After a slight snafu with the postal system, my order from 52teas arrived earlier this afternoon. I’m particularly excited about this specific order because I threw in a bag of Doggy Tea for the furkids!

While I’m certainly no doctor, I do know after researching “valerian root” that its used as a sedative for nervous tension and excitability. Oskar (dachshund) and Sammie (chiweenie) both feed off each other’s crazy excited outbursts, no matter the situation. And there’s a storm a comin’ from the west… so with these two issues I’m looking forward seeing if this calms them down any.

First human impressions: It looks like small pieces of straw with broken pieces of dried passion flower. Smells like straw with a hint of smokiness.

First canine impressions: Both agree that Mommy described it accurately. It gets 3 sniffs per pup and 4 lip licks each – a good sign!

After brewing a half tsp. in 6 oz. of boiling water for 3 minutes the water is clear yellow with more of a smoky smell. We let is cool to a tasty 110º. (No burnt tongues here!)

Sammie tried it first after giving the cooled tea a good whiff – there was lots of lapping, followed by the licking of lips. He likes it! Seconds and thirds were had as well! :)

It took a lot more coaxing for Oskar to try it. He took a couple of polite sips, but hasn’t gone back for more.

Breakfast for dinner – English muffin sandwich with smoked gouda, fried egg and ham and PG Tips decaf.

I’m really glad I picked up a box of these when I did – mostly for when I want a plain black decaf, but also now that I know the store I frequent no longer sells this (or any PG Tips for that matter – humph!)!

I really love this for the ease factor too! Two bags, 12 oz. boiling water, half-and-half, with enough sugar to lure an ant colony. Simple comfort in a cup with less caffeine!

Again the husband is away on yet another business trip and I reach for this tea… This better not be the beginning of a trend! Actually, I grabbed this in an effort to help decupboard it, especially after the poor results I had last time.

After looking at the previous results, I went heavier on the rooibos (5 level tsp.) and a tad less water (8oz). Brewed for quite a long time, probably a little over 10 minutes. The brewed liquor is a nice dark amber.

Sadly it still tastes like a stronger version of blah… Wondering aloud: Will putting rum in this make it better? It is Happy Hour!

Back to the old routine after yesterday’s green marathon…

This is an okay tea – definitely not heavy on the hazelnut. Admittedly, I use a lot of leaf which I don’t mind because this is pretty cheap compared to coffee – something I tell myself I want, but don’t drink because its a little too strong. So this will tide me over until I can find something that pops more in both the hazelnut flavor and tea’s strength (caffeine)…

Side note – I did find some brown rice, popped and unpopped, in the hazelnut tin. Sifted those out, but still used them to brew it in the tea. While not noticeable, I think it probably brought out a little of the toasty nuttiness of the tea.

It is Green Tea Tuesday around here – Dragonwell, Hojicha and Genmaicha. Time to get some flavored greens in the mix!

I found one individually wrapped bag of this and realized that I’ve been hanging on to it for 5 months now. I picked it (along with a few other of Revolution’s individually wrapped teabags) up from a gas station between seeing my family and driving 5 hours north to see the husband’s family.

In an effort to continue today’s green tea consumption I made this. Dry bag smells mostly like a minty green tea – strange. No where on the packaging does it say “Mint”. But I push forward. Brewed at the below parameters with 8 oz of water, all I taste is a slightly minty green tea. There’s no chocolate; no orange in my cup. Oh, the disappointment… Revolution you lured me with the orange and chocolate left me hanging with a green mint. :(

WOW! Just WOW!

I think this is an amazing tea! First off, the dry leaf is so pretty – white tea leaves blended with blue cornflowers, dried shredded coconut and sprinkled with safflowers. The smell of cream and coconut fill the nose. Ooooooo!

The taste matches the strength of the smell – creamy, creamy coconut. The smell and taste are quite strong, but I’m not complaining. I really like strong teas in general.

Currently I’m enjoying this iced, but it’s also good hot – which is a reason why I’ll probably keep it stocked in my cupboard. It’s also good without sweetener, but I find that adding a little takes it over the top! :)

This is the second white tea I’ve tried recently and am finding that I’m liking them more than I thought I would. (I’m more partial to flavored blacks.) Who knows, maybe I’ve been lucky with my choices. Whatever it is, I’m looking forward to finding more delicious offerings of white tea!

Toasty and tasty! I really do love Genmaicha! It’s one of the very few teas I can drink without sweetener and dairy. (And I think I need that after finishing a sweeter chai. :) )

Note to self: I need to try this iced.

I’m very much in the mood for creamy today even though it’s hot out. I think it has to do with the AC being on. You see, I’m very sensitive to temperature changes, and my husband is very sensitive to heat. He usually wins this battle by putting on the air. I end up putting on longer layers to stay warm… and drinking hot tea!

To soothe the need to put cream and sugar in my cup, I decided chai would fit the bill. I’m also feeling a bit nutty. Hazelnut Chai is checking off all my wants.

My cups of chai are always sweetened with a healthy dose of dairy. I like this particular blend because its not black pepper-spicy. It’s not my favorite ingredient in chai. The more it has in it, the more I feel I have to compensate it with sugar. So I tend to lean more toward chai has has pepper toward the bottom of the ingredient list, if its in there at all.

This is nutty and comforting – just what I’m feeling like! :)

I realize I might be in the minority here. This particular blend did not make it into my home because I love, like or even really know much of the work Jane Austen has produced. I’m not a literary buff, let alone much of a novel-reader. Sadly, I just don’t have the attention span. I do love a good blend and if it combines vanilla, cream and some kind of fruit, I’m in!

Second tea of the day and I’m hoping for better results.

The leaf smells promising – My nose is quite happy with the blackberry and creaminess of vanilla. Yum! I already have plans to dirty up this blend, latte style.

Brewed up the regular black tea route (boiling, 3 minute steep), using 4 tsp. for 8oz. I know I used quite a bit of leaf, but I do plan on putting half and half and simple syrup in it. I did taste it pre additives. It’s quite bitter, but not in a spine-tingling way. The blackberry is less noticeable, but the creaminess is still there. I imagine I’d like this without the additions, but with less leaf.

Post additives, it’s decent. I lost some of the blackberry. It’s still there, but more subtle. The creamer and sweetener added to the creaminess of the tea. This version is really comforting.

Next time I’ll try this a little less dirty…

EDIT: As my latte cools, the blackberry is peeking out more! :D

Last month my husband went to Chicago on business. Being the opportunist I am, I looked at the hotel where he was staying – it was 4 blocks away from an Adagio store. So I sent him packing with a list of teas to get while he was there. :)

I had originally requested a sample of their Almond black tea, but they didn’t have any in store. The girl helping my husband with the order gave him a sample of this, saying that it tastes better than the one I initially wanted.

I’m finding that I need to use a lot of leaf to get the desired result. The first time I tried this I used 2 tsp. of leaf for 8 ounces. It was alright, but very light tasting. I really prefer my teas stronger. For the next cup, the amount of leaf was doubled. Better, but still lacking.

I really don’t have much experience with oolongs, so maybe it should be a lighter tasting almond flavor. While it makes an okay cup, it’s probably not going to be something I reach for in the mornings…

So close to decupboarding this! It has been with me for far too long, both in distance and time. I think we’re close to parting ways.

Made 16 ounces of this double strength and iced it. It’s a decent offering from Lupicia, but I prefer this cold as hot grape tea doesn’t really appeal to me.