__Morgana__

Today the two lemon Teavana herbals recommended by denisend arrived. This is one.

They’re both pretty amazing looking. Huge hunks of fruit mixed in with other ingredients; very colorful, multitextured mixtures. I kept wanting to pull handfuls out of the bags and chow down on them. They really remind me of trail mix.

The variation in the size of the pieces makes me wonder whether different servings of this will taste differently since it’s very likely that no two steeps will be identical. One might be half taken up with a two inch dried orange slice, for example. The dry fruit smells tart and citrusy, though the first ingredient is listed as apple bits.

When brewed, it smells slightly sweeter, and is a clear, pale yellow. The dominant taste is citrus, and I’m definitely getting lemon which I find interesting since there’s nothing identified with the word lemon on the bag. The description on the page here must be from a previous blend. My bag says: apple bits, roseship peels, citrus peels, orange slices, apple slices, citric acid flavoring and marigold petals. I guess the citrus peels could be the lemon variety of citrus so maybe that’s where it comes from.

Unsweetened, the lemon flavor is on the tart side, but not bitter, and (yes!) not at all soapy. A significant improvement from my lemon myrtle experience. It’s a little too tart in my book to be my perfect lemon. I did try to sweeten it up a bit, but a small amount of sugar didn’t make much of an impression on it and I suspect the amount of sugar I’d have to use to bring it into the ballpark would make me not want to go there. However, there are times when tart is called for, and besides, the next cup could be completely different given the distribution of the ingredients. For now I’m liking the Strawberry Lemonade better (wombatgirl recommended that one, too), but I’ll save that discussion for another note.

I’ve had a pretty hectic week and didn’t have quality time to spend with my Oolong sampler until now. This is the third in the sampler, and it is quite lovely. The dry leaves are the greenest of the four Oolong samples (not surprising given the reference to jade in the name) and are in fact a color that isn’t far from jade green (the “darker” jade green). It’s less toasty smelling than the fine grade or the amber. Though that note is still present, there’s a greener, earthier smell to it that makes the toasty note regress some.

The color is a pretty, clear light golden yellow with the smallest touch of green. The infused aroma, too, has a greener smell to it than the others. It deepened and became more “tawny” and floral on the second and third infusion, and by the third it was downright buttery with a twinge of something that seemed almost vanilla.

The flavor is delicate and sweet, and it changes fairly obviously from infusion to infusion, getting creamier through at least the third (steeped five minutes) and fourth (steeped six minutes). These were my favorites, though I went for five. The leaves had expanded in the filter so much by the fifth that I moved to a larger cup, and that likely made a difference, or perhaps the flavor was just naturally tapering off by then.

DISCLAIMER: At the outset I should say that I have very little green tea experience, and even less positive green tea experience. I have yet to try brewing a loose green tea. Most of my experiences (other than random restaurant experiences prior to my interest in tea where I wasn’t really focusing on what I was doing and those I’ve written notes about here) have resulted either in completely tasteless cups of colored water, or completely tasteless but bitter cups of colored water. I thought for certain it must have been an acquired taste that I would never, ever, ever acquire.

After doing some very basic research, I determined that the reason for my awful experiences was essentially temperature and steep time related (though water quality may also have contributed). So I significantly lowered my water temperature and lessened my steep time, and things started going better. But I still haven’t tried high grade loose green tea, only bagged Tazo, Twinings and Numi variants.

With that said, I am liking this one a lot. Compared to others I’ve tried, it is very flavorful in a vegetal way, sort of cabbagy/spinachy, but I don’t find it grassy. And it’s sweet, not at all bitter. The first time I got this result I said to myself, “Self, this must be what all the green tea fuss is about, more or less.”

The flavor comes across at 175 degrees, but even moreso at 140 degrees. I’m using two bags in about 16 oz of water and the bags are the full leaf version.

After the Chocolate Puerh experience I thought I’d give the others a try. I’m starting with this one.

I’m rather a novice at wine-tasting but I always found it amusing when I read tasting notes for wines that describe them as having a “barnyard” or “leathery” nose or taste. And yet, that describes the smell of the bags. It’s peaty, loamy, and horsey, more on the poop side than the saddle side (though this last note is not so strong as to be unpleasant). The aroma of the steeped tea, though, reverses that and has a much more leathery scent to it along with the earthiness. The liquor is indistinguishable from black coffee.

I’d describe the flavor, too, as leathery. There’s a bit of smokiness to it as well, almost like what you find in Scotch, and an afterlingering sweetness I associate with breakfast blends containing Assam. The consistency is very similar to that of the Chocolate Puerh, smooth, slightly slick, and brothy. It’s thick, and gives the illusion of chewiness.

It will be interesting to taste for this next time I drink the Chocolate, as I imagine that under the lovely chocolate and spice additives to that tea, this is pretty much the unadulterated tea flavor. I’ve also ordered some samples of loose puehrs as I think I could become a fan.

I wonder how mood affects taste. About a month ago now, I tried this for the first time and I was totally starstruck. I even went out and bought my boyfriend a tin after raving to him about it. In the interim I had one or two experiences with it that weren’t as exciting, and then tonight the magic was back. Not sure why, but interesting to ponder. Perhaps it was that I was more relaxed. The other couple of times that weren’t as enjoyable I was on the rushed side. Perhaps it was because I’d had more tea experience and so more to compare it to. In any case, bumping the rating up a couple of notches based on tonight’s experience, because though my experience of it is uneven (or perhaps I’m just indecisive ;-)) it’s a keeper.

I haven’t had honeybush before, but after this I definitely want to have it again! It’s a very interesting flavor. Subtle, sweet, and slightly grassy, but the dominant note is definitely a somewhat dilute honey flavor.

The bag smells like apricots (!) and it brews to a dark apricot orange color. The aroma is of honey, with a fruity tang to it.

I made this at work, and I am guessing it would be even better at home with better water. It will be interesting to try different types for comparison.

I actually didn’t read the ingredients (or the subtitle) of this before I tried it or I might have been scared off from my last lemon myrtle experience, the soapy memory of which I can still, unfortunately, bring to mind pretty quickly along with a strong urge to rinse my mouth and spit. But as I’d speculated, lemon myrtle seems much more suited to blending into other ingredients where it can be balanced by other flavors. I actually like chamomile, though I have to be in the mood for it, and this was a nice balance between chamomile and a lemony flavor. If I let my mind wander to the thought, I could sort of taste soap in the lemon myrtle in this, too, so I tried to steer my mind from that. It’s sad that one negative experience can have such influence, as the last thing I really want to do while sipping tea before bedtime is have to think about what not to think about….

Another tea drunk at work under less than optimal brewing conditions.

The aroma is subtle, a sort of toasty/fruity melange. The color is beautiful — deep red, almost wine-like.

I agree that the hibiscus and rose hips are too heavy in this blend. They dominate and make the tea too tart. The raspberry/strawberry flavor is there, but you have to get past the hibiscus and rose hips to get to it. The darjeeling is a nice backdrop. I am really liking darjeeling and I haven’t even had a fine loose version yet.

Trying this at work today, so no control over water temp or water quality. It comes of out a spigot that sticks out of the drip coffee maker with a little red plastic flipper doo-dah at the top that looks like it should flip back but actually flips forward. Many of you probably know of what I speak.

I don’t have a lot of chai experience to compare this to, but this is a pretty spicy, bite-the-tongue flavor that has a kick to it and stays with for a while. I’m getting a lot of cinnamon in the aroma and the flavor but not much else in the way of spices that I can distinguish. At approximately 3 minutes of steeping time I got very little tea flavor as well, but bumping it up to 5, I can detect a malty flavor competing with the cinnamon.

After drinking the full leaf version back to back with the non-full leaf version, I can say there is a significant difference in the balance between the tea/bergamot flavors. The full leaf version has much more black tea flavor, similar to the flavor of Awake, and the bergamot isn’t center stage. It’s better as a tea, but I’m not sure it’s better as an Earl Grey.

I got this as a sample when I ordered the Rooibos Lemon Chiffon. I came very close to picking another sample (which they let you do) because I am not big on white chocolate for two reasons. The first is because of a news item I read a number of years ago to the effect that although there are quality control requirements and standards imposed by law concerning ingredients of brown chocolates, there are none on whites. (Whether this is true or not I have no idea, but it influenced my feelings about white chocolate. Essentially, I try to make it a rule not to eat something if I have no idea what’s in it.) The second is just based on taste. I love chocolate, but white chocolate doesn’t have the same flavor. It’s just close enough to seem like it might be the same, but it’s a tease that way — and I always feel a bit let down after I eat it because I’m expecting that true chocolate flavor. If only I could change my expectations, then maybe I could appreciate it for what it is. But life is short, so given the choice I’d always choose a brown chocolate over a white.

The smell upon opening the bag is pretty strongly of a liqueur. I thought perhaps it was Amaretto, but reading the ingredients it’s more likely Frangelico. The aroma opens up some after steeping and some more chocolatey notes come through along with a suggestion of something buttery.

The flavor is also buttery and nutty. It isn’t exactly what I think of when I think of toffee, but I can see the resemblance. And there’s a sweet, subtle fudginess to the taste which I suppose is the white chocolate. I suspect if the white chocolate flavor was more pronounced I wouldn’t like it as much. All in all, it’s pretty nice, and I can see it growing on me over time. It’s something I should probably reserve for dessert given the sugar content.

Actually, between this and the cinnamon latte I had earlier, I am pretty close to having the sugar shakes…. so I think I’ll go bounce off the walls for a while now….

I was just at Border’s and my son wanted a hot chocolate, so while he had that I decided to give this a try. I have never had a latte of any sort before, so this was a new experience and I didn’t really expect to like it. I was surprised! It was almost like having a hot chocolate, but instead of chocolate, the main flavor was a gentle cinnamon. It was creamy and sweet, but not overly sweet. The vanilla could have made it annoyingly so had it been any stronger, but it was just a hint. I really didn’t notice the tea much, but that was probably what made it enjoyable — I imagine the same thing with a coffee backdrop would have been overpowering to the other flavors. Though I likely won’t have this on a regular basis, I would definitely have it again.

Cofftea and Angrboda’s notes about this one made me really eager to break open my box and give it a try. And man, am I glad I did. This one is a delightful sensuous experience on so many levels.

The bags do have an amazing smell. It starts as gingerbready, and not the vaguely spicy smell of ginger snaps or even the bready smell of gingerbread men (or women :-)), but a really deep, rich smell, like a fresh gingerbread loaf right out of the oven. Then it moves to something more chocolatey, with a dab of vanilla dropped in; the best I can come up with to describe it is that it’s the smell of how chocolate mousse tastes.

The tea is about as dark brown as it gets and I can’t see the bottom of the cup. The aroma is not quite as striking as it was dry, but still very pleasing. The taste is unique and complex. I taste mainly the chocolate and the spices, but there’s also an almost coffee-like note that sits on the tongue.

One of the things I find most enjoyable about it is its texture. The package uses the adjective velvety. I’m not sure what part of the experience that is supposed to apply to but for me it is how it feels in my mouth — soft, a little slick, and with substance to it, almost like a broth, and quite comforting.

Overall, a very satisfying experience and one I expect I’ll go back to again and again.

Yum. Just… yum. I could stop there, but I’m much too verbose. ;-)

As wombatgirl said, the dry rooibos mixture does smell amazing. Sugary, lemony, creamy. Like a bowl full of icing. It’s amazing to me that that smell even exists in a context other than icing and makes me that much more awestruck by the artisanry involved in creating something like this. Also amazing is that this smell comes from something this color since it really seems like it should come from something colored pale yellow. The dry rooibos mixture is a pretty, almost chestnut color as is the liquor. I find the color/flavor thing pretty interesting and sneaky, like the chocolately flavor in red velvet cake.

The taste is similar to the smell, though the lemon isn’t quite as strong to me. The “chiffon” part, the sugar/cream duo, is more pronounced, whereas both were equally present with the lemon in the the aroma triumvirate. I haven’t tasted “plain” rooibos and only one other flavored version so I don’t really know what part of this taste could be attributable to the rooibos itself. But whatever it is, it works.

This is not the substitute I was looking for in my search for the perfect lemon herbal, but it’s enjoyable in its own right. I love it when I’m looking for something and have something particular in mind, and in the process surprise myself by discovering something else that is an unexpected delight. So while this isn’t the perfect lemon, it’s a stand up lemon chiffon. I can see it going into rotation as dessert, for evenings when something fruity and on the lighter side than, oh say, chocolate or caramel, is warranted.

I’m giving this another try with the last of the sample so that I can write about it as I’m tasting it. I marginally oversteeped this time around because I was in the other room when the timer went off, and it is also possible I may have used too much myrtle in this brew, which I strongly advise against. The tartness is there, but on a second go it isn’t quite as I initially described. It’s sort of a sour mixed with a slight bitter, and there’s something else I’m tasting that I can only describe as a soapy flavor. In any case, it is pretty unpleasant. In this case, stronger definitely is not better.

I’ve had this several times now and it has grown on me each time. It’s a lovely golden color and a very gentle flavor, though not “light” as in light weight. Each of the individual flavors is there and the tea is sweet and predominates in the finish. The cucumber is pretty interesting; it adds a freshness to the taste that makes me feel clean while I’m drinking it, as though I’ve just had a spa treatment. The lime is just a dab around the edge. Barely there, but adds some texture. The overall impression it left me with is one of coolness, even though I drank it hot, which I think means it could be a good one to reach for after a stressful day like I’ve had today…

In the search for an I Love Lemon successor, I ordered a sample of this. The dry leaves are dark yellow and have a lemony smell that is quite pleasant. It brews to a pretty light yellow color that also has a nice lemony fragrance.

My guess is that this would be far better as an ingredient in other blends than it is by itself. It’s not that it wouldn’t do in a pinch if you needed a lemon fix in a hurry and were willing to put some sugar in it. But I don’t use condiments in my tea or tea-like drinks as a rule (I don’t like the taste that much but mostly I don’t like the additional calories) and by itself, this drink is pretty darn tart. I drank it last night so it’s possible I’m exaggerating it in my memory, but my memory of it is that it was bumping up against sour if not over the line. Though it wasn’t as sour as drinking diluted lemon juice, it wasn’t that far from it either.

So the search continues….

I had the full leaf bag version and I brewed it in my huge Wedgwood Shakespeare/Stratford-on-Avon 1964 anniversary commemorative mug so I used two bags. Mine didn’t come out bitter, luckily.

To me, it’s similar in aroma and taste to Twining’s English Breakfast, but stronger, maltier and with some bite to it that hit me right in the back of the tongue and at the throat. The taste notes are somewhat easier to taste individually than in the Twinings, which may mean the Twinings blend is more successful as a blend, though no single taste seems to me to predominate in Awake. I do taste the caramel, and like the Twinings, the finish is tasty — malty and sweet.

Like other posters I have an emotional attachment to this tea, and it is hard to separate the memories from the experience of the tea itself. The ingredients are black tea, orange rind and “sweet spice” which to me is heavy on the clove and cinnamon. This combination is iconic in my olfactory memory. In college I had an apartment mate who was a tea drinker and she introduced me to this tea. So the smell reminds me of my youth and my first taste of independence, and it’s hard to avoid pleasant associations with that time of my life.

The taste, too, brings pleasant associations. If I try to be objective and drill down into the flavors, the tea itself is unremarkable either way, the orange is a little sour and doesn’t sweeten up as it lingers, and the spices are what one would expect from clove and cinnamon. It’s not fabulous, but it doesn’t approach horrible in my view, and the thumb on the scale is the Proustian value of transporting oneself on a rainy day present, to another rainy day when life was opening up like an oyster and anything was possible.

I’d been hankering for an apple flavored herbal and so I ordered a couple of alternatives. (Thanks Steepsters, for the suggestions.) This was the first to arrive.

The apple bits are chunky and pretty in color, ranging from brownish red, which I take it are the parts of the apple with the skin, to a yellow, almost neutral color, which I take it are the parts of the apple sans skin. They look sort of like chopped walnuts, but more colorful. I chewed on a piece just for laughs, and it’s basically… dried apple. And yummy. Who would have thunk it? ;-)

The aroma prior to steeping is very apply and a little on the tart side. Once infused, it’s a pretty, light golden-yellow color, reminiscent of the skin of golden delicious apples, and slightly dusty-looking. Some browner fruit residue sifts to the bottom of the cup.

I didn’t find the infusion itself to be overly tart. I was steeled for tartness, and pleasantly surprised to find it more neutrally apple-tasting than I expected. If anything, it leans more toward sweet for me though not as sweet as baked apple. I’d describe it as ripe apple sweet. It’s not an incredibly strong flavor, which is part of its charm. It’s very obviously apple, though — you can’t miss it.

The thought crossed my mind that it could even be something kids might be convinced to try, and might even like, as an alternative to the sugar-laden apple juices they tend to favor if it could be made strong enough to withstand icing. The thought of iced tea today is incredibly unappealing given the cold and rain outside. Note to self: try an iced version when the weather turns hot.

But until then, enjoy the apply warmness.

I received this as a sample when I bought a Finum Teeli filter from an Amazon vendor who turned out to be Lana’s The Little House. It’s my first experience with a dessert-like flavored tea, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. As it turned out, I quite enjoyed it. The aroma of coconut and almond is delicious and not overpowering. The coconut and almond flavors were sweet and delicate, and the tea was a nice backdrop to them. It stood up well to multiple steepings. I can see making teas into no-guilt desserts. I had this while my kids were having ice cream and I didn’t feel at all deprived!

This is the second in the Introduction to Oolongs sampler and an interesting comparison to the Formosa Fine Grade. The dry leaves are very different in color and texture. Much bigger and formed into curls, whereas the Fine Grade ones are much smaller and less formed. They smell less toasty than the Fine Grade; actually the smell reminds me of champagne. The liquor, too is reminiscent of champagne; a lighter, yellowy-amber than that of the Fine Grade with a more delicate aroma that is warm and slightly fruity. The taste is more delicate, too, and I have a feeling there is a lot more to be discovered here on subsequent tastings. The flavor is pleasant and mild, and as noted by others, nutty. The leaves uncurl during steeping until they are surprisingly long and pretty. I can see myself spending quite a bit of time with this one.

I prefer this to the Tazo version. As others have said, the bergamot scent is palpable but not overpowering; it doesn’t greet you with an almost eye-watering blast of perfume when you open the packet. The bergamot taste is present in the drinking, but in a much milder, even, more balanced way. On a side note, am I the only one who has trouble with Numi’s bags? Seems like they break, or the string comes off, or the tag falls off, far more often than those of other brands but perhaps that’s just bad luck on my part.

A mellow, sweet, and smooth spearmint flavor for times when you feel like mint but without the intensity of peppermint. Though I prefer peppermint in general, this is a gentle, before-bed flavor.