Amy oh

I’ve had this around for a while and evidently forgot to log it… and I think Teavana seems to have discontinued it because I don’t see it on their website anymore.

So those of you who follow my tealog may know I’m not such a fan of jasmine tea, I believe it has taken me a few months to fully realize this over time after trying it a few different ways and with a few different kinds.

This blend is not too bad though, it’s a nice medium bodied black tea which I think helps to disguise some of the jasmine for me. :) It is very nice and smooth going down but then I get that kick in the end where I feel like I’m drinking soap (seems to happen all the time to me with jasmine).

This certainly smells nice but I feel like I need some soymilk to help me get it down. I will certainly finish it off someday but if any jasmine fans would like to swap for it, you will probably appreciate it a lot more than I do.

I really enjoyed trying this one although sometimes I still am confused about what a pouchong is; however I keep reading it is somewhere between a green tea and an oolong so let’s go with that for now. :)

I steeped this for about 3 minutes around 180 F. This steeps up to be a very nice light yellow. At first I did not notice much flavor but it really seems to build up in your mouth a bit over time. The front notes are very mild, melony and a bit earthy but the finish has a real kick to it where you can sense a lot of the classic darjeeling type spice, along with a lingering astringency. Definitely a fascinating and unique cup to try although I am not sure I will need to restock when this amount runs out.

I might try steeping this at an even lower temp or for the recommend two minutes instead of three to see if I can kick the astringency down a notch or two.

It’s another sipdown!

At least I have been finishing off some stuff which makes me less guilty about buying more. :-D This one is tasty, see my previous tasting notes if interested.

I have to admit it was kind of a shock for my palette to go from Almond Sugar Cookie to this… lol. But see, I don’t discriminate, I drink almost anything. :)

First steep – this is very nice for a shu, smooth rich flavor with a bit of sweetness in the finish, but a little dark for this much time. More coffee like than anything. And I probably oversteeped this just a tad for my tastes… it was at least 2 minutes at 208 F but I also lost track of what I was doing.

Then the second steep I did for around 45 seconds and that seemed better. It definitely has a bit of a roasted quality as well as some fruitiness coming through. This one makes me feel kind of mellow and happy – I take that to be a good sign.

Third steep – about the same as the second. This definitely has the quality and richness I have come to expect from a Bana tea but I don’t think there’s anything overly exceptional about it that would make me want to buy an entire cake.

I almost feel kind of guilty for liking this…

Like I should have advanced so far in my tea-snobbery by now that I only drink 50 year old aged tea that was plucked by virgins, hatched by Chinese monks and brought over here with a pedigree and adoption papers.

But I. don’t. care.

this is yummy!

I’m usually disappointed by any tea that promises it will be like a pastry or a baked good. This is an awesome blend of black tea, almond flavor and safflowers. It definitely is a dessert tea, it’s pretty good for what it claims to be. It’s a bit much for this early in the morning, I’m drinking it with soymilk right now. But I think I will be happy to have this in my stash for when I do want something dessert-like.

I really wasn’t expecting much from this one, but I am always open to trying teas from new regions, plus if it helps the Bolivian farmers at ChaiMate earn a decent living, I am all for it.

Then I saw this news article from 2009 on it/them and I’m very happy about buying this. Aren’t these people cute? lol. http://www.newstimes.com/business/article/Rare-flavors-suit-Simpson-Vail-to-a-tea-276653.php

Anyway onto the tea, I steeped mine at 3 minutes at 212 F. It’s a dark amber cup with a slight bit of cocoa in the nose and a definite plummy taste. I found this quite easy to drink neat (without any sugar or soymilk). It is very smooth with a slight sweetness and only a tad of tannin in the aftertaste. Very, very good! This might become a new breakfast favorite in our humble abode. Thanks to Simpson & Vail for introducing it to me. :)

If I don’t order from Harney & Sons again I will certainly miss this one… an excellent black tea with just a touch of fruit and vanilla. We have almost gone through a 7 oz. tin in a short amount of time.

There aren’t too many red rooibos blends that I have liked in the past but this just sounded so intriguing in the Simpson and Vail catalog – plus peach seemed like it might have gone really well with the roobois…

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It did still have that slightly weird rooibos smell when brewing but after I steeped this for 5 minutes and let it cool down slightly, I was delighted to discover the marigold and the peach flavor seemed to complement the rooibos so nicely. I can even drink it plain without any additives which is something I don’t often do with a red rooibos tea. It’s peachy! :)

I might even try some other S & V rooibos blends after this!

another sipdown!
I had problems finishing this, for some reason it kind of lost its’ appeal. I had only a little bit left so mixed it with some of Teavivre’s silver needle and it’s not bad but I won’t be restocking it.

I just have a few dregs here and there from different teas my Tea from Taiwan sample packs. It’s tempting to throw the bits together in one giant teapot but that almost seems like a sacrilege, doesn’t it?

I always enjoy a nice green oolong from Taiwan, they seem to cheer me up somehow. this is very smooth and sweet- see previous tasting notes.

And just when I’ve been warming up to this tea i seemed to have lost it somewhere in my apartment. How does one lose a tea? Well if you saw my stash you might understand but this was in a pretty big envelope. I hope I find it again.

I have to be really in the mood for white teas in order to appreciate them. Lately I’ve been intrigued by the vegetal and slightly smoky essence of this one. There is a tiny hit of corn flavor somewhere in the background. I figure there is some perfect way to steep this that will turn it magical but I haven’t discovered how yet. Or maybe not.

I knew I had to try this tea when I first saw it. I love cardamom and roses so it was definitely calling my name!

I steeped this for 3 minutes at 212 F. I may have accidentally used too much leaf because it seems very strong (but yummy). The rose is very prominent in this blend, at first I thought maybe it was too much but as the cup is cooling off I like it more. The cardamom you pick up more so in the finish. The base of this tea is a rose congou, which I’ve never had before but now I’m inspired to try the plain rose congou, evidently it is fermented with rose petals. Doesn’t that sound a bit indulgent? I love it. hee hee.

Anyway I thought this was lovely, with a touch of soymilk. It got very dark and rich with both a floral and spicy aroma. But it is definitely strong on both the rose and the cardamom so if you’re leery of either of these things you’d better steer clear of this one.

I did manage to get a second steep out of it, still good although quite a bit milder…

Thanks to The DJBooth for sending some of this my way. I was also tempted to pick this up at the end of year Teavana fire sale but didn’t.

No doubt one of the reasons this one was initally very pricey is the beautiful flower like formations that are all tied by hand. And the tin looked pretty cool as well. ;-) I wasn’t sure how much tea to steep in my cup but I ended up using two rosettes at 212F for around 3 minutes.

This is a very nice dark red color in the cup. It’s a bit malty, chocolatey and dark, pretty smooth. I think perhaps Teavana should tell more plain teas for those of us who want them. No doubt they are hanging onto my every word (hee hee). I enjoyed this one!

I got this as a night time dessert tea, so that’s why no caffeine…

Steeped it at 212 F for around 4 minutes. WooT! The smell is heavenly and exactly what I recall marzipan to be like, sweet and almondy. Sometimes decaf tea has a bit of an “off” flavor but I’m not really noticing it here. I added soymilk to this because that’s how I plan to drink it. I didn’t feel it needed sugar. That really made it delectable for me, rich and satisfying. Yum – I’m a happy camper with this blend for sure! I wish I had gotten more than 2 oz.

My first order from Simpson & Vail and I’m already a fan. From their catalog they look like a cute, family owned business that’s been around for 82 years.

My order arrived quickly and I was THRILLED to discover the tea I did not order in tins came in 100% biodegradable bags! These things are important to me from an environmental standpoint and I love to discover companies who feel the same. Yes!!! – I will be back to you soon, S & V.

Anyhoo onto this tea. I have grown to like green roobois fairly well and I thought this sounded like a nice afternoon/evening blend. I used about 2 tsp. in an infuser mug @ 180F at 3 minutes. It is very colorful and smells kind of fruity.

This one brews up kind of pink, there is hibiscus in it, but thankfully not too strong in this blend. This reminds me a bit of green and fruity from David’s Tea. I am getting a lot of papaya/orange flavor and it is a bit flowery as well. I think this would make a great iced tea so I’ll have to try it that way. Overall I am pretty pleased. It’s nicely balanced for an herbal but it’s hard to tell there’s any roobois in here. I’m a little annoyed at myself for not noticing the hibiscus when I placed the order though. It’s a wee bit tart.

I actually liked this a bit better today for some reason so I upped the rating – can’t remember what I did last time but steeping it here for 3 minutes seems to have done the trick. It’s medium bodied and smooth with a hint of mango, this seems nice to drink just plain. Nevertheless I just seem to be gravitating away from flavored black teas a bit.

I really love the organic teas & backyard compostable packaging and this will definitely have me going back to Arbor Teas once my supply is depleted a bit.

It’s a sipdown! Farwell Twinings Irish Breakfast, you have served me well. But I must now make room in my cupboard for some other things. :)

I like some other Celestial Seasonings teas, so don’t get me wrong, I’m not a tea snob.

Although this is far from terrible I really was hoping for something more? I love the smell of this, it’s definitely got a sugar-y vanilla aroma that is quite authentic. As for the flavor though, I found it to be kind of weak, like a watered down barley water with lemon & vanilla essence. I did like it a little bit better after I added soymilk but I’m not a huge fan of it.

Thanks to TheDJBooth for a sample of this one.

I wasn’t sure about this because my one other experience with Ginseng Oolong (Rishi’s) was not such a positive one.

I did steep this one up and noticed the leaves smelling very roasted which of course is an intriguing sign. I know some king’s tea is charcoal roasted but the Dr. Tea website does not any information about it whatsoever, why I have no idea. That seems kind of strange!

I think perhaps the ginseng is throwing me off a bit here but it isn’t as prominent in the Rishi tea, you can hardly taste it at all, which is a good thing. This isn’t a very flowery or buttery tea at all. It’s more nutty and roasty with a slight ginseng aftertaste.

I think the third steep was my favorite here which often seems to be the case with oolongs. I also let my water cool down a bit which is helping to bring out a bit more sweetness.

I’m not really sure if I need ginseng in my oolong tea, aside from the supposed health properties it has. This is fairly stimulating as well, would be good for when you need an energy boost so I think I’ll save the rest of my sample for a day when I need a kick in the pants. Glad I got to try it, definitely better than I thought it would be.

I decided I had to have a cup of this after lunch for something dessert-y.

Steeped at 212 F for 4 minutes in an infuser mug. It is pretty potent when you steep it that long, I might try for a little less next time around. The cinnamon is pretty strong in this blend but it is definitely a bit on the sweeter side. I didn’t love it plain but it was perfect with a bit of soymilk for a kind of dessert tea. If I really wanted a cinnamon tea on hand at all times I would probably pick some more of this up (it’s a sample size), but I might be more of a chai person. I do wonder what he Indian tea is they’re blending this with here, I don’t think it’s a ceylon. I’m thinking perhaps it’s the Singampatti Oothu Estate?

An enjoyable afternoon cuppa… for cinnamon lovers only. :)

Thanks to oOTeaOo for a sample of this one. Flavored greens can be tricky. A lot of time they can overwhelm the tea so I wonder if they are made for people that don’t really like green tea. I was worried this one would be too sweet but it isn’t. The cinnamon and orange flavorings both seem to be very subtle which is nice. Something about this combination always seems to remind me of the holidays.

This seems to be a lighter Chinese green although I’m not sure which one. I feel like the cinnamon is quite predominate here especially in the finish. That isn’t really a problem for me because I like cinnamon. Although I liked I am not sure I would buy this for myself. Now I wonder if I can find a green chai I would like?

Thanks to ashmanra for this one, I have tried some wuyi oolongs but I was pretty curious to try a black tea that comes from the wuyi region. I just checked Harney’s website and they don’t have it anymore so I guess this is another sold out or limited production thing for them.

I ended up steeping this at 4 minutes @212F. Lots of cocoa here and some malt, it’s a nice dark red color. Very smooth and delicious. As it is cooling off I’m also getting a bit of floweriness in the nose, curious. I think this one is very enjoyable for my morning brew, although it does seem to lack some of the complexity of a wuyi oolong.

My sweetie got this one for me from a Williams Sonoma store in San Francisco. They also had the Marco Polo but I wanted to try this instead.

I steeped it at 212F for 2 minutes – might try a bit longer next time but I wanted to err on the side of caution. This is a very nice blend of first flush teas. Lightly floral, slighty fruity, woodsy but not really astringent or pungent. It’s gentle and great for the afternoon. Interesting how the other tasters thought it was slightly bitter since I’m not really picking up on much bitterness. Perhaps the shorter steeping time helped. I liked this one but I am thinking it could be a bit more aromatic. It might be interesting to try it also at a lower temp for longer period of time…

I am having a good tea day. I’m at home relaxing so why skimp on the quality stuff – lol. It’s been a while since I had this so I decided to have some today. I really think the xi ying teapot is the perfect way to make wuyi oolongs.

I decided to steep this up at 180 F for 2 minutes. It’s very roasty and woody with cinnamon notes and dried fruit. Someday I need to go back to Red Blossom and get another of their Wuyi teas. I seem to remember the Tie Luo Han as also being very good.

A guy at another local tea shop told me that the darker style oolongs don’t really go stale and might even improve with age. I wonder if that is true.

see my previous notes on this if you are interested. :)