Amy oh

Thanks to The DJ Booth for this one which came to me as the result of a recent swap.

This one is pretty good, maybe Teavana should try some more black tea blends with less fruit in them. The aroma is very almondy and I am definitely picking up the rose. I wonder if I ended up steeping this too long because it got slightly bitter and also a bit “soapy”. I will try again and report back if my rating changes.

I think I like the smell of this a bit better than the taste of it. I was really glad I got the chance to try it!

I’m finishing off the rest of this sample this morning, I appear to be on a roll with this green tea thing. I would definitely order this again, it’s so flavorful and unique. It seems a bit nutty this morning too. I highly recommend it – see my previous tasting notes. Some teas are really just a pleasure to drink and for me, this is one of them.

This came as another swap item with oOTeaOo. I’m excited that I finally am getting to try some of these Kusmi teas I’ve had my eye on.

This one is nice and mellow and earthy. I steeped it at 180F for around 2 1/2 minutes. Like most other folks I’ve no idea what buffalo grass is supposed to taste like. I found it to be slightly minty, herby, sweet and kinda funky but in a good way. I can’t quite place the taste but I am finding I like this one a lot. I did a quick Google search on it and found out that it has been widely used for healing coughs and native americans believed it had meditative properties.

Regardless I am finding this to be some pretty interesting stuff although I can see how it might not ring everyone’s bell. It’s a bit strong. I have too much green tea in my Stash already but I’m tempted to go place an order with Kusmi!

Mostly I use this just as a digestif – although the flavor is not bad if you like anise. See my previous notes.

Ah evidently I am the first person on Steepster to log this particular blend.

My track record with roobois tisanes has definitely been a mixed bag so I wasn’t sure what exactly I would make of this one. :)

I ended up steeping it in an infuser mug for 5 minutes @ 208F. I think I like roobois blends a little bit better when the other ingredients drown out the flavor – lol. I am getting both cranberry and blackberry in this which is very nice. It does have a bit of tartness that comes from the cranberry element but not overwhemingly so. This is a very “juicy” blend with only a touch of cherry cough syrup -ha!

I liked this pretty well when it was hot and then I decided to throw it over some ice and I added a bit of sugar to it. I’ve never had an iced roobois before and I’m not sure that’s really my “thing” but it was ok. I preferred it hot.

This was good enough for even a roobois malcontent like me but I’m not sure I would buy it again.

Special thanks to ashmanra for this one – I had noticed other people talking about it but it doesn’t seem to be on Harney’s website anymore so I guess they sold out of it.

I am trying to take more of my black teas without soymilk. I steeped this one at 205 F for around 3 minutes. It’s amazing how much this tea expands when you steep it. It definitely has a delicious cocoa nose. The flavor is robust but smooth, with flavors of cocoa. A cup of roasty and malty goodness and ever so slightly sweet! I hope Harney gets more off this but I’m glad I got the chance to try it…

This reminds me of another favorite of mine, the Black Spiral from the Tao of Tea. :)

Thanks to oOTeaOo for this one.

I’ve been wanting to try some Kusmi green teas and was eyeing this one. I have their Russian sampler but I’m finding some of those to be a little too strongly scented for me.

I steeped this one at around 170 F for 2 minutes. I’m not sure what they are using for the base of this Chinese green tea – perhaps something like a Mao Feng? It’s a mild vegetal and slighty herby taste. The almond is in this blend is fairly mild and a bit sweet. I was hoping for a bit more almond but at least it isn’t knocking me over with perfume. This is a nice solid choice for anytime, I might consider getting some if order with Kusmi tea.

I did also get a second steep out of it, which is always nice!

Thanks so much to QueenofTarts for this tea which I did ask for in my recent swap with her!

I smelled this a bit after I finished brewing it and it smells like coconut. And dirty feet. This is the second red rooibos I’ve had that smells like feet. Feet and cough syrup with a bit of coconut essence, note this was my initial impression when plain. It was a little bit better when soymilk was added.

But man, I have to wonder am I doing something wrong here? I used about 1 tsb of leaf to 12 oz. of tea and steeped for 5 minutes. This is not my favorite. I have no idea why I like some red roobois blends much better than others. Other people seemed to love this one so I dunno… maybe it’s just me?? I thought the recent red roobois teas I had were better tho’.

I did go to the Teas Etc website and they recommend steeping at 180 F or so – I’ll have to try it again at a lower temp. I don’t really like giving a bad review to a tea. :(

I had a couple of these teabags sitting around from an ancient Celestial Seasonings sampler. Zinger = hibiscus which I am not thrilled with so I thought I’d try cold brewing this. It tastes amazingly like fruit punch. If you’re a fan of Hawaiian fruit punch and are trying to cut back on calories, you may need to try it. I don’t have much else to say, it’s kind of a citrusy, hibiscus-y creation, the aftertaste is waaaay too TART for me. I don’t think I will be buying more.

hmm. I don’t know why I like this one so much as I normally don’t like flowery teas. Apparently it depends on the flower and the blend. This osmanthus tea doesn’t suck. I also like roses in certain teas sometimes… it’s very sweet and relaxing today. I’d buy more. :)

see my previous tasting note.

I’m in a carbohydrate coma – now I remember why I don’t usually eat burritos for lunch. This is a tasty & cheap pu-erh in a teabag so I just keep it at the office – let’s hope it revives me soon. :)

I cold brewed this in the refrigerator for about 16 hours, my first time cold brewing a white tea. It’s still very mild but very fresh tasting, slightly buttery and sweet. Perhaps I will make them this way more often in the future since I now have a lot of white tea. :)

This has been an old favorite of mine for at least 15 years. It has been a while and now it seems a bit sweet and all I taste is cinnamon and star anise. I actually like cinnamon a lot so I don’t really mind. I can’t imagine drinking this with sweetener but with soymilk/milk it’s pretty good and it has helped me to cut down on a lot of dessert cravings over the years. When it comes to herbal teas I try to pick a less expensive brand….

my foot has been hurting so I’ve been drinking a lot of tea today at home today. Time to switch to decaf. This was incredibly good with a bag of decaffeinated Ahmad Evening Tea. It ended up being like a berry flavored coffee somehow. yum!

this was nice with a bit of dried orange peel and a cardamom pod. :)

Thank you to Scott for sending some of this my way and for helping me to get over my fear of darjeelings…

Foe a long time I thought I did not like them because the ones I had were so astringent and full of tannins but now I am learning quite a bit more about the different kinds of darjeelings, I am sure I will be able to find some I can really appreciate.

I did steep this with water that was not quite boiling for 3.5 minutes. Its a lovely dark yellow cup. This tea has a nice fruity aroma (like mild apricots) but also I’m detecting a bit of spiciness, like a cinnamon/peppery type of quality. It does have a bit of “bite” to it but has a fairly gentle pungency. Just a bit astringent & not very floral.

I’m finding this to be fairly mild which is nice for me this afternoon. I am liking the first flush teas I have tried a lot and will need to get more someday I think… Maybe I will become a darjeeling convert soon! :)

This one came as the result of a swap with Brandy 3392 – thanks Brandy!

Green rooibos is def. a lot better than red in my opinion, much more clean and herbal tasting, less medicine-y, etc. I just wanted to comment that I seem to have the most difficult time spelling “rooibos” – I always have to look it up!

This was steeped for 5 minutes with boiling water. It definitely lives up to the name – VERY fruity! I am getting a lot of mango papaya type flavors, it’s also great that this isn’t too tart and doesn’t have hibiscus in it as far as I can tell. It reminds me of Jardin Sauvage by Lupicia but I think this one might be a little better. I love fruity teas so this really hits the spot. Probably would be great iced as well… i’m digging it!

I haven’t placed an order with David’s Tea for eons but I would get this one again. Great for a non-caffeinated type of moment.

A big thank you to David for including a sample of this in my last order.

I got lazy and decided to make two quick steeps of this in the gaiwan and then put them together in a glass mug – I used water that was around 205 degrees but did my steeps for 30 seconds each.

I wasn’t sure if I would like the charcoal roast but it’s pretty yummy. The color is dark yellow, and yes it is toasty tasting. There is an underlying buttery flavor and a nuttiness that reminds me of toasted chestnuts or pecans, perhaps some buttered toast. This has a very smooth mouthfeel and is very clean and bright.

I also did steeps #3 and #4 together in the same mug and now that the leaves are opening I am getting a honey, nectar like sweetness along with the chesnutty-ness. It also reminds me a bit of a good quality – walnut oil? Or something of that nature. I’m amazed it feels so rich and decadent without any calories at all!

Their instructions say a full 3 minutes at 205 F (and that it’s a great pairing for afternoon sweets), but I rather liked it this way using shorter steeps in the gaiwan. It’s very yummy – another outstanding oolong from Asha. Definitely recommended if you like roasted style oolongs.

Every so often I need to try making myself drink things like this that I’m not hugely fond of. I do like cinnamon and plums but this tea is very light, and weak. I wonder what base they are using here for the black tea, perhaps it’s a ceylon, I’m not really sure. I would not be too tempted to buy this one again, it’s overpriced. You’d need to use at least two teabags in an 8 oz mug.

It was a beautiful day in San Francisco this afternoon and after a very long walk I took a nice nap and am having a bit of this to revive me. I really like the blood orange and grapefruit blend mixed with the pu-erh here. It’s still good even with the hibiscus, which I normally loathe (see my previous tasting notes). Steeped for 4 minutes with boiling water.

It’s been a while since I’ve had this and I am enjoying it this morning. The blend of nilgiri and lemon myrtle makes for a very zesty, fruity and citrusy cup. This would make a really great iced tea, I need to try it that way someday. It is also very fragrant! If you don’t like lemon I would not bother… see my previous notes

Part 3/4 of the basic darjeeling set – I know this is sounding snooty of me but after I bought this I was really wishing I bought the premium set that was a little more expensive. But now I have a lot of darjeeling tea I need to finish before getting more. :)

This was steeped in an infuser mug for 3.5 minutes with boiling water that had cooled off slightly. This is a great tea to drink plain without milk or sugar. It is light bodied and a bit on the fruity side, slightly earthy. Little to no astringency and no strong tannins which makes it a good one for me. Very enjoyable. Not as aromatic as some darjeelings I’ve had, there’s not a pronounced floral smell. I would consider purchasing this again as an every day type of tea.

I tried cold brewing this last night and it is still very bitter so I don’t think it’s a temperature thing or anything to do with me. I lowered the rating more because I don’t think I can finish the can. Does anyone like bitter green tea and want to swap? It may be destined for the compost bin…

After seeing the tasting note of gmathis the other day I decided to go ahead and get this today at the grocery store. I learned recently that rooibos is supposed to be good for heartburn so I am really wanting to learn to like this stuff!

I steeped this for 5 minutes with boiling water and used two teabags because I was planning to use my BIG mug with the owls on it (neither here nor there, but it is cute). I was very impressed with this stuff, it’s certainly one of the better red rooibos teas I’ve had. It isn’t sickening or medicinal, for one thing. :)) The vanilla is definitely there and it’s nice, not too sweet or anything. A splash of soymilk made this really good.

Bonus points for cheapness as well… this will be a really nice thing to have around.