ashley annie

So I experimented by drastically changing from 205 degrees for 3 minutes to 195 degrees for 1 minute. I just didn’t want to give up on this tea. A bit weaker, but no change in the turtle department :( All I taste is black tea that I’m not too fond of. I’m trying so hard to taste turtle but it’s just a faint aroma that comes and goes, and a bit of an aftertaste that I really have to hunt for after I’ve swallowed to notice. Sigh. I don’t know what to do with my two bags now.

Trying this without my Breville out of curiousity as to how different teas are without it. And wow, MAJOR difference! Tea tastes MUCH better prepared in the Breville than boiling water poured over tea in a mug.
Still yummy, enjoyed with a bit of cream and honey, but made me very thankful for my Breville.

Gosh dangit! Same goes for this tea as the new Cashew Turtle. Smells amazing, but tastes only like the base tea. These are nothing like any of the many other 52 teas I own. All of the rest are bold in dessert flavors and knock my socks out of this world. This just tasted like green tea. What the heck? :( This one’s lacking even more in flavor than the Cashew Turtle. :’( I really wanted to love this too!

Edit
I put my remaining pot of this in the refrigerator and I have to say it’s not so bad iced, especially with a bit of raw honey, but according to my taste buds it’s lacking completely in cherry and cheesecake. Doesn’t seem to deliver on the name, but not a bad iced tea.

Surgery went well! As soon as I got home I checked the mailbox and YIPPEE TEA! My Cashew Turtle and Cherry Cheesecake Green arrived. I was SO excited to try this one, I immediately ripped open a package and inhaled deeply. The dry leaves smelled AMAZING. Like… the best thing ever. Caramel makes me weak in the knees.
Steeped 1 tsp per 8 ounces for 3 minutes at 205 degrees in my Breville.
And.. for the first time I’m disappointed with a 52. :( I expected more flavor. I feel like maybe the bold tea base overpowered and drowned out the turtle flavor. I really tried to taste turtle but all I really tasted was bold black tea..that I didn’t particularly like. I did notice a slight aftertaste of turtle but it was very faint. I’m curious if maybe I steep for a shorter time/lower temperature I’ll be able to taste the turtle flavors more. I tried adding sweetener and cream and still no noticeable difference.
If only this tasted more like it smelled! I’d be in love. I’m going to wait to numerically rate this until I’ve experimented with it more. I really wanted to love this :(:(

Edit
(Boyfriend had the same results unfortunately :(, my taste perception was not altered by my surgery.)

Last thing I can enjoy before I go in for surgery tomorrow morning to remove my stent. So I made the most of it and steeped 4 tsp in 16 ounces of purified water in my Breville at 200 degrees for 10 minutes and added a good helping of cream and brown sugar. Liquid cinnamon roll for me. I was suppose to stop eating at midnight but it’s 12:17. I need my tea. Now to watch some TNG since I can’t fall asleep due to my nerves.

Backlogging from yesterday.
Dry leaves smell awesome. POW lemon-lime cheesecake in your face. And it smells so creamy, is there such thing as a nose-feel, like a mouth-feel? Because it’s like I can feel the cream in my nose. LOL. Steeped this up double strength to pour over ice. Eye brows immediately shoot up, (this has come to be an expected reaction from 52 Tea’s blends). The first lemon-lime blend I’ve ever tasted that doesn’t taste like cleaner. This reminds me more of something very natural, like lemongrass. And I really like that. I think the addition of lemon myrtle was a very wise choice. The cheesecake is present and lends a smoothness and matches the tang of the citrus. It’s very enjoyable without any additives. Very light and refreshing! My bf said he could drink this all day. I experimented with a dash of cream and sugar. Really great, either way. Great job, Frank.

I’ve tried them all but the Blueberry Merlot and the only one I’ve enjoyed was the Mojito Marmalade. It was the first that I sampled and it lead me to think I’d love the rest. But the others have just struck me strangely. :( The Apricot Amaretto tasted to me like Cherry Halls, the Cherry Cosmo like strange Kool-aid, and the Key Lime Ginger was just a ho-hum ginger root tea in my opinion. So as a package, I would not purchase this.

Steeped this with a bit of cream and brown sugar today. So delicious!

Made a pot of this for my boy to take to work and put more water in to brew a pot for myself. I’ve read that most all of the caffeine is removed in the first steeping, which is good since I’m pretty sensitive to caffeine. Still awesome the second time around. Added some farm fresh cream and brown sugar. Scrumdiddlyumptious.
Bf called once he got to work just to tell me how great the tea was and how it got his day off to a great start.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9B_6PH4dhU
Who can take a sunrise, sprinkle it with dew, cover it in chocolate and a miracle or two? Zoomdweebie Man. Zoomdweebie Man can.

This is so great. I’ve had mine for a little over a month now and I use it multiple times a day. I now drink MUCH more tea thanks to the convenience of this appliance. Definitely worth the money.

At first I was a bit irked by the short cord but then I read that it’s a safety precaution so children don’t pull it by the cord off of the counter while water is boiling and harm themselves. So that’s actually a great idea.

The holes do let very small leaves through but you can easily solve this problem by placing this in your cup while you pour your tea – http://www.amazon.com/FORLIFE-Extra-fine-Infuser-Porcelain-Dish/dp/B001JP1KPO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312356616&sr=8-1 – I searched high and low to find the infuser with the smallest holes out there – and THIS is it folks, I’ve ordered several of these for myself, friends and family.

Best tea maker out there!

Dash of sugar and 1% milk since I’m out of cream. Still so creamy!

Made up another pot of this and baked some biscuits. I eat breakfast at night, I’m weird like that. Added my usual dash of cream and golden brown sugar, and slathered my biscuits in butter. What a pairing!

God this is good. I really like it as it nears room temperature. I inhale deeply with every gulp. I’ve almost reached the end of my first bag. D:
I’m going to hide the next two when they arrive. I am not sharing. MINE. MY SWEET HONEYBUSH!

This was interesting. The dry leaves smelled like Jack Daniels and Cherry Coke, once wet immediately reminded me of Cherry Carmex, Neccos and Pine Sol. Steeps to a dark raspberry colored liquor. I had to add quite a bit of sweetener, as this was very prominently hibiscus and very tart. Tastes like hibiscus, cherry, alcohol and a bit of raspberry. I don’t think I like it hot, as I normally don’t like hot fruity teas. This is like hot fruit juice with alcohol. I’ll let it cool and try it iced.

Edit.
Tried this iced. It tasted like cherry lime Kool-aid..plus a funny taste I can’t place. Just wasn’t digging it.

This was just not my cup of tea. But I’ve also never really been a fan of amaretto. I just can’t get over how much this reminds me of cherry Halls cough drops, I tried, but with every sip it just tastes to me like liquid cherry Halls cough drops. I swear I can even taste the menthol. And I’ve always had a strong disliking of those, too. I love the scent and taste of almonds, apricots and peaches. But this was the first tea I’ve ever tried that I just couldn’t drink. :/
I’m going to refrain from giving a numerical rating because I’m not saying the quality of the tea is bad, it just does not agree with me!

Just received my sample pack from Tea Forte’s Herbal Retreat collection http://www.teaforte.com/store/tea-gifts/herbal-retreat/
It’s a hot, sticky day in the midwest today, so naturally I chose the Mojito Marmalade. The first thing I notice is how convenient these single steep packets are. I just rip open the pre-portioned packet that’s just enough for 12 ounces of tea and pour it into my infusing basket.
The dry leaves smell gorgeous and make my mouth water! Bright, sweet orange marmalade and cooling spearmint. I just keep inhaling! This is like aromatherapy. I boiled 12 ounces of water and steeped for the recommended 5 minutes.
Steeps to a rich golden brown liquor. The honeybush and rooibos lend a soothing, smooth natural sweetness and set up a great base for the flavors. Satisfying mouthfeel. I next notice the perfect amount of mint! Just enough to make you take a deep breath and go, “Ahhhh.” Very relaxing. The orange marmalade is toned down very much in comparison to the smell of the dry leaves but it carries over very nicely and the flavors mix together very well. Perfect balance of citrus and mint. I iced the remaining of my tea once it cooled, added a touch sweetener and wow! I really like this! I will definitely be purchasing more of this to enjoy iced on the rest of these hot summer days. Thanks, Tea Forte!

Drinking this in bed while I listen to Ok Computer and ponder about extraterrestrials. I was watching Ancient Aliens earlier. I love that show.
I steeped it at the recommended 212 degrees tonight, for 10 minutes. I’d previously been steeping 52 Tea’s honeybush blends at 195 degrees in hopes of preserving the dessert flavors as best as possible. But it seems that they held up very well. I’m not too sure which temperature I think is better…hmm. I will have to experiment more.
Poured it hot over a spoon of german rock sugar crystals. They are pricey but they really are the perfect choice when you don’t want any added flavor from a sweetener, just enhancement of the tea’s flavors.
Ahhh. 52 Teas makes me a happy girl.

The bf and I are enjoying this hot with a touch of cream, brown sugar and a sprinkle of caramel creamer. The caramel mixes really well with the flavors. Then we added a spoon of honey and it tastes like banana bread fresh out the oven dripping in butter and honey. Yummm. We could drink this every day. My mom even tried this yesterday and LOVED it… and she only drinks black coffee. (Permanent! Everyone lovesss it!)

Whoops why am I still awake.

After trying 52 Teas’s blends I have to downgrade this.. Frank if you made a vanilla/caramely caffeine free tea I know it’d top Vanilla Comoro for SURE.

I want to find an amazing caffeine free vanilla caramel dessert tea that would knock my socks off. I would stock up in bulk and drink it every day.

Enjoying this before I head to bed with just a touch of raw honey. :) So lovely.

I’m trying this iced as Frank recommended. Today I can REALLY smell the icing in the dry honeybush for some reason. My bag is already half empty D: Thank goodness I ordered two more bags yesterday.
Steeped 4 tsps per 8 ounces, so I could pour right away over lots of ice. Added a dash of cream and brown sugar.
Wow. This is one of the best iced tea lattes I’ve ever had. This is making me crave a big hot gooey cinnamon roll slathered in icing.
This was so enjoyable on a peaceful, sunny afternoon. I’m listening to some good old country music in remembrance of my daddy. Johnny Cash, such a stud.
Thanks so much Frank. I’m going through a lot of pain from recent surgeries lately and this tea has really cheered me up.

I’ve never had strawberry zabaglione but I’m glad it exists to inspire such a delicious tea. 1 teaspoon per 8 ounces at 200 degrees for 3 minutes in my Breville One-Touch. Steeps a light brown astringent liquor that pairs perfectly with the strawberry flavor. Added a dash of cream and sugar and this tastes like strawberries and cream while avoiding a sickly sweetness. It also has a touch of complexity that must be from the wine, that REALLY takes this above and beyond any strawberries and cream flavor I’ve ever had. I’m at the bottom of my cup and keep lifting it to my lips only to remember I’ve already gulped down the whole pot. This flavor is sexy. Can a flavor be sexy? And even the name, Strawberry Zabaglione… this must sell especially well around Valentines. A cup of this, a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates. Yes, please!

I’m a huge fan of banana bread with walnuts, so I was delighted to have got my little paws on the last of this. 1 teaspoon per 8 ounces, 3 minutes at 200 degrees in my Breville One-Touch.
The aroma of banana bread is filling my kitchen. Mouth. is. watering.
Steeps to a dark brown liquor that’s malty and astringent; perfect balance. It tastes very good without any additives, but when I added my usual bit of cream and brown sugar, wowzers. Like, woah… this is amazing. And as it cools down it impresses me even more; this must be good iced. I bet this would be a great selling permanent.

Another perfect 10. There’s just no way I can imagine any of 52’s teas to be better than they are. So far they are all exactly what I would create if I could create such amazing flavors. Frank you are like the Willy Wonka of tea. This stuff is indeed magical.
Despite being perfect on it’s own, I added my usual spoon of cream and a touch of brown sugar. If I’m going to have dessert in a cup I’m going all out. Yummm.