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804 Tasting Notes

Bolder Breakfast from The Tea Spot
98

This is really amazing! Thank you Terri Harp Lady for sending some my way!
I do not recall ever having anything from The Tea Spot before but I plan to check them out if they have a web presence!
Excellent chocolate flavor and the pu-erh is lovely as well. A very nice blend!!

Amaretto Cherry from Teaopia
86

Indigobloom Thank you for this sample!
I am loving it this morning as my wake up tea!
A really excellent cherry amaretto flavor and the cherry is well done – not medicinal!
I do wish it re-steeped a little better but on flavored tea I find the resteepability to only be around 50% regardless of what company the tea comes from so its not a shock or anything that it does not resteep too well.
The flavor in the resteep is there but very thin.
Regardless – one of the best cherry amaretto flavors I have come across and I do love cherry amaretto teas!
Thanks again indigobloom!

Peach Oolong from Art of Tea

Like most this one leaves me wanting more PEACH!
And for that matter more oolong would be nice too.
Its just too delicate of a tea for me but its not bad – just delicate – I am sure for some this is blissful perfection – but I want something a bit more edgy.

Temi 1st Flush from Tea Horse

This is a good tea but not as good as the same tea from Rare Tea Republic.
I will stick with RTR but wanted to note that if you are planning an order from Tea Horse this is quite lovely.
It has a juicy bright mouthfeel and has some very subtle spicy notes. The predominant flavor is of hay that has been in the sunshine.
Full review on SororiTea Sisters on the 14th.

Green Tea Sauvignon from Vintage TeaWorks
97

Oh goodness this is delightful! Thank you LiberTeas for sending me a sample of this! I was so happy to find it today in the box you sent me!
You know I was wanting to try this and this is one I did not order. I think you may have said this was your favorite … anyway – it is delicious!
Its very sweet, fruity, yet grassy and even a little buttery at that!
It has a lovely palate cleansing note to it as well!
Full review on SororiTea Sisters on the 12th!
I did get three of the Vintage Tea Works teas ordered but this one will be ordered next month! YUMMY!

Laoshan Village Chai (summer) from Verdant Tea
94

I am finally getting around to trying this sample and WOW I was not expecting this especially from Verdant! It is SO sweet!
Its like a creamy sweet honey with lovely spices!
I can’t imagine adding milk and honey to it – I love my sweets but I would think that would be over kill – yet if I had more I would certainly give it a try!
This is a goodie!
Love the ginger in this blend!

Pink Sonoma from Red Leaf Tea
93

Really quite delightful! I am backlogging as I had this last night.
At first I thought it was a little on the weak side but after it cooled some it was amazing.
There was the perfect light berry sweetness, and a somewhat floral note lingering in the background – but the star of this blend is the wine flavor which was stellar!
Yup this is another good one from Red Leaf Tea! They do have more than just matcha! :)

Chance Combinations from Custom

Banana Mocha Match!
Eat your heart out Starbucks!
I don’t think I could have over paid for a better flavored matcha!
One scoop Banana matcha – one scoop Mocha Matcha – Milk, Ice, Sweet Cream Creamer. OMGOODNESS!

Sichuan Caravan from Verdant Tea
100

Loving this!
I do not like licorice but you don’t get licorice in this as you would eating licorice.
There is a leathery aspect, nicely balanced spices, lovely elderberry!
I am going to be doing a full review for SororiTea Sisters this evening.
Perfection thank you Verdant for always offering such complex and delightful blends!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake from Della Terra Teas
95

I was worried this may be TOO pineapple-y but its not. It has just enough of the pineapple flavor to taste it but this mostly takes like CAKE. This is THE cakey-ist flavor I have ever tasted in any tea.
I will have to savor more of this to give a better review.
What I can say is that I love Della Terra’s flavorings, never cloying, never artificial.
This is very good!

Champagne Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
100

Wow well I am surprised.
Honestly.
I sort of held off reviewing this one as I thought for sure I would have to mix it with something like orange matcha for Mimosa or peach for a sweeter champagne flavor.
I love champagne so I don’t know why but I just expected this to be off somehow.
I should never have doubted Red Leaf Tea!!

This is extremely accurate to a good champagne flavor!

I mixed mine with a little warm water then added cold sparkling water for that champagne bubbly taste!

PERFECTION!

I tried it both with and without german rock sugar.

I liked it both ways!

This is going to be so much fun to mix with other flavors!

I will still do my mimosa as well as trying it with peach but the options are limitless!

I can’t believe I waited so long for this one and the other rating posted is a 100 as well so how can you go wrong unless you just hate champagne!

I can’t drink anymore due to health reasons and well I probably never should have been drinking to begin with but that is another story.

Oh and if you want your own go here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/champagne-matcha.html

Mine was order in basic grade matcha with robust flavoring! I always go Robust unless it is a citrus flavor then I go distinctive.

Darjeeling Mim from Pekko Teas
96

A great big THANK YOU to Pekko Teas for this “sample” which turns out to be a two full ounces! Like WOW! Thank you so much!
Also to make it even sweeter – this is a solid tea!
Now I am not hat knowledgable on Darjeeling so I can’t pretend to know just how good this stacks against others of its caliber.
With that said – I am QUITE enjoying this tea and no not just because they sent me so much of it lol.
I have had free samples in mass amounts of other teas that were MEH and I would say so if I felt so of this one.
I can actually taste the muscatel in this tea, the base is great, and the mouthfeel is quite nice, almost creamy.
Its not AS robust as some black teas but yet it has its own nice level of somewhat roastiness in a way – and a slight bit of astringency not to be confused with bitterness – its like it is meant to be there – almost a little tart like a fresh grape.
Yup I will throughly enjoy this to the last drop all through the 2 ounces and then get more – a staple to have around!

Chance Combinations from Custom

Caramel Cheesecake Matcha – It was so good – wish I had enjoyed it more though I gulped it down in stupid speed! LOL
It was a huge glass gone in a flash!
Its not just the wonderful amazing flavors though its like I NEED matcha!
The energy is so pure and wonderful!
LOVE MATCHA!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chocolate Dipped Apple from Della Terra Teas
94

I will do a better tasting note another time but this was a very nice way to wake up this morning!
I’m up far too early and far too fuzzy to really give this tea the review it deserves but yet another win from Della Terra!

Orange Brulee from Della Terra Teas
97

Excellent! Just excellent! I am falling in love with Della Terra Teas more and more with each “try me” pack I get from them!
A very nice oolong with perfection in the flavoring!
This is a lovely seasonal steep or really anytime of year but I am throughly going to enjoy it through fall and winter! YUM!
I feel they hit ALL the different flavors in this perfectly – well balanced – everything comes through nicely.
Going to go for a re-steep! :)

Almond Sugar Cookie from Simpson & Vail
85

Finally! A satisfying tea today!
Thank you Amanda!!!
This is a well flavored tea – you can still taste the base in it – its not cloyingly sweet but it is sweet – taste like what it is supposed to – without a scummy oily layer on the top of the liquid!
Whew!
I like this one!

Coconut Cream Pie from Makers Tea
49

I believe the problem here is that their steeping instructions say to use 1 tsp but from my experience and every steeping “rule” I have ever seen you would normally use 2 tsp per serving.
Since Makers offers 2 serving samples I feel they have said to use 1 tsp to stretch the sample as they already have their little sample bags selected which fit perfectly into their packing. The issue is if the tea drinker does not get a full bodied flavor and cup, then it won’t get reordered.
I feel this tea is the one of the three that could have made me place an order yet because it is so thin and lacking in the flavor it should have I won’t.
I should have followed my knowledge and used the whole sample but I assumed that they knew what they were talking about in their steeping instructions.
I am not trying to sound harsh BUT if you want your tea to be as good as it can be it is better to say “use the whole sample” and let people know that if you order an oolong you will only get ONE serving versus two OR change your packaging. There are ways to fix this but I fear for them it will be an issue especially for tea drinkers who may not realize this would be a really good tasting tea if it had been steeped right!
So now I sit here with a cup that is promising but can’t deliver and one teaspoon left of a leaf that does me no good.
I actually feel this could have been an EXCELLENT tea!
Bummer.

Red Velvet from Makers Tea
44

Such a pretty tea and it smells absolutely amazing however the flavor does not seem to transfer from aroma to the steeped cup. I do not care for the floating flavoring or sweetening agent “scum” on the surface of the tea liquid. This is reminiscent of David’s Tea and while not terrible, just not something I go seeking out in tea. I do feel that again this is close but not quite there yet. There is a nice cakey flavor, a slight chocolate flavor which is perfect for the red velvet cake idea, and it is creamy, but the after taste from the sweetener is not enjoyable.

Sea Salt and Caramel from Makers Tea
83

I have tried a few salted caramel teas. I would say this is as good as all better than some, but not something that made me feel that THIS is THE salted caramel tea I have been desiring. It does have more saltiness than most, so for that it scores higher than others as I feel often you just can’t taste the salt. What makes me feel less excited about it is that the base itself is not all that outstanding, and there is that typical flavoring oily texture floating on the top of the cup. I feel that they are really close to an excellent salted caramel tea here but just not QUITE there yet.

Butterscotch Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
100

So after my happy accident with coconut matcha I decided to do the same thing with butterscotch which I LOVE and could not rate ANY higher but oh if I could I WOULD!
Leaving out any water and just sifting my matcha base powder and then adding the milk right in – whisk away – BIG froth – then adding a little sweet cream non dairy liquid creamer – whisk again – HUGE HUGE froth – OMG OMG soooooo amazing and I am telling you this is deserving of more than a 100 rating.
Im so going to make butterscotch matcha cupcakes this weekend! :)

Pumpkin Cream Tea from Culinary Teas
86

This came in the traveling tea box Group B – I think this is quite nice actually. It could be more “creamy” or some sweetness to it but I actually like adding my own german rock sugar over having stevia already in a tea so I respect it not being sweetened. I added sugar and the flavors really popped.
A good one.

Fig Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
97

Fig Matcha

Very sweet and delicious – rich and decedent – never new fig could be so wonderful!
I had to make a second matcha because I drank it so darned fast! My family was laughing at me when I began to make the second latte! They have seen me down matcha before but never quite as fast as this one!
Its sweet but not cloying whatsoever, tastes like something one picked fresh from the tree or ummm garden? Do figs grow on trees? I need to look that up! I have had fig only in a few forms before – jams, canned which were whole figs, and in puddings, but I am positive this is the best tasting fig ever for me!

I got the robust flavoring which is my usual unless its a matcha flavor I have had before and I know it needs a little less flavor to let the base shine through. I feel that the robust was perfect for this matcha however.

I think this may become one I keep as a permanent selection in my stash. I am not sure I would say it is better than macadamia nut or butterscotch but its up there with them maybe number 3 or 4 in my favorites. I have been drinking so many new ones as I collect them that I need to go back and try some of my first matcha again.

I have also been sending out a ton of samples but its getting to that point I can’t share as much anymore because my stash is beginning to thin lol.

I’m at the place of deciding my favorites and keeping only those in stock. This will be one of those.

So I was surprised as I really did not expect to love this one quite so much, actually I thought I would probably not favor it but alas I do. Go fig!

You can get it here:

http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/fig-matcha.html

White Chocolate Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
87

White Chocolate Matcha

Get it here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/white-chocolate-matcha.html

White chocolate is one of those flavors that can be hit or miss for me in baked goods, tea, pretty much anything. White chocolate tends to be about 50/50 on if I will enjoy it or not.

This one is pretty good but it really needs sugar or some sweetener.

I made mine with a little vanilla sugar and milk and put it on ice and it was very good.

I got the robust flavor with basic grade matcha powder base.

I wish I had made more however because I did suck it down far too fast lol so it must have been pretty dang good right? I think the more matcha I have the more I fall in love with those special few flavors over and over but for many I can see this being their all time favorite!

This matcha reminds me of my grandmother – she never cared for regular chocolate and every Easter I would get her a white chocolate bunny. As a kid I loved white chocolate but now I favor the regular chocolates and dark chocolates more.

This one however will be fun to try baking with because when I was making it my daughter told me it smelled like I had baked cupcakes! It really did smell AMAZING in the house when I was mixing this one.

2003 Reserve Four Season Oolong from Butiki Teas
97

This tea is SO rich and flavorful – my favorite from Butiki!
I bought two bags of it its that good!
Great for your coffee drinking friends too! Full review coming up on http://sororiteasisters.com/ soon!

Profile

Bio

Most of my reviews will be “snippits” of full reviews that can be found at http://sororiteasisters.com/
Posted every evening at 6 EST.
I usually try to post the exact date that the full reviews will post however sometimes post dates need changed so it may not always be correct. Generally the dates are correct however.

About Me:

Most of my reviews, although not all, will be quite favorable of the tea. This is not because all tea is excellent, but more so because I generally will not waste my time on an inferior tea. If I do not care for a tea I won’t continue to drink it let alone spend time reviewing it. If you see a review by me you basically know it is a quality tea. Granted it may not suit your specific taste buds, we all like different things, but as for a tea on the whole it is a good one, from a good company.

I am a spiritual advisor by profession.
I have two “young adult” children.
Four cats and three dogs.

Some of my hobbies include gardening, essential oil therapy, natural perfumery with essential oils, and cooking.

I look for complexity overall in any tea, dimensions to the flavors.

I believe tea should evoke a feeling, thought, emotion, or attitude.

I enjoy most all oolongs, blacks, whites, and greens.

I always love to try a good yellow tea.

I favor unadulterated teas but I do have my longings for a good flavored tea now and then so I don’t rule them out by any means!

I enjoy green rooibos don not like red rooibos.

Find me on facebook and twitter – Azzrian Visions

Location

Kansas

Website

http://www.azzrianvisions.com

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