Azzrian

Thank you Krystaleyn for this sample! Well okay so you can’t really mess this up. I totally TOTALLY over steeped it. My mother came (without warning) and so I spaced this off. It steeped probably 15 minutes and was still good! I didn’t care for it too much before adding sugar and milk but I’m not a huge fan of chamomile. I don’t hate it – I just can live without it. The banana did wake up – fully – when the sugar and milk were added.
I doubt I would ever reorder this but again – its not MY cup of tea – but for what it is – it is a very good tea! David’s got this one right!

No notes yet.

A good Almond Tea is very hard to find. Most are either sick with artificial flavors or have a terrible after taste! Or both! This one is perfect! Now I must say – I had a sample of the almond cookie before and I think of the two if I had to choose just one I would go for the cookie version BUT I love this too. I know that Stacy has been blending and re-blending this mix for a while now – some people prefer one – some the other – I suggest that these become two totally separate blends! :) I know Stacy Im asking a lot lol but really they are both excellent and both different enough for people to have favorites! :)
This one here though is really very nice. Smooth, no bitter or astringent tastes, the cinnamon is very light and as TeaEqualsBliss said sits in the background and does so quite nicely. Mine is the almond indulgence version and still has this cinnamon quality. I must stress it is a very light cinnamon, not a hot one. The almond could not be any better – really perfect almond flavor – NO nasty after taste. I am quite certain this would be yummy with milk and or sugar but it is not necessary at all.
Thank you Stacy! Glad I ordered this one!

This is scrumptious! Tastes just like it smells, like an tangerine creamsicle!
The smell is awakening, the flavor is creamy more so on the after taste, the initial sip is circusy. As it cools the cream is more prominent and less in the after taste and more in the entire flavor. There is a slight tinge of an after taste that is sort of twangy and dry but not bothersome to me. Like dry wine. Some may not like this but thats fine more tea for me lol. Hubby does not like the Guayusa sediment but it does not bother me at all – then again he is not used to tea as a whole let alone Guayusa.
A very tasty tea that lingers on the palate!

Very nice chilled. I think it makes the flavor profiles more prominent. The “twine” flavor comes out more now. :)

I received many samples of Twines from Leaves of Tea.
This is the first one I have had time to sit down and review.
Being completely new to Twines I wanted to take time to really give it my focus.
First of all I love peach and, well, I used to love chardonnay. Still do but no longer drink alcohol. So this is nice.
The peach is subtle but present. A juicy ripe peach absent of chemical artificial flavorings. This is a plus!
The base is a very basic black tea. I am not picking up any finer qualities however I am also not getting any astringency or bitterness. A very nice subdued black base.
The aroma is also quite lovely of ripe peach and the slight scent of a dry white wine.
On the sip – toward the back edges of the tongue you get a tingly sensation.
The more the tea cools the more sweetness and flavor tends to come out. For this reason I am going to chill the rest of this steep and report more later.
Thanks to Leaves of Tea I have a generous sample here and enough for one or two more cups!

This is my morning cup today. I won this from Kimicha’s FB page.
Lizeepea I am so sorry it has taken me so very long to review this.
This is a very fine tea.
A cocoa essence, with playful hints at a maltiness but very delicate hints, sweet, super sweet really.
The leaf is beautiful – deep brown with golden tips. Very sunny and it smells amazing!
As for this being produced in the method of LS well I don’t know anything about that – it has none of the same flavor elements of LS in my opinion well none of the smokiness anyway.
Just a full hearty mouthfeel meaty almost – rich and delicious without any astringency or bitterness whatsoever.
Love this!

This is unlike any pu-erh I have ever tasted. Very LIGHT and mellow. A nice rice flavor that is cleansing and enjoyable – especially with a homemade stir fry!
I did a quick 30 second rinse – then a 30 second steep which was a bit weak for me so on the next steep I did a good minute. This for me was perfect. The tea does have a stronger smell than flavor but it is so enjoyable to sit there allowing it to clear your sinus and sniffing the wonderful aroma! The flavor is light and yummy but not intense by any means. I do want to order some of this and a couple of other things from this tea company at some point in the near future.

Fair Trade and Organic +2
Slightly Bitter -1
Lovely floral Balance +1
Good Pricing +1
A somewhat new company (I think) – nice website but it seems to still being worked on as it has already changed recently.
This is a nice tea – but there are many far better out there – here is the issue I have – I have been drinking Shang, Verdant, Teavivre all day today and yesterday so it is going to be very hard to measure up to those companies. HOWEVER in fairness to this one, I have had far worse! The thing is I am new to Jasmine tea as a whole so I have not necessarily had “far worse” jasmine tea. This company seems to be good and I have other teas of theirs to try so we will see.
I like that they seem to know who they are, simplistic bagged tea, with vibrant red, fair trade, organic, and excellent information about the teas, the company, sustainability, etc on their site.

Here is an excerpt from the site:
We decided to sell Chinese tea that is simple, high quality, and straightforward — tea that our friends from Beijing would recognize and enjoy. So: no Mango-Walnut-Green-Tea-Surprise. Instead we will sell green tea, black tea, and white tea. Just tea, no flavoring except for jasmine, which is as traditional a flavoring as tea itself.

I will sample more of the teas I have from them soon. For now this is good, not great maybe but very good.

A simply STUNNING and DELICIOUS beauty of a tea. Floral, sweet, and soothing! This tea really calms the nerves and relaxes you!
Steeps multiple times and is truly a beautiful tea to watch (glass pot recommended!)
There are just not many words that have not been said about this one. Its lovely. Get some!

Took me a moment to find this here on steepster because my sample package says “Golden Needle Red Tea” not Golden Needle King – but the description is the same so I will log it here:

Well I steeped this completely wrong – forgot to let water cool one minute as package says to do. Got into a convo with hubby and just absent mindedly poured the boiling water over the leaves. Uggg I expected problems in the flavor from this.
In a panic I added a little extra cool water – I guess thinking to bring the temp down slightly. Then I realized what I had done and was just like Ugggggggg whatever – it was my only sample I had to drink it. To waste a precious tea from Shang would be a sin…a SIN I tell you!
So anyway guess what – quality tea can take a beating! This was still fabulous!
The smell was malty and of cocoa. The taste was of molasses, malt, chocolate, and hay.
The hay and molasses combination reminded me of sorghum I think. It brought back memories of when I trained hoses and had a couple of my own. That sticky sweet grain we fed the horses in fall and winter. I have not been reminded of that aroma for years and years. It brought back nice memories and made me miss those days. How I love the smell of hay and sweet grain, and horses. Okay before I turn everyone off to this tea the main flavors and aromas are that of malt, chocolate, and molasses, not horses, or hay, but there is something about this tea that makes me want to go to the country and jump on a horse!
This tea also provided a slight albeit very slight cinnamon sparkling sensation on the tongue.
I found this tea quite filling – almost like a dietary supplement may fill your tummy up except this was far more filling and far more enjoyable than those things!
Second and third steeps were also quite excellent but it was getting late and I laid the leaves out for morning – ended up not re-steeping well the next day (today) but I probably ruined a forth steep by over heating the water the first time around.
Shang has THE best teas in my opinion among maybe 5 other tea companies. Love this stuff!

Time for a trusted favorite.
I have had a MEH tea morning. First I tried re-steeping a tea from yesterday but alas it was done. Too bad as it was only a sample that I had and it was OHHH SO GOOD!
Then I tried a chocolate mint tea that was just BLECH! Dumped that.
Then ran daughter to work and took an iced tea with me but it was too early for iced for me and my tummy was upset and needed warm so I came home and decided to go for something I knew would be satisfying.
Getting used to a new schedule (day time schedule) is difficult. I don’t know if I am just lacking sleep and run down or coming down with something. Tummy has been upset for a few days.
Monk’s blend is a good standby. Its not my all time favorite black by any means but it is trustworthy.
I added a little sugar this morning to curb the smokiness though – tummy still was not totally happy with that.

Backlogging:
Krystalyen shared this with me and I made a previous tasting note but this is a more official review:

I was not expecting to like it very much due to it having several flavor components that I inherently dislike. I have to say my eyes have been opened to trying things I may not normally care for! What you may not like in one blend can be completely different when in the hands of blend masters such as Verdant Tea!

Upon first sniff of the steeped tea I get hit with three essential aromas, chamomile, not one of my favorites, mint, which I am in-fact partial to, and chocolate which, well, I love.
I could do without the chamomile. To me chamomile is something I use in herbal healing, a medicine, not something I enjoy as a flavoring but can tolerate as a medicinal herb. Now I am very familiar with Verdant’s teas and I have to say I am excited about the blend of two excellent teas – Big Red Robe, and Autumn Harvest Laoshan Black. I am sure that the base of this tea is going to be splendid at least! The aroma is sweet, but I am not picking up any fennel or cinnamon in the aroma.

First sip: cocoa and mint, a relaxed mint, and a good strong but not overwhelming cocoa flavor. The tea is crisp and sparkling almost as if carbonated! Nice! Like a chocolate champagne tea! This I can live with! I also picked up the cinnamon resting gently in the background! The tea leaves a clean crisp after taste on the palate from the mints but is not taking over any of the flavors at all. This is a bright light juicy tea and again I am surprised by a tea that seemingly has heavy flavor components yet is not heavy at all.

As the tea cools some the chocolate notes come out so well and as I left the cup to my mouth the chocolate essence takes over mmmmm just like sipping hot cocoa by a campfire! But wait, there is that lifting mint again, and wait, that sparkle that awakens the senses, and wait, a slight cinnamon, spicy, boost. As good as this tea stands all on its own I am tempted to stick some marshmallows in there or at least a splash of milk and a dash of sugar! Perhaps on the re-steep in the name of exploration! I really am not one to put additives into such perfection but this is a tea that is so deeply layered in surprises and mystery that it would be almost a shame NOT to try a few things with it!

Again, cooling down a bit more there is that ingredient I do not like in tea, chamomile! you know what? Its really not bad! Somehow Verdant knows just how to make a fool like me appreciate what I already know to be a healthy additive! Also just as the chamomile comes out to the forefront a little, it has an assist from marigold! As if they come skipping forward holding hands merrily through the light sparkle!

What a great experience in a cup! This will go on my shopping list! Verdant never disappoints! I also want to thank my Steepster buddy for sharing this with me!

Backlogging:

Oolong love that’s what I have …. yes I do love Oolong! Verdant tea has stolen my heart with Gardens of Anxi! Hey in my book Oolong does not need improvement and Verdant recognizes this but why not make something so wonderful even better if and when you can! Verdant tea has added some real gems to this Oolong blend with jasmine blossoms. Yes I know I’m not a floral tea lover but the more quality floral teas I have the more I find out how wrong I was! The saffron is so decadent in this blend giving a soft buttery appeal. They have used orange rind as well but left out the bitterness of the rind leaving behind only wonderful orange essential oils and just the right amount!

I brewed this as per the site’s instructions.

Steep one afforded me my first taste of Oolong bliss, succulent sweet tea with a divine floral aroma, just the right balance of buttery notes playing gently off the amazing Tieguanyin base. The after taste is something like a sweet summer romance. You really want to swish this tea around in the mouth much like a wine taster would do to get its full flavors to shine, and to get the best appreciation for this heavenly blend! An interesting and unexpected apple note comes out but one more of an apple peel than apple itself with just a tinge of a tangy bitter like flavor but not a face puckering bitter more of a “oh this tastes like nature” bitter sweet sensation.

As the tea cools down some the honey flavors come toward the forefront. Jasmine is still the primary flavor but is so kind to allow the other flavors to come through without having to bully their way out of the floral arrangement provided thanks to the creativity of Verdant!

I should also mention – the dry leaf is such a beautiful sight! This tea is amazing if you steep it in a clear glass teapot! The leaves are gorgeous and the jasmine is a sight to behold blooming in your teapot! Verdant says it is best if the leaves and blooms have plenty of space to unfurl but that Oolong is forgiving (haha don’t I know it) so even if you can’t allow it proper space you will still have a lovely cup of tea to enjoy!

Anxi is the tea capital of China for the famed Oolong tea and there is a beautiful garden called Anxi which I would so love to visit one day! I had to google to find out where the name of this delectable tea came from!
I find this to be a playful tea, light, and bright, yet the creamy mouthfeel beckons one to slow down, and sip slowly, smiling the whole time. This is not a palate cleansing tea even with its bright, light nature, it immerses you in a depth of flavor explosions temping you to rush into that next sip. I keep having to remind myself not to gulp it down, “you have plenty more” I tell myself. It takes me back to childhood gobbling up as many cookies as I could before I am found out sneaking into the cookie jar! I am the grown up! I can drink as much of this as I want to and its not even bad for me! It seems such a sin almost to have something so delightful, so beckoning. I think if Romeo and Juliette had a favorite tea it would have to be this one!

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

Backlogging:

At first I thought I had picked the worst day to review this tea. When I woke up I felt fine, made a cup, enjoyed it, steeped again, fell asleep. I will bring this back up later in the review but for now – on to the tea!

This tea in dry and steeped from smelled the same. Malt was the very first flavor I could smell. A wonderful slightly chocolatey sweet malt. If you have ever had Carnation Instant Milk in Malt flavor that is what it reminded me of! The leaf was stunning to look at and had this powdered substance all over it – when I first opened the bag it sort of poofed up as I was smelling it and I almost got a big snort of tea powder. The tea itself is not powder of course but rather they are delightful twisted brown and golden leaves.

The first sip made me smile really big. I am sure I looked like the Cheshire cat! This was bliss in a cup! A soothing melody of earthy sensations!

In case no one has noticed I am fine with metaphors!

The day before I had this horrible day of tea samplings, almost everything had this watered down “where’s Waldo” seeking for the flavor experience! Today – to begin my day with THIS tea was a gift! So refreshing to have a tea that is so full of flavor, complex, and unfolding like a story book that makes you want to keep turning from page to page, chapter to chapter! That is how I felt with each steep! This is a tea I could gulp down far too quickly, I had to keep reminding myself to sit back, relax, breathe, be peaceful, and enjoy! I was just so excited with this cup!

There were deep tones such as woods, spices, malt, and chocolate, but yet this tea had such amazing juiciness as well, with a slight peach undertone. The aroma is roasty and toasty and went perfectly this morning with my scone, clotted cream, and cherry brandy preserves! Later in the first cup I noticed almost a sweet potato flavor although it was subtle.

When the cup was empty I immediately went for steep two! At this point I noticed something strange. My teacup was heavily stained. Not only did it have this light stain all over the inside of the cup but also a spotted leopard like pattern of darker stains within it! I have never seen this before so I decided to soak my cup in some water with lemon juice and baking soda. Grabbing another cup I thought I had better brush my teeth with the same mixture when I was done with my multiple steeps of this tea.

On the second steep I increased the steep time by 30 seconds. I am not even sure this was necessary as this cup was darker and richer than the first! I was throughly enjoying this cup of tea lazing on the sofa when I realized that I did not get nearly as much sleep as I had needed the night before. I had only awoken as early as I did because my mailman made my dogs go crazy as he brought a package to my door! I am however pleased that I was woken up because this tea was in that package! I decided to allow myself to drift, leaving my tea on the table. About an hour later I awoke again, to cold tea. The smell of the now cold tea was robust and chocolaty so I decided what the heck and took a gulp. So good! The chocolate notes did come out more when cooled! This was an enjoyable steep similar to the first with more chocolate notes.

Steep three offered a choco-nutty aroma – milk chocolate. Yum! The malty notes were laying nicely in the background and the honey notes were more noticeable to me now, or maybe the grain notes were evolving into a more honey flavor. This steep was amazing as I realized there were sparkling dancing bubble like notes bouncing around on my tongue! Love it! There was a very light peppery flavor present but it did not remind me so much of peppercorn as it did that dusty loose pepper you can get in the tin can in any regular grocery store. Still it offers a lovely, light, non-confrontational pepper zing.

I also found that this tea is very refreshing for a tea with so many deep, earth, flavor notes! It is thirst quenching and I will definitely be taking this tea with me when I go out and about. I will even ice this tea and take it on the go when doing sporting activities! I find it unusual for me to think this of a tea with so many “heavy” type notes!

I sat my delightful brewer aside to reconnect with my lovely Jin Jun Mei later in the day but so far three of three steeps have been wonderful and I know for sure I will get at least three more! Not one of these steeps had any astringency, bitterness, or any flavor that was anything other than perfection! This is one of my favorite teas of all time, of all types, straight, or with additives, “flavored” or not, thus far on my tea journey!

Backlogging:
(some of this may be repetitive)

Shang Tea is one of the best tea companies out there in my opinion. Everything they do is of the upmost quality. I have not had one bad experience with any tea I have sampled from Shang Tea. Honeysuckle White is pure ecstasy. That is if your idea of ecstasy is a creamy mouthfeel, sweet florals, buttery light vegetal flavors, and an undertone of nuttiness.

When I was a kid there were a lot of honeysuckle bushes around my neighborhood. You could pick the blooms of the honeysuckle bush and pull out the middle section, the stamen I believe, and there would be this shiny wet dew on the stem of the stamen. This was honeysuckle sap. It was sweet and delicious just like this tea but a natural sweetness of course, no where near as sweet or sappy as honey. This tea evokes those memories for me. A time very early in my youth that followed me into my own children’s youth as they too would learn the secret of the honeysuckle bush!

This tea is soothing, calming, almost meditative. The color is so beautiful – a bright sunny golden amber. The aroma makes the eyes open brightly with the lovely smell of honeysuckle blossoms, then the eyes shut with a soothing Ahhhhhh feeling of release. Since this tea is made with the White Peony King tea base you will pick up subtle nuisances of fruity undertones in later steepings.

This tea is a forgiving tea in the sense that you can play around with brew times if you wish to have your tea a bit stronger or a bit lighter. I steep mine for a good 3 to 4 minutes on the first steep and 5 or more on the following steeps, yet you can go as little as 1 to 2 minutes and still get a lovely flavor. Note the directions to bring water to a boil, then let rest one minute before immersing leaves to steep. You will find this tea can easily be steeped 3 to 4 times and still give a high quality enjoyable flavor palate for your palate!

I love a tea that can evoke a memory. This playful tea has the quality to be snobbish yet lets everyone enjoy its bounty, at 16.00 for 2 ounces or you can grab one of Shang Teas sampler packs that include their 8 best selling teas, including this one, for only 8 dollars and 80 cents. Every time I enjoy this tea I will think of the years past, running around my neighborhood, picking honeysuckle and lapping up the sweet nectar of life and remembering times doing the same with my own little saplings!

Backlogging:

So I love Genmaicha, so much, I honestly munch on it right out of the bag, well not the leaves, they don’t chew well, but the rest of it I am guilty of.

Fusion has a nice Genmaicha and its organic, which I prefer when I can get what I am looking for in organic form.

My first teas came from Fusion Teas just this week (this was weeks ago now) and I was really pleased with their packaging. Each foil like bag had a bright cheery label with full steeping instructions. Since I can’t seem to remember from one tea / steep to the next times and temps I love having them provided on the label! Thank you for this Fusion Teas.

Fusion’s Genmaicha is not the strongest flavored genmaicha I have ever had but I like it. Some days I want a genmaicha that is really strong, really “meaty” that I can sit back and savor and sip on for an extended period of time. Other days, especially with summer upon me in the midwest, I know I will prefer a lighter genmaicha and Fusion Teas’ Genmaicha will perfectly fit that bill! While I would not want to go more than a day or two without having a Genmaicha sometimes especially on the hottest of days I just can’t seem to drink a full cup due to its fullness, heaviness, and thickness of mouthfeel but with Fusion’s Genmaicha I know I will be loving this every day all summer long! Its actually one I feel I can chill and enjoy cold!

Genmaicha Light if you will, this tea is also perfect as an introductory genmaicha. Its not too overwhelming and from my own experience introducing people to genmaicha it can be something that people either love or, well, don’t love. I have a good feeling this is one that most everyone will be able to enjoy!

If you have not experienced genmaicha before, think nutty, buttery, lightly sweet, caramel like, and reminiscent of buttered popcorn, yet earthy, and green. Yes I know it sounds like a mouth full!

Fusion Tea Room’s Organic Genmaicha is brewed at 170 degrees F for 2 to 3 minutes. I brewed mine for 3 as I wanted a fuller flavor and usually go for a longer steep time. You can brew from 1 to 2 teaspoons at these settings, I used 1 and a half. I like that you can adjust your steep time and leaf amount to taste as this tea gives a bit of wiggle room for an even lighter or stronger brew!

To me, genmaicha is decadent, an indulgence, yet how can it be when it’s not bad for me? Its something I crave, think about often, I have to keep myself from drinking too much of it from fear I may run out. Did I mention I love genmaicha? The thing is yes there are some genmaicha that are better than others. I had thought I had found my one and only genmaicha, and I will always order that genmaicha from that vendor. The deal is though, now that I have had Fusion Tea Room’s genmaicha I have two I love, one that I believe will become my fall and winter genmaicha, and this one that will be my spring and summer genmaicha! I am just a lucky duck that I live in a state that has four seasons!

Backlogging:

Totally unexpected delight. First of all the aroma of this tea is of warm vanilla sugar and berries. The smell was so warm, so inviting, so sweet, and so natural smelling. It really reminded me of the caramelized sugar on top of a creme brulee with wild berry glaze on the side.

The very fist sip was that of raspberry but it quickly faded into a warm sugared apricot flavor but not a sticky sweet sugar, rather a very natural sugar flavor.

Finally, an apricot I could fully appreciate, as I have had issues with finding an apricot tea I like recently.

What I liked most about this tea, and its flavoring was that I could still taste the green tea base beneath it. Often times when I have tried blends from artesian, or smaller tea vendors I find that the flavors are artificial, cloying, or chemical. This tea was wonderfully mastered! I am impressed! This is one of the best teas from a non commercial tea vendor I have ever tasted!

The liquor appeared oily and heavy in the cup at first pour and I did have some reservations thinking maybe the blend would not be very good but I was so wrong. The tea did have a full mouthfeel to it with that heavy feel but it was so juicy, mouthwatering, delicious!

This is an inconspicuous tea, it does not force you to take notice, rather allows you to simply meld into its splendor! I found that none of the flavors fought one another for attention. While vanilla was not mentioned in the name or ingredients of this tea I swear I could taste a hint of natural vanilla!
There were actual pieces of fruit in the blend just as stated on the site!

I loved the fresh tart apricot, the sharp but sweet raspberries, and the wonderful green tea base, it is naturally sweet so no sugar is needed.
The caramelized sugar aroma was mesmerizing! My mouth is watering as I write this review just thinking about the juicy fruity flavors I so enjoyed! Time to go brew another pot!

Provided to me in my Steepster Select (http://member.ly/steepster-select) package, which I luckily won for March! Thank you Steepster Select!

So when I opened this package I was surprised because it looks like Yerba Mate! Not that I have a lot of experience with Yerba Mate but that is what it reminded me of. Now from what I know of Yerba Mate it has a lot of caffeine, whereas Sweet Roast Green is low in caffeine so the look of the leaf is where the similarities end as this tea does not taste like Yerba Mate either.

The dry leaf smell is indistinct. I really did not get much of any aroma from it. Steeped however the aroma is robust, grassy, earthy. It tastes exactly as it smells with just the tinniest bit of sweet with a heavy mouthfeel. The color is a golden amber. There is a slight green bean flavor to as well, and there is absolutely no astringency or bitterness.

One teaspoon of Sweet Roast Green to six ounces of water, steeped at a boiling temp for 2 minutes are the recommended instructions. I made no modifications and have before me a perfect cup of a rare and unusual tea. Yes I do realize that it is a green tea, and yes I did say boiling! This is a no fail green tea.

Now I will note, this tea is not going to be for everybody. I could potentially see this as a love it or hate it tea but I do believe everyone should give it a try. Hawaii is an up and coming tea producer of artisan quality teas. The hopes are to replace the struggling sugar industry as per the information provided with my Steepster Select package. I am all for supporting local business and industry and doing something good to help others. I do enjoy this tea very much but could see it being too musky for some, too smoky perhaps. It does have an unusual smell and I can only describe it as being something from a party perhaps in the 60’s or 70’s, now if you know what I am talking about it also has a bit of the same taste. My husband disagrees with me however but everyone’s palate is a different.

The second steep (yes you can re-steep this tea! Yay!) yields a much sweeter aroma, more of a caramel essence peeks through, yet for being named Sweet Roast I get far more of the roast flavor than the sweet. I would not say this is a sweet tea at all. On this second steep there is also a light floral aroma poking through. Much lighter now, the mouthfeel is crisper, cleaner. The same flavor elements are there just toned down. There is a slight nudge toward a genmaicha tasting tea both in the first and second steep although not quite the same there is a resemblance. I feel safe in saying those who love a genmaicha, like myself, would enjoy this tea. It is lacking some of the buttery notes of a genmaicha, and of course the toasted rice, therefore nothing for me to pick out and eat (bummer) but the base flavors do nod to genmaicha.

I did steep this a third time, although I made two cups at a time and by the time I got to the third steep I was getting to my morning tea limit, plus this is a low caffeine tea, probably a mistake to make it first thing after getting up. Could not help myself though I had to try it! The third steep still had nice flavor complexity, but was getting noticeably thinner. Regardless, still toasty, still roasty, but now lacking some of the more pungent flavors from before. Had I not had four cups already I could enjoy this tea on steep three very much. Wow, I just noticed I am already more than half way through cup one of steep three, so there you go. Still good on the third steep but there is no way I am going for four, not today anyway.

Sweet Roast Green Tea (Dark) sells on the Mauna Kea Tea site (http://www.maunakeatea.com/home) for 10.00 per 30 grams or just over an ounce. You can also get a sample size bag for 4.00 which is 10 grams.

Backlogging;

This is another tea that I received in the Steepster Select (http://member.ly/steepster-select) box that I won. Thank you Steepster Select, again providing me with a totally new experience! This is my first Guayusa tea! It also looks like Yerbra Mate it its dry form.

First smell: I thought to myself Yummmm, I was surprised although I am not sure what I was expecting as I have never had a Guayusa before. Fruity, creamy, bright, eye opening, delightful aromas.

First sip: The flavor is bright, and cherry, with a slight tartness yet with such sweetness, like that of fresh berries. If I had to compare it to another tea it would be a good quality black tea, one without any astringency or bitterness!

The liquor is light brown.

I have absolutely loved my Steepster Select box – and I have more to come, – because it takes me on this amazing journey! I am learning so much about tea! This Traditional Guayusa is farmed by a native tribe in the upper Amazon regions of Ecuador, Peru and Columbia. The tried is called the Kichwa Tribe. This info was provided by Steepster Select on the card they include with all of their tea shipments.

I just think it is so wonderful to have such a fresh tea resting on my palate! To sit back and imagine this small tribe farming, and picking tea leaves that will be consumed by people like me, it is humbling and also I am slightly jealous of what I imagine their lifestyle to be. I also respect Runa Tea for working with the Kichwa tribe in regards to sustainability and socially responsible farming and procuring of teas. This tea is Certified Fair Trade, Certified Organic, and Certified Kosher. It is 5.99 for 1.5 ounces or
17.99 for one full pound! Wow! Talk about a steal for an amazing tea! According to the Runa Tea facebook page – Runa means “fully living human being” in the Kichwa language.

Second cup which is cooler than my first and I am picking out a very caramelized flavor now. Its quite nice and different from my piping hot cup before. I am intrigued by the way this tea seems to evolve right on the palate. I think if I listed all of the different flavor components it would be a very long list. Berry, sweet, bright, cherry, sugary, malty, toasty, smooth, rich, I could go on and on.

I was having such a good time with this tea, trying it iced as suggested on the website it was wonderful. Then I got adventurous and added a touch of Japanese spearmint essential oil to my cup, just a tiny drop, and it made the best tasting sensation with a toasty maple like flavor with a kick of mint. So delicious! I did not try it with any sugar in the raw or milk but I am going to assume it would be excellent as it seems to be a very versatile tea! I also noticed when the tea is colder, either cooled from a hot tea, or iced it has a more malty note to it and a wonderful bread like after taste! This was before adding the mint though.

I also wanted to note that I love their website – www.runa.org
They talk about tea origins, ways to enjoy tea, the tea farmers, and they even have a mission statement! It is also a very eye appealing site that is easy to navigate.

Re-steep on this tea was a huge success! Although I only did one re-steep I feel assured I could have went for another, maybe more. The liquor was even a bit darker on the second steep – releasing more of the complex flavors with some extra sweetness coming through!

I feel honored to be introduced to such a wonderful tea company and tea! Not to mention to feel closer to our global community and the wonderful diverse people of this planet!

Backlogging:

Cookie comes as a surprise. I was expecting something extremely sweet from this blend. I was pleasantly surprised that someone has blended a seemingly sweet tea without all the added sugars or sweeteners! Cookie, is a tea that has a lovely dark black base, the flavor of a cookie, and reminiscent of Danish Butter Cookies. It is not sugared down or cloying like many cookie blends. Now I am not saying I do not enjoy those sweet blends, I in fact quite enjoy them, but this is a different and very welcome spin on a cookie tea! The aroma is in fact very much of a caramel cookie, however I really do not pick out any caramel in the flavor. I do get a baked goodness though which is quite pleasing. However, adding a dab of sugar in the raw did evoke more of the caramel essence. I liked it with sugar very much. Then I decided I may as well take this full tilt, finished my cup, rinsed my cup, and poured a new one. This time I added milk as suggested by Lupicia Tea. It was nice with milk although I really did not note much of a change rather than a creamy aspect which was pleasing. The flavor however remained the same. My full tilt measure was adding sugar in the raw into the cup of Cookie and milk. I had struck gold. Granted Cookie by Lupicia is a very fine tea unto itself unadulterated and perhaps I am spoiled by my expectations of this tea being like all the others, sweetened. I imagine that it is my own immature palate wanting my cookie to be sweet and I will admit while I do love Danish Butter Cookies, they are often lacking in the sweet department for me. Unfortunately for me, I was totally out of any kind of cookie to dip in this tea and I know had I had any cookies I would have loved this tea much more straight. In fact I find it refreshing that a tea company made a blend that in fact did taste of the characteristics of a cookie without all the added sugars! Kudos to Lupicia for doing something unique and doing it quite well! I am sure there are many people who would love this blend even more than I. A lot of tea lovers do not care for sweetened teas yet may enjoy something as delectable as a cookie blend! Some of the flavors this tea evokes are: Buttery, Baked Flavors, Slightly Malty, Rich, as a matter of fact it even looks like a coffee with cream in the cup when milk is added, with a deep mouthfeel.
I really love the tins Lupicia teas come in, of course they are optional, you can pay slightly less without the tin. I will of course order my refills sans tin but I really think they are quite adorable resembling a silver hockey puck! I was surprised at the size of them when I got mine in the mail. I was expecting something much smaller.
I highly recommend trying this tea. I guarantee that you will not have another cookie quite like this in a tea or otherwise!

Backlogging:

After receiving a sample pyramid bag of Happiness I could not wait to give it a try. Mostly because I was exhausted and really did not feel like messing with my loose leaf tea, which is really all I have anymore. I was really happy to get a sample tea bag and be able to just boil some water and toss it in. Granted it is not difficult to use loose leaf tea but I was just THAT lazy, the mental aspect of a tea bag seemed right on for me in the moment.

I was not anticipating much, it was after all a tea bag. Yes I have become a bit jaded regarding them. To my surprise and delight I could not be happier, no pun intended, with this Happiness tea!

I clearly can taste the peach and the grapefruit gives the tea a nice bright cheery note but is not biting like grapefruit is known to be. The mallow really makes this tea soothing, almost creamy but not as creamy as a cream tea of course, just a slight smoothing effect. The floral notes are very well balanced and complimenting to the fruit notes.

I steeped my sample bag in boiling water for 2 minutes on the first steep and 2.5 minutes on the second. Yes, this tea bag did re-steep quite nicely!

Happiness is made with a mixture of green tea and green rooibos tea. I do believe that this is the first green rooibos tea I have had the pleasure of trying! Green rooibos is caffeine free, although green tea is not, however is low in caffeine in comparison to black tea. So what you get is a lightly caffeinated tea with Happiness. Yet still, I felt awake after drinking, not jittery but calm, serene, and happy. Green rooibos is not fermented like red rooibos. The process is stopped by withering the leaves right after being cut. I intend to do more research on green rooibos myself, and always love to find something new that I have not tried before when it comes to tea!

I have been looking for a peach tea that really tastes like peaches right off the tree! One that is very natural tasting, I have found that in Happiness. Of course everyone’s palate will pick up some notes more strongly than others but this cup provides so many wonderful offerings! This tea would appeal to floral tea lovers, green tea lovers, and fruit tea lovers and I also feel this would appeal to anyone in your life who does not particularly care for tea at all. Without the sugary, fake flavorings this tea reminds me very much of many bottled drinks on the market today, or a smoothie even. I know my entire family would enjoy this tea! I also allowed the second cup to get cold setting beside me and it is absolutely wonderful cold so would make a very nice summer iced tea!