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Received a very generous amount of this as a sample with my Yunnan Sourcing order which arrived today (YAY!!! Auspicious Dragon teapot… super excited!!!) Everything I’ve read makes me think I should be getting some serious chocolate/cocoa notes out of this tea so why the crud am I tasting bread, malt and sweet potato?!?!?! Maybe its because I’m being lazy and brewing western style this afternoon? Guess I’ll try again tomorrow with the gaiwan… still very tasty!

Tastes exactly as its name suggests, nothing too fancy but it definitely reminds me of the large pots of tea you get an Chinese restaurants… Think we’ll drink the rest of this with some homemade Kung Pao zoodles to give me the Chinese restaurant experience while snuggled up at home against this unusual cold snap.

I’m a complete sucker for a vanilla bean black tea! When I saw this in a store in Telluride I just had to buy it… 3oz of tea untasted might have been a little crazy but thankfully it worked out pretty well! The tea is a mix of Yen Bai and vanilla bean. The base leaf gives the tea a nice cocoa flavor with a touch of spice while the vanilla bean adds in the sweetness. Not my favorite vanilla bean tea but its a slightly more affordable change of pace than drinking my absolute favorite tea every single day :)

Looking for a cup of tea to warm me up on this cold cold southern Californian afternoon I immediately reached for my bag of Christmas Tradition… Is it wrong that I didnt manage to sip this during the Christmas period and am only now opening it up on New Years Eve?? Too many teas, not enough time!! Anyways, this reminds me of David’s Tea Santa’s Secret only a little less pepperminty and a little more vanillary…. The popcorn and silver balls are a nice touch but don’t add a lot of flavor… They do however make this tea super pretty to look at! I’ll enjoy sipping this down over the next few days of what passes as winter here!

I’ve sipped this tea a couple of times now and have been happy with it but not blown away, most likely because although I get the blueberry I really dont taste any cream cheese danish which is what really intrigued me. Overall its been a pretty blah tea for me…. until now…. So for christmas, I was spoiled, and when I say spoiled, I mean big time!! Hubby bought me a Breville one touch tea maker!!!! No longer do I have to guestimate my water temperature or brewing times and suddenly (seriously) tea tastes sooooo much better!!!! Finally I’m getting some cream cheese and major buttery pastry notes out of this tea which makes me deliriously happy!!! Unfortunately its such a touchy tea that you really do have to baby the steeping parameters… if its not perfect, all you’ll get is overwhelming blueberry which drops my overall rating.

This little bag came with my January Lupicia Newsletter and ohmigoodness does it ever brew up green!! I’ve never had a matcha before and I might have to branch out after drinking this little tasty cup. Very strong toasted rice flavor which is pleasant but I must admit if I was in the mood for a genmaicha there are four or five I would reach for long before this. A tasty cup but not something I would go out of my way to purchase… I will however be looking into matcha :)

I have no idea what an adaptive is but it seems to work wonders for altitude acclimatization! The only real flavours I’m getting is a bit of grassiness, a touch of vegetal and some definite peppermint. Ok, so I’ve done some quick research and I’m betting this tea has rhodora rosea in it which is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat altitude sickness and by Scandinavians and Russians to relieve cold weather related disorders… Either way it was tasty and seemed to help with my acclimatization From sea level to 10000 feet!

So I mailed out my Pay it Forward Tea Box this morning and I felt like I deserved a definite reward after braving the lines at USPS during the christmas rush and my gorgeous blue and gold unopened tin of Christmas Cake was calling my name once I finally got back to my desk. Since that first sip I honestly think I’ve drunk another three cups of this tea!! The dry leaf scent is insanely delicious smelling, like sweet vanilla cake batter but with a slight nutty crust undertone (Marriage Freres refers to this as praline but I’m not that sophisticated)… Sipping I’m hit by Caramel, Vanilla, brown sugar and nuts… I hope this becomes a yearly offering as I don’t think I could handle knowing that I couldn’t drink this every christmas season!!

Mmm banana tea that actually tastes like banana!! No artificialness and tastes subtly like a banana milkshake if you add milk. Yum!!

This is a pretty tasty traditional cup of english breakfast right here. I had to drink it the way my mum and dad always taught me to drink tea when I was itty bitty, at breakfast time with milk and sugar and accompanied with crumpets and strawberry jam… ohmigod… talk about a blast from the past!!! Definitely a solid example of a good english breakfast!