Bonnie

Thank you to BTVSGal for this sample. Wow what flavor! This is buttery like buttered popcorn! Fantastic…and who would have thunk it! The White Tea floral is still there but not in the front knocking you down. I like that. There is such a weave of flavors that you think would not go together. Buttered popcorn and orchids? But it goes together like popcorn in the park on a Spring day. So good. I lightly sweetened mine. The second steep 2 minutes was longer than the 1 minute of the first. I can smell the charcoal and a little rubber in the vegital. Not a big deal. Still buttery and floral and light golden. I believe this is going to take multiple steeps better than any tea I’ve had thus far which makes it a bargan. I only used 1.5 tsp for 8 oz. and estimate it will go at least 4 or more steeps. Nice with chunks of salted cantalope or crenshaw melon.

First review and a huge thanks to Angel from Teavivre for this generous sample! I very carefully opened the tea package (which is beautiful) and inhaled deeply several times to catch the first burst of scent all dry, nutty and vegital but still muted and light. I got my Spring Water…loaded my electric kettle to temp 194 and set my glass teapot to the ready. I put 3 teaspoons for 8 oz. water in the SS. basket. The leaves are a mulch of forest green lush leaves tinged with brown and small brown twigs. Steep time 2 minutes. Ready for the tasting. Put my nose down to smell the wet mash…all spinich and buttery rich. The pour into my glass mug is a champagne gold liquor nice and pale with no vegital scent at all. In fact…the scent is like cherrios dust…like at the bottom of the box. There is no floral taste like I expected or acid. The next step was to check on what would happen when I added some sugar. I didn’t overdo the sweet out of respect for the light character of the tea. There is a change…a light biscuit tone. Really there is. I think this would be a good tea choice with raspberries and cream or a croissant and jam because of the balance of acid, cream and butter in the food and biscuity lightness in the tea. No milk in this tea for me. Milk would be too heavy and the flavor of this tea is just too delicato. A second steep for 4 minutes proved a bit weak and more vegital. Still, good color and flavor. In a tea tasting I would put this in the forefront before stronger and heavier tea.

First review. Nice and soft blueberry scent and pretty dry blend of light tea leaves and small dry blueberries. Steeped about 4 minutes tasted and let it go another minute. First sip is light with slight blueberry flavor and no added sugar. I added sugar which brought the blueberry flavor to the front and was really the best way to drink this brew. Most white tea has a distinct white tea note that is floral but this white is quite bland. Then I added milk to see if the blueberry flavor would become creamy and rich but it actually became dull since the berry is subdued so I personally would not add any milk or cream in the future. All said and done…this is an average tea a little light for my taste but maybe great for people who have a more sensitive palate. I like assertive more expressive flavors.

First review. I don’t know what happened on this tea…I read the other reviews that commented on how it tasted like sweet potato and all that…but have they ever eaten or even baked a sweet potato pie?! Really?! This does not taste like sweet potato pie at all! There is such a low level of flavor that even my daughter was saying bleh…and how would we know you say…well…we’re a blended African-American family and in 44 years I’ve made and tasted a huge amount of sweet potato pie! There is no spice at all in this, no cream, no crust, nada. I’ll try again another day to be fair. Steep a little longer. Honestly I wanted this to be good. I know if the tea blender does not blend this just right it will taste like pumpkin but it can be done.

First review.

Last night my daughter and 3 teenaged granddaughters (18,16,14) came over for laughter (we seem to laugh till we cry at the dumbest things) and have tea.
I had fresh strawberries from California, cookies, 3 pots of different tea…Czar Nikolas II with Cherry Jam first, then Sweet Potato Pie Tea, ending with this very smoky Lapsang Souchong. I knew that noone had ever tasted anything like this tea before.

When we ended our array of tastings ending with this tea, my youngest granddaughter was absolutely loving it! Only the oldest didn’t prefer it… and thought it was like having a piece of smoked meat. Oh well, everyone else enjoyed it.

Here are the comments:
It tastes like you’re in a cabin in the woods…it brings you to memories of camping or a Winter day when the snow is falling. The smoke is real and not artifical or chemical tasting. Comforting…like having a wood fire in the fireplace and candlelight. I had only steeped a scant teaspoon for 2 minutes for 10 oz.

I’ve added Lapsang Souchong leaves to other tea’s that I wanted smoky like Czar Nikolas II once and in Earl Grey which was good also. I think this would be tasty while eating chocolate so I’ll try that next time. Good tea time.

Got a bag of Cardio from BTVSGal (thank you very much!!) and am pleased to announce that I likes it! Actually I steeped it 5 minutes (it can go a little longer which I will do next time) and I was going nuts (more than usual) in my head trying to figure out what the elusive taste was gurgling in my mouth and down my throat. Slurp! I cook…and I have more herbs and spices than you have tea. Oh yes I do too. I had a hunch and went to my organic coriander seed, took one and chewed on it. Yep…same taste as in this tea. Coriander and a citrus and not much linden but a little. I chewed on a wet hawthorne berry to get the sense of the woodiness that’s in the tea. All in all…a curious little tea that I like. It’s not copy-cat or “I’ve had this beforeish”. AND, no caffeine! I grew 7 kinds of mint last year and dried it. I’m thinking that some pineapple mint might be good in this iced but that thought is only because it’s 66 today. Wed. it’s going to snow so I want this hot and as is. I give a good score for originality at least!
*Had some more of this and realized that I like it more so upped the rating.

Second review. I needed a tea that wasn’t going to bomb on me. You know when you’ve been trying new tea and it’s been eh…well…you know what I mean,“iffy”. You need an old tea friend to perk you up. What better friend than Pancake Breakfast! It has Syrup, Butter, Batter cakey doughy stuff! This is what I was in the mood for and it delivered. I can’t say I’d give it 100% rating because that is reserved for rare transendental tea experiences that are few and far between. This is a nice and comforting tea which is like a warm hug… and who doesn’t want that.

First tasting and 5 minute steep (scared of bitterness like a wild child). In my opinion this tea barely gets by calling itself coconut. Such a itsy bitsy hint of coconut that you must call it a coco speck! The tea really reminds me more of a jasmine orchid flavor but it isn’t cloying or overly perfumy which makes me really nauseated in some tea brands. Like sitting in group of 7th grade girls after they’ve hit the perfume counter if you know what I mean. Bottom line is this is drinkable but not what I wanted. Not a heavenly coconut. I will not repurchase.

Stinks! I got rid of the last of it to people who wanted to try it and had to double bag it because of the smell! Bleh!

I tasted this tea in 3 stages. Steep time 5 minutes 212 degrees. There is a strong first fragrance of cardamom and ginger root. Liquor Golden with a slight green tinge. The wet brew is a salad of chopped coconut and lemongrass, ginger root, some type of small light seed (not coriander), black tea, cardamom and cinnamon. Very pretty. First pour plain is slightly sweet and mainly tastes of ginger root with a lemony finish…nice and light. Adding sugar brings up the cardamom a little bit. Adding milk…WOW…this is CHAI! The cardamom comes up further and the blend becomes creamy, balanced and delicious. The ginger is calmed down by the milk but the cinnamon still lends a bite. If I were to correct anything at all I would increase the coconut content and tone down the ginger a bit so that you know coconut is there along with the lemongrass which gets a bit lost. I like Chai that takes you somewhere exotic. For that…this tea hits the mark. I am not in North America when I drink this, I’m on a journey and transported. (I know some people say I’m not on this planet either)…Good tea though!

I haven’t had many (maybe any…can’t recall) coconut tea so this is going to be a first. I do love coconut. (I enjoy cooking Thai food…using coconut milk and making curry).
I followed the 3 minute steep instructions to the letter and I’m glad that I did because the brew was without any bitterness whatsoever! Success! The dry tea was sprinkled with coconut pieces and the leaf was very dark. You could smell the flavoring but not too overdone like some tea that you want to leave outside with the stinky sneekers. Without any additions the liquor is light and slightly coconut tasting and tingley on the tongue.
A bit creamy on the finish. Clean. OF COURSE I ADDED CREAM AND SUGAR! THIS IS DESSERT! Why would I even drink this unless I was going to indulge! No pristine tea for me. Ramp it up with additions and drink it down like coconut bonbons in a cup. Yeh! This is pretty darned good!

I haven’t had this in almost 2 months…waiting for a special moment when I really needed it. And today I see it is available online HOORAY! because I’m having a bad, bad day! Just got a huge bill ($1100) for a broken tooth and $280 for lenses for glasses in the same day…and I have eye Dr. bills and my ex-husband called to say he was not going to pay me the 6 mo. back support he owes!!! OK…this is Lent! I need to calm down and live in the moment and not stress! So, of course I made the very last of my favorite tea…opened the curtains and looked out at the little snowkles (not real snow), then brought up my steepster online friends and shouted, “I LOVE THIS TEA AND ALWAYS WILL!” I’M GOING TO ORDER ENOUGH TO HAVE MANY HAPPY MOMENTS! The choco, orange, earthy…rich and creamy dessertlish drunken wonderful blissfulness! Well,up this goes to 100%

Another sample. Uh at least the almond is not bitter. Hooray! Tea Forte got the almond right which few companies can say. There is a slight nutty toast but hardly any cherry…it seems to be covered up by the vegital green tea… I suppose since this is a skin tea so why not make a spritzer for you skin out of it…(I’ve done that with White and Hibiscus for vitamin C ). Ah well again not a tea I would purchase. But others might like it. Each to their own.

Reviewing a sample of this. Have to admit it is a pretty little tea…all those hand rolled pearls…then the light champagne gold liquor in my glass mug…ah. I took a sip…hum…what kind of Jasmine floral is this? A bit on the strong side and I was careful not to overbrew. The scent was bending towards Paperwhite flowers. They can be a bit overpowering. So, I went to my tea cupboard and took down my best organic white jasmine from Puripan and made a small brew to compare. The Harney & Son’s brew and Needles were golden…the Puripan needles darker and the tea liquor palest yellow. Puripan was not knock me down Jasmine but subtle and smooth. Harney"s I’m afraid for me was just a bit too cloying. Almost not Jasmine but Paperwhite. Sorry to all you lovers.

I’ve neglected this tea too long. Stuck in the back of my stash of tea for no good reason…maybe because it’s Winter and this is a Spring/Summer sounding tea “Peach White” for goodness sakes! But I spent yesterday at a Lenten retreat in Denver and think I should be merciful to this tea and give it a review. Okey Dokey. A 4 minute steep (instructions say not to oversteep to avoid bitterness…and I obeyed) delivers a champagne liquor of organic white that is so masterfully blended with a light hand of added peach and tangerine. There is a fantastic weave of these flavors but you can’t unravel them easily because they are so tight and elegant. Puripan knows how to produce the best White Tea! I hate fake chemical peachy tea…bleh…and this is not that in any way. There is no big fruit flavor of any kind. All is subtle…a hint…a tease. You want more. Oh the best most beautiful organic white needles. Impressive.

I just had to have some more of this wonderful tea on such a beautiful 63 degree day. Yes this is what Colorado is like on the Frontrange. Sun, and more sun! And 4 days ago I paid $2.81gal. at Safeway gas with my 20 cent a gallon reward coupon. Are you amazed! Come on….get mad at me! You know you want to! So, today I brewed this beautiful Russian tea and forgot to stop the steep at 5 minutes…so at 7 minutes I went eek…but fortunately it turned out ok. OH MERCY! the flavor…sweet bosc pear…very slight dulce de leche…a floral note of some kind without name but not in the way at all…not a horrid vase of flowers…you know…that nausea under your nose… but a tease of delight that you just can’t figure out. Please oh tea…what are you trying to tell me? THEN… I added milk and sweetened the tea which was way way way the best of all. I love it. My first 100!

This just arrived! Joy! Wanted to try this after reading about how it was served in the Russian tea room in San Francisco in the old days just the way I was served by Fr. John at St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Saratoga,CA. Instead of Russian Caravan smokey tea he used a more floral Russian Tea and put in a huge glob of sour cherry Jam and a spoon. You sip, get some jam from the spoon and sip some more. So good. I made me the same cuppa tea, sour cherry jam and all. AHHHHH!
Now the tea:
I did pour a sample first. My Steep time was 5 minutes and the liquor was med dark gold. The scent from first opening the huge bag of tea (8.8 oz for $8.99 a bargain!) was so different and floral but not something that I could say I knew what it was. Big scent though! Marigold…blue mallow…safflower…a bit buttery on the end. I let it cool but it does not taste good cold. Maybe sweet would be ok. This is fine without any sweetening hot and I’ll try without jam and with milk later. Love it this time.

Went to the tax lady today…got that ordeal over with!!! As a reward (as if I need an excuse) I stopped by Happy Lucky’s Tea House which has THE BEST service in the world! The regular 2 guys are terrific but today was the first intro of a new employee Diana who went out of her way to make sure I’d have a great time. I decided to try something way different than anything I have at home. Smoked Earl Grey. What in the Sam Hill would this taste like? There was a new frosting of snow out the window to look at…and a bamboo tray with a lovely white ceramic pot and cup was brought to my table “another 2 minutes and I’ll be back”, she said. OK. (about 4 min total on the steep I’m guessing). The first pour….transported me to a mountain cabin with a log fire crackling away to warm the room. There was the scent of flowers gently edging in under the smoke from some other room. Comforting but a really big smoke. I wanted some dark chocolate or a pear or aged dry goat cheese with this. The pairing would be the same as some red wines that I love. I added sugar and it brought out the floral in a good way. Diana and I were in cahoots (is this spelled right KAHOOTS?) “Let’s try a second steep and see where it takes us!” (I’m drinking a lot of tea…slosh) but…the second steep was way better…less smoke but not bland at all. So good. Not artificial. I liked this tea. Never thought of drinking anything like this. I did buy another smokier tea to cook with but may return soon for this one to keep forever. Thank’s to Happy Lucky’s for a memorable tea time!

I knew I should have walked away from this sample…really…noone I’ve tried has done this right as yet. This is no exception. Where is the tea? All you taste is a watery orange and an aftertaste of ….pith. HELP! Pooie…

Wanted a fresh fruity tea tonight to break up the pattern of Puerh and earthy spicy tea I’ve been drinking. This tea was so refreshing. The smell is wonderfully rich and ripe berry…rasp and blackberry dark and sunny. I tried some before and remembered to steep 4-5 minutes without fear of bitterness. This is blue/purple soup. You need to drink it sweet or it’s like picking an unripe berry which is sweet but you would not make a pie out of it…you’d still pucker. Before we all moved to Colorado, my daughter lived in the Coast Range Mountains by Santa Cruz,CA in the Redwoods…and in clearings there were rings of wild berry brambles…blackberries reaching up to catch the sun. We’d go with the grandkids picking enough for pie, or to top ice cream adding a tad of sugar. You could taste the sunshine in it. This tea has that authentic berryness. The taste that is not bitter. I like it. I would add mint in the Summer or make iced tea or make a spritzer with 7up and crushed ice.

This morning I spent 2 hours sitting while my granddaughter used my car to take her drivers test. She passed (joy),I went home cold and ready for tea! Decided on Hot Cinnamon Spice for a proper lift. First impression was red hot candy but so soon the flavor went flat. Also did not get orange at all. Disappointed!

Read my mind…endorphines are dancing like sprites with this sparkling almost tingley minty chocolatey yyyyy brew. I sound like a pre-teen with a crush on a new star on American Idol! This is tea…get a grip. Ah…on second thought…I’m old enough not to give a rip…this is dang good tea! Sexy, minty with little lips…and mini chocolate chips. First I just sweetened a tiny bit…was good…then added some cream…better..and then…well I remembered what the Russians do for dessert with tea…and had a piece of chocolate alongside while sipping…hee hee…really great! Will need a nap!

What an interesting flavor. It tastes a bit like the blond colored jujube candies…ya know…the ones that stick to your teeth and almost pull them out. A one-of-a-kind memory. Even the color is right. Smells just a tad soapy like shampoo but not enough to put you off so you gag. I went further on the steeping and sweetening and it was better for me. This may be a “healthy tea drink” but sweethearts, it needs more HONEY to put it where it needs to be. Rework it please Tea Forte! Could be so much better. Flavor is weak.

Today 2 things happened to make me happy. My 16 year old granddaughter Megan came over to spend time with me and drink tea, and my custom blended Adagio Frontrange Winter tea arrived. I had uploaded a photo of the Rocky Mountains taken from Douglas Lake which was printed as the label (see it on the left). Looked nice. Big bag of my blend of Pu erh, chocolate and orange. Now, I was not expecting a fantastic brew…like my Davids tea Chocolate Orange, but what I got was a nice mellow Pu erh with a light chocolate and a hint of orange that I can live with. The whole idea is fantastic. I can find out what tea flavors my little grandsons love, berry….vanilla…etc…and upload their picture to go on the front and call the blend Micah’s Mud or Ian’s lizzard Lips if I want to. Nice gift for their tea stash. My granddaughter thought the tea tasted fine and earthy without being unpleasant. She had a pot of my DT Cream of Earl Gray going. We watched Midnight in Paris on my big screen and talked about boys. Then she tried on a nice evening dress and heels from my closet (I’ve got a lot of stuff). She’s conducting a choral piece in Latin about the death of Caesar that she composed and is pretty excited about it. Previous pieces have been orchestral. Nothing better when you’re old than family or friends that you can help mentor…encourage…and sip some tea with. Not fishy!