Camiah

Oh my goodness. I’m definitely ordering this one before it goes away. I’m ordering LOTS. The smell, my god, the smell was divine. Banana bread, spot on. Both the dry tisane and the brew were luscious. This was yesterday’s after work tea, my relax and decompress tea. I needed it, mainly because I wore new shoes which on the walk from my car to my work building rubbed blisters on my toes. And then I had to wear them whenever I got up to go anywhere from my desk. And then I had to walk back to the car at the end of the day. I needed all the TLC I could get when six p.m. rolled around. This tea delivered.

I’m finding that between the Toasted Marshmallow tea and this tea, I might be relaxing my stance against sweeteners in tea. This one had raisins in it, which gave the tea a bit of sweetness, but wasn’t bad, as it (and I really hate to admit this) did bring out the flavor a bit. It was harmonious, like banana nut bread. It made the flavor truer. I’m finding, on consideration of the issue, that my stance on sweeteners may need some revising. Maybe I won’t automatically write off a tea because it has a touch of sugar, or stevia, or raisins, or marshmallows (when I think about what these flavoring elements actually mean to the sweetness and taste of the tea). What an earth shattering realization. Few things have been more constant in my life than my revulsion for sweetened tea.

Prepared 3 t in 750 ml water, at boiling, for 7 minutes.

You know how sometimes you just KNOW you are going to like a tea. It’s toasted marshmallow? How can it be anything but delicious. I love toasted marshmallows. I may or may not have been seen toasting marshmallows over my stove coils, I love them that much. I was so prepared to love this tea.

And then I tasted it. It was not bad. But I forgot that when something has marshmallow in the name, and has mini marshmallows in the dry mix, it is going to be the dreaded “s” word—sweet. I just am not down with sweet in my tea. I despise sweet tea with a passion. Chai, I will grudgingly admit, is robust enough to stand up to a little sweetness. But otherwise, sweeteners can stay away from my tea, thankyouverymuch.

I have to admit, it wasn’t bad, so much as just not tea-like for me. I’m not going to get rid of it, I didn’t dislike it as much as I expected to when I realized it was sweetened (there was a vague moment of confusion when I looked at my Breville and noticed the tea was opaque, which led to that “uh oh” moment). I think if I were more used to sweetener in my tea, I would have really liked it, instead of finding it “not bad”.

Prepared with 750 ml of water with 3 t of dry mix in my Breville.

This sample came way back when from Bigelow (Aisling of Tea) way back when. I think it had gone past its prime—I didn’t taste much in the way of pumpkin, more deliciously sweet and milky chai goodness.

I followed the preparation directions from a post on the forums. I think next time I make this I’ll use less water (maybe 1/4 cup). I have some on the way in the DT order I recently made, so I will have lots of opportunities to perfect this. Also, I really want this to be super pumpkin-y, so that way I can actually taste the pumpkin. It isn’t too much to ask, right?

This is my third tea of the day from the 12 Teas of Christmas (I keep wanting to type “Days”. Every single post I’ve typed “Days”). Pancake Breakfast was the tea that began my slightly deluded, brief love of 52 Teas. The smell, my god, the smell of the dry leaf was incredible. It still gets me, with that delicious, maple syrup and buttery smell. I want desperately to like it. Also, I want desperately to taste better. I can only imagine what the flavors must taste like.

But I can’t, which is sad. Also, which is sad, is the fact that I’m still not a fan of the black tea base. I think a bit of time has mellowed the tea, or else I’ve matured and am not as bitterly disappointed as I was when I first realized I didn’t like the flavor of the black tea base, and therefore not quite as hard on it. It wasn’t as harsh as I remember them being. That may also have to do with remembering not to brew the black tea base at boiling (which, lets face it, is probably the most accurate reason I don’t find it quite as disappointing as before). I can see how adding milk might change the taste of the tea for the better, but I’m just not a milk-adder. Chai is one thing, but it just seems wrong to add milk to my cup of tea. Your cup of tea, on the other hand? Add away. I don’t really care what other people do.

I feel almost like writing reviews is rather pointless, as they mostly fit a standard “It smells lovely, tastes okay, no nuances” format. But I enjoy the writing, and it is something I don’t get to do very often in real life. So I write away.

Brewed with 500 ml of water in my Breville for three minutes.

Rainbow Sherbet is my second tea of the day, also from the 12 Teas of Christmas. The dry leaf was mildly aromatic, definitely a fruity black, but kind of generically fruity black. I didn’t get the smack-you-in-the-face aromatic hit that other Steepsterites have from this tea. I never would have guessed without the insert that this was supposed to be Rainbow Sherbet (my nose, it seems, is almost as bad as my palate).

After brewing, it was a whole different story. The smell was so strong, and so spot on to what I remembered sherbet to smell like, it was almost like there was a container of sherbet in front of me. You know when it is just a little bit melty, and the scent intensifies? Like that. In case anyone wonders why I keep drinking flavored teas, even though I don’t really taste the nuances (or even necessarily the top notes), this would be why. I can still smell it, and so I get at least some sensory satisfaction from the tea drinking experience.

I tasted mostly black tea, with that generic fruitiness. The black tea base for 52 Teas isn’t exactly my favorite. It always seems a bit harsh and flat, especially now that I’ve gotten into some other black teas from the likes of Harney and Sons and Teavivre. The difference in taste is tangible, even to me.

Brewed with 500 ml of water at 95C in my Breville for three minutes.

No notes yet.

This was today’s tea of the morning. I am, I’m embarrassed to say, still in possession of almost all of tea from last years 12 Teas of Christmas. I’m working my way through the box, having rediscovered it (I have a David’s Tea order on the way, and for some odd reason, it felt really important to drink these teas before the DT order arrives).

Dry, this smells like sweet, sweet lemon. I get a bit of berry, but mostly sweet lemon. I think the Bai Mu Dan naturally has a bit of a sweet smell (I haven’t had a lot of Bai Mu Dan teas, so I could be wrong). The smell definitely made me think of summer, and I bet this would have been wonderful iced.

Brewed, the liquor was a lovely golden yellow and smelled more like strawberry lemonade. The tea was smooth, I could pick up hints of lemon along with the Bai Mu Dan. I do find it rather sad, the Bai Mu Dan from Teavivre was delicious, and it just seems wrong to doctor that with flavoring. So I suppose it is a good thing I’m not much of a taster.

Prepared with 500 ml of water at the white tea temp setting on my Breville, for three minutes.

Today is probably not the best day to write about tea, but given that I find comfort in both writing and tea, here goes. I got this Milk Oolong on a recent order from Teavivre. I’d like to just reiterate how much I love Teavivre. Fast, relatively low shipping threshold, and I’m not sure if they sell a bad tea (everything I’ve tried has been delicious). My only other experience with a milk oolong was from David’s Tea. I loved every single thing about that tea. The milk flavor was strong enough that even I could taste the creamy, delicious goodness. So I had a high bar set that I was hoping Teavivre could surpass.
My first pot of tea I made according to Teavivre’s directions—2 t per 8 oz of water steeped at boiling for two minutes. What I got was overwhelmingly oolong and short on milk. Green oolongs aren’t my favorite in the first place, so that was a bit of a disappointment. I valiantly brewed a couple more resteeped pots. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I was hoping for—a milk miracle, I suppose. It was a miracle that never occurred.

I decided to give it another try this morning, in the hopes that different brew parameters would help. Also, I ordered a lot of this tea. So I have quite a bit to work my way through. I brewed 1 t per 8 oz at 90 C, and low and behold. Milk! I was so happy! The smaller amount of leaves and lower temperature seems to have allowed the milk flavor to come through. I’m definitely a happier camper (tea-wise) this morning.

And if you don’t want to read about my crappy news, please stop reading now. I totally get it, since it isn’t exactly about tea. But it is weighing heavily on my mind. I found out from my vet yesterday that my dog has a very aggressive pancreatic cancer. Animals with this condition seem to only live a couple of weeks after diagnosis. She is my baby, gotten from a rescue. She was terrified of everything when we got her, and she’s come so far. She’s only seven—young for cancer. She is my tail. She follows me everywhere, and prefers me to all other company. The thought of losing my Bella is tearing me up.

Oh dear. I wanted to like this tea. Fruity and a bit tart, but not too overwhelmingly fruity or tart. It sounded lovely. I prepared it with 1 t per 8 oz, after checking the Teavana website. I was skeptical, since my last brush with oolong tea (Teavivre, thankyouverymuch) called for two to three times as much. But press on I did, and what did I get as a result?

Troubled water. Yes, what resulted at that preparation and a two minute steep could only nicely be called troubled water. Not worth drinking. A vague bit of oolong flavor (unfortunately, greener oolongs are not my favorite), but not enough to be called a tea. I gave it one more shot, hoping for at least a stronger oolong flavor with a second steep at four minutes. The tea was stronger, but no fruit to be found (not surprising on a second steep).

I got this tea on sale at Teavana’s end of the year sale, and I’m glad I didn’t pay full price for it. I’ll give it another shot iced, maybe that will improve it.

No notes yet.

I can’t believe I’ve consumed nearly a whole tin of this without writing a tasting note! Well, after today’s cup, I will have finished it off, quite glad it accidentally (ahem, not really) came into my life after a tea buying moratorium (I’m rarely successful at a buying moratorium, it turns out).

Dry, Caribe smells wonderful. Intensely fruity, tropical, its like someone distilled the essence of a thousand fruity cocktails into a four ounce tin of tea. The brewed tea smells less intensely fruity, with the scent of the black tea coming out more. The taste, the taste is what always gets me, and Caribe is no exception. It tastes like black tea—a hint of fruit, not a strong wallop, like the aroma of the dry brew promises. I think the charms of flavored teas are lost on me—while the nose works well, the taster? Not so much. While it sort of sounds like a bust of a tea, reading back, it really wasn’t. The aroma of the dry mix alone was worth the cost. Damn, it smelled wonderful.

It feels odd to sit down and write about tea. It has been a few months, and my tea-writing skills feel a bit rusty.

I picked up this Emerald Mao Feng at the end of the year Teavana sale when I uh, had a bit of fun (okay, a lot of fun). This was my first time breaking into this tea.

This tea is a light tasting, not overly vegetal green tea. I don’t detect the sweetness that others have mentioned. It has a clear, smooth taste, not harsh or unpleasant. A nice green tea, but not one that is making me swoon. I think I still prefer Teavana’s Emperor’s Clouds and Mist to this tea. I may try it at a shorter steep next time, to see how a one minute steep compares to a one minute steep of EC&M.

I received this one in a swap from TeaEqualsBliss. MMMM, strong, delicious strongness. Just what I need to get me up and going. I normally try not to have anything new so as not to spoil my tasting with food contamination (oh, who am I kidding. I have no taste!). Anyway, I was in the mood for something completely different, so I descended on my sample stash and picked this one out. I was kind of skeptical, looking at all those little tiny pellets of tea, but I am convinced! There is a bit of astringency, which isn’t too bad, and something vaguely bready about the scent. I’m drinking it sans additions, so it is good I only steeped it for two and a half minutes instead of the three plus that they recommend. Even at the lower than recommended steep, it is still plenty strong. I think the assam dominates the cup, with its astringency and maltiness.

Also, I have to say, I had this with grapefruit this morning, and the grapefruit completely knocked out the astringency and robustness of the tea. Taking a sip right after a bite of grapefruit was a completely different experience than taking a sip a few minutes after I had finished the grapefruit. It was mellow and smooth, considerably less in your face right after the grapefruit. Interesting, what tea and food pairings do for each other.

^{Sample provided by Teavivre.}

By now I’ve used the entire sample I got from Teavivre. The dry leaf is light and fluffy, and pretty—it isn’t my first golden tip yunnan, but it is definitely the nicest looking, with those large golden leaves. It also smells yummy, vaguely sweet.

The brewed liquor is a dark mahogany brown, though I did steep it for a minute longer than recommended because this last pot was a little light on the leaf. The tea is not bitter at all, has a nice body and mouthfeel, nor is it astringent at all. The flavor is smooth and bakey, and some unidentified sweet delicious flavor that upon reading other reviews is like sweet potatoes. That’s the flavor! I also did pick up hints of caramel (not surprising, with the taste of sweet potatoes).

So far I’ve tried three of the teas that Teavivre sent me (I’ll have a review of their Bai Mu Dan in another day or two), and I love them all. I can see their teas taking up permanent residence in my collection.

Please, disregard the terribly unsophisticated slurping and glugging sounds coming from my direction. This tea is so damn good, I can’t help but drink it as fast as the temperature allows.

Oh. My. Goodness. I’m in love. This sample was courteously provided to me by Angel Chen. It is my first time drinking this tea, and it won’t be my last. Oh, no, it will not be. To start with, I’m really impressed with the packaging. Details on the label! Harvest date! How long it is good for! Source! It makes the tiny little part of me that is detail oriented swoon (granted, it is a small part, but swoon it does). Also the double bagging is definitely nice, though it does conflict with my more eco-friendly side, as others have noted.

The flavor of this keemun is wonderful. Granted, it is only my second keemun, but I like it more than the Teavana one I had previously. This one is robust but mild—does that make sense? It strikes me as a gentle flavor, but very much there. I don’t get an overly smoky flavor from it (I’m still adjusting to smoky teas), and I imagine that I get hints of chocolate and wine. I think I might find it woody if I could only shake my association of “woody” with “piney”. Earthy. A bit, not like a pu-erh (maybe what I think of as earthy is actually woody. I don’t know).

Anyway, the upshot? I’m going to be ordering more. Once I drink down some of my stash. I can’t wait till that day. Also, I can’t wait to try the next Teavivre sample. Thanks Angel!

This smells absolutely amazing on opening—rather like apple crumble; very intensely apple. I had high hopes for this tea, perhaps too high.

The tea itself is like a very light apple cider drink. I get light apple, and cinnamon, with a bit of almond in there as well. It isn’t as weak as some people had experienced, but not as intense as I was expecting. I probably should have used more—I only used 2 teaspoons for a 12 ounce mug.

Steeped for 7 minutes (oops!) at 95C with 2 teaspoons of tea for 12 ounces of water.

I was steeling myself for a less than pleasant taste experience after reading some of the reviews on Steepster of this tea. I was pleasantly surprised—I really liked it. The dry tea does have a somewhat offputting smell, but not so like garbage or rotten fruit like some other people have described. It was more of a heavy, earthy-fruity smell that I wasn’t expecting.

The tea itself was delicious—a nice black tea base that played well with the fig and cinnamon and orange. I definitely got figs and cinnamon, and every once in a while got a bit of orange. None of the flavors were inappropriately overwhelming—everyone got along. I’d definitely buy it, I only had one small sample from an earlier DavidsTea order. Maybe next holiday season I will.

Steeped small packet in 12 oz water for five minutes at 205 degrees.

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

I’m trying this one again, to see if it behaves better at different steep parameters. And the verdict is, yes! It does. More leaf and a shorter steep time led to a much better tea experience. It reminds me of Andrews and Dunham’s R29 Ceylon, a tea I’m quite pleased with as well.

The tea has a medium body, is not astringent or bitter-tasting, in fact, it seems a bit sweet. This seems a bit malty in the beer sense of the term, like when you homebrew and add the malt. Not malty like I see people use it to refer to assams.

Steeped 4 teaspoons in 1000 ml water at 195 degrees for 2 minutes.

It has been nearly a month since I drank this one. Other than this morning’s Copper Knot Hongcha, this has shaped up to be a green tea sort of a day. Maybe I was in need of more calming vibes than my more typical day of mostly black teas could provide.

EC&M is a standard green, really quite lovely. I had it extra strong, with a three minute steep (Teavana recommends one minute) for a full bodied but not bitter brew. Just what I was looking for.

Zocolatte Spice? I think I love you! At least, while I have the four ounces of you that I have. Chocolately, spicy delicious. I like you better than the Azteca Fire that I tried. As Amy oh said in her tasting review, I bet you taste amazing with black tea. Maybe I’ll try that next time.

I prepared a giant travel mug of this to take with me while I took the dog to the emergency vet, and promptly forgot it. It was still warm when I got home; warm and delicious. The chocolate and ginger were the most prominent flavor notes I could detect, though since this is a backlog, I’ll need to have more to make sure. I remember liking it though. It hit the spot after my vet visit.

Hmmm, the first steep I made of this was entirely too strong, not really bitter, I don’t think (I had it before dropping the dog off at the regular vet this morning, so I was more focused on her than the tea)—just not right. It had a mild astringency which was unexpected (don’t ask why, I don’t know), and so rather unwelcome. I used 1 teaspoon of leaf to 12 oz of water, probably too little leaf, and steeped it for three minutes, which, reading other reviews, might have been a minute too much. I don’t quite know how to describe what was wrong with the first cup, it just wasn’t right.

The second steep is better, not so astringent and strong, was done for four minutes. It does resteep well, though I don’t think I’m going to push these for a third resteep. I think I need to brew it with more leaf and less time before I make up my mind about this tea. I wanted to love it immediately, I did buy four ounces during Teavana’s sale, so I have plenty.

This is another sample sent to my by Aisling of Tea. I was rather surprised that it was a green tea rather than a black tea base. Somehow, a black tea base just makes more sense to me. I’m not sure if it would change how I feel about the tea any, but it seems to make more sense. Maybe it is just more conventional, and I’m being dull and boring. That well could be the answer too.

Anyhoo, the tea. The smell is amazing. Out of this world delicious. I get apples, I get cinnamon, it is divine. But on the sip I mostly get cinnamon (light) and green tea. I catch a whiff of apple, but no flavor really screams “apple!” to me. Luckily the green tea is not overly vegetal, that would just taste wrong. I’m definitely glad I got to try a sample of it.