Camiah

Mmmm, mango. Delicious delicious mango. Definitely worth drinking when I follow the directions :)

Sputters….where’s the cherries? The cherry scent that was so pronounced in the dry mix is nowhere to be found in the brewed tea. I know there were cherries in the contents of the brew basket. I get tea. A light, gentle tea.

Okay, scrolling down through the reviews, most people appear to have steeped it for 4 minutes. I did a two minute steep. But still, something? Anything? Sigh. I’m rather annoyed with myself, I don’t have that much of it. Anyway, hopefully in a few days I’ll try this again. I’ll hold off rating until then.

Yum. Not quite as yum as the Pancake Breakfast from this morning, but pretty close. It smells wonderful in the pouch, and had a pronounced aroma while brewing as well, which was lovely. I’m more likely with most teas to notice the smell on the pour rather than the brew. So I had a nice four minutes of banana bread scent. The tea itself is wonderful, I think the walnut gives it less of a smoothness than I was expecting, but it wasn’t unpleasant. I definitely get banana, but not the butter flavor that others seem to get. Its very good. I really seriously cannot wait to try other 52teas. Strawberry Zabaglione, I have my eye on you!

Wow. Just wow. This is freakin’ delicious. It is my first 52teas, and won’t be my last. The dry tea smells wonderful. Just like pancakes. I stood there in the kitchen with my nose buried in the bag just smelling it. Yummy. The brewed tea lives up to the hype of the scent. The pour smells vaguely like maple syrup, and the taste of the tea really is pancake-y, but not in a fake, nasty way. The drink is smooth and overall delightful. I bought this from Ashley here on Steepster, and I’m definitely going to be buying more of this when I run out. Seriously get yourself some of this tea. Its worth it.

On an unrelated note, I just figured out on a comment how to bold something. Watch out! I might bold everything in sight (web stuff, other than surfing, is not my strong suit, as you may have guessed).

ETA: Ack! This isn’t in the permanent collection? Noooooooooo! That means I’ll have to ration it!

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So this is my second tasting of this tea, and I still managed to ignore the directions. I used 2 teaspoons instead of 1.5. But it was better than at the 1 teaspoon level. However, shockingly, I’m not sold on it. It is okay, I’ll finish what I have, but I’m just sort of meh. Maybe its the rooibos? I don’t know. It just didn’t taste like I expected something called Cocoa Praline Tart to taste like. And since I’m backlogging from yesterday, I can’t really remember the specifics.

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Second steep with half as much water at boiling for five minutes, to see if you really can get two steeps out of it. Much better on the second steep, actually. Stronger and fuller bodied, even though it was a resteep. Which goes to show how weak the first steep was. Lesson learned: read ALL the directions on the tea tin.

The mango scent is still very much there. I’m getting gentle whiffs of it as I write this (the cup is sitting right in front of me). I love mango. The smell is making me want it. I also get mango on the taste. Not particularly overpowering, although I’m starting to think if I can pick up on a particular flavor, maybe it would be overpowering to the more refined, experienced palate. Food (or tea) for thought, I suppose. The tea goes down relatively smoothly, it doesn’t have a dry, astringent feeling like some others I’ve had.

Overall, I’m definitely happier with this cup than the first, and can’t wait to have it again. I may have to revise my opinion about getting more of it.

Smells lovely. I think I get more into teas based on the smell, rather than the taste. I think I get more out of it. I don’t know. Its a pretty light black tea, but I did use one teaspoon and I saw on someone else’s review that you’re supposed to use two, so that could explain that. Directions also say to steep at 185 degrees, which was surprising. I did that, but might try it at boiling next time to see what happens. It is a pretty gentle tea, something I was in the mood for. It was a gift, I like the tins, but don’t know if I’d replenish it once I finish it.

The smell in the tin is almost overpowering. I nearly winced. But I got over it pretty fast. The tea smells wonderful once brewed, its not nearly as strong, and smells like it should taste delicious. It has potential, but it turns out it is a rather weak and inconsequential tea. Nothing to write home about, it is a bit sweet, but that is really the only definable taste hit I get.

ETA: I should read tea directions before I make tea. It turns out I was supposed to use 1.5 teaspoons, not one. That would explain a lot (I hope, since I bought about five ounces of tea).

Iced today, after I brewed it and took a nap. It is pretty good iced, quite refreshing, a bit tart, which really comes through on my swigs of tea. I really don’t think I get a lot of the tea flavor in this. I think I get mostly hibiscus and fruit. I’m not sure how different it would be as a tisane, without any tea, that is how little tea-ness I get from it. Oh well. Still like it, which is good, because I have a lot of it.

2nd steep. 3 minutes. Still a lovely green tea.

Backlog from last night. Post Jamaican dinner-and-dessert tea. I wanted something dessert-y, but not chocolate-y. This hit the spot. I really do quite like this tea, I think. I need to wander on down to Teavana to see if they have anymore left, since it goes away today.

Well hello there, emperor. Going my way? You make me smile. You are my sunshine after a lazy Saturday afternoon nap. Welcome to my cup. Why don’t you stay awhile?

I got a sample of this from a friend, and I’m intrigued. The brew is lighter than I expected, though I think that is more because I used too much water for the sample I had. I steeped for a full five minutes, hoping that might make up for it—I’m not sure it did. This is my first Keemun tea, and I’m definitely going to try more. It has a vaguely smoky, peppery aroma that is very lovely. The sip is gently smoky, nothing like a Lapsong Souchong (I remember with horror my first cup of that), and it goes down smooth. Overall a nice tea. Definitely one to keep on my short list for when my current stash starts to dwindle.

Oh, this is good. This is wonderful. Bold and flavorful, but not bitter. Damn fine tea indeed. Words don’t do it justice.

Okay, so I’m back with the five minute assessment. The brew is still pretty light,a very light honey brown in color. I needed to pour the tea through a very fine strainer to avoid getting a lot of small particles in the bottom of my cup. It has a somewhat dry aftertaste. It is different from anything I’ve had before. “Sweet woodsy notes” aren’t the norm for me. I’m not sure if that is what I’m tasting or not. I definitely get the astringency—I can pick up on that.I’m not sure I would increase the amount of tea used from 1/2 a teaspoon—I think that might be too astringent.

Overall, I’m not sure I like it, but I don’t dislike it. I’m rather indifferent toward it. I tend to like food that is bitter/astringent/tart, so I’m rather surprised I’m so “meh” about it. I wanted to like it, placing the order from Butiki Teas was a great experience (hello, samples!) but I’m just not feeling the love like I thought I would. And that makes me rather sad.

Hmmm, I don’t know what I think of this one yet. I made a four cup pot in my Breville, which meant 2 teaspoons of tea, at a three minute steep. That particular combination gave me troubled water that really didn’t taste like much at all. So I restarted the Breville and am brewing it for another couple of minutes, to see how a five minute brew comes out.

Steeped for five minutes today. Someone else in their tasting note said the tea seems impossible to oversteep. I’d have to agree. I thought five minutes might be pushing it on the palatability, but nope! Still good! Not too harsh or tannic, like some black teas tend to get when steeped too long.

I love Darjeeling. I really love it with great big hearty hearts. I’d marry it if I could. I don’t know how this tea compares to any other Darjeeling. I just felt the need to proclaim my love for all of Steepster to see.

Yummy. The rose scent was gently present as I poured the cup of tea. I made a fairly light pot, only steeping for three minutes, but it was enough. The flavor is balanced, with just enough rose. Its a keeper.

Strongly reminiscent of Kool aid. I did however, really like the smell of both the dry and the brewed tea. I think I like it better than some of the other Celestial Seasonings berry teas. I got it from a friend—its not bad for a freebie, but I’m not sure I’d buy it.