canadianadia

Blueberry goodness! I keep wanting to try other tea companies (I’ve had my eye on Butiki Teas for months now), but every time I’m poised to place an order with them, Frank comes up with something else I just can’t resist. The thing is, I’ve never been disappointed with a 52teas order, so it’s just too hard to break the ordering cycle. I’m hooked!

This tea has a nice balance of flavors between the tea and the blueberries. The smell, the taste, ahhh…so unmistakably blueberries! I’m not sure if I’m getting cream cheese, but I do get a bit of the Danish taste at the end of the sip, particularly when the tea cools a bit. Maybe if I play with the water temperature a tad I will get more of that cream cheese taste? Even as I made it – it’s delicious!

I should know better than to tear into a pack of 52teas without letting it cure, but the sheer excitement that I experienced when my latest order arrived was enough to make me fear my head might implode. The black base is solid and the Butter Rum flavor is complimentary in its flavorful sweetness. Kind of hmmm…butterscotchy? I’ve never had butter rum, nor have I ever tried butter rum lifesavers, so butterscotch is the closest thing that I’ve tried that I can compare it to. Me likes me butterscotch!

Speaking of butterscotch, have you seen that episode of How I Met Your Mother where Barney says that butterscotch is to Canadian women what chocolate is to American women? Are we really known for loving butterscotch so much? I’ve never heard that before. Perhaps that’s just made up for comedic effect? That show and it’s Canadian quips always crack me up. Gotta love Robin’s music video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY_bhVSGKEg Hahaha! so ridiculous, it’s funny

Anyhooo….I digress….shocking, I know :P

This tea is good, and I’m certain that I’m going to like it even more as time passes… assuming that I can hold off on drinking it all so it can cure a little longer? It’s a good thing I ordered a variety of new (to me) 52teas to try so I can distract myself away from this one. I’ll definitely have to Hansel and Gretel myself away from this one by making a trail of other teas away from it…hey look! Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish! Mmm…that sounds delicious! …I think I need another mouth.

I better stop procrastinating and get back to cleaning and cooking. The designer is coming over this evening for the design kick off meeting, and the house is looking disheveled. I’m super excited though, and I don’t think it’s just the caffeine :D

This was part of the Fall try me pack. The dry mix is well suited to Halloween with the orange sprinkles and the wee black cats; and the brewed tea is a perfectly creepy green shade. For a rooibos, I was pleasantly surprised that this tea didn’t taste woody. Instead it somehow tasted nutty to me, like it maybe has some almonds or perhaps a touch of walnuts? I don’t see nuts listed in the ingredients so I’m not sure why I taste them. Hmmm…Perhaps it’s the magic?

We’re starting to get settled into our new home, well for the short term at least (prior to having to move back out for the big extension project that will likely start in a few months). We received the keys to the house at the beginning of the week, and we’ve been going going going ever since. It’s nice to finally be able to take a quick tea break to visit with my fellow steepster friends!

I must confess I don’t watch Dr Who…I have no idea what it’s about. I generally don’t watch much t.v., but when I do, it’s usually something that makes me laugh, like a sitcom, or Ellen, or something on the Home and Garden Network (Property Brothers is my favorite right now). So I know nothing about the angel on this package, or why she is weeping. I bought this tea solely based on the fact that it has the word caramel in the description…Dr. Who fans – don’t judge me ;)

This tea is making my living room smell delicious. I’m getting a lot of black tea, and the butter toffee caramel flavor is much more subtle than I anticipated. I think I may need to read some other tealogs for and see if any of you have figured out a way to coax the toffee flavor to the forefront. I really was hoping for more toffeeness, but when it comes to caramel flavored teas I like it front and center, I mean, borderline obnoxious. As I brewed this, it would suit people who prefer more subtle flavors.

Back to cleaning and unpacking for me… and enjoying tea, of course.
Claire, I believe you’re doing the moving thing also – cheers! I hope it’s going well for you :)

This is the second Milk oolong that I’ve ever tried – Another lovely Christmas gift from my Dad (that I bought and gave to him to give to me, but still, it’s a gift. I love doing that – I am sure to get perfect gifts every time). It starts off light, fresh, and grassy. With subsequent steeps it develops a greater depth of flavor with a subtle buttery smoothness. Although this tea leans towards the grassy side, it somehow balances perfectly to provide flavor without ever pushing over into bitterness. I was hoping that the light buttery notes in the subsequent steeps would eventually emerge into nuttiness, but it never quite got there. Still, it’s a lovely tea, which re-steeps very well.

Oooh I like the pretty glitter!

I’m not a lover of orange peel and cloves in most teas, so this isn’t a tea that I would jump to restock, based mostly on my personal taste. I got 2 good steepings out of the leaves with only minimal deterioration of flavor in the second steep. So the quality of the leaves is decent compared to some other David’s Teas I’ve had lately. I enjoyed my little sample, and by next Christmas I might want to try it again, but this is another seasonal pick for me. It’s a good tea, just not a great match to my personal taste.

The dry mix is so heavy with fruit, which makes for one expensive tea. I used my entire 20 gram sample to make this cup, and being the frugalista that I am, this already starts me off on the wrong foot.

As for the taste, there is a mild tartness, as one would expect with cranberries, but it’s not translating quite right at the end of the sip. It’s leaving a strange dry feeling on my tongue – it’s on the verge of a dry-sour-almost chalky taste that I don’t enjoy. To make matters even worse, this doesn’t re-steep well.

Oh man…There is something in this that is not agreeing with my tummy :(

The idea of this tea is so fun and unique, and I love that it has mistletoe in it – so festive! It’s not a bad tea, it just isn’t well-suited to me. Between that and the price, I have no plans to buy it again.

It feels like every time I drink this, I raise the rating a tad.

I managed to let my newest package of this tea sit for a while to cure, and it was totally worth the wait. After eyeballing it for the past month or so and resisting the urge to rip it open and smash my face in it, today was the day. My Dad was visiting, so I decided against strapping the package to my face like a feedbag. It smells heavenly!

This is one of those teas that you do not want to oversteep, so I stayed focused (a small feat for my short attention span) thankfully the smell of the tea is enough to keep my interest. Distraction …distraction… my life is like a Sesame Street episode…a series of related clips that loop back to each other. Today’s log was brought to you by –the letter- Tea!

Anyhoo…this particular batch of this tea is fan-freakin-tastic! The last one was good, but I swear this one is even better – perhaps it was the extra curing that did the trick? The black tea and the caramel pumpkin cheesecake flavor are equally present and are completely complimentary and as always, it re-steeps nicely.

I wish there was a perfume that smelled like this…ugh! so good…

…Hey I just read online that if you add good quality vodka you can make your own perfume out of tea. Has anyone tried this? It sounds like fun.

Hmmm…I’m not sure about this one yet, but I think it has potential to grow on me (I’ll wait to rate). I think my past experience with cola flavored tea is tainting my perception of this (darn you David’s Tea cherry cola!) I’m trying to appreciate this for what it is, but I keep getting DT cherry cola flashbacks…shudder.

I’m drinking this as per usual: hot with nothing added. The cola taste is evident, and I suppose I’m getting some ruminess in there – it has a little extra depth than a straight cola taste. Other than my “DT cherry cola issues”, its good, but it’s definitely a tea that screams to be played with. Maybe iced, perhaps a touch of brown sugar to deepen the color, and a lime wedge to be consumed on a hot summer day, on a white sandy beach? I suppose the beach isn’t a necessity? It wouldn’t hurt though.

I’m finishing my sample from my Fall try me pack. The tea has a lovely maple taste, and considering how picky I am with rooibos, I was very surprised at how much I liked it. I’d even go as far as saying that I would reorder it. That’s right it’s a rooibos I’d buy again!

I disliked this tea with my first sip. I liked the fruitiness, but combined with the cinnamon it didn’t initially sit well on my tongue. Additionally, the tartness of the hibiscus followed with an unusual sweetener taste (probably the stevia) almost made me give up on this pot of tea, and set it aside for my brother to finish off for me. I put it on the counter and it cooled to slightly over room temperature, so I decided to give it another try…Hmmm…Better. It’s starting to taste almost like a wine now; the cinnamon seems more complimentary now, and less in the forefront. I still don’t love this tea, but it’s slowly growing on me. By time my brother gets home there may not even be any left for him to try.

I’ve been a bit busy over the last few days, visiting and helping family and friends and dealing with a minor catastrophe. Well, I wouldn’t really call it a catastrophe, but that’s just what’s written on my invoice for repairs. It makes me laugh – so dramatic.

A few days ago our next door neighbor was trimming the grass with his weed whacker and he must have kicked something up because it set off our car alarm. When we went out we discovered the driver’s side glass absolutely shattered. boooo! that was no fun to deal with, but unlike the insurance company, I wouldn’t call it a catastrophe…just an unfortunate accident and an inconvenience. Oh well, C’est la vie!

Between the car troubles (my Dad’s van axle also snapped) and the excitement of Easter visits with family and friends, I haven’t had much time for Steepster, or for much online funtertainment as a whole. So today I break for Muppets and Steepster…hmmm…that kind of sounds like a bumper sticker? If you’d enjoy a little Muppet break with me, here’s the link to my pick of the day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgbNymZ7vqY

As for the tea, I’m finishing this sample today. BYE! BYE! I won’t miss it. For a black tea it’s just too weak for my taste. I expect my black teas to be robust and flavorful. This one was lacking. It’s just as well, I can only drink caffeinated tea in a small time span per day, so I need to wean down my samples…to make room for new ones. I already have some on the way – you know what it’s like ;)

We have been having such lovely sunshiny spring weather the last few days, and it’s a good thing because the element on our oven blew on Monday, so I have been cooking on the BBQ this past week while we wait for the part to come in. It was a little scary when the element blew; it created a big ol’ bright white spark and a buzzing sound and it caused a small electrical fire inside the oven. It was lit up like a time machine in there. Apparently that’s what oven elements sometimes do when they go. I was happy to hear that it will be a simple fix rather than an oven replacement. Aaaand it didn’t burn down the house – BONUS!

With the warmer weather comes my shift towards drinking more fruity teas. My Dad has been coming over on a daily basis to trim the trees and work in the garden so I like to give him different teas each day. This one was the choice of the day. It’s a wonderful re-steeper. The balance between the oolong and the Cranberry is perfect, in that you can taste both aspects in a complimentary way rather than having them compete with each other. I enjoy this tea as is, but my Dad added a touch of honey, and he also said it was good. He’s generally more of a black tea drinker, so I was pleased that he appreciated this oolong just as much as I did.

If you like cardamom, you will like this tea much more than I did.

I’m not a fan of Cardamom, not at all. I’m also picky with lemon teas, so I was certain that I was going to dislike this tea. But it’s not bad. It’s not one that I’d reorder but I’m glad I had the chance to try it in my 12 days of tea sampler.

I’m clumsy. I just dumped half of my freshly brewed cup onto my lap. It didn’t feel good. On the bright side, it smells lovely…mmm…Concord grape and boiled me. Thank goodness for re-steepable leaves. This tea is too good to waste, not that any tea should be wasted, but this one is super-deelish! The grape and the tea are nicely balanced against each other. It’s light and fresh and perfect for spring/summer when I’m craving the fruity teas. When it gets warmer outside I’m trying this iced! C’mon sunshine!!!

I had this again at my friend’s house. It does the trick, but I wouldn’t buy it for myself. Sure, it’s convenient, but it tastes…blah. It leans a tad on the bitter side, even with a cooler water temperature and a shorter steeping time. Beyond convenience it’s really not for me.

Am I the only one that can’t say the word “s’mores” without thinking: “Please sir, Can I have s’more”?

I love how dry genmaicha looks so fun with the popped rice, kind of like Lilliputian popcorn. It also makes me think of the Muppets Swedish Chef doing his rendition of the popcorn song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvDvTnTGjgQ “de poppity corn!” Alright, enough random snapshots through my mind’s eye…onto the review:

When I ordered this tea I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea for me. A couple of years back, I got a ginormous bag of genmaicha for Christmas. I enjoyed it at first but I eventually drank it so often that I grew tired of the taste. In the end I was handing out samples of the dry tea to friends and family just to be able to get through it all, and on more than one occasion I used it as one of my ingredients in a homemade face scrub. Yes, I was literally bathing in the stuff! It was like a bottomless chasm stuffed full of genmaicha – you’d think that would be wonderful, but I’m all about the variety when it comes to tea.

I finally made my way to the bottom of the bag before we moved last summer, at which point I said “it’ll be a cold day in hell before I buy another bag of genmaicha”. But then Frank had to go and make this tea. Roasted Cacao nibs and Marshmallow root?! Sign me up!!! The genmaicha base is evident, but the additional ingredients give this tea just enough depth and character for me not to get the genmaicha nightmares again.

What can I say?…I’m drinking my words, and loving it.

A nice light and floral white tea. Not an everyday tea for me, but a nice option for when I’m in the mood for something elegant. A lovely tea for multiple steeps.

I usually want strength in flavors when it comes to tea, but I’m not a huge lover of a strong lemon taste, so I had to change my approach in making this tea. The last time I had this tea, I thought it was good, but a tad too lemony for my liking. I tried to remedy this by making it a little differently this time: I under heated the water and used a much shorter steeping time. It worked, and the logical bonus- I got even more steeps out of the leaves than the first time I made it. I just finished off the sample of this tea from my 12 days of tea and I’m glad it gave me a chance to try it a couple of different ways.

Mmmmm…This has more pineapple taste than I remember. It’s not overwhelmingly pineapple, but I don’t have to search for the flavor either. It’s a nice light tea and I got two good steeps out of the leaves. I’m glad this one was available in the 2 for $5 pouches; otherwise I probably would have forgotten how good it is. Just like the first time I made this, I had to fight the urge to eat the candied pineapple pieces in the dry mix – the kid in me is pouting.

It’s really starting to feel like Spring. The sun is shining, I can hear the birds chirping, and the crocuses are already popping up. As much as I enjoy the coziness of Fall and Winter, I always look forward to shaking off the cold weather chills and welcoming back the bright and sunny days.

Quite fittingly, this tea reminds me of gardening. When I was a child, my Dad used to have a vegetable garden in our backyard. Once the weather would warm up he’d be out there, pulling weeds and preparing the soil. The garden had a small rock pathway, which at times would be taken over by mint. If you’re not familiar with growing mint, it grows like a weed and can easily take over a garden. Despite this fact, I used to enjoy stomping across that garden path as a child to tell my Dad about the latest adventure I went on with my neighbor’s cat; all the while taking in the fragrant scent of mint rising up from under my feet. This tea brings back such lovely memories of those times. In fact, I think next spring/summer, once the renos are done and my hubby and I are in our new home, I will consider growing mint myself (in containers) to make tea like this. But until then, this tea will suit me just fine.

I’m enjoying this last little bit of my sample from the 12 days of tea. I’m not usually a lover of lime flavored drinks or food, but this tea is well on the way to becoming one of few the exceptions. Now that the tea has had some more time to blend, the lime taste and green tea seem to go together even more smoothly than the first time I tried it? It tastes lovely as a hot tea, and I imagine it would also be refreshing when iced.

Since lime is not a flavor I love, I don’t see myself buying a full pouch of this, but if 52teas ever offers sample sizes, I’d definitely give it another go.

The cinnamon and pepper have a nice warming effect over the green tea base, those same ingredients also provide a nice aftertaste. It’s an alright tea, I’m glad I tried it, but I’m not in love with it. If I saw it on sale I might pick up a pouch, otherwise I wouldn’t go out of my way to get this one again. meh

This was part of my Touch of herb try me pack. I’m not a fan, but I should mention that it contains several ingredients I do not like: orange peel, chamomile, and cardamom…ick! It also contains St John’s Wort, which I’ve had some problems with in the past (albeit in much greater concentration).

Along with me not really caring for the taste of this tea, it’s not agreeing with my stomach right now. I’m glad I had the chance to try it in this sample size, but it’s really not for me.