canadianadia

I finished this sample. Although I enjoy the mintiness, I’m not feelin’ the apple. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy a good apple tea, it’s just the combination of flavors that doesn’t work for me. On my tongue, the sweetness seems a tad over-the-top paired with the mint and coconut. I’m glad I tried this tisane, but with all the other options out there, I’ll leave this one for others to enjoy.

A non tea related rant and rave
I know Steepster isn’t the appropriate place for this non tea-related rant and rave, but I’m not sure where else I can write this? Feel free to stop reading if you came for the tea review only.

Yesterday, I had 2 potential contractors do their assessment for estimates on the proposed extension for the home my hubby and I are buying. It wasn’t the best experience. The first guy spent an hour and a half trying to convince me not to do anything I wanted, and instead do a bunch of more expensive things that don’t interest me at all. The second guy mentioned some good ideas, took measurements, but seemed otherwise unprepared and told me that he would have to come back sometime next week to do the estimate. To say the least, I was unimpressed. I decided to exercise restraint and not take them both down in Ronda Rousey-style arm-bars (just kidding). But seriously, I was not at all happy. Thankfully our Real Estate Agent Tom was there. He is one of the sweetest and hard working guys I’ve met. Lucky for everyone, his presence tends to keep me feeling relaxed and happy (like a hot cup of tea on a cold day…with a splash of rum). I know he’s a business person, and being nice is part of the job, but I feel that he genuinely has a good heart. I wish I could hire him to do everything –there’s just something special about him. Through the entire process of selling our home, and buying the new one, he has kept me relatively calm, which is truly a miracle – I tend to be high strung and extremely bossy with important events like these. He somehow managed to hurdle over all my crazy demands. Unfortunately, Real Estate is all I can hire him to do, and we don’t want to be back on the market for at least a couple of decades. Sadly, other than the few remaining days until we take possession, this means no more Tom for me :(

The likelihood of many people reading this being within the area is slim to none, but I just want to give props where they are due. I doubt I can tell him how much I am a fan of his without seeming creepy, so instead I decided to rave about him here (Thanks for bearing with me, if you’ve read this far). If you ever happen to be on the market for a real estate agent in B.C. (lower mainland) I highly recommend that you include my agent Tom Edwards when you are interviewing agents http://www.northdeltahomes.com/home.php …Hmmm…I suppose now that we bought the house, he’s really our former agent? …hmmm…nope that thought makes me too sad… he’s still mine.

mine! mine! mine!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-3e0EkvIEM

I messed this up.

I will postpone rating this tea until I sprout a brain….

…it might be a while.

For your entertainment, here is my 34 step process of how to destroy this tea:
1. Get up ridiculously early
2. Stumble into the kitchen – eyes barely open, drunk with sleep
3. Overfill kettle and put to boil, spilling water everywhere in the process
4. Try reading the instructions, but because you’re so tired the words don’t make sense and may as well be hieroglyphics. Instead, stare at package and eventually exclaim “oooh pwitty!”
5. Proceed by guess
6. Tear open the bag and enjoy the aroma….mmmm…pancakes. Try not to eat it (I’ll let you guess what I did)
7. Enjoy the aroma for so long that your brain wakes up enough to realize that you have to pee…like right now!
8. Ignore brain – cross legs instead
9. Scoop overly generous teaspoonfuls of tea into your teapot
10. Spill a little extra in for good measure
11. Realize that wasn’t a teaspoon, it was a tablespoon
12. Shrug and carry on
13. Wait for water to boil
14. Realize that you can go pee while you wait
15. Walk into the wall on your way to the bathroom
16. Walk into the wall on your way back from the bathroom
17. Slip on some water on the kitchen floor and curse whoever spilled it without cleaning it up
18. Realize you’re the one who spilled it. Clean it up.
19. Forget that you already put tea into the teapot
20. Put in another spoonful without looking
21. Realize that there was already tea in there, and AGAIN that is not a friggin teaspoon! It’s a tablespoon!
22. Shrug
23. Now that the water is boiled start pouring it over the tea
24. Catch the edge of the strainer at the perfect angle so that it shoots everywhere, including on you. Mutter obscenities because it burns, but don’t stop pouring – that’s far too logical
25. Leave it to brew while you go to brush your teeth
26. Walk into the wall again on your way to the bathroom
27. Forget tea brewing and proceed to brush teeth, have shower, and start to get dressed
28. Realize the tea is brewing, wrap a towel around you and rush to the kitchen
29. On your way there, say to the wall “haha! Missed me this time” because you didn’t walk into it
30. While you are trash talking at the wall, walk into the cupboard door which you apparently left open earlier – mutter obscenities of your choice
31. Slip on the water that had shot everywhere in step 24 – drop towel that you are wearing
31. Cover up. Start cleaning up the water.
32. Realize the tea is still brewing
33. Pour tea which is now so black it could be mistaken for tar
34. Burn tongue on hot tea

TAA-DAA!!!

Oh my! I’ve had far too much caffeine today; I seriously need to shut’er down. Can anyone else hear my heart beat?!

Clearly I need something sans caffeine – Honeybush to the rescue!!!! That name doesn’t sound heroic enough, it should be something like Super-Honeybush! Or Honeybushman! Or Captain Honeybush I know… Cap’n honeybush! You know, like Cap’n crunch. I don’t think I’ve ever tried that cereal before, but ever since I was a kid that name has always made me laugh. What is going on? Why am I talking about a kid’s cereal? FOCUS!!! Yeesh!

Oh! Speaking of kids…. Time for another episode of strange childhood confessions! This tea kind of reminds me of the strawberry shortcake doll I had as a child. I’m probably remembering this all wrong because I’m hopped-up on caffeine, but I’m pretty sure I tried tasting my strawberry shortcake doll because it smelled so darn good. That was probably sometime last week… just kidding! Even though that was many many many years ago, I can guarantee that this tea tastes better than that old strawberry shortcake doll.

This attempt at tealogging is falling apart, Have I actually said anything useful? Hmmm…to recap: this tea tastes better than my childhood doll….yeah real useful Nadia! Hmmm …o.k., so to keep it in terms that I can use without distracting myself:
Tea? Good!
Reorder? Heck yes!

Whew! that required a lot of focus!

Wow! There are a lot of exclamation points in this tealog!

Darn you Caffeine!

Off to try and focus on my to do list!….

SQUIRREL!

I can’t seem to get ahead on my things to do list, but I feel I need to take a quick break for Steepster, as I’m trying this tea for the first time today.

I got this as part of my Fall try me kit. The smell and taste of this tea is a lovely pumpkin spice experience. It emanates coziness that I associate with Fall baking, and the taste is accurate to my expectations of a tea named “Grandma’s Pumpkin Pie”. I got 2 solid steeps out of the tea, the first one having a nice balance between the black tea and the spices. The second steep having less intense flavors, but it’s still an enjoyable cup.

Sadly, I have to minimize the number of black teas I buy (as I am extremely caffeine sensitive), so this will be an occasional buy rather than a cupboard staple for me. I’m glad companies like Della Terra offer these sample size options, so I still have a chance to occasionally try teas that are unsuitable for me in larger quantities.

I’m getting a touch of bitterness this time, but it’s my own fault for using too much leaf. It was too much for one pot, but not enough to leave behind, so I just dumped it all in.

This had been my all time favorite tea for a long time, but now that I’ve tried some other teas there are others that I would say that I like comparatively, depending on my mood.

I’m finishing this sample off today – it’s definitely making my re-stock list.

I got this honeybush a little over 2 weeks ago and I already finished the entire pouch. Thank goodness I have another one on its way. My honey bush selection from 52teas are my go-to tisanes from 2pm onwards, so I go through them ridiculously quickly. This one has a true strawberry taste, which is right up my alley. Mmmm…gotta love strawberries!

I haven’t been keeping up with my tealogs lately with all the rushing around that we’ve been doing in preparation of buying and renovating the house we’re considering for purchase. So far, things are still looking good, but we need to complete a few more subjects before the contract deadline, so hopefully we hear back from everyone soon. After that, it will be about a month and a few weeks until we get possession of the house. With a bit of luck, we will be able to continue the design process with the contractors in the meantime, so we can hopefully start the construction in the summer while there is less likelihood of rain.

I’m still working on the remaining subjects of our potential home purchase, and I figured I should start drinking down some of the tea samples that I have with the hope that our purchase of the home goes through. That way I will have less little bits and pieces to move once we get in there….hopefully.

I steeped this tea for longer than David’s suggested 4-7 minutes and it is much better this time around. (I experienced no sourness this time – thank you tigress_al for that 10 minute and beyond steeping suggestion).

It has that subtle taste that is typical of many white teas, which is almost overwhelmed by the taste of creamy coconut and honey-like sweetness of the mulberries. It’s lovely as a hot tea, but as it cools it doesn’t taste quite right to me – almost waxy. I’m finishing this sample off today, and although it’s enjoyable, I’m not sure if I would jump to restock it because it’s a little pricey, and there are other white teas out there that I prefer over this one.

Whew, what a busy week. Last Sunday, my hubby and I did a second viewing of a house, and have now put in an accepted offer on the home. We’re in the process of completing the slew of conditions of the sale. Yesterday we did the home inspection. We followed the inspector for the full 3.5 hours. He did a thorough job, and the house came up with positive feedback especially for its age. Immediately after this, we had a contractor come in to look at the home to ensure that we can do the extension that we are hoping for within our budget. We’re hoping to get the feedback for this tomorrow. My fingers are crossed in hopes that everything will go well.

I put this tea in my travel mug to accompany me that day. It was the only thing I had to eat/drink until dinnertime, and it somehow held me over without getting that lightheaded feeling. Hopefully it proves to be my good luck tea.

As an ice cream flavor, I’ve never really been into the Neapolitan thing. It’s not bad, just not something that I would normally choose for myself. I used to be one of those weird little kids who didn’t like their food to touch, so the thought of intermingling flavors just didn’t speak to me. Thankfully, I’ve grown out of that little food-touching neurosis, and broadened my taste buds to try new things.

Even so, when I ordered this honeybush, at the back of my mind I was expecting not to really love it. But I ordered it anyway because it had a lot of things going for it – it’s a honeybush (which I tend to enjoy), and it’s from 52teas (which makes flavored teas the way that I would do it, if I could do it for myself).

At first, I had some trouble getting the distinctive flavors out of this tea, and although I thought it was good, I didn’t love it as any of my strawberry honeybush teas. Finally, I discovered a special uniqueness to this tea- I can get the distinctive tastes out of it if I drink it with different types of food. What fun!

Oh man, I love cotton candy, and this tea does not disappoint me.

It’s a lovely black base with the taste of sweet happiness mixed with a dash of childhood fun.

I’m finishing off my 12 days of tea sample of this one. Thankfully, I already have a full pouch waiting for me to crack open.

I’m finishing off my little sample size of this one from my chocolate try me pack. I made this a little stronger than last time and I’m getting more of the S’mores taste this time around, particularly at the end of the sip. I also got much more marshmallows and graham cracker bits in my scoop than last time. I’m upping the rating by one point, but if it could consistently get a taste like this, I would increase it by even more. I’d probably randomly pick this up again in sample size or maybe in a larger size if it were on sale.

Although it’s good, with the inconsistency in the taste of the brews, it’s not really a must have for my tea cupboard.

I remember loving this tisane back when I first started drinking Davids Herbal Teas, and although I’d say it’s still pretty good, it’s far from the best when I compare it to other tisanes that I’ve tried since.

I understand where they were going with the tartness with respect to mimicking rhubarb, but I feel it competes with the other flavors a tad too much rather than complementing them. Also, it doesn’t re-steep as well as other tisanes. This one is alright, but I’m going to have to lower my rating. I feel a little disappointed in it compared to my initial reaction, now that I’ve had the chance to try a few other options.

Hooray! my 200th tasting note!

I don’t know who this Walter Bishop character is, but this honeybush is darn delicious!

I got this as part of the 52teas order I received yesterday. I was so excited to make a pot of this last night for bedtime that I actually went to bed early. Yeah…sometimes my logic is just plain ridiculous.

Back when I discovered I was a lover of honeybush teas, I was so happy. I have a very limited window of time each day where I can drink anything with caffeine. As a result, I found myself flailing in frustration amongst the various herbal blends, many of which had too much hibiscus for my liking. I picked at the rooibos blends with little enthusiasm for their woody taste. I enjoyed my mint teas, but I could only drink that on occasion before longing for some variety. When I finally tried a few 52teas honeybush blends I was downright ecstatic, and my keenness is still going strong. Honeybush is such a lovely base for all kinds of flavors, from fruity, chocolate/peanut butter, or cinnamon, I have yet to meet a 52 teas honeybush that I don’t like.

This Walter Bishop is probably my favorite strawberry flavored honeybush that I’ve tried so far. I also have the strawberry pie honeybush, and the strawberry rhubarb honeybush, which are also lovely, but I think the strawberry in this one pops a little more against the honeybush base. I’ll have to try them side by side to really make a fair comparison.

I enjoy this one both as a hot or cold tea. Out of curiosity I tried it with a pinch of sugar, but personally I prefer to drink it without adding anything.

Between the heavenly strawberry aroma that fills the room while this brews and the luscious taste reminiscent of a strawberry milkshake – this honeybush is a keeper!

ugh…what’s the deal!?

I’m not sure what it is, but there’s something in this tea that makes me feel a little…off. It’s a queasy kind of feeling. I feel like I chugged a litre of peach flavored water, spun around till I got dizzy, then did a mile-long sprint…on a rocky ship. O.k. maybe I’m being a drama queen, but this tea simply does not agree with my tummy.

I’ve been on the fence with this tea since I got it, and now that’ I’m finishing it off, I can see that there is a pattern for this tea simply not agreeing with my stomach. Fortunately, looking at the tealogs on this one, I seem to be in the minority for disliking it, so I’m glad it’s just me experiencing this queasy chug-spin-sprint-on-a-rocky-ship feeling.

Oh well, I just received a new package of teas in the mail from 52teas –hooray!!!

There’s nothing like new tea-euphoria to distract from a queasy tummy.

My Dad bought this for me for Christmas as part of Teavivre’s Black tea sampler, and we tried it for the first time yesterday afternoon. It was the first time I’ve tried any Lapsang Souchong…ever. Wow is it ever smoky! I shared it with my Dad who had also never tried it before, and he said it reminded him of smoked salmon. He enjoyed it more with a touch of milk and sugar, whereas I liked it without anything added.

As I mentioned in my last tealog, I’ve been drinking nothing but honeybush for the last week or so. I’m not sure how much caffeine is in this tea, but it definitely kept me awake last night. Perhaps I’m not used to caffeine anymore. At the best of times I’m quite caffeine sensitive, so maybe it won’t affect others the way that it affected me. In the future I’ll have to be sure to only drink this one before 2pm. thankfully, today is a fairly low-key day. I’m just filling out a few forms for work, doing laundry, and a little later I’ll be going over to my Dad’s house for my step-sister’s bon voyage dinner. Her visits always seem too short :(

I do enjoy this tea, and I can see it becoming a “once in a blue moon” kind of treat that I would get in sample sizes and get really excited whenever I make it. If you’ve never tried Lapsang Souchong and you enjoy the taste of smoked foods I suggest checking it out. It strikes me as a tea that I would enjoy cooking with. hmmmm…perhaps I will peruse other tealogs…I always find great ideas from fellow Steepsterites

Good heavens, it’s been far too long. I mentioned in my last tealog that I might have to post a little less frequently in the next little while, but it ended up being for reasons entirely different than I originally anticipated. I thought I was going to be busy with school, but unfortunately I ended up getting sick. I thing it was the stomach flu, or some kind of stomach bug – it took me out for a few days. My stomach is feeling quite a bit better although I still find myself feeling tired very quickly. This past week I’ve been living primarily on soda crackers and club soda with a splash of honeybush tea mixed in. Choosing from my variety of 52teas honeybushes was the highlight of these past few days.

I’m finally able to drink plain tea again. But my club soda and honeybush teas have been such a blessing these past few days, that I thought I should write at least one tealog for one of them.

This pina colada honeybush is refreshing and sweet. The pineapple taste hits first and the coconut lingers in the aftertaste, but not in an overbearing fashion. I’m picky with coconut in teas, but this one is a winner for my taste buds. I find with a lot of these honeybush teas, that many of their flavors ring through more clearly as a cold tea. I’m not sure if that’s just something to do with my taste, but if anyone is finding that they are not getting the flavors that they were hoping for, give it a try as a cold tea and let me know if it works for you. I also find that 52teas honeybushes tend to taste better as I get further into the pack. I’m not sure if that’s because
1. the flavor cures as time passes?
2. when I scoop deeper in the pack I get a better blend of ingredients than my initial scoops?
3. I’m just plain coo-coo and I’m imagining it?

Whatever the reason, I find myself enjoying my 52teas honeybushes increasingly as time passes.

While I was sick I pretty much stayed in bed. I got my husband to send out a few emails on my behalf, but I must say that I’m happy to be back on Steepster. It was one of the first sites I checked in on when I started feeling better, well, other than placing another order with 52teas :D

(raises a mug) Cheers to good health!

I’m finishing this sample off today. It’s decent, but it’s not something that I would buy on a regular basis. If I saw it as part of that 2 for $5 special by the cash register that David’s regularly has, they I’d give it another go. In all honesty, I’ve had much better caramel flavored teas, and I’m not really getting any saltiness either, so it really isn’t offering anything new to me. The more dessert teas I try, the less impressed I become with this one. It’s not bad, it’s just forgettable.

Sorry for my absence these past few days I had quite a bit going on(and this week may be another with sporadic tealogs). My step-sister’s baby shower went amazingly well on Sunday. All the planning that we did was so worthwhile -she looked so happy. Pure joy

Yesterday I went to a celebration of life for my friend’s dad who recently passed away. The family is very close to my heart and I have been friends with the daughter since high school-age. They are like family to us, and watching them go through the grieving process makes me feel so helpless in providing them with the support they need. It’s one of those things where the sadness just takes your words and your breath away. Heart-wrenching sadness

I’m finishing off this sample today. I can see myself maybe picking up another simple size of this in the distant future, but it certainly won’t be a cupboard staple for me. The flavor is unmistakably lavender with a complimentary coconut taste. Not bad, it’s certainly different than anything else that’s currently in my cupboard.

My step-sister is visiting from China and I’m helping to throw her a baby shower this weekend, so my reviews may be a tad on the sporadic until all the hustle and bustle of the event is over. I’m elbow deep in making party favors, banners, and planning games. Surrounded by mess but armed with my mug of tea…all is well.

I was planning on saving the remainders of my Chocolate try me pack until I tried some of the other sampler packs I got for Christmas. But when I woke up this morning, this box was just calling my name. Oh, how the persuasion from a good chocolate tea can be irresistible!

This is one of those teas that whenever I take that initial sip I feel a smidgen of disappointment with the taste, but as I keep drinking, it just gets better and better until it’s done and I want to brew another pot. Sadly, I’m finishing off my little sample of this right now, and I will need to drink some of the other teas I already have in my cupboard before I can place another order. :( Le sigh…

It probably goes without saying that this tea is in bold font on my Della Terra reorder list.

The chocolate taste and smell are there, but seem more hidden than what I usually expect from 52teas. Don’t get me wrong, I loved getting to try this one in my 12 days of tea pack. But I try to keep my full size orders of caffeinated teas to a select few favorites, and there are others (here’s lookin’ at you Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake!) that I much prefer over this tea.

Now that I’ve tried a few more chocolate teas from various companies, I must say that there are options out there that I favor over this pick (Della Terra has some yummy chocolate options). Sadly (or fortunately – for my wallet), this tea won’t be making my never-ending 52teas order/re-order list. That’s alright there’s plenty on there already. I just received a package from them last week, and I placed a new order with them a couple of nights ago, and somehow my list is longer than when I started?…Teamath

Yummers!

I never really cared for the dryness and texture of an actual oatmeal raisin cookie, so this tea is a great alternative. I shared a cup of this tea with my Dad, he thought it was “alright”, but he clearly wasn’t crazy about it. I suppose it’s not for everyone. In my opinion, the cookie flavors mix in such a lovely way over the black tea base. I imagine it would taste amazing with a touch of brown sugar, and maybe some milk, but I really enjoyed it as is and didn’t want to mess with good thing. Best of all, I got a solid 2 steeps out of the leaves. I’m glad I bought an oz of this rather than just a sample.

I finished the last bit of this today. I haven’t changed my mind too much about it. It’s still chocolaty, and although I do detect a slight kick, it leaves much to be desired for a tea with chili and chai in the name. I made it a touch stronger today, and I like it better this way. But I was still disappointed with how poorly it did on the resteep.

Now that I’ve tried a few other chocolate teas, this one wouldn’t necessarily top my list in that genre. Mostly because of the sheer amount of leaves I need to use to get the flavor I really like. I’d probably still pick this up in a sample size, if it’s still available next Winter/Fall season.

I don’t know what this tea’s namesake cake tastes like, nor have I ever tried brandy, but I’m definitely getting apricots. As a hot tea the honeybush itself is the strongest flavor, with a hint of apricot mixed in. As it cools the apricot really starts to shine, particularly in the aftertaste.

This oolong is something special.

I used to be a little uncertain about oolong teas. I tried a few bagged ones at first, which were not very good at all, and that tainted my overall perception of oolongs.

When I ventured over to trying more loose leaf teas, I enjoyed oolongs a lot more. I love watching the leaves unfurl, but I still didn’t find a flavor that I loved. When I stumbled upon this little gem, I was sold. I love the little bite of freshness, and the vanilla taste reminds me so much of vanilla yogurt. mmm…..This is probably my favorite flavored oolong…that I’ve tried so far…I think…it’s so hard to choose!