canadianadia

My hubby loves the smell of this tea; he says it reminds him of orange flavored Campino candies. I’m not a huge fan of orange flavored anything and I’m even less of a fan of orange peel, so I’m not sure why I decided to get this tea. I do love the taste of fresh oranges, so maybe that’s what I was hoping for? I can’t ignore the peel taste as a hot tea, but as it cools it tastes more like an orange flavor that I don’t mind. That is, once I get past that initial sip. Regardless of whether it’s hot or cold, that first sip tastes and smells like dried orange peel.

I imagine I’d like this one best as an iced tea, but it’s too cold these days to venture to try that. I’ll have to hang on to some of this until the warmer weather returns and give it a try. Until that time, this tea will sit in my o.k. pile.

Sweet marzipan! The smell of this tea is unmistakably, almost overwhelmingly, almond. It’s tasty, but I found it lacked a bit of depth in the flavor. Perhaps it might be because it’s on a herbal base rather than a tea base, maybe, it’s just the way the ingredients came out when I scooped them, or perhaps it’s because I still have a cold and I’m not experiencing the true depth of flavors? But as this tea cooled, the lack of complexity in the flavor became increasingly evident.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a decent tisane, and I look forward to having it again, but it doesn’t quite measure up to some of the other teas that I’ve been drinking lately.

mmmm…I’ve been trying so many types of delicious rooibos teas lately that I’m not sure why I didn’t like it not that long ago. I think this is my first green rooibos, although technically this is a red and green blend. The mango is such a beautiful aspect in this rooibos, slurp, so tasty. I’m not sure why but I tend to confuse peach and mango flavored things, although in reality, a peach and a mango don’t taste at all alike to me. I enjoyed this tea hot and as it cooled it remained tasty. I wouldn’t say it knocked my socks off as much as some of my favorite honeybush teas, but it’s well on its way…hmmm…maybe just one sock :)

Oh Heck yes! This is GOOOOOD! I’m usually picky with black teas, so I’m happy when I find one that I like as much as this one. Since I’m so caffeine sensitive, it’s an added bonus for me that it’s low in caffeine. I’ve never tried actual buttered rum, so I don’t know if this flavor is true to its name, but it’s smooth and creamy and I love the vanilla notes.

I popped into Davids Tea this past weekend while Christmas shopping with my hubby. I wouldn’t have selected this tea on my own, but I got talking with one of the sales associates and she was raving about this tea, so I decided to buy a small sample despite my indifference to lavender. Actually, I should clarify that my lavender indifference pertains more to soaps, candles, bath products, linen and room sprays. I’ve never had lavender in tea, but I was skeptical that I was going to like this tea not only because my indifferent to lavender, but I’m also picky with coconut in some teas, and a good number of red rooibos tisanes. I cringed as I took my first sip, preparing to mentally booo the selection. The lavender was fairly strong, I would almost describe this tea as spicy, kind of akin to rosemary I suppose? It’s difficult to describe. It’s unlike any tea I’ve tried before. I can see this tea being an either “love it or leave it” type of tea, it’s neat to try, but I don’t think it will be loved by everyone with its strong and unique flavors.

Hubby and I went out to do some Christmas shopping this past weekend and we stopped into White Spot for dinner. I’m usually disappointed with restaurant tea, but I really needed something to warm me up, so I caved and ordered a mint tea. I set my expectations low, but when I took my first sip I was pleasantly surprised. I left the teabag brewing, and managed to get multiple brews, but the subsequent steeps weren’t quite as flavorful as the first one. I wouldn’t go out and buy a box of this, but I wouldn’t hesitate to order it again if I was at a restaurant and I saw it on the menu. Not bad.

Yay! Tealogs are working again!
Here’s one I wrote over the weekend:

My Dad dropped by this morning for a quick little visit, and to donate some money for a fundraiser that my hubby is participating in. My hubby’s intention was to raise awareness for the cause, not necessarily, to raise funds, but our generous friends, family, and especially his some wonderful co-workers requested that he collect donations. I can’t help but love supportive co-workers like that, even if I’ve never met some of them.

While my Dad was visiting, I decided to brew up the last little bit of this tea to share during our visit. My sinuses are still giving me trouble, but I was still able to appreciate the yummy yogurty-vanilla aroma and taste of this oolong. I used more leaves than required, mostly because it seemed like too little to leave for next time, but thankfully I have been able to get 2 solid steeps out of those leaves with no loss of flavour and will likely be able to at least get one more out of them. I’m not sure when I plan to go to David’s next, but this is another one that will be topping my shopping list.

For now I’m off to enjoy a bit of sunshine while it lasts!

Today was expensive…well worth it, but still… expensive.

I registered for classes for next semester. They say “you can’t put a price on a good education” but according to my university’s balance owing that’s not entirely true now is it? lol

I decided not to go too crazy with the Black Friday sales today, but I did indulge in one fun purchase. I’ve been keeping an eye on a couple of tea companies that I’ve never bought from and finally decided to place my very first order with Della Terra Teas. My Dad keeps asking me what I want for Christmas so I figured I’d place a tea order and pass some of it to him to give to me as a gift. Oddly enough, most of what I decided to buy wasn’t even part of the Black Friday sale. I wanted to get a little selection, so I bought a bunch of the try me packs. Looking back on it, I now wish I added one of the holiday packs, but I didn’t want to go too overboard on the tea order (I already have 52teas 12 days of teas on the way and really there seems to be deals on tea all the time).

I’m taking my hubby shopping tonight for his Christmas presents. He always wants cycling gear, and his favorite brand is having their annual warehouse sale, so I am prepared to get my Christmas shopping done for him tonight. Another name off my Christmas list – hooray!

Over the past few weeks I’ve been drinking this peanut butter cup honeybush over and over and over again…rarely logging it. I do this with the cinnamon roll honeybush also- I don’t know why.

It’s funny how honeybush is frequently compared with rooibos, but I’m quite fussy with rooibos, and so far I haven’t met a honeybush that I didn’t like. Perhaps that isn’t fair, because I’ve only tried honeybush from 52teas, and their flavors are just so fun that I can’t help but love them. Seriously, peanut butter cup cheesecake honeybush! how fun is that?! Now to be perfectly honest, if I blind tasted this tea, I wouldn’t be able to come up with peanut butter cup cheesecake, but knowing what it is, I get where it’s going…and it’s going in my tummy!

My Dad and Step-mom came over this morning to make Christmas wreaths. I made this tea and left it brewing while I went downstairs to help organize the ornaments. I accidentally forgot the tea brewing and completely oversteeped it. Despite having a cold, as I walked up the stairs I could smell the blueberries as if I was baking a blueberry pie in the oven. As I sniffed at the air and realized what I did, I sprinted up the stairs as if those last few seconds were crucial and could really make or break the tea. Completely illogical, but I always do stuff like that.

Miraculously there was no bitterness and my Step-mom and Dad kept commenting on the tasty tea. Sadly, that was the last little bit of this one, but hopefully Davids will have more available the next time I go shopping for tea. It seems to be a FAMily favorite.

Happy Thanksgiving for all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving today – I am thankful for all my steepster friends

I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve had this tea since it arrived in the mail, but I’ve somehow only managed to log it once before this log. This tea and my 52teas peanut butter honeybush have become my go-to teas when I want some no caffeine yummy-goodness.

This morning my nose was stuffy and my head was groggy, so I grabbed at this cup of last night’s tea that was at my bedside and had become quite cold. Despite my stuffed nose, I was actually able to taste the baked goods –roll aspect of this tea for the first time. Mmmm….nummy!

I’ve been trying to fight off a cold for the last little while, but it looks like it finally got me ~ drat! Since my sense of taste and smell are not at their best today I figured I’d get rid of the last bit of this tea that I never really liked.

UGH!

Why does this taste so bad. There is nothing too wacky listed in the ingredients, so what gives? The first few sips are the worst. It leaves that gross coating in my mouth that makes me want to pressure wash my tongue :P

Booooooo!

Lowering my rating

p.s. If you didn’t already notice, sometimes I get a little cranky when I’m sick ~ lol!

Whoa what happened to the weekend? I didn’t do half of what I intended to do this weekend and its Monday already. A dark, gray, and wet one at that – blech! At least I have my cookie dough tea to brighten my day. When I took my first sip this morning, a beam of light shined down on me from the heavens…O.K. fine! My brother walked by and switched on the overhead light, but for a split-second it seemed quite heavenly. :)

This tea is light and delicious, and magically didn’t get bitter, when I forgot it steeping while I tended to the laundry. I wish this tea had even more oomph to its flavor so I could get multiple steeps out of it without it tasting watered down, but that seems to be a common request that I have for many Davids teas. Still, it’s a tasty tea that I can see myself repurchasing on my next trip to Davids.

The hubby and I absolutely adore our real estate agent, so we end up talking about him to everyone we know. So today our agent sent us a message to thank us for the referral but I had no idea what referral he was talking about. I was drinking this tea while trying to figure it out, and I got careless and accidentally spilled a bit of it on my shirt, it’s distracting, but in a good way…mmm…it smells glorious.

This tea is light and chocolaty with a light little kick of spice at the end. If you are not a fan of milk chocolate bars like 3 Musketeers or Mars, I can see how the chocolate taste in this tea might be disappointing. The chocolate taste reminds me more of these cheaper quality chocolate bars, definitely not the high quality stuff. Well, that sounds too negative. Hmmm…o.k. let’s put it this way, it tastes more like the kind of chocolate you can buy in a fun size. Fun size is never a bad thing. I’m fun sized!

Sip…Right now the taste is actually reminding me of the smell of an empty Smarties box. I still wish the spiciness was more prominent in this tea. It lacks the oomph that I want in a tea with Chili in the name and described as a Chai. But I still enjoy it.

I need to get going, we’re going out and I probably shouldn’t leave the house in a tea-stained shirt, no matter how good I think it smells.

I didn’t enjoy this tea as much as last time.

When I tossed my post-steep leaves I realized that the reason was most likely the gigantic cardamom pod that was in the mix. I’m not a huge lover of cardamom, so I preferred this tea the first time when cardamom was more of a complimentary flavor rather than being a dominant aspect.

It’s still a good rooibos, but I’m decreasing my rating. Damn you cardamom!

The hubby came home from soccer practice last night and said “Whoa it smells like chocolate in here, is that chocolate tea?” I applauded him for not assuming I’d been dipping into the Halloween leftovers. When I told him it was Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Honeybush tea, he proceeded to jam his face into my mug like a bloodhound on a hot trail. “Dude! Seriously! Just take a sip” It always astonishes me that he will stuff his face into my teacup, love the smell, but I can rarely coax him to try even a mouthful.

This tea definitely has that dessert thing going. The smell is extraordinary, and while I wouldn’t describe the taste as an obvious peanut butter cup flavor, if I didn’t know what it was, my guesses would likely land in the general area of some kind of chocolate dessert.

I can get a couple of good steeps out of this tea, but successive steeps lose some of the dessert flavor, and tastes more like a plain honeybush, which is still pretty darn delicious.

Dry, this honeybush tisane smells so strongly of cinnamon that it could quite possibly take down a pterodactyl. I opened up the package and was almost knocked over by the cinnamon aroma rushing into my nostrils. As I steadied myself and wiped the tears from my eyes I thought, whoa, this must be cinnamon’s response to pepper spray. I brewed it up with some feelings of trepidation.

I braced myself as I took my first sip, expecting my poor taste buds to be accosted by the fiery onslaught of cinnamon.

…sip…
…slurp…
…gulp…

Imagine my surprise… it wasn’t overpoweringly cinnamon flavored… it was good!

I must say that I can’t taste the baked roll portion of this tea, but the cinnamon does play nicely with the honeybush. At least I’m assuming it’s the honeybush that I taste. This is my first Honeybush tea ever, (well, as far as I know). How ‘bout I describe it to you, and you can correct me if my assumption is wrong: So, accompanying the cinnamon there’s a lovely honey scent akin to homemade beeswax candles, sans wax, of course. Logic is telling me to assume that’s the *honey*bush. I wonder if the baked roll taste might come out more as this tea ages? I will have to see, well, assuming I can hold off on drinking it all in the next little while. Hmmm, speaking of which, I could really use another cup.

I decided to grab a pack of this when Davids was having their $1 straight tea special. I figured it was a good opportunity to try something that I wouldn’t normally buy from Davids.

I steeped it as directed (74 degrees for 2-3 minutes). I used a teapot with the strainer basket, but when I pulled out the basket at the 3 minute mark I noticed that there were a lot of broken tea leaves in the brew. It looked kind of like a cheap snow globe where they were skimpy on the snow. mmm…I think if I ever had to live in a snow globe I’d want it to be made of tea.

My first few sips were delicious, exactly what I would have expected of a green tea – grassy, vegetal (yay! look at me, learning the fancy tea words). I’m uncertain whether I’ve had a Korean Green tea before, but I must say that at first, it managed to impress me as much as some of my beloved Japanese greens. I did find a slight touch of bitterness seeping in as the tea cooled. I’m wondering if that’s an effect of the cooling, or if it was caused but the wee flurry o’ tea leave crumbs that were left behind when I pulled out the basket? The tea crumbs, or sediment, or whatever it’s called, is not excessive but is definitely noticeable.
The second steep was much more bland and disappointing. I was expecting a bit more longevity from a straight tea, but for one dollar, I can’t really complain. I’m glad I’m giving these $1 straight teas a try, but I think I’ll always favor Davids flavored selection.

Last night we went out for dinner with a friend we hadn’t seen for a long time. The food was alright, the tea was disappointing, but good company always makes a mediocre meal so much better. The hubby and I tend to prefer Japanese or Indian or other restaurants of the like, but the friend we were visiting with is a self-proclaimed fussy eater; we let him choose the eatery. I remember the last time he came to visit at our house, I offered him some tea, and when I showed him my cupboard of selections he said they all smelled like flowers –hahaha! He wanted a bagged Red Rose or Lipton, which I had none of, so he eventually settled on an earl grey Tazo that I acquired from some hotel. When I asked him what he thought, he took another sip and all he said was “flowers”. XD

So the restaurant he selected was The Cactus Club, which I tend to find is a bit hit and miss, with more misses than hits. But I was happy when the waitress brought over a tea menu for me. I needed something without caffeine, so I thought Mint was a wise choice. She brought over the hot water and the tea bag and I was pleased to find that it was something I hadn’t tried before. Unfortunately, the tea blend was just not my thing. The description on the back of the package says that the verbena leaves are balanced with a hint of mint, but it was not a nice balance at all. The mint was buried in verbena, and ironically, when our friend asked what I thought of the tea, it was my turn to say “flowers”.
I’m surprised at the higher ratings this tea has received so far; I guess it’s just not for me – meh!

My very first order of 52 teas arrived today – Hooray!!!

I gasped in excitement when I saw my poor mailman trying to stuff the package through our little mail slot. When I opened the door to assist him, and I confirmed my suspicions as to what it was, I had to fight the urge to hug him – partially because it’s inappropriate to hug unwilling strangers, but mostly because he scurried away so quickly, that nothing short of a rugby tackle would have slowed his pace.

Sometimes I think I should wear a shirt that says “just because it’s your job, doesn’t mean I won’t try to hug you if you do it well”. But I suspect if I do that, my mailman would whip my mail at me and sprint off as if I was a rabid dog. The last business person I hugged was my real estate agent. He’s the best. Thankfully he’s far too sweet and polite to say anything, but I’m almost certain he thinks I’m at least a little nuts.

Damn you Charlotte Diamond for making me a crazy hug addict – lol! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkhBgmGUo7k

As for this tea, Graveyard Mist is the tea that started my fascination with 52teas and eventually led to this first order. I loved how unique the online descriptions of their teas are, and when I saw that there was some of this one available I jumped at the chance to give it a try (along with a few others).

To be perfectly honest, when I caught the first whiff of this brewed tea while taking my initial sip, I expected to hear the whirrrr whirrr of the dentist’s office. Upon the first sip, the association of the minty sweetness went even further and made me lightly tap my teeth together in anticipation of that sandy grittiness of the toothpaste my hygienist uses. Thankfully there was none.

Thankfully, I was braced for disappointment when I took my first sip. I had suspected that there was no way this tea could ever live up to my high expectations. I have been so excited about trying it, that I built it up in my head to be like some kind of magical elixir.

Sadly, no magic… well, unless you count being mentally transported to my dentist’s office.

I won’t say that I was completely disappointed, because I wanted something different, and this certainly meets that criterion. I’ve also read on other tealogs that many 52teas blends get better with age, so tearing it open as soon as I got it is not likely a good way to give it a fair trial. It’s minty and sweet, and I get the feeling that I will enjoy this tea increasingly as I draw closer to the bottom of the package and make my peace that no tea can possibly ever live up to my crazed imagination. So if you see my rating for this one slowly inching up, it’s because I’m getting back in touch with reality.

Until next time, hugs to every one of my Steepster friends!
♪ 4 hugs a day ♫ that’s the minimum ♪ 4 hugs a day ♫ not the maximum ♪

I’m not sure what happened with this tea. At first it seemed as though the first steep had a lovely green oolong flavor which quite enjoyed, but with each successive sip I tasted an increasing bitterness which made my forehead crease with confusion and crankiness until reached the bottom of my up. By time I finished it, I looked like the Grinch.

I didn’t leave the tea leaves in and I didn’t change anything in the cup (other than some natural cooling of course). I’m guessing something happened to my taste buds between my first sip and my last one? I’m not sure? I’m really trying to get a better appreciation for straight teas, but sadly this one didn’t win me over – oh well!

It’s only November and I’m already getting antsy for spring. The days seem so gray and dreary, and the nights are already so dark and cold. On the bright side, at least this cold weather is a perfect backdrop for a tea like this one.

I expected this one to be more of an in your face tea with the chili and the peppercorns, but it was surprisingly mellow. The ingredients complimented each other nicely. It was a fabulous first steep, but there was notable deterioration with each following steeping. It’s still a lovely seasonal treat, especially as an alternative to sugary hot chocolate or hot apple cider. This will certainly be a seasonal repurchase for me.

I’ve flip-flopped over whether I was ever going to try David’s straight teas. I mean, I’ve always intended to, but I can never quite get my mouth to name any of the classics, when it has the option to say something like Bamboozled. As much as I admire my fellow Steepsterites who can actually taste and describe all the aspects of a straight tea, I do not have such distinguished taste.

Me likes me sprinkles

In all honesty, for me, the true appeal of Davids Tea has always been their jazzy flavors with the quirky little names. It’s just too difficult for me to ask for something classic when I can try something called Kiwi’s Big Adventure, Big Apple, or Cookie Dough. Every time I plan a trip to DT, I tell myself that I’m going to try at least one of their straight teas just to see what it’s like. But once I get in the store, I lose all focus and before I know it I’ve ordered a counter full of fun flavors and I eventually leave with nary a straight tea in sight. Seriously, sometimes I have the attention span of…

…

…whoops! Sorry, got distracted…

..Where was I? Oh yes! So Davids Tea had a $1 deal for their single serving packets of straight teas. It was as if that deal was catered to make me finally bite the bullet and give ‘em a go. I think I bought about 4-5 different types, and this is the first one I’ve tried so far. Just as I suspected, I get far more steeps out of this tea than I would out of my fun teas. And it really does taste delicious, it’s fresh and traditional. It tastes like fancy, you know, if fancy had a taste.

If I can manage to maintain focus for long enough during a future trip to David’s Tea, in the sea of jazzy fun-time teas, I would definitely repurchase this one. It’s tasty, it’s classic, and it’s a great option for my guests who are overwhelmed by the crazy flavors in my tea cupboard and ask “don’t you have any normal tea”. I’m sure they mean the commonplace bagged stuff, but if I serve this to them, I’m sure no one will complain.

We had some time to kill today while we were out, so we decided to stop in and have sandwiches and drinks. I don’t go to Tim Horton’s often so I’m not familiar with their tea selection. To order quickly I just asked for green tea. I was able to drink it, but it didn’t taste good at all. If I wasn’t told that it was a green tea I wouldn’t have been able to recognize it. It tasted bitter and murky and oh so disappointing, especially when compared to the yummy little chicken sandwich they made me. Furthermore, the price for Tim Horton’s bagged tea confuses the heck out of me. Their prices range by the size, but regardless of the size you still only get one tea bag. The only difference is that you get a larger cup and more water. But to confuse their logic even further, after ordering, we went back and asked for a cup of hot water, and they gave it to us in a large sized cup for free. whaaaaat? Now that’s a head scratcher.

The hubby and I went to Costco when we were hungry – big mistake! We rarely eat junk food but today we ended up coming home with a bbq chicken pizza, and a bag of frozen French fries the size of a toddler. I had originally selected a salad, but hubby found the fries on sale, and we just can’t pass up a deal. So when we got home I baked the pizza and a good portion of the fries and we ate too much while watching a less than mediocre movie. So surprise, surprise, my tummy is fighting back.

Grabbing my spearmint tea was instinctual, in fact I wonder if I subconsciously intended to sabotage myself into needing to try this tea, I mean, I bought it less than a week ago, and it’s the last herbal tea remaining in my untried stash…coincidence?…hmmmm…

This tea is minty and refreshing with an enjoyable natural sweetness. When I drink this tea it feels like a light shower for my insides, no, wait…that sounds creepy. How about, my intestines are smiling? …nope still creepy… Well whatever, just take my word that it’s a welcome feeling after eating too much junk food. The tea tasted lovely hot, and now that it’s cooled I’m still loving it. ahhh…feeling better already!