Cavocorax

Another sample from Shadowfall!

Smells like caramel! Also, surprise, it tastes like caramel too! Rich notes of it in a mellow amber base. I’m not getting any chocolatey notes though but I bet this would be nice with bits of brown sugar.

ETA: This tastes a lot better with a dash of milk. The base is mellowed out further and the caramel steps aside and lets some of the chocolate notes in.

So maybe this isn’t QUITE as awesome as I thought it was yesterday, but I dig the fruity raspberries and creaminess and I’m still getting a bit of sponginess too. For some reason this tastes a bit more tart this time around, yet it’s still sweet. I wonder if I should have mixed the bag up a bit more? Maybe I drank up a lot of the coconut in the top half and am missing it now?

But you heard me – I’m halfway through this bag already! :O

Goodbye O’Sullivan’s!

I think I spent $1-2 for this sample so I regret nothing. It’s ok, but it’s not my cuppa. I thoroughly enjoyed it this morning with a hefty amount of milk and sugar, but at the same time if I wanted milk/sugar I could have just started the day with coffee.

I said it tea peeps! Coffee! :O
(It’s funny that I spent so much time trying to tell the difference between Keemum vs Ceylon vs Darjeeling etc but I couldn’t even tell you what kind of coffee I like.)

My package just said “Nina’s” on it, but judging by its smell, I think it’s Nina’s Paris.

It’s a very subtle blend where I mostly taste citrus fruit, sweetness and then a bit of tartness. Interesting, but so far je t’aime is my favorite of their teas.

It’s funny how we can all try the same teas and have such a wide range of reviews.

For me, this was one else of those teas that make you drop whatever you’re doing and start packing samples of the tea you are currently enjoying because EVERYONE has to try it. Everyone. It’s just so spongy, and fruity and light. I want to eat it up.

Sadly I finished all 12oz before reviewing it,so I can’t remember anything else right now. I resteeped it too but it’s just a sad shell of its awesomeness… The good news is I bought an 80g bag of this so I will have plenty of chances later on

I hope Ozli and CrowKettle enjoy it too and that my tastebuds weren’t just being crazy.

Another free sample!

Sad to say, this one isn’t for me. It tastes so much like perfume that I can’t even imagine there’s apples in it. I guess there’s only a few teas with rose in it that I truly can handle/enjoy.

Looks like I’m the first to review this tea. So, no pressure? :O

I wasn’t sure what temperature to steep this one because it has black and green teas, but I think the rule is that you steep at the lower temperature…

It smells mostly like cinnamon, but when you sip it the almond slides right it. And, oddly enough, I think I can actually taste the green tea in the blend too, which is amazing because I have a hard time noticing the bases under a lot of flavour. To me that is a sign that this blend has been balanced quite perfectly.

This doesn’t taste like it’s too strong either so it would be perfect for the afternoon or evening.

I’m not hugely into almond flavours, but this is very nice. I’d buy a sampler size of this!

Hmmmm. This is vanilla chai with cream? I’m not getting that at all. There are some chai spices, but it’s pretty muted. Maybe I needed to steep this for longer in order to get the full flavour.

I know Mycroft is mysterious, but this blend requires too much puzzling for me. Let’s see how I do with my second steep.

I probably shouldn’t have steeped this the same time as Mycroft as they have similar ingredients. I was worried I’d mix them up but the almonds in this gave it away.

I can taste the almond/marzipan goodness over a basic black base. Some people don’t like Adagio’s black bases, but I find that if I steep it for 2.5 minutes at slightly less than boiling, they taste quite nice.

I can take or leave this tea. Sadly, the same can be said for the namesake character too. He had some good moments in Doctor Who, but not enough to get me to try Torchwood.

Thanks for the sample Shadowfall

This is my first sample from Nina’s tea – I chose it randomly from the envelope it came in.

Before I looked at the ingredients in this I thought it was a chocolate tea – wishful thinking perhaps? This tea has a smooth base, and the caramel and vanilla add a bit of character to the profile. It’s simple. It’s sweet without being artificial. Like the girl-next-door of teas?

I’m pretty happy with it!

Another sample!

I’m not getting cake in this – mostly rooibos with a bit of almond and some sweetness. It’s very tasty though, and the low caffeine level makes it a nice evening brew.

Another free sample!

This one is an odd tea. It smells like perfume! Also, it kinda tastes like perfume! At least a little. Rose buds and jasmine seem like scents to wear, not taste, but when I get past that association, the licorice and cinnamon are quite nice. I’m not sure if this tea is for me, but it’s interesting. And I sipped my cup down faster than I realized.

I keep drinking this as a cold latte. I guess I’m too afraid to prepare it as hot tea?

Yes it’s a bit sweet, and a bit astringent, but it makes me want to experiment with matcha! Some day I will do a Red Leaf Tea order. (Just not today… Even with the sale on the new products…)

I received my samples/order!

This green tea is enjoyable. It starts off apple-y, and finishes with a ton of cinnamon/spices. It’s very warming – I can see that this would be a great tea in the autumn. I don’t taste the pomegranates at all though.

And I agree with everyone – the packaging on these teas is adorable! I’m happy I bought a pack of Vicky’s Sponge Cake so I can look at more little bluebirds. I guess I won’t put that one in a tin – that’d be a shame!

This is pretty decent!

As it’s a Murchie’s tea I was worried about astringency so I steeped a double-dose of leaves for 2 minutes and that seems to have been perfect. It’s nice and mild and fruity. I’m looking forward to drinking the rest of this sample!

You know what guys? This is pretty great. It’s maybe better than the Zen Tea one after all. I just need to remember to steep it at 80, instead of the recommended temperature.

How do you decide?

:P So this was the 200th tea that I rated – I went back to check because I just went over, and it looks like I didn’t even log it!

It’s crazy to think I’ve tried 200 types of tea. A few years ago I probably would have been surprised to hear there were that many types of teas out there!

Vanilla? Yes. Black tea? I guess?

This is a very soft creamy vanilla tea. I can’t really taste the base, but when I’m in the mood for vanilla this is a nice one to go with. I’m happy I tried it, but I wouldn’t push everyone to go try it.

I’ll try cold-steeping it like Incendiare recommended!

So the reviews weren’t kidding. This is a STRONG breakfast tea. I steeped it for 4 minutes, and the result was a tea so dark that it might be confused with coffee. It makes my whole mouth go numb with that tacky-dry astringent feeling. It does get better after a few sips, but I thought I’d just try a dash of milk – yep. This is a tea that shines with milk! (And thankfully not much because I don’t like having to add to tea in order to enjoy it).

I guess it’s silly to want strong tea but not astringent tea eh?

ETA: Oh snap! This was my 300th tasting note. I had planned to pick a more exciting tea (or a more exciting entry). Oh well! 300 is pretty impressive since I’ve only been active since October!

This looks like a crazy mix of ingredients, but it’s pretty tasty. I can smell apple, cinnamon and various spices. I really shouldn’t drink this now – every sip makes me think of fall! I like it, but the base doesn’t seem to be too pronounced.

Mmmmm. Apple Chai.

Thanks Shadowfall for the sample!

So I have two empty tins now, and while I ran off to DavidsTea TODAY, they are still empty. (And smelly. Am working on that.) Guess I’ll just fill them up with peppermint or something I have 2 oz of just to make room in my storage tins for smaller packs.

Grabbed this, and four other samples today that I had flagged to try. I guess, ideally, I’d like 30g of all the tea from David’s that I like. :) That’s enough to cover every craving I might have without being too overwhelming! But not enough to fill a tin. I think Mother’s Little Helper, Cocomint Cream and Pumpkin Chai are my only DT tin-worthy teas…

This is an oddball. It smells very strong and malty. Dark. Earthy. A few honeyed notes? Definitely. More honey, as it cools, but now it’s a bit grassy.

It’s definitely better as it cools. It reminds me of the Keemun from DT. I’m enjoying it, but am hesitant about rating it yet.

Goodbye Red Velvet Cake. That’s the end of this, and while I’m happy I tried it, I’m in no rush to go out and buy more. Knocked my rating down a bit to indicate this.

Now what do I do with my tin? It’s red, empty, and smells strongly of this tea. Well, I’ve washed it, and am airing it out and hoping for the best, but an empty tin is just a waste… What the heck do I buy to put in there? The old me would have had no problem rushing out to DavidsTea and buying 100g of something, but the old me had a lot of tea that I was sorta meh about.

I love love LOVE this tea. I had it with the Pineapple Cilantro and the two just weren’t in the same league even. (Well, guess I’m not as big into cilantro tea).

This should be on my always in-stock list. <3

I’m finally trying this! :O After I brewed it, I smelled a dark malty odor with cocoa notes. We’re off to a good start!

The first few sips were very strong and nearly bitter. I think maybe I wasn’t ready for tea yet because after those sips I find this tea to be very smooth and barely astringent. Now that it’s slightly cooled, I am getting a little bit of honey or fruit, as well as lots of malt and cocoa. And is that cinnamon? This is very tasty!

The good news? I think this may be my favourite Assam! The bad? I have about 2oz left of my previous favourite Assam to drink down – (Assam Mangalam Second Flush FTGFOP1 from Zen Tea). Maybe I should sip them side by side one morning to get a better understanding of the difference, but this Butiki Assam has a lot more going on – I wish I was better at reviewing tea so I could describe what I’m tasting better, but it is one to sip slowly and savour.

I will resteep this and drink it later today too, which is saying a lot. (I really should re-steep my teas more and be less wasteful… Not so much for flavored blacks or herbals, but the rest… yeah. Now that I’ve gotten rid of a lot of samples I want to just enjoy what I have and not worry if I don’t sip anything down for days)