Compass Teas

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Recent Tasting Notes

71
drank Vanilla Cinnamon Bun by Compass Teas
14991 tasting notes

Thanks joonsusanna! another tea that she was looking to get rid of that i scooped up. Truth be told, apparently my taste buds are off because i’m not getting the orange that everyone else has. Now, i’ve had 52 teas cinnamon roll honeybush blend thingy that i LOOOOVEEEED the first time i had it and then stopped loving it a little while after that. If i was looking for a cinnamon bun tea, i’d be going for the steap shoppe’s cinnamon swirl bread. however, in a honeybush, this tastes closer to a cinnamon bun than 52 teas, which has a whole lot of cinnamon with some more cinnamon. this one is a smoother, less cinnamon and more bun version.

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64
drank Irish Cream by Compass Teas
14991 tasting notes

Sipdown! (275) this was a tasty enough tea but not one i think i ever need to restock. Nice to cross off another tea from my list!

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64
drank Irish Cream by Compass Teas
14991 tasting notes

Let’s not talk about how i’m back over 300 teas lol. Thank you joonsusanna for this one! I’ve wanted to try compass teas for a while now, and when she was getting rid of a bunch of her teas, cavocorax and i were blessed with her willingness to send us a bunch of them for the two of us to share! I’m so used to steeping my rooibos for 7+ mins. Compass recommends 3-4 minutes for this one, but i think i’ll try much longer with the rest of my sample. At 3.5 mins this is a creamy sort of rooibos but i wouldn’t call it irish cream just yet. I hope that with a longer steep, more of the flavour will come out a bit :) For those that don’t like rooibos too much, so far this does have that rooibos taste, so likely not a first choice for anyone curious if this is a rooibos-y rooibos lol it is.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec

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73
drank Irish Cream by Compass Teas
1598 tasting notes

Last sipdown for the day. I call this a successful Sipdown Saturday!

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73
drank Irish Cream by Compass Teas
1598 tasting notes

I’ve been averaging six hours sleep a night so I really should go to bed, but I’m 92% done my book (the last Wheel of Time) and I just don’t want to! :O Guess that means I’m not good at being an adult? I might regret this when I wake up at 8-9, but that’s what strong tea is for, amirite?

I didn’t realise that Compass had loose-leaf tea. Thanks to JoonSusanna for the rooibos samples. I’m getting a bit of cream and caramel, and lots of rooibos, but not in a bad way. This is pretty enjoyable actually, and it does remind me a bit of Irish Cream!

I like having a lot of variety for caffeine-free teas, so maybe I’ll grab a bunch once I drink up all my current samples! I’m pretty excited to try the Cola rooibos, but I’ll save that for an afternoon.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 45 sec
Sil

Confused….. Your note mentions stash…but this is logged under compass tea…

TeaLady441

Thank you – I meant Compass! I guess I just equate the two in my head as tea bag companies.

Sil

lol not to worry..figured it was the late night sleepies. this sounds so tasty…

TeaLady441

:) Well I hope to get yours out to you tomorrow!

Sil

haha no rush. Still not hurting for tea lol I’m hoping by next weekend i can be under 200 before all my swaps roll in giggling

OMGsrsly

Did you finish your book? :)

TeaLady441

Just now! Too many distractions! But it was great.

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84

Backlog:

I was kind of surprised by the stemmy-ness of this tea when I first opened the package. Usually I find one or two stems in a tea … it’s to be expected, although generally, the more stems, the lesser the quality (Generally speaking of course). However, after closer inspection of the ingredient list … it actually says “Camellia Sinensis Stems” … it’s supposed to be stemmy!

There is a nice roasty note to this tea. I found that the tea tasted better when it is allowed to cool for a few minutes. When served piping hot, the flavors were kind of … obscured. But after a few minutes (about five) the flavors began to pop! Ah… there’s the butterscotch! Buttery, caramel-ish, and absolutely YUM!

Sweet, but not cloyingly so. (I like butterscotch, but I find that it can be a tad cloying to me … I didn’t get that with this tea). The tea base is the strongest flavor of this cup, and perhaps that’s why the butterscotch did not become an overwhelmingly sweet thing for me. The tea is robust and rich … A really tasty dessert tea.

Sil

Mmmmmmmmmm tasty

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90

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea. It’s really good. I was surprised to find that it’s no longer on the Compass Teas Website … I guess it’s either out of stock or it’s been discontinued. It’s a tasty tea, though.

It has a really nice Hazelnut flavor, and the black tea base is rich and bold! It would be a great first thing in the morning tea to help shake the sleepeez but, it is also nice as an afternoon pick me up. I’ve become quite a night owl lately, so, this is … my afternoon. Yes. 11:06 pm. Hey … it’s still AFTER noon.

A really tasty tea. I hope they bring this one back.

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85

BACKLOG

I had this on Friday. I wanted to experiment with the flavor a bit, so I tried adding cinnamon to the blend. I admit, I probably overdid it on the cinnamon. Still, I had the same problem adding cinnamon as I had adding vanilla – it tastes fine, the flavors are both there, but somehow it doesn’t quite mesh into anything like a cookie. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any sugar to try it with. I’m not changing my rating because I mucked around with the blend.

Also, I get to call this a sipdown because the rest is going to Sil. Whew, one more tea off the list!

EDIT: I forgot to thank JoonSusanna for the sample! Thank you!

Sil

haha

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85

Tried this again, brewing it for 5 minutes straight this time. Smells great! Just like a ginger snap. Tastes lovely, too, though still not like a cookie. I tried it with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla agave. Still tasty, still doesn’t taste like a cookie. Just tastes like ginger and vanilla. I still have enough of the sample to make another two cups (not counting resteeps), so I’ll try it with proper sugar next time.

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85

Thanks to JoonSusanna for sending this along. I love ginger snap cookies, so I was really excited about this tea. Ultimately, I think it’s pretty good, but doesn’t quite taste like ginger snaps.

The dry leaf smells like a very gingery cookie. Brewed, it still smells like a gingery cookie (in a good way!). The package says to steep for 2-4 minutes. I initially steeped for 2.5, but it came out kind of weak. It tasted like a good rooibos. I couldn’t make out any ginger though. So I steeped for another 2 minutes and it was better. Didn’t taste as thin and the ginger flavor came out more. Another minute of steeping and it was much, much better. The rooibos and ginger work together nicely. Still doesn’t taste like a cookie, but very nice. So 5-6 minutes is a good steeping time. I will say that this tea has a nice gingery aftertaste, exactly like a ginger snap.

This resteeps pretty well. I got distracted and ended up leaving the leaves in for 8 minutes. It actually worked out nicely! Super tasty. I will definitely be drinking this again. Will try it with sweetener next time, as suggested.

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89

Finished this off with another cold brew that I drank along with some delicious Greek food. This is a very good tropical tea, and I definitely want more.

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89

I got this in a swap a looong time ago from someone, and just never got to it. I was looking for a cold brew candidate last night, and this sounded good. In the bag, it smells very delicious and fruity and tropical.

After cold brewing, I took a sip and didn’t taste much. Disappointing. I decided to add a bit of sugar and WOW did it make the flavors pop. I haven’t had much green rooibos, so I’m not sure what it tastes like, but I’m not getting any of the medicinal smells or flavors that I can get with red rooibos. The papaya is the main flavor, while all the other flavors kinda mix together behind that to give a general fruitiness. This is reminding me of something I’ve had but I can’t quite think of what. I absolutely love tropical flavors, so I’m really enjoying this. Too bad I only have about enough left for one more cup!

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more

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87

This smelled kind of like marshmallows to me when it was dry, and it tasted kind of marshmallowy too, once it was steeped up. The 2 minutes was a good call, because it had plenty of flavor and no bitterness – I would have tried for longer due to my normal tendencies where black teas are concerned, but I’m glad I trusted the recommendations on this.

With milk and sweetener, I get caramel and marshmallow. Kind of like Eight Candles from Della Terra, actually. I may have to make that up tomorrow to compare them, now that I’m thinking of it…

My brain is fried after the last few night shifts I’ve done, so I’m sorry for how little substance this review has. I feel like all my Compass Tea reviews are like this though. The teas taste like they are supposed to, no decorative frills in the leaf (which I don’t mind either way) no extra complexities in the flavor profiles. Just a good solid drink that will be true to it’s name – which really is all you can ask of a tea!

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec
Sil

I really need to place an order with these guys. I can get behind teas that taste like they should heh

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87

Full review on March 12th 2013 on http://sororiteasisters.com/ but here are snippits:

This tea can be purchased by the ounce or in a try me size which is really special because yellow teas are not only a little more rare to come by but usually you won’t find a means to sample them easily.

I was really happy to find this tea in my most recent package of tea samples from my SororiTea Sister Jennifer. I love yellow teas and am always eager to try a new one. I do recall having seen this tea offered by Compass before but I sort of spaced it out and never got around to ordering any. Also I will admit, orange flavored teas are not generally my “go to” flavor in teas, yet I am so happy to have had the change to sample this one. It’s quite delightful!

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80
drank Butter Pecan by Compass Teas
863 tasting notes

Tea of this morning.

Prep notes: 1.5 tsp. leaf, 10 oz. water, milk, some sugar.

Mmm. I’m not an ice cream person but I make an exception for butter pecan. Seeing that butter pecan tea was a thing? Yes. Please.

As far as a tasting note, though, I’m not really sure I’ve got too much to say- it is absolutely dead on butter pecan, balances well with the black tea, and I finished the cup pretty fast. In general Compass Teas have been 100% on point with all of their tea blends, so if you are wanting to order from them you will definitely get the flavors they’re promising!

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec

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80
drank Butter Pecan by Compass Teas
863 tasting notes

I’m first to review this – feels kinds of strange being in uncharted territory, haha!

I don’t know that I really got the chance to say so, but my recent Compass Teas order included 12 random samples. 12! And they weren’t like, one cup samples, either. They were all about an ounce. I got a lot of rooibos, and some black teas and one gen mai cha, which works out good because herbals and black teas are more my thing than flavored greens/whites.

Anyway, so this was one of the 12 freebies, and one I REALLY was excited about because I love butter pecan. I don’t eat ice cream much but when I do, butter pecan is one of my top choices. Also, being southern, pecan pie is one of my Thanksgiving undertakings that I do because my dad is even more of a fan than me.

Being that this is new for me and I have no other tasting notes to go by, I followed all the recommended brewing instructions for this, which was 1 tsp. leaf per 8 oz, at the below parameters. Also being that nuts tend to be rather astringent in tea, I just added milk and a bit of sugar from the beginning.

The result was pretty yummy! I could definitely see this getting bitter if steeping went beyond the 2 minute mark, but as is, I got just what I was supposed to – this is definitely butter pecan and it is perfect as a black tea. I love that the flavor was captured so perfectly, and that I’ve got a few more cups of this to enjoy!

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec
Alphakitty

I am tempted to order from them just for the free samples—but you have to spend $50, and that is more than I like to put down on a company I haven’t tried! Have you overall been happy with the teas you got from them?

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65

The dry leaf smell of this is amazing. I’ve had the 52teas cinnamon roll honeybush but between the two, this one smelled far more like an actual cinnamon roll. So I was super excited to brew this one up!

Once brewed the scent of the leaf changes into a kind of citrusy note. It says there’s hibiscus in the ingredients so maybe that’s to blame? Regardless, think honey bun with orange marmalade. I added honey to it because without sweetener a kind of medicinal note was threatening to overtake everything else. With the honey in, it’s still there but I can ignore it at least.

I don’t mind that there’s orange in here, but I was hoping for more of a straight cinnamon bun taste. I will say that I am pleasantly surprised by the texture though – normally I find rooibos/honeybush teas to be a touch thin but this one is surprisingly full bodied. As it cools a tartness from the hibiscus is coming out more, making me like it even less. I’m still puzzled as to why this needed hibiscus in the first place, though…

Anyway, I’m glad I just ordered the try me size since the flavor wasn’t quite what I was hoping for. It was also a nice change from my sick tea – maybe I’m finally starting to pull out of this yuckiness after all!

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

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91

3 minutes was a tad much to steep if I were going to have this plain. To be fair, the recommendation was for 2 minutes but I just can’t seem to fathom that would be enough with a black tea. I need to have more faith I suppose :).

Luckily, I wanted this with milk and sugar for breakfast so the fact that it was quite strong was not a problem – in fact it was probably a good thing because the flavor didn’t get overrun by the additives. I didn’t realize that this had some yerba mate in it until I was scooping the leaves into the Breville, though. I don’t think I’ve got a sensitivity to mate, but this will surely let me know one way or the other!

The smell is very much the same from dry to steeped leaf, and the subsequent liquor. There is mostly banana and kind of a hint of something bready underneath. It did remind me of the smell of 52Teas Pancake Breakfast, so I guess that association probably is due to some maple scent as well. I don’t get banana pancakes, but I do get banana, and then a stack of pancakes, if that makes sense?

Tastewise this reminds me of Hot Buttered Banana bread, from 52Teas – bread notes, banana, and honey. The honey note changes periodically to seem like it might want to be maple syrup – and when that happens it transitions from banana bread to syrup laden pancakes. I’m fine with whichever, honestly, and I like that it’s being so indecisive because that makes for an interesting cup!

Hands down the best part about this tea is that it’s going to be my substitute for the Hot Buttered Banana Bread I’ve been rationing. I’m so glad I was able to find something like this!!!

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

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94
drank Smooth Earl by Compass Teas
863 tasting notes

SIPDOWN!

This is a really good Earl Grey Creme – probably one of my favorites. Alas, I keep having these problems wherein I like ONE tea by ONE company – but then nothing else. And then I can’t justify ordering mass quantities of one tea because I drink it too slowly.

So, while I do love this, Upton’s Earl Grey creme will be the one I stick with, simply because I have a few staples there already and it is more convenient. This one will be missed though. And I’m down to 46 teas! Which is good because 16 more teas are incoming… Cyber Monday singlehandedly is filling my cabinet right back up, haha.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 15 sec 2 tsp 14 OZ / 414 ML
Sil

YES! i’m totally with you on that… 1-2 teas so it’s like um ok… 20$ shipping to canada…4$ on the tea. riiiiiight

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94
drank Smooth Earl by Compass Teas
863 tasting notes

Backlog: I made this extra strong a morning or so ago. nearly 2 tsp. to 10 oz. water (vs. the directions of 1 tsp. to 6-8oz. water) It brought the vanilla out more, and really thickened the texture to how I like my tea (and of course, milk helped with this).

We’re getting to the point in the year that I somehow always forget about until it comes back – cold mornings not just in feel but in sound. The air is different and when there is a breeze it instinctively makes me want to curl up under blankets. And it’s a perk of night shift I’d forgotten, but: I can do this! I can have slow winter mornings.

I plan on enjoying each one of them, too.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

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94
drank Smooth Earl by Compass Teas
863 tasting notes

Backlog from yesterday.

I went through a few days where I would drink a tea and think “you should log this” but then never got around to it. So now I’m in the process of catching up.

Steeped according to package directions, meaning 1 tsp, to 8 oz water and some half and half with about 1/2 tsp. sugar. I drank it while starting a new book (Luminaries, Eleanor Catton) and finishing up another (The Drowning Guard, Linda Lafferty) since I had most of the beginning of this week off.

I do think this is one of the best Earl Grey Cream teas out there. That I’ve tried, at least. Something about the cohesiveness of it, as though bergamot and vanilla and black are actually one singular ingredient. You taste them all together and can’t believe they ever existed apart.

I think marshmallow winter will probably be back in stock from Compass Teas soon (loved that tea last year but only got a sample, unfortunately) so if I place an order for that I’ll be getting more of this as well.

Perfect for my book reading afternoon.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
gmathis

The book reading afternoon sounds more delicious than the tea :)

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94
drank Smooth Earl by Compass Teas
863 tasting notes

Backlog from a few days ago. I sent a friend of mine the Upton samples (one of which being the vanilla earl grey) and her email telling me she liked it made me go for this. I’m so suggestible, sometimes. :)

This is easily one of the best vanilla earl grey teas for my palate. It has the buttery vanilla, the pretty orange color in the steeped tea, and a subtle amount of bergamot. Everything plays so nicely together.

I drank this with only a splash of milk and that was all it needed – I’ve been less inclined to use sugar lately in my teas and this one had a sweetness of it’s own without needing anything more.

Very tasty stuff, this.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
Fjellrev

Oooh, I’m always looking for an EGC/vanilla EG.

ifjuly

I’ll have to look into this if you think it’s similar/better than the Upton (I’m a fan, and of EGCs in general), for sure!

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94
drank Smooth Earl by Compass Teas
863 tasting notes

MMMM.. bergamot and vanilla are an intoxicating combination. Had this in the morning with a slice of strawberry peach pie. I’ve almost mastered crusts, I think! The secret is lard. Well, for me it is, anyway – nothing else has gotten close to the flakiness.

Anyway. This one preps flawlessly every time if you go by the company’s directions: 1 tsp., 3 minutes. Shorter than I usually steep my black teas but I think it would definitely be too bitter otherwise. Still one of the best Earl Grey Creme’s I’ve tasted.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
K S

Alton Brown (Good Eats) says lard is not nearly as bad for you (in moderation) as we have been scared into believing and it is essential to great crust. Suddenly the salad I had for lunch is wearing off, but alas I have no pie.

TheTeaFairy

KS, I think the key here would be in moderation for sure, even if Alton Brown the Great says so! I love Alton and I miss that show, do you know if it’s still on somewhere?

K S

I know it ended first run a couple seasons ago. I was watching it everyday at 11 on Food and recently it just disappeared without warning. It will probably show up again. The lard statement is in comparison to using Crisco or something similar. Real pie crust unfortunately will never be ‘good’ for you – just GOOD!

TheTeaFairy

Thanks KS, I loved good eats for its humorous side and originality plus it was so insightful, hope it will return…
I know what you meant about the lard, i was just teasing :-) I understand that if you’re gonna have pie anyways, might as well have it the best way possible, right?

OMGsrsly

I like half lard, half butter. :) My mom and gramma have always used lard, but I love the flavour butter gives. I also tend to freeze the butter and then grate it into the dough, which is a little ridiculous.. but I make pie so infrequently I figure I’m worth it.

I ♥ NewYorkCiTEA

I must ♥ Alton here b/c ya’ll are talking bout him !

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94
drank Smooth Earl by Compass Teas
863 tasting notes

I’m in Orlando for a wedding and I thought ahead – brought a few different options of loos teas just in case the hotel had a small coffee/tea brewer. The hotel room does indeed have a mini Keurig type dispenser, so I went ahead and brewed this.

And you know – I always thought that it was just maybe that the options of hotel teas are inferior, but I think it’s more that prepping tea in a hotel room with individually packaged sugar and creamer will take its toll on any flavor tea. Even if its a nice, creamy earl that has been tempting you for a few days.

I’ve got to figure out a way to transport my stash better….it’s such a shame I can’t seem to get the same good cups that I do when I’m back at home!

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec

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