Cuppa'T Specialty Teas

This dry tea is just large chunks of dried fruit. The dragon fruit pieces are fair sized slices, and the cranberries are whole. I have to admit I ate some dried dragonfruit. I was super good. The only downsize was I bought 50g but it didnt give much becuase of the weight of the tea.

The tea brews up a beautiful dark pink colour. It smells of dragonfruit and slight tart berry, but not necessarily cranberry. The tea is quite light. I thought it would end up tart with the cranberry, but it isn’t. It tasted predominately of the dragonfruit. I did have to add some rock sugar to sweeten it a little bit.

Jule, the owner of Cuppa T, recommended to try this one cold brewed, so I have a pitcher in the fridge brewing overnight.

I am not a fan of dessert teas, or rooibos, but I had to try this because it had pistachio in it. I love pistachio.

The dry tea is a mix of rooibos, dried apple pieces and whole pistachio nuts. The dry tea and brewed tea smells like nutty pistachio.

The brewed tea tastes like candied apple or dried apple pieces, there is the taste of pistachio, very nutty tasting. But there is also a strong rooibos taste.

Overall this tea is OK. It certainly lives up to its name.

So I figured out why I was confused about the tangerine parfait tea I reviewed earlier today. I initially thought it was a black tea, but it turned out to be a white tea. I was confused becuase I guess I bought two orange teas. This one, sweet orange, is a black tea. Who would have though a tea addict would buy tea and then forget what they bought :P

This tea is black tea mixed with orange peel. It smells like candied orange.

The smell of the brewed tea is more so just sweet orange, like a ripe mandarin, but not candy. The black tea is also strong, and you can smell that underneath the orange smell.

The tea tastes like a black tea with an orange flavouring in it. I added rock sugar to sweeten it up a bit but it made no difference.

In regards to an orange tea, I prefer the tangerine parfait from Cuppa T Specialty Teas vs this one.

I was a bit surprised at first becuase I initially thought this was a black tea, but it didn’t look like a black tea after it was brewed. Its actually a white tea, oops. So I brewed it like a black, but it turned out really good.

There were beautiful sunflower petals mixed in with the tea and orange peels.

The tea is a dark yellow brown colour. There is a sweet spicey smell to it, slightly orange. I can’t quite determine what the spice is, but it might be licorice root, however, the tea does not taste like licorice root or cinnamon.

The tea tastes like sweet orange. Not quite tangerine, but it is not tart orange or bergamot. There is a slight spice to it, but it is not overpowering.

Initially I thought I should have added sweetener, but I am glad that I didn’t. Once it cooled slightly it was perfect.

Next time I am going to brew this one like a white tea and see how the flavours change.

I think this would be a great tea for anyone that likes orange, but not bergamot.

Oh, my! This is a good one.

Now I couldn’t resist picking this one up based soley on the name. But the tea had an interesting look and smell to it.

The dry tea is colourful, and has dried fruit peices, flower petal, leaves, and peppercorns. It smells sweet and spicey at the same time. It smells almost herbal (but not medicinal), not so much minty or fruity or flowery.

The tea brews up golden yellow. The liquor smells the same as it did when it was dry. The tea tastes wonderful, and it is warming me from the inside out. I can’t even describe the taste of the tea. I am tasting slight mint, moreso peppermint than spearmint, I can also tast the verbena, cornflowers, peppercorns. There is a slight sweet finish to the tea, which I presume comes from the dried fruit, but don’t get me wrong, the tea is not at all fruity. At the absolute awesomest part of this tea is the wasabi! It does not taste like wasabi but it has the heat of wasabi. My tongue and throat and stomach are warm, but not burning. Thats the best part of wasabi in my opinion.

This was a hard one to describe. So instead of trying to further describe it, I am just going to drink it.

soooooo tired. I’m about ready for bed but wait, whta’s that? oh yes i’m on another meeting with China that makes it once again clear that they’re lost without me there. sigh not sure what the hell i’m going to do to move this project forward but let me tell you 10-midnight are NOT my best hours. nope. not at all.

Lala sent this my way in our swap. I don’t recall whether or not I asked for this one, but i’m always happy to try new teas! I was a little worried when i read that this had lavender in it, but surprisingly it’s not OMG IN YOUR FACE lavender. So that’s good. :) it wouldn’t be my first choice in a tea but overall it’s not too shabby.

Thanks Lala!

Another tea from my swap with Lala I am loving this one! I’m not getting the after taste that others did, beyond the taste of a slightly unripe pear in the after taste. The tea is a sweet, fruity tea with a pear taste that rolls through the sip.

Even though Christmas is long over, it is never too late to celebrate. Brewed the tea is a golden colour, which does remind me of Christmas. This tea tastes like a Christmas tea blend. Kinda of chai-y. Tastes like spicey and sweet orange, the spice is not overpowering. There may be a cinnamon/nutmeg flavour to it, but can’t quite place the taste. The oolong taste is very subtle. This is not a strong tea, but it is also not tasteless. The flavours blend very well together. I could see this tea as an after-dinner/before bed time drink.
This ia a beautiful oolong blend.

This tea is wonderful. Bloomed beautifully. It smells like just bloomd spring flowers. It tastes like vegetal green tea, but you can also taste a slight hint of the flowers. There is only the slightest hint of sweet jasmine. The flower taste does not overpower the greean tea, but it is in good balance. The aftertaste is astringent but is not unpleasant.

I loved just sitting and watching this ball bloom. It floated, slowly release small air bubbles. As the air bubbles released and the ball started to expand and bloom, the ball sank to the bottom of the pot. The green tea leaves started to open out and the flowers slowly bloomed and reached towards the surface of the water. The flowers and green tea leaves subtly waved in the water, as if there was a slight breeze. Just like in a spring garden.
I guess this is what you would call entertainment for a tea lover.

I haven’t had this tea in forever. And it is getting old. It still tastes good though. With a splash of milk, this is creamy and smooth, sweet chocolate and coconut. Just what I needed tonight.

i just adore this tea, beatiful smell of lavanda mixed with white tea mmm

I only bought one of these. I had intended to take pictures of the bloomed flower but it didn’t turn out to well. The ball did not fully bloom, one side bloomed and the other side appeared to be tied down, so could not blooom out. The jasmine buds in the center also did not bloom well. they seemed to be tied down through the center of the bud so it could not bloom and expand. I left it to steep for 15+ minutes. I was disappointed in that. But the tea itself was delicious. It had a wonderful jasmine scent and flavour.

Flowering tea.
Appearance of dry tea: small round ball of dried tea.
Smell of dry tea: slight hint of jasmine.
Appearance of steeped tea: did not fully bloom. Only half of outer tea leaves bloomed, yellow jasmine buds in center only partially bloomed.
Smell of liqour: strong smell of jasmine.
Appearance of liqour: dark golden colour.
Taste of liqour:strong jasmine flavour, but not overpowering. Very slight sweetness.

I would like to purchase this one again to see if it blooms better. I would drink it again for the taste.

This tea surprised me. The loose, dry tea, resembles more black tea than it does white. The lavender and vanilla are in good balance. This tea is sweet, creamy, and almost has a nutty flavour. The tea is heavy and thick. The lavender leaves a slightly astringent aftertaste. The more it cools, the stronger the lavender notes get. This is not my favorite tea, but it is enjoyable.

I am not sure what to think. My taste buds are in a bit of shock. It is good. The problem is I am such an earl grey addict I had never branched out to all of the earl grey variations that are out there. I love the strong bergamot, the caramel definitley gives it some sweetness and very creamy flavour.
I am sure I will enjoy this over and again.

I have never tasted a prickly pear, so I do not have much to compare this tea to, but I find it to be delicious. It tasted like a light green tea, with a fruity flavour, tropical flavour to it. Its sweet on its own, slightly creamy taste. The fruity flavour mixes well with the green tea.
It does leave an aftertase.

Brewed up a cup this morning. I again added some rose buds to smooth out the taste a bit.
I usually don’t re-steep but I tried re-steeping this one. The smoke flavour is a little less. The tea tastes a bit more crisp than it did on the first steep. The flavour profile stays very much the same, just a little less intense.
Still delicious!

My new favorite!!! This tea has a strong smokey smell. It retains a smokey flavour once brewed, but is not so strong that is overpowers. Once brewed it makes a medium brown with slight hint of red liqour. The smokey taste is slightly sweet. There is a bit of a smokey after taste but it is not unpleasant. Reminds me not so much of a campfire but of a smoke house, (ie. used to smoke meats). This tea makes you feel warm.

I brewed a second cup and added two organic rose buds (also from Cuppa’T). I was inspired by the posts of Anna Karenina from The Republic of Tea (which is on my wish list). While the smokey flavour is still present, the rose buds smooth out the taste. The rose buds a bit more sweetness. There is also less aftertaste, then when brewed plain. Love this tea!!!

Looking forward to many more cups of this one.

I have had this for a year and have not logged it yet. This is a mildly spicy chai with a tad bit of sweetness. It really does smell like christmas.

As a latte with a smidgen of brown sugar, this is perfect for christmas.

Re-visiting this sweet, smooth tea from my local tea shop. A splash of milk really brings out the sweetness. Good stuff, could be a little more chocolatey though.

Mmmm, one of my favs being re-visited on this relaxing day off. Dreamy and creamy with that wonderful earl grey aroma and taste. Delicious!

Tons of chores today to get ready for a work trip to Ottawa. So I need a good pick me up. Today I made this with 16 oz of steeped tea, 8 oz of hot soy milk and 2 tsp of rock cane sugar. And yes my tea mug can hold that much; it’s a wonderful handmade mug I bought in Orcas Island, Washington years ago.

The tea is still good, not great. I think I’m really missing the cinnamon, and I’d like the ginger and cloves to be kicked up a few notches. This is a nice chai for someone just getting into chai and is afraid of drinking something too spicy. Which I find a little funny given the name of the tea.

In all, it’s a decent chai. I’ll experiment with what’s left in my stash, but I probably won’t buy it again. Particularly since I don’t know when I’ll be in Regina next. ;P

Oh, and taking a cue from tunes&tea, I’m listening to a mix of fave soundtrack songs: A Love Before Time (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Deliver Me (Brokedown Palace), Distant Worlds (Final Fantasy XI), I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow (O Brother, Where Art Thou), Walk Through the Fire (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and more.

I bought this earlier in the year when I happened to be in Regina for a workshop. It was fun exploring my old haunts, and even more fun to find a specialty tea store :) I’m surprised I haven’t logged this one yet though.

I bought Latte Macchiato because 1) I love coffee just as much as I love tea and 2) I wanted to compare it to the Latte Macchiato from Adonia Tea in Vancouver. They both have a dry scent that’s a pleasant mix of earthy tea and fresh coffee. Adonia has the strange but yummy yogurt crispies in their blend. Cuppa’T has coconut flakes which I love.

They both taste very similar as well. Just a hint of coffee, and a nice creaminess. This blend is a bit more astringent than Adonia’s. Maybe I’ll just cut down on the steeping time. I had this today with a teaspoon of sugar and some So Delicious coconut milk to add to the coconut flakes. It’s a very nice way to start the weekend.

This definitely smells good. It is ok, good for a sweet dessert. Maybe a little bit artificial tasting.

I can see this as being good to mix with other teas that need a sweet kick.

This was one of the first teas I tried from my local tea shop. It is very tropical and natural tasting. Pineapple is probably the strongest note.

I brewed this for 4 minutes and flash chilled it. This is the first time I am having this iced. It is a little more astringent than I remember. However, I still love it, and it is very refreshing.