T2

It’s always exciting to finish off a tea. Down goes Sweet Dreams, in goes Gone Surfing! I think I’ll buy a box of Sweet Dreams for my visiting European friends though, they definitely enjoyed it. I’ll see what they think of Gone Surfing!

Delicious sleepy time tea for me tonight, and a lot of nights. I only really need one teaspoon for a large mug, so it’s taking me a good while to get through this one!

Happily drank down the last of this tonight, knowing that more can be obtained in the future if need be. Ah, the joy of a limited edition tea blend being added to the standard range.

WELL HALLELUJAH PRAISE THE LORD I guess next time I whinge about a tea being limited edition only I should check the online store, hey? This one’s been in an orange box (ie standard range!) for MONTHS now, and I couldn’t be happier. No longer need to worry about stretching out the last of this box I’ve got, time to slam it down!

It’s mildly hilarious to me that friends peering into my tea cupboard lately have remarked on how low it seems, where Steepster is still here to tell me I’ve got well over fifty teas in there.

I’ve drunk at least a litre of this in the past week and I’m still not sleeping well, but the tea can’t be blamed.

Oh, damnit.

I hate it when a limited edition blend is really good.

I’ve been hoarding this in the cupboard since January but when I ran out of Gone Surfing it was time to bust this open and I’m reminded of exactly why I snatched it up when I could, because it’s great.

It’s sweet, much sweeter than Gone Surfing, but herbal sweet (NOT licorice root sweet) and still zippy and calming and I’m in love with it.

So annoyed.

So I have just discovered that if you stand around in T2 for long enough agonising over which bedtime tisane will cure your early morning wakefulness, they make you go away by giving you sweet little pouches to try.

Lemon balm is the primary thrust, and it is something that actually has some evidence behind it as a calming agent. They didn’t have pure lemon balm. Maybe it tastes like crap?

This one has other floralities; the waft of the wares touted by silver-haired sales ladies at the school fete…which is the lavender I suppose. It is a pretty little tea to be kept in glass. I often struggle a bit with the herbals…I have settled into this one and I like it for quiet sipping. Let’s see how long I stay asleep tonight.

SSTTB2! WOO, thanks MissB for your distribution of largesse within the community. :)

So yeah. I opened it and went, “OH HOLY &(%%%$#%&$%)%%$#@%$(!!”

This is one of the top teas with no caffeine, so I thought I’d try it.

So far I’m liking it quite a bit. It’s sweet (perhaps due to the bit of honey I added) and cinnamon/fennely, with a bit of herbaceousness from the tulsi.

Not something I’m going to keep (because I’m not head-over-heels for it!), but a nice tea to have this late in the evening.

Thank you! :)

I must admit, this is one groovy chai blend. It is chock full of amazing spices and extra orangey bits which make this a memorable blend. In first taste, I thought the aniseed was a bit over the top, but after a few cups, it undoubtably became my favourite note of this chai. I have this as is, or with a tsp of honey for a dreamy nightcap. My new fun thing to add to this gorgeous chai blend, is a tsp of Honey Vanilla Honeybush tea also from T2. In a word, this combo is HEAVEN! I’m praying to the tea gods that Eastern Market Chai becomes part of their regular stellar range. prays

I apologise for the unscheduled hiatus that has happened here. However I can safely say I am well and truly moved to Brisbane now and I could not be happier with life. Yay! :)
So what better way to celebrate with some new teaware and a ton of new tea? (reviews for those will follow shortly~)
I can not stop raving about this little baby, even to those who do not give two hoots, but it’s just so nifty that I can’t help but show it off. I realise this isn’t a new concept by any means and most likely not the best either, however it’s great value and perfect for a single tea drinker like myself. As a bonus, this was sold to me in a discounted bundle which consisted of two 60g teas, a double wall tea glass and a tea scoop- all for $25! I was practically dancing out the store with glee after purchasing.
My only con would be that it’s a little fiddly to clean. Particularly when scooping out the used leaves, resulting in me having to use my hand to scrape them out. Although really it’ll be doing the skin on my hands some good if anything.
Overall, highly recommend for anyone who wants convenient and effective brewing, especially if you have minimum space like myself.

362/365

Yet another sleep blend! This one’s a blend of chamomile, lavender, spearmint, passionflower, rose, linden, and lemon balm. It reminds me a little of Twinings Superblends Sleep, but it’s just not as flavourful. It actually tastes quite “flat” to me – mostly lavender, but with a background of chamomile. There’s not much of anything else. I was looking forward to the spearmint, but it’s not really there; maybe there’s a tiny hint of background sweetness, but it’s just as likely I’m imagining it.

I’ve tried this one once before, I think, although some years ago now. I remember really liking it, so I’m not sure if something’s changed between now and then. Unless my tastes have changed more than I thought they had…

I found the passionflower effective in the Twinings, but it did give me weird dreams so I’m hoping to avoid that here if I can. I’m drinking it a good couple of hours ahead of bedtime to try and help me relax, with the intention of avoiding the worst excesses. I did find it a little drying, which isn’t excellent in a pre-bedtime tea. I find I get thirsty during the night anyway. It’s not astringent, as such, just…very herbal?

I can’t say I really like this one for it’s flavour; it needs something to brighten it up. Lemon, maybe? A decent quantity of spearmint might have helped. Maybe my bag just needs a good shake! I’ll be trying this one again, so I’m not going to alter my previous raring for now. There’s time for it to prove itself yet!

A sample from Memily, and my final cup of the evening last night. I’m usually not a fan of floral teas, but this one actually works for me pretty well. I gave 1 tsp of leaf 4 minutes in boiling water, and the scent when I returned to the kitchen was just beautiful. Sweet, honeyed chamomile, and floral lavender and rose. Like a cottage garden on a summer evening!

To taste, the main flavour is chamomile. It’s as honeyed to taste as it smells, almost thick tasting, sweet, and a little hay-like. The lavender and rose work perfectly in combination, without being too heavily floral or tasting like perfume. They just add an edge to the flavour that prevents the chamomile being overwhelming. I can taste a hint of apple, too. A sort of fresh, sharp undertone. I wasn’t expecting to like this one as much as I did, but it’s actually a very calming, relaxing pre-bedtime blend. I slept so well last night — almost unbelievably well – and I think this tea may have helped in part. A delicious sleepytime herbal, and another T2 I’ll be loathe to part with. Thanks again to Memily for sharing this with me!

333/365

I’ve tried this one before, but a long, long time ago. I don’t really remember it that well, so I’m happy to have the chance to revisit. I say that like it happened by accident, but it didn’t…I bought a box with my last T2 order, knowing that my Dad would love it even if I didn’t. He’s all about the grapefruit.

It was a little more bitter than I was expecting, but very grapefruity…and grapefruit is bitter, so I guess it’s actually perfect. It’s really clean and refreshing; an excellent morning or palate cleansing blend. I meant to try this one back in the summer, but I totally forgot – I can imagine it would be seriously good cold brewed with lots of ice!

It’s perhaps a little one dimensional, but I’m feeling it…sometimes it’s best not to over-complicate, and this is a really solid grapefruit blend. Also, no hibi! Always a bonus.

I’d happily drink this one again, which is reassuring given that I have an entire cube. It’s good stuff, and pretty unique amongst the fruit blends in my cupboard. I feel like grapefruit isn’t often a candidate for these kind of things, which is a shame.

A sample from Memily! I LOVE this. I knew from the scent while it brewed that I would love it, and I absolutely do. It’s grapefruit! An actual accurate-tasting grapefruit tea, which is slightly sour and slightly bitter and slightly sweet all at once. I’d say white grapefruit, with a hint of lemon, and it’s a combination that works really well. The hibiscus adds a tiny tart sweetness, which takes the edge off just a little, and probably stops this one from tipping over into the realm of too sharp. As it is, it’s perfect.

I gave 1 tsp of leaf 5 minutes in boiling water, no additions. I could add a piece of crystal sugar to this one, I suppose, but it honestly doesn’t need it. It’s perfect just as it is. Very fresh tasting, juicy, and absolutely refreshing. It’s one of the nicest fruit/herbal blends I’ve tried in a long, long time. I may have to hoard the rest of my sample. Thanks again to Memily for sharing this with me! It’s an amazingly gorgeous wonder-tea!

Reading all the ingredients in this blend, I expected more flavor tbh. I am picking up on the blackberry and I am getting a sort grape/wine type flavor. It is not bad but I hoped for more. Nonetheless, I am grateful for the chance to try it so thank you Memily!

Sample sipdown!

First tried this instore when it was a half-and-half blend with a chai mix and it was delicious. I was intrigued about how this tasted on its own so I asked for a sample and I’ve come to the conclusion that it seems to be better as a mixer with another blend, or by itself if you add a good dose of milk and honey. Reason being that on its own, I can’t really taste the tea much and so it’s almost kind of chilli and cinnamon water.

Having added the milk and honey, it is still an enjoyable cup but since it’s only okay when I have it straight, I won’t be purchasing this. Will see how this compares to Harney & Sons’ Cinnamon Spice.

Sample sipdown!

Many years ago I visited the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. They had this quaint little ice-cream shop with Aussie bush tucker flavours like wattleseed, quandong, lemon myrtle and even emu.
Wasn’t game enough for emu ice-cream but I happily tried the wattleseed and haven’t had a frozen dessert so lovely since.

This is such an underrated T2 blend. Didn’t even know it existed until it popped up on Steepster. It tastes like waffles and sweet cinnamon and of course, wattleseed, which has that specific nuttiness unique to the Australian wattle tree. This will be a definite purchase.

Heading back to the Blue Mountains in a couple of weeks. Maybe this time I’ll be brave enough for the emu ice-cream.

Sami Kelsh put this on my radar and I’m so grateful—I grabbed a sample of it last time I was in store thanks to her rave tasting note, and I’ve had it with a dollop of milk for dessert twice.

Yum.

With a bit of choc chip shortbread, this was dreamy. A lovely black flavoured tea that I’ve managed to overlook in all my years of T2 drinking, huh!

Sipdown (122)!

Hot in my timolino; I actually am really enjoying this one so thank you VariaTEA for sending me a sample of it – it’s very sweet and rich. Actually, it’s reminding me of DT’s Cookie Dough blend quite a bit. Strong coconut and chocolate notes; lighter nondescript nutty notes. Not really any distinct caramel notes to it – but maybe they’re hiding by just contributing to the overall sweetness.

But yeah; this is a good dessert white.

First thing, for all London-based tea lovers – apparently, T2 opened a shop in Shoreditch a few months ago. Great!

So I looked at what Steepsterites had to say and found this lovely tea, and the lovely shop girl brewed some up for me (they actually very happily brew any tea you’d like for you, on the spot! I tried this and Melbourne Breakfast), and it was very tasty so I got some. And now I made it at home and it’s still very very tasty.

It’s an unusual combination. I tend to associate cocoa with black teas, and I haven’t had much luck with green teas with coconut even though I love coconut. But this combination with white tea somehow works wonders. I was a bit sceptical at first because cocoa tea just begs for milk and sugar in my head, but this is beautifully… dessert-y, while also somehow being quite light. If you get the chance to stop by a T2 shop, do have a taste. It’s a keeper.

Oh, and it’s also one of the prettiest teas I’ve seen. The tea itself has all these different shades of white-ish and green and even almost brown. And then the cocoa husks come in with some coconut flakes. I just kept staring at it for about a minute, admiring the sheer prettiness. It looks like fall.

Personally, I find that bergamot teas can be somewhat divided into two categories; the refreshing, sweet kind or the mature, stuffy type. I love them both equally.

This one falls into the latter category. It utilizes T2’s Yunnan blend, which is smokey, leathery and complex, paired with a noticeable dash of the classic Earl Grey flavour. I do take a tiny bit of issue with ‘flavour’ being an ingredient, as opposed to ‘bergamot’, which is listed in other T2 blends but I wouldn’t really have noticed the difference anyway.

This reminds me a lot of Harney & Sons’ Earl Grey Supreme, which I do think is slightly superior to this one. I won’t be purchasing T2’s Earl Grey Royale, but I will buy the plain Yunnan blend, having thoroughly enjoyed the samples.