Tay Tea

A tea I haven’t written a note for yet in StarFevre’s generous box from a while ago. Thanks so much! I like that the description mentions a “chilly day” first, since that is why I’m drinking this today – I figured it would be cozy. A mix of black tea, rooibos, hazelnuts and bergamot with caramel. Sounds cozy to me! I would have preferred not to have the rooibos here, but it isn’t a terrible rooibos. I was wondering what it reminded me of, and then I realized it’s David’s Cream Earl Grey which I’m really not a fan of, with it’s odd taste that swings a bit towards licorice to my tastebuds, and then that became all I could think of. The Davids has really been the only Earl that has tasted like that to me anyway, well now it’s two. Luckily this sample is small! Even though there were actual hazelnut pieces(!) there were only hints in the flavor, and not really any in the second steep.
Steep #1 // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3-4 min

Picked up a sample size from Amoda in the desperate hope it would be like the black/rooibos version. Sadly, no such luck, this tastes like somewhat caramelly rooibos and is not nearly as good.

Tea Advent Calendar – Day 6

This blend is such an interesting concept! I never would have thought of adding rooibos or caramel flavors to Earl Grey. Though I love caramel flavors in tea, I don’t love how it combines with bergamot. Honestly, I think I prefer just a normal Earl Grey tea, but I enjoyed giving this one a try!

This was very boring-tasting, but it also may have been brewed incorrectly (and is old). Alphakitty’s description sounds good though, so that inspires me to try it again soon – I didn’t brew it up myself, and had it in a travel mug, both factors that could have caused it to be a little off (leaning towards the travel mug though, since my mom knows how to brew greens and probably even timed it!), but who knows.

Sipdown! 134/365!

Didn’t want to sip this down, but it sounded really appealing last night, so I did. It was delicious, and I miss it already. Sweet and caramelly delicious lavender.

It seems weird that I have no tasting note for this tea, but maybe I discovered/rediscovered it while I wasn’t logging things.

Anyhow, I adore this tea, one I received in an Amoda box years ago. Black/rooibos blend, cream earl grey, caramel. Dessert in a cup. The flavouring is just the right amount, and very smooth; it probably wouldn’t be offensive to bergamot-haters. It’s another I’d pick up again in a heartbeat.

More than a bit behind on my tea reports, and tea life in general…

I wasn’t deliriously pleased with the black base. However, the generous vanilla softening up the true berry and pomegranate tartness made up for it.

And it’s a sip down!

Sipdown 72
(12 of 2019)

I wasn’t deliriously pleased with the black base. However, the generous vanilla softening up the berry pomegranate tartness made up for it.

Delicious! Usually I dislike rooibos, but while trying to get a handle on my massive tea collection, I ran across this and saw lavender was an ingredient, and immediately wanted to drink it. Haha. Turns out – the rooibos didn’t bother me for some reason this time, so all I got was delicious, lavender-heavy delicious tea. I could do without the rose, which I find cloying, but it wasn’t too annoying. Glad I tried this one, and have a couple cups left!

Another sipdown from Starfevre’s generous box of teas. I really enjoyed this one. I wish DT would bring back Rooibos de Provence, because this was very similar. The lavender, rose, and current makes a fantastic combo.

Sipdown (444)!

Finished this one off on the way home from work today. I got off after buses stopped running for the day, so I actually carpooled with a coworker. It was a touch awkward ’cause like a few blocks from my house we got pulled over and she got ticketed for driving without her lights on at night. I have a feeling she felt super embarrassed; it was such a silly thing and neither of us caught it…

The most awkward part was having to sit in the car with her for nearly twenty minutes, literally three blocks from my house, while the cop took down her license and registration and the filled out all the stupid stuff for the ticket. Like, I definitely could have just gotten out and walked home, but I have a feeling that probably would have looked shady as fuck, no? At least I had tea to sip on in the meantime.

Honestly, this was a very painless sipdown in regard to everything but the situation in which I was drinking it. It’s a nice enough tea flavour though that it was a really pleasant and satisfying cup, but not so nice that I feel upset about having now finished it off and not having any more of it around. That’s the best way to do a sipdown! No bad feelings either way!

Flavour wise, it’s very much a Monk’s Blend sort of taste but without the same degree of sweetness that I’d associate with Monk’s Blend. More of a soft, natural pomegranate than syrupy pomegranate, really. Not much to get really excited about, but nothing unpleasant! I highly doubt I’d seek this out again in any shape/form but I’d definitely happily drink it if offered.

Cold Brew.

I’m currently sipping on this one right now, while talking to the boyfriend on the phone. He has an important interview later this afternoon – so I’m crossing my fingers for him. I think he’s gonna kill it, but he’s definitely psyching himself out a little bit.

The tea is kind of boring, honestly. It’s very Monk’s blend like, though with a bit more of a bold/vibrant fruit flavour than typically in a Monk’s blend. Very pomegranate/strawberry tasting to me. It also has malty/cocoa undertones from the black tea. Even though there’s no actual cocoa in the blend the intensity of those notes in the black base mixed with the strawberry notes is making me think a little of DAVIDsTEA’s now retired Love Tea #7 blend. So, like a Monk’s Blend/Love tea #7 cross.

It’s not bad. Actually, it’s pretty smooth/refreshing. It’s also just not exciting, either.

Earl Grey and rose, not my favorite flavors but even I can appreciate that this was a pretty high quality tea. For those that enjoy these flavors, it is worth a try. Check out my full review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2017/07/24/persian-rose-from-tay-tea-2/

Pu-erh tea can be a bit tricky for the average tea drinker. Unflavored pu-erh has its own particular traditions and processes, and I’ll let the experts handle those reviews for now. Flavored pu-erh tends to be more approachable, but the brew times should definitely be followed. For one of my brews, I let the tea sit a tad too long and I started to get more sour, fishy notes that weren’t too appealing.

When I’m more careful with the brew times and temperatures, this blend takes on the full-bodied smoothness that pu-erh drinkers rave about. There’s a strong vanilla creaminess, and even notes of almond-marzipan, surprisingly sweet and smooth, very much like dessert. The creamy flavors pair well with the more rich and earthy coffee and chicory tones.

I’m not sure that coffee drinkers would use this tea as a replacement, but it may serve as a nice alternative for the rich, warm, after-dinner brew.

I’m not familiar with Tay Tea; instead, I bought this packet through Amoda Tea’s Black Friday sale last year. It’s been sitting in my cupboard for a while, so honestly I just wanted to say that I used this tea up. This blend contains Ceylon black tea, blueberries, blackcurrants, blue cornflower petals, hibiscus and elderberries.

Looking at the dry leaf, it’s easy to see the blue flecks of cornflowers among the small, gnarly black leaves, as well as the occasional dried berry. I also saw small bits of red that could have been hibiscus. The smell is overwhelmingly of blueberries, to the point of it being kind of artificial – I like my blueberries on the tart side, while the smell here was reminiscent of pancakes and jam.

I took the entire sample of tea (about 10 grams) and cold-steeped it in about 5-6 cups of cold water overnight. I just eyeballed the amounts here, instead of doing something a bit more measured and scientific. I also added some sweetener to the pitcher to counteract the potential tartness of the hibiscus.

However, I have to admit that taste-wise, this didn’t really work for me. The blueberry/blackcurrant flavour was too strong, bordering on medicinal. I just chugged it in order to get the pitcher overwith.

Full review at: http://booksandtea.ca/2016/09/end-of-summer-iced-tea-extravaganza/

Finally getting back to my teas (I feel like I say that often!) after moving and way too much hot weather. First time trying this I was compelled to make it as a late night latte last night. The way the peppermint played with the chocolate against the milk was great. Perfect evening dessert for me!

I first discovered this tea in an Amoda Valentine’s Day box back in 2015. I enjoyed it so much at the time that I ordered the four-oz tin from Tay Tea. Looking back now, I believe it was the name of the tea coupled with the promise of rooibos blended with my two favorite things (chocolate and mint) that got me to spring for the tea after enjoying the taster sized sampler. Although the tea smells divine, and I’m able to pick up on a pleasing minty flavor and cool tingle, the chocolate flavor for me was a bit lacking. I can smell it just fine, but I don’t get as much cocoa in the cup as I would like. It’s certainly a solid tisane perfect for relaxing with after dinner, but I won’t be jumping to grab it if I come across it again.

Easy sipdown. I got more chocolate this time around, but still not my favourite chocolate mint rooibos blend.

Don’t get your hopes up too much for this one, especially considering its name, because it’s not that good. Whenever I try a chocolate mint rooibos, I always wonder how strong the rooibos is going to be. They managed to keep the base at bay, but the peppermint is so strong that I can’t taste much else. A hint of chocolate but the two flavours are simply too imbalanced. If I did a blind taste test, I would have thought that this was a straight up peppermint tea with a hint of sweetness.

As always, Zen’s chocolate mint rooibos remains in first place. Come to think of it, taking the very last sip, this reminds me a little bit of Della Terra’s chocolate mint blends. I loved Shamrocks and Shenanigans when it was fresh because it had that smooth vanilla addition. This is kind of like that, but much thinner, yet sharper with the peppermint.

Going through some older teas that only have a sip left in the bag. This is from an Amoda subscription several years back and surprisingly still has great flavor. I enjoy the combination of black tea with rooibos. The tea has body and richness. I don’t taste hazelnut but the caramel is delicious.

This tea is so delicious. The aroma really came through after steeping and the flavor is caramel goodness. There is a spice here too but I can’t quite place it yet.