Teas Etc

Today was a Rosy Earl Grey kind of morning. The heat this past weekend made me finally break down and buy a window air conditioner for my tiny house, but even with that it was way to hot to think about tea. I still need to get a pitcher or something for home so I can cold steep tea occasionally. But now I’m back in the hyper-airconditioning of work, so hot tea is back on the table.

I’m definitely in love with this tea. After having my lovely Lavender Earl Grey taken away (since Tea District’s current blend is no longer the same), this one has stepped up into the floral Earl Grey spot. I just love Earl Grey mixed with Jasmine, and the rose is an added bonus.

Ah, rose Earl Greys. Why have you eluded me thus far? I have yet to try one that was what I wanted it to be, but then, I haven’t yet tried this one. It’s been on my list for a while, what with all the Steepster love, and now thanks to JacquelineM I finally get to try it!

The dry leaves smell amazing, but I’ve learned to be skeptical of that coming through in the taste. But the brewed tea smells great too: way more jasminey than the dry leaf, but with a certain depth from the rose that is lurking in the background.

Fortunately, this tea has not disappointed! This is one of those teas, like some of the French ones I have, that each of the flavors plays out individually at different parts of the sip, but then they all come together at the end. The florals are the first things I taste, first sweet, lovely jasmine, then rich, thick rose. The bergamot, the Earl Grey, seems to hang out at the end of the sip, but then on some sips it underlies everything else. All the flavors just work so well together, intermingling, playing off each other. They meld together more as it cools into one great floral bergamotty flavor. This tea is just as amazing as I had hoped!

What was missing from all those other rose EGs was the jasmine, obviously. My favorite lavender Earl Grey also has jasmine in the mix, and I think that it goes a long way toward making the other florals work so well with the bergamot. Thanks again, JacquelineM!

ETA: After reading one of JacquelineM’s previous tasting notes in which she let it “cold steep” in lukewarm water during an office meeting, I filled my cup back up with cool water and let it sit for an hour until lunch. Not exactly “iced” tea, but cool from the air conditioning tea nontheless. The jasmine green was the predominant note in the cup (both the sweet jasmine and the grassy, vegetal green), but the rose and bergamot were definitely present. It was really tasty, and something I’ll definitely try again!

notes later

Will do notes later.

Second tea of the morning……….

I have not had this one in a while. It combines so many of my favorite scents into one lovely tea. There is rose, Early Grey, and jasmine, and I think the tea base is a black tea. I do try to remember to brew at a slightly lower temp due to the jasmine. I am guessing it is probably best for an afternoon tea, but this sounded good now.

I did have a sample of this come in my foodzie box from LiberTEAS. Surprisingly, it was the only sample from the box of a tea I have tried, and I feel like I have been around the block a few times when it comes to ordering tea. It really is a fabulous tea.

Usual teapot method with a 195 temp.

Tea of the afternoon…. I needed a serious pick me up after a few minor snafus involving syrup and lip gloss (don’t ask..neither was good!), and this just works wonders.

Back on track…..

My afternoon tea….

After floating all morning in my love that is Keemun Mao Feng, I had to find something that was just as wonderful, but in a different way. I do agree that this one is blended so perfectly. It is sweet and floral, and such a comforting and relaxing tea. The jasmine, rose, green tea, and Earl Grey all have their place in this blend. Wonderful.

Yes….Happiness and relaxation in a cup. This truly is a restorative to me, and will be close to my heart like my Rose Congou. Luckily, Teas Etc. finally returned my email with good news….it is back in stock!

There is a perfect balance of floral and bergamot notes along with green and black tea base. I did slightly sweeten mine, but truly a wonderful tea! Thank you JacquelineM for sending me a generous sample! I am noticing that our tastes seem to run very similar!

I thought this was an appropriate afternoon tea. My kids and I went to a U-pick blueberry farm today. It took a little over an hour to get 7 lbs, but it was so worth it. I am not sure my nearly 12 yo DS was much help, but he sure did eat a bunch. Now I just have to decide whether to make muffins or pancakes…… or maybe just a pie?

Good blueberry flavor, but I am going with the more sophisticated Black Currant when this is gone. They are so very similar, I almost can’t justify having both…until I run out of Rosey Earl Grey and am looking for things to add to my Teas etc. order.

My afternoon ‘dessert’. I do still like this one. I am about half-way through the 3 ounces that I ordered along with my love that is Rosy Earl Grey. I am still on the fence if I will reorder or not. It does have a good basic base, and the blueberry is pleasant.

24 oz pot, 3 perfect teaspoons (about 4 1/2 actual tsp), freshly boiled water, 4 minutes, double the usual sweet.

This is one I added to my order for Rosy Earl Grey from Teas Etc. I have been on a blueberry black tea kick as of late. This is not my favorite blueberry tea, but it is pretty good! It is a good, solid black base with a hint of blueberry that comes out more with sweetener. Definitely pleasurable, very drinkable, and readily available, since my favorite blueberry tea is limited….. ;)

Got this with my Teas, etc. order on a whim. Well actually my brother picked it out for me, which is really fairly typical. I should probably stop listening to him on these matters because our tastes are vastly divergent. He really likes tea flavored tea, whereas I like nifty flavored tea. Anyway I decided to ignore that and go with this instead of the summer currant which I had originally been going to get because any time I buy something currant flavored I am disappointed and I thought that I would just break that vicious cycle.

This is an interesting tea and, appropriately enough, one I think my brother would like. It reminds me of the Upton Rose Congou in a way, since both base tea and flavor are very mild, although this is much milder than the rose was. There is the faintest of hints of citrus about it, but nothing that really screams grapefruit specifically at me unless I’m concentrating – so, again like the rose congou, this is a good tea if you want something that you won’t necessarily pay too much attention to.

I probably won’t be getting any more of it, but I’m going to recommend it to my brother!

Man, everyone is so into this tea, I was really excited to be trying it because I am always on the lookout for kickass dessert teas. But…I have to say I’m pretty disappointed by it.

Now, full disclosure here, I do not actually like coconut all that much. I know, however, that in some forms of pastry it becomes quite nice (german chocolate cake y/y?) which is why I tend to give it the benefit of the doubt in tea, especially in dessert-y tea. Sometimes it works out well for me, as in 52teas’ coconut cream pie, and sometimes it does not. Like now.

I can only assume that my problem with this is that it is just too coconutty. I don’t know, I’m getting this odd sort of spicy aftertaste, I’m not really sure what’s going on, but I am not that enamored with it. Props to Teas, etc. for being able to give it a really coconutty texture though. Impressive.

I will tell you a secret though: pouring a bit of cognac in? smooths it right out, VERY tasty. Certain parties, * coughmybrothercough * have gone on record as saying that if you have to pour alcohol into it to make it good that means it’s not worth the effort, but I can tell you right now that it doesn’t actually work for EVERYTHING.

For the record, I do not pour cognac in everything just to see what will happen.

Just most things.

Time for my quarterly return to Steepster! I actually had a revelation earlier this week that one of the reasons that I don’t come by here often is because the dashboard takes forever to load these days. I hit the steepster link, go off to do something else while it loads, proceed to completely forget about it and finish off whatever tea I was drinking in the meantime.

In any case, we’ll see how long this return lasts. Probably until I finish my current research paper which I am at this moment procrastinating on while writing this note. I think I’ll probably stick to only logging new teas as I try them rather than logging all the tea I drink unless I get a strongly different impression from it than previously.

In any case, I’ve been wanting to try this tea for a while, since I loooove earl grey the best. Even more than the crazy ass teas from 52teas. Although I love those too, of course, just NOT AS MUCH :P Anyway, I was really wary of it, but I know Rabs loves it, so I had always been planning to try some. Sadly, my finances have not been great of late. Yay for being at a public university in California! Motto: We Have No Money.

I finally got a bit of a break when mum sent me a check for Valentine’s day with instructions to buy tasty chocolates for myself because she was busy. I think that we all know that “tasty chocolates” is a universal code for “nifty tea and possibly some posh beer.” So I grabbed several Teas,etc. teas. Including this and coconut custard, which I had also been coveting for a while.

Now, this is a black and green (and bunch of other stuff) blend, which has historically been problematic, but I tend to get around this problem through the highly scientific method of treating it like a black tea and selectively forgetting that the green tea is there. I recommend this method for anyone as chronically lazy as me.

Now then, to the tea itself. This is, to put it frankly, AMAZING. I can’t believe that it has all that stuff going on in there (jasmine and earl grey and rose, oh my!) and yet it all manages to come together somehow without anything becoming too overpowering. That’s right, I am getting the rose and the jasmine and the earl grey in basically equal amounts! I am freaking out here guys. I am going to have to keep this on hand ALL THE TIME, I am not even lying. As with other “augmented” earl greys though, I don’t really see this as a substitute for normal earl grey, which I need in the mornings to function. However, I really love having this throughout the day, or making a big pot of it, since the different flavors mean I won’t get tired of it even if I’m drinking it for several hours.

tl;dr version: A++ would drink/buy again!

Addendum: I think my other reason for slacking off on Steepster is my chronic inability to write short tasting notes. WHY IS THIS SO LONG.

Rachel!!!! I got your package today! Thanks so much!!!! This is really something special right here…YUM…It smells like Coconut Cookies with a little lime and the taste is excellent…coconut and key lime…creamy but tangy! The infusion color is pretty light brown which kind of surprised me…but this is the complete package right here!

Post matcha baicha: aborted. Rose chocolate matching cup of citrusy comfort: acquired. Perfect morning off acomplished.

And as a bonus I get to admire the rose sticker on my tin. =) Thanks again JacqulineM!

This was my sipping tea for the 15 hour shower of gloom today, to be brewed with breakfast and left on my desk and slowly be drained through the day. This is because I was a bit scared to make it; the bergamont smell had that perume like strength. And I’ve found both Earls and Jasmine green best cooler.

Great choice for the day! This was delicious cool and all of the flavors are easy to sort out and enjoy in a few sips. The jasmine and bergamont pair so harmoniously I have to wonder why this isn’t as common as the two bases! The green isn’t detectable but a hint of the black base adds a ground to the garden.
Second steep: Hmm. The leaves smell nice even across the room. Should I risk a weak cup of beauty for a good strong scent? I’ll compromise by smiffing the tin thoughout the day.
Still good, more jasmine than I expected and less rose. Worth the loss of the brewed scent.
But I can smell the tin! And stare at the leaves as well! I wish I had the money to buy another glass jar and fill it with this tea. It would match my rose tuocha jar. =)
Another gloomy day brightened by tea from JacquelineM. Thanks!

Another tea from the box of goodies courtesy of JacquelineM! This is a greatly blended floral tea. I love how the jasmine and rose mix together while not clashing with the bergamot. Everything is just perfectly girly and perfect for a relaxing evening.

Another goodie from MeghannM! Thanks!
Oooh, jasmine…rose….love! This tea smells amazing dry, just like walking through a flower garden on a warm, humid day. I brewed this baby up because I just couldn’t wait to try this! Wow, this is something. Something wonderful for sure! Honestly, the ingredients in this tea could lead to a big, scary, disgusting mess but it works beautifully.

This is like a mix of the best jasmine pearls, most amazing rose, and a delicious, balanced Earl Grey. I think I’m in love! And, the tea cup doubles as aromatherapy! I’m sitting here with my nose in the cup letting my day melt away with each deep breath of jasmine and rose.

Although this is a black tea, I have a feeling that this would be great to have before bed as the florals are very relaxing. I really needed a cup of fru-fru today!

I received this as a small sample. Thank you! I couldn’t appreciate the scent dry but steeped, it was delicious! Wow! The liquor was a nice deep yellow and the scent and taste was so light and fruity. There was a hint of woodiness and nuttiness to it. So sweet and nice! This is perfect! I was plesantly surprised. I need more of this! :)

This Keemun is smooth with a brisk flavor that holds up. I have never been a big fan of Keemun but this one is a keeper. Perfect with something sweet. I drank mine while eating a cinnamon chip scone. Yum.

I really enjoyed this tea tremendously. I love the undertones of fruity smoothness and yet a little woodsy, earthy tantalizing taste flow through this tea. The coconut was not something I was expecting to blend well, but it did. I think it actually added to the smoothness.

This tea makes me believe I’m sipping from a fancy teacup at an afternoon tea. It screams, “I’m FLORAL!” in both its taste and scent. This is a fine tea, but I’m realizing more and more that I’m not particularly into floral teas. It’s a refreshing and rejuvenating cup, but really isn’t that enjoyable unless you like jasmine and flowers.

Chaou Zhou clay teapot, tea to cover the bottom of pot in 2 layers. The dry tea consists of small (5mm and smaller), rolled-up nuggets with bits of stem attached. Very dark green, with rich vegetal scent to match. First infusion at 195F, 1 min, liquor is a buttery yellow with buttery taste to match, and full-mouthed body which lingers on. A floral note which is faint, but being that this is the first infusion, raises my expectations tremendously. Second infusion, 190F, 30 sec, the florality is a little more noticeable, rose and lilac perhaps, with an underlying sweetness like new-mown hay. Third infusion, 200F, 1 min, the tea has unrolled so that the teapot is almost full of leaves. The body and sweetness of this tea are, to me, its most remarkable qualities. Very enjoyable. And speaking of quality, the freshness of this oolong is outstanding, and essential.