ThinkGeek

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Recent Tasting Notes

67

This one fell the shortest for me. It was the most powerful jasmine. I found the green tea base after I waded through the heavy, cloying jasmine. I got the standard green tea taste for a few seconds after the tea had cooled. This is the kind of jasmine tea that will give me problems. It’s like drinking sweet swamp water. They should really rename it to hulk smash jasmine tea. If you’ve found that your jasmine is weak before, give this a shot. It should clear that right up for you.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 0 sec

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77
drank Zombie Blood Orange by ThinkGeek
212 tasting notes

This is one of those teas I can handle the hibiscus in. The lovely orange flavor powers through the pucker my face tart of the hibiscus. With a bit of sugar you get some thing like orange and red fruit lemonade. Pretty good drink especially iced.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec
Bonnie

Love the name!

Missy

I love the little tins in this set as well. There is Pirate Chai, 1up Jasmine and Tea Earl Grey Hot in it as well.

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78
drank Pirate Chai by ThinkGeek
185 tasting notes

A pirate, a zombie, and a starship captain walk into a bar…

I ordered this tea set off of ThinkGeek.com for two reasons: First off the tins looked awesome. Second, we haven’t actually put in an order with Adagio yet, and this seemed like a good way to get to sample some of their teas. Maybe they wouldn’t have been the first teas we tried, but still. It’s a two-birds-with-one-stone kind of deal.

Let me say one thing, to any other potential geeks out there that must order these for the awesome tins… these tins are tiny. I mean small. They say they are an ounce each. This is possibly true, but man it doesn’t look like it. They’re about 1.5″ × 1.5″ × 2.5″. To put it a different way, you can almost hide two behind a credit card. They’re cute, but the size really makes them of limited use if you brew tea in any sort of significant quantity. Missy and I brew tea in a 40 oz pitcher, so one of these almost makes three pots. Besides, where can you buy tea an ounce at a time (and would it be worth it)?

And so far, the tea is good!

As a basic chai, this is a fairly strong contender. The clove and the cinnamon really balance out quite well, with neither taking too dominant of a role over the other (which I personally consider to be a feat!). Beyond that, the lightly malty flavor of the tea itself shines through, smoothed out with just a hint of cardamom peeking out at the end. I get a little bit of a spicy aftertaste, just barely barely ginger.

While I really do think the balance between the clove and cinnamon is perfectly done in this blend, the cardamom and ginger really feel under-utilized. It is possible that I’m asking too much here. If those aren’t your favorite flavors, this could be a perfect chai. But for me, I want something just a little bit more fitting for a permanent selection.

So, not quite my cup of tea. But it could be your cup of tea! Definitely my tin of tea though.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 0 sec
Azzrian

I’m sorry what was the punch line? :P

Dylan Oxford

I’m open to suggestions ;)

Azzrian

I don’t think it is appropriate in this venue

Dinosara

Actually I find myself buying an ounce of tea at a time lately. Some stores do offer it. Really, no more than 2oz. It is only me drinking it, so I don’t go through it as fast, and I already have so much tea that in theory I will go through it faster and it will stay fresher. Every time I have to buy 4oz of tea I’m like “I’ll never get through all of this!”

ashmanra

My daughter bought these for me for Christmas because we are huge nerds, but I haven’t tried this one yet! I shall have to remedy that. Do you want to try some Pepper Mango Green tea that my daughter bought in Ireland? Someone mentioned that it might be right up your alley.

Missy

That sounds excellent. Thank you for the offer. Please look at my cupboard and let me know if you should like any thing in return.

Azzrian

Ashmanra if you have enough I would love to give this a try! But ONLY if you have enough!

ashmanra

I will be happy to send some to both! Just pm your addresses, Missy (or Dylan) and Azzrian!

Dylan Oxford

Thank you very much for the offer :). I think Missy is sending you the information (or already has!)

Azzrian

Thank you ashmanra will do :)

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79
drank Pirate Chai by ThinkGeek
212 tasting notes

We got the cutest little sample tins in the mail today. Think Geek is an awesome site. I love these tins. Today we tried Pirate Chai! Argh! Okay now that’s out of my system.

On to the tea. Cinnamon and clove are quite apparent at first. Though they are the most apparent flavors they are very well balanced. They also taste very natural. I know for sure I seen the actual clove sticks in there. The tea base feels a bit malty to me. It’s very mellow though, only showing up towards the end of the sip. I find an acceptable astringency here as well. The sip ends with a bit of cardamom. Not a bad chai especially since it’s Pirate chai! Now I’m going to feel the need to run around yelling avast, ahoy there matey, and shiver me timbers.

I’m not sure this one is a clear winner but it’s definitely a good solid chai.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Azzrian

Think Geek? What is this that you speak of?

Azzrian

Wait I was at that site over Christmas looking at things for my kids … what does this have to do with tins and tea?

Azzrian

HOLY!!! They have tea stuff there – yes I looked lol – don’t you love how I work through this puzzle all on my own! I deserve a cookie!

Dylan Oxford

They have a ’Timmy’s Tea Sampler’ or something along those lines. They are very cute tins, which hold roughly all the tea a Lilliputian would ever need.

Missy

haha and I just made cookies! No bake cookies even. If I thought they would survive the ride I’d ship them off. These aren’t my best batch as they came out a bit dry.

Azzrian

I knew it I KNEW you had cookies! Gimme! lol

ashmanra

Do they still sell the “Tea Rex” infusion dinosaur? LOL! We are thinking of buying that for my daughter’s boyfriend! Christmas and birthday shopping almost exclusively comes from thinkgeek in this house. I got the Hans Solo frozen in carbonite ice trays and made chocolate bars with them. :)

TeaBrat

Yaaaaaaar!

Missy

I have seen the Tea Rex on Amazon so if thinkgeek doesn’t have it you can get it there.

Kittenna

Ahahahaha, Azzrian, your little 3-post monologue made me laugh. :D

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67

Not exceptional. Slightly better than Earl Grey I’ve had in the past.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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28

This is way too floral for my tastes, but not entirely undrinkable…

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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99
drank Pirate Chai by ThinkGeek
10 tasting notes

Second loose leaf tea I’ve ever tried. Best chai I’ve ever had, and I have had much chai in my life.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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70

Up until recently; I purchased tea in bags. I decided to start off with the Timmy’s Tea Sampler from Think Geek. I started with the 1UP Jasmine Green tea. I steeped what I’ll admit was too much tea leaves in 212 degree (Fahrenheit) water for 5 minutes as was directed, and it was very bitter, but not being one to give up easily, I tried again with less raw tea, steeping at the same time and temperature, and it had a lovely flavor and aroma.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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61

Not a bad jasmine.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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71

First, I tried the Timmy’s 1UP Jasmine Green. I’m a fan of jasmine, so I was quite curious about this tea. Good looking leaf, but not highly fragrant. On drinking, it shows itself to be a nice, fairly standard jasmine green. A little heavy on the green. The jasmine was not soapy (always a worry with jasmines) but didn’t quite have the sparkle or lively quality of other jasmines. It was a little flat. But in general, a nice standard jasmine. Quite drinkable.
….

From my review of all four of the Think Geek teas at It’s all About the Leaf – go read the whole thing!

http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/2339/tea-review-think-geek-timmys-tea-sampler/

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71
drank Pirate Chai by ThinkGeek
411 tasting notes

….
I decided to try the Pirate Chai next. Oh! This one smells amazing. Heavy on the clove. I love cloves, and I love spicy teas. I’d like to do this in a traditional method, but as I’m sitting at work, I don’t have the necessary equipment. Once I started drinking however, it seems it’s pretty much just a clove blend. Maybe they were trying to make this like a Bay Rum style chai? For me, a truly good chai needs the spicy heat of the cardamom and pepper which this tea is missing. But, as a clove tea? It’s a great clove tea! In fact, my mouth is even getting slightly numb from the clove oil.. so you know it’s clove-y.
…..

from my review of all the Think Geek Sampler at It’s all About the Leaf – go read the rest of it!

http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/2339/tea-review-think-geek-timmys-tea-sampler/

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79
drank Tea Earl Grey Hot by ThinkGeek
411 tasting notes

….
- Now, the final tea in the set: Tea, Earl Grey, Hot. Mm.. takes me back to sitting around in Watson Hall, watching Star Trek: TNG with the Sci-Fi/Doctor Who club on Saturday nights. (And reminds me of Whoopi Goldberg’s character’s stupid hats for some reason.) The leaf of this tea smells VERY bergamot-y. Brewed up, it’s a fairly solid Earl Grey. Not too bergamot, not too strong. My guess is that the replicators of Starfleet do a generic blend of the various types of Earl Grey.

…..

from my review of all the Think Geek Sampler at It’s all About the Leaf – go read the rest of it!

http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/2339/tea-review-think-geek-timmys-tea-sampler/

gmathis

I know it’s just marketing, but I’m a sucker for fun tea names—these sound great.

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67

A very nice, but standard, Earl Grey.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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67

I like a nice sour fruit tisane, so I think this is pretty good. It is curious that there is no identification of the green leaf that appears in the blend, but it doesn’t seem to do much to the flavor.

Preparation
Boiling 7 min, 0 sec

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37

I wasn’t expecting much before I opened this- I’m usually not a fan of chai and only purchased this as part of a sample pack. I gained some hope, however, as the strong cinnamon smell, the generous helping of whole cloves, and the pieces of orange peel made me think this was going to be more of a Christmas tea than a chai. It seems to be blended from at least two different kinds of tea- a slightly twisted black tea and what looks like a knot-shaped green tea. The blend also contains something that looks like a tiny peppercorn- biting down on one, I’m still not sure what it is.

The sampler this tea is a part of did not come with any kind of brewing instructions. Because the blend may be made of both black and green teas, I wasn’t entirely sure whether to give it a cooler green tea brew, or a hotter water temperature that would coax the most from the cloves. It strikes me that this is a tea that would offer drastically different flavors at different temperatures. I ended up going with a cooler temperature because I don’t actually enjoy very hot tea, and was disappointed to discover that Pirate Chai takes FOREVER to brew at a green tea temperature, and it isn’t very good. It does taste like a Christmas tea, albeit a weak, watery one. Some cinnamon and orange peel flavors emerge, but they’re not very satisfying. The liquer was a lovely copper color, however.

Take 2: heated the water longer, steeped again. A woodier cinnamon flavor predominated, with clove and orange undertones and a vague bitterness to the finish that faded quickly. Whatever the blend of tea was, it was entirely lost in the spices, which is why I don’t usually enjoy chai in the first place.

All in all, not a cup that I’m very excited about, but it’s drinkable and I’m going to continue experimenting with proper brewing times and temperatures. Since the tin is only sample sized, though, I may run through the whole thing before I get it right.

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12

…..

- Zombie Blood Orange was the next sample on the menu. For being an herbal, it’s got something in it that looks very like green tea leaves. It’s also got some hibiscus – to give the blood color. I’m not a hibiscus fan – it tastes bitter to me. Definitely has orange peel. But, it all comes down to the taste right? It’s very hibiscus. VERY hibiscus. I think there’s orange in there somewhere. I still don’t know what that green tea-leaf looking stuff actually is. I don’t like this at all. But as I said, I don’t like hibiscus. This might be better iced and highly sweetened. Otherwise, blea. Not my cuppa at ALL. Apparently I am NOT a zombie.

…..

from my review of all the Think Geek Sampler at It’s all About the Leaf – go read the rest of it!

http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/2339/tea-review-think-geek-timmys-tea-sampler/

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12

I apparently am not a zombie, as I found this amazingly foul.

KeenTeaThyme

Good news about the zombie thing, though. ;)

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52
drank Zombie Blood Orange by ThinkGeek
13 tasting notes

Due to the hot water spigot on the coffee pot in my office not working right, this was a rather tepid steep. The water is nowhere near as hot as it should be. Consequently, I don’t know as I could count this as a valid test for this tea, particularly as it’s my first try of it. I tried to compensate with a much longer steep, but it just doesn’t have the same effect.

REGARDLESS… very sweet citrus taste to it from the blood orange. Definitely no additional sweetening required with this one. Beyond that, I can’t really discern much from it. I’ll give it a more proper judging when they get the hot water issue sorted out.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 6 min, 30 sec

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34

I have to admit a lack of experience with green teas in general, and this is my first try of a jasmine. I’ve had one other green from Hawaiian Vanilla Company, which tasted VERY different from this one. Even in the tin, this smelled like cut hay to me. After steeping, more so. Not really my thing.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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68
drank Pirate Chai by ThinkGeek
13 tasting notes

This tea smells wonderful, with lots of cinnamon and other spices, although one of my coworkers said it reminded him of potpourri. The spice flavors aren’t overly strong, and I added a dash of sugar to help make them a little more pronounced. Overall, pretty decent. I think I need to try again with a shorter steep time though, as it has a somewhat bitter aftertaste.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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68
drank Tea Earl Grey Hot by ThinkGeek
13 tasting notes

I might have to get Adagio’s regular Earl Gray after I finish up this lovely ThinkGeek sample tin. The citrus notes are very nice, and make it that much more enjoyable. Going sweetened today just because my palate is craving sweet, but I think normally I would drink it without any sweetener. Maybe another cup later just because.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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68
drank Tea Earl Grey Hot by ThinkGeek
13 tasting notes

Added a little sugar when I made it this time, and it helps accentuate the citrus notes. Although I think I added too much and it almost leaves it too sweet.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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68
drank Tea Earl Grey Hot by ThinkGeek
13 tasting notes

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68
drank Tea Earl Grey Hot by ThinkGeek
13 tasting notes

It may be my newness to the world of loose leaf teas, but this tea tastes like… well… tea. It’s a nice aromatic black tea, but the citrus undertone is very subtle, more smelled than tasted. But for all that, it’s still enjoyable. Not bitter in the least.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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