200 Tasting Notes
While I normally have flavored rooibos blends, I got this in a Secret Santa swap, so I decided to brew it up … and I’m reminded why I normally stick to flavored rooibos blends.
It’s your typical rooibos flavor with sort of a woodsy taste to it. It’s not unbearable, but it’s not amazing. I bet this is a higher quality rooibos blend than others, too, but I’m just not feeling it. I wonder if I steeped it too long and gave it too strong of a flavor, but I doubt it. I’m going to stick to my flavored blends, but it’s nice to step outside of the box every once in a while.
This came in my Fire Sale box from iHeartTeas.
It’s funny because I’ve only seen MateVana mixed with Rooibos Chai. I’m curious what the MateVana tastes like by itself, but this is a nice little blend. I brewed this using one of my T-Sacs because I figured the mate or rooibos wouldn’t expand too much. The chai is not too strong, and it does still have that coffee taste. Although I do find it kind of ironic that you’re blending a highly caffeinated tea with one that has no caffeine. But the flavors go well together. We’ll see how this holds up to resteeping.
Thank you to Fong Mong for the sample.
I’m getting a little fruity notes from this one, but not too much. It definitely has that unmistakable oolong taste. It’s a little bit creamy, too. I’m getting a slight bitterness, which makes me wonder if I steeped it for too long. I did the recommended 6 minutes, but that seems a little high.
Thanks to Azzrian for this sample
Well, it’s time for my nightly brew of Rooibos tea since I don’t want caffeine, but want some tea tonight. This tea sounded delicious and smelled quite nice. I’m not getting a whole lot of flavor coming through, though. I’m getting the butter and orange, but not so sure about the cranberry. When I drink this, I don’t necessarily think of scone.
As it cools off I think I can taste a little bit of the cranberry.. but not much. And actually, when it’s really cold, I can really taste that butter. Of course, I didn’t leave much tea for when it was really cold, so I couldn’t really do adequate tests. Oh well, maybe next time..
Thanks to Azzrian for the sample.
This is my first guayusa and it’s definitely different than I expected. I can see how the citrus flavors lend themselves to this type of tea. My tea tastes a lot like orange peels. I’m not really getting TOO much of a creamy taste from it. It is pretty good, though. Rather interesting.
Also, I totally forgot to smell the tea before I brewed my sample – d’oh! I’m reading all these notes about how wonderful it smells, too. Urgh. I used my IngenuiTEA to brew this, but I’m noticing now that the tea doesn’t really expand too much. A T-Sac will work just fine for next time.
Oh, and I thought that guayusa had no caffeine – good thing I double checked THAT one (and good thing this is the morning). It has more caffeine that Yerba Mate. I’m certainly awake now, if I wasn’t before ;)
Second infusion: I think this is better the second time around. Not quite so much “orange peel”-ness and I’m able to taste more of the cream. Overall, a very interesting tea.
Just a note – MINE was made without Lemongrass – usually you have lemongrass in there too.
Wow. That would make it even more citrusy. Thanks for pointing that out. Are you allergic or you just don’t like it?
Mine has lemongrass and for those who like it like me it’s really good!
I just don’t like Lemongrass at all
This came in my fire sale package, courtesy of iHeartTeas
I was intrigued by what a blend like this would taste like, so I had to brew it up. It’s not bad, really. I can definitely taste the raspberries, and I think I taste a little bit of cream .. but not much. It’s definitely not a bad tea at all, and very nice for the nighttime when I don’t want a lot of caffeine. I bet this would even better with some sweetner and/or milk to bring out the flavor, but I’m too lazy to try that tonight. Luckily, Rachel (not me, the other one) gave me lots of tea to experiment with, so I shall live to resteep another day ;)
Thanks to Azzrian for the sample.
I just got a new ingenuiTEA and I was excited to try this tea, since now the leaves have plenty of room to expand!
This is a very nice oolong. I’m getting a little bit of flavor, but it’s not as overpowering as I thought it would be. I can taste the hints on citrus and vanilla, and it’s a nice compliment to it. I don’t know if I’m blown away by it, but I’ll certainly give it a few more steeps and see what happens.
Second infusion: The flavor is still kicking. I’m impressed at how well it holds up in the second infusion. Not bad.
Glad you like it! I find myself reaching for it often – its just a good tea that is dependable, maybe not explosively great but always a good choice.
I think it would also be a good tea to introduce new loose leaf drinkers to :)
Yeah. I think it’s definitely a “gateway oolong”. And for some reason, Steepster didn’t send me your comment. Boo :(
Oh I was wanting to try this one. Nice job getting the ingenuitea, I have the teavana one and love it. By the way, how do you sample so many teas from other steepsters? I really want to do this but probably don’t have enough variety for swapping.
I would have bought the Teavana one if I didn’t have the Adagio certificate. It’s pretty good too.
I don’t have a lot of teas to swap either. I’ve done a couple swaps, but I’ve also contacted people and asked for samples and offered to pay for shipping in lieu of not having tea to swap. Some members also make swapping baskets they sell.
Word of warning!! It is in your best interests to swap now, buy later! If you’re like me, you won’t like half the teas you buy, but you will adore some you are given to try. Or if you buy, buy in Sample sizes only; just because you fall in love with a tea does not mean you immediately need 100g. I’d suggest LiberTEAS’ box of samples. I know she had one left recently, but it could be gone now. (I swim in tea…. Learn from my mistakes!)
I went back and forth on Liberteas sample box. I want to, but it’s a little pricey. And there are so many teas. I already know I’m past my limit.
It’s not pricey for what you end up getting! But I understand :)
Yeah. It’s mostly having ALL those teas when I already have so many to go through. It is very tempting though. :-/
Ahh yes, that’s definitely true! I bought it just prior to my purchase explosion… that’s why I’m not even halfway through yet!
Element Tea included this is a sample in my recent (first, last, and never again) order from them. Sad they are going out of business, but yay for cheap tea. I ordered three real teas, and you would think I’d try them first, but nope. When I saw this was an included sample, I got really excited, because I almost bought this, but didn’t.
I’ve been searching for a tolerable Earl Grey…. and this is not it, unfortunately. I steeped this for 3 minutes with boiling water, and at first I thought it was too bitter… until I realized it was just very citrus-y. Almost like a grapefruit peel. Ick. I think that’s the Oil of Bergamot coming in that I’m not a big fan of. I was hoping to taste some creaminess, but all I get is that citrus taste. Not good :( .. It does have an interesting smell to it.
I decided to cut this with some skim milk, and in doing so, it’s a lot better. BUT, I still want a tea that I can drink straight, so having to put milk in it to make it tolerable shouldn’t really be necessary. I don’t mind a tea where the milk enhances the flavor, but no point in buying a tea that I can only drink under certain conditions if there are others I can drink straight- right?
Second infusion at 3 minutes: Brewed this again at 3 minutes, and the second infusion is not nearly as strong – which is good. It tastes less citrus-y and more like black tea. I just think I’m not a big Earl Grey fan, and may never be. How sad :(
Preparation
I’m the same way. I’ve never found an EG that’s tolerable without milk. Although the EGC from David’s Tea is really, really smooth.
Hmm.. I’ll have to look into that. Too bad David’s Tea doesn’t really do samplers :(
I’ll send you a bit if you want, I have half a tin sitting around.
Upton’s EGC is also very smooth and only lightly beramot-y, plus they sell samples!
@Michelle – Oooh, that would be awesome! Thanks :-D
@Alphakitty – I’ve considered getting Upton’s. Is this the creamy one or just the straight?
The Creme Vanilla is very lightly citrusy—I’ve never tried their standard EG, but if you’re looking for a subtle bergamot taste the creme vanilla is about as light as you can get while still being an earl grey. I have 8oz of it, so if you’d like a sample PM me ^^
@Rachel – I’ll stick it in the post tomorrow!
Awesome! Thanks!! :-D
Harney and Son’s Earl Grey Supreme is pretty light, but still tasty. I would definitely recommend it.
Tea Tasting Day (8/8)
And here we are at the last tea. Thanks for joining me on my tea tasting day.
This tastes JUST like candied almonds, with the sweetner in it. This would make a great Christmas tea. I’m not a huge fan of candied almonds, so I’m not a huge fan. But, if you were/are, you’ll LOVE this tea. Really wish I could try it without sweetner, though. As a side note, my boyfriend originally told me this was walnuts and I believed him, so clearly I’m not good at distinguishing nut flavors.
Update: Had it without sweetner thanks to the nice guy at the front, it’s not bad hot or iced. It still tastes like candied almonds. Why do they add sweetner to it? It’s really fine all by itself! It’s a special blend, too. More rooibos than tea, though. My boyfriend bought 2 oz of this tea to try coldbrewing, so we’ll see how it goes.
Tea Tasting Day (7/8)
This tea tastes just like pineapple juice. Not bad, especially since pineapple juice can get kinda pricey. I think it’s better than the Mango Blossom black tea I had earlier today, and it’s actually real pineapple instead of just flavoring. I’m not the biggest fan of herbals, but I’d recommend it to someone who likes pineapple juice.
