Britt☮

As a drink, this one wasn’t working out for me. Trying to find a balance between the number of packets, the size of the cup, and milk vs. water to get the consistency I wanted was just kind of a hassle. However, I did try mixing it with vanilla ice cream, and YUM! :D

Very artificial flavor-y, but I kind of expected that going in. Come to think of it, why did I even buy this?

My taste buds have always been overly sensitive to spices, so this one was just a little too gingery for me. It could have something to do with my getting distracted by the latest episode of Desperate Housewives and steeping it for a couple of minutes longer than I meant to…

My second steep was about half the time of the first, and the ginger was much more manageable — though I can’t tell if it’s because I steeped it for less time or because the ginger is naturally more mellow on the second steep.

More experimentation is required! I may try mixing this one with the oolong I just bought.

This is the basic tea that is served at Japanese schools, so I drink it whenever I have lunch with my students or teachers’ meetings. I appreciate this tea, as it was really my first foray into no-frills, unsweetened tea for the sake of tea… but I’ve been spoiled by Samovar’s Yuzu Sencha and was surprised to find myself a little bit disappointed in the regular old sencha this time around. I hope it forgives me.

(Tea 3 of 8 in the my-boyfriend-is-awesome series)

Living in Japan, I’m surrounded by yuzu-flavored everything, from yuzu ice cream to yuzu soy sauce — and, occasionally, actual yuzus. I’ve become quite the yuzu enthusiast, so out of all the teas Garrett sent me, I probably held this one to the highest standards.

I can smell the yuzu right away. Good start. And I love that cloudy, light green color. It tastes very grassy and sencha-y at first — is it my imagination or is the yuzu taste getting more and more prevalent with each sip? It’s like an author building up the suspense with every chapter and ending the book on a cliffhanger, but you don’t mind because you already bought the sequel. I steep a second cup to find out.

Second cup, the taste evens out. Yuzu and sencha work together, allowing you to understand the relationship between the characters.

Third cup, it’s yuzu all the way. Happy ending.

(Tea 2 of 8 in the my-boyfriend-is-awesome series)

This tea is utterly confusing. When you take a sip, it tastes plain and grassy, but after you swallow it, a sudden sweetness creeps up your throat out of nowhere!

If I drink it unsweetened, it’s not sweet enough for me. If I add sweetener, it tastes fine while drinking it but the aftertaste is almost medicinal.

I honestly can’t tell whether I like this tea or not, so an inconclusive rating of 50/100 seems only appropriate.

(Tea 1 of 8 in the my-boyfriend-is-awesome series)

I think I’ve already established that I have a mega sweet tooth. On rare occasions, I’ll try a tea, be satisfied with its flavor as is, and opt out of adding sugar or honey.

It is a testament to the flavor of this tea that I actually tried it sweetened, THEN unsweetened, but liked it much better unsweetened. That’s a new one!

Not sweet on its own, but a little bit of honey to bring out the flavor and BAM! It’s like liquid candy!

Chamomile tea + Kindle + electric blanket = the perfect way to relax on a chilly night. Aaaah. :]

This is a matcha powder that comes in individual packets.

I made a cup this morning and was a little disappointed with the results. I expected a richer taste, and even though I used only a small cup of hot water, the taste was a bit thin, almost watery even. Next time, I will try using two packets or mixing it with milk instead of water to achieve the thicker, creamier taste I was hoping for.

I’m not giving up on this one just yet! If it doesn’t work out as a drink, I could always find other uses for it — maybe in ice cream? :)

Don’t be fooled by its delicate, flowery scent — this tea is bold. It makes its intentions known immediately, turning a cup of hot water from clear to cranberry-red within seconds. Usually, I add honey and lemon juice to my tea to get a balance of sweetness and tartness, but this tea held its own in the tart department.

On a more random note, rose hip is supposed to be good for your skin. Next month, I’m in a community musical, and with up to three shows a day and goodness knows how many makeup changes, I’ll probably be drinking this tea a lot in the days to come.

I made a cup of this tea hot, and the spices were just overwhelming — I’m talking a punch to the throat here. Then I got distracted by the book I was reading and let my tea get cold. At first, I was annoyed that I’d have to heat it back up, but I took a sip of it cool and it was a lot calmer. This definitely has potential as an iced tea. When the weather gets warmer, I’ll give it another shot.

This is my favorite of all the sugary blended green tea concoctions I’ve tried. Maybe it’s the addition of the boba and honey that makes it so delicious.

I’ve tried a couple of the other ZenFusions from Zen Zoo, but this one was always my favorite. The sweet, minty flavor goes well with the boba.

It smells nice, but the taste is a little weak for fruit tea.

This is my absolute favorite tea in Japan. It’s the first thing I grab whenever I go to a convenience store. I usually have to add sugar or honey to my tea if it’s unsweetened, but the flavor of this tea is so amazing that I don’t even feel the need to sweeten it!

This drink is soooo bad, but soooo good. It’s creamy and chock-full of sugar, but at least you can taste the green tea flavor (unlike that weird melony thing from Starbucks).

This is the Asian equivalent of Lipton Hot Tea (it was actually already in my apartment — left behind by the previous tenant — when I moved in… hm…) Generic, basic black tea, it’s nothing to write home about, but it works when you just need something hot to drink. With the addition of some honey and lemon juice, it’s my go-to drink whenever I have a sore throat. It can get bitter if brewed for more than a few minutes.

Peach is my favorite of all fruit teas. This tea delivers! It’s soft and sweet and would probably be good iced or mixed with another fruit tea, though I’ve only had it hot and on its own.

This tea is delicious in iced form. Surprisingly, the mellow chamomile doesn’t dilute the apple taste, and the bold apple doesn’t overwhelm the chamomile. The two flavors complement each other quite well but are probably best without any additions. I tried adding mixing it with a jasmine tea once, but the jasmine was hardly noticeable.

I love fruit teas, and this tea smells and tastes pretty good. It’s very strong, though. The berry taste becomes too intense if this tea is brewed for more than a few minutes.

I got hooked on this drink when I worked at Borders. It has a milky, matcha taste with not too much foam. It’s sweet enough on its own, but I have a super sweet tooth, so I usually add a little sugar. I love it hot or iced.

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a sugar fiend. The sweeter, the better, I usually say. But this drink is just nasty. I can’t detect anything remotely green tea-like in it!