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Ummm, so I’ve been very derby lately. This is from sil but it is apparently also the same one that MissB sent me recently. I sucked that down mega…I was in a mood and needed consoling and this did it. But I didn’t realize when I asked for it that it was the same sil was sending. I also sorta forgot that she was sending any. This is not as bad as handing my tumbler to ShayneBear yesterday to have him sniff the contents, saying it was the Nutmeg Cream from Butiki, only to realize after he left that I had filled my tumbler with water before refilling with more NC from my Timolino. So yeah, I handed him water to sniff, which of course didn’t smell like anything, really, just faintly of the NC.

Go me!

Anyway, made this this morning as I promised a friend I’d help her with some work today (arranged one of my days off this week for today) and I had to be at her place at 6am. Ouch. Not fun on a day off. But I was done helping her at 2:30 and then she took me to Noodle Box for lunch since Coras was closed by the time we got there. So this was my tea today.

And like last time, though I apparently neglected to make a note, I loved it. It is soooo good. I may need to order some. Cinnamon and almond…how can it be bad?

Yeah…it can’t

On second taste, I am tasting more champagne this time around. I like this tea, and hope it becomes permanent, because it is nice as a caffeine-free option. It’s not super light and summery while hot, but I can see it being refreshing cold, or cold-steeped. This is the kind of caffeine-free blend I like….something that works well hot and cold, and multiple seasons. The spices and fruit in this lend towards warming and cozy, but the champagne lightens it up…it is both light and heavy at the same time, and by heavy, I mean it has body.

I would certainly order this if given the chance. You listening, Amoda? :P

Drinking this one today because I’m a total nerd.

I got word earlier today that a certain David Tennant will be coming here to film Gracepoint (the American version of Broadchurch) about a month from now, and will likely be in my city for a few months at least, while filming. Additionally, there are talks that the neighborhood that I work in, with be used in the filming.

SQUEE?!

So I thought that this banana flavoured tea from a British tea company was quite fitting (and nerdy) to drink today.

I cannot tell you all how excited I am about this. I have a real chance of seeing DAVID FREAKING TENNANT walk by on the street. I work on the main street of the neighborhood which is quite likely to be used in filming…it’s incredibly picturesque.

I can’t stop squeeing, really folks. If my heart could pound out of y body, it would. My head feels giddy and on the verge of exploding.

OMG OMG OMG

Always take a banana to a party…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ9f878BBt0

I have tried a pervious harvest of this tea, and I seem to recall really liking it. Anyway, it’s been a long while since I last reviewed any of the Teavivre samples from my most recent batch that Angel sent.

I’ve been terribly distracted with new shiny teas…yes, flavored, and I have not been in straight tea moods as much. But today, seemed like a good day to start breaking some out.

This one would probably be better with regular milk, rather than the coconut milk creamer that I have. I got that stuff to try, but I really don’t like it in my teas, I’m finding. I may like coconut milk in cooking better, but it changed the taste of the tea in the same way that the other milk subs do, but it isn’t bad. If I had to give up dairy milk, I could probably get by with this, though I might pick teas that it works better with, or just find blacks that I don’t want to add milk to.

I think I want to try this one again, with no milk, but also regular milk, to see how I feel about it then. I’ll see how it is then, since the last time, I used regular milk, but also tasted straight.

My general impression of this batch is that it is not as chocolatey and rich as the last batch, but that could be the coconut milk creamer messing with my taste buds…I expect I’ll re-rate this higher in a future tasting.

Backlog:

I got this sample from MissB because I was intrigued after OMGsrsly tried it.

I have to say that the peach to thyme balance was pretty good, and the base was not too overpowering. I think that I might like this just a bit better as a cold steep, so I’m reserving the rest of it for then…then being a warmer day…I don’t do a lot of cold drinks in winter, or much at all (I think my body composition is happier without a lot of icy cold drinks).

This tea does totally make me want to make the peach and goat cheese tartine that I made over the summer…the goat cheese is spiked with fresh thyme, and the peaches on top got a small dusting of fresh leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuUEuXwCAbs

I also learned of this recipe from OMGsrsly so she is two for two with this combo!

Here is my attempt at it from the summer, plus a salad and some arctic char…

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/1176195_10151563568507374_331752992_n.jpg

Sad, sad, sad…

I love this tea, but I think it is not agreeing with me anymore. I’ve noticed a prickly feeling in my throat, along with a dry mouth, the last few times I’ve had this. I’m not sure if it is the tea itself, or the rooibos. I had Orange Blossom recently-ish, though I can’t recall if I had the same feeling.

I just got a bag of this from MissB to add to my existing bag. I’m hoping that maybe it is a weird fluke and maybe too much cardamon or something in the steep. It is not every sip.

I do still love this tea though…

Backlog:

Not sure what to make of this. It is in some ways what I expected, and in other ways not. I definitely got peach notes, but not a lot else. I think this is best as a spring summer tea for me, and will excel as a cold steep.

Thanks MissB for the chance to try this…I’ve been curious about it for so long. I think I will like it better when the time is right for me, but that isn’t now.

This was the second tea I tried from the December Amoda Tea Box. I was excited at the prospect of a honeybush with warmth and complexity…something I could feel cozy with later in the evening and not worry about caffeine. It has enough body to hold its own on a cold night, or even day, which I find not all teas do

You can see the big pieces of apple and orange in the mix, and it smells more of a cider than a champagne, which I found to be true as the taste as well. I’ll try it again with my eyes closed and see if I can pick up any fizziness on my tongue.

I had thought that making this into a syrup and adding to champagne or carbonated water might be interesting, but I like it the way it is, even if I don’t get much champagne flavour…it’s ok with me as is.

Ummm…yum? Oh yeah, total yum, indeed!

This is the first tea from the Amoda Box I tried. I made two travel mugs worth of it the other morning…my DAVIDs kids tumbler from summer before last, and my Timolino. I sucked it down very fast at work. I was very sad when it was all gone.

I really noticed the cream as a mouthfeel, very thick and rich, and the blend of black teas were nutty and chocolatey with minimal astringency. The colour I got in my tumbler was like a brandy or cognac with light shining through. The spice of the nutmeg is well balanced as it neither overpowers the base, nor is is hidden in the complex base notes either.

I mentioned this to Stacy and a few others, but I have to say that I think I like this one better than Pumpkin Milkshake and Vanilla Frosted Carrot Cake. I’m hoping this one becomes permanent.

Also, drinking this tea totally makes me think of JustJames and his custom blend contest submission. It’s not exact, but it echoes some of what he had wanted in his blend.

I was very skeptical about this one from the box, because I’m one of the few people who is not fond of eggnog. The actual drink makes me feel sick, and the flavour in things like lattes makes me think of drinking the real stuff and feeling sick.

Luckily, this blend is less nog and more nut, though it smelled more nog in the bag. I was hoping that the mellow and buttery green tea plus praline would make the eggnog more tolerable, and it did just that, so for me, this tea gets a higher rating than I would have initially thought, though others might rate it lower because it is light on the eggnog flavour.

I find that as a green, it has a medium body…not as light as some greens, but not super hearty and heavy either. I think the nuts and cream add a warmth to this that make it a cozy winter green tea.

I’m glad I tried this. Who knows, if it becomes permanent, I might get a bag of my own once my sample is up.