761 Tasting Notes
Well, this isn’t the worst tea I have had. It was decent, actually. All the Teavana teas I have had have been alright, but not amazing. I definitely want to try this as a latte with chocolate syrup as the fellow suggested today, but I am on a budget now, so I had it only sweetened with the rock sugar.
Still loving this tea…had some iced tonight, to go with my Singapore Cashew Curry for Noodle Box after work. Normally, this time of year, I would stick to it hot with my meal, but I opted for multiple cooling properties from it…the bamboo leaves and sweet fruits, but also that it was iced. Did the trick and was perfect with my dinner.
I really really really like this tea. I was looking for an herbal to have hot since it is a bit cool tonight and I opted to see how this would handle hot instead of iced. I have to say, I think it worked well. I think I do prefer iced, but only just slightly. It is juicy and refreshing iced. Hot, it it still juicy and somewhat cozy. It is definitely peachy. I do really love the look of this tea…it is very colourful. It smells sooo delicious too. It feels like a nice fall tea…a little summery, but hot it feels a little fall. It doesn’t quite say fall to me like Alpine Punch or Amaretto do, or Orange Blossom even. Banana Nut Bread is another that feels really warming and hearty for a fall to winter tea for me. Bamboozled hot seems like a summer to fall tea.
Overall, I still really like this and will try to save what I can for next summer, but I might dabble in it again for a hot one.
Oh I am soooo glad to have more of this! I put it on hold for the summer as I feel it is more of a fall and winter tea with how rich and warm and comforting it is. I got a small amount from my local shop along with a few of the $1 straight teas (though not the ones I really wanted to try…they aren’t getting them apparently, BOO!). Having some now and soooo cozy now. I feel like it is wrapping me up in a cozy blanket and I just want to dive into a good book(!).
Unlike my experience with the Strawberry Slim Pu erh tea from Teavana, I can taste both the earthy flavour of the pu erh which mingles magnificently with the chocolate, but also a bit of the orange too. I added milk ad sugar to enhance the creamy chocolate orange taste…it is just like a chocolate orange candy bar. It is soooo yummy!!
My mug is looking sad and almost empty, so I think I might just have to make another cuppa.
I’d say that this is a pretty good green oolong. The leaves are tightly rolled into biggish balls and the scent is green and buttery with a little floral…I can’t really pick out which floral though. It leaves a somewhat creamy feel to the mouth like a milk oolong, but not as sweet or strong. It is a nice light tea, and were I to be out of my milk oolongs, this would fill the gap til I got more.
Meh. This tea did nothing for me today. It might be my buds are off, or that it was prepared too weak, but I got a hint of cinnamon and not much else. I got the same feeling with Toasted Marshmallow. It was ok, but not stellar. I might buy 15-20 just for me to try it once or twice more, but honestly, there are other teas that I like so much better anyway, I likely won’t bother.
Hmmm, this is a hard one. I got a very nice earthy pu erh taste, but little in the way of strawberry. I did have a tartness in my mouth and a juicy feel after sipping, that made me think I had eaten strawberries. I still have that taste in my mouth and I finished the tea an hour or more ago, so I am not 100% sure it is from the strawberry part of the tea, to be totally honest. It could be some artificial flavouring that’s just taken to my buds or something.
I don’t hate this tea, but I don’t love it. It could be the preparation of it. It deems revisiting for further tastings, but for now I will look at trying the others.
On a side note, you can really tell the difference in the Teaopia to Teavana changeover. And not necessarily for the better. Every tea I look at seems to be (most) everyone’s favourites, or they love that one, which honestly makes me begin to feel that their declarations are not genuine. I work in sales too, but I don’t tell everyone that this or that is perfect for them or that it is my favourite. They seem to have a new set up where there is one person at the Tea Bar, one person working cash, and another one or two working the floor. This has made a huge difference in the amount of time it takes to order and receive my drinks to go. Before, anyone free would get it started…there might be two or three going simultaneously. You’d think with just one person, they’d get the order right too. It was taken correctly, but not made to order. I had asked for room to be left for milk and also for some sugar (light). It was made straight, and adding the rock sugar post steep is not good. I had to get both milk and sugar from Timmies on the way back to my store. I understand that there are big changes, and there are growing pains with that. I may have to look at calling in my order (once I know which ones I like) before crossing the mall to get there in order to save some time. But already, I miss Teaopia, and I am very fearful for the new conversion. I’m already seeing and hearing things that make me think back to all those horrible reviews and stories I’ve read. Also, I have noticed a few things about them…
A lot of their teas are extra fruity, like more tea than fruit. I think there is a name for this I have read somewhere on a tasting. Now, they claim that their teas are higher quality, which justifies the price increases, but when you have half fruit or more, how can you even taste the quality of the tea? What are they hiding or covering up? Secondly, there are so many blends that it is truly dizzying trying to get through the complexity. Lastly, and back to the fruit, with all that dried fruit in there, surely that’s gotta weigh something, so less tea for more money, eh? What a scam! Now, I know other companies add things, but it seems like Teavana teas are disproportionately fruit and extras to the actual tea.
Just some of my initial feelings. I may continue to order things from the old store just to show my support for what made it through the conversion.
Okay……so, yesterday my Teaopia opened as Teavana, so I went in and looked for something to try with my lunch, and this is what I ended up with after smelling many a very fruity and weird oolong tea. This smelled nice and clean and a little sweet from the berry fragrance (this one was sans berry in the mix btw), and after my ginseng oolong from the morning, I was left feeling unsatisfied in the oolong part of my heart, so I wanted an oolong.
I got this unsweetened, since I can take some straight oolongs unsweetened, but I definitely think this would have had more wow if it had been lightly sweetened. Oh well. I can’t say it was horrible…I did pick up the raspberry scent, but really, I found the tea rather unremarkable. Not good for my first Teavana experience (aside from the genmai cha I got many years ago, but really, it’s hard to fudge up a genmai cha).
I’m fearful of the new changes. I hope to high heaven I find something there that I like. I don’t have a DAVIDs in my mall, and my other options are Starbucks and TImmies. I do often bring my own tea into work, and sometimes I have pre filled sachets as well, but I like being able to go to the opposite end of the mall for a tea break, and…the most of the staff knows me and I am friends with a few of the girls there.
Cons, while the staff are still super friendly and helpful to me there, the cost has gone up on the tea bar items. I was told it was better quality tea than before, but when most of the teas are littered with heavy fruits, I don’t know that the quality of the tea is gonna really shine. Some of those blends are so incredibly complex, I just don’t know what to think.
Well, I have to be honest and say I was a bit dubious when this sample came from Teavivre to try. I love oolongs but was not sure what to think about ginseng with oolong. So, it’s been sitting at the back of my tea cupboard waiting until I drank my other samples. But, with the release of the new straight teas from DAVIDs, my interest was piqued. The description and the picture caught my attention. Perhaps there was a picture and description on the Teavivre site, but I must have missed it or not looked. Anyhow, in light of it all. I decided to break out my sample and try.
Initially, I read the most recent reviews and thought I was in for a treat. And then someone commented on undertones of anise, menthol and something else…I wanna say camphor or eucalyptus. Anyhow, I was worried at they point. Those are not things I care for. At all. I didn’t really detect any if those tones when I smelled the dry leaf, but I could taste them when brewed. So, unfortunately, this is not my preference in oolongs. Luckily, as the tea cooled, the licorice and mint tones were more subtle.
I will probably not have the rest of my sample, but I will scout out my friends who have a palate that likes those flavours.
