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OMG, this smells, just like the real thing! It’s incredible! It’s just like the fruity sherbet from the store. I’m trying it initially without sugar, but I usually take tea with some level of sweetener. Still a bit too hot, but I can smell it for a little longer before I try this…I don’t want to burn my tongue again.

Be back in a bit with more on the taste, but if it smells this good in the cup, how can it not be good in the mouth? :P

EDIT:

Ok, so…SO DELISH! Thanks to Jenn for thinking to send this one to me!

I decided to try this one tonight, on a whim, because I have my H&M sweater on today, and it is sort of lime sherbet green in colour, and I thought this might be a nice mental pick me up today, after having had a rough patch recently. Friday was so horrible, I fired it.

I can only imagine how AWESOME this tea is in the summer, iced. I am totally into how summery I feel drinking this in winter. It sure is a cheery mood brightener!

My taste buds must be off, as this tastes like a nice sweet tea, but once again, I’m failing to capture a particular taste sensation. I think I can taste something, on the back of my tongue, and it could be banana bread, but…I’m just not sure. The plus with the tea though, is that although it is a rooibos, it doesn’t taste like it. It is pleasant enough, and I think that with the rest of the sample Jenn has sent me, I’m a) going to brew this a bit longer still, and b) take it with milk of some kind. I think that milk might make it more dessert-like. I think this tea has lots of potential, but I’m blaming my mouth on this. Everything seems to be on the blander side lately. Anyone know how to cure this?

Nice tasty peachy tea for a bag. Had it hot at work, unfortunately with microwaved water (one can only ask Timmies for hot water so many times in a single day). Nothing shouted out to me, AMAZING, but it was pleasant enough. Thanks to Jenn for letting me try this. I have one more bag to try, so maybe I’ll get that hot water from Tim’s or round up the kettle and find a working outlet in the stockroom (the one we previously used has blown out).

I don’t know what I’m tasting here, but it tastes almost like an herbal tea. Whatever it is, it is light and muted. Having read the reviews, I was stoked to taste the crust and everything, but I don’t…I don’t think. I think I can pick out the strawberry and cinnamon, but boy is it is a stretch. It’s hard for me to pinpoint any particular flavour. I think my next batch will be a bit more leaf and a longer steep time. I may have under steeped and used too little leaf for the batch. Or, my taste buds are still in disarray from burning my tongue on hot tea yesterday, or having hot wings tonight, though I waited a bit for my mouth to cool down, and had some potato chips to bland things up a bit more (the wings were really hot!).

I’m gonna give this another try, another day, but thanks to Jenn for sending this to me. I’m pretty stoked to have some caffeine free options, and I like that the honeybush isn’t as strong as the rooibos.

This is pleasant as a beverage, but I’m reserving rating til a further steeping, when hopefully, the real flavour will pop, and I can more accurately review this.

So, I had a nearly complete tasting written up, got distracted by a video on youtube that ended up crashing my computer (been happening too much lately…not sure what’s going on) and so in the reboot, I lost it all. :(

So anyhow, I got blinded by Teavivre’s package arriving this morning that it totally slipped my mind to check the regular mail for the day, but I did so as I came back in after being out with a friend for a few hours, and boy am I ever glad I did! Oh happy tea day! Joyous tea day! There in my little mailbox was the USPS priority mail box with a number of teas to try from Jenn! :)

I pulled out the ones that were sachet style, and am reserving them for work, since I don’t have a proper steeper there at the mo…and the baggies are easy to use. But this was not one of them. I decided on this one after reading about it as I was cataloging them to my cupboard. I figured this would go well with my dinner (pizza with chicken, red bell peppers and basil-ultra thin crust) so I made a cup.

I admit, looking at the tea in the bag, there’s a hint of disappointment, because I’m so accustomed to seeing bits of things in my teas of late. But make no mistake, when I put my sniffer up to the opening of the bag, there is an unmistakeable apricot smell. Ahhhh…

Being that I am still out of milk, I ventured to go black on this one, though I did add some raw sugar. I did try it plain at first, and it was fine I guess, but I always find that lightly sweetened tea enhances the fruit tones. Or, maybe I am just addicted to sugar. :P

Fully brewed, I can’t pick out specific fruits, but that’s ok to me, since they all balance well as a sort of collage of flavour that is super juicy and tasty. This one most closely resembles my poor times tea (Tetley Black Currant) and it is as tasty, if not moreso. Much better than The Earls Garden from DAVIDs, which I found overpowering and floral. This one has a nice balance.

I’m guilty and will admit that I do still want to try this with milk. I’ve got another tasting or two left in the package. I’m finishing the last little bit of this cup, and it has cooled off a bit, but I think that this would make a wonderful summer iced tea.

Thanks again to Jenn for sending this, and I can’t wait to try more of them.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a straight white tea. Actually, it’s been so long, I’m not even sure if I have ever had it…but I got my package from teavivre this morning, and I opted to try this one out first.

I’ll come out and say that I’ve never been good at picking out subtle flavours in wine, coffee or tea, but I can say that this tea is very light and mild. I admit I did add sugar, just a wee bit. After reading notes that there is a cucumber essence, I’ll have to remember this next time, and try it unsweetened.

The buds in the package are a beautiful green and white, and I can see the fuzzy hairs on the white. The smell of the outer package is somewhat buttery, though the inner package opened, is rather earthy and I suppose grassy would describe it. I can’t really discern a cigar or smoky smell from either pouch.

The liquor brewed up a lovely golden colour, and it smelled very light. In my eagerness, I took a sip right away, but…too hot! So I patiently waited, chatted with a friend on IM about floral teas, and so on, whilst the tea cooled.

There is a tiny bit of floral I suppose, but I think grassy is probably best in describing this flavour. I have a light fuzziness on my tongue.

Interestingly, I just had some leftover turkey (thanksgiving) and herb-crusted roast beef from a few days ago as a light snack, and the flavour has changed…I think it is more peppery from the roast beef seasoning. It is also possible that it has simply cooled and that is what changed the flavour.

I look forward to trying this one again, along with the other 4 teas I got. I admit I had a hard time deciding which one to try first. I opted with this one because it was in the smaller mini bags, more like single serving samples, rather than the bigger AIO bags, but also because I am out of milk, and I know I can do this tea straight, with just a dash of sweetener. The golden tip yunan and the pu-erh tuocha are ones I will probably add milk too. I look forward to trying the oolong and jasmine pearls green tea too.

Oh Buttercream! How lovely you were to me tonight, after a crazy day! Still a little crazed, but hopefully, once news that DH made it safely to his final destination (Chicago) comes through, the nerves will be calmer still. Still waiting for contact from him that it’s all ok now… :(

Tea to go-initially it smelled great, tasted great, but the longer I went, the less banana I could detect. This could be because I left the bag in the cup, but it might have changed as the tea cooled. But I did detect a nice buttery oolong. It was pretty smooth. It was enjoyable, and I think I did ok with it, despite the stevia in it. I’m leaving it unrated for now, til I try it again, perhaps my own brew.

Ok, so, I have been thinking about this tea ever since I smelled it a week ago AFTER I got my Chocolate Chili Chai to go. :( Well, not :( so much, because I really like the Chocolate Chili Chai, but I had had that before, and not Oh Christmas Treat. So that is what I mean.

So I finally got it as a tea to go on Friday after work, on the way to my Friday Night Dinner Group. It’s been very cold here in Victoria the last few days (and yes, -2C is effing cold to us here…we’re wusses, sorry) and I thought this would be perfect to keep me warm while I wait for the bus, and also to give me a little pick up for the rest of the evening, since I was very tired at that point.

I got this made with some agave and milk. It was a bit too hot for a bit, but I kept sniffing it (constantly, I couldn’t stop!), and I kept taking little sips, cuz I was so antsy to try it. Ha ha ha! I think I probably got some looks as I kept smelling it. :P

OMG, it totally is like those chocolate oranges that you whack that are so popular for Christmas (though why should I only have them at Christmas? They’re awesome and deserve to be consumed ALL YEAR!). I get more of that with the smell than the taste, and it more orange than chocolate in the smell, but more chocolatey and malty when consumed orally. The taste is more muted then when smelled, but the flavours even out a bit better this way. I think the pu-erh was a perfect choice for a base.

I really like this tea. So far, my winter/holiday winners are this and Alpine Punch. Ok, well Chocolate Chili Chai is pretty awesome too. I haven’t tried all of the new releases yet due to budget issues (DH took a trip in late Oct to early Nov, and is leaving again for another one in a few days).

Second tasting, used 2 not quite full tsp for a fairly full Steeper which yielded a fairly full mug of this delicious hot beverage. I’m not sure how long i steeped…just long enough to cut a slice of caramel apple crumb pie, heat in the micro for 30 secs and add some cool whip. :) I was a little worried at first, because the brew was smelling a wee bit more rooibos-y than I care for, but the taste, thankfully, not so. This brew does not disappoint! Once again, this is pure gold powering the infinite improbability drive of my heart.

I have nothing but good things to say about this tea, and I am boosting my rating…100 all the way baby!!! :)