Incendiare

I thought I’d try the rest of my sample iced. I definitely prefer this hot, but I was so sure it would be even better iced! I find that the tea base gets a little too astringent and the blueberry gets lost in it. Perhaps I cold steeped it for too long, but either way, I can tell that the blueberries don’t have a chance. Oh well.

w00t I could always use a tasty maté. Maybe my senses are really messed up right now, but I swear this smells more like chocolate banana than chocolate raspberry, and it even tastes like that too. I can also taste warm toasty almonds.

After this has cooled down quite a bit, I can definitely both smell and taste the chicory. Not my favourite flavour, but it works really well with the chocolate and maté.

Glad I bought this one, but it won’t be a staple in my household.

Mmm, coconut. As soon as I smelled this in the pouch, it reminded me of 52teas’ Coconut Cream Pie except with more vanilla.

The taste is so smooth, like warm buttery coconut. While I don’t get any rum from this, I can most definitely see this being divine with a splash of rum.

I like this slightly more than Coconut Cream Pie because the tea base isn’t as in-your-face and the vanilla makes this even creamier. While I take a sip, I swear I even smell some caramel in my cup.

Can’t wait to try this with hazelnut spice rum.

This dry leaf sure smells great. It’s flaunting its chocolate and cinnamon like nobody’s business. Especially the cinnamon, which is like a fresh cinnamon stick. It makes me think that I am about to eat a high quality bar of organic Aztec spice chocolate sans cayenne.

I am really not sure what to make of the flavour. I can’t taste any green tea or rooibos in here, and the cocoa is extremely subdued. The only flavour making itself known is the cinnamon. I followed the steeping instructions and stuck to the maximum four minutes but maybe I should be bad and steep it for longer next time. It wouldn’t hurt.

So right as I was finishing off that first batch, I rushed off to boil some more water and brew a single cup with fresh leaves, and let it steep for a good six minutes. It’s a lot better now. The cinnamon is quite a bit stronger now. It’s definitely like I dropped in a couple cinnamon sticks into the water. The cocoa is kind of there in the background, but not nearly as obvious as the cinnamon. This is great if you feel like spice, but don’t want a heavier chai, and the green tea keeps this lighter too. I’ll easily finish off my 50g but it’s something that I wouldn’t buy again.

This was the other tea that I chose when I made my first Teavana visit. I winged it and went in without reading reviews here first, and when I came back to the hotel after, went on the interwebs, and discovered the horrid reviews, my left eye twitched for a good couple minutes. $14 right there.

What drew me in was the fact that I was in an oolong mood and I liked the idea of berries in this, and figured it would make a great iced tea. It also smelled really good.

I just finished cold steeping it in the fridge for about eight hours, and honestly, it’s not that bad. It’s a little weak, but I think it has just enough flavour to make this refreshing for the summer. The berry flavour is definitely there, but it’s a little vague. I think it’s trying to be strawberry more than anything else.

It’s actually not that bad. I won’t have a problem finishing up what I bought but I wouldn’t repurchase. I probably won’t bother trying it hot.

I haven’t had this tea in a couple years, and bought a cup at the store back when DT just opened at West Edmonton Mall. I remembered liking it, but thought it was nothing special, so I never went back to it. But thanks to the Steepsterites, I have decided to give this another whirl and order some. So glad I did, so thanks to everyone for the suggestions!

The dry leaf seriously smells like a peppermint patty. And the candy lips and mini dark chocolate chips are adorable. Even the aroma of the steeped tea stays strong with the chocolate mint vibe.

Taste-wise, I don’t get as much chocolate, but the mint is clean and pronounced, and there’s a sweetness to this that separates this from most other peppermint teas. I don’t get any heat from the peppercorns, but once again (third tea I reviewed today that had this problem!) I think I should steep it a little longer. I’m always paranoid of oversteeping so try to take it easy on that the first time around. The tea base isn’t overpowering at all, so I’m quite positive that giving this another minute or two will only amp up the chocolate and wake up those peppercorns.

I think that was maybe the problem when I had a cup of it at DT? Perhaps the SA didn’t steep it too long, and together with the tea bag, the chocolate didn’t have a chance. Poor thing. But this is definitely a charming tea that I think would make an excellent gift, both because it’s so visually appealing and because it’s a more universally liked flavour.

This tea smells insanely heavenly! Wow, I ordered this online so it was a major surprise. It reminds me of a perfume oil called Marshmallow Pumpkin by BPAL/BPTP if anyone is into that kind of stuff.

And it tastes like it too. It’s like an ooey gooey baked pumpkin thing sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. I steeped this for five minutes but I’m definitely going to try six minutes next time, because a little more flavour would be even better. And it’s not bitter at all.

Second steeping was for about eight minutes but unfortunately it was a little weak. Still a fabulous tea. Will definitely be a staple in this household!

A Teavana finally opened in a nearby city! I kind of failed at life though and forgot to check out the reviews here and make a list before going to the mall, so I had to wing it. I’ve been wanting to expand my oolong selection so this automatically grabbed my attention when I saw this in the store. The decant aroma of chocolate and coconut wafted from the giant tin of this, and I just had to have it.

The dry leaf is quite attractive. There are carob pieces, big beautiful shreds of coconut, and rose petals.

Steeped, the liquor is lighter than expected. And when it come to the aroma, it reminds me of the coconut truffles I made a couple Christmases ago.

Onto the taste. I can detect hints of chocolate, coconut, and nuts. It makes me think of a flavoured coffee creamer. The flavours really work with the oolong.

Next time, I’ll use more dry leaf but overall, I am very happy with this tea.

ETA: I have noticed though that this tea is rather weak, even when you add more dry leaf, so I’m lowering my rating. For the price, there should be more flavour.

Let’s cut to the chase. This is the best home-prepared chai I have tasted thus far. There’s a nice balance of spice here. Not too gingery. Not too cardamomy, etc. And the coconut adds a pleasant natural sweetness to this. Coconut and spice always seem to play together nicely.

I steeped it for four minutes to start off, and there is no bitterness at all. I’m sure I can give it another minute next time and it’ll be even better. I added some milk and now this smells like a spiced coconut cookie.

After downing that first cup relatively quickly, I’m now trying my second cup without milk, and it’s really good too. The coconut doesn’t quite pop, but it’s still there.

This reminds me of DT Coco Chai Rooibos, except without the peppercorns, and of course, a different tea base.

Thumbs up, Zhena’s Gypsy Tea.

Found a lone bag of this tea in my cupboard and thought I’d polish it off to make some more room.

This is quite a straightforward tea. I only get mint at first, but after a while, I can detect a hint of lemongrass. It’s so incredibly subtle though.

It’s pretty good, but I wouldn’t bother buying a box of it. Still need to pick up a chocolate mint tea someday!

No notes yet.

The reviews for this are looking a little dire, but honestly, I really don’t mind this one. I’m on my second box. I drank this one a lot when I was living in Europe. I found it was a nice alternative to hot cocoa. And I wasn’t there long enough to explore tea options other than the ones at supermarkets.

I see why some people find this to taste a little watered down. It’s not like BAM COCOA! But there’s a pinch of it, supported by cinnamon, and then the sweetness comes from the liquorice.

Of course there is better tea out there but it does the trick if you feel like chocolate but don’t want to overindulge.

To start, the liquor of this tea is the most beautiful bright green. When it comes to the aroma, it’s quite grassy too. Very clean and purifying.

It also tastes on the grassier side. Probably the stongest Japanese green that I’ve had thus far, but granted, I haven’t had a whole lot.

Drinking this is an interesting experience because I’m so used to green teas like Genmaicha and Houjicha. Now, I do enjoy Sencha, but my palate isn’t quite accustomed to these rather grassier varieties of Japanese greens, but it is still refreshing.

Another interesting observation I have made about this tea is the appearance and feel of the steeped leaves. They’re so fine and mushy, and rather difficult to get out of my tea ball!

Overall, a fine tea but I can’t see myself purchasing this in the future. Another reason why the sample kit is a good idea.

A huge thank you to iHeartTeas for rescuing this gem!

I didn’t even have to open the pouch, just snip the end off, to smell the symphony of glory. The dry leaf smells so much like my grandma’s homemade jam, except I’d say that the tea is a little on the sweeter side (since my grandma puts as little sugar as possible in her jams!) and I also detect another fruity note in the background, like marmalade or something. I already like where this is going.

This is hands down the best blueberry tea I’ve ever tasted. It’s seriously like drinking fresh blueberry jam. No cream cheese, but it still reminds me of a pastry. Full of win, this tea is.

First of all, thanks to iHeartTeas for rescuing this! Secondly, I’m on my hunt for the perfect chai, which I could make at home, at least.

I love the whole cardamom pods in here. The dry leaf smells very gingery, with a cloud of generic spice singing in the background.

The first time I steeped this, I did it in a tea ball for around four minutes. It tasted not nearly as gingerbready as I had hoped. Mostly ginger, but no gingerbread. I had one cup with light soy milk and one without. The milk made the ginger stand out more.

Then I prepared this on the stove. Let it simmer for a little over fifteen minutes. Unfortunately, the results were disappointing. The tea overall tasted a little charred, and when I added the soy milk, it really didn’t do anything for it.

I’m not going to give up on this though. I will happily use up the rest of my pouch, experiment, and hope I can draw out the other spices. Or maybe I’ll get mega brave and add a bit of sugar.

w00t got my iHeartTeas package from Rachel the other day. Thank you so much! I’m going to start out with the Cashew Turtle sample she generously gifted me.

Oh yeah, and I’m sick for the sixth time since September. What gives, immune system? At least it’s a perfect excuse to sample the teas.

The dry leaf smells exquisite. Like creamy caramel and a drop of chocolate. It really does remind me of the bear claws (made of chocolate, caramel, and cashews) that are really popular in the Canadian Rockies.

When it comes to the flavour, this is pretty much what I imagined it to be, which is a good thing! Velvety caramel which blends perfectly into the black base. I’m not picking up on any cashew, but it doesn’t matter because I like it the way it is right now. I also appreciate the fact that the black tea in itself isn’t too loud, so it gives the caramel some time to shine.

Cool beans, I found a solution to bring out the chocolate and cherry in this: light soy milk. I almost never add milk but is this ever scrumptious! It’s still not quite as chocolate cherry-y as I’d hoped, however, it now tastes closer to the scent of the dry leaf.

The chocolate and cherry shy away a little too much with the second steeping + light soy milk. I’m definitely upping my rating. Try this if you like cherry cordials!

Got my green tea sampler a few days ago and am on round two of this. This is my first houjicha so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It brewed up a more earthy colour and the smell is reminiscent of genmaicha, a favourite of mine. Even the taste reminds me of that. It’s mild and roasted. Not as bright-tasting, but toasty and soothing.

The second steeping is almost as flavourful, and the colour is a little lighter than before. I’m excited to try the rest of my samples and am delighted to say that I am a houjicha fan!

Malted Chocomaté doesn’t smell as chocolatey as I thought it would, but at this point, it doesn’t matter. You know why? Because it tastes mindnumbingly fabulous. The odd part is that I don’t even get malted chocolate from it. I spent a good hour sipping this wondering what it reminds me of, but couldn’t think of it. I liked it, but just couldn’t put my finger on it. I shared the Malted Chocomaté love with my mom and she had the same reaction. Just what does this beauty taste like?

Finally, BAM. Those gooey, semi-liquidy caramel-filled chocolates found in chocolate boxes. Kind of like Caramilk but not quite. That’s fantastic.

This has become both my favourite 52teas blend and my favourite maté.

I believe my first words when I opened my pouch and gave this a whiff was, “****, this is awesome.” Smells like a cherry cordial. I haven’t even tried the ice cream so I don’t know how the two compare, but this has more chocolate in it than I expected, which is a good thing for me!

The dry leaf perplexed me too, as I haven’t had any teas including cut, tear, curl leaves. Mixed in with those are chopped up freeze-dried cherries and cocoa nibs.

I oversteeped this the first time. I think I steeped it for like five minutes and it was way too bitter. The chocolate and cherry were nowhere to be found. This time I aimed for three minutes, and it’s better. I can smell the chocolate and cherry now, but taste-wise, it is still too heavy on the black tea. The chocolate and cherry still get a little lost. Will need to do some experimenting with steeping parameters, so I can try to get the chocolate and cherry out more without the black tea going insane.

This was the other free sample that I chose. In the pouch, it’s hard to differentiate the spices from each other. Everything has been chopped up and the only ingredients I can distinguish are the orange peels and cinnamon bark. Alright, let’s give this a whirl on the stove.

I let this simmer on the stove for about twenty minutes, then added not quite a teaspoon of brown sugar. The colour of the steeped tea looks wonderfully dark and rich. I microwaved around half a cup of 2% milk and filled up the rest with the chai.

I know this doesn’t sound helpful, but it basically tastes like all other chai teas that I’ve had at Indian restaurants. The spices are there but none of them have a voice. I guess I’m not being fair because I always compare every chai to the ones made at this chai bar in Edmonton called Remedy. Seriously the best chai ever. Nothing like it. They import all their spices from India and use around 30 different spices in their blends. So yeah, almost all chai teas pale in comparison.

I normally drink my tea plain, without any milk or sugar, so I’m sorry to say that this was a waste of calories. But! The other tea that I’ve tried from this company is fabulous, so don’t let this discourage you from checking them out. I’m just picky little chai freak.

Right now, Acquired Taste Tea Co. are offering to send two samples free, so I decided to jump on that. I’m all into spicy chocolate, so this one was automatically the first choice.

When I open the pouch, the beautiful aroma of cocoa and spice fills the air. It sounds weird, but it actually reminds me of a rich, spicy bath product I once had. It smells very fresh too. The dry leaf is speckled with red peppercorns.

Steeped, it smells the same as it does in the pouch. Maybe a little more chocolatey. When it comes to taste, this is definitely a harmonious blend of cocoa and peppercorns. I can feel the heat from the peppercorns at the back of my mouth, but it’s not overwhelming at all. The cocoa doesn’t come out as much as I would have liked taste-wise, but it’s still a pleasurable sip.

One great thing about this tea is you can leave it steeping for upwards of ten minutes and it won’t even get bitter. That’s a bonus for me because I love bringing out the heat in this even more. I’ve steeped this with the same leaves thrice and as long as you steep it longer than the time before, it tastes nearly the same.

I think Acquired Taste Tea Co. acquired another customer! Too bad I didn’t know about them sooner despite the fact that they used to be in my backyard. Will definitely be making a purchase of this and trying out more.

I’ve really been craving a minty tea lately and this is all I really have. I’d love to find a fabulous chocolate mint tea, preferably black. Any suggestions?

Mate Mint is a great choice if you want something with a spearmint punch and gives you energy. The dry leaf smells strongly of spearmint, but not in a medicinal way at all.

When it comes to taste, it’s also very straightforward: spearmint. There is a bit of mate in the background but I’ve personally always liked the taste of it. To me, it’s almost not even there.

Let me tell you, when it comes to function, this stuff really works. My last semester of undergrad was quite rough. Between finishing up courses for my honours double major, writing a thesis, working part-time, and being the VP of an on-campus club, those eyes needed to stay open. I sadly needed to turn to a certain drug: caffeine. I resorted to caffeine pills for a while but those only worked like the first two times, so then I turned to this. And I’m so glad that I tried this. It gives you a real buzz, but a healthy one, if that makes sense. So mate in general for the win!

Glad I got a sample of this. The dry leaves are delicate and wispy, and actually smell very strongly of blueberry. I was actually worried that the steeped tea was going to taste overly artificial and off.

Steeped, the tea truly does smell like blueberries, and the taste is just perfect. So far, this is definitely the best blueberry-flavoured tea which I have tried. The white tea allows the blueberry to shine, and impressively, I can get more than enough blueberry flavour even though I only steeped this for a minute-and-a-half.

Blueberry tea appreciators ought to try this one. It’s smooth and gentle, yet prim and proper, if that makes any sense.