Indigobloom

This is what I turn to in the morning when tea is suggested and I’ve not had breakfast just yet. Caffeine before food, for me is a baaaaad idea!
Milk, no sugar… this was quite delish! I would have much prefered a cuppa black tea but what can ya do? :)
The caramel note comes through, but then I also find the rooibos to be a tad sour- not that I mind it really. I wish it was a bit smoother and rounder but this does the job.

Another backlog…
So I replaced this in my cupboard, only 10g since it’s so expensive… and am I ever glad I purchased such a small amount! this batch is terrible!!! there were twigs in it, and the leaves were so dried out that they crunched when scooped up for the brewing basket. Flavour wise, none of the delicacy came out until it had cooled. It was still a decent cuppa but nowhere near the tea I once raved about. It makes me sad, this used to be my comfort. Taking it down a bunch of notches hurts…

Did my tea tastes change yet again?? this was just ho-hum. I’m thankful that there was no bergamot taste but otherwise, I won’t be ordering it again! The tea was just… plain! boring without any of the boldness I found before- whatsoever! Odd. They wouldn’t change the brewing parameters would they?
P.S. This is a backlog from yesterday. I was just to sleepy when I got home!

No notes yet.

Meh! I seem to hand those out alot lately. What a tea snob I’ve become…
This was interesting but like most teas the first infusion is just ok. As it cools, it becomes more lemony, in a tart way— which isn’t a bad thing. It makes me wonder how it would take to being iced, i think it would really make the lemon “pop”—and that’s saying something, considering I really don’t enjoy iced tea. Something to try next time perhaps. So, hot? not so hot but still enjoyable once it sits for a spell… and cool? It may take on a life of it’s own :)
(the only other tea I have found to prefer iced is Honey Bee, which I did not expect! so have been more open to the idea, or atleast I am trying to be)
NB: I got the slightest hint of nausea here so it’s possible that bergamot/leeched plastic is a factor in this rating!

Holy Nuts Extreme!!!
Dry: The leaves are curled this way n that… and are feral, vintagey, and smell like sweet leaves n nuts.
Wet: The leaves are fully uncurled, expansive, and green. and veiny.
The first brew is somewhat thick and intensely nutty, and behind that, strongly vegetal. There is a sweetness there too but it comes out more in the second steep (incredibly so in the finish) where the liquid comes out much lighter and more delicate.
Next time, I’ll try a shorter steep time on the first infusion so that the two are more balanced!
As for rebuying this one, I’m not so sure. This is satisfying, but not something I see myself craving.

Wow, this was pretty good! especially hot. I swear someone added honey! but no, that was just the tea. The honey could also be easily confused as a chocolate note, esp when freshly hot.
As it cools, it becomes more raisin honey and more delicate. The astringency comes out here as well.
I’m quite enjoying how complex it is.
For now, I’m suitably impressed but not rushing out to buy some for the house. My raspberry note tea is my go to addiction at the moment so I’ll wait til that runs out before deciding on my next indulgence!
Still, this was lovely and I’m so glad to have tried it! :)

Wow, this is amazing!
I avoided this tea for ages, thinking that it would taste all medicinal and herbally but it’s more like a really sweet, smooth, green tea with a teaspoon of sugar added!!!
The sugary goodness is really delicate, but persistent from the middle of the sip (once it cools a bit, not as much when it’s hot) all the way to the almost finish. When the liquid is room temperature, there is a brief but sharp bitterness in the aftertaste so I recommend finishing the cup before it cools. I’d LOVE to see what this one does in a gaiwan :)
Oh and it’s caffeine free?? not made from any variation of camellia sinensis??? and with more antioxidants than green tea? ok now I am intrigued. I need to experiment with this wonder brew!

I brewed some of this up to get through the audit we were plowing through at work. Such a bore! but this kept me awake, mostly. Oh and the agave made it a tad too sweet, I guess cuz it was a bit weak.
The spoon went missing so I eyeballed it, and ended up using less leaf than I should’ve. Bah! it was tasty, and did it’s job. I love this tea!! The first tea I ever actually replaced in my cupboard :)

Hmmm, I need to play with the steeping parameters. The strawberry was a bit too mild, and the ceylon a tad too bland and even earthy. It was ok, but nothing like what I had in the store. The earthiness confuses me, since my tea master has never touched bergamot, and I know this wasn’t a yunnan or pu’erh!
Maybe a resteep of the leaves will offer up a better brew. and sugar. Yes, I may add a dash of sugar.
EDIT: I fear that whoever filled the kettle this aft, forgot about our plumbing issues and used the kitchen sink! perhaps that’s why this tastes like old socks mixed with my beloved strawberry shortcake. *sighs
Here’s hoping for next time!

So. I needed caffeine free, and this is what caught my attention. I made a cuppa for Mum n Dad and Mum likes hers weak (extremely so) and thought I would try it with two bags between the three of us. Well, it worked out ok I think. Mum’s was indeed pretty weak but she declared it to be good. Mine was pretty yummy as well! Not sure it still deserves the 93 but then I had only 2/3 of a bag.
Best to have my own next time.

Fruity, definitely fruity, and even winey. Just not tasty! I couldn’t even finish the cup. That makes three cups of tea that went unfinished today! I need to stop experimenting… (hahahaha as IF I could even attempt such a thing)
Not much else worth saying about this one. I was tempted to try it with milk but I doubt even that could save this.
That said, if anyone can find a use for this(cooking perhaps?), I have a bunch waiting to be used up!

I suspect he oversteeped this. It was bitter, but overly so, and in that tannic, cloying way that makes my mouth dry.
The bitterness overshadowed the smokiness that I believe was poking out but can’t be sure really. The slight sweetness managed to get me through most of the cup but eventually it became too much for me and I tossed the last of it in the bin.
I’m not writing this one off, but now don’t want to invest in a take home batch… hmmm, always a gamble.

a big fat disappointed MEH to this tea!
It was just not that great… bland and yet extremely fresh, but not delicate at all. As it cooled, it took on a somewhat plasticky taste. It did however have atleast a hint of sweetness to it.
I’ve never met a plain white tea (haha, get it? :P) that I disliked before, but I suppose there is a first time for everything. Also, I’d give it a second chance… since it may have been a bad batch.
That said, it was better than any tea I can get at my other office, but still not a good start to my morning!! —considering my high expectations for a white that is

I thought I would love this one!! cinnamon and black tea, that sparkles! (and not like a cheesy vamp. ha!)
Well, there must be some floral element in here that my allergy sensors dislike so it made me quite nauseous. The website states the ingredients as"Chinese black tea, sugar crystals, gold nonpareils, cinnamon, orange peel, cloves, and flavouring". I’m betting it’s that last, mysteriously nondescript item that set everything off. No way to know for sure… I wish I’d taken it without milk so I could have gotten a better sense of which part was bothering my ick threshold.
Well, I won’t be doing that again… too bad, if it weren’t for the queasiness this one would have had a chance at my perm collection

Allergy update! :)
So I went into the shop this AM before work and let loose on my situation, and the tea barista agreed to steep my tea in a bag instead of a tea master. Yay!
He said that they bleach the tea masters out ever week but sometimes it leeches into the plastic pretty quickly and therefore I should be careful.
So I ordered the lapsang souchong. Feeling extra diva-like this morning, I mentioned wanting to try it with milk but not being sure about it so the other worker, a girl this time, poured some into a small cup for me.
I gotta say, it was kinda weird with milk!! The DT version was great with milk, I suppose cuz the smokiness is less intense. Here, it just made the tea floral and marshmallow-ey in an odd way that made no sense to my taste buds.
So I drank the rest of it bare. Yummmm! nary a bergamot leaf to be smelled. Ahhhhh…
Nothing will compare to the first time I tried this one. I always get so excited the first time lol
Anyhow, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. One day I’ll pick some up to take home with me and maybe try more than one steep!

I’ve had this far too often lately. Not that I have anything against Tims, for what they offer… but what I REALLY want is a looseleaf tea of my choosing, not this bagged concoction.
The last week or so, looseleaf tea has taken a back seat because of my hectic schedule and troubles with Teaopia. I miss it.

Sunshine Mate seems to taste ok with our tepid water. Maybe I can make some of that…

Erm, not bad but not great either. As usual they left the bag in… which meant that by the time I could take a decent sip it was wayyyyy oversteeped.
I miss my savour moments! you know, when you just take a moment to really enjoy the cuppa in front of you even if your days is swarming with distractions and work.
In fact, I really can’t comment much on the flavour besides saying I think it’d be pleasant when done properly. It had a hint of sweetness at the end to.
Bah. throws hands up in the air

So I have a bergamot sensitivity… yada yada yada…
Normally, this would never impact my having a plain darjeeling, savy? well it does if the tea master used to steep leaves has bergamot essence leeched into the plastic! which is my best guess as to why for the second time when having a black from this location, I had to dump my purchase. I paid extra for it, since it was a premium tea!! I’m a bit put off…
Esp since I doubt they will break out a new Tea Master and keep it bergamot and maybe even jasmine free just for me.
I would HATE to ditch teaopia just because they can’t accommodate me. Here’s hoping they can. *fingers crossed

Wow, what a difference!! this is fantastic when done right.
I taste more raspberry than chocolate, which I find odd since it was more chocolatey before. Then again I used a proper measuring spoon this time.
With or without milk, I would love this. A dash of sugar really helps bring out the raspberries to.
Ceylon is typically not my style, but this, THIS is my new love of the week. It reminds me of childhood for some reason, and I suspect it’s sentimentality that causes my swooning. My tastebuds are impressionable, by memory, it seems.
I wonder if they will pop in the second steep as well…

On unrelated business: The hot water I can get at my Monday/Wednesday office is terrible! ick! I’m so not looking forward to work tomorrow…
On the plus side, I’m over my tea aversion! :)

This is indeed a very tasty tea! no surprise there… I knew the same tea combination from Davids was amazing so I expected more or less the same. One day, I’ll do a side by side comparison to see which I like better.
Sadly, the Davids tea may win that battle. Apparently places that do blends like this usually use flavoured oils to enhance the tea, and this shop, being more “pure” has decided not to indulge in such unpure practices.
Also, the white peony from Tea Dynasty is a little rounder, and not as delicate in flavour… which is part (just a small part!) of what I love about the Davids version.
Does anyone know why some white teas have that delicateness, and others don’t?? I’m curious!
That said, the TD version uses freshly dried strawberries that really punch through on the first steep. They come out nice and tart, while DTs is only sweet and far from tart, compared.
By the second steep of the TD tea however, the strawberry is mostly gone… leaving the barest suggestion of strawberry, and mostly in the aftertaste.
On another note, I just love that the shop owner will make whatever blend I want! this wasn’t on the menu so I asked him to do it up for me and he did! one of many things that sets this place apart from the other shops :)

This was… tasty. Milky, but not all that sweet except for the finish. There was also a distinct fruity note but of what variety I can’t be sure. A bit “green” and vegetal as well. Solid, but not my fave oolong from this shop.
Sorry for the rushed reviewss… I am dead tired!

In an effort to consume less floral caffeinated beverages, I opted for this tisane. It was interesting, but I’m not in love.
Hot, it was very fruity and sweet. As it cooled, I tasted… bubblegum?! Odd. Not something I would normally choose… but I’m glad to have tried it atleast.
My tasting abilities seem to be dampened with this darned allergy plaguing me. Gah, come back taste buds, come back!!

This was my first tea of the day. Unfortunately, it seems that I’ve overdone it with the Bergamot and Jasmine experimentation and was temporarily allergic to tea!! :(
but I seem to be over that, as long as I stay away from those nauseating petals.
So… when I tried this tea, it really did nothing to impress. I’m still queasy so I’m thinking I need to take a break from blacks for awhile- until my body figures out that there are no flowers in plain black tea!
Anyhow, I’m leaving the rating on this one til I come back with a fresh palate. I should try lover’s leap again to… I don’t want to be an anti-black tea drinker!!