Indigobloom

Mmmmmmm now this is the green tea, THE green tea that I can love.
Deeply nutty, roasted, slightly bitter but building on the roastedness. and SMOOTH!
Chestnutty? maybe! I don’t recall what that particular nut tastes like so I’ll go with yes. I think the tea dynasty version is better, deeper somehow, but then it was made in a proper gaiwan and all so who knows.
Oh and again with the sweet finish. Do all pure non-black Teaopia teas have that???

I had hoped this would be slightly sweet on it’s own, and I guess it was somewhat, but not enough… even after I added a few swirls of agave.
The tea itself may have been a yunnan base, as it was a touch earthy, underneath the distinct cran essence.
Next time I’ll try it with milk. Still, unless it surprises me with a sudden turnaround I doubt this one will ever make the repurchase list. Too bad, I had lofty dreams for it

I’m having alot of “mood tea” moments lately but have found that I don’t always have the right one handy to fill the role.
So… sadly, this tea was forced into filling the void, and well, as expected it didn’t quite do the job.
The tea itself was great. Sweet, oolongy, floral. but not what I was wanting: a solid, malty black tea with milk!
Tomorrow, I am getting that black tea come hell or tepid water!
(sorry, bad attempt at a tea joke there)

I don’t remember much from this one, being that I consumed it in the midst of an “omg emergency at the office” moment.
Thankfully, I atleast had an opp to try it before stepping into said office, so I remember it tasting quite earthy in the way I always wished that pu’erhs to be (but just aren’t) with crisp white notes on top.
But then… as it cooled, a sweet honey note came out underneath that pretty much replaced that earthiness. It was almost a milk oolong honey.
Anyhow, that’s about all I remember. That, and thinking that it wasn’t much different from the white tea I tried not long ago. One of those teas I would have to try side by side to really suss out the difference.
I’m a little frustrated with this one! actually, in general today, with my teas.

Hmmm. It’s not bad, per se. Highly astringent the way ceylons can be. The leaves must be either a first flush, or something akin to that because it tastes rather “fresh” but has very little depth to it, as Wayne mentioned. The tea is quality though. Very smooth for being bagged and not at all dusty.
Except, well, the maltiness is so minimal that I’m actually not looking forward to finishing the other 19 bags I have left. Atleast it was free! I’ll never turn down a free tea sample if I haven’t tried it before :)
I made Mum a cuppa to. If she doesn’t like it, would anyone else like to try this one? It just isn’t my cup of tea…

So I bought this one at St. Lawrence Market. I’m not sure if MTC is the right vendor but I’m willing to bet that it is given that they supply much of Toronto’s looseleaf market.
The tea is pretty much what I expected, no surprises. Coconut, pineapple… rooibos…
It stands alone with no sugar added but it gets a little tart. The rooibos is a bit strong, but then it usually is.
Overall, a solid tea but nothing to rave about.

I shouldn’t have had this. It’s my funky mood tea, and I was only in the mildest of funks! It didn’t really lift me and the first infusion was far too strong. I used the recommended 1.5tsp but should have used less for the porcelain cup and strainer I have. Oh well, now I know for next time. And the second infusion was amazing but by that time I was almost ready to leave so the good mood was wasted in terms of productivity.
Sidenote: I left my bag of teas that I received/purchased on Saturday at a friends place and will hopefully be getting it back tomorrow. So excited to finally try them :)

I did not enjoy this at all. The steep time was two minutes, or so the tea barista said… so I am curious to see how I would have liked it with a one minute infusion. Maybe then it wouldn’t have been bitter!! bitingly so. except it wasn’t bitter in an “oversteeped” way and it wasn’t thick the way oversteeped tea gets.
Oh and the caramel just made the tea taste greasy, like toast that’s been over buttered. Also… where was the apple???
I generally enjoy the second steep of teas much better, but with a takeout tea that isn’t really an option. For that reason, I’m not sure this rating is fair but it’s what I have for now. Bah!!

This was one of the free samples from the tasting I attended on Saturday… bagged, but not too bad. I added milk and some agave, but I think the milk at this workplace (I have two) is always on the edge of turning because this tastes really heavy and earthy. I’m not enjoying this cuppa much because of it :(
Not gonna rate it this time, I have another bag so hopefully it will be brewed under better circumstances then.
Atleast I’m getting some caffeine out of this deal. Hmph.

Mmmmm this is much better than I recall! I avoided this tea for months thinking it was terrible, and tastelesss… until today when I finally decided to give it a second chance— So glad that I did :)
I’m quite pleased that the flavour hasn’t been leeched out here(flavour that IS there, I have no idea what got that idea in my head), as I bought this one well over 18 months ago. Perhaps my palate has evolved after all.
The cherry is very mild, overtaken somewhat by the almond. Also, it doesn’t do to understeep, I have discovered— part of what I was doing incorrectly when I first purchased it.

Oh and errrr, unfortunately we had no milk left in the house, and so I was left to use my almond milk… but the milk was sweetened so now all I taste is the almond, and none of the cherry. Oh well, something to look forward to. Jessie, it looks like you and I had similar dilemmas today! :)
That said, this rating may increase. Fingers crossed.

well, this was much better!! perhaps not having the flu makes a difference. ok well probably!
Strange though, that I’m finding all the flavours much mellower this time.
And guess what… Mum LOVES this one!! There IS a tea god :)
The first infusion, I could taste he fig and carrot but it was second to the oolong. I added a dash of sugar, and served it in our porcelain cups… that may have improved the rating a bit haha.
Anyhow, the second infusion was great as well. More creamy, and smooth as expected! Yummmm.
I’m riding the “good tea” wave right now. Does anyone else get that feeling after a really good cup? not just the alertness, but a super satisfied feeling that leaves you in a fantastic mood… I’m not loopy I swear :P
ahhhh I love oolongs! (but not the green ones, I don’t think)

I finally tried this one iced. It was rushed, I only let it sit in the fridge for half an hour and had to use ice cubes… No matter, the green melon still tastes fake to me. And the watermelon, well I dunno how I feel about the way it tastes when freeze-dried.
Refreshing yes. Tasty? somewhat. I’ll happily drink the last of it but shan’t be replacing it in my cupboard!
On a side note: I got a tattoo last night!!! On my hip, so nobody will ever really see it, but it’s there :)
I can’t wait til it heals!

This was great!
The first few sips were bitter, but then as it cooled the nutty oolong emerged, with an oddly sweet finish. I’ve never had a swallow of tea quite like that last part of a sip. Sure, it’s been sweet in the middle, but not in the closing! yummm. That was the only part making it complex though. Pretty darn good, but I’m not sure if it’s an essential to my at home collection. I enjoyed Red Robe so much more… but in that case the sweetness came in a hair sooner through the sip (minus points!)
I didn’t have time to take notes so will have to write a more thorough review next time. and there WILL be a next time :)

backlog! from yesterday morning as takeout from the cafe. I wish I hadn’t!
They had no regular milk left so I had to use cream… oh boy was it ever terrible!!! The raisin note and cream don’t mix well together at all. Blech! Also, I suspect that the bag might have been underfilled, as the tea was incredibly weak. I drank the entire thing with the bag in and the flavour was just not there.
I’m not changing the rating on this, yet. Will see what happens next time, with regular milk. If it doesn’t shape up I’ll be crushed! this was my fave black tea.

wow! I did not expect this tea to be SO yummy.
For the first brew, I tried it hot and it was supremely satisfying. The lime and gelato parts came out nice and balanced, which surprised me because some friends mentioned that they hated this tea after trying a sample in the store. (I should have known better- they always add too much sweetener and oversteep)
The green base was mild but appropriately so given it’s palate partners!
Second infusion wasn’t as great. a bit watery and worn(minus points) down but I’ll take it. Too much caffeine is bad for a girl anyhow.
aaaaaaaand for the first time ever, I am excited about trying a loose tea ICED! This one should be incredible. yay! :)

Well. I am NOT a fan of Jasmine. I’ve always known this, but decided to give it a go with some quality tea just to be sure. and it was confirmed. Jasmine and I do not get along.
The base was good, I enjoyed the nutty oolong and even parts of the floral but couldn’t get past the biting itchiness. As the cup cooled, I actually grew accustomed to it and started to hate it less and less… but then, well I became nauseous in a way only pu’erhs have ever done.
It makes me wonder if I have an allergy to jasmine.
As for the rating, I am of two minds. Anyone who enjoys this type of tea would find it lovely, surely… but this is my review! so I’ll leave it at how I feel about the brew. Any tea that makes me feel ill should never get a rating above 60! but the base was so good… ok so 67 then!

darn, I forgot my notes at work! jotted them down between calls. oh well…
Anyhow, this tea was quite tasty. It lands somewhere between a crisp white peony and a standard other “white” tea. There were delicate, fresh water notes throughout the sip.
When it was piping hot and I took that daring first test sip, I could swear there was a hint of peach! but then as it cooled, that quickly disappeared.
The delicate-ness was overtaken slightly by a nutty but somewhat grassy flavour.
I’ll update this with something a little more decisive when I get my notes back!

this is a plain fruity tea… oversteeped unfortunately. I’d like to try a second infusion of this one day. It was a to go order so had to throw the bag out- boo!
I can tell that it’s a quality brew though, relatively smooth for being oversteeped and light in flavour. I’m tasting some of the tartness as well, could that be the pomegranate?
Meh. I don’t plan on buying a tin of this but it’s satisfying enough I suppose. It just doens’t stand out in any way for me other than having a decent quality base.

I’ll add the description of this tea later. TOO much to do today!!
So, the girl at the shop promised me a tea with more depth than Golden Monkey, and a hint of raspberries. (perfect! in theory)
The chocolate and raspberries are coming through loud and clear, but not so much on the depth! I need to try this again at home, with more controlled conditions. I’m pretty sure the tap isn’t kept at “boiling” so maybe that would make the difference?
On it’s own, this one was pretty boring. With milk and agave, much better!!
There is potential for improvement, I need to fiddle with it a bit…

Going backwards here… this was my morning tea. errr, kindof.
It landed somewhere between tea and coffee and not in a good way. The brew was particularly bitter, so I added a whack of honey (they were out of agave) and milk. Even still, it tasted like old coffee mixed with a plain black tea. The maltiness struggled to peek out but was overridden by the coffee beans.
I won’t be getting this one again, unless someone points out a way to improve it significantly.

I love coconut! and almond! and vanilla (not as much, but I do quite enjoy it if done right. which it was here)
All these things in one smooth, buttery white tea??? yes please :)
Two infusions of this one, the first one a bit too strong (when will I learn…) but the second was perfect.
Again, not enough time to savour, but oh how I wish I had been able to! No sugar added either, but then there is no surprise there given the coconut!
Thankyou QuiltGuppy for sharing this one, you made my afternoon at work go by so much faster!
Now if only they had a shop here in TO :)

This was good!!
the white tea was great, but complicated by the add of green so I’m not sure about how defined they all were… not to mention that I didn’t have time to savour it- this was right before I happened upon the yerba shop so I downed this one in a hurry!
I could taste the spice, it was mild, but it provided a nice background finish, along with the corn. Kinda odd that it wasn’t more roasty though, not in a corn way anyhow.
One thing I liked was that it had a natural sweetness, so there was no sugar added. A good standalone tea… extra points for that!
I’m not sure if I would buy this one but I’ll think about it. Something here is throwing me off and I can’t quite figure out what- I need to try it again and sit with it.

First off, my rating here is not just about the tea but also my overall experience. It was my daily dose of culture! and it was fantastic!!!!! I love this place. If it wasn’t so far outta the way, I’d be there regularly.
Anyhow, I drank this out of the gourd, with the special metal straw. The first infusion was had bare— very strong, intense and a little bitter, topped with that “yerba” taste but much better than what I am accustomed to. Maybe that was due to the gourd? or the higher quality leaf?
The second infusion was less bitter, especially after the server added some sugar for me (you aren’t supposed to mix the leaves, I wasn’t sure how to do it proper!)
As I got nearer the third infusion, the brew became much smoother. It challenged my concept of yerba somewhat, as I didn’t realize it could be SO smooth, or that it would taste so different in the gourd. The yerba I’ve tried before is more raw, and can be really earthy. I didn’t get any of that here… just the “tea” part. Despite it being super strong, and even bitter, I did not find it wearing on the throat at all. Yes, I need to go back there so that I can have more, and pick up a bag!! they have yerba lattes! mmmmm
Next time, I hope to have a tea-pal with me as this is traditionally a social drink, meant to be shared among a group but as I was on my way elsewhere, this was sadly enjoyed by only me. It was somewhat wasted actually… there were atleast another 3-4 infusions left in the cup but I was late! as always.
Anyhow, this is a lovely cafe. I’m so grateful to have come across it! and the service was terrific as well.

Agh! So I went to a “yoga” class today… expecting, well yoga! and I really needed it after some cardio and an abs class. What did I get instead?? a pilates/core work/handstand lesson!
Which means I really need this tea to calm me down. Sheesh, I’m all tense and besides that, frustrated about missing my favourite time of the week(not to be confused with my fave time of day… can you guess what that is Steepsterites?). Well, that’s not very zen huh?
Bah, this is doing the trick, I think. Except I can’t sleep so maybe not.
This cup is understeeped. My fault. Oh well…