jennlea

I don’t drink iced tea to often but this summer I have been finding myself preparing or ordering it more when I’m out. I always thought iced tea tasted very different from hot tea and it never really suited me so it seems things are changing with my palette!

This iced tea appealed to me because of the ease of making it. I simply had to place the tea bag in a bottle of water for an hour, take it out and I had iced tea. I put my water bottle with the tea bag in the fridge while I was getting ready this morning to test this out. Right before I left I discarded the bag and my water bottle went with me for the morning events. The tea definitely tastes green. Very green actually. The mint peeks in underneath giving the green taste a little extra something special. I quite like this and am glad to have found a cold brew iced tea for an on the go water bottle!

It has been quite a while since I drank a Houjicha and I had forgotten how comforting they can be. After a busy day I made myself a cup of this and relished in the toasted goodness that came over me. There was no bitterness or odd flavors sticking out. I have had a not-so-nice Houjicha before and I am thankful this one was not a repeat experience! I found this tea had a roasty toasty flavor that was simply yummy. It helped to relax me after an eventful day and I just might have to add this to my list of teas to keep around!

Got back late last night from my trip to Michigan where I sadly had hardly any tea. So what better way to get back into the swing of things than to drink my favorite tea.

Oh…and some good news…I’m engaged!!

Drinking this again today because I really like it! Although I should probably stick to teas today that don’t have caffeine because I am jittery enough as it is. My sister-in-law is going to have a baby today or tomorrow and sadly they are in Texas which I hate. And I leave tomorrow for Michigan to meet my boyfriend’s family. So, yeah. I have a lot of nervous energy running through me. Definitely gonna be packing this in my suitcase for my trip!

Wow, I am quite impressed with this tea! Has a wonderful smooth taste that is malty and has a dark sweetness to it. No astringency or bitterness and has a small hint of earthy pepper. To top it off, I was able to get 3 infusions out of 1 tsp and probably could get another one or two but have to head off to a rehearsal. I am really glad I picked this up!

I am ready for Spring and after drinking this I want Spring to be here right this moment. This has a really nice flavor. The sencha and the cherry flavor blend together in an excellent way. Neither one overpowers or sticks out above the other. The cherry flavor is not fake at all which really surprised me. I have another cherry flavor tea in my collection that is so incredibly sickly sweet and fake that I really have to be in the mood for. This one however is perfectly refreshing, green, and sweet reminding me of Spring.

The world at work is right again seeing as I have restocked the pyramid teabags at my tea station. Yay!!

I am too exhausted to really write much, however this tea is wonderful. Has a floral oolong taste that is accompanied by a baked quality that compliments it perfectly. Had 2 steeps so far and will continue until I have sucked the life out of the leaves.

My students are celebrating Valentines Day today and the craziness is rampant. I figured I would drink the last of my sample today in hopes that I might get in the spirit. Is it working? No. I hated this day while I was in school and I still hate it. They are all getting stuff and comparing with other students who is most liked/loved. Even the teachers secretly compare who gets the most stuff. And it bugs me. At least I have a pile of candy on my desk to get me through the day even though I already feel sick from junk food…

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! As I am drinking this it just hit me…this tastes like liquid Big Red!!! I haven’t had that gum in ages!

My favorite Thai restaurant where I live is called Orchid. Thankfully this tastes nothing like the cheap bagged oolong tea they serve there.

This is smooth and notably floral with a smooth creamy taste of coconut. Very yummy! Thanks Bethany for the sample of it. Probably gonna have to order a full size of this!

This tea and I are becoming such good friends it is on the border of being ridiculous.

I am tired but wound up. Such a horrible state to be in. I am always looking for something to drink in the evenings and I have to say this is one I will be turning to often. This is incredibly sweet with a nice amount of cinnamon that doesn’t knock your socks off. Great for a late night treat.

Mmmmm, vanilla.

Haven’t found many teas that do vanilla well but this one is really great. The vanilla is obvious and creamy with an ever so slightly floral quality which gives it an interesting twist. I think it helps the vanilla not seem so fake. I hate fake vanilla. This is smooth but with a tiny, tiny amount of astringency on the back of the tongue. There are cinnamon rolls calling my name in the teachers lounge and I think another cup of this will go wonderfully with them.

Been knocked out with a migraine all day and didn’t have the energy to make any tea but this only takes 30 seconds to brew so it was full of win right now. After drinking a cup I feel warm, comforted, and positive the headache will be gone soon. Positive thinking works, right?

Whoo! Had a delay this morning which meant I actually had time to make tea before work. Feeling a little adventurous so I totally flew by the seat of my pants with this tea. Had a little untried sample of it and it seemed fitting to make some chai to go with the snow.

Used 2 teaspoons in boiling water for 4 minutes. Warmed up vanilla soy milk, not sure how much I used, and added agave until I felt it was enough. Totally not scientific or anything.

Came out really nice. Sweet and chai tasting with an interesting fruity tart taste that wasn’t overly obvious. Just made it more interesting than a straight forward chai.

Interesting.

Black tea with different types of flowers, the most obvious being lavender. There is also some vanilla flavor added. I don’t know anything other than that because I picked this up at a local tea shop and before I got a chance to talk with the owner, the place got busy. Has a fresh spring scent to the dry leaves with a hint of vanilla fragrance.

The aroma of the steeped tea doesn’t excite me and almost smells musty. But once I started taking sips I noticed it tasted better than it smelled. Has in interesting floral taste that isn’t perfume-like, neither is it floral like an oolong might have, and the vanilla makes a very subtle appearance. Lavender is the flower taste that sticks out the most but it isn’t the only one I taste. It definitely is an interesting taste and sorta reminds me of a ladies garden party. The mix of the different black teas isn’t overpowering and has a recommended steep time of 2 minutes which works well.

Going to up my rating a little. Tried this again this morning with a little bit of stevia added as well as an extra minute of steep time. It helped to bring out the sweetness and taste of the chocolate and strawberries.

I. Love. This.

Almost out of the small sample I purchased so I need to restock this. Such a sweet treat and needs nothing added to it. I never tire of cinnamon (even though I can never spell it right on the 1st try) and love the way it pops in my mouth. Of course, I do happen to be the type of person who can eat atomic fireballs all day long. This reminds me of a subdued version of an atomic fireball but without the intense fire.

Getting to try this because of Bethany, thank you very much :)

The aroma from the dry leaves is tantalizing but seems to disappear a bit once it has been steeped. The taste mildly resembles chocolate with strawberries playing hide and go seek with the black tea. I don’t have milk or sugar around though I’m sure I could go find some pink packets of death but I’d rather not.

Will have to mess around with this tea because I think it has potential. My mind tells me this tea just needs a little bit of help to bring out the flavors more because I can taste them but they seem a little sleepy.

This is from another local tea shop that I found over the weekend.

Smells like a big juicy apple with some caramel drizzled over it. Some of that aroma comes through in the taste but I wish it were stronger. Not bad at all and perhaps some sugar would bring out more of the sweetness. There is also a slight rooibos taste however no roobios is in it. I could see this being a nice iced tea and will have to give that a try.

Another tea from Bethany!

I was in the mood for something fruity this Monday morning and I think this hits the spot. It is very sweet and fruity but not tart. Sometimes fruit teas can taste tart but not this one. It has an almost juicy quality to it. I have never had a mangosteen so can’t comment on the taste of one, but I can taste pear in this which surprised me. Normally pear doesn’t come through in teas at all! I can barely taste the green tea and I think the matcha just adds to the sweetness rather than being obvious. Not bad for a bagged tea!

I hope you all can share my excitement when I tell you there is a tea shop RIGHT DOWN THE STREET FROM ME!! Literally in walking distance if I wasn’t so lazy. I have honestly driven down the street it is on my whole life and somehow I missed it.

I guess I never knew this place existed because at 1st glance all one sees in is ‘Moons Coffee’. The ‘and Tea’ got lost to me I guess. However, the place is full of loose tea and tea ware. I nearly fainted.

I picked this up because I have been looking for a nice tea, not herbal or rooibos, to drink in the evenings when I have a tea craving. The owner made a cup of this for me and even though she made it a little weak in my opinion it was still good. So this evening I made it stronger and I think it is pretty darn good. Not as strong as a regular Darjeeling, but I can still tell that it is one. Not extraordinary in quality, but are decaf teas ever just that?

Edited to fix errors. I need to go to bed it seems.

I have sadly avoided matcha since my 1st experience with it was not so good but the desire to try it again has always been in the back of my mind. So, I picked this up during my last visit to the wonderful International Food Market (where the 1st no name matcha came from) and finally got around to preparing a bowl.

I am to lazy to go find what the real names of all the matcha pieces are, but I have the scoop spoon, the whisk and a bowl so of course I used them. The water was 180 degrees,1.5 scoops of the matcha powder was added and then I whisked till I could stand the suspense no longer.

This stuff was SO much better than the crap I had the 1st time. My bowl was sweet and slightly grassy, not too strong but obviously green tasting. I liked it and hope to start trying different types of matcha. Of course that means spending more money. Can the invisible tea gods please give us all an unlimited supply of tea funds?