Honey

I recruited this fruity tea to help wake me up for a 7am weekend shift (the horror!). This time I mixed it with Weight To Go Pu-erh from Teavana and the sour lemon flavor I oh so much hated in the Raspberry Riot was subdued. Mixing these two is simply delicious and really improves the mate’s flavor. I decided to up my rating of this tea for this reason :)

I mixed this tea with Weight to Go Pu-erh from Teavana – it balanced the tea out very nicely and gave it more flavor than what the Blackberry Mojito had on its own. Plus, the two teas have mint in them so it’s a refreshing cool finish :)

This is one of the first teas I’ve ever had! I’m backlogging, of course. This tea had a decent balance between cinnamon and apples, and it was actually quite pleasant. Smelled like apple cider and was a nice drink for autumn. If I could find a nice apple+cinnamon tea loose leaf tea like this, I may never consider trying it again. Suggestions welcome!

I remember this! I stumbled upon it in Target about a month ago. It was quite tasty and the soy gave it this smooth texture. I may not have shaken it up well enough though, because I swear the first few sips were not as sweet at the last half – which was too sweet for me. I love anything with sugar in it too. So if you want to try it, shake it up really well!

I spent so much money on this tea that I reserved it for special occasions. However, those are few and far between and as I got more tea, this one got forgotten. I made a cup this morning and it seemed flat; wasn’t very interesting like it should be but just blah. I think it has gone bad :(

At this point in my learning about both life and tea, I would consider myself to be first and foremost pleasured most by oolong teas. But, this tea is a close second. I was disappoint that my previous favorite black tea at Teavana had been discontinued (Himalayan Majestic) and that I had wasted money on their English breakfast black tea. The salesperson did warn me that the Majestic was the champagne of black teas, and once I’ve tried something as smooth, rich, and lacking any type of bitterness, I can’t go back. In fact, I won’t and I never will.

I have tried many types of black tea but I’ve normally been ambivalent towards them. But, I had to try and replicate my majestic experience. Once I smelled the leaves for Golden Monkey at the store, I immediately picked up on this wonderful chocolate and soon thereafter I was a goner. I had to have this tea!

After spending the morning lingering over my monkey picked oolong, I went to this. What a juxtaposition! Once I brewed this tea I smelled its richness, saw the deep brown clear color and I was pulled back to black tea land. It is nice and smooth, and full-bodied. I love the malty taste too. I tend to enjoy teas that are malty and nutty and not too strong. I think that this black tea is not as strong as others, so if you’re palate is more partial to medium-strength, this black tea might be a good choice. Although I like the vegetal smoothness and contemplation that comes with a cup of monkey picked oolong, I appreciate the zing I get from a cup of golden monkey. I love my black tea with some sugar, and rock sugar worked its magic on this tea – brings out the subtleties and complements the complexity. Well done. A top 10 tea for me!

This is the most I’ve ever paid for tea, and it was worth it. I tried it in the store and really liked it, and when I got home I brewed a cup of this in my dragon yixing pot. I had previously brewed silver needle white tea in this pot 2 or 3 times, and I’m afraid my palate is not well developed enough to know if this changed the taste. If it did, then it was for the better – the liquor is clear and golden in color, and the smell is refreshing and grassy, vegetal. So far so good! Just now tasting it, it is crisp, clean, and fresh. This tea is definitely a self-drinker, which I do not say very often. Out of curiosity I added some of my organic white honey and it slightly sweetened the tea but it is definitely not necessary. I was just experimenting!

It may be because I brewed it in my yixing pot for my silver needle, but the taste does remind me of silver needle and some of the finer green teas I have tasted. Since I’ve bought my yixing pot a couple years ago, I’ve learned that I prefer oolong over white teas, so this is why I have changed my mind on what type of tea to brew in this pot. However, it is tempting to purchase a monkey yixing pot, just for the fun of it :)

Wow. I am grateful that I get to sip on this tea while getting over a cold (yes, I have a cold at the end of August! I haven’t been sick for 2 years!) I am not just an apple fanatic, but a Fanatic (with a capital F). I have finally found a tea worthy to satiate my palate with the taste of apples.

This honestly tastes like an apple-pure and simple. It is such a pleasant tea and I 100% agree with the description – it is sooooo smooth. The apple and green tea flavor meshes together flawlessly; the apple is sweet yet slightly sour. I hate sour things, but this is a light sourness you catch a glimpse of in the finish. I am going to try this tea double-strength iced for the summer. I think it’s going to be unbeatable. It’s also not bitter at all. This one is in my top 10 teas for sure, due to its pleasant balance of apples and green tea.

If you love apples, I implore you to try this one – 4oz is only $9.50. Not bad in my opinion. I’ll have to see how many times I can steep the leaves though. I used 2tsp tea with 8oz of water, and 3/4tsp of organic white honey. Bravo Indigo Tea Company!

I like to think that I’ve tried enough chai teas to spot a good one. This is a good one!

As compared to Teavana’s plain Masala Chai (which has been discontinued) this tea’s flavor is much more robust and complex than other chai teas I have tried. I like the balance of spices in this one, as the cinnamon is not overpowering (like Teavana’s Maharaja Chai). However, the cardamom and ginger taste may be quite off-putting to some. If you’re looking for a chai that you can’t help but contemplate while sipping it, I suggest this one. Just don’t oversteep and add enough sugar to make it sweet (2 tsp rock sugar/16oz). I also use about 3-4 tsp of tea/16oz water to beef it up. A splash of milk helps mellow it out and get rid of some bitter undertones as well.

I just picked up this tea while spending another day at the office. By office, I mean at Indigo Tea company. If you live in Minnesota, this is a great tea shop for the south metro. It is a wonderful place to study because they don’t have wifi (which means you won’t waste time surfing the internet and obsessively checking your e-mail!)

Anyway, as far as this tea goes, I was excited to try a green tea that also purports chai flavor. What an interesting combination…this tea is. I’m not well versed in different types of green tea, but I know the difference between Gyrokuro and Dragonwell because they’re the only two types I normally drink. I would say this tea’s leaves are more similar to Dragonwell green tea. However, I’m having more difficulty identifying the predominant spice in this tea. It could be clove, and it is definitely is not cinnamon, or nutmeg. I’ll have to ask some of my friends that cook much more often to me to identify the spice in this. Despite my lack of knowledge, I like the spice in this tea with the green tea flavor. I would prefer it in the fall, but I’m enjoying it tonight anyway :)

I was not very impressed by this tea my first brew; too weak for my taste. So, I decided to brew it with 3tsp/16oz water, 1tsp rock sugar and found that this tea is quite pleasant.

It has that definite oolong feel to the tea, which I don’t really know how to describe since I am lacking the tea vocabulary to convey to others. However, if you love oolongs, it’s that taste that you just adore! At first sip, this tea is more fruity and in the finish the cinnamon seems to come out more. It is a nice balance of flavors, overall. I think this may be my new summer oolong while I put my Sweet Oolong Revolution on hold to enjoy during the winter.

No notes yet.

This tea is pretty good! Has a fresh strawberry taste that is very refreshing. I am also picking up on that slight buttery-brown sugar taste. It’s definitely a nice undertone that comes out in the finish. Overall, it does not overpower the strawberry taste, but instead brings out the flavor nicely. Let’s just say it’s sweet and soothing enough to keep me working on my dissertation :)

No notes yet.

Holy moly! If you love cinnamon, and I mean really LOVE, then this tea if for you. I, however, don’t even really enjoy Big Red gum. If you want a wake-up call with each sip, you’ll really love this tea. I found the cinnamon pretty overpowering and decided to give it to someone that was constantly eating hot tamales. It has a smooth, pure flavor though.

I have been searching for that special strawberry tea. I wanted something that tasted so purely like strawberries I could have sworn I was eating them. I even tried the strawberry pie honeybush which had glowing reviews, but it didn’t quite hit the spot (and I love all things strawberry and vanilla). This tea did it for me, finally! I needed no sweeteners for this tea, and it was so smooth, so pure, and so fresh tasting. Didn’t taste artificial whatsoever. They must have put strawberries from the garden of eden in this tea!

My holy grail of strawberry tea, found at last. Can I get a what-what?!

Magnificent. I am really tempted to say that this is my favorite tea I’ve ever had. I’m a big fan of oolongs, plus toasted/nutty/spicy flavors. Needless to say, this tea has it all for me. It’s got a wonderful balance of flavors, and with a hint of rock sugar it is perfectly sweet for my tastes. I especially love it with Sweet Oolong Revolution from Teavana as well.

I keep a huge a** tin of this at all times and frequently dedication mediations sessions in gratitude of this tea (I’m exaggerating of course…but I could conceivably dedicate a shrine to this tea). That’s okay if you think I’m crazy, because I am crazy…for this tea. :)

What the heck is up with this tea? It has been decently reviewed and I thought it would be a safe bet. However, despite its fruity flavor, it has this weird taste to it. I wouldn’t call it sour…maybe a cousin of sour. It’s just weird. I gave it to someone else since I couldn’t force myself to drink it anymore, and blending it just couldn’t get rid of the awful combination of flavors. Booo.

This tea is interesting. It definitely has that fruit factor, as well as another quality I can’t quite describe. The finish of the tea has strawberry undertones, as well as something special that is ineffable (this is a dramatic word but I don’t know what else to say!) This might just be me though. I think it’s worth a shot for fruit and oolong lovers, however I think they may have discontinued it…

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

After I first tried this tea, it has been called my crack tea. It’s so good you almost want to snort it. I never would, of course. Just don’t let it steep too long or it gets bitter.

The leaves are so light and fluffy, and after brewing you get this very delicate flavored tea. It’s the type of tea you sip while contemplating things. It’s quite enjoyable paying attention to the nuances of things…

This tea is alright. It’s got the fruitiness going for it, but I caught on to undertones of bitterness and the entire thing seemed off kilter. There is a pleasant blackberry taste to it, but I’m afraid it doesn’t bail the rest of the flavors out. There are many better options to get that berry flavor you’re looking for, though.

If other mate teas did not help you kick your habit of coffee, this one is much more likely to do the trick since it has multiple strong flavors that really provide that kick-in-the-face that coffee sometimes has. I found this mate to be much stronger than MateVana and My Morning Mate. The vanilla flavor is well blended with a strong, almost toasted nut sort of taste. Even though the flavors are all strong, they are very well balanced and provide a long tea finish that will hold you over until your next sip. I put in an extra 1/2 tsp for a bit stronger taste since I’ve done that for the other mate teas, but for this one it may not be necessary. Just know that if you want it stronger, just toss in another teaspoon and let it jump start your day!