Kittenna

Shocking…. another hit from Butiki! This tastes just like maple nut fudge. It’s even sweet and everything. I think I prefer Creamy Eggnog… but only by a smidge, because this is absolutely decadent. This is much more of a dessert sort of tea.

Yeah, I’m too lazy to write more. I’m just going to enjoy drinking this amazing creation…

ETA: Second infusion retains that delicious lingering sweet mapley flavour. Not as good as the first infusion, but still pretty darn delicious. Probably would have been better if it had only been steeped for ~4 minutes instead of the 5:30 I gave it. I’m being bad and not paying attention tonight, haha.

I have been drinking tea in the evenings without regard for caffeine content lately, but last Friday I did opt for this caffeine-free beverage. Quite delicious, as per usual. I prefer this one to Cinnamon Roll Honeybush. So glad I took the leap and ordered this in my first 52teas order!

Drank a delicious giant mugful of this last Friday. It was so, so spicy and delicious! This remains one of my top-ranked chais, for sure!

This is such a good tea. Have I mentioned before that this one typically also withstands a re-infusion quite well? Yum!

No notes yet.

I guess I thought this one was okay the first time I tried it, but it really didn’t work well in the Timolino when I had it last Thursday. Too much bitterness in spite of a 2.5 minute infusion. And it didn’t really taste like wine, but like grape juice. Ah well. I may give this one another shot though, to see if I can’t prevent that bitterness from causing problems again.

Man, I am still so backlogged with tasting notes. Again, apologies for the massive number I’m going to pound out shortly!

I brewed this up again last week to take to work… and it was really not pleasant. I very carefully used a Finum basket, and a short infusion (2 minutes, I think), but it was bitter and unpleasant. I actually tossed it. I thought that I would be able to happily drink any flavoured black I threw into my Timolino, but apparently (and sadly) I was wrong. I’m not sure what I’ll do with the last of this packet… I think I’ll give it another shot brewed normally, then it’s up for a swap or something.

I’m getting close to a sipdown with this one! While I do like it, and it has been a faithful companion to work many times, I don’t think I’ll miss it too terribly much. Cashew Turtle, on the other hand, is one sipdown I am utterly dreading :(

Mmmmm, glad to have this one back in my cupboard. Didn’t steep it as long/leaf it as much as usual, but still quite delicious!

OH man oh man oh man. This is delicious. It smells rich and creamy and like vanilla. It tastes…. rich and creamy and like vanilla. Eggy vanilla (you know what I mean, yes?). The spices, however, are not making themselves known to me as much as I would have expected.

I was originally going to say that I can’t taste the base tea, but as I’m sitting here, I am definitely tasting it coming through all creamy and vegetal and delicious. I actually ordered a bag of this base as well, so I can have some fun identifying flavours later.

Anyways…. this is very, very good. I’m not detecting too much spicing, which tempts me to put in a dash of nutmeg and itty bitty pinch of cinnamon (or whatever the heck spices are in eggnog) next time I brew it, but this is by far the best vanilla tea I’ve tried. The choice of base is absolutely perfect.

Ah… that went down quickly. I guess that means it’s bedtime. Good thing, eyes only half open while writing tasting note….

ETA: The re-steep is amazingly delicious as well, just a bit less intense. I can hardly wait to try the base tea by itself (but not tonight: too tired!)

Wowwwww, this is delicious! Definitely glad I ordered some (shoulda got my free ounce of this instead of Strawberry Oolong!) It reminds me quite a bit of Laoshan Black, in that it’s very malty and chocolatey, but there’s quite a fruitiness to it as well. I had this in the Timolino, so I need to write a more detailed tasting note later, but this is definitely a winner for me. And the leaves are crazy huge, thin, wiry, unbroken. Fabulous!

I’m drinking the second infusion right now. It’s heading towards astringent in spite of only a 3-minutes infusion, but it’s still good. I’m sure it would be better re-steeped immediately instead of sitting all day.

Rating tentatively placed, but may increase upon proper evaluation.

Yay, my Butiki order arrived! Boo, I’m still crazy busy! Was out of the house from 10am-1am today. I’m exhausted…

Anyways, I threw some of this in my Timolino with some rock sugar this morning. It was very lemony and tasty, not quite the way the sample tasted, but certainly one of the best flavoured guayusas I’ve tried. Can’t really say if it kept me awake/energized as I didn’t drink it at such times :P

Yep, I maintain that this is a fabulous rooibos. Had another cup out of my sample (it’s almost gone! Nooooooooo!) and the aroma was absolutely intoxicating. I still don’t think of eggnog, but it’s like someone took a creme caramel rooibos (which I enjoy), mixed in vanilla, added just a hint of spicing, enough to make it different, and the result is pretty much the best rooibos blend ever.

Also, this re-steeps once ok, but the rooibos flavour does come out a bit more. Not enough to be too much of a bother, but I didn’t like it quite as much. Not quite as special.

Took a thermos-ful of this to work on Saturday, but wasn’t really enjoying it then… on Sunday, I brought it to my boyfriend’s house, and drank it there cold, and it was fabulous! The green tea was quite a prominent flavour, with the lemony, marshmallowy goodness present but less dominating. I really should try this one iced (I’m not sure if it would work cold-brewed though).

No notes yet.

Two cups of this one = a sipdown of my sample of the fall 2012(?) batch of Zhu Rong!

I’m finding this tea very, very much similar to Laoshan Black, as I have before. I had this in my thermos yesterday, and when I opened it up, I thought I had opened up the Chocolate-Covered Strawberry tea that I also had popped into my other Timolino, because the chocolate aroma was so intense and unmistakeable! Of course, a sip told me otherwise, and what a delicious sip it was, too :D I think either this or Laoshan Black would interchangeably satisfy my craving for straight, chocolatey black tea.

Also brewed this up at the boy’s house this morning. It was the oddest thing though; when I took a couple sips so that the Timolino would close leak-free, I could have sworn I was drinking chicken broth. Savoury and salty. Strange! It tastes fine/delicious now, but that kind of threw me. I suppose it must have been the savoury qualities of the oolong poking through a bit more prominently than usual. Contamination was a non-issue (unless it was with DT’s Cream of Earl Grey, which wouldn’t = chicken broth, IMO).

I have an absurd number of backlogged teas to post on here… I’ve been ridiculously busy, and trying to get things done, working late…. blaahhhh. I’m sure there are a bunch of you who I should be contacting re: all sorts of things, and I’m sorry I haven’t had the time to. I’ll get to it & the sending of various packages as soon as I can.

Anyways, I brewed up some of this at the boy’s house this morning, prior to my accidental hour-long nap on his couch (ooooops). So by the time I tried to drink some, it was perfect! I still feel like I might be doing something wrong with this tea though… it’s just not as deliciously creamy as I remember. Back on the lookout for earl grey creams as a result (I think I mentioned this in my last tasting not on this as well). Still good though (but I do think I overleafed today… oops :( )

Trying another tea from ch3rryprincess! Thank you! This has been on my “to try” list for a while, and it has been all I can do to keep myself from ordering it.

Brewed up, the aroma is quite interesting and tasty. I can smell a lemon verbena sort of lemony aroma, backed by caramelly aromas and a black tea base. Unfortunately, IMO, this tea smells more promising than it tastes. Sure, it’s lemony (kind of a lemongrass/lemon verbena sort of flavour), but other than a hint of sweetness, that’s all I’m getting, yet bitterness is already poking through in spite of a careful 2.5 minute infusion in a Finum basket. This is certainly not bad, and I’m sure it’s great sweetened, but I much prefer black teas with more caramelly flavour (which I was hoping this one would have in addition to the lemon).

(I’ll admit, it’s been about 5 minutes since I wrote this and neglected to hit “post”, and it’s growing on me a bit. Still not caramelly enough for me, but I do kind of like it, haha.)

When I first opened the vacuum-sealed packet, I was greeted with a delicious, creamy, sweet vegetal aroma. Not an aroma I’d necessarily typically associate with an oolong, but it was quite appealing! Brewed up, the aroma remained a creamy sort of vegetal, and the flavor reflected that quite closely. This is pretty tasty! Lightly sweet, with that boiled veggie flavor and an overlying creaminess. It’s not what I would label a milk oolong (based on some others I’ve had), but its creamy quality certainly lends itself toward the title. I’d definitely drink this again! Thanks so much to Tea from Taiwan for this generous sample!

Very belated ETA: The re-steep on this one was okay, but I’ve noticed that with many green oolongs, the first infusions are the most delicious and distinct, while subsequent infusions lack uniqueness and just taste generally oolongy to me. That was what happened here.

The aroma from this packet was vegetal in much the same way as the Tai Xing Jin Xuan, however the sweetness wasn’t as present, making the aroma less appealing to me. Likewise, the aroma from the brewed cup was less creamy, but still vegetal. Drinking a sip of this and comparing it to the Tai Xing Jin Xuan, I much prefer the latter tea as it has a sweetness and creaminess that is absent here. As well, the vegetal note is less rich boiled veggie, and more of a green veggie… if that makes sense. It’s not as pleasing, either way. This is not a bad tea, but it’s much more like a regular green oolong, in my opinion. Thanks again to Tea from Taiwan for sending me a sample of this tea :)

ETA: Re-steep was akin to any green oolong. Tasty but unremarkable.

A huge thanks to ch3rryprincess for sending me a sample of this tea I’ve been so curious about (also, for the GIANT bag of Buttercream!! Oh, I’m so thrilled you have no idea!)

Anyhow, I brewed some of this up last night, and the smell overwhelmingly reminded me of DT’s Banana Nut Bread. Which was okay, but not a winner for me. The flavour was alright, quite banana-y, and coconutty, with some other flavours as well… but it really didn’t work for me. It was almost like a cross between Tropicalia and Banana Nut Bread. I’m drinking the second infusion right now, and am definitely underwhelmed. Don’t feel like I missed anything by not getting more of this tea, that’s for sure!

Anyhow, thanks again ch3rryprincess!

Definitely developing more of a liking for this tea as time goes on… I was actually craving it tonight! I used 4 rounded tsp for a large mug (12 oz.??) and apparently, 2.5 minutes and that amount of tea results in overstepping (it was bitter). So, I added some brown sugar and a splash of milk, and it’s delicious! What I love with this tea is the base. The spicing isn’t necessarily my favourite, but the dancong base really gives this chai a different twist that I’m starting to appreciate. Yum! I love how it lasts for a few infusions too, and the spicing becomes more prominent in later infusions.

Ok, whoops. I was brewing things up absently at my boyfriend’s house on Saturday and didn’t read the package for this one. Assumed it was a black, threw a bunch of tea into the infuser, and brewed it up into an 8oz. cup… When I took out the infuser (a Finum basket), the entire thing was filled to the brim with expanded leaves! I quickly realized that it was a) an oolong, so I probably shouldn’t have gone with boiling water for 4 minutes, and b) that I measured out an appropriate amount of tea for a Timolino, not a cup. End result? A rather bitter, unpleasant cup with a nice orange caramelly aroma/flavor. Unfortunately though, I really did ruin it, so it’s a good thing I have more to try! I think this one may be quite good when brewed correctly.