K S

My late afternoon cup. The brew was a neat coppery bronze in my press. As a peach tea it is a good solid one but it is the extra things going on in the background and how it changes from one cup to the next that kicks this up a few notches. Oops, was that the attack of the run on sentence?

Made a second cup with supper. I wasn’t afraid to let it steep this time. This is a very nice tea. I was going to try and grab a picture off their website to update the tea info. Apparently they don’t actually sell their tea over the internet. Despite being a breakfast tea it doesn’t seem to pack the caffeine jolt of the silver needle white I had yesterday. Tastes yummy.

Oh wow, this is way better than I expected. I don’t get the name. There are three things you drink for breakfast – milk, juice, and caffeine. This is none of those. It’s good anyway. It’s mainly peppermint and lemon. This would be great to enjoy in the evening – or morning… if you’re one of those people ;)

Thank you ashmanra. I know very little about Irish Breakfast. I went a little light on the leaf because I don’t know how my stomach will react to this black tea. This is so much smoother than I expected. I thought it would be harsh. It is nicely fruity by mid sip and lingers into the aftertaste. No bitterness and only slightly drying. A good cup!

I sometimes read where reviewers don’t like white tea because, to them, it is too subtle. I can’t relate. I find Silver Needle to have an amazingly full flavor, and while it is not as in your face as an Assam it does pack a healthy buzz – despite popular opinion to the contrary. One of my oldest samples, it still smells as fresh as the day Teavivre sent it to me. As soon as the water hit the leaf, the room smelled of fresh cut hay. The sip is sweet hay and cucumber followed by a lingering melon aftertaste. This is exactly what I wanted this morning! I will continue on with this most of the day. An excellent white.

From this morning – I must have three dozen samples in little Baggies, most of them hearty black teas, that I haven’t tried yet. Of course I walked out the door without any of them because I am too asleep. It’s ok; I have an overflowing drawer at work. I’ll be fine. Except, I open the drawer and there are so many choices I feel paralyzed. This one popped up. I know it is not what I want for my first cup of the day, but it smells fruity and spicy and just happy. I could use some happy. Fusion Teas are master blenders. Nothing ever seems out of place in their teas. I can’t single out the ginger when this is hot. Frankly, I don’t feel like trying to sort it out. I just want tea. Oh wait. Once it cooled I gulped the last couple drinks and caught the bite of ginger and cinnamon. There was even a nice splash of light clove. This is a really nice cup; it just isn’t what I wanted this early. On to the next.

it’s 7:30 PM and I am having an Assam. Ok, multiple cups. The coffee cake demands it. :) see previous notes.

I notice my first note on this was 8 months ago. In that time I have become rather fond of chamomile. I give credit to Fusion Teas for making the one that changed my mind. Now I’m the one that asks my wife if she would like a cup. You get the sweet honey apple up front with the slightly sour chamomile bite late in the sip but then the vanilla kicks in and washes it away.

This one is such a delight to sip. It has pleasant veggie aroma and a milky texture. It is complex in an uncomplicated way.

Earlier this afternoon I was feeling a little (lot) mad at the world. I steeped up my favorite comfort tea. It helped.

Why did I drink this? Why did I drink it at bedtime? I am a sucker for convenience. This is still not very good. sigh.

After a couple false starts I learned I needed to use more leaf by volume than I normally use. The front of the sip is white tea. The white peony remains solid but dives under the chocolate flavor that comes in next. Its white and Belgian semi-sweet curls that completely melt in the brew. The curls taste really good when you pick them out of the bag. As it turns kind of milky the peppermint kicks in for the finale in the aftertaste. This is white tea so everything is a little subtle. Whisper is the correct name for this but it works. A really good cup.

The addition of strawberry to this rose tea really sets it off. Rose teas are often too perfumey and feminine for me. The strawberry adds a twist to the cup that makes it much more enjoyable. An even, balanced, cup.

First cup of the day. Heavy snow falling. White out conditions. There must be ice under it as I could not get the car up the hill to the road. I may be real glad later today.

Beautiful color. Awesome berry scent. The taste even with sweetener is a little tart but mostly flat. I am not a big herbal or berry drinker. Maybe this is good. Maybe I just don’t get it. It was not hard to drink. I just wasn’t a fan.

I first used boiling water and a 3 minute steep. It melted my face and the astringency hurt my gut. Definitely too hot and too long.

Second try – Using just below boiling water and a minute and a half steep results in a really tasty cup of Chinese black mixed with what I believe is Darjeeling. It is like this wants to be fruity but won’t fully commit. There is a hint of smokiness in the background. Smooth and delicious.

Like this one a lot. Thanks TeaEqualsBliss.

Hope your Christmas was filled with family and sharing. Mom fixed a fabulous meal. I am stuffed.

We are supposed to have a blizzard over night and into tomorrow. I really need to go to work. I don’t know how many more days they will let me work. I hate snow and ice.

The world did not end yesterday but apparently the stars and planets did align today. This pleasant but average bag offering was exceptional this morning. It had actual depth and substance. I had a buttered and jellied biscuit with it. Maybe that brought out the flavors. Who knows but I will try the biscuit thing again.

This was in the recent care package from ashmanra. I thought this was the British version of Earl Grey. It is not. This is bergamot and orange. The bergamot is lighter than that found in the US version of Earl Grey. The orange is lighter than that found in Orange Bliss. Together they are just right. It’s kind of like Lady Grey without the lemon. While this isn’t going to blow the socks off of you, it is another solid offering from Twinings.

Steepster ate my review! Quick version – thank you ashmanra. A nicely balanced cup that despite my fear of rose tea, I actually found myself enjoying this one. Another solid offering from Twinings.

Snow day. Staying on the couch waiting for the end of the world. I need Earl Grey but its at work. This has bergamot. Close enough. Actually it is completely different. As I was sipping this I kept thinking, this reminds me of something I’ve had before. Hmmm. This is peppery. The Earl Green I get from Empire Tea Services is peppery but much brighter and with more emphasis on the bergamot. This is lighter and darker. Trust me that makes sense if you try them both. What does not make sense is that this reminds me of Gurmans Pepper Mango without the heat. Completely unexpected and interesting.

Another from TeaEqualsBliss. I used one healthy scoop. First cup – Lord Almighty, I should have used half the scoop, half the water temp, and half the steep time. This is take your face off Sencha. Wow! Second cup – with just steaming water and a one minute steep. Now this is a good cup of tea. Sweet and green. Grassy but not too grassy. Lingering aftertaste with a bit of bite. I like it a lot. Thanks for sharing.

From TeaEqualsBliss. Sorry I forgot to let you know when the envelope arrived. With all the stress of late, I forgot my manners.

Now on to the tea. Unfortunately I think this is a little past its expiration date. I can taste what I think is sencha and I can taste lime sort of but really it is more the shadow of what this once was :( I can tell by the way it plumped up and the fact I can see lime zest through the bag, it had great potential.

This smells like those soft candy orange slices that are all covered in sugar I used to eat. I love those. Haven’t seen them in years. Now I want some. Only thing wrong with this is I wish the base was a little more memorable. I would like this to have more bite. It is a very smooth cup and I would drink a whole box of this. Put the Ceylon base Ahmad uses with the orange flavor and I would drink it often.

Used the last of the sample. I wasn’t sure there was enough for a mug. I forgot how tightly this is hand rolled. It expanded nicely and formed a carpet on the bottom of my press and a hanging canopy at the top of the water. Kind of cool. On the second cup the leaf hung throughout the press like a little jungle. Visual things like this amuse me.

First cup started bitter. My bad. I got the water too hot. As the cup cooled, it took it in stride and became buttered veggies. The second cup started more planty tasting. It turned more green leaf and veggies as it cooled. Nice aftertaste throughout.