aisling of tea

Blegh. Still not impressed. I had this iced yesterday and at the first sip, I was like “wow! This is great!” But the time I was halfway through the cup, I really just didn’t want to finish it. It was sickeningly sweet, the rooibos got to me. shrugs It just wasn’t impressive to me. Not one I will stock up on.

And, for the record, I didn’t get any jelly beans in this cup, either.

Thursday’s thermos of tea for the day. Yum. I had forgotten how juicy and fruity this little beauty is. It was no hardship at all to drink the 1.5 L of this. It did give me a bit of a boost, and while I didn’t feel overly jittery like I sometimes do with matcha, it kept me going on a painfully long day.

It’s that time of year again! The time of year where spring has just started, but occasionally winter creeps in, so all the public buildings still have their heat on.

In other words, I have been melting at work. Melting. So I take breaks every chance I get to go wander the mall (which is considerably cooler than my office, somehow) and make my way over to Davids for an iced tea. This was my tea for Thursday. The girl who helped me strongly recommended Jolly Jellybean, so I switched, but then I got a whiff of this and knew it was what I needed. Yum yum yum. It was beautiful and refreshing, tart and almost like a grapefruit lemonade without the acid that sets off my acid reflux.

Wow, I just looked at my rating from the last time I had it. I’m gonna go ahead and bump that up….I think I’ve fallen for this tea.

Yumyumyumyumyumyumyum. This is exactly what I’ve been craving these last few days. I made a big pot (affectionately named “Bertha” because she holds almost two liters) and stuck it in the fridge overnight to cool. I figured out why I don’t like the idea of coldbrewing! I’m a good Southern girl, and that means every tea I touch gets sweetened. Well, almost every tea. But sugar tastes much different when brewed into a hot tea and when stirred into an already-cold tea.

Unfortunately, I seem to have made Kool-Aid this time around by not paying attention and adding half a cup of sugar to the mix (I usually add two teaspoons for Bertha). Ah well, since the blend does have hibiscus in it, I iced it anyway. Yum yum yum I love it. It’s too sweet, but that’s obviously my fault. But I think this will become a definite favorite in the coming summer months.

Oh man. A few people on my list have reviewed this recently, so I felt it was time to revisit one of my favorites yesterday. Creamy, smooth, delicious…mmmm. This is just a lovely black. I love watching the big leaves unfurl. It’s the straight black that makes me believe in straight blacks.

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So I posted a review of this tea on my blog because Steepster doesn’t allow “dofollow” links. Regardless, I am in love with this tea! Read more about it here, where I get painfully Southern! http://wp.me/p1GKE7-3r

Yum yum yum. So I am trying (and often failing) to live a dairy free lifestyle, as dairy wreaks havoc on my system. But around this time of year, a mystical drink is brought out from shrouds of mystery…the Shamrock Shake. Long have I loved and adored this drink, my mother a huge fan of the creamy green goodness. We’re Scot-Irish, for heaven’s sake, it’s practically in our blood!

But after a few months of at least lessening the amount of dairy that enters my body, I know I cannot handle a milkshake, much less one of the ones from McDonalds. So my wife has been drinking them in secret, coming home with green lips and a minty fresh smile….the harlot!

But then I had a cup of this matcha. The vanilla-ness is right on, creamy, smooth and perfect. Intrigued, I dumped a scoop or two of it in with some soymilk and peppermint extract…oh my goodness. Shamrock Shake, I have missed you. It needs a bit of tweaking, I think I need the mint matcha from Red Leaf Teas to make this complete, the peppermint is too biting. And perhaps vanilla soy milk instead of unflavored…but yes. My quest for a Shamrock Shake has begun and it can only end in happy, happy tears! The matcha gives it the lovely green color and an added burst of energy as I spend my day researching and cooking a mass of dairy free soups. I am very impressed with Red Leaf Teas and their flavored matchas, and look forward to trying more! But I suspect vanilla will be a longstanding favorite.

Today my lovely wife surprised me at work with another cup of tea! This is why she’s my favorite. A matcha latte with soy! t be craving matcha lattes in the near or distant future, which is fine by me…and my wallet!

Now I want matcha. Dang it!

I forgot I had this until today when I excitedly exclaimed to Tina “OMG I’M TAKING PINK DRAGONFRUIT TO WORK TODAAAAAY”. Love this blend, will definitely be stocking up next time we’re downtown. It’s just so fruity and juicy and amazing…guh. Yum. Tart without being hibiscus-y tart and sweet and love. LOVE.

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So I had this iced today…yum! I was so pleased! It did taste fruity and light and tasty. It was still weak, and it could have used more sugar, but I don’t think it will be quite as much of a hardship to finish the 60g we have.

You know what’s cruel? Receiving a shipment of matcha at 8:30 pm. Boo.

So my lovely, wonderful wife brought this to me while I was at work yesterday. She picked this based on my oh-so-clear request for “Something cold and yummy.”

She chose wisely.

I didn’t know what it was at first, the flavors brought to mind being those of a cotton candy hard sucker or bubblegum. But eventually the orange flavors broke through and I clued in. I was extremely happy to remember that I have a tin of this at home. Love. Just so much love for this tea.

This one would be glorious if the hibiscus weren’t as tart. Sigh. It’s fruity and juicy, but then the hibiscus steps in and crashed the tasty party with its tartness. It’s good, and if you’re a fan of hibiscus, this tea is definitely one I would recommend, but it is not the tea for me. It’s sad because I keep taking sips, loving how good the tea is until the hibiscus takes over, but then it’s so tart it turns my stomach. Sadness.

Not rating because I went into it knowing that I wouldn’t like the hibiscus.

So it is getting late and despite spending the afternoon in bed (so sick…blegh), I am exhausted. But craving a cuppa to round out my day. So I asked my wife to make me a cup of an herbal we had to drink down, something we need to get rid of, and then I decided on this.

Lovely, lovely choice. I was never much of a dessert girl, I’ve always preferred savory foods over sweet, but I can see now why people get into the habit of dessert teas. This is just a lovely, minty way to end my day. I love the vanilla and the mint and the chocolate is present, but not overwhelming. I’m sad to see this one come off the wall. I think when I finish my little 26 g, I will likely replace it, if it is still available.

Meh. This one was good, nice and fruity, but nothing to write home about. I feel like I’ve had this tea before, you know? It is a refreshing treat, and I think I’ll use the rest of our sample to make a pitcher of iced tea, but I don’t see this having a home in our cupboard. If I want a mango tea, I’ll reach for the Yerba Mate Mango from Tea Haus. I am enjoying this one, but it’s….unremarkable.

Another one bites the dust. Dang. I was excited for this one. Unfortunately the 10g we bought had absolutely no jellybeans in it. I think the jellybeans are going the way of the watermelon bits in Luscious Watermelon, aka being eaten by the staff. There weren’t very many jellybeans in the wall tin either.

Anyway, without jellybeans, this tastes like your typical bourbon vanilla rooibos with just a hint of fruit. I am disappointed. This is another one I will not be adding to my collection. I will rate if I ever get some with jellybeans in it.

So I got a cup of this to go when stopping in to pick up some of the new teas. I feel a bit like death warmed over, so I thought a cup of this might perk me up.

Um, well…it didn’t. It smells like Goji Pop and I realize now that’s because of the hibiscus in the blend. Blegh. While drinking it, I got absolutely no flavor in the sip, just a touch of berry and ginger and mostly hibiscus in the aftertaste. I thought maybe by tastebuds were off, so I made De try some. Nope. Hot water with an aftertaste of hibiscus.

Okay, maybe the flavor comes out when iced. I’ll let it get cold while I nap. Oh now it has flavor. HIBISCUS with an aftertaste of ginger.

I have 10g waiting for me to try at home, there has to be more to this tea…there just has to. I’ll rate this when I get to try it at home.

Now that I have learned to sweeten matcha “to hell and back”, I have started craving it in the mornings. That rush of energy, that sweet greenness…mmm. Love. And it makes me eat breakfast, as I get shaky if I have matcha on an empty stomach. So all in all, it’s a good thing for me. I have much love in my heart for this stuff and I am so excited to have three more matchas on the way from Red Leaf Teas!!

And I’m only 26!

I was told by the girls at my local DT that since this tea doesn’t have a whole lot of tea in it, it’s okay to let it steep for a while. So tonight I let it steep for a while. My 50 g bag isn’t as full as I’d like it to be and even with twice the amount of “leaf” I usually use, this tea is weak and now over steeped. I think we might end up using a lot of the leaf to get the same great flavor we get in store, but then I don’t think I’ll be interested in restocking. It’s just too expensive for the amount of leaf you have to use. Sadness.

Oh man, this was good and I was so pissed that it was so good XD. It’s another heavy, expensive white blend, but it…guh. It’s amazing. It’s creamy and sweet and almost caramel-like, from what I can remember (I drank it at work while being BORED OUT OF MY SKULL). But I remember loving it. Definitely need to buy more tomorrow.

So I used the last of my sample bag of this to make a thermos of goodness for work and try to decide if it’s worth restocking. Conclusion? While tasty enough, this tea didn’t stand out enough for me to make room in my cupboard. Sadness. I think I just want to like it due to the call back to “Celtic lore” in the description XD. This blend is tasty, but ultimately forgettable.

Hrm. I don’t know. It’s good, kinda. But I don’t think I’d ever actively reach for it. I like the mango, but if I’m looking for a fruity oolong, I’m always going to reach for Long Life Oolong. De says it’s heavy and I would agree with that. And slightly artificial, but not overly so. All in all, I’m glad I tried it, the fruit flavors are lovely, but I can’t justify making room in my cupboard for this one.

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