laurenpressley

Today I picked back up the sample of this I ordered from Samovar, since I’d been having McNulty’s version for a few days. This one is noticeably lighter and sweeter. It’s different enough, though, that I wouldn’t have guessed it was in a similar family.

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I am slowly getting back into tea now that I’m in the office and letting myself have a few cups through the day. I can’t figure out how to drink oolong (with the multiple steeps) at home, so I brought my tiny pot to work and have cups throughout the day.

This is a good one. I’m out of practice, so I don’t have much to say other than it’s very good. It lacks some of the harshness in the first few steeps that some oolongs have, which makes it a winner in my book!

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I ran across this several months ago, and having an interest in British teas (and the cheap price tag) I picked up a box. Just today I finally tried a cup.

As soon as I opened the bag I had second thoughts. It looked worse that the tea in the teabags that I get at many of the local restaurants… the tea was tiny and granular. I wondered for a second if maybe it was instant. Rereading the box I realized it was not, but didn’t see how it would stay in a strainer. I got the finest mesh one in my possession and brewed up a cup to see how it would go.

It brewed very darkly! It looked more like coffee than tea. Typically, when learning about a cup of tea I start with it plain, then add things in to see if creamer or sweetener enhances the flavor. This one I just went straight to the doctoring up phase.

And you know what? It was actually pretty good. It’s not something I’d really look forward to having, but if it were rainy or cold out and I just wanted a basic cuppa, it would hit the spot! So I guess I’ve learned my lesson about preconceived notions…. this one will end up staying in my pantry until I finish it!

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This is a pretty tea! I steeped the loose leaf version and was surprised to see the flowers open up and drift around as the tea steeped. I didn’t realize that there was green tea, so I steeped a little hotter than I might have otherwise. It’s a floral tea that seems like one that could be universally liked. I think this one, in particular, could make for a lovely afternoon tea get together in a glass pot with non-tea-drinking friends.

I got this one from the Traveling Tea Box. It’s a good basic black. I can barely pick up on the Cream, which is good for me. It’s not a tea that I would go out of my way to order, but if I happened to be in Ann Arbor, I’d probably pick some up. :)

Pretty much exactly what I expect from a black tea. Nothing spectacular here, but a solid choice when craving a basic black.

I added this onto my Den’s Tea order almost on a whim, because I really am not all that much of Houji fan. I do love Genmaicha, though, and the site indicated the low caffeine would enable a nightime cup of this. So that’s what I did last night. It’s pretty good! The roasted rice stands out and the Houji compliments it well. I do think this will work for an evening cup of “real” tea!

I’m visiting my family and my tea materials are somewhat limited. Yesterday, we did do a little grocery shopping so we had chocolate soy milk in the house. Since that was my only “creamer” option, I added a little of that and a little sugar. And this is an amazing cup of tea! The chocolate is clearly pronounced and the chili kick is really there.

Also, I noticed today that there are chili seeds in the tea as well!

Yum! I got this one specifically because I had read good reviews on Steepster. When visiting family in Raleigh I went to a TeaGschwendner in real life and had great fun looking around the shop. They didn’t have the entire TeaGschwendner catalog, but they had the most popular ones and several other lesser known teas.

This cup of tea is like a grown-up’s version of hot chocolate. This isn’t a chocolate drink, but is clearly a tea with chocolate notes. The chili isn’t quite as pronounced, but is still a major feature of the cup of tea. I don’t think of this as a dessert tea the way I do about a lot of chocolate flavored teas, but it would be a nice cup in that context, particularly with some sort of creamer. Fabulous!

Since I was at TeaGschwendner I had a sample of this as well. It was a hot cup and really good. I instantly classified this as a summer cup of tea (the same way I think of Lady Londonderry). It’s a good cup, but fruity in a way that seems like something good for sitting on the porch with the fan running on a nice afternoon.

I had a sample of this at the local TeaGschwendner, iced. It was really good for an herbal/fruit tea. It was a strong cup and as refreshing as you’d expect.

We were in Wilmington and went to a fabulous cupcake shop on the way out of town. Much to my surprise, they had a bunch of tea from this “Old Wilmington Tea Co” that I hadn’t heard of before. Thinking it’d be fun to have some tea from a local tea company, I started looking through all the teas they had. Each tin of tea had a clear glass bowl showing the leaves, and when I came across this one I knew it was the one I was meant to buy. It’s cupcake tea by the Old Wilmington Tea Co in a cupcake shop in Wilmington!

When we got back home, I opened the tin to see a few sprinkles scattered throughout. The smell is incredible. 4/5 people I’ve shown it to said it does smell just like cake. The fifth said it was like maple syrup. Still a good smell!

The tea itself was delicious. It’s super sweet. The sprinkles nearly melted, giving the tea sweetener without any doctoring up. I don’t always love vanilla tea, but it really works in this cup. I’ve already had a second cup and can tell that it’s going to be a winner in my collection!

Another from the sampler, this is GOOD! It’s earthy and malty, and a clearly good cup of tea! I was surprised at how much I like this one. I gave it to my husband to try and he declared it a “strong” cup of tea. I almost finished it, but left it out for a while and it ended up being pretty cold. And surprise, it was really good cold as well! This is a surprise winner for me; I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. Now, if only I can ignore this sample until I try at least one cup from each of the other samples. :)

I’m getting back into my regular life a bit, and the clearest sign of that is that I’m doing more with tea again. My husband even treated me to a tea kettle I’ve been wishing for some time: http://www.cuisinart.com/products/tea_kettles/ptk-330bk.html

I also got the black tea samplers from Adagio. I’ve been wanting to for about a year, but was also avoiding caffeine for the entire time, so I’d been putting it off. Now, it’s time to get down to it!

So, I kicked it off with the Darjeeling. It’s a good cup. I think this one would probably appeal to people who aren’t tea drinkers but are interested in getting started. It’s an easy one to drink, doesn’t really need any sweetener or cream, and is just a solid cup of tea. Yay!

Still working on my tea scheduling! I made a pot of this with breakfast this morning. I was trying to get too many things done at once, so I bypassed the measuring spoon and guessed how much to add to the pot, then I forgot to set the timer. By the end of the steep it was a very strong pot! Then, I raced through breakfast, bypassing the tea altogether. It has sat on the table all day. So then, with dinner, I decided the tea wasn’t great to start with so I might as well microwave it. To make it more palatable, I added soymilk and sugar, and by the time I had a few cups they struck me as a lot like coffee (the way I was introduced to it: with lots of milk and sugar)… except a strong tea flavored coffee instead. It ended up being a fun surprise, but not one I’d choose to duplicate. :)

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I bought this tea after reading such rave reviews on Steepster, but have been hesitant to make a cup until I have a thermometer. (I’ve gotten several based on reviews, not gotten the same taste as the review describe, and often it appears to come down to temperature.) However, after reading JacquelineM’s tasting note yesterday (http://steepster.com/JacquelineM/posts/40867) I decided to give this a go. I sweetened with Sugar in the Raw and used Silk Soymilk as the creamer, and Oh My Goodness that was an amazing cup of tea! I LOVE IT. So thanks to all who gave reviews that made me get it, and a special thanks to JacquelineM for getting me to give it a try!

I love oolong tea. It’s a favorite when I know I’m going to have a period of time in a given place for many resteeps. I know I am up and about the house a lot these days, but I’m in the same house, so I gave this a go (and filled a thermos with hot water so I’d have it at the ready whenever it was time to resteep). The verdict: life is too complicated for oolong right now. I had a (4 oz) cup and a half of this before being wrapped up in so many other things that I forgot I had it, so I think it’ll wait until I’m back in the office.

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iced!!