lizeepea

The very generous and lovely Fusion Tea Room sent me a couple of teas to sample, and immediately upon receiving them I couldn’t wait to see what this one would taste like. The smell is very, very intriguing with the perfume of papaya lingering about. I was feeling pretty creative tonight and decided to make a pitcher of iced tea with fresh orange slices. I used the entire sample contents, about 6 heaping teaspoons to 4 cups of water. I let the tea steep for 3 minutes, then poured over a pitcher filled with ice and threw in one sliced orange. The result was great – very refreshing! I could have made it a little bit more tea concentrated, but with the weather outside, I’ll be able to have the entire pitcher to myself tonight. The sliced orange is a great pair with the slight tang the tea has, and the green tea flavour comes out in perfect balance. The only bad thing I can say about this tea is that I’m not so much of a fan of the papaya that was added. It throws me off a little, but it’s still an enjoyable cup overall.

Firstly, I would just like to mention that I do work for Kimicha and I wanted to assure everyone there is no influence on what I’m about to say. Secondly, I adore this tea.

The appearance of this tea is one of my favourite things about it – it has such beautifully twisted leaves and golden tips. When brewed it comes out a deep amber colour. Looks aside, this tea is just so good!

Tonight I enjoyed five steeps. (Though I have had it up to seven). The dominant flavour is definitely a sweet honey taste. There is also a hint of smokiness – which could be cause of how the tea was created – by Master Liang Junde – using a method similar to that used in producing Lapsang Souchong. It’s the hint of fruit and raisins though that makes this such an enjoyable tea. An added bonus is the lack of bitterness or astringency, it remains such a smooth cup through all five infusions.

I like to think of this as my trail mix of tea. It has everything you could possibly want in a tea in one amazing package :)

First tea of the morning – I was rummaging through my baskets of tea, trying to decide which one to try next and I saw the Bai Lin Gongfu that I had received from the generous Teavivre, and before I tell you how this wonderful tea tasted, let me just remark that I was very impressed with their packaging – smaller packets inside a larger sealed bag.

It comes out a dark amber with the faint smell of chocolate, but not chocolate by itself, almost like a chocolate pie… or something baked. Maybe chocolate chip cookies? Yes. Definitely. It has a slight sweetness and I could pick up on some brown sugar notes. But it didn’t have any of the buttery qualities that a cookie would normally have.

It’s a good cup… the sweetness came out in the steep, so I wouldn’t suggest adding anything to it. There wasn’t any bitterness either, which was lovely. It was however, also very earthy. Which for me, is not a good thing. I did try a second steep, but the earthy, almost toasted taste, was still there which was enough to keep me away from trying a third steep.

My first thought after taking a sip was, “what a fitting name for such a beautiful tea”. When I first received it from Mountain Tea Co. I was worried that perhaps I had gotten a pu-erh, but this tea is actually a very lovely dark oolong in a compressed cake.

There is nothing that I love more than a dark oolong, and this one has earned it’s place in my top three. At " 70-75% oxidized" this tea steeped to a dark amber and smelled just like a jar of honey. I’m on my third steep now, and it just keeps improving. It’s stand-out sweet without any bitterness or astringency, something I wouldn’t definitely categorize as a dessert tea. I feel like it would pair well with some peanut butter toast. Which is exactly what I will be doing, and probably every morning until I run out and have to buy more.

I highly, highly suggest this tea. If you’re looking for a dark, sweet, honey-like oolong – this is the PERFECT one. It’s delicious!

Okay, I’m really not a big fan of pu-erh to start with – the smell always reminds me of barn animals – so I generally stay very far from the stuff. I went to David’s Tea today though, and I thought that maybe I could give a flavoured pu-erh a try and see how that goes.

Nope. Nada. Nooooooo. It’s gross. I really, really do not like this tea. The smell is amazing – and the first sip was actually pretty enjoyable until you get that terrible earthy pu-erh aftertaste. It’s almost as if I’m biting into a cinnamon heart only to discover it has a mud filling. Yeah, imagine that.

I tried finishing this cup, but I just couldn’t. Not my cup of tea.
It’s up for swap if anyone DOES like it.

Wow. At first look, this tea reminds me of grape nerds. They’re very tight pearls with near black colour. Definitely has a very sweet smell, a bit like it’s been caramelized. I did a bit of research and other suggested a quick first infusion of only 30 seconds, to help unravel the pearls, so I did that. The first infusion wasn’t my favourite. I can taste the natural sweetness come though, but it’s also a little bit tart, and I could feel the tip and the sides of my tongue tingle, a bit of maltiness… in a good way though.

The second infusion, mmmm. Super yummy. It’s much heavier on the tongue and the sourness has turned to a very rich flavour. It reminds me of molasses, almost. Third infusion, I definitely get molasses. A bit of smokiness is now coming out in the flavour too. I’d say that the third infusion is the peak. It’s smooths out and gets really delicious. I will probably get a couple of more steeps out of this one too. But the third is pure perfection.

This tea is great – every steep is bringing out something else in the tea that I can enjoy. I highly suggest it to someone who enjoys taking a moment away from the complications of the world and focusing on the delicious complications of tea.

I tried this one today in preparing for my tea sensory development exam. I had a “blind taste test” with it. I was given the cup so I could asses the appearance of the liquor and the taste of the steeped tea. I’m really quite happy I was given this tea and I enjoyed every drop of it. These are the tasting notes I came up with on this lovely cup of Assam:

The liquor came out a beautiful dark amber with a slight citrus note.
It had a bold, malty taste with slight acidity. It was everything you’d want in an Assam :)

When I first received this tea in the mail I couldn’t wait to give it a try! I mean, just look at it… it’s a beautifully well-made and twisted strain of Tie Kuan Yin. The aroma of the dry leaf was slightly floral and very fresh. When I steeped the leaves they really opened up…and in the second steeping the leaves must have been as wide as my eyes…. I’d never seen leaves that large before. The liquor was a bright, vibrant colour and the taste. Oh the taste – it was mellow and smooth, soft with absolutely no negative after taste. My second infusion was even better, almost as if it gets better with every steep. The fragrance is a perfect indication of the floral and natural sweetness the tea contains. It’s definitely something I enjoy and will enjoy many times in the future :)

Not my normal cup of tea – but a very lovely steepster member sent this as an extra goodie in a package and I thought I would give it a try. The package didn’t have steeping instructions so I decided to go with boiling water for about four minutes. I haven’t used a tea bag in ages, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Nor is peppermint and lemon grass my typical cup – but you know what? It’s not that bad for a single cup. It’s just a straightforward cups of lemon grass and peppermint, in your face flavor. It tastes like a tea bag would though, not too fresh… I wouldn’t really recommend it, but if someone sends it your way, give r’ a try :)

Firstly, a huge thanks to Teavivre for sending me a sample of this. Secondly, am I ever glad they did! I haven’t been drinking many white teas lately, and this was just the kick I needed to get back into them. A wonderful reminder of how simple and enjoyable they can be. I brewed this one up according to directions 2-3 teaspoons (it was per-measured), 90 degrees celcius for 2 minutes and then sat down on my couch with a good book. Its a touch sweet and a touch floral – everything I love in a good white tea. There is also something else in it, maybe a bit of a cucumber taste? Whatever it is, it’s fresh and lovely. A good cuppa tea overall.

I probably wouldn’t have normally bought this one but Teavana’s was having a huge 75% off sale, so I decided to try it… It’s a very interesting tea. First thing I noticed was that it smells like Kool-Aid powder. The second thing was the huge yang mei berries that look like dehydrated raspberries. I steeped it according to the package directions and it came out a lovely light pink.

Once again, I’m going to say this tea is very interesting… I’m not sure what it is about it. It has a very light tart taste. I’m not generally into the hot fruity teas, so this wasn’t too bad, but I feel like the oolong to fruit balance wasn’t even. There should be less fruit and more oolong. Even though there is none it tastes very similar to a hibiscus tea. Perhaps it’s the kiwi that adds the tart kick.

It’s a good tea, I’m going to try it again soon to see if I still like it as much.

Thank you to Teavivre for sending me this free sample! It is really a beautiful tea, both in looks and taste. I had a cup of this tonight as per steeping instructions – and it was lovely. I’ve been on a black tea kick lately and this was exactly what I needed to satisfy my craving. Similar to some other reviews I’ve read I also noticed a faint potato aroma to the tea. It’s actually quite nice and reminds me of the garden at my grandparent’s cottage. Makes me think back on great memories, which really is what a tea ought to do.

This was a seriously enjoyable cup. Very light… every last sip was just, “mmm”. It’s one of those cups where you’re thinking “I want a damn good cup of tea”, well this is it. It reminds me faintly of the Baked Apple Pie from Teaopia – not in sweetness – but in the sense that this cup almost had a raisin taste to it. I had mine hot and clear and that’s exactly how I would suggest it – definitely no sweetener or milk added. I got this tea in LiberTEAS foodzie box, and I’m going to look into buying a larger amount from East Pacific. I can see this being a great tea to enjoy in the morning with a Tim Horton’s french toast bagel :) Mmmmm.

I first tried this cup hot – and it wasn’t the greatest. I’m not usually a fan of fruity teas hot anyways, so I decided to give this one another try – this time iced. Ew. It’s way too much. Too fruity, too sweet, too much. I couldn’t even drink the whole cup. It almost reminds me of one of a tropical gumball. There’s not much to say about it beyond the point that I won’t be having this tea again, I don’t suggest it, but I’d be willing to swap it to anyone who does enjoy this tea.

Oh my goodness. This was one amazing cup of tea. I’m not usually a fan of smoky teas, and by that I mean I don’t like them at all, but this cup was in a league of it’s own. I got a small package from QueenOfTarts in a tea swap, and the only thing keeping me from finishing it all is the very sad fact that I would have none left.

This tea feels like a yunnan, or maybe a blended lapsang. It had a true smoky smell, but there was something more to it… sweetness maybe? It was almost like a sweet BBQ sauce. One sip and it really was like a sweet BBQ sauce. It’s a little sweet at first, but then with an entire sip it becomes strong and full. It’s such a lovely cup and I definitely suggest this to anyone who is hesitant about trying a smoky tea – this one changes everything.

I first tried this tea when I started working for David’s last fall, and sadly, when I left I didn’t have it for a really long time. I went and picked some up this month though, and it’s really hard for me to figure out how I could have ever gone without it. I tried a cup tonight and it was perfect. Everything about every single sip was SO GOOD. I added just a splash of milk and was in complete nirvana. I can’t stop drinking it… I’m on my third cup tonight already! I’m going to have to go back to David’s this weekend and see if I can pick some more up.

I’ve learned that more steep time can sometimes be a better thing no matter how impatient I am for my tea, haha. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a fan of hot fruit teas, but some for some reason I went for it. It smells amazing, just like a tropical fruit and has the faint trace of white tea. My first sip was like taking a bite out of a juicy mango. The more I sip, the more I can pick up on some other flavours, like the orange. There isn’t much of a tea taste to it though, it seems more like a herbal. It was overall a pretty enjoyable cut hot, but for personal prefer I think I would enjoy this more as an iced cup.

I wanted to start my day with a nice black tea so I decided to try this one that I just recently picked up at David’s. I always steep my black tea for three minutes, but the package said 4-7 minutes, so I adventurously added that extra minute. It mustn’t have been enough time because this tea was DULL. I was expecting more from it but there wasn’t any wow factor. I decided to add some sweetner to see if I could bring out some more flavour but had little success. I’ve never had lychee before so maybe it’s just the fruit that I don’t find appealing, but either way I will probably swap this one off to someone who likes it more.

Goji pop is the perfect name for this tea – it smells and tastes exactly like a goji lollipop would! I was actually very impressed with how strong the sweet goji taste was (even though it did taste mildly artificial). I think that the longer infusion helped a lot. This is one of the very few, and by few I mean – this is the ONLY fruit tea I have enjoyed hot. I think it might have something to do with the touch of citrus. I’ll definitely be finishing up the 30g I bought, and I’ll probably buy some more for an occasional cup!

I decided to make this tea first thing at work today. Shh don’t tell my boss, I work at Teaopia. We have a “Mudslide” which has the same walnut/banana mix, but we’re out of it at the moment! :( With the Snow Bunny, I found that the toasted walnut was the most prominent flavour in the tea, and couldn’t really taste much else. I was kind of upset that the banana wasn’t stronger. I tried to add some milk half way through my cup to see what it would be like and the cup got a million times better with some dairy. I decided to try it out as a latte instead, and oh boy was is good. I added a shot of our chocolate syrup and it came out tasting like milk chocolate covered walnuts. It was fairly enjoyable.

I first tried this hot – yuck! The taste of the cola nut hot is just wrong. I gave up on my cup a few sips in and decided I would have to take a different approach to this one. I blended it with Wild Cherry (Teaopia Fruit Blend) and added some rock cane sugar for some extra sweetness. The result was much better. It had a taste familar to cherry coke, but could probably use a longer infusion to be stronger like the beverage. Overall it turned out to be an alright blend, but I probably won’t try this again.

As much as I once LOVED black tea, I don’t really find myself drinking it anymore… my go-to teas are usually the white or oolong teas. That being said – this might be the tea that changes that all. It’s amazing! I ordered it online through Teavana a couple of weeks ago and haven’t gotten around to making a pot until now, and I’m so glad that I chose to finally try it! The jasmine is strong, just how I like it, and sweet enough to leave the cup just as it is. I’ve heard great things about this tea iced with sugar though, so I’ll try that soon too.

I’m not a big fan of coconut and I was hesitant to buy this tea but all proceeds go towards long-term relief in Haiti so I bought it anyways. The hibiscus taste overpowers the coconut, but the coconut is still very strong. I couldn’t even finish the cup. I will probably keep this in my cupboard for my friends and family and suggest it to those who like the Pina Colada taste.

When I first tried this tea my mind immediately matched the taste with those little “Campino” candies. It has the same sweet, milky taste. The peach is great, not overpowering, and just enough for a “mmmm”. It was good enough to try a resteep, which was just as yummy as the first. I ended up buying 100g to bring home and it now has a permanent place in my tea cupboard.