meliorate

Soooo this is going to sound a little weird, but… I made this one iced! Cold-brewed for about half a day, in preparation for a garden party tomorrow where we’ll be having iced tea (but I wanted to make some non-alcoholic iced tea too, for the non-drinkers…)

Thinking it would be interesting to offer a champagne-esque non-alcoholic tea to guests, I added barely a shot of fizzy lemonade to this and… what do you know, it tastes like a sweetened, floral champagne — what I imagine champagne tastes like for those who aren’t so susceptible to the kick of alcohol! (I definitely am!) If you get the chance, try this one cold, too!

Another tea brought back from Paris, specifically from the lovely little THÉ O DOR shop near the Trocadéro Metro stop. Out of the way and adorable, I was served by a very friendly lady who took the time to open lots of caddies of tea for me and chat to me about each one even though my French is a little rusty! She recommended me this, as I asked about flavoured white teas, and it smelt so decadent in the tin I just caved…

That said, I find that the leaves smell more like champagne than the brewed tea does! Maybe it’s because it’s fresher-smelling, and you don’t often drink champagne hot? It’s flowery and with an unmistakeably sharp fruit scent that seems to call the sharpness of alcohol. Light body, very fragrant, I find the champagne flavour is mostly in the aftertaste, which is really quite nice and subtle, builds up after a few sips. And strangely I can’t detect any one distinct floral flavour like rose or anything — that’s an indicator of how well-blended and harmonised the flavours in this are! I can’t find any specific details on the contents but there are yellow petals amongst the leaves.

Very smooth, only sliiiightly dry, which makes a nice change — most alcohol-flavoured teas I’ve tried were strong black ones. This goes down much more easily :) A nice tea, but not quite my own “Jour J” occasion tea!

I wish they’d noted what kind of tea base this is, China or India… either way, it’s brewed to a fairly dark colour and smells gorgeous. Nearly candylike, which is surprising, since I always associate ylang-ylang with bath products. Never had it in a tea before!

Although… taste-wise, it does remind me of a bath bomb or a shower gel. Possibly only by association – the strong floral taste isn’t off-putting or soapy-tasting. It’s rather like the way rose tea tastes strong without being medicinal. The aftertaste is sweet like a syrup, an unmistakeable natural flavour (I’m starting to love MF’s use of flowers! mallow flowers, rose petals, violets-!) and there’s minimum dryness on the tongue. Love it!

Bonsoir Steepster! I’ve just returned from another trip to Paris, a daytrip this time, and again I’m loaded with various teas I’m all excited to try :)

First off: I bought this tea because of the name. As a classics student anything with a mythology or ancient language-inspired name is going to catch my interest. However Artemis seemed too similar to another rooibos I had which I didn’t like, and Apollon was out of stock – so this is the next best thing! Métis, which called to mind resourceful Odysseus’ cunning plan when he told the cyclops that his name was ‘me tis’, “nobody”. Turns out Métis is also the name of Athene’s mother whom Zeus swallowed. The more you know!

The scent is very pungent, not purely because of the rooibos base, but there’s a hint of spice and, dare I say it, the lavender seems to be the root of that floral liqueur, as well as the sharpness of the red berries. The taste is overall very complex and floral and sweet without being like a perfume (as lavender and mallow flowers can be!) – more like a sweet, candied-flower dessert? Apparently spices are in this tea as well but they aren’t coming out as strongly as they do in other MF rooibos teas such as Nil Rouge – if they’re there at all I wouldn’t say they do anything other than round off the flowery, fruity flavours to something clean and fresh-tasting.

Something different, and with such a pretty name I don’t think I’ll have any problems getting through this :)

Fiiiinally working through my collection! The more teas I drink, the closer I get to buying some on my shopping list and opening ones I’ve already bought! My mouth is watering just thinking about the Jardin Bleu I have in storage, but first, let’s get through all these teas I’ve amassed over the months!

Last year I placed an order with Yumchaa for their Wanderlust but there was a delay in posting the tea, so to apologise, they sent me a bag of this tea, as well. I’m not much of a fan of rooibos with spices but the fruit and almonds included really piqued my curiosity – and hey, it was free, so why not?

This is my last serving, and in the effort to empty out the bag entirely, I may have brewed it a little stronger than I would normally for rooibos. First off; the aroma is POWERFULLY fruity. Strong citrus, probably helped along by another of the spices, but the scent is so juicy I feel like I could be approaching a fruit tea! And certainly the apple and kiwi come out very strongly in this one; the spices and almonds kind of round off the flavour, but the fruit are definitely the star of this tea. Not much going on in terms of spicy mouthfeel, but I’m glad for that.

What an excellently fruity tea, in any case. Thank you for this adventurous experience, Yumchaa! :D

Rediscovered this tea a friend gave me for a birthday a few years ago. I’d run out of masala chai tea so this is my current cinnamonny tea… until I run out, at least!

Possibly brewed this a little too long as the colour’s gone quite dark, but tastewise it’s fine. Somehow remember this being a lot more spicy rather than just a wonderful aroma of cinnamon and no corresponding flavour, but then again, I did leave it for a few years… It’s very smooth in taste, though. I like it! It just doesn’t promise a powerful flavour.

Giving this a shot as a good friend listed it as the best Earl Grey they had ever tried. I already tried Pain Quotidien’s Masala Chai and had good results, so I’m expecting something great here too!

Has a wonderful warming scent to it, not overly floral/bergamot-y as some tend to be, like the black tea base is dominant here. The bergamot seems to be more of an edge than a main scent. As I brewed this until it’s dark brown I expect simply brewing it for that amount of time may have let the black tea steep fully…

It’s an interesting tea when black! I think I might brew this less strong if I’m going to drink it without milk as the mouthfeel is rather dry afterwards and the bergamot seems to bite at the end of the sip. Having added milk, however, the bergamot’s come out all floral and sweet and bold but not too assertive, and it’s become a hearty, delicious cup! There’s just the right balance of flavours and neither the tea nor the bergamot are getting lost (as I might expect from Twinings). High rating on this one, shame I only have 14 more teabags of this!!

Got this as a free sample from Rosie Lee’s Tearoom in Canterbury (thanks, guys!)… it’s not helping the overcrowding of my tea cupboard but then again, it’s only a small packet, so I can’t complain :)

It’s got a mysterious aroma, I can smell the rich green tea much better than I can any other flavours, apart from possibly the lime? I’ve rarely had teas with lime in them so perhaps I just can’t recognise it? By the smell the green tea could maybe be a chun mee or something similar, and the colour is a nice rich gold.

Tastewise, this is wonderfully mellow! There seems to be a hint of mint flavour and the apple and lime are equally balanced (nothing artificial or too strong in the apple, either), especially sweet at the start of a sip and becoming a little astringent and fruitier towards the end. Nicely robust and sweet; I like it! Might use it for my morning pick-up once I run out of plain green tea! :D

Hi everybody! I haven’t been on Steepster lately for two reasons: 1, I’m now incredibly busy at university; and 2, I simply haven’t gotten round to trying new teas! I have such a vast quantity in my cupboard that it would be silly to open even more boxes when I haven’t used up what I already have. Slowly but surely, I’m making space, and will soon have some lovely new teas to try :)

Starting up this habit again, I happen to be making this breakfast tea of which I took a few teabags from the hotel breakfast buffet last time I went to Paris (shhh, don’t tell anyone). The water I’ve used is unfiltered since I’m just making it in my room while I write my essay- not sure if this will affect the taste significantly.

In colour… like any good English Breakfast tea, this has gone straight to a deep brown in no time at all, the smell is rich and oaky, I feel like I might be heading for a classic breakfast tea here. And it really is “sturdy” like in the description! Very slightly dry (which I suspect is the Ceylon), strong and with a slightly roasted, wood aftertaste that gets more intense with every sip- but somehow, I wouldn’t call the flavour “rich”. It might be because of the water; but it’s so delicious I might drink this without milk! Thank you, Dammann!

Found the very last teabag of this in my cupboard (I’m at home, meaning the majority of my tea collection is at uni: I’m scavenging a little through my old blends here!) so I’m giving it a shot as I’m craving white tea.

Last time I had this I’m not sure my white tea brewing methods were too great, so I took extra care not to use water that was too hot here. It’s smelling a lot more fragrant than I ever remember; the rose and bergamot are certainly distinguishable, the rose more so. But it’s beginning to smell like a bath soap.

Taking care with the water temperature and brewing time here has definitely helped- it’s now soft, rather than harsh, although it still tastes like a Lush product! The white tea is hardly present at all except maybe in a slightly toasty background but the rose tastes all-consuming here! Even the bergamot seems to have tossed in a vaguely citrusy edge and run from the perfume-y flavour of it all. Ah well – it wasn’t such a bad experience this time. It was good while it lasted but I don’t think I’ll be making an effort to buy more of this. Cheers, Will and Kate!

Very tasty and refreshing, wow! I thought I wouldn’t like this because I’m not fond of Assam or mint at (why try it then, me??) but the mint really is sweet! It’s nicely balanced out with other flavours too and is much sweeter than regular peppermint tea- I can see myself actually having this as a snack. Delicious!

Merry Christmas, everybody! I acquired some of this from a little market stall along the Champs Elysées on an art history trip- could it be any more romantic? :) It was between this oolong and the salted caramel flavour, and as it was coming up to Christmas, I picked this one!

I haven’t managed to do a proper gradual sit-down tasting but for this one: the first time I brewed it and drank it piping-hot, the first taste was definitely roast chestnuts. But not just a nutty taste… the soft mellowness and rich flavour of the chestnuts, working with a subtle and very tasty oolong. The dry leaves smell delicious too and look gorgeous with the sunflower petals.

Just a quick note while I’m finishing my Christmas lunch :)

No notes yet.

Another tea from cteresa after my bad luck with another Melissa (lemon balm) tea. I have a cold right now so I hope hot lemon-y tea with honey helps and I think the website recommends some honey with this too :) Unlike the tea I’d previously tried, this one is more lemony, and certainly more delicate. The taste is grassy and a little smoky, and with a spoonful of meli (honey)… perfect. Definitely a herbal tea for me :D

Haha, wouldn’t think I’d find this tea here considering I got it from a local little tearoom in Canterbury! Actually discovered this during our Tea Society’s Christmas social where we had a “mystery tea tasting” competition: usually we are all served a little of a tea without knowing what kind it is or what’s in it and have to guess, but this time round, we were given a scorecard… And my team won ;) all because I guessed “peony” for this one, prominent as it is in Coquelicot Gourmand, I’ve come to recognise it in other places too.

And wow, did the flavours surprise me at first! Plenty of people said the aroma was like cherries, maybe cherry bakewell tart (with wild cherries it almost smells like… cough syrup? still delicious!); I found it tasted very much like frangipane, or almonds, or maybe amaretto, as well as rose and peony, but I couldn’t guess chilli at all.

This time round, brewing it at home, I was so fascinated by the miniscule chillies and rosebuds in the loose-leaf tea that I decided to use one of the tiny chillies in my brew. Big mistake. I’m terrible with spiciness. This absolutely burns on the way down, but only while I’m actually drinking it. All the other beautiful flavours are still there though! Cherry, still some marzipan there, peony, with a very smooth, fruity sip as though the chilli had never been there in the first place.

I definitely, definitely recommend giving this try if you can, it’s a really unique experience. I might just toss out all the chillies in my bag of this so I don’t burn my mouth off though!

Hi everyone! Been a little quiet lately despite having bought some new teas, mainly because I’m trying to get through my opened teas before opening the new ones. My Strawberry Rooibos,Strawberry Sencha, Afternoon at the Palace, China Oolong and Rose Petal are all looking for loving homes. Also, I changed my username from melanchocolate, hope that doesn’t confuse anyone!

This tea has been in my cupboard for so long I can’t believe I’ve only just added it to my Steepster cupboard! They serve it in the cafés on campus here actually, and it’s so good I had to order some of my own at the start of the year. It’s brilliantly mellow and smooth, as a white tea, and the elderflower and apricot give it a natural sweetness. The elderflower’s not hugely noticeable but it is definitely present and goes perfectly with the white tea. Even when scalded slightly, this is delicious.

Over the past few days I’ve really gotten into cold-steeping my tea: leaving a bottle of water with tea leaves in the fridge overnight and straining it in the morning so I can take it to work or class with me later. I tried it with this tea but in a hurry, with chilled water in the bottle and the teabag still floating in it- but it’s managed to steep deliciously in barely two hours! With no risk of scalding the tea the elderflower has a chance to really come out over the apricot and tea flavours, and the resulting iced tea is a little dry but very very sweet. This is one of my favourites :D

Giving this another try with an actual rating this time, the second cup from *cteresa*’s sample- I think I have enough for just one more after this.

Now this time round, plenty of different flavours came from the brew! Firstly, I’m surprised at how it seems to lack the usual pungency of rooibos that usually overtakes these kinds of blends; it’s normally the first thing to jump out at me in rooibos teas, but the first flavour in this one is lemongrass, definitely, followed by some of the spices. Perhaps I didn’t use enough tea in this brew because the flavours aren’t as strong as they could be upfront, but then I’m left with a clean, citrusy and spicy taste and some astringency/dryness on the tongue, but only a little. It’s the pleasant kind that makes me want to take another sip.

I guess this is the first clean-tasting, fresh rooibos I’ve tried! It’s pleasantly cooling rather than warming, even when served hot :)

Bonjour tout le monde! I’m back from Paris with a few nice teas in tow :) Didn’t manage to find any THE O DORs or Dammann stockists anywhere as the hotel wifi was so bad, I couldn’t search anything (although I saw plenty of Kusumi Teas and Nature & Décourvertes with their lovely tea tin range), so I simply went to the Carrousel du Louvre MF, the one I go to most frequently.

I bought three loose-leaf teas: would have bought more but you can’t buy less than 100g on most of their teas, and any more would have gotten too costly. So this, pear-flavoured, is just an interesting addition. I’m running out of apple tea and I love pear!

The leaves smell like pear drop sweets! Really delicious, and the brew smells exactly the same way. Brewed for five minutes as recommended, the black base is as strong as expected, but some of the sweetness is retained- in a really lovely way, too. It’s sort of in the background, but working very well with the tea flavour, too, which seems to be a little smoky and just sweet enough to take the fruit notes.

Very nice- and I can’t wait to try all the others I’ve bought!

Not at all sure what to expect from this one, but it seems appropriate for my bedtime tea before my trip to be from MF. Thanks, cteresa, for this sample!

Brewed at 90 degrees for about 4 minutes (didn’t have the patience for the full 5), it smells wonderful, full and spicy, which will be interesting as I’ve not encounterec a rooibos with only spice in it before. It’s very refreshing – and I can’t help but wonder if I should have brewed this for the full time after all! The spice is definitely there, and the floral tones are subtle, but I think I’m missing something here as not even the pungent rooibos is coming through very clearly. It seems to me like this might taste better on a hot day nearer the Nile, rather than a freezing night in England…

Sadly as I’m doing this from a tablet computer I can’t use the sliding scores, so I’ll leave that for when I next try this very promising tea :)

Finished off this sample with a friend who dearly adores chocolate teas. Thank you, cteresa, for this gorgeous sample! This time, as I was serving it in a teapot, the leaves brewed for maybe half a minute longer between the first cup and when I removed the leaves; in that second cup I could taste the bitterness that comes from overbrewing, and the chocolate was less noticeable (the caramel remained, however).

Which brings me to my next point. I’m going to Paris for a daytrip on Monday to Tuesday and I fully intend to visit Mariage Freres, and perhaps THE O DOR and Dammann Freres and others! Other than the MF beneath the Louvre (I know how to get to that one easily enough!) would anybody know of others close by to Montmartre or fairly central that are open later into the evening? I think I’ll be checking Kusumi Teas, too, as one is open in Montmartre since the last time I visited Paris :D

No notes yet.

Every time I go to the main store to buy more tea, I end up buying another that I hadn’t intended to. This time, Keemun Best was that add-on, and what a beautiful smell it has! Previously I’ve only had the Metropolitan Tea Company Keemun Panda as an afternoon tea served in a tearoom, so I was rather surprised by the sweet, floral fragrance of the dry leaves. It’s almost sugary!

Didn’t brew this for too long as the aroma quickly went from fresh, nutty and sweet to a more standard black “afternoon” muscatel scent, and the colour is deep and clear. And, wow, I can’t tell if it’s partially the aftertaste of the sencha that was in this mug, but the keemun itself tastes almost… savoury? It’s dry and very robust, a hint of sweetness and the floral scent again in the aftertaste, and even slightly fruity. Delicious! I think I can even recognise this kind of delicate tea base from Dammann Freres blends!

Just noticed I hadn’t written a note for this one, even though I’ve tasted it so many times and even left a review on the company website… Oh well, time to catch up!

This tea smells incredible. Many people are swayed to buy it in the shop just by its perfume, this beautiful strong peach/apricot/mirabelle and marigold smell that seems like it might make a perfectly sweet, absolutely divine brew.

I’m sorry to say that, like many Whittard teas, it doesn’t copy the scent exactly (so few teas can match up to how good they smell, anyway). Kind of a shame because I am a MASSIVE fan of peach flavour and it’s rare to get juicy rich peach flavours in tea, but hey ho, this is still good! The Ceylon base is just too strong to let the peach and apricot flavours take over, but it seems to work well with them, instead. It’s not dry at all, has a kind of slight sweetness to the fruit flavour that’s more nuance-y than actually just like the fruit. The aroma of the brew is lovely… And this is just floral/fruity enough that I don’t take it with milk, but with a teaspoonful of honey.

It’s a lovely, well-balanced tea, but it’s always going to be disappointing how little it tastes like how the leaves smell. Oh well! I’ve got plenty of this to get through ♥

Many thanks to cteresa for this one! She left a careful note saying to watch out how I brew this one because it’s difficult to get right, so I took every precaution to time this one on a stopwatch. (I don’t normally time at all- maybe I should make a habit of this?)

It smells incredible… Both the unsteeped leaves and the brew have a lovely, fragrant, vanilla-y malt smell, but without being perfumey or, on the other hand, too off-puttingly malty. It’s almost like the flavoured syrups you get in coffee at this time of year, strong and sweet, practically alcoholic.

And the taste… my first thought was “I’m drinking chocolate”! It’s more like a chocolate bar in taste than any chocolate tea I’ve tried so far! And I’m actually willing to overlook the Assam a little for something with such a smooth, strong kick to it as this.

I can’t decide if I want to buy some of this for myself- the caramel’s syrupy and strong, nearly too strong, but the chocolate taste is so, so tempting. Might try this with milk.