Missy

This one surprised me. It’s rich and malty. There was a hint of dry hay like I get with Bai Mu Dan. I did find it to be a tad bit smokey. The hay and smoke were totally unexpected but they did work rather well. If I couldn’t find some thing like tarantula tea I would probably pick this one. It’s totally different but it really has a lot of character.

So we had another tea face off. This is my favorite. It’s pretty much what I was hoping to get but just a tad bit better. I wanted some thing to replace tarantula tea since it was discontinued.

This is malty and velvety smooth. The depth of character here calls up the word earthy in my mind. This tea ends so nicely with chocolate and honey like sweet notes. This is truly and enjoyable cup.

So this lost the tea face off today. I did enjoy it, but the other version shall have the spot in my cupboard.

This is still malty grains and caramel/chocolate but stronger with less finesse. If you’d like a more assertive bailin gongfu this is your tea.

We got our shipment from Teavivre yesterday. This means we have tea face offs to do today. Yay!

So I’m upping the rating one this one because I found I can truly enjoy it more than I had previously thought. Smooth malty grains with sweet caramel/dark chocolate like notes. I think my previous association with beer almost ruined this tea. While it still has the same grain notes I remember, I’ve picked up other flavors that I enjoy. This is rather good, especially since I can enjoy it plain.

Today we had organic vs regular bailin gongfu. Regular wins out for me. It just seems to finesse me where the organic is more bold. Bold is good, but I really enjoy the way the flavors sneak up on me in the regular.

Yay Steepster is back up!

Tonight we are trying another sample from the generous Azzrian. Thank you!

Chocolate and mint are mixed pretty well here. The mint is a tad bit pushy but not enough to hide the chocolate. The base is smooth and quite mellow. This was a good dessert tea.

I’ve been drinking this all morning while watching the small dog that showed up on my porch. The little guy/girl seems to be quite friendly and socialized pretty well. It’s an older dog but looks like it has been well taken care of previously. I believe it’s a she, and she likes kids. She got rather excited when my daughter joined me on the porch. I really wonder why is she meandering around the neighborhood looking lost. Did someone just drop her off and leave her here? Perhaps she is a beloved pet and got away on a walk about. Any who on to the tea.

Cinnamon, clove and cardamom are well represented with a spicy kick of pepper to top it off. It’s very well behaved. I didn’t find it to be bitter or particularly astringent. I found a sweet flavor that I’m going to blame on the ginger, orange peels or nutmeg. Maybe all three are responsible. This a well balanced chai and made for a comfortable cup.

This is one of the better teas I’ve tried from Tropical Tea Company. Cinnamon and clove are the first to catch my attention. The orange flavor is sweet like those tiny little oranges you catch in the supermarket once a while. Those are so hit and miss for me, but this is like the good batch. The flavoring seems to be pretty well balanced and feels more on the natural side. Ceylon compliments the spices well, seeming to be on the brighter side. There is a bit of astringency but it’s not unbearable. Not a bad cup in the morning.

Lovely malty tea with chocolate notes. I also get a strong honey association. So smooth with out astringency or bitterness. It’s too bad they no longer sell this one. It’s one I would probably go back for.

I got this in a swap from Azzrian. Thanks!

Basically this breaks down to a chocolate, coconut tea. They seem to be balanced pretty well. They show up holding hands instead of brawling for my attention. I remain unimpressed with the actual tea here. It’s gotten lost. It must be a pretty mellow tea. I did use an extra scoop in the pot. I tend to do that because I have a funny sized pot. It’s 42 ounces instead of 40 ounces.

The real problem with this tea for me is I have a tea that is much like it but better in my opinion. I get more tea taste and support flavors with the Buccaneer from SerendipiTea. I’m glad I got a chance to try it though. So, thanks again Azzrian.

This is a sample from Sandy. She painted the coolest little tin up too to convey it. Thank you!

I’m one of those people who have a hard time with almond smelling like cherry. Almond flavoring always reminds me of cherries. This tastes like almonds and a dark oolong. The roasted quality compliments the almond flavor well. It’s very smooth and ends with a light mineral note. Very nice cup of tea.

This is a super chocolate tea. It almost looks like I’ve brewed tea then added some hot cocoa. For the most part, I taste chocolate, chocolate and chocolate. I see the description says deep and earthy. I agree with these descriptors. I’ve struggled with a way to describe the flavor underneath the chocolate but I’ve not come up with some thing that fits it better than those two words. It does feel very smooth and mellow but they aren’t quite right. Now I just have to get Dylan to give it a go. Cookie bribes are in the near future.

I had this one last night right before bed time. I really like this one. totally deserves a spot in the cupboard. Soon I’m thinking I shall have to upgrade to a tea room instead of a tea cupboard. ;)

Mint is decently strong as it’s the first thing I notice. I feel it’s a completely natural flavoring and I see quite a bit of mint in the dry leaf. The spices (cinnamon, cardamom and clove) chase the mint and are pretty well balanced. The ginger and orange peel seem to be a bit more mild than the other three spices but not by much. The tea is a bit hidden here. It really just adds a bit of depth to the over all flavor.

This is another tea that didn’t come off so well for me today. I really surprised by it since SerendipiTea tends to do the chocolate and/or creamy teas very well so far.

This feels like a rooibos with apple cider and creamer. The chocolate and vanilla are MIA. The spices (cardamom, clove, cinnamon and ginger) are coming through pretty well. It might just be the creamy apple cider association I’m having trouble with. I like my apple cider naked.

I let it cool a bit and did get a hint of chocolate. Over all not as impressed as I was expecting to be.

This was another sample from Indigobloom. Thanks again!

So this is a pretty juicy peach tea. It is a bit strange because I’d swear there is banana in there as well. The base seems to be smooth and malty despite my steeping parameters which were wrong according to the vendor’s site. I do believe that was a run on sentence. Yay go me! Any who thanks for the sample Indigbloom. I enjoyed it.

This is a really good desert tea. Rooibos and nougat with a bit of vanilla. The dry leave does have cute little nougat bits to dissolve away while infusing. It’s quite balanced as far as flavoring versus the base. No competition here just a very nice melding of lovely flavor. And the biggest bonus is, it doesn’t really need sweetner! A little doesn’t hurt it but it’s fine naked.

Thanks Indigobloom for making it possible to have this one in my cupboard. You are really quite an awesome!

This is a strange chai. I feel it’s more savory than what I would normally expect. I’d swear there is salt in here with the pepper. The pepper seems to dominate every thing else. I pick up just hints of cinnamon, cardamom, clove and ginger. The tea peeks out but really this feels like I infused pepper and then added a bit of salt to my cup. For those of you who enjoy savory pepper tea, this is your chai.

This is a sample from Indigobloom. After she went out and bought tea and mailed it to us, she also sent samples! Indigobloom has a very generous spirit. Thank you. :D

This is a truly delicate tea. I’m not sure what champagne is supposed to taste like so that bit is lost on me. I picked up hints of raspberry and a dry, vegetal taste I associate with white tea. Almost like hay but not quite as sweet as hay smells to me. I felt it had a slight pepper finish. A pretty good cup.

There is a lot going on in this chai but it seems to be working out well enough. Cinnamon and clove lead the way to cardamom and allspice. I’ve totally lost the ginger here all together, but I’m not a big ginger fan any ways. The tea seems to be a well behaved malty fellow. I was a bit surprised that the tea did come through. The spice fu on this one is strong. That leaves us with pepper tying things up. It isn’t my all time favorite chai but for some thing different this is what I shall pick up.

This is a pretty good desert tea but not what I expected. It’s very creamy with a very strong nutty flavor. It reminds me of hazelnut or walnut. Chocolate seems to come in last with hints of vanilla to tie things off. I wonder if cacao beans plus the rooibos makes for a nutty tea. I should add it to my lack luster hazelnut tea so I can feel like I’m drinking a nutty tea at least.

This is a sample from Sandy. Thanks!

The lemongrass fu is strong with this one. I agree with Dylan that it would be quite and excellent candidate for an Arnold Palmer. With some sweetner it’s much like tea with lemon.

The vanilla in this one is the most tame of my cupboard. It really seems to serve to bolster the sweetness the honeybush already has. Those spicy notes in honeybush are pretty soundly beating the vanilla down. Still pretty good but I think vanilla and rooibos is a better combination.

I really like honeybush because it reminds me of squaw tea, especially iced. It’s rooibos zesty little cousin with the hints of some thing like pepper or maybe sage. It ends sweetly enough, I totally understand the name. It’s also got a heavier mouth feel to it than rooibos does, making the honey association a bit stronger. Pretty good but I have vanilla honeybush! Vanilla makes every thing better….

This was a strong competitor for Upton’s rooibos vanilla. It only made second place because I like vanilla bean better than I like a french vanilla taste. This one really reminds me of french vanilla flavoring. Maybe it’s just that Upton’s feels a little more solid in the vanilla department where this one feels fluffy. The rooibos is a bit stronger with heavier tobacco flavor and not as sweet as Upton’s. I’m glad I got to try it out. Now I have a better idea of what I really like.
Thanks for picking up this one Sandy!

Today I realized I have a few vanilla rooibos blends and I haven’t discovered which one I like the best yet. So I brewed up all three in my cupboard and had a taste off. This one wins!

The rooibos reminds me of tobacco, raisins and the way redwood smells. Vanilla tastes like real vanilla bean! Yay for it being pretty strong in this one as well. Together, they make for a smooth, creamy cup.