Missy

This is actually Dylan’s sample from the facebook contest. Thanks Teavivre!

I’ll be sipping this one through out the day but so far, I’m getting just a hint of a green taste, like cooked vegetables. It’s fleeting as the sweet apricot flavor takes over almost immediately. I assume the reason this is a milk oolong, is the creamy, buttery flavor that rides the tail end of the apricot flavor. I does have a decadent mouth feel to it for not being flavored. In the end of my sip, resides the floral taste. It’s rather interesting because I thought I really disliked flowery flavors, but this one is good. It’s sweet and mellow, not as heavy as jasmine. This is an excellent tea. I’m not sure it’s the oolong that will get to live in my cupboard because right now I favor the big red robe. I’d totally recommend it to others wanting to explore oolongs.

I made this up for Dylan to try while I was sipping on my oolong. Dylan is rather nice about sharing his cup so I can try it out too with out making a buttload of tea. He was even nice enough to help my sip it while I was washing dishes this morning. I think I haven’t developed a palate for tasting greens.

I found it to be some what like stewed vegetables with a sugar like sweetness. The other green I tried was one of Teavivre’s and it seemed to be stronger with the sugar sweetness fu. It also had a nutty taste I kept looking for in this tea. Alas, there was no nuttiness to be had. Of the two greens, I prefer the Tai Ping Hou Kui from Teavivre.

While I was steeping this tonight my app killer shut off my time and it got stuck. Good thing it’s a kangeroo. This is a pretty good night time tea. Dylan really likes it so it has earned a coveted spot in my cupboard.

The kangeroo plays very nicely with the pear and cream flavors. I find it to be very light despite my epic steeping time. (Dylan doesn’t know I steep red rocks for 15 minutes or so). The pear actually tastes like a regular pear and not some soapy interpretation of a pear. The nice creamy flavor serves to tie the pear to the kangeroo. It’s the Beringia of this tea. Today I learned that was the name for the bridge people crossed to get here from Asia. Any who, this is a nice tea to drink later at night with out the caffeine.

I made Dylan some of this today while I am drinking my Big Red Robe. I have to say it’s pretty good. I got a lot of the red hot cinnamon flavor and a very little masala. The tea base is malty goodness to support the masala and cinnamon. A nice blend for cinnamon lovers.

This is another sample from Angel and Teavivre. Thanks! I remain very impressed with Teavivre after tasting this one.

I brewed this up gringo style since I was making a bazillion gallons of iced tea while I was in the kitchen. Brewing in the gaiwan takes far too much concentration to be multitasking like that. I weighed out my sample and decided it was enough to use in my ingenuitea and I followed the directions on the back of the package.

I found this to be excellent, a complex tea with different hidden flavors to surprise me. At first I thought it was mineral with a hint of that floral taste I got with the high mountain oolong. I let it cool down a bit. I generally don’t drink my tea very hot. Now I’m getting a toasty roasted, nutty flavor. It still has the mineral quality to it, but there is a new sweetness wrapping every thing together. There is a pleasant aftertaste which lingers on for quite some time.

This tea deserves a permanent spot in my cupboard. This is one I can curl up with and enjoy all day long.

I was interested in lapsang souchong because I’ve read they are smokey teas. Of course, I see that Bonnie does quite a bit with them when cooking and I was curious.

I’m not really sure what to think about this one yet. I feel like I’m drinking liquid smoke with a smidge of tea. I only really know it’s tea because there is that familiar tea bite. I didn’t find any bitterness or much astringency. I’m thinking this is of decent quality.

I don’t think this is some thing I would really keep in my cupboard. I enjoyed trying it but I think I’d like it more in a blend. A little less smoke would make me happy.

When I pulled think out of the chest of wonders (Upton box), I thought, “why would someone put these two together!?” The taste was an awesome surprise. I feel like I have an Earl grey tea, heavy on lemon, that I dropped a Hershey bar into. The flavors all play together so politely. No huge clashes for me to wade through. I enjoy this, but not enough to give it some prime real estate in my cupboard.

This has to be the only Earl grey type tea I can’t taste the bergamot inx. I found lots of grapefruit and a malty medium bodied base. I didn’t get the lime I was looking for. I also totally missed the smoke I thought I’d find in here. Not a bad tea, but not one I’m wanting to stock up on.

This is the very last sample from our tea swap with Krystaleyn. Le sigh. I shouldn’t be sighing, I have a box of samples to get through sitting right next to me.

This would be totally awesome iced I think. It’s pretty good hot but all that berry action makes me think it’s perfect for a refreshing drink on a hot summer day. Blueberry seems to be the strongest flavor here with a pomegranate sidekick. There is some thing a little different with this blueberry. I think it may be that acai berry showing up here. Very good berry mix. I can’t really taste the green tea but that’s okay berry drinks are awesome. Thanks again Krystaleyn!

I’m thinking Teavivre is going to be a company Dylan and I patronize for some time. I’m really impressed with the quality of their tea and their customer acquisition plan. Dylan has informed me we are drinking the lowest grade of Keemun they currently sell. This stuff is just awesome! I love it.

It had a medium bodied malt that mellowed out that tea sharpness. I’m not sure how to describe the sharpness. It’s a bite that is pleasant. Basically just makes sure you know you are indeed drinking tea. The smokey flavor takes over and blends with a sweetness that is just divine. I could drink this all day long.

So we’ve found an earl grey I can share with Dylan. This one is pretty yummy. Vanilla goodness meets sweet, creamy tea and bergamot. Again this time there seems to be lime and possibly lemon in this tea, underneath the bergamot. I think the tea base is stronger with this one than the mad hat tea. I really like this one better. Maybe it’s just the creamy taste along with the vanilla that does it for me. It really seems to make the bergamot much more manageable. Yay we found the bergamot that belongs in our cupboard!

Today I decided to do a side by side comparison of the two earl grey creme. I have tried this one before and decided to send it to work with Dylan. It was just a bit too heavy on the bergamot for me.

I liked the vanilla in it and the citrus flavors but I had to get over the perfume to get to them. I totally agree with Dylan it tastes like there is lime in here. Maybe that’s just the addition of vanilla. The tea base is pretty mellow, I had to look for it a bit. If you like a stronger bergamot creme this will do it for you.

Angel from Teavivre approached me via email about trying some tea. Of course I agreed since Teavivre was already on my list of future places to buy tea from. I was pretty excited when I got my box with the little chinese characters on it. I wanted to rush out and try all of them right away, but at the same time I want to make sure I take time to enjoy the tea as well. I believe this is called a conundrum. So enough rambling and on to the tea.

This is a green I could enjoy in the future. With the greens I’ve tried so far, I decided I may be a black tea person. Some times greens just remind me of mushy vegetables, not a flavor I’m looking to keep around. I found this a bit vegetal but not in the mushy sort of way. It’s actually pretty sweet. I wonder if that is that orchid taste I read about. I’m going to have to smell some of those and compare. I found this tea steeps up decently at 1 and 2 minutes. At 2 minutes you get a deeper body but largely the same flavor profile. I’m glad I got the chance to try it. Thanks to Angel and Teavivre.

Another tea I’ve had and forgot to review. I did brew it up a bit longer than I normally do. Normally I only leave it for a minute, so it’s a bit stronger. I think I prefer it this way though. It’s much easier to discern different flavors. There is a peppery, hay like taste in here. It sounds bad put that way but this is pleasant. I feel like the hay was stacked near some flowers but I can’t put my finger on what sort. It’s hard for me to label this as vegetal since I feel it’s too dry for that. I have also found a fruity like sweetness in here. Not a bad tea but I think I like black teas better for now.

I’ve not had much experience with breakfast blends or straight blacks, but I really like this one so far. It’s a full bodied tea with a malty bite to it. I assume that’s due to the different types of tea in there. I feel there is some thing a bit sweet hanging around the edges. There is a bit of astringency at the end but not bad.

I typically don’t use milk in my tea, just a bit of sugar in the raw. This one is smooth enough I don’t feel like I need to add milk or creamer. I could see this as an afternoon tea or breakfast tea. Although waking up might call for some thing a bit more aggressive some days.

It has just come to my attention that I have failed to review teas in my cupboard, many of which I actually drink regularly. Today I’ll be rectifying that. Why don’t you care? Don’t, don’t you dare! Rectifier, how’s the world supposed to be? Rectifier, take my hand and rescue me. Rectifier, how’s the world supposed to be? Rectifier, take my hand and set me free! There’s some RA for you. So on to the tea.

This is a really smooth tea. For all the flavors in it, it really finesses the palate. So comfortable and familiar. Since I have a huge crush on cardamom, I really like that it’s the first thing I notice about this tea. As far as spices go, I get a bit of cinnamon and anise with a finish of coriander. I think the fruit in here serves to make it sweeter, as I can’t really pick out the pineapple. This is almost creamy. The rooibos seems to be more prominent than the mate. I’m okay with that since I really like rooibos.

A very nice tea but it won’t be able to usurp Samurai Mate. It needs a bit more pow in the cinnamon department for that.

So we need a few caffeine free teas for night time. We like to share tea pretty late into the night and I’ve been having trouble sleeping. I’m not sure its tea that’s keeping me awake, but I’d rather play it safe. We had a tea from a store that was called Strawberry Sunset and we can’t get it any more. We tried to build it with Ovation teas, minus the stevia and hibiscus. I’m not a big fan of either. What we got was a chamomile base with peppermint, figs, strawberries, strawberry flavoring and spearmint flavoring.

So the fig is lost in here. I think it may have contributed to the sweetness of the tea. Otherwise it’s pretty straight forward. There is a mild mint taste with chamomile and strawberries. I actually like the mint the best. It’s not aggressive nor too subtle. I’m pretty happy with this one, other than I think a mint base would be better than the chamomile base.

I have to recommend Ovation Tea to you all. They are great. They responded to our questions via emails in a reasonable amount of time. I feel they use quality ingredients and ship out in a timely manner.

I’m bumping up the rating on this one a bit since it’s totally awesome iced. I liked it pretty well hot but iced it’s just wonderful. Creamy orange flavor meets a tangy fruit. I get a hint of the chocolate but mostly just creamy orange. Perfect for a hot day.

This is another sample from Krystaleyn. Thanks again! It is my last sample from her, sad face.

Another very interesting tea. I know it says mango but really it feels more like peach to me. I get a hint of coconut right after the oolong. The oolong is sweet and again reminds me of rocks. Maybe my tasters are off today. I’d say it’s earthy but I find no vegetal or moist hints in it. Yay, more oolong! Thanks again.

Not sure I’m going to get this one again. It’s strange. I do taste creamy chocolate. The oolong is sweet and at the same time mineral. The complete opposite of the other oolong we tried today. The dong ding reminded me of cleaning vegetables for dinner or opening the steamer while I’m cooking them maybe. This one reminds me of hot rocks around a camp fire. If I could lick sugar and chocolate off of rocks around a camp fire, I’m sure that’s is what this tea would taste like. I’m getting a coppery after taste. An interesting tea but not my cup.

This is a sample tea from Teavivre by way of Krystaleyn. Thanks for the sample!

Let me just say I’m new to oolongs. It’s an area I’ve been wanting to explore for a bit and now I’ve got some to try. I looked the brewing parameters up on Teavivre and have stuck with gringo brewing since I’m pretty comfortable with it. The gaiwan is a bit tricky to pour still! Very messy tea making.

I didn’t know what to expect as far as taste, but I’ve found it pleasant so far. My first surprise is a butter association. I looked in my cup to be sure I didn’t drop some in there some how. Not one little oil bubble on the top of my tea, no butter added! I get a vegetal taste but it passes quickly. I’m kind of playing with it now. Holding the tea on different spots on my tongue. Yay! Another surprise! Now I get a hint of fruit. Very interesting tea. I shall have to see how it goes for the rest of the day. Thanks again Krystaleyn!

I tend to drink my teas warm and not hot. Some of them I let cool even more. It seems like you get better flavors that way. So I thought, “hey try them iced!” I like this one pretty well warm. It totally needs to stay that way though. I thought the mint would really shine iced and that held true. The chocolate does better warm. I can totally taste it and it tastes like chocolate but there is some thing just wrong about it cold. I really can’t explain it. Hey, now I know at least. :D

Yay! Another herbal I enjoy. Thanks Krystaleyn!

I get mostly apple and mint. There is some thing in here that reminds me of the way pine trees smell. I’ve not had raspberry leaf or juniper berries to my knowledge before. I haven’t a clue which one does that, or if they in combination provide that flavour. I’m not rating this one because I’m fed up with manipulating the slider on my nook.

This is a very interesting chai. Thank you for the sample Krystaleyn!

This is the first time I’ve had a Smokey green. The smoke flavor is delicate and plays against sweet apricot and pepper nicely. Ginger and clove are well balanced in this cup. I’m getting a bit of fennel at the end. A very nice cup.