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The last time I had this, I found it to be very astringent, very malty, and wheaty.

Rifling through my stash, I was searching for the Jing Xuan by Red Blossom Tea Co, but it wasn’t in the box it should have been in and I didn’t have the time to search through the other box. So I grabbed this one, thinking, It’s okay, but it’ll do.

Steeped under decidedly unscientific parameters: slightly less than boiling water, a pinch of silky leaves, for maybe two to three minutes tops. I didn’t time it or look at a clock, so I’m not sure. I’m estimating more on the two minute side.

And I actually really like it. It’s not as heavy or dark as it was before. It sparkles with a mineral sort of sweetness. It’s kind of reminiscent of the Jing Xuan. The bready notes are there, but they don’t dominate the flavor.

I’m starting to believe in picking the right tea by fate, or whatever you call it – a tea that you grab because it’s the only one available, or you don’t have time to search for the one you want that turns out being perfect – it’s not what I wanted, but it was what I needed. It’s happened twice now. But maybe I’m just more grateful for fantastic tea or more sensitive to flavors in times like this.

This has been sitting in my pitcher in the fridge for about a week now. I’d forgotten what kind of tea it was! I’m 90% sure this is it :)

It’s good iced, but it’s not a favorite. I think what I really want to do is blend it with some cream or vanilla (or, you know, just order some The Lemon Is In Play from Adagio – another Cara McGee and Cabin Pressure is by far my favorite fandom) because the lemon’s a bit weak and the creaminess isn’t too strong either.

But it’s decent.

This tea perplexes me. Each time I smell it, I get cool mint and then chocolate. It smells kind of like those Andes mints.

Drinking it, it’s a sort of chocolaty rooibos with mint. The mint really lingers, which is cool.

Added a splash of milk – it’s worth a shot, and I don’t feel like I’m losing anything if it doesn’t work.

It’s a little bit better that way, a little bit smoother this way. Hm. It’s more of a mint chocolate rooibos. I’ll finish the cup, it’s not bad enough just to throw out, but it’s not a tea I’m eager to drink again.

EDIT: I realized the reason I wasn’t tasting any coconut the first time around was because there literally wasn’t anyone: Cocomint refers to cocoa and mint, not coconut and mint! Cool, I’m glad my tastebuds weren’t broken.

Okay, I’m 90% sure this came from Invader Zim So thank you! (And if I’m wrong, then thank you to whoever swapped me this!)

It smells really interesting – like the inside of The Body Shop or somewhere like that. Not complaining – it smells great. It’s a bit hard to put my finger on specific scents though.

The rooibos is a strong flavor in this one, and the dried currants, rose and lavender accentuate it. It’s definitely a rooibos tea tisane first and foremost, but the other flavors behind it make it interesting.

It’s interesting. That’s a good descriptor for this tea. Tastes like there’s some chocolate in there as well, though I’m not sure where I’m getting that from.

EDIT: I tweeted this tea, and now @DAVIDsTEA is teasing me about lavender fields in France. This company is great.

Kind of like a breakfast tea for someone who doesn’t like breakfast teas. My issue with most of them is that they’re labelled the same sort of generic “Indian Black Blend” and there really isn’t anything special to them.

I’m partial to Irish Breakfasts, probably because the first time I really started drinking any sort of tea regularly was on my trip to Ireland in the spring of 2012. It was incredible. I learned SO much. I’m going back one day, I will, I will.

So I like that this is in there! And the chai gives it just a bit of cinnamony kick – I’m able to drink it without milk, and it’s not overwhelmingly strong, maybe because the berry gives it a little bit of sweetness. This is the first time I’m trying it with milk and sugar, and it reminds me a bit of a sassy breakfast tea. Now I see why my friend Jackie likes it so much!

Sipdown. Kind of a light flavor, as there’s only about a teaspoon of this left for ~10 oz of tea, but that’s okay. I didn’t want anything too heavy at night anyway.

I’m glad to have my kettle back – I brought it to a friend’s house for a tea party, and then forgot it there. Thankfully we had plans two days later for another tea party (ha!) so my baby is back with me. The day I was without it I didn’t drink much tea – I’ve been so spoiled with the temp controls that I don’t know how to make greens with the regular kettle! (I mean, I can. But I’m lazy. The electric is also heaps faster.)

This tea is malty and dark, and there’s something in the smell I can’t quite identify – it’s almost like sesame seeds and caramel candy. It’s very good, though.

(That was a long rant for a short tasting note. Oh well.)

Had a sample of this at the 221Tea Party yesterday. Didn’t get a good tasting experience since the water was who knows what temp and the leaves were all in a little tea ball, but it was really good. It’s going on the shopping list and then if my coupon is still valid by the time I go back to school and have extra money, I’ll just skip the sample and get a few ounces of this.

Semi-backlog from yesterday.

This isn’t as bad as the green, as it’s heavier tea, but I can still taste the preservatives. I drank about half of it while baking Toblerone cookies. It’s actually really good mixed with ice and lemonade.

I still have about half a bottle left, so I mixed that with an iced black and some lemonade, and it’s pretty good.

Quick tasting note – backlogging from the day before yesterday.

These were 2-for-1 on Adagio, and I added a few of these to my Sherlock order.

Brought to work, drank while training the new girl. I like her. She’s already showing a lot more promise than our other new-ish hires (at least, new since I’ve gone to school)

I was excited it said Dragonwell on the side – that’s my favorite green.

Sadly, it tasted like dentist. I could hardly taste the tea at all. Sigh.

Thanks to Invader Zim for the sample of this! (I’m typing on the iPad as I wait for my car to be fixed, so please forgive any spelling errors!

I wasn’t paying attention and mistook this for Teavivre’s white jasmine, so I only got one steep out of it. It was only the next morning when I saw the empty bag on the counter that I realized.

It was delicious, really delicate and soft and just a little bit sweet. The jasmine wasn’t overpowering. I only wish I had more to say! I’ll leave off the rating because I cant really rate it very well right now.