MissLena12

Backlog from earlier – forgot that a co-worker gave me a bag of this today and asked if I drink tea! I was like YESS I drink tea haha, mostly loose though, she was like oh cool. So maybe I will bring some teas for her in the future. This made a pretty decent cup though, considering I didn’t really time it, and I have no idea what the water temperature was. Funny, I actually brought a raspberry vanilla rooibos in my travel mug today, and she happened to give me a raspberry tea as well. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised that this tea wasn’t too bad. I can still drink bagged tea, hooray! Try to keep my tea snobbery to a minimum :P

What, I haven’t made a note on this yet? I’ve had this at least 3 times Western style, and it was awesome! Today, it is my second tea to christen my new gaiwan, as I actually don’t think I’ve ever brewed a white tea gongfu style, even in my little tea pot!

I have no idea how much leaf I used, I just covered the bottom of the gaiwan. I poured 175 degree water in for a few seconds, and poured it out. A few leaves in the cup, but I got them out so it wouldn’t get too strong. My goodness, this smells like JASMINE. Like soo much jasmine, in that short of time! There’s like a bouquet of it in my small cup! Oh, and the dry leaves smell very nice, a bit similar to the Yunnan white jasmine by Verdant, but there is a subtle difference that I notice, but can’t pick out anything specific about it. Just that it’s a tad different. The liquor is a very light color, just the barest hint of color.

This tastes perfect. Just perfect. I can definitely taste a fruitiness mixing with the jasmine, it is so fresh and just pure. It might be my brain wanting to taste the pear note, but I swear it’s there!! Haha, a crispness that reminds me of summer days actually, in the late afternoon with the sun lower on the horizon, and a big apple tree nearby. Sometimes I get strange associations of places that I don’t even know if I’ve been to, just a picture in my mind I guess lol.

Overall, this tea is really good so far done gaiwan style, I should eventually make a note for western. If I recall, this has a bit more flavor in the gaiwan so far than western brewed. I love jasmine teas, and this one definitely does not disappoint. Can’t wait for the bf to try it this way as well, as he LOVESSS jasmine white teas, and actually requests the Yunnan white quite often. He will probably enjoy this quite a lot.

Yay! The cocoa canela did the trick..I am now much more awake,and decided to tackle using my gaiwan! I ordered the tall pond gaiwan from Verdant as I have super small hands and would probably fail at using a regular gaiwan. Anyways, this one is super cute, 4 oz capacity I think. I watched David’s video on how to pour from a gaiwan and it was very helpful. I even practised a few times with just water to try to get the hang of it lol. I must say, my hands are almost too small for even this tiny gaiwan. But onto the tea I have brewed with it!

The tea I made is actually the fall/winter version, not the latest spring, although I did get that in the TOMC today as well. But I need to drink this one a bit first, I have a full bag of it! So my unorthodox, inexperience gaiwanry resulted in not much spillage, but a few more leaves in the cup than I would have wanted lol, so I fished them out with a spoon, although I know you can make this tea in a glass with the leaves just chilling in there, so I wasn’t too concerned. But I didn’t spill much! Hooray! I don’t think my steeping was quite 3 seconds lol, as I had to put the kettle back and the lid on before attempting to pour it..but the cup is pretty good nonetheless!

I can’t remember if I’ve reviewed this tea before, but I quite enjoyed it, apart from the one time I miserably overleafed and it was rather bitter. However, today, man, this is sooo lovely. Even though it’s not the spring batch, I am feeling the spring with this cup. Lightly vegetal, with a sparkly note of something delicious, something a tiny bit sweet. It reminds me of the rain outside on the fresh green leaves, all perky and cool and fresh.

Overall, a delicious tea. I will continue to use my gaiwan this afternoon for a few more steeps of this, and I will probably try another tea as well today, maybe a new spring one, or my beloved Eight Treasures Yabao, which also arrived today. NEW TEA/TEAWARE OVERLOAD! :D what a good start to the weekend!

ETA – Second attempt: Less leaves in cup, but more spillage on the plate I put under my teacup lol. Practice makes perfect, I will find the balance!

I bought a small amount of this last night for my mom..I would have given her the whole package, but she’s never had mate before and is bad with caffeine so I told her I’d try it first and let her know how strong it is (and if it causes jitters lol). It’s also rainy here and I am sleepy and I would like a bit of energy to try my first gaiwan! It came from Verdant and I picked it up today woot!

The dry smell is soo cinnamon and chocolate! My goodness! The leaves, if that’s what they are, are super powdery and everything is a rich, dark reddish brown. I steeped for 6 minutes. The resulting liquor is very dark and coffee looking, and smells moreso like a chai from all the cinnamon.

The taste is quite good! It actually tastes remarkably similar to how it smelled, which is surprising that is is so similar. It is rich and warm, the cinnamon is the main flavor, and the cocoa is nicely holding it up with a dark, rich flavor. The mouthfeel is actually not too heavy, even though there is a small film on the top from the chocolate, but I realized not all of it dissolved, might have to eat it after haha. I can feel the mate already a bit, just making me more alert. I will monitor its effects, as I really want my mom to be able to try this, she would love it because it is quite chocolatey and she loves chais.

Overall, definitely an interesting tea. I won’t rate it yet until I see how the mate is, and I also burnt my tongue today on a Tim Horton’s white hot chocolate, so it might be affecting my taste buds a bit, it hurts anyways haha. But I am happy I did try this, I am not the biggest fan of chocolate teas but I am happy mom wanted to try some, because it isn’t too bad! Probably a nice tea for every once in a while. :)

Not really related to this tea, more lamentation about tea below

Sooo…I should probably look at joining the tea hiatus group lol. Mom came over for a visit and wanted to take me to DAVIDsTEA…hahaha, of course I can’t say no! So we went, and she stocked up on a crazy amount of tea, she actually paid the same as me for hers, but she got larger quantities of some favorites :D so that was good, and I got a bunch of tea..and an iced tea mug..and mom got me a pitcher, she wanted to get me a gongfu pot but I already have that haha. So yes, NO MORE BUYING TEA/TEA THINGS! /my verdant order(s) are at the post office as well haha.

ANYWAYS..ONTO THE TEA…

I just had to try some of this. I recall seeing a whole bunch of notes on this a few months ago, and I was like hmm that looks good, but it somehow slipped my visits for quite a while. I saw it today though, and smelled it, and man is it ever strawberry and rhubarb! My mom even thought it smelled like a rhubarb pie, and she makes an EPIC rhubarb pie. So yes, I got apparently 18 g of this tea haha, and I might have to get more.

I steeped it for around 6 minutes with boiling water, and omggoodnesss, this creamy, delicious scent is wafting up. Even after it cools, it still smells just SO CREAMY. The flavor is excellent. A perfect balance of sweet and tart, and it does pretty good with the flavoring too, which I am surprised with. I think you could actually pretty closely discern the rhubarb not knowing what it is supposed to be!

Overall, I am super pleased that I finally remembered to try some of this. It is a lovely treat that smells super sweet, but actually is very nice. Yay for good tea, and caffeine free tea before bed too! :D

The black tea helped my headache, but I thought some matcha won’t hurt, as long as I don’t stay up all night from it! I mixed this one and some French vanilla, had with hot water as usual. I am finding the flavors a bit muted..maybe because I used less matcha, but most likely because I’m not drinking it fast enough! My goal is to have matcha at least 3 times a week, the massive matcha sipdown, as I have like 5 open in the fridge that need to be devoured before they are devoid of flavor. Nonetheless, this is still tasty, the green tea taste is very enjoyable and not too harsh today. See previous notes :)

Lol, this tastes kind of strange after eating lemon hummus! Anyways, I have a massive, massive headache due to how freaking windy it’s been here today, so I am trying to tame it with some caffeine, if that will help, I have no idea, but I also wanted this tea. Just going to wait til the hummus taste is gone before I have any more sips lol. Still tasty underneath though :) see previous notes on this tea!

My allergies have been a bit better, but that may be from continued use of reactine haha. But I cold steeped some of this tea to add to the reactine so there is more than one thing fighting my allergies! It steeped for almost 24 hours, and the result is VERY herb tasting haha, stemmy I think someone used, and yes it feels like a bunch of stems have been steeped. The mild grapefruit flavor makes it ok and refreshing, so I will drink it, but this is definitely more for medicinal purposes lol. See previous notes.

My friend came over for dinner, and we made the most epic dinner ever! Fresh trout from fishing on Sunday cooked in a pan, steamed asparagus with butter, and coconut rice :D delicious meal! Had a glass of wine with it, but each had a tasty cup of this tea afterwards. The fresh sweetness and mint helped to refresh after the rich meal, and helped quench my thirst quite well :) I am enjoying this tea, it is light yet sweet and an interesting flavor! See previous notes!

Yum! I must be on a caramel kick today, because I have just been craving that flavor and most of the teas I’ve had today have caramel aspects/full caramel flavor lol. This is my before bed cup, I am almost at the end of my sample :( I much prefer this cream caramel rooibos than the DavidsTea one, this one is much sweeter and a perfect way to end the day! See previous notes :)

Eep! I’ve been drinking so much other tea lately that I forgot about my matcha in the fridge! Need to start drinking some of it down! I made a cup of this with just hot water, about 3/4 of a tsp today, and it was quite good. I’ve missed my matcha. See previous notes :)

I believe this is my first straight Earl Grey tea I’ve had in loose form!! I have only tried EGC before this, so I was quite looking forward to it. I had my nap, so now I can actually write a decent tasting note on a new tea. Also, first tasting note, woo!

The dry smell is soo much bergamot. Wow. It is just crazy how aromatic it is, very perfumed, but not unpleasantly so. I tried steeping this for 4 minutes, again on the low end of the scale of 4-6. The steeped smell is also very bergamot, but toned down at least.

As for the flavor, it is pretty good! This being my first straight EG in loose form, and having not had any bagged of it in AGES, I might be easily impressed, but it seems to be tasty! There is definitely a robust bergamot flavor with a nice black base, a small hint of dryness at the end of the sip, but not overly drying. I don’t think it is bitter, but it is fairly strong, but not to the point where it’s soapy, which is quite a win, as I had a rough bunch of cups with the last bit of EGC by DavidsTea due to a horrid soapiness lol.

Overall, this is a pleasant Earl Grey! I think I still like the cream ones a bit more just because they are a bit more decadent, but this feels like a nice stable tea that makes me feel very alert and almost strong haha, it seems like it could become a solid staple tea for dreary mornings or something. I am definitely not an expert on EG, but I like this one, whether it’s super true to flavor, I couldn’t tell you because I don’t have much to compare to, but it’s enjoyable. Yay for tea :) and another tasty find from Sloane Tea Company!

I am back in civilization, this weekend I was at the lake and still drinking tea, but very poor nets so no logs. I also don’t feel like backlogging because hey, it’s the long weekend, I just want to enjoy it until I have to work tomorrow haha. Anyways, after drinking a myriad of green, white and herbal teas this weekend, I needed something a little more comforting and cozy. Enter Laoshan Black. 1 tsp for 3 minutes, yum yum very roasted tasting today, not getting as much caramel, but that may be because I just had some extremely salty soup, so my palate is off, and my nose is still icky from allergies. Nevertheless, I am enjoying this cup, and will probably have a nap in a bit. See previous notes on this tea :)

This was my splurge yesterday hehe, 4 tins of Sloane tea! First of all, BEAUTIFUL packaging. I am in love with the small tins, they are sooo delicate! And the box is so pretty too, and it says how to brew all the teas + the ingredients on the box! Yay for ingredients, because I couldn’t actually find any on the site, and having a nut allergy, this made me a bit apprehensive lol. But I digress..onto the tea!

The dry smell is soooo yummy. It has a wonderful cream scent in there. I love that the EG classic also came in this set, because I could compare the two and you can definitely smell more bergamot in the classic lol. I might have to have a cup after to compare flavors too.

I steeped for 4 mins, as suggested time was 4-6 for only 6 oz of water, and I am super terrified of strong black tea, so I went with the min, although that even seemed a bit long, and also a bit more water. Oh, and I just used my brew basket, not the provided satchets, although those may come in handy at work hehe. The steeped smell is very nice, it actually is reminding me of Paris by Harneys quite a bit, must be the vanilla flavors. There is also a sweet scent underneath, similar to fruity but also like caramel? Lol, that doesn’t make sense. Well, that’s what the nose is saying today (allergies are also running rampant lol).

Ohh yessss, this is really quite delicious. It is SO reminding me of Paris, but without the fruity aftertaste. This is really quite good. Darn it, I don’t want it to be super good, because then I will have to spring for an order probably at some point….haha, not for a while yet though! And with the 4 minute steep, it is not bitter nor too weak, although I might try a short steeping next time just to see if it’s even creamier than it is now. I think I like Ceylon bases in tea as well, although I am not a very hardcore black tea drinker and don’t know much about them haha, but it seems like the blends I like list Ceylon as the base. But I’m babbling (sorry, I am excited about new tea hehe) so I will stop now haha.

Overall, a very nice tea. I am very pleased I finally picked some of this up, because it’s a wonderful blend of cream and bergamot with a delicious black base. +1 for Sloane Teas so far!

ETA – As it cools, more of the black tea flavor comes out, but it’s still tasting pretty good. Not quite as much creaminess, well, except in the aftertaste it is still there, yay!

Backlog – this got me through the morning and then I broke down and had some Twinings bagged white. Lol, I love this tea, quite delicious and berry, although it is not as good in my travel mug. See previous notes on this tea :)

Backlog – I think this is the tea I had at work today that I brought from home last week LOL I finally scouted out the kettle and decided to try it with this tea. Not too bad, a nice sweet aftertaste, which was a bit strange for a white tea, but I needed tea so badly anything would be good. I have yet to try the Keurig, it only has some bigelow green tea for it though, which I used to like, before I found all this AMAZING tea. Ah well, I will eventually bring my loose teas. For now, bags. And hey, I can use up some stuff in my cupboard maybe lol.

I made this cold brewed…yummmmmmmm. This is such an excellent tea both hot AND cold. It’s super refreshing and coconutty. I want to drink this all summer. So. Good. See previous notes about it hot!

Oh, and I splurged a bit on tea today…I couldn’t resist, I’ve been eyeing them forever, so I got a 4 pack of the Sloane teas!! EG Classic, Heavenly Cream, Peaches and Cream and Rouge Provence. So excited!

So I’ve been taking prescription eye drops for my darn allergies for the past week (eyes were a horrendous red at this time last week lol) and have been sneezing and all that fun from it being spring. So tonight, after reading on a note somewhere (I think it was Terri HarpLady that said it) that nettles are awesome for allergies, i found my one tea with nettles and made a cup. I contemplated cold brewing some for tomorrow but instead put another mango tea in the fridge. This tea is not my favorite, it’s very herby and thirst quenching, but not an exciting flavor, but if it helps my allergies, i might have to get a bit more. I’m hopefully going to davidstea tomorrow to get the summer collection and an iced tea pitcher, so I hope I make up my mind about this tea by then. If not, I still have a few cups left lol. See previous notes :)

I think I finally am getting the excellent flavor from this tea! I’ve drank it a few times before and it was not doing it for me, it was too bland or too perfumy or something. It might be the dry smell that puts me off a bit too, my bag seems very bergamoty and not creamy at all, almost soapy and very perfumed. But I have been craving EGC, so I needed a cup tonight, hoping the caffeine doesn’t bug me like it did yesterday!

I steeped for 4 minutes, that might also be a different, I think I tried 2 in the past and it was just too weak. The steeped smell definitely has some cream and is a lot lighter than the smell from the bag.

As for flavor, yes, there definitely is creaminess in it this time! I am finding that it seems to diminish as it cools, so might have to drink it hot in the future, or my taste buds might be acting up from my allergies. Anyways, it is hitting the spot and satisfying my EGC craving perfectly! Definitely a nice light black tea, but the creaminess makes it seem richer and just lovely.

Overall, I am happy that this is starting to work for me. I have a big 2 oz bag of it and I was worried I preferred the DavidsTea version better, but this one might make the cut after all! I’ll potentially up the rating after a few more cups at a later date as well.

SIPDOWN! I cold-brewed the last little bit I had of this, I quite enjoy it cold, it has a fresh yet mellow mango flavor, and I even get a bit of the pom too. I’m happy I tried this tea, but I don’t think it will be a restock, well, maybe a bit in the hot day of summer for cold steeping. But I need to try the new summer DavidsTeas this week, so this one had to be finished to make room for the new! Hehe :D see previous notes.

I over caffeineated yesterday, oops haha, stomach was still in a yucky way this morning so I made this for work. I still love this tea, it’s especially good with honey. Yum, i will hopefully never be out of this, it also helped my tummy! See previous notes on this tea :)

So after a few cups of the rich and awesome Wuyi oolong I have been drinking this evening, I needed something a bit lighter and fresher, so I decided to have a cup of this. Now, I wasn’t really a fan of it last time I had it, it was just too floral by the end of the cup. This time, it seems a bit better, still quite peony flavored and scented, but I think I found a bit of white tea taste underneath at least haha. Maybe I steeped it for a bit shorter time or got more white tea in the spoon, I’m not sure. This was a nice one to try, and if I am in the mood for it, it is nice, but I don’t think I’d restock this one just because it is soo floral. Happy to have tried it though, and I will get through the bag by the end of summer I think! See previous notes :)

Happy Mother’s Day!!

So I haven’t been on here in a bit oops, I was down at the boyfriend’s family’s this weekend and also had to drive him to the airport for a 2 week field job :( going to miss him a lot! So yes I have been drinking a bit of tea and trying to read reviews on here but it’s been a busy weekend haha.

I finally decided to try this tea! I have had a sample kicking around for quite some time, and just got a big bag of this in the TOTM last month, so I need to start drinking it! I also haven’t had a gongfu session in ages because I’ve been busy with starting work, so it is much needed. The dry smell is roasty and sweet and reminiscent of the other shui xian wuyi that Verdant had before this one, but this one is a bit more sweet. I put in about half of the little sample baggie and steeped with boiling water for about 10 seconds. The resulting liquor is a light golden brown, with a tangy scent to it mixed with roastiness, it is quite different!

As for taste, mmm I get those creamy flavors that I found in the other shui xian wuyi oolong, but this one is smoother and sweeter, not as roasted to me and I kind of prefer that actually. The sweetness is very milky and I definitely get caramel. At the end of the taste there is this super caramel creamy note that I am savoring, it’s maybe more of a creamed honey flavor, yum!!

Overall, another excellent tea, I think Verdant oolongs are some of my favorite oolongs. I can’t wait to continue to steep this tea tonight, it is so flavorful already, I’m excited to see how it changes! Another excellent offering from Verdant!

ETA – the following steeps were also really good, very rich though, and they actually made me quite thirsty haha. Making a lighter tea to balance out this roasty, delicious tea! :)

I am super impressed with my Whispering Pines teas! Haha, I’ve probably said this already :P but yeah, oh and also, I forgot to mention the hand-written note that came with my teas was a nice surprise, good customer service! I had a cup of Honeysuckle White tea by them earlier and didn’t rinse my cup, so there might be a bit of honeysuckle taste in this cup that is not normally present lol. I’ll have to write a review about that one at some point too! Anyways, onto this tea.

First off, this one has a very faint green tea scent dry, nice and light. I steeped for 1.5 minutes at 175 degree water. The steeped smell is of jasmine, fresh little buds of it. The taste is very delicate and fresh, I definitely taste a floral element, whether that is the honeysuckle adding to the jasmine from the previous cup, I’m not sure, but it is quite nice. The green tea is very light and smooth, with the slightest hint of grass. I can see how this is likened to rain in a forest or on blades of grass, it is just fresh and sweet and pure.

Overall, I am quite enjoying this cup, I am finding it quite relaxing and I love the images of a forest it evokes for me. Ahh feeling a bit Zen-like, much needed after a busy busy day at work. I will hold off rating until I try it in a clean cup to make sure the white tea isn’t messing with the flavor.