MissLena12

I’m watching Ted with the boyfriend, so I wanted a fun, sweet tea, as the movie is pretty funny :) this fits the bill. See previous notes on this tea :)

I have been craving black teas lately O.o this is a rather different occurrence for me, considering I rarely drink them. I also do not have a large selection of them, so it is somewhat difficult to satisfy the craving! Haha, so I made a cup of this as my morning cuppa. I steeped for 4 minutes this time, and hmm I prefer 3 minutes for a steeping time, it brought out a bit more of the creamy flavor. I think I will add a bit of milk to this cup though, if I remember before I drink it all! See previous notes on this creamy tea :)

ETA: As soon as I typed I should add milk before I forget, I went and added some milk. The creaminess was brought out, but it still seemed to need something for the flavors, so I added a tiny bit of sugar. This helped the bergamot and the creaminess popped! This is pretty darn delicious! I might try steeping for 5 minutes next time if I’m adding milk though, as it is a little bit weaker just from diluting. But this is yum!

Ahhh I just had to have this creamy wonder of a tea today. The weather is in another weird funk, up to +1 today and it was -12 C or lower all week and windy and snowing. Yeah, now bright sunshine and warm. So this called for a spring tea!

I don’t drink this tea enough. I really want to try the fall version of Verdant’s tieguanyin soon! This is pure, creamy, delicious light greens. Perfection. Buttery. There’s some later sweetness in the sip, definitely a bit of orchid. I’m brewing this in my gong fu glass pot, and it definitely is making a difference than using the brew basket. Space for the leaves to expand! Ahh, I will savor this for a while before dinner. Oh, and I did a quick rinse as well. Anyways, please see previous notes on this lovely tea :)

This tea! I bought it because I LOVE Verdant’s Mi Lan Dancong oolong, and wanted to see what it would taste like in a black tea. I decided to brew it in my gongfu teapot, and have no idea how much leaf I used, I have only a 7 g sample, so I used about half the bag for this brewing.

I did 2 rinses, then steeped for about 4 seconds ish. Oh, and this has that amazing honey smell of the Mi Lan oolong which I LOVE! Mmm this makes me want to have a Yixing session after this, I haven’t in quite some time :( anyways, onto the taste!

The first steeping tastes like pure honey! Even more than the oolong did I think! The dancong taste is still there, but SMOTHERED in honey! I love this! Oh, and I thought this would brew up a darker color, it’s a lovely golden color. Wasn’t expecting that!

Second steep – yes, more honey, not quite as potent, but as I was sipping and reading the discussion boards, I randomly got some of the avocado!!! YES! It’s in the aftertaste, and not overly intense, it’s more almost a textural thing? Anyways, it’s good! Not a whole lot of chocolate yet, still tastes mostly like a bit stronger oolong to me. Bah, my untrained palate :P

I mixed a bit of the second and third steeps before I will have just the third steep, yes, there it is, the black tea taste. It was a little while coming, but now I can taste a bit of that chocolate malt, not overpowering, but just a nice hint of it to remind me this is not an oolong. And the honey is still there. YES!

This is probably my favorite black tea from Verdant so far. I have only tried this and Laoshan Black, but I think I currently prefer this one, it’s more honey and not as chocolatey (maybe I’m crazy for not liking too much chocolate lol). This is really, really good.

Oh, and on a sad, and angering note, I think Canada Post lost my Verdant order. Not impressed. It’s almost a week late, if it’s not here by tomorrow, I will have to call them and figure out what to do..not looking forward to that.

First tea in my new timolino! It still doesn’t taste as good as when in a cup, but it’s maybe not as bland, and there’s no weird smell of previous tea emanating from the rubber on the lid. And the blue color of my new tim makes me happy :). Anyways, back to tea, i love this in the morning, and this probably will be a repurchase, if my bf ever lets me go into davidstea again :p he said if I drink all my teas, i can get more :( but i do have a red leaf gift cert that I will have to use up….. Anyways, sorry for the small tangent, see previous notes on this tea :)

I have been wanting to try this tea for AGES, aka since it came out. Finally, I picked up a bit today without the bf being there to say noo it’s too coconut, it smells weird, you don’t need another herbal tea..mwahaha.

The dry smell is minty and creamy, but there is also apple in it, which surprised me the first time I smelled it because I hadn’t looked at the ingredients thoroughly. Steeped, I get mainly mint, with a hint of creaminess.

Now for the taste, pow!! If mint shortbread exists, this tastes like it! Haha, it has the buttery coconut flavor melded quite nicely with the peppermint. I love mint and coconut, so win-win. The apple is not really there to me, maybe it’s adding a small amount of a punch to the middle of the taste? Meh, this is primarily a yummy coconutty cookie of some sort. With mint. Huzzah!

Overall, this is another one of those very sweet teas that I will drink in moderation. However, it is quite tasty, and it will hit the spot when I am craving something sweet before bed. In fact, it will probably battle with Jessie’s tea to be my coconut tea of choice now! Tea battle commence!(another night though, I have my sweet fill for now)

Yay for tea! This is a backlog from earlier today – I took this tea on my way to my interview 2 hrs away, caught a ride with my mom at least, and after we went to DAVIDsTEA and I got her to get some of this awesome tea! I put a lot of honey in it today for my nerves though, so not a whole lot of ginger. Also suffered a bit from travel mug syndrome, but I got a NEW Timolino today so hopefully it will taste more like tea and not like old icky thermos. Yay!

So I went to my local DAVIDsTEA store….AGAIN….haha, I took my mom and she picked up 3 teas, and I decided to get a bit too (obviously! :D ). So this is my first purchase of a black tea from DAVIDsTEA I think! I did have this particular tea once at my aunt’s, but as I didn’t know her steeping parameters I didn’t review it. I didn’t look up any tips on how to brew on here, so I just did 3 mins with boiling water.

Oh, and the dry smell is delicious!! Creamy and bergamoty and yummmmmyy. I haven’t drank that many Earl Greys to be honest, and even fewer Earl Grey creams, but this one smells quite delicious. The steeped smell is nice and creamy as well, with a light touch of the bergamot. Also, love the pretty little flowers in this :)

So for taste, this is pretty decent, considering I don’t have a whole lot to compare it to. It’s very creamy and quite light for a black tea, although the aftertaste has a predominantly black tea taste with it, a wee bit bitter maybe. The bergamot is also not very strong, at least, I remember tasting it a lot more in other EGs. But for a cream, this is rather yummy! I would like to try a splash of milk next time I brew this, just to see what it does to the creaminess!

Overall, I’m so far pleased with my impulse black tea purchase. It’s a nice change to have a different base on a flavored tea, even though I probably shouldn’t be having this this late in the evening haha. But quite creamy and good! I may experiment with steep times to see which ones make the flavors pop. Oh, I also think I like EG creams a bit more than EG themselves, even though I have barely any experience with both, but that could be because I lovee vanilla, and cream = vanilla. :D

I think this is my go to calming tea. I have a job interview in a city 2 hrs away today (eek) so I am starting calming my nerves early with this tea. Probably won’t have too many cups though, don’t want to be running to the bathroom in the middle of the interview! Lol, anyways, I digress, see previous notes on this tea :)

Ahhh, I made this a different way, and it actually is the smoothest, softest tea I have ever had I think. I used an odd combo of times for prep:

Two 25 second rinses with boiling water.
First steep – 45 seconds with boiling water.
Second steep – 1 minute with boiling water.

Basically I was kind of doing Verdant’s western brewing, but was worried that the 2 minute steep might be a bit strong for my liking.

The first steep was very smooth and just like silk. No fishiness this time! Some earthy tones. There was a mild, rounded sweetness to the cup, caramelly and yummy, however, I didn’t pick out much variation in flavor overall…untrained palate woes :(. I just made the second steep so I’m hoping the extra few seconds might bring out a few different nuances of this tea.

ETA: The second steep is a tiny bit stronger than the first, I still prefer the first steeping time of 45 seconds and latter steeps will probably be this time as well.

I’ll find out how to make you just right for me yet, pu’erh! This is very very close. For smoothness, this is amazing. I almost tried this in my gong fu glass pot today, but wanted to try this way first. I have enough left probably for a small infusion before this sample is out. Then I might break into my giant brick, just need a bit more experience first I think.

:( this tea doesn’t bode too well in my travel mug today. It tastes a lot more like green rooibos with just a bit of the yummy peach flavor. Maybe because I steeped for 7 minutes instead of 5 too. Ah well, it tastes outstanding when it’s brewed in a cup! Might try 5 mins another morning and see what happens. See previous notes on this fruity tea!

ETA- this actually is tasting better as it cools, i’m getting more of that peach oatmeal flavor I want for breakfast. This isn’t too bad, and i might make it again in my mug because it’s just so appropriate for mornings! :)

Another backlog from last night – charchar inspired me to have a cup of this favorite of mine, and i realized I only have enough left for about 2 cups! Hope my verdant order comes today, with another 2 oz of this :D see previous notes on this excellent tea.

Backlog from yesterday when steepster was acting up – darn these sweet dessert teas! I’m ending up craving them so much! This was also a comfort cup as the latter half of yesterday sucked.. Anyways, here’s to hoping today is a better day. See previous notes on this yummy, creamy cup.

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

I haven’t had this cozy tea in ages it seems! Well, tonight was the night. My rooibos kick continues! The weather here dropped from 5 above to about -25 in the course of 2 days (and that’s in degrees celsius lol). So as I work on my homework (a futile task tonight) I am in my cozy fuzzy socks and flannel pjs. And this tea fits the bill for a night inside hiding from the cold. See previous notes on this sweet tea :)

So I didn’t mean to purchase this tea yesterday. In my excitement over buying new teas, I mistook this one for Coco Chai rooibos, as they smell pretty similar, but this one is stronger. So I ended up with 25 g of this tea, and I’m not the biggest fan of cinnamon. Score. I found out that I can take it back, but as it’s only 25 g, I might as well try it out, and I can always share it with my mom, who likes cinnamon quite a lot.

Anyways, onto the review for this tea. The dry smell is SUPER CINNAMON and spice. It smells ok, but I am a bit worried. I didn’t really know how to prepare it, as I didn’t want a crazy cinnamon hit, so I attempted to do my chai way that I use for making Pumpkin Chai. Steep the tea in a tiny bit of boiling water to concentrate it for 2 mins, add some hot milk to it and sweetener, steep for another 5 mins or so, strain. I added honey on a whim instead of brown sugar just to see how it would taste.

And the verdict is – it’s actually not too bad! I ended up with a smooth cinnamon chai flavor, quite spicy actually, maybe a bit more spice in total than Pumpkin Chai. It’s warming and cozy and very smooth. The rooibos is very nicely blended in this, it’s not overwhelming at all! I don’t get a huge amount of orange brewing in this method, but I’m sure it’s in there adding to the nice spice blend. It is slightly reminiscent of cinnamon hearts, yes, but (thankfully) not as strong as them in this method of brewing. The honey was a pretty nice sweetener for this too, just a hint of sweet to balance the spice. I was a bit worried about it not being able to stand up to the milk because there’s no black tea in it, but it is doing quite an excellent job!

Overall, this is actually pretty good, and for me not being a huge fan of cinnamon, that is a huge win for this tea. I will get through most of my bag, I will share some with my mom though because she will LOVE IT. I will also try brewing it with just water and see how that goes in the future. As I continue to sip this, it grows on me because it’s just so cozy! So, yay for my tea mistake panning out to be ok! :)

Peaches and cream oatmeal, hello! This tea is soo similar to that, I needed to have it this morning. This is such a tasty green rooibos blend, I will probably have to get more than 25 g of this at some point. Light and fruity! I hope this does well in a travel mug, I want to take it to classes in the morning :D. I will also have to brew this with milk and sugar now that I have a bit of it, just to see what it does to the flavor. Man, am I on a rooibos kick or what lately! I bought three new ones yesterday…haha, anyways, see previous notes on this excellent morning tea :)

So this was an unexpected purchase today, I went into the store wanting to get 4 teas, and then the clerk suggested this, I smelled it, and wanted to try it. Was stuck between this and the creme brulee, but thought I’d give this a shot for now, and maybe try the other one at a later date.

The dry smell is sooo yummy, quite caramelly, not much rooibos. Steeped, there is definitely rooibos in this tea, but the caramel reminds me more of a flavored caramel coffee, but without the strong coffee smell, if that makes sense? (Just read another review after writing that, yes, caramel macchiato is what I failed at describing lol)

The taste is quite smooth, definitely the rooibos is at the forefront, but there’s a lovely sweet caramel flavor that emerges and lingers in the aftertaste. Yum. Creamy. This feels like I’m eating dessert, but I’m not! I would like to eventually try a cup of this sweetened with hot milk to see how caramelly it tastes, maybe I will add some to the end of the cup. But for now, this is hitting the sweet spot, and is probably the most desserty tea I have drank to date.

Overall, this is quite true to the name, creamy and caramel, with definite rooibos. This satisfies sweet cravings wonderfully. Pretty good, I would maybe try steeping it a bit longer next time just to see how the caramel develops. Happy the salesperson recommended this one, it will definitely be drank happily!

No notes yet.

YES! I finally obtained 100 g of this tea today at my local store. I love ginger, so this has been on my shopping list since I saw it!

Dry, this smells super peppery and gingery. Yum! It makes me cough and my nose runs, and I love it! So nice and spicy. The wet smell is more ginger, the pepper has toned down a bit.

Mmmmm this is quite delicious. As a massive ginger fan, this is excellent. There is a strong ginger flavor, but it is enhanced with the spices, they are just adding a nice amount of heat in my throat. Not enough for me to be coughing, just warming. I will definitely add some honey to the later part of my cup, and also may try a re-steep to see if the pepper comes out even more. Haha, I could even chop up some fresh ginger and add it in if I want, my boyfriend is making a stir-fry with it in it! Haha, I’ll save that for another time though.

Overall, this is pretty darn awesome. I’m very happy I picked up a tin of this, I rarely buy tins at Davids, but this will be excellent. If you love ginger, go for this tea!! I’m rating this pretty high, as it’s almost my favorite ginger tea yet (Verdant’s winter spa blend is just barely in first…for now)

ETA: I added in a bit of honey – the planets have aligned. Almost. Haha the ginger really comes out with the addition, but the spices tone down a little, but man, I do like ginger. :)

ETA again: This holds up fairly well to a re-steep. The flavors are slightly muted, but overall it’s still pretty tasty!

SIPDOWN – reading about all the new chocolate vday teas from Della Terra made me want to drink up my last cup of this! Not as much chocolate in this cup I don’t think, but still tastes very good! Now if I can sip down enough teas, maybe I will treat myself to some of the new blends from Della Terra. Hehe :) see previous notes on this tea!

Backlog from yesterday – I added a bit of honey this time and it was much more caramelized and sugary. Yummy! I am still considering picking up 50 g of this from DavidsTea’s site. A nice sweet chamomile tea! See previous notes :)

OH, and unrelated to this tea, but definitely tea related – My bf and I hosted a tea party on Thursday evening, had a bunch of ppl over to share teas. I had a few try Lemon Chiffon by Della Terra, and they loved it! Expanding tea horizons of my friends = win :) It was very much a success, and we will definitely be having more in the future!

This is my first straight pu’erh! A big thank you to David Duckler for including this in my last order, haha definitely a hint that I need to try pu’erh!

So this tea, I didn’t know exactly the best way to steep it. I read through Verdant’s site and the reviews on steepster, and decided to go with Bonnie’s parameters as I was worried it would end up pretty strong after a 2 min steep.

So I rinsed with boiling water for 30 seconds, then steeped for 40 seconds. I can see why the smell can be off-putting to some people, I found it actually not bad! Reminds me of Port Alberni, with the slightly fishy scent and a hint of musty woods.

Ehhh, I’m not sure about the taste yet though. I think I may have done something not quite right with the steeping, maybe my leaf ratio or something. The water may have been a bit too hot too? I get the caramel taste and saltiness in there, but mostly near the end of the taste. The initial taste is a bit musty and hard to describe, not quite what I was expecting, but this is my first pu’erh, so I’m assuming this is a normal thing, or I may have done something weird? Haha, it’s not unpleasant, but I have no idea how to rate until I try a few more steepings and maybe play with the leaf ratio and steep times a little bit, although I think this was a good steep time rather than the 2 mins to begin with, it’s definitely not too strong :)

Overall, very interesting, this tea intrigues me. I want to experiment and be able to distinguish a few more flavors. I just need to extract that caramel aftertaste a wee bit more, and this will be rockin’. It’s probably more my untrained palate that’s messing with this tea. I’m very happy I got the nerve to try it though, and will re-steep this afternoon and keep you posted on further developments. No rating for now, as I am new to this type of tea and don’t know what to rate it.

ETA: I tried adding a little wee dab of sugar to the latter half of my cup, this made the caramel more pronounced and definitely brought out the sweetness of the tea. Not sure which I prefer though, I think it was more interesting without sugar!

ETA again: Second steeping (also at 40 s) is a lot better, in my opinion. More smooth and mellow, and a bit more of the caramel flavors poking through. Maybe next time I will try 2 rinses just to see what that does for the flavor. Also, I am feeling quite excellent drinking this tea. It is calming me, maybe grounding is the word. I am pleased with this tea and am excited to explore further into the world of pu’erh.