MissMylin

Home after a long work trip. It’s so nice to relax with a cup of tea. I think 5 minutes is too long for this one. It’s way more astringent that I remember it being. But, the coconut makes it nice and creamy, and the raspberry give just a hint of fruity flavour. I added some milk and sugar to counteract the astringency, and that made a big difference.

I got this tea through the Foodie Pen Pal program over at theleangreenbean.com. It’s not a tea that I would normally pick out, so I was intrigued.

It tastes like the green tea that you would get at any random Chinese restaurant. Now granted, I don’t have a really refined palate for green teas, so maybe I’m missing something. Maybe if I had steeped it longer as another reviewer said, then I would have found that sweetness in sweet gale. As it is, it’s pleasant enough, but not something that I would get again.

I drank the last of my stash last night. Sigh. It was good while it lasted. I love the soothing hint of spearmint through the citrusy-fruity tea. This was one of the teas that I could take traveling with me and not worry about whether I had milk or sugar handy in the hotel room. I like it well enough, but won’t be restocking until I get through more of the tea in my cupboard.

Second cup of the day: a nice mug of Ceylon Star.

Dry, this smells like chocolate through and through. The mix is so pretty with the whole star anise and coconut flakes. Once brewed, the tea has a much milder chocolate scent. I don’t get the spicy, licorice scent that others are getting, but then again, I still getting over this cold.

This tastes soooooooo good! I can taste the chocolate and coconut. The star anise is just in the background as a mild spiciness. Not licorice, which I was worried it would be. Adding a tiny bit of sugar accented the chocolate. Adding 2% milk didn’t enhance the tea at all, but it didn’t detract from it either. All in all, I’m glad I picked this one up.

First tea of the day :) I’m trying to get back into my normal tea drinking habits (i.e. not more Twinings Lemon & Ginger). Plus, I bought myself a proper chawan right after Christmas, and it’s high time that I started using it.

I love this matcha, but try as I might, I haven’t managed to drink it straight up. I always end up turning my matchas into lattes. I’ve read that if you find it too bitter, then you haven’t whisked enough. I can’t seem to whisk enough to ever make it less bitter. I know I’m doing something wrong; I just haven’t figured out what it is yet.

So, I’m drinking a caramel matcha latte. Mmmmmm! I love the scent and taste of the caramel. No need for sweetener with this one, which is rare for me and tea. I love the feel of drinking from a proper chawan too. It’s comfortable in my hands, and comforting to hold and drink from. This was a great way to start my day!

Thanks to tunes&tea for this generous sample!

I’ve been sick for the last 3 weeks, so all I’ve been drinking is Twinings Lemon & Ginger tea. I’m sick of it. So I dug through the awesome box that tunes&tea sent to me for something new. I figured this would be good, considering the ginger will help my cough.

I like this. I think I would like it more steeped in milk, chai style, but brewed straight up with some milk and sugar is really nice. Maybe my illness is stopping from catching the strength of the spices like other reviewers have noted, so I’ll have to try it when I’m feeling better. Luckily, I got lots of it so I’ll be able to enjoy this tea for a while.

After a 10 day work trip, I am so happy to chill in my apartment for a bit. My manager gave me the day off. Slept in, played with the kitties, and drank some tea.

Today I made this as a latte with soy milk. There’s nothing like making your own tea after a long trip where you couldn’t find a decent cup of tea to save your life. Even the coffee chai latte I had at David’s Tea wasn’t all that good. So I’m back home, and I can make my tea my way :) As I’ve said previously, the next time I order this matcha I’ll be getting the robust level of flavour, but it’s still yummy. I love the touch of extra sweetness that soy milk brings to the tea. I may have another one before I face this wonderful day off.

I’m feeling kind of out of it tonight so I took the chance and brewed up a black tea for the evening. I actually chose this because I saw Indigobloom’s review of Strawberry Zabaglione while my water was heating up. And it’s a good thing that I read it so I knew to keep the temp and steeping time down.

When you open the bag, it definitely shouts blueberry. That’s a good sign. The brewed tea maintains that strong scent. I was a little worried because it brought to mind that Disney tea I tried a few months ago, but I have more faith in Frank than that.

Plain, there is a bitterness that Indigobloom also notices in the Strawberry Zabaglione. Like her, I found that a half teaspoon of sugar solved that issue nicely. And a splash of milk adds to the creaminess of the flavour I think. I’m really enjoying this mug, and hopefully it will stand to another steeping. More importantly, I hope it keeps me going till I finish what I have to do and still lets me sleep tonight (finger crossed).

Since there is no David’s Tea in Red Deer, a good friend of mine brought along some tea when she came to visit me this weekend. Thank goodness for awesome friends! When I saw this come up on the David’s Tea website, I knew I had to have it.

The dry scent is sublime. It’s definitely cookie dough, through and through. There was a half a walnut in the scoop, so I broke it into a few pieces to blend better with the rest of the tea.

Steeped, it really is like liquid cookie dough. Now, I’m not one for eating raw cookie dough (too afraid of raw eggs) but I’m all for sweet teas, especially those that moonlight as dessert. I like it plain, but a teeny bit of sugar brings out dough aspect for me. I’m going to have to take the other reviewers’ suggestions and try this as a latte as well :)

Blah! Ran out of my Twinnings Lemon & Ginger tea. I took a few bags of this lemon tea from a hotel somewhere (I travel a lot for work, so not sure where).

With lots of honey and a slice of lemon, it’s not too bad. I’m not impressed that the number one ingredient is hibiscus flowers. Lemon is the 5th ingredient on the list. If I wanted a hibiscus tea, I would have looked for that. I want a lemon tea! However, it’s soothing my throat and that’s all I care about right now.

Oh, and unlike the Twinnings tea, I can’t just leave the bag in my mug and resteep as needed. Way too tart if you try that. I really need to gather up the energy to go to the grocery store to get more lemon, ginger and honey.

So like many reviewers of this tea, I’m drinking it only because I’m sick and can’t be bothered to go to the store to get real ginger. It’s not bad really for a bagged tea. I added a slice of lemon and lots of honey, so my assessment of the taste will be off, but there’s a nice little ginger kick. And I can just leave the bag in my mug and add water as needed, which is perfect because I really can’t deal with much more than that right now.

I was in Vancouver for the weekend, and I absolutely had to make a stop at Apres-Midi. (It looks like they are in the middle of rebranding to The Gastown Tea Company.) I primarily went to get more of the Masala Chai, but of course I can’t leave without smelling all the other teas, so also bought this wonderful tea.

I tried my first cup straight up. Steeped for 5.5 minutes in water that hadn’t quite made it to boiling. It’s a great tea. Not quite as strong or sweet as the scent would have you believe though.

Second cup was 5.5 minutes, same water temp. This time I added a bit of sugar and soy milk. It’s much more caramelly this way. A bit more creamy too, although I suspect that actual milk would bring out the cream more for me. In all, I like this very much. I should try this against the Creme Caramel Rooibos from DT to see which one I like better.

I love coconut anything, so I this definitely made it into my first order with Stacy.

Dry, it smells very coconutty. There’s a generous amount of coconut pieces in the tea. And I’m a big fan of rooibos so this should be awesome. Brewed, it smells almost caramelly? I drank it with some sugar and soy milk because, well, that’s the way I felt like having tea tonight.

I’m not actually getting the amount of coconut flavour that I would expect from the dry scent. It’s there, but far in the background. Not much creaminess either. Actually, it tastes and feels “watery” if that makes any sense. I put the recommended amount of tea in my steeper. Maybe I have to put more? Or steep it a bit longer? It’s still a pleasant tea, but not quite what I had in mind.

I’m not going to rate this until I give it another chance.

OMG! I thought that Luscious Watermelon was melony, but this is THE melon tea. In the Philippines, my aunt would take a cantaloupe, shred it into a pitcher of cold water and ice, and put a tiny bit of sugar. This is the tea recreation of that drink.

The dry scent definitely lets you know that you’ll be tasting cantaloupe. I’m not entirely sure what temperature my water was at; I boiled it then let it sit for about 5 minutes. The brewed tea is a lovely golden colour and smells grassy with melon notes.

I drank a bit of it straight so I could judge the taste. It has that same feel in my mouth as my aunt’s cantaloupe juice. A tiny bit of sugar made it taste the same too. This is such a light tea, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m just amazed that there is a cantaloupe tea in my hands :)

This is also the first tea I’ve tasted out of my recent order from Stacy. It’s my first time trying Butiki Teas. The service and communication with Stacy was excellent. And if this is any indication, there are great things to come from the rest of my supply!

Finished the last of this yesterday. 3 tsp with 1.5 cups of So Good soy milk. I really enjoyed this matcha mix, but found it a little too sweet for my liking. Yes, that sounds odd given my massive sweet tooth, but I’m much happier with my matcha from Red Leaf where I can control the sweetness level.

Aha! Back to my beloved teas after a couple of work trips. The downside to preferring loose leaf tea, I find, is that it’s much harder for me to make a decent cup of tea in a hotel room.

I had high hopes for this tea. Maybe because the name brings to mind those fuzzy peach candies. Maybe because this is yet another chai in my eternal quest for the perfect chai. Either way, it was not what I was expecting.

It’s a very nice, mild peachy kind of tea. I don’t get any sense of the spices that are in the ingredient list though. So my disappointment is primarily due to my own expectations for this tea. If you like flavoured white tea, then I would say to give this a try.

I’m going to give this a try iced sometime. Maybe that will change the flavour profile a bit.

Time for a quick spot of tea while I wait for my ride and the 1.5 hour drive to the airport for the 4 hour flight to Ottawa. It seems fitting that I’m visiting the capital for the first time on Thanksgiving, when I’m grateful for this new job and new path in life.

Anyway, I love this tea. Today I had it with 1.5 teaspoons of sugar and some soy milk. I find soy milk makes my teas feel creamier, and I need less sugar. (Remember, my mug can hold 24 oz of yummy, delicious tea.) I think the vanilla notes come out more in this version. I’ll need the caffeine of this black tea to hold me up till I can sleep on the plane.

Oh, gotta run! See ya!

Ooof, I had a really late lunch or really early supper, depending on your point of view. Perogies with sour cream and bacon bits. So yummy, but I ate too much and much too quickly, so now my tummy isn’t feeling so great.

This mint tea is helping. Considering my dislike of bagged teas, this isn’t bad at all. It has peppermint, spearmint, licorice and ginger (all organic). Everything is balanced nicely, and I don’t even mind the licorice because it gives the tea a certain sweetness. (Typically, I detest licorice.) Mint tea is just about the only tea that I never feel the need to sweeten anyway. And my tummy is feeling slightly less heavy and less bloated.

Lesson learned: eat meals on time, or else have mint tea on hand :)

Tons of chores today to get ready for a work trip to Ottawa. So I need a good pick me up. Today I made this with 16 oz of steeped tea, 8 oz of hot soy milk and 2 tsp of rock cane sugar. And yes my tea mug can hold that much; it’s a wonderful handmade mug I bought in Orcas Island, Washington years ago.

The tea is still good, not great. I think I’m really missing the cinnamon, and I’d like the ginger and cloves to be kicked up a few notches. This is a nice chai for someone just getting into chai and is afraid of drinking something too spicy. Which I find a little funny given the name of the tea.

In all, it’s a decent chai. I’ll experiment with what’s left in my stash, but I probably won’t buy it again. Particularly since I don’t know when I’ll be in Regina next. ;P

Oh, and taking a cue from tunes&tea, I’m listening to a mix of fave soundtrack songs: A Love Before Time (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Deliver Me (Brokedown Palace), Distant Worlds (Final Fantasy XI), I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow (O Brother, Where Art Thou), Walk Through the Fire (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and more.

So here’s try #2 with Chai Comfort…making it the “traditional” way according to the package instructions. One bag per cup of soy milk, simmered for 30 minutes.

First of all, 30 minutes feels too long. By 10 minutes, it was already fragrant and a nice brown from all the spices. I held out for 25 minutes, then I couldn’t stand it anymore. (All my tea drinking still hasn’t taught me patience.)

This method is so much better than the regular steeping method. It’s rich from the soy milk, and there’s a spicy kick that builds as you get further into the mug. No sugar needed at all which is a bit of an oddity for me. I really enjoyed this mug of chai. I’ve raised my rating from 39 because of this. It would be higher if the tea was good with both methods.

I’m so excited! My matcha is finally here. After reading all the amazing reviews about Red Leaf here on Steepster, I just had to jump on the matcha bandwagon. I hemmed and hawed for quite a while because the selection of flavoured matcha is a bit overwhelming. I settled on Royal Matcha Tea and Caramel Matcha because I felt the need to try the pure version as well as the yummy deliciousness that everyone keeps talking about. You can find it here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/caramel-matcha.html

When I opened the bag of Caramel Matcha, I thought I’d gone to tea heaven. Seriously, I could sit here and smell this all day. Sweet yummy caramel. I do wish I had gotten the little tins; I thought the bags would be resealable like other teas I’ve purchased online. Well, live and learn. Besides, my tea is here!! I was so nervous about messing this up since 1) I’ve had really bad tea mojo lately (see my last 3 reviews), and 2) I really, really wanted to make a great bowl of matcha with this. I have a chasen already, and got the little bamboo spoon with my Red Leaf order. I still don’t have a proper chawan; I’m waiting to find the right design for me. I have a small sifter, but anticipation led me to blindly forget it right beside the bowl, and I dumped a teaspoon of matcha in. Poured in 3 oz of water that I boiled, then let sit for a few minutes to cool. Like Alphakitty, I measured out the water exactly because I really didn’t want to mess it up. I’m still working on my whisking technique. I can build up a pretty good foam but it disappears in the time it takes to walk from the kitchen to my desk. Not sure if that means I’m not whisking enough. My first sip definitely told me I didn’t whisk enough. Too grassy and no caramel taste.

After further whisking, I was very happy. The scent is still nice and strong; even in my now empty bowl. The matcha was still a tad bitter but wonderfully delicious. I got hints of caramel at first. I got even more after I added a pinch of sugar and more whisking. I went for the “distinctive” level of flavouring. I will probably bump it up to “robust” next time. I have got to learn to drink faster though because it got cold really quickly. I also should have read up on how much caffeine is in here before drinking matcha at 7:30 pm.

So let’s go for broke and make a matcha latte too. Another teaspoon of matcha (again forgetting to sift…will drinking matcha help with my memory?), 3 oz of hot water…lots of whisking…1 bare teaspoon of sugar and a cup of heated soy milk…more whisking. And I’m in heaven. Sleep? Who needs sleep when I have the most amazing matcha sitting right in front of me?

Why have I not been able to write positive review lately? Have I lost my tea mojo?

I tried this tea shortly after I received it, but didn’t like it so I put in the back of my cupboard as a “maybe I did something wrong so I’ll have to try again” tea. Tonight I felt like a rooibos before bed and thought now’s as good a time as any to give it another go.

Dry, the tea smells like soap to me. Overpoweringly floral and kind of off-putting.

Steeped, it smells wood and soap. Still not very appealing. I started by drinking it hot with no additives. Guess what it tasted like to me? Yup, soap. And a teaspoon of sugar didn’t make it any better. It’s cold now, and marginally more tolerable but I can’t finish this mug. :(

I have loved every other tea I’ve had from 52teas, so it’s definitely just a matter of personal taste. Plus, there is only 1 review that rates this under 70, so it’s well received by others. I don’t feel right giving this a rating given the circumstances.

I will be giving this away, so let me know if you want it.

After the Beauty Renewal tea disaster, I pulled this out of my cupboard. Of course, forgetting that I much prefer this iced than hot. Sigh. I just can’t win tonight.

I love the lemony scent with light whiffs of jasmine. I bought some organic honey from the Farmer’s Market a couple of weeks ago so added that (but a little too much unfortunately). It’s more tea flavoured honey at this point than lemony, jasmine-y or oolong-y. Can’t I just have a decent cup of tea tonight?

Not changing the rating because I still love this as my go-to iced tea. But no more tea experiments tonight.

I really, really dislike saying that a tea is terrible…but this tea is terrible :( So much so that I don’t think I can bring myself to try it again to see if I’m wrong.

The second I opened the tin, I was pretty sure I was going to have a tough time with this. Dry, it smells like old herbs that have been sitting around for way too long; musty and unpleasant. I thought that maybe it’s one of those cases where something good for you doesn’t seem so good (like Buckley’s).

It wasn’t any better steeped. At that point, it smelled like old grass; kinda like when you walk through a forest and come across a patch of rotting plant matter. I was scared to take a sip.

It has a medicinal quality to it. It certainly smells worse than it tastes, but not by much. I couldn’t tell you what ingredients are so problematic for me: white tea, gingko leaves, burdock root, tulsi leaves, elderflowers, papaya leaves, bamboo leaves, echinacea leaves, dandelion leaves, chamomile, sarsaparilla root and marigold petals. All I can tell you is that I couldn’t take more than a few sips while it was hot and one more sip when cooled to confirm I didn’t like it before it went down the drain.

The other Wellness blends got better ratings. Maybe this just isn’t my cup of tea (ha, ha). I feel bad because this tin was a birthday gift from a very good friend, but there’s no way I’ll finish it.