New Tasting Notes

Tasty! I’ve tried a few of Frank’s cucumber tea selections over the past couple of years, and have enjoyed them all, so I knew that I’d probably like this one too. The flavor is sweet, but, there is a hint of tart in there too, just enough to keep it balanced. I’m drinking this hot right now, but, this would be AMAZING iced too. Very refreshing.

So I was looking for another Red Leaf product to try and then I saw something in the ingredients that said ‘Snow Tea’. Well I’ve never heard of that before so I guess I could try it? Mmm I’m glad I did! The packaging is pretty cool too. I was sad openings it.
So this tea is the most unique tea I’ve ever had. It comes in little disks and you just pop one into the hot water. It opens up into beautiful chrysantheum flowers. It’s so floral and fruity but it’s also so strong in a weird way. It’s slightly herbal, slightly mineral tasting but I think floral is the dominant flavor. Surprisingly, I got about 3 steeps out of this without losing any flavor.
Anyways, after a day like today this tea gave me such a sense of calm and peace. I would highly recommend trying this while Red Leaf has it on sale. And if you don’t like it you can always send it to me :D

My recent tasting of fresh Concord grapes reminded me to try this again. If I ever thought this tea had a candy grape jelly flavor – who knew, these grapes do taste candy-like. And this tea is perfect in this respect. Oh, brainstorm.. I HAVE to try this with a PB sandwich!

This tea smells AMAZING, but the taste is so much more subdued, considering there’s a whole produce department in this tea. It seems incredibly mild for something with so much in it. I do get cherries and apples and watermelon and sort of a fruit punch vibe, but it is so light and mild, like, you really have to close your eyes, take a sip, try to block out everything else, and really pay attention to what your buds are telling you. And even then, it is like slightly fruit essences hot water. I think I may increase the leafage/fruitage a bit on a later steep, because I am struggling to catch the flavour here. I am wondering how this will be iced. I suspect it will be juicier and possibly more flavourful, though I was hoping this tea would be like Big Apple in that it is equally amazing hot or iced (since I feel some teas are better hot and others are better iced, and some are good either way).

I’m a little disappointed, but I’m gonna have to rate it lower tan I would have liked to…maybe a stronger brew will bring up the rating.

Thanks for this one TeaEqualsBliss! I like this one. One of my other favorites is Zhena’s Lavender Rooibos, so this one compares. The lavender in the Zhena’s is a lot stronger to me, but this one has other flavors that make it great. I don’t think any of the flavors stand out so any of the others disappear. They seem equally balanced to support each other – the lavender, the rose petals, and the fruits… even the rooibos. This is a delicious blend!

I definitely have to thank Will Work For Tea for sending a sample of this one. I was looking on Mightly Leaf’s site for steeping instructions and I saw the price! Ouch! So THANK YOU for letting me try this tea! Also… no steep instructions. I included ten of the pearls in my infuser. But I knew not to steep for too long or at too hot a temp.

First steep: The steep color is so pale it almost looks like plain water! But the taste is there. The green tea really lets the jasmine shine. The jasmine has that beautiful scent. The taste reminded me of bubble gum a little bit — I guess it has a sweetness to it. Very tasty.

Second steep: I was tasting this and when I looked down I realized I had already finished most of the full mug. The flavor is more full this time, less like that bubblegum flavor, more like a traditional jasmine. Even tastier! I peeked at the pearls and they are slowly unraveling.

Third steep: This one is more vegetal but still good. I’d say the second cup was the best. I definitely got three big mugs of tea out of ten pearls, especially if you time & temp it right! The others I have left will be savored!

I think most packages instuct to steep oolong teas quickly in too hot temperatures. I think it’s best when steeped in around 85 to 90 degrees for less than 3 minutes. I tried 80 and it was too low. The taste is rather watery now.

I’m upping my rating on this since last year…when I had this for the first time last year, I had previously had Saigon Chai in my cupboard, which is rather potent, so this paled in comparison. I admit that I haven’t had any Saigon Chai since last year (I’m not sure why…probably just trying lots of new things and rotating I guess) and upon having this tea this morning, it was quite good. I will still say that it is mild for a chai, and the pumpkin is kind of muted, but it is still rather pleasant and comforting. It does, however, taste stronger than last year, and I’m not sure if the blend has been reformulated, or if my taste buds have been reformulated since I didn’t have the stronger and spicier Saigon Chai prior to this. Now that I have mastered the art of the home latte a la microwave, I am going to try this as a latte again though I might try stove-top chai method too, and steep it straight into the milk. Again, this is one I might get the special tin.

This is kind of a middle of the road jasmine green tea. The fragrance is heavenly, and it’s one of those teas that makes me want to strap the packet to my nose. The jasmine is spot on: not subtle, not perfume-y, not overwhelming, not artificial. Really, really nice.

Given its fragrance, I was hoping for a nice, bold flavour to do it justice. That’s not the case here, though: the tea is a little on the weak side. To its credit, however, I didn’t get any bitterness or dry mouth from it.

Made a latte with this matcha this morning. About 60ml (2oz) water to whisk, then about 175ml (6oz) milk frothed and warmed, sweetened with a little Splenda. It was actually less Splenda than I used yesterday when I made this with just water. So the flavor was more gentle and still fantastic! Hubby said he could smell something different and sweet before he came downstairs just like I could yesterday. I very kindly gave him a sip and he gave it the thumbs up too!

Very tasty tea. I usually add sugar and milk. Comes out tasting divine. Usually my go-to black tea that I drink.

The hibiscus note is very overwhelming, it’s about the only thing that I can truly taste. Its very much on the herbal side, the orange comes in at the end, just very faintly.

Its a bit on the tart side, so I very lightly sweeten the tea further.

This is another sample from Anny Oxidant & the Tea Bullie, thanks for the chance at a new tea.

This is the best of Caraway so far. I thought the pomegranate was well done and not overly tart like some fruity teas. The white seems to be very subtle as I can’t tell you much about it. It may just be beyond my palate at this time. I know there is white tea in here but I am not picking up the flavors I expect from a white tea. In any case, I enjoyed this cup of tea. Thanks again Anny Oxidant & the Tea Bullie. :d

So, I seem to have a pattern. If I have a particularly nasty tea one day, I invariably reach for one of my all time favourites the next day as if to wipe out the bad taste in my mouth.

But I also reached for my Coco Chai Rooibos to celebrate mailing off my first tea swap to tunes&tea. (Yes, you do get some of this in there!) Woo hoo!

I love the spiciness of this chai. And the coconut is to die for. And best of all, no caffeine so I can drink this whenever I want :) Even though I’m still on the eternal search for the perfect chai, this is the best I’ve found so far.

Can’t wait to see your reviews Dave!

I was intrigued by the mix of ingredients in this tea. The brewed liquid has a smell that reminds me of vegetable root chips that I purchase, on occasion, from my local supermarket.

From the sip, I can really taste the melon-y watermelon on the finish. It’s a mildly artificial taste. The beginning of the sip is hard to distinguish. It feels like the different flavours are too crowded. I feel like I may be able to detect the carrot but, again, it would only be the most prominent of several flavours on the uptake.

As the tea cools, I think that I can feel the carrot taste creeping into the watermelon taste on the finish of the sip. Maybe a little bit of the blackberry on the after-taste, as well. There’s some sweetness coming through. I can taste a sort of bluntness which I believe is the pumpkin.

I was worried about the presence of the lemongrass and hibiscus (which I am normally sensitive to), but those flavour seems to be well blended in the mix. I do not feel that all the flavours in this tea are well matched. I would prefer something with a more defined taste. Also, I am not really able to detect the white tea in this blend.

Had this one iced with a spicy dinner. It is very smooth and cooling.
Still really love this one.

Btw, lots of tea reviews coming up over the weekend!!

Goodnight

I managed to mess this tea up royally, sigh. It smells amazing dry, very similar to DT’s Honeybee, and the cold brew was just as fragrant. It even looked like liquid honey! Sadly, it tasted like licorice. Bleurgh :( Definitely need to try again!

Oooooh, I really hate saying this. I made some Tulsi India Chai yesterday, and I so did not like it. It was more minty than spicy; the mintiness overpowered the earthiness that I found the last time I drank a tulsi tea. This is just a bad mix for me :(

OMNOMNOM. I really need to drink more black tea, because I really can’t tell the difference between them. I swear, every time I drink a new black tea, I think, “Yes! THIS is it! THIS is what I mean when I think of black tea! The fragrance, the flavour, this, this, this!”

Until the next cup of a different black tea. [Sigh.]

So ya. This. THIS smells just like the chai Mum made every day, even without the milk and sugar. THIS tastes just like that tea, even without the milk and the cardamom and ginger. More accurately, it tastes just like the black tea base of that tea, before the milk and the cardamom and the ginger were added.

At least, I think it does. Until the next cup of black tea I drink. I obviously cannot be trusted.

It’s yummy, though. And it’s comforting. I needed something “safe” today, as I’ve been a bit too adventurous of late and just wasn’t up to evaluating a new flavour. I didn’t get any bitterness or dry mouth, which is always nice. It’s not as, I dunno, flavourful? bold? oomphy? as some other black teas I’ve recently tried, for which I docked it a few points. But it’s very nice.

Bonus: Just like every time I eat a clementine, I pranced around the kitchen singing, “Oh, m’darlin’, O m’darlin’, O m’daaaarlin’ Darjeeling, I will steep you, I will sip you, o m’darlin’, Darjeeling” ♬ while this was steeping. (Note that the clementine variant is "I will peel you, I will eat you, o m’darlin’, clementine. ♬)

Made this up with my new matcha set! Still missing my sieve. This one was just a teeny bit gritty at the bottom. More because I was at work and didn’t have time to whisk like a madwoman for long :P
Anyhow, I added a tiny squeeze of agave and a splash of milk which turned my cup in a lovely pastel green shade. Reminds me of my bedroom walls actually. In daylight, I’d bet they are a close match! The taste was ok, pleasant. Oddly, it was better without the milk. One day, I’ll give it a go with almond milk and see what that does.
Been going a bit crazy the last week. My work contract is ending soon and I NEED to have a job so I’ve been networking all over the place, or atleast started to. Getting my Linked In profile updated etc. I should go check my birth certificate, my middle name might have been changed to stress!
Darn, I wish I had the chamomile matcha tea. Le sighs.

Sample sipdown!! thanks again Sil :)
made it with milk and a touch of agave. I think it was better without. Still good, but… less complex!

This is the second time I’ve tried this tea, and it is revealing a little more character than what I found on first try, especially on its second steeping. My aunt thought she detected a citrusy note, I thought it tasted a bit spicy, as if I could taste a hint of cinnamon in it. So I’d amend my first impression that this is no more than a basic black tea.