New Tasting Notes

This is Upton Tulsi sample #2 for the night (comparing their 3 choices). Upton says that this is the Vana Tulsi type, or aka clove basil. Dry it smells strongly of licorice.

Ok, first sip was a bit bracing. No clove, more like anise (licorice) and this is definately less on the sweet side (was careful to measure everything and keep honey amt. the same). There’s also a vegetal note trying to pop through…green tea’ish, herbally. Not sure I’d drink this on it’s own, but can see how it could add more character to the other(s).

h. tsp., 2 tsp honey, 8 minutes

1-1/2 tsp, 8 minutes, 2 tsp honey

I’m testing and comparing all of Upton’s Holy Basil (Tulsi) choices tonight. After loving Organic India’s Vanilla Tulsi, which is a blend of 3 types of tulsi and a few other things, I wanted to see where the flavors came from, in hopes of duplicating the blend.

When I smelled this in the bag, there was no obvious aromas that stuck out. When measuring, there was a little bit of clove/cinnamon and a hint of mint. Brewed, the clove note is coming out first, but not as strongly in the Organic India blend. There is definately a minty note coming through too, but the clove tramples all over it in the aftertaste.

This is good. Not as good, but good. Weaker tasting, even with an 8 minute steep vs. 5.

This one is one of the many delicious looking samples sent to me by brandy3392. Thanks!

I thought this one was a rooibos because in the little baggie there was this red powder covering everything, making it look completely red, so I thought it was rooibos. However, it wasn’t until I measured it out into my strainer and came here to see if there was recommended steeping time that I learned that it was a black tea….. Oh well, too late now!

I like this one! I can definitely see how it could get bitter easily-I steeped with a lower temp for only 3 minutes and it is verging on the bitter side so next time I try this one I will make sure to only do it for 2.5 minutes. I really like how I can taste the black tea. The flavoring is definitely on the back side for me. I get a really nice and sweet mango flavor, a little artificial but that’s okay because I love EVERYTHING mango. There’s also a nice passion fruit flavor (side note: DID YOU KNOW THEY MAKE PASSION FRUIT GREEK YOGURT?! I got some at the store today and I’m so excited to try it!) that I get. As this one cools the flavor comes out a little more. I thinks some sweetening could help elevate the flavors a little more but I like it where it is right now!

This is yummy! Thanks again brandy3392!

I had this tea this morning, so I guess it’s a backlog? Maybe?

I got this one in the Steepster Select package that I won (the April box) and I’ve had it once before this but for some reason I haven’t reviewed it yet…….. Blame it on the laziness. Anyways, I really like this one a lot. I definitely like the stimulation effects of guayusa more than mate. I like mate a lot but it’s more comparable to coffee than guayusa, which gives more of a subtle energy rush than an energy hit. It’s slightly vegetal and grassy in flavor, with a little bit of a lemon taste in the background. It’s smooth and yet bold, and very enjoyable.

I really liked this but I feel like I will like flavored guayusas more (I’ve had the Earl Grey Guayusa from 52teas and it was just okay) and I look forward to trying more from Runa.

Thank you lovely Indigobloom for this sample and many others!

I was humbled today with a big mailing of samples from Indigobloom! I’m like the old woman tucked away who sees family now and then, goes to the grocers and Church but otherwise is invisable in her little home. My friends are the fleeting words on Steepster which I enjoy so much. The kindness of so many samples today was more than I would have expected from anyone!

My daughter told me about a Netflix documentary called Being Elmo…all about the Puppeteer who does the muppet Elmo and how he began as a poor young man in Baltimore, MD. I wanted to pick a delicious tea from my new bunch of samples appropriate for Elmo watching. Hum, got it! Chocolate cake! That’s what Elmo would drink!

I set the steep time for 5.5 minutes. The liquor smelled like cake alright, chocolate and vanilla wafting through the air. The liquor was the color of cream soda…light brown colored and the first sip also reminded me of cream soda with cocoa flavor. The taste was not very sweet on it’s own so I added splenda which improved the dessert quality. One more thing was not quite right. The rich flavor of cake was lacking. The tea seemed thin, so I added cream and again this helped elevate the tea to being more cake-like.
The aftertaste was different…not bitter, but I think the cocoa nibs are giving a woody, dry straw taste on the finish that is a bit odd. Some people might notice this at first and think of a bakery taste and then later it strikes you as an odd aftertaste.

My take is that I think this is enjoyable Chocolate Cake Tea. My grandsons would love this for sure especially with some chocolate ice cream! It was very fun to drink while watching my Being Elmo documentary!

Thanks again Indigobloom!

Hmmm… weird that I’m the first to review this one…..

Anyways, this is a backlog from two days ago. I had this one iced as that makes sense to me. It was….. weird. It wasn’t bad, but it definitely tasted different than I thought it would. The name suggests that it’s like a strawberry fruit tea, but the ingredients and the taste beg to differ. It definitely has a fruity flavor, but it’s more like a berry fruit-punch flavor. I could definitely pick up some strawberry on this one, but it tasted more like other berries than strawberries. It was all enveloped with this…. weird flavor. I can’t really place it. This was okay, but not excellent and definitely a little off putting.

Thanks to Fusion Tea Room for sending me this generous sample!

one of my favorites. it makes me feel like there are things in my past i need to remember.

When I went on a search for local honey, my first stop was a small “natural foods” store in town (and yes, they had what I was looking for, yay!). Half of the store is supplements, and then a little of this and little of that. The tea wall was actually pretty big for the size of store, with mostly Celestial Seasonings, Yogi and Traditional Medicinals. But this caught my eye, as I had seen reviews of Tulsi of late, so I settled on this Vanilla choice (only other choice was Raspberry).

This is a blend of 3 different types of Tulsi (Holy Basil), along with some rooibos, chamomile and vanilla flavor. The first time I tried it with T. of honey, it was too sweet. Unsweetened it is not sweet at all, so after tasting without, I’m adding 2 tsp. honey. The honey really brings out the clove note that some associate with tulsi. I’m a fan of clove, so this is perfect. There’s a hint of apple, or other fruit that makes it seems a little like an apple pie (spiced with cinnamon and clove). Some have mentioned a mint note on other tulsi blends, but not getting it in this. Vanilla impression, a little.

I’m retesting so that I can test 3 Upton offerings of Holy Basil varieties. BH02 (Holy Basil Purple Leaf) has no spicy or noticeable flavoring type scents. BH03 (Wild Forest Holy Basil, aka Vana Tulsi, aka clove basil) has a licorice scent. BH06 (now BH08) (Holy Basil Green Leaf) does have more of a mint scent that the others (with spice). I wish I knew the ratio on this tea, so can duplicate (will attempt).

MEH

This is nummy. Thank you Krystaleyn for the sample! This may be my favorite DavidsTea thus far. I have put the second half of my cup in the fridge to try it cold and I am sure it is going to be awesome.

What a name, but does it live up to the hype?

I brewed it on the low side, just to be safe, but the problem with pairing a green tea + fruity pieces is the fruit really needs a hot + long steep to really bring out their flavours, while the delicate green tea requires a short + 80°C steep. This poses a problem, either you get flavourful fruity bitter tea or weak fruity green tea. The latter is what I ended up with… not horrible, not astounding, just kind of alright.

Which is disappointing because I was really excited there was finally a kiwi tea in the DAVIDsTEA roster.

On weekends at home I fall into an unfortunate habit of overcaffeinating myself. That’s the inevitable result when a lover of “hard-core black teas” [tm SimplyJenW] is close to the kitchen all day and repeatedly thinks, “You know what would be great now? A(nother) pot of tea!”

I just brewed my third pot of the day. I ended up second-guessing my choices for Pots 1 and 2 — which involved four different Ceylons, as it happens — but I know that won’t happen with Pot 3, good old Organic China Black FOP. Rich and mellow, a little cocoa, a little vanilla, and nothing I could possibly regret … well, except for the extra dose of caffeine.

Le sigh! Why must they only be made once a week!? What’s worse is it’s one that my daughter actually would like to have around too.

Vanilla and mint are two of my favorite flavors right after chocolate. I think they are easier to get right in tea though. I feel like the vanilla and mints are all mixed together perfectly. Smooth and refreshing with out losing one flavor or another. Roasted mate is splendid! I get a toasted green taste from it. All these flavors mix so well which each other to make another wonderful tea.

mmm! Thank you for the generous sample LiberTEAS!

She recommended this one to be as an awesome iced tea – and it really really is!
The berry flavours are so refreshing, I honestly wished I had a box of blueberries in my fridge that I could munch on while I drank.

Summery and delish – I loved the depth of the blackberry flavour as well. Blackberry and yogurt is one of my favorite snacks, so I might try this tea with some milk next time to see what happens :)

i cold brewed it, which gave me an almost smoky flavour from the tea base. I will definitely try brewing it hot over ice for my next go – I have a feeling it will be a lot more flavourful. I’ll let you know :D

I loveeeeeee this tea! I was shopping one day at the mall and a lady was handing out samples of this smores tea but it was steeped, ICED, and had vanilla soy in it… after I tried it I thought, “this is my summer drink” because it definitely reminds me of iced coffee (which I love, but this is obviously more healthier/better for you). Great this way! I haven’t tried it hot though, which I’ll try soon. :)

I decided to try this iced and it was an awesome idea. I think I prefer it iced to hot. I still get the creamy vanilla and orange flavors. However, I feel the iced tea helps the association with the popsicles I used to eat. That association is the reason I was interested in this tea in the first place. I’ll have to remember to get more of this next summer.

My first Assam, and I have to say that I really do enjoy this. I love the color, it is almost as dark as coffee. The taste is nice and bold, without any bitterness.

This tea just seems like a wonderful blank canvas. It is a very simple morning black tea, works great with milk and I would think sugar as well, even though I don’t use it anymore. I think this would be a great tea for coffee drinkers in the morning, who want to start trying tea.

It is also a pretty practical tea in price as well in the fact that I can enjoy it casually without doing that pause, smell, taste, and staring off appreciating the complexity. You all know what I am talking about. This tea won’t make me look crazy at work. I really like its simplicity, after all of the other teas I have tried with their complexity, this is actually a bit refreshing.

Another strong, solid tea from 52teas. As this is brewing, the mint flavor just kind of floats through the house. That’s probably one of my favorite aspects of mint teas that I don’t get from other teas… nothing quite smells as good roaming through your house as freshly steeped mint. Except prime rib. But that wouldn’t make a good tea. Moving on!

The vanilla and mint are very nice on the tongue, definitely reminiscent of Creme de Menthe. The toasted flavor of the mate starts coming out shortly and really rounds out the flavor. It has an almost chocolate like quality to it, I’m not sure what the association is coming from., but it is quite enjoyable. Hrmmm. Kind of makes me want a mint/vanilla genmaicha. I bet that would be killer.

I’m eyeing Frank’s stock of this and wondering how much will still be around for my next payday…

Gurman’s Got back to my email!!! They have added Pepper Mango back into its selections online! WOOT WOOT
Funny – I just recreated it here at home but theirs is better of course.
I am not totally unhappy with my creation HOWEVER I am all over this to order asap!

I let this steep for 5 minutes in the Yixing and I knew what to expect. A strong, dark very flavorful brew. No rinse. This went straight to my head. I could feel this tea immediately. I noticed a vast improvement since my last tasting. I have several young Shu such as this that I will sip from time to time to see how they are aging. This one is getting there. Another raising of the score….

Everything you could ask for of a black tea. See my previous notes and all of the others who have loved this wonderful selection. I still have a touch left of last years spring picking. I would love to do a side by side tasting. This is an awesome tea.