New Tasting Notes

yay! new tea! LOVE the color of this one, especially in my clear glass thermos. nutty-licious!

You can pretty much understand what this tastes like just by the name, not much else to say. It is indeed creamy, I would say the vanilla aspect outshines the bergamot a little bit in this blend. Both flavors are subtle and blend together very well into a very pleasant tea.

I must be ambivalent about this tea, as I’m now finishing my sample without logging my cups! I love chocolate and coconut together, but this tea isn’t strongly flavored enough for me. I am typically a little underwhelmed by Harney’s chocolate I think. I’m glad I’m not in love, as it doesn’t come in small amounts! On the other hand, I mixed the last teaspoon with 1 bag of Republic of Tea’s chocolate coco and got exactly the flavor I wanted – and the RoT coconut is not very coconutty on its own – interesting! Still, I won’t be buying this. My search for the perfect chocolate/coconut flavor continues!

Another one from Bonnie. I was a little perplexed when I smelled the dry leaf, as it smelled strongly of what I perceived to be strawberry. It reminded me of the strawberry zabaglione I had earlier today. The taste was also similar, just without the creamy aspect and with a slight floral flavor. I would say this one is similar, but a little more refined and less dessert-like.

So, lately I have been drinking a lot of chilled Tetley English Blend decaffeinated tea in the evenings trying to reduce my caffeine intake. The last couple days I notice I still seem to have too much in my system so time for a detox. Today I am drinking this fine rooibus. It has the same spices as carrot cake but it doesn’t really make me think carrot cake while drinking. On the other hand it stands miles above all other rooibus blends I have tried. It is delicious and satisfying. I find myself chugging instead of sipping and have to remind myself to knock it off. It makes the room smell nice as well. 3 mugs. Highly recommended.

I received this at Christmas and am just getting around to trying it. I don’t know what’s up with this tea, but there is no hint of pumpkin or spice. The tea itself was very bitter. I don’t think I’ll have another cup of this any time soon.

Delicate but complex. Good for afternoons when I need a pick-me-up. The aroma is very subtle and it took me a few tastes before I really appreciated it.

This is WAY better when cold brewed I have to say. It’s like combining the best of the first steep (BOOM! RASPBERRY!) and the second steep (actual oolong taste!) when made hot. While the raspberry definitely had an artificial taste when hot, especially on the first steep when it just tasted of raspberry, cold steeping kind of tones it down while still tasting like a raspberry.

And then of course, it actually tastes like oolong was involved. I always like when I find I have teas I can use solely for the purpose of iced tea!

Very sweet but I liked it. I wouldnt have it too often but this is perfect when you’re craving something sweet. I should try it iced…

mmmm sweet and refreshing. I wasnt sure because I dont like when theres a strong coconut taste but I really like this one

A lovely, bold chai. Especially good with milk & slices of ginger root.

I was sick when I last tried this tea, so I was curious to see if my tasting.note held. The answer is yes – I still get a strong candied violet note! I really love this tea – its perfect for the spring weather today! Even at 6 minutes it doesn’t get bitter!

First dance with pu-erh. Bonnie sent me this one and judging by the name, it seems like the perfect introduction. Being a bit apprehensive, I went shorter than recommended on the steeping time and added a little sugar and just a splash of cream. Well people, it’s delicious. It’s super creamy, caramelly, butterscotch-laden and delicious. The only way I can tell this isn’t a regular black tea blend is that there is a musty, earthy flavor that pops through the creamy sweetness and gives the tea some character. It’s a little woody, and causes me to think of the taste of cured tobacco and, well… damp caverns. Don’t take that last statement as a bad thing though, it’s very good. Overall, this was definitely a new and different experience to me. I was a little apprehensive about pu-erh, but this blend at least is very good and approachable. I like it. Now to try some unflavored pu-erhs…

Amazing!! I’ve tried other Amaretto styled teas before and they were over powering and very strong. This is a beautiful tasting tea. I’ve also had it with dried cherries infused with it as well, it definitely adds something to it but its amazing by itself as well. This is a tea I could easily drink everyday without complaint. WIth its amazing smell and smooth taste its a tea thats easy and comforting to drink.

Very nice light oolong, not as good as wuyi or pouchong, this one has a more floral quality almost a woodiness. Its not my favorite green oolong but it isn’t bad and the multiple resteeps bring out different aspects of the floral notes.

No rating as this is my own blend.

I really enjoy this. It’s not too tart (I’m not a fan of that sour, bitter, hibiscus-ness), and the lemongrass and green rooibos citron really cut that taste. I added a little sugar too since I’m addicted to sugar.

I steeped for about five minutes to get the max flavor. I think this would be great iced – haven’t tried it yet.

PM me if you want a sample! :)

Another tea I have little to say about at this point. I love it, it’s one of my faves, and you can see other tasting notes to see why. Short story is that it’s chocolatey, almondy, caramelly, and has a nice black tea base that plays well with the flavors.

I feel like I’ve been leaning toward black teas lately, especially my favorite flavoreds, and today I realized that it might be because in a few weeks I will be in China and I subconciously think this will mean no more black tea. Of course it will likely not because I am going to try to pick up a couple teas including a gongfu black right when I get there so I can have them for my 3 week stay in Beijing. True, I won’t have flavored teas except for florals. I am glad I’m at a much better place in my tea journey than if I was taking this trip last year… at this time last year I didn’t like (nor was I interested in) any unflavored teas at all, really, and a trip to China would have just resulted in lots and lots of jasmine teas. Fortunately that’s no longer the case, and that’s definitely due to swaps on Steepster and Teavivres samples, which have been like a mini course in Chinese teas. Now my biggest problem is fitting it all in my luggage…

Last time I drank this was almost exactly a year ago – spooky.

Anyway. Whenever I go into DT and they ask me what I’d like for a cuppa, I get completely overwhelmed. I stare blankly at the wall as the clock ticks. I just don’t know what I want. So I usually end up ordering this, or the Three Lemon Green. (Why lemon? I don’t know. I like lemon.)

Invariably, I get a very tasty cup, if usually a little bitter from oversteeping. The black tea base isn’t given short-shrift by the lemon flavour, which itself is sweeter than it is tart or sour. All in all, this is a good tea – I just don’t feel the need to add it to the collection at home. Yet, anyway. Maybe if we get the stash under control a little first.

Thank you to BTVSGal for this one. The dry leaf has a pleasant aroma almost like Russian tea that you make at Christmas. For there being so much in this I’m a little disappointing in the flavor. I can make out a little of the apple and lemongrass. There claims to be cardamom, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, and ginger, which should provide for a nice chai like taste but I’m not getting that. To be honest it kinda tastes like a cheap Celestial seasonings herbal blend. It’s pleasant but not invigorating and energizing to my senses. This one is just alright.

A package arrived for me today with a bunch of samples generously provided to me by Bonnie. Many thanks to her. All of the teas smell DELICIOUS and I can’t wait to try them. When I came home, I was in the mood for something sweet because this one just SCREAMED sweet when I smelled it. I tried it plain and it wasn’t quite up to satisfying my massive sweet tooth on its own, so I added a packet of sweetener and now it’s perfect. Smooth and very sweet, a little creamy, and I like that the tea base isn’t overpowered. It reminds me of this strawberries and cream oatmeal I have at my house. This is very good. Thanks again to Bonnie.