softrevolution

This is one that I got from tattooed_tea. I’m glad to have it in my cupboard!

This tea. It is so unlike what I expected! But still tasty. There aren’t many fruity herbals that I don’t get along with. And I love peachy flavoured things, so how perfect? I steeped it hot and then stashed it in the fridge to sip on later.

When I first opened the packet I was overwhelmed with peachy goodness. I happily stuck the bag under my girlfriend’s nose. “Fuzzy peaches!!”
Yep, she’s right. It smells like fuzzy peach sour candies, which are one of my addictions. At this point I couldn’t wait to try it!

I love the colour that this steeps up to. The deep wine shade was unexpected so I took a peek at the ingredients. Hibiscus? Yep, hibiscus. Onward!

This is pretty tasty as an iced tea, but again, not what I expected. The peachy flavour is prominent, but there’s also a delicious dark berry/currant flavour coming through. Mm, I do love black currant. The tartness of the hibiscus brings everything together. Overall, I like this blend, but it’s not as peachy as I expected based on the name and scent. I don’t think I’d get this one again, but I’ll happily finish off the packet!

I bought 20g of this to try the other day when I was craving a simple straight black. I don’t have one in my cupboard! So I figured this would do the trick.

Finally got around to trying it this morning, and it’s really nice! Echoing what others have said, it’s nothing particularly special, but a solid breakfast blend none the less. It’s nice and bright and doesn’t leave much of an aftertaste, which are all good things in my book.

Having another cup now to calm my nerves, I’ve got my first ever yoga class in a few hours! Kind of counterproductive to be a ball of nerves over something that’s supposed to help you relax. I’m excited to be trying something new though.

I always forget how much I love a good genmaicha. It’s a cool evening here and I wanted something hot and comforting, but still light. This definitely fit the bill!

I was fairly proud of myself having made a green tea without it going bitter. I tend to have that problem a lot, but I’ve gotten (slowly) better.

This particular genmaicha is really lovely! Sweet and amazingly smooth with that familiar popped rice toastiness. I’m also getting a really subtle floral note, which makes it even more tasty! Mm, I have to drink this more often.

Another sipdown! This tea is such a tease. The dry scent is all in your face with its chocolatey deliciousness. Mm seriously, the best chocolate. And it gets me every time I have a cup! I open the envelope, take a big sniff, and hope that maybe this time it tastes anywhere near as delicious as it smells. But, sigh, it never does.

This particular tea has the worst case of the floaties I have ever seen. Ohhh lordy, don’t make the mistake of inspecting your cup too much. Way too many oil slicks and chocolate ickies swirling around for comfort.

Taste wise, it’s a meeehhh at best. Drinkable, but disappointing. It tastes a lot like watered down hot chocolate, and I don’t get much of the black tea base at all. I feel like this one could have been amazing, if only they had stuck to flavourings rather than floaties to make this more true to its name.

Sipdown! I thought I’d be more sad about this one leaving my cupboard, but my last cup was kind of meh and didn’t really leave me excited about the tea. I still love the rich, almost burnt sugar notes and the really sturdy black tea base, but overall it was pretty underwhelming.

I do love that there’s a subtle coconut note too. It doesn’t hit you in the face but it makes the whole cup smoother and creamier. I might get more of this come wintertime when I’m more in the mood for richness and dark flavours. But for now, huzzah to the new space in my cupboard!

Thanks to tattooed_tea for the generous sample of this goodness!

As soon as I opened my swap package I was hit in the face with a delicious cotton candy scent. Yum! It smelled even better when I opened the bag itself; sweet, creamy spun sugar! I was so excited to try it.

I did a hot steep for four mins and then stuck it right in the fridge. Most of the reviews I had read said that the cotton candy flavour comes out more as it cools, so I figured I might as well try it iced for my first cup.

I tried it straight first, but ended up adding the tiniest bit of agave. That really brought the sweetness out and made it perfect! The first thing I tasted was the smooth black tea base, followed by the unmistakeable cotton candy-ness. It’s tasty and refreshing, but I wish the flavouring were a little stronger. Especially because the hint of it that I got was so so good.

I had been wanting to try this for so long, I’m really glad I finally got to! Cotton candy is my favourite flavour and it’s really bang on in this. I wish it were still available, I’d like to be able to have it on hand for cravings! Next I’m going to give it a try hot with milk and sugar and see how that compares.

Yesterday was not my day. I had a job interview that I was super nervous about (which went terribly, by the way. Almost comically so :P) so I was on edge all morning. I thought a cup of this might cheer me up with its sweet creamy deliciousness. I love how the vanilla really comes out and mingles with the very subtle chocolate and strawberry notes. I wasn’t too thrilled with the cake teas overall, but this one is so unique (and did I mention creeeamy?).

So after I get the leaves all ready in a tsac and have my lovely tea steeping away on the counter, I decided to do a few dishes while I waited. And of course with my supreme clumsiness I managed to knock over a glass bottle and helplessly watched as it shattered all over my kitchen. Sigh. So while I was cleaning up that doozy of a mess I ended up completely forgetting about my tea. By the time I got to it, it was terribly bitter and oversteeped. I tried to force some of it down since I’m almost out of Ice Cream Cake, but it wasn’t worth it.

So with my day starting out like that, and then with the interview going so terribly bad, I was in a bit of a funk yesterday. I hope today cuts me a break :)

Still loving this one! I hate the film the white chocolate leaves in my glass though. I just have to remind myself that the scudgy stuff is just chocolate. I steeped this for 4 mins before icing it, and it did a lot better than my usual 5 min steep. I like my black tea strong, but the longer steep seems to bring out more of the cinnamon flavour, which in turn makes it less root-beer like. Today though, it was perfect. Light and creamy and sweet with a nice amount of spice.

Filled my $1 tumbler with this today. I was so happy to see Tropicalia as a TOTD, but was disappointed to find that it was sorely under steeped. It tasted like ice water with a hint of sweet pineapple-coconut. It was still nice and refreshing, but not what I was expecting having made it myself at home. Oh well! It got me through the melting heat while I was wandering around downtown.

So now that I know what to expect from this blend, I really like it! I did a shorter steep than last time (about 4.5 mins) and that took care of the sour-ish note I got the first time I tried it. I love all of the ingredients that are in here. Strawberry? Check. Ginger? Yep. Blackberry? Yes please! I even enjoy the dreaded hibiscus, and find it works really nicely here. I don’t think I’d like this hot, but it is wonderful iced. It does remind me of Goji Pop, but they are different enough that I wouldn’t mind having both in my cupboard. I had mine with a small dash of agave; I think it would be a bit too tart without sweetening.

This tastes a lot like candied pineapple! Which is both nice, and slightly disappointing. I was hoping for more of a juicy-fresh pineapple flavour, with some of the tartness and acidity that I associate with the fruit. I always hope for this in pineapple flavoured teas, but it’s never there. BUT it is still delicious, and refreshing, and really flavourful. I love that I can actually taste the toasty, creamy oolong base.

I had this iced along with a big old slice of tomato soup cake I had made the day before. Mm, delicious together! The rich spicy cake and tangy-sweet cream cheese frosting played well off the tropical fruity tea, and actually ended up reminding me of carrot cake. Oh how I love food and tea pairings!

Having a cup of this hot with milk and sugar to accompany my cornmeal muffin from my favourite local donut shop! I made a pretty great tea choice; the juicy-sweet blueberry flavour is going down great with my crunchy-sweet muffin. I’m still loving this tea just as much at the end of my 50g bag as I was at the beginning, so it looks like I’m going to be getting myself a tin-full soon. My favourite thing about this tea is that it is equally delicious both hot and iced, but I get two totally different experiences depending on which way I have it. And even my tea-picky girlfriend loves it! She actually got a cup iced to go when we were in Davids the other day, and her ordering a tea for herself is a rare occurrence indeed :P

I had a cup this morning, and even though I had a few mishaps it was still tasty. First of all I brewed it a little stronger than I had meant to, and then I realized I didn’t have any milk. It was too strong to drink straight, and I didn’t want to dump it, so I ended up adding a little caramel toffee vanilla coffee creamer that I had in the fridge. It was very rich, a little strange, but not too bad and still drinkable. An odd combination, but not altogether terrible :P

I love Goji Pop! It’s so juicy and sweet. I love love when this is a TOTD so I can fill my $1 tumbler. For some reason I’ve never gotten around to bringing some home, probably because I already have a bunch of iced teas that I love. One day though!

I am so happy that I picked up 25g of this to try yesterday! I love floral teas, especially rose, and this one is particularly wonderful. I love that it has a black base rather than green, and the hint of sweetness that the white chocolate gives. It comes off as both rich and light at the same time. This is everything I’d expect from a rosy tea!

I think it tastes best hot with just a touch of sugar and a bit of milk, but I’m biased since that’s how I prefer most of my teas. I still can’t get over how perfect the flavour is, it’s really everything I had hoped for when I first saw the description! A nice smooth black base, the perfect amount of rose, and a delicate sweetness at the end of the sip. It actually reminds me a lot of a sugared rose lip balm I love from a favourite etsy seller.

I hope this one sticks around in store, I can definitely see myself drinking this into the fall and winter.

I love the rich toasty taste of this tea! It’s much more bold and flavourful than I’ve come to expect from a green tea; it always surprises me. I don’t drink many unflavoured teas, so this is a nice change for me.

Adagio seems really hit or miss for me, but I really do enjoy this one.

I made a cup of this hot to chill for iced tea for later using my infuser basket rather than my regular t-sac, to see if that would give me a stronger flavour. It did, but there were so many floaties! SO. Many. And I used the infuser from my perfect mug, which I thought would be fine enough to catch most of the debris.

I gave it a nice long steep and then stuck it in the fridge. It is particularly delicious and juicy, moreso than with a t-sac, and it’s perfectly sweet. No need to add any sugar. Now I just have to decide if the wonderful flavour I get from making it this way is worth dealing with the icky floaties.

So glad I gave this another chance! I’ve had a 25g bag sitting around for quite a while now. I tried it hot a couple of times when I got it, and I was thoroughly unimpressed. I tried it both straight up and with milk and sugar, but I just found it pretty bland.

I finally organized my tea cupboard the other week, and came across this guy. I thought I might try it iced, and it’s so much better! It’s light and creamy and a little fruity. I don’t really get a buttercream flavour but that’s okay. I had my girlfriend taste it without telling her what it’s supposed to taste like, and she said it reminded her of the earl’s garden, but I don’t get it. She be crazy :P

I think I’ll be having this one quite often now that I’ve figured out how to do it right! At 4 mins it wasn’t bitter at all either.

The first few times I tried to grab some of this in store, they were completely sold out. So when I returned and they were fully stocked, I thought I might as well just get 100g. I’m not usually that much of a tea risk-taker, but I figured why the heck not. It smells divine and I love all of the flavours going on here.

I made a glass hot and left it to steep for about 20 mins before stashing it in the fridge to cool. I am happy to report that it is just as sweet and juicy and refreshing as everyone promised it would be! The only thing I am less than impressed with is the apple component. I think it would have been better without it, or at least with less of it. It reminds me of the apple flavour in Forever Nuts, which in turn reminds me of a baked goodsy taste that I just don’t like with the pineapple and coconut. That said, having this iced was still pure deliciousness!

I’ve made it a few times since, and experimented with steep times. After having this so very strong the first time, I find it just does not taste nearly as good with a short steep. I tried both a 5 and a 10 minute steep and they both turned out disappointingly watered down. So now I only make this if I know I have a good long time to let it sit around. I probably won’t restock, but I’m happy to have it in my stash for now!

Yumm, I love me some buttered rum goodness. I had this for my morning tea and as usual, I wasn’t disappointed. The creamy coconutty caramelized deliciousness is irresistible. I also love how the little vanilla bean flecks escape the infuser and make it into my cup!

I’ve been having a rough morning, worrying about starting my last year of school in the fall and not having a job at the moment and omg what if I can’t get a real job once I’m finished school, and I needed something comforting. This definitely did the trick and I’m sipping on it while looking for job openings online. I’ve had 3 interviews and no job so far, but here’s to keeping my head up and trying again!

This is still my favourite chai. Maybe because it was my first? Who knows. But every time I make myself a cup of this I am surprised at how dark and rich and spicy and warm it is. No other chai has quite compared, as far as I’m concerned. I love how you can taste all of the spices, rather than just cinnamon, and the black pepper gives it a nice tingly bite. I always add a bit of sugar and plenty of milk and it is obviously the most delicious this way, all creamy and comforting.
I also love the tazo chai concentrate that you can get at the grocery store. I give it a whiz in my trusty magic bullet with some vanilla frozen yogurt and milk and it makes the BEST frosty drink. Yum.

Can’t believe I’ve never logged this one! It’s one of my favourites, and the tea that sparked my iced tea addiction last summer. I had a cup of it iced to go on a whim, and then went back to davids immidiately after finishing it to grab 100g. I know it has been said before, but shucks, is this tea ever light. I was given a full tin and a large bag full on the side.

Fast forward to this summer. I still have so much of this left! Even though I drank a ton of it last summer. I like it as an alternative to water – it’s really light and refreshing and there’s really no need to add sweetener. I like the comparison to slightly green strawberries – that’s pretty spot-on. I think it’s the bamboo that gives it that quality.

I bought myself a nice big pitcher the other day and decided to christen it with this tea. Plenty of leaf, some warm water, and some frozen strawberries in the strainer. I left them to get to know eachother for about an hour and then chilled. I’ve been really enjoying the concoction, adding the strawberries was definitely a good idea.

My only gripe about this tea is that if you are going to have ‘blazing’ in the name, there should at least be a little zing to it! I really don’t get any heat out of this one whatsoever.

I’ve had this tea twice now since it came out, and I’m really loving it! Finally picked up 50g of it yesterday and I’m so glad I did.

I had it as a latte the first time, and it was marvelous. Hot, it reminds me almost of a fruity earl grey. I got a floral/astringent bergamot-type aroma from it, which really pairs nicely with the blueberries. I really have no idea where I’m getting this association from since there’s no bergamot in the blend..maybe it’s the elderberries? Regardless I found that it went perfectly with the juicy blueberry goodness that’s in the forefront.

Aaaand then I tried it iced. It is AMAZING. It really does taste like straight up blueberry preserves with a smooth and sturdy black tea in the background. Unfortunately I ruined half of my tumbler full since I forgot to shake it up to mix in the agave until halfway through. I’m thinking iced it may be better straight up because once that agave hit my tongue it was horrible. Really artificially sweet and I just couldn’t bring myself to finish it.

So glad to have this in my cupboard for both hot and iced goodness :)

Birthday TOTD!

I had this yesterday in my promo mug. I was really excited for this one — I looove strawberries and it was promising a strawberry punch. How perfect that it was one of the TOTDs on my birthday :D

I had never tried the Strawberry White, so I can’t compare the two. Thinking back, I’m not sure why I never got around to it, considering the aforementioned strawberry love. I guess it just sounded a little boring? Looks like I’m a sucker for a good name.

I found this a little bitter (as I often do with white teas) and it didn’t have the burst of strawberry flavour I was expecting. I enjoyed my cup, it wasn’t horrible, it was just overwhelmingly ‘meh’. White tea flavour in the background, a hint of berry sweetness, and some tart/sour notes from the rosehips and hibiscus. I’d probably have it again as a TOTD but I won’t be buying any for my stash.