Tabby

And, if you can believe it, I’m sick again. Yes. This is the third time now. Worst winter ever. But at least I’m done moving.

Anyway, a cup of this to get my day started, and so I can take my Sudafed. I can hardly taste it. Still, parts of the flavor are coming through. I can still taste the bitterness, and the sweetness the sugar added.

I got a big bag of this from my mom. Royal Cup is a food-service brand, common in local restaurants around here. The bag she gave me was meant for one of the huge canisters that hold gallons of sweet tea at a time. Anyway, I decided it might be cool to make a pitcher’s worth in my triniTea. I was wrong.

It’s so finely cut/smashed that it made an enormous mess in the machine. The infuser cup was mostly clogged by the particles. And the resulting tea? Not really good. I used 8 teaspoons to make a 2-quart pitcher. The tea tastes a bit like Thai tea before the condensed milk… that sort of bittery vanilla-esque black tea flavor. I didn’t really care for it, though I can’t really describe why. My brother said it was “bomb-ass” and drank all of it, however, so it didn’t go to waste.

Hmm. This is not as good as I remember it. I think I’ve gotten spoiled, especially after trying a few from Arbor Teas’ black tea selection. Still, I’m enjoying a cup after a nap and before a night of drinking with some friends from out of town. It’s malty and dark tasting, very bold. And as far as the caffeine content goes, the name is accurate! But the description says there’s a hint of cherries and caramel…? What? Where exactly are they getting that?

And next time, I need to reduce the steep time. This has gotten a little sharp. Maybe four and a half minutes next time instead of five.

Edit: Ok, now that it has cooled a bit, I sort of get what they meant by caramel, but I wouldn’t have mentioned it like that. I think that could potentially mislead and disappoint people who were looking for a noticeable caramel flavor.

I love this stuff. It doesn’t resemble tea in any way to me, but I don’t really care. If I see it at a gas station, Barnes and Noble, or whatever, I usually grab a bottle. I was pretty obsessed with it when I discovered it one summer back in high school. The bottle’s style intrigued me, and at that time, I could only find it at Starbucks.

It’s sweet and vaguely cinnamony, but it mostly tastes like a blend of real grape juice and apple juice.

As I’ve said many times before, I don’t like rooibos. I don’t like that aftertaste it always has. But I received this as a gift and couldn’t help my curiosity. I mean, come on. It’s apple, cinnamon, and caramel on Christmas!

The bag smelled heavenly, fresh and spicy and sweet. I let it steep, added sugar, and was not at all disappointed. This tea tastes like my scented candle from IKEA smells. And I mean that in a very loving way, not as an insult. Not in the “this tastes fake” kind of way. It’s delightful, even with the rooibos aftertaste, which is mild. It’s like apple pie, and I am definitely not going to trade this like I originally planned. It’s mine.

Gave this another try last night, I guess to see if my tastes have changed. They haven’t. This just tastes like leather to me… like I steeped leather in my teapot. I do not dig it.

Brewed this quadruple-strong, let it steep for a good long time, and served it with cream and sugar. It’s my perfect coffee alternative this late afternoon.

Half of my tin is gone. D:

Backlogging from last night.

Had this without milk, just a few teaspoons of sugar. It was much stronger this way, but I miss the creaminess the milk added. It was an interesting trade off. Still good, but not amazing.

Backlogging from earlier… had a cup, no cream this time. Only sugar. Yum, as always.

This is a decent Earl grey, but it’s not as strong as I would have hoped. The bergamot is not too heavy or bitter, and it’s good. It’s lemony and a little sweet in scent, though the tea itself isn’t sweet without sugar. The black tea in it is a little unremarkable as well, but I like it. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Stash several times now. Their fruity black teas have all been yummy.

The back of the packet recommended a 3-5 minute steep time. Next time, I’ll go for the full five minutes for a stronger flavor. Not sure what else to say about this one… it’s pretty standard.

I’ve managed to catch another cold. :/
So I had a cup of this tonight, as I was craving something along these lines. The balance between tea flavor and lemon is ideal in this, I think. Neither are too strong, leaving this cup tasting mellow, clean, and soothing. It made me feel a little better, until I found the bottom of the cup…

Having a tall glass of this iced, brewed with the half-crushed remains of my 4 oz. tins of Adagio’s English Breakfast and Ceylon Sonata mixed in. I’ll miss Ceylon Sonata…

But anyway, this was sweetened with plain sugar, with little shark-shaped ice cubes mixed in. It’s strong and refreshing. The plum flavor overshadows everything in this particular batch, but I welcome that. Glad I still have a lot of this left.

Made another pot of this last night to share between my brother, my boyfriend, and myself. Served it with vanilla cream and sugar again. Yum. This has been my go-to comfort tea lately.

Oh. I don’t think I can finish this. This tastes like a mix of flat root beer and coffee. And the smell reminds me of stale vanilla coffee that sat out overnight. Yuck.

If I wanted coffee, I would have made a pot of coffee.

At first, I thought, “Seriously, Bigelow? 1-2 minutes for a black tea?”, but I went with it anyway. I see why they recommend that now. As others have said, this is a strangely harsh tea. I’ve not had much experience with darjeelings before, but the last I had did not have the sharp bitter aftertaste this does. The muscatel flavor is very accessible, which is another thing I like about it. But it dries my mouth out like no other.

But I like bitterness, so this is interesting to me. I’m glad I have another bag.

Tasting a sample cup of this thanks to LiberTeas, who sent it to me. I love anything caramel, so I was pretty excited when I saw that she had included it.

The first thing I noticed about the scent and taste of this tea is the smell of real caramel. It reminds me of how my mother makes it at home, on the stovetop. It has that sort of… not smoky exactly, but heat-involved taste, if that makes any sense. This tea is delightfully smooth and creamy without actually adding cream. I’m still finishing my first (and only) cup, and I’m a fan. Mmmm.

I think I’m going to have “Sweet Child Of Mine” stuck in my head all day now…

I don’t remember where this bag came from. But I was in the mood for something mild tonight, and it’s been a few days since I’ve reviewed anything.

It brewed up way darker than I expected, as for some reason I assumed this was a green tea. It is not. The smell is very pleasant, obviously spearmint and sweetly scented. The flavor is on the weak side, but that might have been my fault. I might have needed to brew it a little longer. The mint taste lingers in my mouth, leaving it feeling cleaner, so it isn’t an unpleasant experience.

All in all, it’s alright for what it is, but I have a feeling my review might be biased due to my fail-tastic preparation.

I broke out my coveted purple tin of this and made a super strong cup this morning after dropping my boyfriend off at work. I added the vanilla cream I’ve been using a lot, and sugar. It was perfect… something steamy and sweet before going out into the cold to my car. There’s just something about cinnamon and autumn…

Backlogging from yesterday and the day before.

Just wanted to note that we went through the 2 oz. package in about three days between my brother, myself, and a few friends. It was so good while it lasted. I’m probably going to have to hit up 52Teas’s site and make an order… because we miss it already.

Also, I made lattes with the last bit. We added sugar and vanilla cream, making it into a dessert tea. ♥

Having a pot of this that is 2/3 Ceylon Sonata and 1/3 English Breakfast, both by Adagio. I’m not a very big fan of either, but they blend together well. I’ll definitely do this again. It’s malty and sweet, with a summery taste that’s hard to describe.

I probably should have brewed this for less time, as it is pretty potent and a little bitter. (But I like some bitterness to my black teas.) I think I’ll go with four minutes next round.

I’m trying this tonight thanks to Jillian, who I traded with.

It lives up to everything people have said about it. It’s delicious. The black tea is very strong, and accented with warm, sweet vanilla. But the coconut flavor — it’s fantastic. The coconut shavings in it release just a little bit of coconut oil into the tea, which collects at the surface. When sugar is added, this becomes a wonderful, slightly tropical treat.

This is going on the shopping list. We’ve made three pots of it in a row tonight!

If it didn’t say this had white tea in it, I would have never known. It simply tastes like nectarine juice and crushed up vitamins. I will admit I get a feeling slightly similar to Adderall after a whole can, though. It’s not as strong, but I do feel VERY energized and more motivated to get things done, yet without the edgy feeling I get from coffee or energy drinks.

I’m curious about the other flavors, though… I’m not a fan of orange flavor, so this might be pretty heavily biased. I know there’s an apple one, so if I see it, I’ll pick it up.

Finished my sample of this the other night with a friend and my brother. It was soothing and wonderful as always… which prompted us to buy two of the last remaining tins from LiberTEAS ‘s Artfire shop. Now I’ll be able to drink as much as I want for a while! So pumped!

Had to have another tall mug of this tonight. I have been craving it since yesterday. Not much of this left, unfortunately. :/ Will definitely miss it when it’s gone, especially since I’ve searched online for a similar combination and was unsuccessful. This was a truly unique blend.