Tabby

Alright, carrying on with chamomile. But I get the feeling from this tea’s official description that it might not be a shining example. “An excellent quality product”, you say? Hmmm.

Well, it smells like honey to me. Honey and dried grass. The first sip makes me suddenly realize what I have been tasting in herbal “bedtime” teas all these years. So that’s what chamomile tastes like by itself. It’s actually pretty pleasant! It has an vanilla-like quality to it, especially in the aftertaste. In fact, I’d like to taste this in a vanilla blend. I bet some tea company is making that. Must investigate.

I’ve decided I need to give chamomile a chance. I never really had it growing up, so I’ve never had a taste for it. But if it’s something that’s tried and true to de-stress, I’ll give it a try.

As I hit the sachet with hot water, it expands into a little floating pillow full of pale dried flowers and what looks like lemongrass. I think I can see some fruit peelings in there, too. The citrus scent is very powerful and sour, and makes me think of grapefruit and oranges. It’s so strong that I’m giving it a minute less than the instructions say.

The taste is more on the lemony side, with a vaguely minty herbal flavor mixed in. It’s not as harsh with citrus as the aroma had lead me to believe. There’s something about it that tastes very clean, and I like that. Honestly, however, I’m not sure what good chamomile is supposed to taste like, so I can’t make any judgements there. I’ll try a plain chamomile next…

This one surprised me! As far as bagged black teas go, this is a good standby. It’s bold and strong, bracing you for the day ahead. There aren’t any odd aftertastes that you sometimes get with black teas in bags. Also, it comes in one of those pretty mesh and thread sachets that I like.

I’d get into it further, but if you’ve ever had an English breakfast tea, you know what this is. This one isn’t particularly astringent and has a hint of fruit in it. It’s decent.

Another random tidbit to carry on my theme of things I only have one cup of!

This smelled delicious as soon as I opened the little packet. It’s fruity, sweet, and herbal all at the same time. The tisane itself is gorgeous to look at. Colorful dried berries, pink rosehips and hibiscus, purple-blue cornflower petals, and pale green sage all mixed together. But of course, I’m a little wary about the hibiscus. That stuff tends to shout over everything else.

It brews up to a pretty, dark magenta. Tart fruit is most present in the aroma, as well as something kinda lime-ish, but you can really smell the sage, too. I love the scent of sage. The flavor is mostly blueberry, and milder than what I had expected from the smell. Then, of course, along comes the hibiscus to smother the other ingredients. The sage is present, thankfully, but not as strong as I had hoped. There’s also this odd flavor that I can’t place. It’s sort of like citrus. I know it’s not the rosehips. Anyway, I’m not liking this too much, though it seemed promising in the beginning.

I realized I was the only tea geek among my coworkers when the Republic Of Tea shipment came in yesterday and I was the only one excited. The restaurant is carrying three new tea flavors and this was one of them. We already have the black tea version, which I’m not really a fan of, but I’m going to review them all anyway. (Blackberry Sage is among the new ones, too, which I’m thrilled about! It’s an old favorite.)

As far as the aroma goes, it smells almost the same as the black Ginger Peach. Like artificial peach candy. I wouldn’t expect that to be different, though. The flavor is pretty much what I imagined it would be. Heavy on the fakey peach, super light on the actual tea. No ginger to speak of whatsoever. This tastes really similar to a peach green tea that Lipton makes. Like the bottled stuff you’d get at a gas station. I mean, it’s not awful, but it’s not what I look for in a cup.

I believe this came from QueenOfTarts a good while ago. This has basically been a day of brewing all my single bagged oddities.

The packet says to only brew for a minute or two, so I went with two. After two minutes, it’s a little darker than a typical green tea would be. I wonder if that has something to do with the herbal/spice content. It smells like good old Constant Comment, which makes me smile.

The first thing I notice when I taste it is how much lighter it seems than the regular black version. Without the black tea’s strength to overpower the spices, they really come to the forefront. It almost has a little bit of a pleasant heat to it. Same with the orange peel. This tastes much more like oranges than the classic version. I can’t say much for the green tea aspect of it, though. It’s pretty mild and muted. I’m enjoying this much more than I expected!

First of all, I want to mention how pretty the sachet is! It’s round, super-fine mesh with white thread stitching all the way around, hemmed by a sewing machine the way you’d sew the bottom of a shirt. Also, there is a very generous amount of dried herbs in it. Maybe around three teaspoons.

The aroma is lovely and clean as it steeps. Minty with a bit of lemon. It’s oddly soothing just from the smell, which is dominated by spearmint. Originally, I planned to steep it for four minutes, but the tea grew dark quicker than I expected, so I stopped it at three. This turned out to be a good decision.

The flavor leaves my mouth tingling and cool. Again, spearmint is the main thing I taste, but the peppermint gives it depth and an almost savory aftertaste. The lemon balm is in the finish, adding a note of freshness that reminds me of my mom’s garden when I was a child. It makes me want to grow all three of these in my balcony garden this spring… maybe I will!

I got this in a trade from someone, but it’s been so long, I’ve forgotten who it was. But this seemed like just the thing for a wet, windy day here in Atlanta. Not that it’s cold, but you know.

It smells of cinnamon and mint the most. I admit, I’m a little apprehensive. The scent reminds me of a Yogi tea, which I’m not a fan of at all. Also, it’s a tisane, which sometimes disappoint me. (I like the tea base to be bold!) The flavor is very heavy on the cinnamon. It reminds me of those cinnamon peppermints they sell around Christmas. The ones with the red centers. Mint is the second-strongest taste, followed by a hint of clove. I can’t really taste the vanilla at all, which is something I was looking forward to. And the orange peel is non-existent. All around, this isn’t something I’d drink again.

This had been sitting in my cupboard for a long while, half-forgotten. I decided I needed to try something new today instead of hopping back and forth between Earl Grey, Bailin Gongfu, and Pumpkin Ginger.

I’ve never had a rose oolong before, so this is certainly an intriguing first for me. It smells more of the actual tea leaves than rose as it steeps and cools. Instructions on the back say that it needs five minutes to steep, but I feel like that may be bad advice. Also, it says that this tea is known to enhance beauty… does that mean this tea is supposed to make me pretty? Hmm.

Upon the first sip, I’m glad I only went with two minutes. The rose flavor is subtle, more in the aftertaste and on the exhale. It has a hint of that peppery taste that rose teas tend to have, but it isn’t harsh. This tea seems to showcase the oolong more than the rose, which is something I respect. It has nothing to hide. It’s a quality tea, especially for something bagged.

Made myself one last mug of this tea today. I’m officially out and sad to see it go. This is the tea that made me realize that I actually really do love lapsang souchong. I just needed to associate it with the scent of burning leaves in fall, which is something I hold dear. It’s like drinking that smell, for lack of better words! I’ll miss it!

Wow, so I’m only the third person to review this here on Steepster? I find that sort of hard to believe!

Anyway, I picked this up from the kitchen area of my apartment complex’s office. As it steeps, it doesn’t smell like lemon. It smells exactly like strawberries. As I taste it, yeah, it tastes kinda like strawberries, too. Sort of. The lemon flavor they used sort of shows up at the end and reminds me of lemon candy. It’s not particularly strong and makes me wish I had an actual lemon slice to put in it. And the honey? I’m not sure what they put in it, but it doesn’t taste like honey, either. It’s strange. I don’t like this much.

Another lapsang for the new autumn season. I received this tea in a trade with Spencer a few months ago and have been holding onto it for chilly weather. There’s just something about smoky black tea and being out in the chilly fall wind.

This tea brews up dark and hearty, smelling heavily of pine smoke, as it should. To give an idea of how potent this tea is, it was in a ziplock on my kitchen counter. My boyfriend tossed his work shirt onto it without noticing and left it overnight. The entire next day, he smelled like a campfire. (Be careful where you store your lapsang, kiddies.)

The flavor matches the powerful aroma, with a twist of leather. But it also has a sort of tang to it that’s more like pine than any lapsang I’ve ever had. It reminds me of the scent of pine sap, right after a live branch is broken. I haven’t been impressed with Peet’s until now, honestly. This is a unique and interesting lapsang souchong.

One of my friends gave me this to try AGES ago, and I’m on a chocolate kick, so I decided to give it a try. I should note that on my bag’s packet, it’s called White Chocolate Obsession, but it has the exact same art and it’s still by Bigelow. I dunno what’s up with that. Maybe it’s an earlier/later version.

Good lord, this smells chocolatey! Though what kind of chocolate, I’m not sure. Too strong and sweet to be a Tootsie Roll, but it kinda reminds me of that. You know, like chocolate candy that doesn’t actually involve any real cocoa. Or chocolate lip balm. Or the brown chocolate-scented magic marker from my childhood. This does not bode well, but I’m brave.

I lightly sweetened it and let it cool, thinking about adding a splash of milk even before having a taste. The flavor is less strong than I expected, and slightly metallic under the odd chocolate taste that lingers upon exhaling. It does actually taste a bit like white chocolate, but I’m a dark chocolate kind of girl. The black tea base is very mild and smooth, but it adds a pleasant maltiness. It tastes like it’s mostly there to support and add depth to the chocolate.

After a few sips, I went for the 1% milk. It holds up against my generous amount of milk well, still very flavorful, but still not good. Creamier, but just sort of sad, like it wishes it was a white mocha or hot cocoa.

This is what I took to work today. We’re getting the outer edges of Hurricane Sandy, so the world outside is gray, cold, and very windy. The perfect day for something that smells and tastes of woodsmoke.

I’ve reviewed this tea before, so I won’t go to lengthy detail, but this was pretty perfect for today. Like I’ve said before, it smells more smoky than it tastes. Underneath the smoke, there is the delicious taste of Fujian black tea. Mmmm.

So, for a week, I couldn’t find my metal infuser and I was incredibly frustrated. I finally caved and bought myself a new one on Amazon, plus some Harney & Sons consolation that I had been wanting for a long time. The day after I ordered it, yes, I found my damn infuser. Of course.

Anyway, I’m still very happy to have this pretty blue tin in my cupboard. I popped it open and it smelled amazing. Strong! Peppery! Lemony! The bergamot isn’t as strong as their Earl Grey Supreme, but it’s still definitely the dominant flavor. This is a perfect standard for Earl Grey. Not too bitter, not too astringent, on a satisfying black and oolong blend. And also not so heavy on bergamot that your mouth goes numb.

Again, about the bergamot, Harney and Sons have set a bar for me. They use this Italian bergamot that just makes other blends taste cheap to me.

So, I decided to give this another go with the same leaves. This time, it got a longer steep time and hotter water. I wanted to see how this liked being treated more like a traditional black tea.

The liquor came up a bit darker, but not by much. Not amber or anything like a regular black. More like the picture shows here: http://www.nuvolatea.com/upload/product/14l.jpg It smells more like a black tea. Heartier, with a hint of smoke. The taste is slightly more toasted and astringent, but oddly not much different from the first infusion. It seems like the more I treat it like a black tea, the more it tastes like one, and the same when I treat it like an oolong. But the change is very subtle. Interesting.

My first thought when I picked this tea to try was “Oooh, black oolong. Now this is interesting.” Honestly, as long as I’ve been here at Steepster, I had somehow never heard of such a thing. I ripped open the little packet and inspected the leaves. Dark and thin, rolled into long narrow strips. It looked like a fine black tea with a few hints of golden brown here and there.

I treated this one gently as well, and may or may not have used a bit too much water in my ceramic teapot. The liquor is a pale tan, and smells like black tea with a hint of sweet fruit. The taste is very, very interesting. While it does have hints of floral, spring-like oolong, I can taste the black tea oxidization more. It’s caramelly and much more robust than a traditional oolong. Malty, even. Like a light golden tip tea… sort of. This is hard to describe and delightfully complex, and I love it.

Also, after checking the website to see how much this tea is, it’s listed as $60HK for 50g… I was horrified at how expensive it is. But then I checked a converter on Google. It’s only about $8 USD. Whew!

Giving this a try iced, since even through we’re halfway through October, it’s still pretty warm here in Atlanta.

It makes a pretty refreshing iced tea, I have to say. The caramelly flavor I described previously really comes out when it’s chilled. Same with the creamy pumpkin. Also, I can somehow taste the tea base better this way, too. Not sure why. I think next time I make this iced, it’s going to get a splash of milk, too. Should be a nice treat!

Thank you very much for this tasting opportunity, Nuvola Teas! They sent me a small sampler, and I am very excited to try all these high grade teas.

The leaves of this tea are lovely. Glossy and dark green, rolled into little nuggets with their stems on the outside. They smell delicious and springlike, with a hint of sweet creaminess. I’m still getting into oolong, and this seemed very promising.

I was gentle with it, brewing it just under 185 degrees for a minute and a half. The resulting liquor was a pretty pale green that smelled faintly nutty. I allowed it to cool for a minute or two before tasting. It’s an absolutely pristine flavor… somehow rich and mildly vegetal. The creaminess I smelled translates well into the taste. So smooth. There’s also a gentle floral taste in the background that I mostly taste when I breathe out. I think I like that part the best.

In all, this is a very complex and tasty oolong. I made a cup for myself and my brother, and almost wish I had kept it all for myself!

Why did I wait so long to taste this tea?! Maybe I was waiting for fall? Anyway, I got in a trade with QueenOfTarts almost a year ago.

This is great stuff! Much, much better than the Pumpkin Spice Adagio sells. The most prevalent spice in it seems to be cinnamon, as the ginger is more subtle. The pumpkin flavor is surprisingly realistic! Like pumpkin pie filling, especially with the touch of nutmeg. It really makes me think of Thanksgiving. Also, there’s a taste of caramel, to me at least, though it could be my imagination. I can’t really taste the actual tea in it, as it’s buried beneath layers of delicious spices. I’m going to have this as my breakfast tea until I run out.

Best pumpkin tea I’ve tried so far!

I’m still sick with this stupid cold! I am well over two weeks into this thing now. I have Nuvola teas to review, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to taste them well enough, so they’ll have to wait. Ugh.

I snagged this from work because I thought the ginger in it would help. While I can taste it, I don’t think there’s enough in it to really do anything medicinally. Also, I don’t remember it being this boring. Something about it tastes sort of artificial to me now. Like Peach Nehi. Lowering my rating a bit.

This one is the last of the teas from First Oriental Market that I snagged and hadn’t reviewed yet.

Both the dry bag and the tea as it steeps smell very much like a puerh. I guess I should have expected that when I read “tuocha” on the package. I was more excited by the word “yunnan”. But there’s no fishiness in the scent, at least, while I let it cool to a drinkable temperature.

The taste is pleasant and complex. It’s definitely a puerh. Sure, something about its flavor reminds me of the beach, maybe a bit of seaweed, but it also has that flavor of yunnan that I love so much. Like fruity bread and hay hiding in the background. But at the same time, it has that coppery puerh-ness that I’m not sure if I’m used to. I’m so torn!

Also, I might have oversteeped just a little bit. If you try this, don’t go with my preparation time!

My senses of smell and taste are starting to come back, so I decided to try something new. I picked this up at my local Asian market a few weeks ago, as I had my eye on it before.

It’s a standard black tea with a distinct puerh flavor. It falls on the bold side, and brews up dark. The flavor is hearty and smooth with just the barest hint of bitterness. It definitely tastes aged to me, with that woody, musky taste, much like a puerh. Something about it reminds me of creeks I used to see in fall, when they would get dammed up by autumn leaves. Honestly, I’m surprised at how much I like it. Especially since Lipton makes it, of all companies. Of the black bagged teas I’ve tried from the First Oriental Market, I like this one the most.

Since I can’t really taste anything, I decided to at least make something warm and comforting. So, I put the tea bag into my mug, along with a little sweetener and a cinnamon stick. Strangely, I’ve never made tea with a cinnamon stick before. I poured boiling water over it all and let it steep. The result is very pleasant. I’m too sick to taste the black tea, but the cinnamon comes through and it’s nice. Reminds me of winter. I finally have a use for this bag of cinnamon sticks!!

350th tasting note!!