Tabby

Finished my sample yesterday. I woke up thirsty and made myself a tall glass, iced and lightly sweetened. I will certainly miss this tea.

This is my first milk oolong. I’ve tried black milk teas before, but this is almost entirely different. While in black teas with milk flavoring, I felt like the milk was there to soften the bitterness of it… but with this oolong, there is no bitterness or harshness to hide. It’s only there to add a subtle creaminess.

Last night, I made it hot, and enjoyed it greatly. I decided to have it again as my take-to-work tea, over ice since it was already in the 90’s when I left. It was wonderful iced. The Teavivre oolongs I’ve tried before were on the floral side, but this one is fruity! The flavor reminds me of peaches! It’s like a light peaches and cream oolong! I absolutely love it. Best oolong I’ve ever tried; will order.

First of all, I’m honored to get to try this aged tea. When it was harvested, I was still at my first place away from home, working for Wolf Camera.

Now, onto the details. I gave it just over two minutes and it brewed up very dark. The scent reminds me of leather and the forest floor after a good rain. Now, I’m always a little afraid of puerh because I don’t like fishiness, but this puerh doesn’t taste like that at all. It tastes fresher and smoother than other puerhs I’ve tried, and completely not astringent. It makes me think of a really good yunnan, just… aged, for lack of a better word.

This was my commute tea yesterday. I deviated a little from the instructions this time and let it steep for an extra 30 seconds, which deepened the flavor. This time, I used eight pearls for about 10-12 ounces of water and was very pleased with how it turned out. The cocoa was enhanced and stronger. I’m still loving this tea, and will definitely order it next time I place an order with Teavivre.

My Teavivre samples arrived today! This will be my third round of tasting from this generous company, and as usual, I am like a kid on Christmas. This tea was the one I was most excited about. I read everyone else’s reviews on it and it got me quite excited for my turn. I am in love with Teavivre’s black teas, and when I smelled the pearls, I knew it was not going to disappoint.

As far as preparation goes, I used two pearls in about 10 ounces of water with a steel infuser. It unrolled rather quickly into long, whole, pointed leaves much like their yunnans. I let it go for the whole two minutes because I was a little worried by how pale amber the tea was. But the scent of it as it cooled reassured me that it would be flavorful.

Maybe next time I will use three pearls, but this is still a delicious cup. Malty cocoa is the strongest flavor, I agree. It reminds me a bit of their bailin gongfu, but a little more astringent. Also, there is just the barest hint of smokiness that makes it very satisfying. It is by no means your average black tea, and I can’t wait to get through this cup so I can make another. It’s great.

This is my first of Harney & Sons’ bottled tea line.

First of all, the flavor is light and it isn’t over-sweetened like most bottled teas I’ve tried. In fact, there are only 10 grams of sugar in the whole bottle. The taste immediately makes me think of pairing it with Thai food and how this would go well with panang curry, tom kha gai, or pad Thai.

There is enough lemongrass in this to be the dominant flavor, which is nice, but I was expecting a bit more coconut. The vanilla falls short, as well as the ginger. There is barely a hint of it, so sadly no ginger burn. The green tea might as well be water, because you can’t taste that at all, either. It’s like it’s just there for color. Anyway, it’s refreshing and different, but if you’re looking for a tea that tastes like tea, you might want to try something else.

The dry leaf smells like a very sweet darjeeling — like a fresh, summery “green” black tea without a hint of smokiness or earthiness. After a steep, it smells more vegetal, but still sweet. The tea is pale and yellowy-green and smells a bit like fresh cut grass. (I mean that in a good way!)

The flavor is light and dries my mouth a little bit. It reminds me a bit of local honey in the way that I faintly taste flowers. I think my preparation should have had more leaf, and maybe another thirty seconds since I find the flavor so mild. I will return to this after a second try.

Giving this chai a try over ice. I was right — it’s better this way. Or maybe I’m just biased because it’s 90-something degrees outside. I really can’t imagine having hot tea during the Georgia summer.

The mango flavor still sits on the surface and overpowers the chai spices and black tea. It still definitely reminds me of mango nectar, especially now that it’s cold.

I also want to note that I do have a pretty bad headache and it has helped a little bit. But I think that’s the caffeine talking. A caffeine addiction headache would probably be the only thing this tea actually could cure.

Chocolate tea is still weird to me, but I still like this one, even though it’s a flavored-black-puerh mutt.

I decided instead of having it hot, I’d experiment. I made it the same way I made the Thai Chai earlier — using 4.5 tsp of leaf in half a cup of boiling water, then adding sweetener, milk, and half a glass of ice. Even with the milk and ice, it remains strong. The chocolate is enhanced by the milk, making the tea creamier and calming the black tea’s bitterness. There is a hint of vanilla there as well, and I’m not sure if I mentioned that in my initial review. But it’s not as smooth as a milk chocolate, I’d say. More like baker’s chocolate, or dark chocolate. Strong on the cocoa. Anyway, it’s interesting iced. I might do it again when I’m craving chocolate.

EDIT: Came back to mention that if you choose to prepare it the way I did, expect a pretty strong caffeine buzz!

What was I waiting for? Ninavampi sent me a sample of this months ago!

I’m always willing to try a new variation on chai. Chai has always interested me in its balance of spices, so adding coconut and lemongrass is pretty intriguing. Especially since I planned on having it cold. Anyway, I let it brew for six minutes in about half of the amount of water I would for normal iced tea. I then added a splash of cold milk and two good handfuls of ice.

The result is a delicious summer breakfast. The traditional chai spices are there on the surface; cinnamon, cardamom, ginger. I can’t say I can really taste the lemongrass, but the coconut is there. The coconut is faint, and reminds me a little more of plain vanilla. Since I love vanilla chai, I don’t mind. The black tea is hardly present, but that might have something to do with me neglecting this sample for so long. I would have to try a fresher batch to make any judgements there. In summary, I really like this chai, and it’s great iced.

Slowly cleaning out my tea cabinet still. I just finished my sample of this one.

While this is nice, I probably won’t reorder it. I like a certain amount of bite to my black teas and this one doesn’t really have it. I’m having it over ice, slightly sweetened. It’s a smooth, rather gentle tea with a flavor that reminds me of sweet potatoes and earth. It isn’t very astringent, either, but that’s a good thing. Anyway, this is incredibly ordinary and mild, so I’m not a huge fan.

After getting another tea tasting e-mail from Teavivre (which I’m very excited about), I realized I need to clear out some space in the tea cabinet. I still have a few tidbits to finish up from my previous Teavivre sampling, so I’m starting with this one.

I had forgotten how much I like this oolong. I’m always a little hesitant with this variety, even if it’s flavored, but this tea reminds that I need to be more open-minded. It’s floral with a smooth mouthfeel. There’s no harshness or bitterness in it. And it isn’t heavy on that nutty oolong flavor that I’m still getting used to.

Had a bag of this lying around since March and finally got around to brewing it. It reminded me that even though this is a mainstream, grocery store bagged brand, it’s still a solid Earl Grey. Especially sweetened.

My family and I stopped at the Marion Square farmer’s market on a whim in Charleston last week. Of course, I made a bee-line for the tea table that Charleston Low Country Tea had set up. There were a few unflavored black teas that I wish I hadn’t neglected, but this tea intrigued me the most.

I’m a pretty migraine-prone person. Have been since I was a kid. So that lured me into picking it up and giving it a sniff. It’s a traditional chai (black tea, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon) except for one difference — mango. There are bits of dried mango in it, but also something they just call “mango flavor”, and whatever it is, it’s potent.

I want to mention that the 3 oz. bag I purchased came with a reusable cloth bag to steep it in. I thought that was very nice, and I probably will use it, but only for this tea. You know how chai spices are. Permanent. Anyway, I began preparing it the way I usually do; strong with half milk, half water. But at the end of the five minutes, it wasn’t looking quite dark enough for that, so I just added a splash of milk instead and some sugar.

The result is delicious! I know mango is sort of a weird fruit to go with the spices, but I really like it. It’s not a very spicy chai, much more on the bright, fruity side. Reminds me almost of mango nectar, it’s so powerful. But the milk + chai spice gives the tea depth and makes it into something that’s both bracing and comforting. This is going to be a great first-thing-in-the-morning tea.

Hey, Steepster, been a while! I’m back with a post I wrote a few days ago on my iPod.

I’m having this iced and unsweetened at a new cafe in Decatur, Cozee Teas. It’s so new that I can’t even check in on Facebook and frankly, though the place is cute, it’s seemingly very low budget, and I worry that it won’t be here long. It’s almost empty of customers, and a bit cluttered, decorated with some new and some vintage furniture. Plus, a glass of iced tea cost me more than four dollars, and that disappointed me a bit.

Anyway, the tea tastes like a Ceylon blend. It’s very fruity, and pleasantly sweet on its own. The fig flavor is stronger than the apple, which sort of rests in the background. Something about it also reminds me of black cherry. It’s refreshing, but I feel like it needs something. After a little agave nectar, the fruit flavors are even more bright, but the black tea is more muted. So I’m not sure if that was a good choice or not. But all around, this is a nice, tasty fruit tea… but not really worth what I paid for it…

I was feeling a little brave at First Oriental Market in Decatur, so I chose this can out of the fridge. It was cheap and I’m a sucker for Thai tea, so I went for it.

As far as bottled/canned Thai tea goes, I’ve only tried a few brands. Of what I’ve tried, however, this isn’t my favorite. It isn’t as sweet as what I’m used to and has a strange aftertaste that reminds of Yoo-Hoo or Ovaltine. It’s also a little coconutty, which is unexpected, but not unwelcome. But, it’s not very creamy, which is something I really go for in Thai tea. I mean, the creaminess is there, but it’s not exactly… featured.

I’ll finish the can, but I think I’ll go back to Tisane’s bottled stuff. Then again… there was another brand I didn’t recognize in there…

Hmm, I’m still the only person to review this tea so far. It’s sad that Atlanta seems to have so few Steepsterites.

Anyway, I’ve reviewed this tea three times before. It’s a coarse and cheap flavored Ceylon that’s better served over ice. Bright green apple flavor and mild black tea.

I got this tea in a trade with QueenOfTarts!

My infusers were all in need of a wash, so I went the bagged route this morning. I betrayed proper chai preparation and went without milk. (Because I didn’t have any, not because I didn’t want to!) Upon inspection, realized to my dismay that this was a rooibos chai. Rooibos and I aren’t friends, but I’ll tolerate it if I like the flavor it’s blended with enough.

I had been hoping for caffeine, but the fact that this was warm and tasty made up for it. The rooibos was almost completely muted by the strong, spicy cinnamon and chai spices. The caramel is good, but not exactly the kind I’m after. It’s a little sharp instead of creamy. But that might be different had I used milk. In summary, this is a tasty chai, and though I wish it wasn’t rooibos, I still like it and will still experiment with it.

Made this for the nightly pot of tea, then put the rest in a box for Kaliska.
As always, this is a complex and interesting tea. Strong and amber with a lovely balance of vanilla and bergamot. I’ll probably get another sample pouch next time I order from Adagio.

Finally got around to making a pot. I haven’t had this tea in several years, and I feel like my tastes have matured since then. But naturally, I’m going to like an assam/ceylon blend.

It’s a good tea, don’t get me wrong. It’s strong and a little bitter, but it just doesn’t have a lot going on. I guess I’m starting to lean more toward Chinese black teas? Or maybe I’m just having an off night. I’ll give it another try before I consider my rating final.

Now, I liked the sound of apple chai when I chose this from Adagio’s chai list… but when I opened the pouch to sniff, I knew I had stumbled upon something I’d love. I already have a weakness for anything apple cinnamon, and that combined with the spicy scent of chai, which I am also a fan of…

Anyway, I didn’t go exactly traditional when I made it because of the color. Even with eight teaspoons in a little under four cups of water, it didn’t get as dark as I had hoped. It was still a dark, slightly cloudy brown. But it smelled like heaven, especially on such a gray, wet day. I added just a splash of milk instead of the half-half ratio, and sweetened. It’s essentially like an apple cider, strengthened with black tea and chai spices, with the burn of ginger at the end. I love it. I’m absolutely going to buy a half pound.

I had been saving this tea for a day off, and I’m excited to try it. First of all, I didn’t realize this was going to be an Earl Grey cream. But I knew after one sniff. It’s like they toned down the vanilla from their Earl Grey Moonlight. I was sort of expecting something like Revolution’s Earl Grey, but this seems promising, too.

Upon closer look of the leaf, I realized that this is a rather extravagant tea as far as Adagio’s flavored blends go. I see lots of pretty lavender buds with wispy blue cornflowers. It’s beautiful and promises to be more complex than what I’ve been sipping lately.

It brews up dark and the scent is mostly lemon and lavender. The flavor is just as complex as I had been hoping for. Lavender, bergamot, vanilla, Ceylon, lemon. It’s a refined harmony of “clean” flavors and strong enough to be bracing on a cold morning. I think I’ve found a new favorite.

Finished up my sample pouch by making a pitcher of iced tea. I didn’t have quite enough leaf, so I had to mix in two teaspoons of the farmer’s market assam. The result is lovely, like chilled apple cider without the tartness and the aftertaste of caramel. Mmm.

I got a bag of this in a trade with QueenOfTarts! I was intrigued by it, as I’ve noticed that flavored darjeelings seem to be on the rare side. Which is probably a good thing, because it makes me think of a beautiful song being autotuned to hell.

But this is different. I am all about Earl Grey, so the autotuning is welcome. I can immediately tell that this isn’t like the usual Ceylon greys I’m used to. The darjeeling’s muscatel flavor is hidden in the background, in the aftertaste. It blends with the bergamot in an interesting way that reminds me of lemony white wine, if that sort of thing existed. As usual, however, the zesty bergamot is the strongest flavor. It isn’t followed with the bitterness that I’m used to, but it’s still a satisfying cup.