Tabby

Made the tea last night, using a little more leaf than I should have, and left it in the ‘fridge overnight. But before I did, I blended two pinches of the DeKalb Farmer’s Market’s own apple pie spice into it. The next morning, I had a cold apple tea with the perfect balance of strong Ceylon flavor embellished with rich spices. It was a wonderful autumn treat that I will certainly be making again.

Only have a few cups of this left in the bottom of the purple tin. Maybe one big, strong cup for work. Sad. I’m going to have to go on a hunt for a new caramel tea…

Anyway, I made a strong cup of this for the to-go cup today. Sweetened it a little and accompanied it with a harsh playlist and my morning commute to midtown. I still have so much tea to get through…

EDIT: Made the rest the next morning. Turns out I didn’t have quite enough, so I had to mix in some plain assam I have lying around. The caramel flavor was still quite strong and lovely. Sad to see it go.

This is basically what I expected from Celestial Seasonings. Light actual black tea flavor with a hint of pleasing bitterness at the end, but mostly overwhelmed by bright, fruity bergamot. I can see it appealing to a wide audience this way, which is what I think they were going for. Still, I’m kinda surprised that I’m the first to review it, since it’s such a common company.

I got this tea from a bank lobby in Ohio, before heading to the 1000-Mile Yard Sale with my friends and family. It’s apparently specially made and packaged for the Keurig brewing system, but I brewed it in my steel infuser and it was fine.

Anyway, this is good. Probably the only thing I’ve tried by these guys that I’d like to drink again.

This is the black tea provided where I stayed with Kaliska during Dragon*Con, at the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta. I took it with me, and am just now giving it a taste.

It smelled promising when I took the bag out of the packet and sniffed. Like a strong, clean tea. Upon tasting, it has a nice malty, almost savory taste that lingers in my mouth. It’s pleasant and smooth, but unremarkable. Not the best black bagged tea I’ve had, but there’s not really anything wrong with it.

The packet said that it’s a blend from India and Africa, but it tastes like a plain old Assam to me.

As far as the assams I’ve tried in the past have tasted, this one is a little mild. It’s a mellow, slightly musky black tea. Pretty unremarkable, but will make good fodder for mixing and making in big batches. I’ll probably overlook it next time I’m at the market, as I liked their ceylon a bit more.

I’ll have a picture for this tea up tomorrow!

Backlogging from earlier today. My brother and I had this iced with a little sugar. It came out perfect this time, I think. I let the water stop bubbling just before it hit the leaves, which I think keeps it from getting that odd aftertaste darjeelings can have if the water is too hot. It’s almost like an oolong that way. Anyway, I’m going to have to make a pitcher after tasting it again. So good.

I live!

Sorry, I do this. I disappear for months at a time, then return. And hopefully I will be returning to Steepster with full force. Mainly, I’ve been gone since I haven’t purchased many new teas. I’ve been working on my collection, trying to get through what I have before I move along. Also, the heat here in Atlanta has been devastating, which leads me away from tea a bit, except for in iced form. Which I haven’t had time to brew in batches.

Anyway, this tea was delicious as always. I’m beginning to run low, but I am prepared to let it go. I brewed it double-strong after four days of partying hard at Dragon*Con, and flopped down onto the couch with the boys for the episode of Doctor Who I missed. It was slightly bitter, but I love bitterness, especially paired with creaminess. It was thoroughly enjoyed and will be again.

I’m nearing the end of my little tub. I’ve made several pitchers and countless tall icy glasses of this tea. I had a feeling it would be my summer staple this year, and it definitely has been. I’ve also been experimenting and blending it with other teas to create flavors like Raspberry Apple, Raspberry Plum, or Raspberry Darjeeling, etc.

I will definitely pick up another tub when I go back. I still can’t believe 5 oz. of loose leaf is only $2. Also, I’ll be trying the Earl Grey and whatever else catches my eye.

My brother received a box of this tea as a gift a few months ago. We finally got around to brewing a pitcher of it for sweet tea last night. It’s very mild but not weak. It tastes and smells like generic, everyday black tea, but without any harshness. There’s no bitter aftertaste. It’s completely smooth and malty. My brother described it as sort of creamy.

Others have said that it can stand long steep times without getting bitter, so I will definitely try that.

Mmm, tea plus alcohol, we meet again.

This smells heavenly. Fruity, lemony, sort of like a good Earl grey, but very sweet. I know it’s made with oolong, but I can’t tell by the scent. I’m taking it as a shot, since that seems like the best way to judge the taste.

Oh. Wow. This tastes like Earl grey, too, and it’s wonderful. However, it doesn’t taste anything like oolong. I kinda get the feeling that they don’t expect people to know the difference, as with lots of mainstream pseudo-tea products. But I’m going to have to snag a bottle in case they discontinue it. It burns just enough, and it’s not as sweet as I was expecting. It’s clean, it’s zesty, and it gets you drunk. This is going to inspire some interesting mixed drinks.

Alright, so I gave this tea another go. I made it iced instead of hot, and I think I got a better batch. I definitely used enough leaf this time and it turns out that it’s about as strong as the raspberry blend I also have. I’m bumping up my rating, because I love anything apple flavored and this is no exception. Yum.

The first thought I had when I opened the container to sniff was “Wow, Sour Apple Blowpops”. This is definitely a green apple flavored tea, not apple cinnamon. The package doesn’t list ingredients, but there is no way this isn’t artificially flavored somewhat. It’s too strong and candylike.

I found that even after almost five minutes, this tastes a little weak. I’m keeping my rating a little low because of it. The apple flavor is very pleasant and nice, and it lingers in my mouth, but it’s not as flavorful as I expected from the scent. Next time, it gets a longer brew time and more leaf. Then maybe I can make a more final judgement.

Thanks to Zij-Ra, I got to try this oolong yesterday afternoon.

I didn’t take part in the preparation of this tea, so I can’t describe it much. Zij-Ra didn’t use an infuser, as she explained it wasn’t necessary. I was really impressed to see why. The leaves, though rolled tightly, expanded and uncurled to reveal that they were entirely whole. This is something quite impressive to me since I mostly stick to (admittedly low grade lately) black teas. It looked lovely in the cup, and I found myself looking down into it as I sipped, watching the leaves swirl about.

As for the flavor, it was most definitely an oolong even though the leaves are a little lighter green than some oolongs I’ve tried. I added a little honey to enhance the flavor, which seemed to bring out the oolong’s nuttiness. However, it did seem to taste a lot like a green tea as well, for lack of a better description. It had more of that fresh taste than I was expecting.

The steep time is just a guess since we never took the leaves out. I waited a pretty long time, probably more than I logged, because I’m sensitive to hot water.

Sipping an iced glass after work, lightly sweetened. No lime slice this time. I sort of burned myself out on it for a while.

I also wanted to welcome Zij-Ra to Steepster. Follow her, guys, she knows what she’s talking about. Anyway, she and her man, Kevin, were over yesterday and we made this tea iced with chunks of fresh lychee. We added the nut-fruits (fruit-nuts?) to the hot water, where they sort of infused with the tea and vice versa. The result was a little stronger Ceylon-y than I intended, but still delicious. The raspberry flavor held strongest, but the lychee added a certain exotic flavor. I would definitely do this again. Makes me wonder what other things I could infuse it with…

Made a pitcher of iced tea, sweetened, with a sliced up and slightly muddled lime. It’s divine. New favorite summer drink.

EDIT: After sitting in the fridge overnight, this got incredibly limey. I can’t even drink it now. It’s too strong and tart. Next time I’ll just use lime juice by itself.

I went for lemony iced tea tonight and mixed a bag of Stash’s Meyer Lemon Herbal Tea with a bag of Twinings Irish Breakfast. The result after sugar and ice was very refreshing. The lemon remained strong against the sharpness of the black tea. It was almost like lemonade.

Earl Grey Bravo, nice to taste it again. I had a cup of this the day before yesterday at a friend’s house. I haven’t had it in a very long time. Maybe around a year or two.

Anyway, it was just how I remembered it. Strong bergamot, lemony zest, and a decent amount of caffeine. The black tea itself could be a little stronger. It reminds me that I should try more Earl greys. Also, I’m inspired to make some of my own one day. I’m already growing my own tea… I could grow the bergamot easily, too.

Decided to blend some tea when making a pitcher’s worth last night. I used five teaspoons of the darjeeling and three teaspoons of the raspberry ceylon. Needless to say, the raspberry is a bit subtle but definitely there, but the general tea’s flavor is darjeeling. Some of the ceylon’s bitterness is there, which I like a lot. I’ll remember this recipe next time I’m making iced tea…

Also, I cheated and used the raspberry’s picture. Didn’t think to snap a picture when I scooped it into the infuser.

Finally took a picture and uploaded it. It bugs me when teas I review don’t have images.

Made a glass iced last night. The raspberry flavor is more subtle when it’s cold, but I like it. It’s more refreshing than fruit juice, and yet it comes with a nice caffeine boost. Wish I had a lemon or lime slice to put in it. Something to think about for next time…

After drinking until 2 with the Decatur kids at Republic, I needed something both refreshing and caffeinated to go with me on the ride to midtown the next morning. This was perfect. It was like an iced coffee without the sharp aftertaste or the wicked case of the shakes.

Took a cup with me to work today. I’m starting to think my stash is going stale. It seems like the flavor is weaker than it used to be. I remember this being a particularly strong black. But my tin is at least two years old, so maybe it’s fading because of that. I should never buy a pound of tea again. I have way too much flavor ADD for that.

Made a pitcher of this tea today. Been sipping it iced all day. It’s a special tea to me, and I’m happy to have it again. It makes the farmer’s market blend seem sharp and coarse in comparison. Deliciously smooth, both fruity and floral at the same time. With a hint of apricot. Wonderful.

I cut through the woods to the farmer’s market today (to see if I could — never again, though, it was briars the entire way) and couldn’t resist. Anyway, I had just finished their darjeeling and felt I needed something new.

This is a good, strong Ceylon with most of the raspberry flavor in the finish. Then again, I’m having it iced. So experiences may vary. The scent of the leaves reminds me of raspberry flavored Tootsie Pops. (But in a good way.) The Ceylon’s flavor and bitterness keeps it from being too candy-like.

This is one of my first raspberry teas and I am liking it very, very much. It’s going to be a staple this summer, I think. I’ll have a picture up tomorrow, once I have some sunlight.

This was my next experiment in making all my teas iced. It’s already basically summer here in Atlanta, so drinking hot tea feels absurd to me. But then again, I was raised on old fashioned sweet tea. The kind you get in a styrofoam cup with lemon floating on top of the ice.

Anyway, like the caramel tea, this tea’s main almond flavor is muted by the temperature. But that’s a good thing. This could get weird, for lack of a better word, if the almond taste was stronger. This really reminds me of amaretto when it’s cold, more so than when I tried it hot.