KeenTeaThyme

The incredibly generous QuiltGuppy sent me some from her custom blend…and I just added it to my always ongoing shopping cart at Adagio! This blend is bold and strong, and utterly delicious. Now I should say that vanilla and coconut are two of my favorite flavors, and hazelnut is another I love, so of course I would love this blend! :) In each sip I taste a perfect medley of all three flavors. It brews up sweet as well – no sweetener added (not even I did, and I’m the Queen of Sweet). I think folks making the (right!) choice to switch from coffee to tea would like this as it is hearty and bold with a coffee flavor. But anyone who enjoys black tea would love this AM wakeup cuppa. Thanks QG! I am officially hooked!

First, I must thank a former friend for sharing some of each from her cupboard! I tried the blend first before trying them individually, based on her recommendation…and I love it. :) I normally don’t opt for tarty teas, but I did add two splenda packets and the tartness was more muted than the original sip. I think this would taste better iced, so I’ll have to try that. But I do enjoy the floral of Scarlet Cloud (dry, the leaves are more perfume-y than when brewed) and the medley of fruit in the other.

There’s a lot of flavors going on; in each sip, my tastebuds focus on a different layer of the flavor. Before rating, I’m going to experiment with this blend iced…and try each individually.

The more I have of this the more I enjoy it! Blueberry flavor is such a tricky one to master, but of course the wonderful Frank@52teas can get it right. Nothing weak or bitter about this, just sweet & tart in perfect harmony. Love this one!

Chocolate and cherry – what a great pairing! This tastes like those cordials from chocolate boxes, more dark chocolate than milk, which is my preference. The cherry is slightly artificial tasting, but sometimes that’s the taste you get in a box anyway! It’s delish regardless and the black tea base is a great AM wakeup.

These are ingenious and delicious! I placed my first order from Culinary Teas last week and opted for these as they are on sale in May. These work well – I also mixed with matcha powder (more on that later). I actually don’t let them sit for the recommended 4-5 hours, I just brew for an hour or so and go. Delish! Cold mint green tea has to be one of my favorite things on Earth.

I’m not that impressed with this tea. :( First, it doesn’t taste at all like buttered anything, let alone rum. The black tea doesn’t even taste all that great. Second, it doesn’t smell like anything! Butterscotch is normally a stronger scent – think Butterscotch Lifesavers – but this is Weak. I’m finishing the cup, but I’m glad I opted for a sample size over a larger version. The other teas I’ve had from Culinary Teas are delish, but this misses the mark.

This is one of the best strawberry teas I’ve had in a while, and definitely the best strawberry GREEN tea! The flavor tastes natural and pure, no artificial Starburst-y flavors. It smells as yummy as it tastes, even as it cools. This reminds me of summer – delightful and fun. A new cupboard essential!

Opted for this one iced today and it was actually better iced than hot. So I upped the rating from yesterday. This is simply one of the best blueberry teas out there. :)

Somehow this tisane isn’t weak at all, but strong, fragrant and uber citrus-y! I love anything lemon, unless it’s that Pledge/artificial lemon. (I don’t mind smelling that, but don’t want to consume it.) This tastes like I’ve added a squeeze of fresh lemon to an already energizing tisane. I definitely want to try this with other teas/tisanes – perhaps add mint, or strawberry. Yum!

This is quickly becoming my go-to AM tea, over the Chai blend from Teavana. {gasp} I’ll give you a moment to recover from that shocking news…

The reason is that the chai blend is a cup of autumn. Now, I do love that blend and the tribute to autumn, but right now I’m feeling warmer weather, the need for no coat, and vacations. So I don’t want to think about impending doom, I mean, winter.

This blend celebrates chocolate and mint – a refreshing blend, perfect to welcome spring and summer.

So chai blend, move over, please. Read My Lips is taking your spot! (Chai blend, I shall see you in September.)

Completely forgot I had this! Found it when re-organizing my tea cupboard. I’m giving it a higher rating than before, because I steeped it a bit longer than usual (about 5 mins) and was rewarded with a stronger cup. More tart blackberries and more sweet mint. It’s a nice combo.

I’ll have to try this iced; I wonder if it would taste like the blackberry/mint awesomeness at Macaroni Grill… food, no TEA, for thought! Has anyone tried this iced?

Just given a big assignment at work. “Read My Lips” – I need this tea! (Please see previous note)

I rec’d this as part of my HoppiTEA goody basket from the very sweet Alana237. Thanks! :) This is my first tea by this company and the first lychee tea I’ve ever had. Actually I only remember smelling lychee, so I’ve never tasted it before… it’s a day of many firsts! (OK, OK. I’ll confess. I entered “lychee” in wikipedia to see what came up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lychee)

As soon as I ripped open the package, the fragrant and floral lychee smell hit my nostrils…and instantly calmed me. Lychee is a unique scent – it smells very floral but with a twinge of berry. Tastes more berry than floral – which is good news for you anti-floral tea fans.

I don’t have anything to compare this to, but I really do enjoy the unique flavor profile. It’s different and for that reason, fun. And because it’s black tea, it’s helping to kick my butt in high gear for the afternoon!

Had to hit this after the Incident with French Vanilla Assam… Much better.

I’m not sure about this one, honestly. Yes, it’s uber vanilla – which I always like – but there is a hint of flavor there I don’t care for. Now it’s possible that it’s an ice-creamy flavor. Since I can’t eat ice cream, whenever I taste anything like it my body imagines what will happen when I do eat ice cream (serious, serious chest, throat and mouth pain). So maybe that bias is constricting my enjoyment. But I don’t think I can really enjoy it. So I’m not going to rate it, I don’t think it would be fair to rate it.

I think I’ll sell it on tea trade so I can try to make some $$ back for my tea budget this month!

Got this from Rachel@iHeartTeas as part of the “Rescued from Retirement,” initiative between her newly formed company and 52teas.

The first sip is a blueberry explosion! So yummy! I feel like it’s a naughty dessert (or breakfast!) instead of a low-cal tea. I taste sweet, juicy blueberries and a bit of a vanilla or cream flavor, perhaps to get the “cream cheese” taste. So glad this was included in their inaugural run… it’s so delish!

Second steep: the tea bag is still HOT, which tells you how quickly I gulped this down. I upped the rating; this second steep tastes as good as the first. Not all blueberry teas can say that! So often the blueberry flavor is faint, or an afterthought. But this tea is blueberry-in-your-face, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

OMG! One sip of this is utter bliss! I’m not normally a banana fan (there was an Incident in CA with a spider that terrifies me to this day), but I do like banana bread and the flavor of banana, artificial and natural.

This is a natural flavor, pleasing and delicious! I taste buttery banana bread, just like Mom makes. It doesn’t beat Pancake Breakfast as my favorite 52teas black tea, but it’s definitely an any-time-of-day cuppa. Lip-smackin’ delish!

My awesome HoppiTEA, Alana237, sent this in my package so I am enjoying a fragrant cuppa right now.

This is the first tea I’ve tried from Golden Moon. I really enjoy the deep coconut flavor (and fragrance!), but the pouchong tea is what I’d write home about.

It’s grassy and mellow, light but not so much that the coconut overpowers the tea flavor. It’s a comforting, fragrant cup. Delish!

Thanks to Wifey_Woman for sending some of her stash my way!

This is an interesting blend. I’ve had some tummy troubles since Friday so I thought I’d try it out. I love how comforting it smells dry and while it is brewing.

Upon sipping it, though, the taste changes. It’s not a bad change; I taste fennel seed, licorice, and a bit of citrus. It’s a refreshing and tasty tea. And is helping my tummy. It just happens to smell more comforting than it tastes… odd, but still decent. I wouldn’t drink this every day, but it’s a great alternative to just plain peppermint on days when your tummy is finicky.

Read My Lips – this is the best chocolate mint blend, hands down! Thanks to Wifey_Woman for sharing some from her stash. I am officially a David’s Tea fan!

Love the blend of dark chocolate and peppermint. This is a liquid peppermint patty, which is one of my favorite candies. Chocolate and mint are a match made in heaven and sipping this tea will send you to cloud 9!

This blend of chocolate and mint lasted through three steepings, too. Longevity rocks!

P.S. The little lip candies are totally cutie too.

Backlogging – had this the other afternoon. Thanks for sharing, SpecialTEA Brew! This is a delicious, satisfying cup of vanilla tea. I tend to prefer vanilla over chocolate anyway. The interesting feature of this vanilla tea is the flavor: it actually tastes like vanilla beans versus just the artificial vanilla flavor that is in many other teas. I’ll need to test it out iced but hot is a satisfying cuppa!

Tried this iced today – and it’s delish! It’s sweet enough on its own, no sugar or Splenda needed. I steeped it for about two hours in a Diet Snapple bottle.

This reminds me of an Arnold Palmer, you know: a blend of lemonade and tea. Really good and I’m glad I can at least take advantage of green rooibos since red rooibos is my Tea Foe!

This is such a bright, fun, festive tea – perfect for a Friday afternoon. I still need to try it iced. (Please see other tasting notes)

YUMS. Although I am totally biased. :) (Please see other notes.)