Violet

I AM BAAAAAAAACK! So sorry I’ve been away, college is crazy. But now that the weather is getting way cold, I’m drinking more and more tea. Just want to let Angel from Teavivre know that I’ll be getting through the rest of my samples soon, hopefully. It’s been so long, I need to get back into it.

But, before I get back into Teavivre, I received some amazing Teavana teas for Christmas. I drank the other three before this one, but I’m reviewing them out of order. (Sorry.)

Anyways, opening the back the dry smell was fruity and floral, and had that distinctive smell of alcohol. Not majorly, of course, but enough to where you knew the champagne flavor was in there somewhere. A nice smell. The tea itself was pretty, with ACTUAL MINI ROSEBUDS in the mix. Very pretty. :)

Wet the smell was about the same, a bit tarty-fruity. Bubbly could even describe it well.

Taste is the part I like most though. (Who doesn’t?) I must say I am new to Oolong, but I like it none the less. In this tea I can’t really say I can taste the oolong enough to describe it, since I have yet to taste just straight oolong tea. But the strawberry in this is pleasant, and their is a bubbly sweetness that’s really nice. It’s got the champagne flavor, and even though I am drinking it warm and it’s delicious, ice this baby and it’ll be even better, probably. I will update on that once I get around to it.

All in all this tea is very refreshing, and it’s good for a Friday!

So I want to say THANK YOU to Angel at Teavivre, and also apologize for being slow on the reviews. School has made it hard to really sit down and enjoy a cup of tea, though I’ve gotten a few bagged teas in.

To be honest, I’m still adjusting to the different flavors of Chinese tea. I think since Chinese tea is probably the most natural compared to bagged teas or other loose leaf, learning how to taste and like the different flavors has been an interesting challenge. So far, I like many of the teas I’ve tried, and then there are some that I need to taste a few more times.

However, this tea has blown my mind first try. JASMINE BLOSSOMS ARE YUMMY! Or at least in tea, I’ve never eaten a full one. Haha, but no, really, the floral smell hits you right out of the bag and is light enough to not choke you but strong enough to be enjoyed, even with my slightly stuffy nose.

Steeping it’s just as strong, and the first sip I literally went “Ooh!” because there was just this explosion of floral, jasmine awesomeness and then a very light, mellow taste of white tea. It blends so well and is just really pleasant, I have no complaints.

Just for anyone’s reference: This tea steeped really light in color for me, which makes sense because, duh, it’s a white tea, but it was much lighter in color than some white teas I’ve tried. That being said, the flavor was not missing at all, so if you feel that it didn’t steep strong enough, I’d try it first because it is PERFECT for me. Of course, tastes and preparation varies from person to person, so do it your way! Either way, GO DRINK THIS TEA! With a good book or movie! And something sweet to eat with it! (Although I’m craving popcorn…)

UPDATE: Each sip gets better and better! I LOVE THIS TEA!!

Got my braces off, and my orthodontist had teabags by the coffee pot thing, and since there was no hot water, I decided I’d just take a few bags on my way out. I promise, it was legal. LOL

Anyways, this is a nice Earl Grey, very fragrant when you take out the tea bag, looses a bit of it when steeping, but the flavor is very nice. Smooth and good with cream. :)

Thank you so much Angel! Teavivre is just AMAZING! :D

I’m alive, lovely people! I’ve been drinking tea, but mostly bagged, and just quick in between classes or on the weekends. But I’m here! :D

This one…I smelled milk with the dry and steeping, and it’s a nice smell.

The taste is one that I can’t place, to be honest. I’ve got some milk in there, a creamy flavor, and another flavor, kind of floral flavor. It’s…really yummy, but I can’t give it a name.

It’s really good, and I’m going to try it with cream, even though I always feel like I will ruin certain teas with cream.

This tea is really yummy, floral, creamy, just lovely. I am sorry I don’t have a lot of nice descriptors for this tea, but it’s great!

Finishing my pack of this from Azzrian, (who said she had more for me, I think, so I’m okay with finishing it.)

It’s still milky and wonderful, and sweet and has this nice flavor. I put a little bit of cinnamon in it this time, just to give it some kick. I love it just as much as before, and can definitely taste more milk this time.

So I drank some loose leaf yesterday (backlogging again) just because I hadn’t in a while, and this was one from Azzrian I hadn’t tried.

This was…okay, I guess. It wasn’t what I was expecting.

Smell: The coconut is definitely there. No Pineapple, and the coconut almost smells burnt and a little weird. But I like coconut, so I figured I’d try it.

Taste: The coconut is there, but it isn’t a strong, sweet taste like I was expecting, and the pineapple was kind of in the mix but to me it mixed wrong. So it was a weird sweet/burnt/kind of tasteless at times tea.

I finished it, but it wasn’t that great.

Did a latte with this one, too, and LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

The Earl Grey flavor is smooth and rich, and the milk gives it such a wonderful creamy taste. I added a bit of honey, but I can’t exactly taste that, now that I think of it. All yummy, and a short note. :-)

Backlog from yesterday.

I HAVE BEEN AWAY TOO LONG! I’m sorry, Steepster peeps! It’s funny though, I’ve gained a few followers in my absence. So I guess there’s a plus.

Updates on me: Graduated, which I already put in my last tasting note, but it can’t hurt to repeat it. And now I’m prepping for college and moving into a dorm August 23rd. Still drinking all my bagged teas, so my notes may repeat for a while, but as I go back and re-taste I love or hate those teas more. So far, no hating though. :3

This time around, with this tea I made it in a pot on the stove and actually steamed vanilla soy-milk in the tea after it had steeped well enough, so I was able to fully mix the milk in, and it was—AMAZING. My friend made something like this a while back, which she called a Chai Latte, despite it not being that frothy, but instead of using an actual Chai tea bag, she used regular black tea, and then mixed in the spices. Either way, I guess you could call this a latte, but it’s missing whip cream and a bit more frothiness!

Either way, it was amazingly yummy, and I have finally found a way to properly mix Chai and milk to get the perfect taste.

Wow. I am actually lucky to say that I seem to find all the GREAT mint teas, even though I am NOT a big fan of mint. But all the mint teas I have tried are wonderful!

Smell: Minty-cucumbery. And the cucumber is calming and not icky.

Taste: A smooth, mellow mint, kind of in mouthfeel (that cold feeling, you know?) but also mid-swallow and after taste. The first taste/hint is the cucumber, but again, it’s just this subtle taste and it isn’t, well, “vetegable-y.” Not a word, but best thing I had for the moment. So yes, I am very pleasantly surprised on this one. I really do like it. :-)

I am re-visiting this one, because I was walking downstairs to make tea, hadn’t decided on what, and the smells in the air were mixing, somehow, someway, to remind me of Earl Grey. And I immediately was like, “I have to have Earl Grey!”

However, this Earl Grey has a twist to it, this time! For my 18th birthday party in April, I had a nice sized tea party, and we went all out. We also had coffee there, for my coffee loving friends (and me, since I can do coffee every once in a while) and my mother bought a lot of coffee creamers, all with a certain flavor. Well, I have been using some in my regular black teas, and they are all great.

But we have some mini Almond Joy creamers, and I put some in this Earl Grey, and OH MY GOOD GRACIOUS IT IS AMAZING!! Of course, you have to like slight almond, and lots of coconut. Best part is, even though the coconut is very strong in this cup (I’m using a teacup, so small oz size, anyway) you can still taste the Earl Grey. It’s a very sweet, smooth mix and I am really happy with it! :-)

I re-visited this one yesterday, and liked it, though I overdid the sugar/honey factor.

With about one spoonful of sugar, a drop of honey, and 2 minutes steep time, this gives a nice, gingery taste with a pear kick, mainly in the aftertaste. It’s very good, kind of light, definitely a tea best for a refresh. Milk actually goes well with it, and may help lessen the pear for those who think it is a bit too much. Just don’t over do the sugar! :-)

This is a backlog from days/weeks ago. I have mainly been doing one of two things recently: Either drinking my bagged teas, all of which so far I have reviewed, or, unfortunately, drinking no tea at all. I just always forget, or don’t feel in the mood for tea, or any beverage. Or even food. I’m just lazy. :P

But I DID drink this tea! I am just winging it on the steeping time. I don’t remember what I put it as. Sorry.

Taste: Simple and quick. It was a bit too sweet/mapley for me, but I could drink it occasionally, and I’ll be able to finish what I have. Personally though, it was just…not my thing. My reviews are sucking now. Great. I need to drink more of my tea.

Thank you so much Naomi from Joy’s Teaspoon for sending these along! You have been wonderful!

Smell: Very berry. (Berry berry!) And I like that. I like that it is labeled and smells the way it is labeled, you know? I want to smell berries in my tea if that’s what flavor I’m supposed to get. I didn’t look over what type of berries, but I’m going to guess blueberries and blackberries.

Taste: Ooh, yummy! I could taste lots of berry flavor, definitely blackberry. But what I loved is that I could still taste the classic flavor of Earl Grey, but it was very smooth and subtle enough that it let the berries shine. I really loved this tea, and I want more!

Backlog from yesterday evening. I got home from traveling, and was extremely tired, but as it was early evening and not yet bedtime, I didn’t want to sleep. So, I needed a nice and strong caffinated tea, and quick.

On to the note!

Taste: For some reason, regular black teas, or mixtures kind of like English Breakfast always remind me of honey for some reason. I guess it’s just the bold, slightly sweet taste of tea. This tea delivers a nice, rich taste, and gives a sweet aftertaste. All in all, it was a nice tea, not too plain but not too jazzy.

No notes yet.

So, since I like being honest in my reviews, I’m going to admit that this tea tasted much better the second time around, even though I did give it a pretty decent rating the first time. Reason why it’s better: I didn’t have to tamper with it as much to get it to taste good to me.

First time I did this: Steeped 4 minutes at 212 degress, and put in 3 packs of sugar, and a bit of milk, AND some extra chocolate chips. It was wonderful, but it took all that.

Second time (now): Steeped five minutes, at about 205 degrees or so, and added 1 and a half tablespoons sugar (this time regular white, not raw cane in the packet.) I think the extra steep helped bring out the natural flavor much better.

Smell: Still cocoa-y and yummy.

Taste: Way more chocolatey from the start, and a bit more sweet milk chocolate rather than more bitter dark. It also tasted creamier. :-) I’m happy to report I’m upping the rating (my original rating was 83) and I’m hoping to order some of this sooner than later.

I’m not even sure about number ratings, anymore. Or……well, I think I’m going to add the rating after I drink the full cup, or at least halfway through. Random little side note.

Azzrian, this is one of yours. Thanks! :-)

Smell: Dry, this was grassy. Steeping, there is only one scent I can compare it to, and it is going to sound strange but…spinach. Cooked, of course, but yeah, that’s what it reminded me of. And I was slightly turned off for a moment, but then I reminded myself that it doesn’t mean the tea is going to taste bad. Or like spinach. It’s just a grassy tea.

Taste: Grassy, kind of reminding me of green tea a bit, and plant-like. Some other reviews mentioned honeysuckle, and after adding my desired sugar amount, and a tad bit of honey, this is definitely true. It’s a very sweet, floral taste, with almost a honey (before adding more, and after) taste, and I really like it. It’s not overly vegetal, and again, it’s sweeter to me, and I like that. It’s a wonderful balance, and it’s white, so it’s a lighter tea. Nice for afternoon, and good for me as I’m trying to relax.

I guess now would be a good time to note that most of my tasting notes are written after only tasting a few first sips. Most of my good teas though get better deeper in, but don’t change so much that I have to go back and completely re-write a note. So another side note. I do those a lot. Sorry! :)

Finishing the review, not even half a cup done yet, but I think I can rate, and high, too. :-) Nice, soothing cup!

No notes yet.

So a friend let me borrow a bag of this (actually, it is loose leaf, but her sisters put her together a cute giftbox and they made homemade bags with coffee filters) and I highly enjoyed it!

Smell: Earl Grey, but I could definitely smell the vanilla!

Taste: Very, very creamy, the vanilla came out so well, and the usual Earl Grey flavoring was very smooth and delicious. A touch of milk kicked up the creamy factor. All in all, I really liked this tea, and it was a sweet treat. :-)

Note: I’m not sure on the proper instructions for prepping this tea, because it was fashioned into the bags, and since they were thick, the best water temp was WAAAY hot and I had to keep pressing against the bag for a while to get the tea to steep fully. So these are my instructions based on the way mine was made. :-)

I think I lowered the rating on this one a while ago, and I am trying to remember why?? IT’S SO YUMMY! The Bergamot and just wonderful smell and everything in this tea is smooth and amazing. I love it!

I added some vanilla caramel latte coffee creamer to this and it is ABSOLUTELY divine! :-)

Backlog from this morning!

So since I had skipped tea a lot these past few days, I decided I needed to dive back in with a tea that I really liked to remind me why I love tea. (That’s what happens to me when I stop drinking tea for a while—instead of craving it like crazy, for some reason, I feel uninterested and don’t want to make any.)

And since I already added a detailed note for this tea, I am going to just go crazy: OH MY GOODNESS I LOVE THIS TEA SO MUCH!! IT IS SO SO YUMMY AND WONDERFUL AND I TRIED MILK IN IT THIS TIME AND OH MY GOODNESS!!

Now back to the nice, formal stuff: The malty flavor came out a bit this time, along with a citrusy taste and a nice sweet. (The strawberries and lemon, again.) Milk made this tea very smooth and creamy, and it was very nice. I really do love this tea!! (Upped the rating a bit…)

Last Teavivre tea before I go back and re-try the Pureh! Thanks Angel, and I am sorry it took me so long!!

Smell: Dry, it had a grassy/veggie/earthy smell, if that all makes sense. Steeping it was a bit more smoky/vegetal, all good, of course.

Taste: It was very earthy and smoky, and then a nice, sweet aftertaste popped in, though it wasn’t too sweet, which is good. I also decided to add a small bit of honey, and it went very well with this tea. It has been a long time since I’ve had green tea, though, to be honest, so I don’t have anything else to add right now as I have to build my green tea vocabulary and tasting notes back up to remember what is good/bad about it. But do know that I highly enjoyed this tea!!

I AM BACKLOGGING LIKE CRAZY!! This is from…..Yesterday? Sunday? I don’t know. To be honest, I have had several tea-less days, partially because I slept in and wasn’t craving a morning tea, partially because I haven’t had time, and because I was making fruit smoothies recently and enjoyed those!

Anywho, on to this tea. I am, to say again, going back through my bagged teas. And also, I had to re-discover green tea before I tried the green tea I recieved from Teavivre.

This tea was pleasant, with a vegetal taste and a nice, slightly honey-floral type taste going on. This review will be short, however, because I think I steeped it in the same cup that I drank my Pureh in, and that was a bad experience/taste with Pureh, and I think the smell and taste seeped in a bit. So I’m actually going to re-try this tea in a fresh, clean cup. But it was good!

I haven’t been logging or drinking steadily for days. Backlog from…Tuesday morning? (I GRADUATED!) Or was it yesterday? I forgot. Oh well.

I had forgotten how good this was! It’s very flavorful, with just the right amount of rose without being too much, AND there is a cinnamony/spicy chai background to it. It’s really yummy. I was debating trying it with milk, but didn’t know if the rose would curdle it or not? Either way, great tea.