Violet

Sipping now. Will add review and rating after I get deeper into it!

Thanks to Naomi at Joy’s Teaspoon for this!!

Ok, it took a few minutes of tweaking to get this right, but after I did…
OH.
MY.
GOOD.
GRACIOUS!!!!
Yeah, that good. Ok, maybe……a little under that, and I am not really physically showing the excitement, but I can enjoy this tea. A lot.

Smell: Dry, in the bag. Chocolate-y. But dry, unsweetened cocoa chocolate-y. And I’m not too fond of that, usually, but this smelled yummy. Steeping it smelled like that, but kind of burnt, which I’m just going to atrribute it to the fact that it was in BOILING WATER. So yeah. Hot.

Taste: The first sip with no sugar was yucky, and had no real flavor to me. Sorry. Second sip after 1 packet of raw cane sugar, was sweeter, but still no good. Packet #2…eh, almost. A bit chocolatey, but not perfect. It took 3 packets for me, which is ok because I like sweet. I let it cool a bit, added a few extra chocoalte chips, and then took a few more sips.

The chocolate flavor is the bittersweet of dark chocolate, and again, unsweetened cocoa. To me, it is a subtle flavor at first, and then kind of grows, but it isn’t a strong, overwhelming flavor. Honestly, that’s kind of what I want, BUT at the same time I REALLY LIKE THIS TEA. After a few more sips, I added some cream and that finally made it perfectly chocolatey for me and just YUMMY. The chocolate is creamy and rich, but again, a bit bitter. You have to enjoy chocolate that’s not overly sweet (like dark chocolate) and you have to like something that still has the taste of tea. For me, I loved it, though it did take a few adjustments.

I used 1 1/2 teaspoons, 8 oz. of water, 212 degree and 4 minutes steep time. Add 3 packets of raw cane sugar, a few extra chocolate chips, and a little bit of cream and you are good to go! Just don’t go overboard!! :-)

UPDATE: I let this cool a bit, to “warm” rather than hot, and it is SOO GOOD! SO SO GOOD!! The chocolate has gotten a bit sweeter, like milk chocolate, though there is still the bittersweet notes. It all mixes perfectly, and the cream makes it SO MUCH BETTER!! Upping the rating…

Backlog from this morning!!

Thanks to Naomi at Joy’s Teaspoon for this sample, and the great personality! :-) Another perfect Earl Grey!! YAY!!! First off, let me say this now that I have had two loose leaf Earl Greys: I WILL NEVER DRINK BAGGED EARL GREY AGAIN. EVER. IF I DO, I’LL HAVE A SUPER GREAT REASON, OTHER THAN THAT, I’VE GONE CRAZY! Ok, that’s out.

Smell: Dry, in the bag. YUMMY EARL GREY CITRUSY WONDERFULNESS! I love Earl Grey! I love it! Steeping it’s about the same, just muted slightly. Nice dark color.

Taste: Ahh, nice and smooth, the wonderful flavor is just there and good and I love it! It’s a bit sharper than the other Earl Grey I had, but it’s not a bad bitter, it’s a light one, and it is that bitter I find in Earl Grey anyway, but it’s well done. Both this EG and Fusion Tea Room’s EG I LOVE, and I just can’t pick one. Yummy yummy yummy YUMMY!

Again, thanks to Fusion Tea Room for this sample! I must say, it was a very beautiful blend!! Very colorful and it made me smile at how pretty it is! Job well done. :-)

Smell: Dry, in the bag. PEACH!! PEACHY PEACH PEACH! And maybe some berry-ish appley smell? More peach berry than anything else. It was another one that I kept sniffing the bag while I waited for my water to boil. Steeping the peachy smell was still there, though the berry kind of died out and the hibiscus began surfacing. Color was a pretty red-purple, common for hibiscus and berry teas, I’m noticing. Kind of wine like. Yum.

Taste: First sip, with one packet of sugar (in the raw, as always!) It was tart. Not overly so, but a little bit, and the peach was so-so. A bit more sugar, and the peach came out a bit more and the tart died down. I’m not sure what my other tastes are, to be honest, because the tart and peach are the only ones surfacing. I’m going to let it cool for a bit.

time lapse. Warm now, but not hot, and the peach is WAY there, the tart is not bad at all anymore (me and hibiscus are starting to become friends) and I can taste a berry something. Not sure what, but I can taste it. I really like this tea, I think it’s yummy, I can taste all sorts of things, just don’t have a name for them, and I can taste lots of peach, which is good for me, because when I get a peach tea, that’s what I want: peach. (And I LOVE peach!)

I’m going to try this iced in a little bit, and update, because that is how it was suggested, though I think it is good warm. Peach. :-) Yay.

Side note on brewing: The first few times I’ve brewed any of my Fusion tea room teas (the Earl Grey, and the Chocolate Cake) and a few other loose leaf teas I used a tea ball, and they didn’t come out right. Now that I’ved used my bigger tea strainer (not huge though. You can put it in the mug. Perfect size!) all the teas have been perfect. :-) Yay for good tea strainers!! And letting tea breathe!

Update: THIS TEA IS GREAT ICED! But again, it’s also very good warm, so which ever you try and prefer is the way to go!!

I want to send a big shout-out to Thomas at Fusion Tea Room for your amazing service (100 rating, I swear) and the wonderful (and generous) samples. My first review wasn’t great, so please read this one instead if you already saw that one!

This is a re-do of my first review. I am heating the water now, and I am going to ensure I have the proper water temperature. I’m going to let the pot cool for a bit, and then try again.

time lapse Yeah, because I’m not going to make you wait.

Smell: Dry, in the bag. OH MY GOSH OH MY GOODNESS OH MY……Just wow. I love the smell of Earl Grey, and I could just smell this the whole time I am waiting for it to steep. I mean, I don’t know if you can eat tea straight up, but if you could, I would want to eat this. That may be weird, but it just SMELLS SO GOOD TO ME! It’s a light, citrusy (did I spell that right?) aroma, and it isn’t too strong. It’s just….heavenly! :-) As it is steeping, the aroma isn’t as strong, but still as good. I am going to up the rating just because of the smell….

And my temp. slider won’t let me set it at 203 degrees……but 205 isn’t that off, so yeah.

Taste: Ohhh yeah, that’s perfect. This is a very smooth Earl Grey. There is NO bitter in here. None. So I take back my previous statement about Bergomot being bitter in general.Well, ok, I taste a small amount of…not bitter, but just the strong taste of tea in general, you know? But the Earl Grey! The flavor!! THIS IS AMAZING!!! And it’s amazing what temperature change can do! Two packets of sugar in the raw and this is perfect for me. And yeah, you may think my rating is high but THIS IS THE BEST EARL GREY I HAVE EVER TASTED!! It is even a bit better than my favorite, also 100 rated Earl Grey tea. I’m going to have to bump that rating down a bit, since it has been so long since I’ve had that EG anyway. I don’t think I’m ever going back to bagged tea again, not if it comes in a loose form. (Or if it is just one of those really high quality places anyway. I can do that.) I want to just ramble on. I LOVE this!

And this review is supposed to be completely honest. So here is my honesty: The first steep, before I re-adjusted tea temp, wasn’t so good. I could drink it but it wasn’t that good. But now that I have re-done it, THIS TEA IS AMAZING I AM NOT LYING!! BEST EVER! EVER!! And to know that I have CHOCOLATE CAKE HONEYBUSH BY FUSION TEA ROOM THAT I HAVE YET TO TRY? Oh……………boy.

I drank this one last night but it was iffy since I wasn’t using my kettle/tea stuff, I was using a friend’s while visiting. So I didn’t add the tasting note last night because I wanted to make sure I did it right with my own things. :-)

Once again, thank you to Fusion Tea Room for this!!

Smell: Dry, in the bag. Very Cocoa-y. Can’t really smell the orange, and the cocoa is a medium smell, but yummy. It doesn’t smell overly sweet, it smells like natural cocoa, and I like it. Steeping the cocoa is still there, though not as strong. Still yummy though. Makes me excited. The color is a light orange-brown, and I was worried that for some reason it was steeping weak, but the taste for both times is about the same, and this time is strong, so I think I’m doing this right.

Taste: First raw sugar packet, the cocoa is subtle, and the orange isn’t there at all. A little bit more sugar (I like sweet!) and the cocoa is definitely there. The orange is also there, a bit less than the cocoa, but I love the mix. The cocoa is smooth, creamy, and again, not overpowering, and there is a nice citrusy taste, but not sour. It’s all very sweet and pleasant. takes a sip. Oh yeah, this is just….so yummy! I love how I can taste the cocoa, so that the name isn’t lying. The orange…it’s there, but, now that I’ve tasted it again, it’s very subtle, and a bit overpowered by the cocoa, but for me personally, I like that. Upping the rating a bit because it is sweeter than the first few sips let on….

more sips. Yummy. I’m happy with this, and it’s herbal so I can drink this late at night!!! :D

My first cup last night was steeped at 7 mins, but again, it just wasn’t exactly right because I was working with stuff that wasn’t mine. This time, I bumped it up to 8 minutes. If there wasn’t orange in this, I would possibly put cream, but I learned the hard way (before being told) that cream curdles in orange tea. :P But I don’t think it needs it that bad, it would just go nice with the chocolate taste.

I’m very satisfied with it though! YUM!

This is the spiciest, yummiest chai latte ever. This isn’t the first time I’ve had it, and I still love it.

Today though, I have to share this: CHAI TEA LATTE ICE CREAM FLOAT!!! Oh….my…..GOODNESS! It’s….just…heavenly! Pretty much, it’s an awesome dessert/snack, whatever. Yummy. So I had tea, but this time it was a remix! Lol

But for the real chai tea, the Kuerig kind of does everything by itself. So I can’t really give any more info, I’m sorry.

My bag is different, but it is Chai.

Color: Smooth, dark brown before milk. Kind of a caramel light brown after I added a bit of soy milk.

1st sip, 1 pack sugar (raw cane): Mouthfeel (trying out new descriptions, so don’t hold me to errors) fuzzy? Would that be appropriate? It tastes a bit grassy, but not too much. Spicy at the end.

2nd sip, after 1 more pack of sugar, and (vanilla) soy milk: smooth, warm and very (but not too much!) spicy. Yummy cinnamon and other flavors. Nice.

Once I perfect the hot milk mix, I know it’ll get even better, but at the moment, I am content. I love it. :-)

I don’t remember this tea being so……bland. It may have been a bit old, but until I (possibly) get more, I am keeping this review the same. Look out for updates, though not anytime soon.

Color: dark brown, typical black tea.
Smell: A bit fragrent like most Earl Greys, but not strong.

Taste: Dull, just dull. And with a hint of bitter. And boring. And….I have no more to say, really, because this tea didn’t have anything to offer me. Sorry, Twinings.

Orange teas are one of my favorite types of tea, so I usually have high expectations for orange teas. Unfortunately, this tea didn’t quite reach my high standards, but didn’t completely fail, either.

Color: A reddish-black tea, smooth color, not too dark, not too light.

Taste: Bentley must be known for subtle fruit flavors. I can taste the orange in this a bit more than the other fruit teas I’ve had so far (raspberry, and one other, I think?) but this has a slightly stronger orange taste, so I’m happy. It’s not too much, could even be a bit more, but with a fair amount of sugar, it’s actually pretty nice.

The first time I tasted this, I think I steeped it a bit too much and didn’t sweeten it right. So this is my second try I had it this morning after breakfast.

Color: It’s a nice medium green with yellow undertones.

Taste: It’s got the same smooth flavor of green tea with a definite hint of ginger and pear. The ginger is strong, but good strong. And the pear is light and flavorful. I happened to really love it, even though it was simple.

No notes yet.

I love peach, and I think this satisfies as far as a peach tea goes. It’s a simple black tea with a nice, smooth peach flavor. Not as subtle as Bentley’s other fruit teas, I’m glad I can actually taste the peach. Maybe a bit of cream would do nice, but I have yet to try it. A little bit of sugar makes the peach even peachier, and I think it would do fabulously well if iced. Over all, a good tea.

I’ve had this tea twice now, and finally am able to sit down and review it. I am also pleased to announce this is my first loose tea, and I am very happy with it. It is true, I must say—loose tea tastes so much better.

This tea I think is meant to be a holiday tea, and the title “nutcracker sweet” definitely fits. It’s a very spicy blend with cinnamon notes and other spices, mixed in a smooth black tea.

Sweeten to taste, though it won’t need much, and maybe some cream will make it even better! :-)

To say this tea isn’t amazing is…..I can’t think of it. I love this tea, for so many reasons!

Reason number one: It is, indeed, a black tea, but it isn’t strong, and it has a very light orange flavor that is still strong enough to be tasted.

Reason number two: It takes to sugar well. I’ve been able to put lots of sugar in without overpowering it. That being said, it doesn’t need too much either. You’ll always find that happy medium.

Reason number three: It has a very light orange tint in color, and you can smell the orange. I always judge teas first by eyes and nose. :-)

Lastly: IT IS JUST SO GOOD AT ANY TIME!! It’s just so yummy!

Note: I have steeped it anywhere between 3 to even 5 or 6 minutes. It depends on your tastes. I usually settle for a lower steeping time as it seems to do best.

The bag that the green tea raspberry is also the same for this one, but this is black tea. Just a side note, I’ll change the picture later. :P

I happen to like this tea. :) It’s a smooth black tea with a subtle raspberry flavor. It’s not really strong, and it could possibly be stronger, but I like it. A little bit of sugar to taste and it’s a good cup. Over all, a nice tea.

No notes yet.

Talk about bitter Bergamot. This tea……….is ok. Maybe alright. I wish I could give it an astounding review because…..I love Wissotzky Tea, and I love Earl Grey. But, unfortunately, this has a very bitter flavor. And the scent was amazing, it had a nice, dark rich color, and it steeped well and EVERYTHING.

And then I taste it and it’s……eh. A little bit more sugar makes it a bit better, and maybe some cream might have helped. I’ll enjoy it enough to finish the box, but I don’t think I’ll be trying this brand of Earl Grey again. sigh It had so much promise!

I think I rate my teas way too high, I am noticing. :-) But when it comes to Earl Grey, I like the strong flavor, as long as it isn’t bitter, and so far, in all of my Earl Grey teas, they all deliver.

As of today, I have begun researching the Bergamot used to flavor the tea. I can now use a name to label the flavor. Yay! So this log isn’t going to be long, or descriptive. I love the flavor of Earl Grey, and my top favorite brands, this one included, give that flavor without being overly bitter, and a nice sweet that will allow for a little bit more sugar, but won’t require a lot to reach my desired sweetness pitch. This particular brand goes very well with cream, unlike one or two others I’ve tried, even though EG seems to be a tea good with cream/milk/etc. So I love this tea, I think it’s great, and I’m going to continue to enjoy it!

As of right now, this is my all time favorite brand of Earl Grey. And there is a simple reason why: to me, it has the best and strongest flavor. Earl Grey is known for it’s flavor, hands down. So when I open up a container of Earl Grey, I expect to smell Earl Grey, first off, and second, have that scent remain or be strengthened when the tea bag meets the water. But this is for tasting, so let me get to that.

As I said before, this has an amazing flavor. It’s classic Earl Grey, with a very rich, smooth flavor. It’s got the right amount of sweetness, and with this brand, I find that I don’t have to sweeten it much, just one level spoonful, maybe a bit of honey if I’m in the mood. I don’t like cream with my tea, usually, and that’s the same with this one, but when I am in the mood for cream/milk/etc, this tea takes to it very well, especially this brand.

I have a lot more to say about this tea, but I don’t want to just ramble on. I love this tea, and I LOVE the round, string free, tea bags. A good tea with no hassle is a winner in my book!

As you can see by my rating, I really like this tea. The first time I tasted it, I think I either steeped it wrong or sweetened too much or maybe both, and I drank it down fast so the taste wasn’t there. Now, I’m by myself, without any distractions, and I think I prepped it right this time. The taste of this tea is very delicate. The first taste is a light rose flavor, and then the sweet spicyness of chai, though this has been lowered compared to regular chai, to allow for the rose flavoring.

The rose flavor is just the right amount to be able to taste it, which lacks in a lot of other “rose” teas I’ve drank, and the definite chai flavor is still there. It’s got a nice sweetness too it, without being overpowering, and I used raw cane sugar, rather than the typical white. I’d say a tablespoon to about two tablespoons of that sugar, give or take based on personal preference, and you’re in the right zone. (I used some leftover sugar packets, so I don’t know how they equate to spoonfuls. You’ll have to test it to your own liking.) All in all, I think this is a fine rose tea, and I can see myself enjoying more in the future!

Note: My water temperature slider isn’t working. :( I don’t know what the typical kettle temperature is as far as the kettle SUPER whistling, but if water boils at 212 then maybe something above that? Sorry, unsure on this one.

I’m drinking this now, so this review will be very fresh.

To start, I must confess I have not mastered the art of properly warming hot milk and mixing it with chai tea. So I happen to enjoy my chai either with or without cream. Luckily, all the chais I’ve enjoyed are good by themselves. (I’m a grammar nazi, and that sounds wrong? I don’t know though.)

Tasting now. Yum. I adore Chai, and W tea has done it right. It’s got all the wondrous spices of Chai, all mixed together to produce that cinnamony, spicy glory. I haven’t researched the ingredients In Chai to be able to name each one I taste, but the cinnamon is there. It has a rich flavor, and it tingles nicely on the tongue. It’s a warming tea, no doubt. I really love this tea!

Best with a medium amount of sugar, or to your own preference. Cream or no cream, that is the question. I take it either way, so do as you like. It steeps best at the longer end of the scale, and I have yet to over-steep chai. Make a cup, curl up in your favorite spot with a book, and enjoy!

Before I get into the taste of this tea, I want to talk about the color. This tea…when they say “Blood” orange, they mean it. The color has an orange color, most definitely, but it is red orange, to say the least. Put it in a black cup, and it looks a bit like blood. To avoid that creepy feeling, I’d stick to any other color of china, glass, mug, etc. So all in all, I love the color, minus the vampire scare. XD

Now onto taste: This is an orange lover’s tea. I happen to be an orange lover. :-) It has a VERY strong citrus-y taste, obviously, orange being the major one. You take a sip and you are greeted with a strong sour, which then quickly transforms to a sweet orange flavor. Proper sweetening to taste will change the speed of that transformation, or if there is a sour taste at all. I have just started using Agave Nectar, and about a tablespoon and a half (that’s guessing though, need to go back and measure exactly) gets a nice sweet without overpowering the tangy of the orange. So it’s a sweet-and-sour deal, and if you like orange, you’ll LOVE this tea.