Vanilla Bean Black Tea

OH CRAP. NOW i know what it’s like to have too many teas to try!
swaps from TastyBrew, Shadowfall, Dinosara, Shelley_Lorraine have done me in.
with whatshesaid, Sil, Scheherazade, and CHAroma swaps still to come!
what have i done!?!?! hahahaha
it’s craziness. it’s chaos. teasanity! and VERY FUN!
but - i NEED a SYSTEM. i feel like i should apologize to Scheherazade and CHAroma for being such a disorganized swap partner this time around. i’ve lost complete track of what teas i have and what teas i am craving and what tea is still en route or in process.
i’m really new to the swapping and i kinda dove in headfirst with a flourish. as i usually do with everything.
i’m not a half measure type of person.
How do you guys do it?!
How do you make sure you don’t get swaps of things you already have?
Or have already tasted?
and how the hell do you decide from a mountain of tea what to drink next?!?!? haha
these are the funnest problems to have.

yesterday as i had a mountain of little tea swap samples spread out in front of me in the kitchen my boyfriend was like, “do you have a whole world of online friends that i don’t even know about?”, like it had just occurred to him that the tea comes from people (giving and thoughtful and passionate people), and i was like “duh ya”.

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this tea. it’s nice. i like it. but it’s not super exciting.
i followed the steeping directions pretty closely. it is vanilla but not really enough. and the tea base isn’t thrilling either. it’s a middle tea. but this is the 296th unique tea i’ve tasted! all thanks to swapping. and this one specifically thanks to TastyBrew.

Okay, I think I know what is throwing my taste buds off. It’s cocoa nibs! Why are there cocoa nibs in a vanilla tea? This would be better without them. As far as vanilla black teas, my favorite was ESP Emporium’s. I had a sample of Lupicia’s that I didn’t like….too much like rum. I wonder why vanilla teas are so different across companies. Now I know why some of you steepsterites have been searching for the perfect vanilla tea. This one misses the mark for me.

Made a pot of this to share with my Mom. Used the smaller cups so there’s an extra cup for one of us.

I like the vanilla. It’s nicely strong and bold and it’s a very pleasant taste. I do not like so much the Ceylon base and my mother agreed when I talked to her. There’s just something not quite right with this combination. This ranks around the middle of the pack for vanilla black teas. This would have been much much better had the Steap Shoppe chosen an Assam or something for their base. Then I would buy again. In this instance, not going to.

perfect blend of vanilla with the black tea.

I love this tea. The vanilla beans give it a smooth, rich taste.

This is a delicious tea and the favorite of many of my friends and family.

It wasn’t overly strong and it was different from most Vanilla’s I have had so far…a neat difference!

One of my absolute favorite black tea’s. I must say this is a truly captivating tea with a smooth vanilla taste and delightful aroma.