Peter Azak

There is a strong potpourri scent when opening the bag of leaves, followed by a sweet hint of coconut. The potpourri is a little annoying, as it can give me headaches, so I can briefly take this scent.

The leaves are a nice mixture of bright and dark greens with deep red petals. There is a very detailed texture, with full leaves, curled and uncurled, and stems.

Steeping gives a deep and clean golden color, with a better sweeter coconut aroma.

The flavor is all white tea. The coconut is a subtle touch, the safflower very difficult to detect. But, it all blends extremely well with the white tea, which is beautifully dark and clean, with a slight astringency.

The aroma of the dry leaves left me worried this would be wholly floral, but upon brewing, the coconut scent had assured me that this is a quality white tea blend.

I’ve owned a tin of this tea before, but for some reason, never tried it. Fortunately, grocery stores stock it quite regularly, so it was pretty easy to get another tin.

The leaves are quite detailed and twisted, with a distinct steely cool gunpowder scent.

Steeping gives the leaves a warmer and very surprising aroma, very fine quality and greatly enjoyable to just take in.

The brew is a very deep earthy green color, with an equally earthy green tea scent.

The flavor is extremely earthy, with a nice strong toasted green tea taste and little astringency. It isn’t too strong, a nice stable straight flavor.

The strength is enough to make you aware, but overall mellow enough to keep you relaxed. Although the leaves were more interesting, the brew was more than enjoyable.

This is very much a proper coffee alternative. I am reminded of the hazelnut coffee sweetener, with a nice sweet nutty aroma.

Steeping lessens the sweetness, but gives a more full coffee-like scent with hazelnut highlights.

The flavor is a very rounded nutty chocolate, with subtle hints of the hazelnut and coconut. I like that it works unsweetened, with a very mellow characteristic.

Not bad, it would probably be better as an early afternoon pick-me-up, with a bit of rock sugar.

This will be the first tea to try in my new Kati tea brewing system from Tea Forte.

The leaves remind me of Tea Forte’s Sweet Orange Spice, which is also very cinnamon-y and festive.

Because the tumbler is smaller than my Starbucks/Bodum double-walled glass, I used only 1 teaspoon of leaves instead of my typical 1.5 – 2 teaspoons.

Steeping gives off a slightly concerning pale cinnamon scent, akin to the pale character of typical teabags, which makes for a more slight disappointment.

The flavor is interesting; there is a very barky spice that tries to follow through, but you also have that underlying pale taste. There is also a dull sweetness, which somewhat improves the pale flavor, but not significantly.

This is not bad, better than your typical teabag, but not on par with how delicious the Sweet Orange Spice surprised me.

I had purchased this tea many times before, and with those many times never had gotten to actually trying it. I had tried Twinnings Gunpowder Green loose leaf, and can recall my impressions of an abnormally strong tea.

Upon opening the sealed tin, you are invited with a very strong citrus aroma. It is stronger and sweeter than what you would expect citrus to be, very bittersweet. Mixed in is a strong floral scent, but the citrus is prominent and potent.

Steeping brings out that strong floral scent, as the citrus becomes more subtle. The liquor is a deep topaz and very dark.

The flavor maintains a strong floral base, with the citrus appropriately subtle. There is a light astringency, and you feel the bottom of the black tea flavor.

What a rather perfectly affordable and accessible tea to wake up to. It has earned it’s place on my tea shelf as a morning tea at the office.

Teabag time!

The aroma is slightly smokey, slightly sweet, but very subtle and light. Annoyingly subtle and light, actually.

The flavor is very weak, with a slight astringency. It is a very subtle smokey green taste.

It is indeed delicate, but also leaves too little to the imagination. I would say it is stronger than most run of the mill teabag teas, but not strong enough for a proper oolong.

I don’t believe I’ve ever had mandarin orange tea before, much less a mandarin orange and spice tea.

The aroma is exactly what it says on the tin: sweet orange and spice. Very festive, and appropriately so, as it is mandarin oranges mixed with cinnamon.

I used one and a half teaspoons of leaves, which should give a significantly spicy brew. The color is a brilliant red, with a very cinnamon scent.

But, the flavor. Oh, the flavor. There is a nice slight biting of spice, followed by the warming sensation of sweet mandarins. It is close to a light Chai, with the cinnamon and cloves.

It surprises how sweet this tea is, with not too much a kick. Just enough spice to work with the very sweet oranges. In fact, I am a little suspicious on how this tea is so extremely sweet.

This is a wonderfully sweet surprise, and probably my favorite tea from this batch of Tea Forte tins I have recently bought.

The scent of the leaves is so alarmingly sweet, it sort of reminds me of biting into a chocolate covered cherry; such a decadently fruity aroma mixed with green tea and subtle nutty almonds.

The liquor is a light copper tone, and a little cloudy. But the aroma is still very cherry, with a stronger hint of almond and less of green tea. Very interesting.

Once it hits your lips, the flavor is a very subtle and smooth almond, with the strong cherry following. The green tea gives a nice slight astringency, but this is all cherry and almonds.

I am not sure why, but I have Grizzly Bear’s new album playing in my head as I am sipping this. I’m not complaining, it’s just a little strange.

This blend is very balanced and satisfying, but it is the aroma that is the star; very festive, lush and beautifully sweet.

No notes yet.

As I recall my last time having Lapsang Souchong, it was from David’s Tea sampler set. This particular tea stands out significantly, with it’s strong potent and complex smokey aroma that would remind you of a campfire around fresh pine.

Tea Forte’s is no different, with equally strong leaves that just captivate and excite your whole body, transporting you to a great northern wilderness, surrounded by pine, surrounding an open fire-pit. Very tranquil.

The beauty is that it is also reminiscent of my backyard, which is the beautiful northern British Columbia.

The liquor itself is an unmistakable deep amber, that is also surprisingly clean, (I only recall colors reminiscent of mahogany) and does not let up on the smokey aroma.

The flavor is not as strong as it’s aroma would lead you to believe. It does retain it’s smokey traits, but you can also trace some smooth nutty flavors, and a slight astringency.

I can see myself drinking this tea overlooking a lake, after a nice morning or evening run.

My mother bought this, as I had convinced her to because she was very interested in how it would be, both in flavor and with all the advertised health benefits of antioxidants.

She doesn’t take to caffeine very well. Fortunately, this tea comes in a tin as whole leaves. So, I told her that you can simply wash the tea leaves before your actual brew, so there is less caffeine when you actually steep your cup of tea.

The thing is, I didn’t want her to waste a cup of tea, so I took the caffeine filled cup and steeped her a less caffeine brew.

The leaves are odd, and fun, with a very subtle fresh scent overpowered by the fruit and cucumber. The blueberries are very prominent.

Steeping gives a nice clean lime color, with a light fresh mint aroma, and subtle cucumbers and blueberries. So far, extremely satisfying.

The flavor is very fresh, very minty green with a hint of fruit. It is quite invigorating, as the mint and cucumber combined give it a very whole and healthy flavor in a light and cool breeze.

The cucumbers make this tea. Extremely fresh and extremely satisfying.

We had dinner at a fairly prominent “fancy” restaurant with a Hawaiian theme. Very lovely food, very lovely location, and a very cute waitress that had a cool hospitable personality. (irrelevant, I know, but also very important to document)

I decided to try some tea, as I have never done there; I was happy they use Mighty Leaf, as I do seem to like some of their teabags.

The aroma is very green with a faint hint of mint, not as strong as I would have liked, but better than what I’m used to with most mint teabag tea.

The flavor is also very green, with a very faint hint of mint. Very light, which might have been due to the not very hot, but warm water it was steeped in.

It wasn’t bad, but could have been stronger, especially with the mint.

Today, I decided to be daring and try the rooibos tea I was sold on at Teavana’s Park Royal location in West Vancouver.

Once I mentioned I have an affinity for Chai teas, she instantly mentioned this tea. And, almost as instantly, I was skeptical of it. But, as soon as she opened the canister, the spicy aroma filled the air. It is simply divine, a beautiful potpourri of Chai spices and coconut, which sold me instantly.

Steeping gives a nice dark Chai red, with a very light spicy aroma. The scent is not as powerful as, say Teavana’s Maharaja Chai oolong, but the spice is there. Thankfully, the rooibos does not overpower, more works with the spice. This made me excited to actually taste.

This is an interesting Chai flavor. It is definitely not as bitingly strong as the Maharaja Chai oolong, but almost as spicy.

I would expect the rooibos and tulsi would have something to do with the pale floral base, giving me this weird feeling wondering how this spicy kick came from nowhere.

It’s a little disappointing that there are no coconuts to be found in the final brew, as there is prominent listing of coconuts. This also might be due to the rooibos and tulsi.

Nonetheless, a strange yet satisfyingly spicy brew, best sweetened. It would probably be better iced, as I would anticipate iced would bring out a better flavor.

I have decided to revisit this tea, among others, as it has been sitting on my tea shelf for close to a year.

Unlike Shaktea’s Marzipan, Cola Licorice doesn’t seem to be affected by the time just sitting there unsteeped.

There is still a very warm and nostalgic deliciousness to this tea, that is probably even more nostalgic given it’s age; the very brown colors of the 70’s, the stale dusty faux-sophistication scents of wood and polyester.

It’s a strange yet comforting feeling, considering I was born in the 80’s, but very much fuels the attraction of this tea.

I’m not quite sure when there is an appropriate time to drink this particular tea, maybe on a snow day, when roads are closed and you are stuck at home, sprawled out on your shag carpet close to the fireplace.

It’s been a while since I’ve had whole yerba mate, as it is usually blended with something stronger.

The leaves are very light, almost delicate, with a varied mixture of light and dark greens. They have a very light fresh scent, extremely light; there is almost no scent really to pick up.

Steeping gives a more earthy brew, in both appearance and aroma, with a very deep and cloudy green.

The flavor is very green and very earthy. There is a light sweetness, very mellow and soft, but it tastes and feels healthy.

I feel it needs something, as a regular straight mellow drink would be quite tedious. Maybe some lemon or lime juice, a bit of honey. Nonetheless, a very healthy tea.

I had just recalled drinking this tea over the past weekend.

We had decided to take a trip Saturday to see Taken 2 in a better local theater, so we decided to also have dinner in a favorite seafood place that faces the Pacific Ocean.

Besides the Starbucks Chai latte, I did not have any other tea that day, so I decided to compliment my salmon seafood salad with a green tea.

While steeping, I wasn’t really sure why the green tea didn’t necessarily smell like a proper green tea, as it had a healthy scent of mint.

After about 5 minutes of steeping, I removed the teabag from the tiny pot and noticed the tag read “Chai Green”.

I kind of laughed, as it wasn’t a green tea I had asked for, but I don’t mind Chai teas at all… but I do mind Chai teabags.

The flavor is a little off, as it is trying to be two things it can’t, and there isn’t enough of either to give a concrete body or actual flavor.

You cannot taste the green tea, let alone smell it, and the Chai spices are barely there, giving it quite a weak flavor.

The teabag had a stronger scent than it’s proposed flavor, but fortunately I didn’t really have any expectations.

I should have used sugar as well.

The leaves are quite large and full. There are very deep green details, very natural. There is also a nice woody scent with a subtle sweetness. Very clean.

Steeping gives a very bright, clean and blonde brew that is quite striking. The aroma is more woody, less clean, but still maintains a subtle sweetness.

And that subtle sweetness carries on into the flavor, with a very clean woody body, refreshing and mild.

Fitting I give a simple tea a simple note, as it is not so much about being surprised as it would just be about being satisfied of a very clean Chinese green tea that is very refreshing and relaxing.

The leaves are varied shades of deep green, with a sweet yet toasted grassy aroma. There is little detail, as the leaves are very light and very flat, which is kind of a disappoint, but they are full leaves nonetheless.

Steeping brings out more of that nice sweet toasted aroma, overpowering the grassy scent, which is less of a disappointment. The brew is a nice light jade color, with pieces of leaves floating to the bottom.

I like the subtleness of the grassy flavor, appropriately pulling to the backseat, allowing the sweet toasted flavors to come through.

There isn’t really much else to this tea. It is a very toasty green tea, with subtle notes of grass, but sweet, and toasted.

For some reason, in late July, I decided to buy over $400 worth of tea from Teavana, mainly from their heavily promoted Summer iced tea line. I had also mentioned that Chai teas are very much a favorite of mine, so I was recommended the Zingiber Ginger Coconut rooibos tea.

This tea has a pale but sweet and gingerly coconut aroma, subtle and quite lovely, which is strange as I do not particularly like the smell of rooibos, but the coconut and ginger sold me almost instantly.

The tea has been sitting on my tea shelf since then, untouched and unsteeped. Until now.

It is a bit odd that I chose to blend it before steeping by itself, but when I looked it up on Teavana’s website, I was surprised to see that they say it blends well with one of my very favorite teas, Maharaja Chai Oolong.

Both teas blended, the aroma is quite outstanding. The ginger and Maharaja Chai really give it a nice spicy delicious scent. I could not wait to try it.

It does blend rather well; as the spiciness of the Chai can overwhelm everything else, the rooibos seems to settle it down, allowing a hint of coconut to peek through the Chai and ginger. But, oh my, it is all about the Chai and ginger.

Yes, I usually have a reluctance to rooibos teas, as my experiences with them are not the best, but blending with an already outstanding Chai makes it pretty good. Hopefully, it is just as good by itself.

This blend was a sample that came with a recent order I had made.

Not a lot of rooibos teas catch onto my radar, much less rooibos blends, but it is summer and this is one of the teas that Teavana is heavily promoting, one must give it a try.

The leaves, both dry and steeping, give off a faint fruity aroma. I can tell this is a very sweet tea, and I believe the scent is quite dark. It isn’t a familiar sweet scent, rather interesting and made me all the more curious.

The first initial sips give a very fruity rooibos flavor, the blueberry very dominant. I like that there wasn’t much rock sugar in this sample, as complaints of it being too sweet had me a bit worried, but I can see how more rock sugar can make this blend sickeningly sweet.

This could probably use less rooibos and rose, and more pineapple, as it is too dark. It also might be that this blend probably shouldn’t be consumed hot, but rather iced, which I could see making this more enjoyable.

Despite, through the rooibos and rose, there are nice fruitful flavors that I do enjoy, and it seems there are more details that I might catch with second or third brewings.

A rather middling blend, but I’d reserve a final decision after trying this iced.

A co-worker, who is working on waning herself off of coffee, purchased this tea from a local heath store; and seeing as how I’m the recognized local tea connoisseur, she had peaked my curiosity.

The aroma given from steeping is extremely promising, with an almost rich woodsy atmosphere, deeply green, very dark, and a slight smokey tinge. The color is a very satisfying deep and handsome red of pu-erh.

The flavor is amazingly rich, with a smokey earthy taste that empowers it’s roasted base; this is the flavor of a fresh forest.

There are times when a teabag tea surprises me. This teabag is one of them.

This was one of the few personal favorites I had been advised to try by Laura at Teavana’s Park Royal North location, as I had pointed out their Gyokuro Imperial green tea. She had said that most do not like the strong grassy flavor of Gyokuro Imperial and mentioned Emperor’s Clouds and Mist.

As she described Emperor’s Clouds and Mist, I had mentioned Darjeeling green tea being similar, which surprised her as she didn’t know that existed.

And, that is exactly what this tea reminded me of, was DarjeelingTeaXpress’ 2011 Darjeeling Autumn Flush Puttabong Green Tea.

The leaves are beautifully and tightly rolled, with light to deep green colors. The scent is light and soft, very smooth and sweetly earthy.

Steeping gives a very light greenish white liquor, with a light and delicate grassy aroma.

The flavor is a very smooth earthy taste, very bright and delicate. There is very little astringency, more a slight freshness in the aftertaste.

It is surprising how overall delicate this green tea is, but it is not surprising how overall delicious and enjoyable it is as well. Because of it’s delicacy, I can see myself drinking this at any time of the day.

I tend to make it into the office every morning earlier than expected. Usually, co-workers arrive roughly around 9 AM, where I make it in at 8:30, sometimes even earlier. One of the great things about arriving early is having extra time to properly make tea.

I’ve been drinking this tea early in mornings since I bought the 50 gram tin, and early on I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Well, this is the last of the buttered rum tea.

The scent of the leaves whenever you open the tin is impeccably buttery, it never seems to go away opened, scooped, steeped or consumed.

The handsomely deep red tone is a great touch, contributing to it’s early evening rum appearance rather than giving an early morning pick-me-up face.

It is unfortunate that the flavor has become less consistent. At first, it had burst with sweet buttery goodness, the coconut and vanilla giving a feisty Caribbean feel. As the months wore on, so did the butter, fading to a paler and darker flavor, which I would probably credit the cornflower petals.

Believe me, it is still much better than Teavana’s Amandine Rose, which is more pale flower petals than a proper alternative to the holy grail Almond Biscotti. I still enjoy every cup, but the diminishing returns tell me this requires less leaves in a smaller tin and enjoyed more infrequently for a rarer taste.

I had about half a canister left of this tea, which I had not touched in quite some time. I decided I had better finish this and start looking for a better marzipan.

So, I have been drinking this tea multiple times every day all this week.

This tea is still pale, not very sweet, or at all buttery, and at times can be an unhelpful bitter.

It requires more sugar than I would prefer to use to better sweeten, almost a wasteful amount.

It’s probably going to get annoying, but I still long for Teavana’s discontinued Almond Biscotti, the buttery flavor just cannot be beat.