the quiet life

I reeeeeeally don’t want to do work today. This week. This month, really, lol. So I decided another cup of tea was in order. It is, after all, a more delicious way to spend my time. :P I was in the mood for genmaicha and was feeling pretty sad that I hadn’t brought my ginormous bag of Kyoto Rice with me today, until I remembered that I DO have my Den’s samples with me! Though I drank my Genmaicha Extra Green teabag sample, I still had the whole loose tea sample of it. Yay!!

I gotta say, the loose leaf version has a really scary look to it, hahaha. Everything’s covered in the matcha, which gives it this glowy, fuzzy, so-bright-it’s-unnatural green look. I found it minutely entertaining. :P (This is the time of day where I go a liiiiittle bit crazy from wanting to go home so badly.)

Anyway, I think I didn’t use enough leaf per amount of water, as it doesn’t taste quite as strongly awesome as it did with the teabag, but it’s still tasty, and still hits the spot! :D

One hour and 5 minutes until I can go leave…

Sample 4!

After the smokiness of Jackee Muntz this morning, I felt the need for something with some sweetness, and this sounded good to me. I was a bit worried about the strength of the licorice taste, but I do like licorice. I just wasn’t sure I’d like drinking it. :P

The leaves smelled nice and licoricey and sweet, and perfect for the mood I was in.

Thankfully, the tea itself had just a hint of licorice flavor combined with an overall freshness and sweetness.

This kind of tastes like pizzelle with anise, but a bit less bakey. :P I like!

This isn’t a tea I would drink regularly, but it’s great for today! :)

This is a tasty, tasty tea. Definitely woke me up this morning, which is awesome because I really needed it! (Getting up when it’s still dark out is so hard. :( )

First steep was bold and smokey. Mmm. Kiiiiinda made me feel like I’d had bacon for breakfast. Not a bad thing. :P A little odd, though, but I can’t really complain. I used a lot of tea, and I was worried about it having that mouth-drying-out thing going on, like when black tea is too strong, but it didn’t have that at all! Very smooth. :) I didn’t get the caramel taste that others have mentioned, so I decided to try a second steep to see what would happen.

Second steep is a bit sweeter and a little less smokey than the first steep, but not any less flavorful, and it definitely retains its smoothness. Still not getting any caramel, but shrug it’s still really yummy. :) It makes me feel like I’m snuggled in a blanket in front of a fire, which is great for this freezing, miserable February weather.

I’ll have to keep experimenting for that caramel awesomeness, but it’s still an enjoyable tea without it. :)

No. 3 of my sampler! I was REALLY excited to try this, ’cuz it just sounded sooooo good.

The leaves smell sweet and caramely, but not overly so. There’s still definitely the scent of earthy tea under there. The combination smells really yummy.

The tea itself… has an odd, slightly bitter aftertaste. It’s possible I steeped for too long. The package said 2-3 mins, and I did 3, so this could have been my own fault. But aside from that, it has a nice, lightly sweet flavor that I really enjoy. The caramel/sugar flavor does not overpower the oolong, which I’m really happy about! I’m definitely a fan. Overall, I’d have to say it tastes earthy but sweet.

Perhaps I’ll have to add this to my collection (and not oversteep it next time)! :)

Second Golden Moon sample!

The leaves of this tea smell like pear and flowers. I didn’t really get a honey sense from it. In any case, the scent was so strong, I was a bit afraid of what it would taste like!

The tea itself tastes mostly like pear juice. The black tea gets hidden behind that flavor, though it does temper the juiciness, I’m sure. Still not really getting honey from this, but the pear really comes through. The flowers, which I thought were a bit strong-smelling in the dry leaves, are just a hint behind the pear. This is also a very sweet tea.

Overall, I’m not wowed by it. It tastes a bit too much like juice and not enough like tea for me. :\

This is a really really tasty tea! I think I prefer Den’s Genmaicha Extra Green, but I really like this one too! (Which is good, ‘cuz I have a 4oz bag of it. :P) It’s warm and toasty, with a nice balance between the green tea and the toasted rice. Mmmm.

My Golden Moon sampler came! Yaaaay! :D I’m drinking this one this morning, because I need some caffeine. :P

This smelled so good when I opened the bag! Unfortunately, I’m a bit disappointed by the tea itself, as I like the aftertaste more than the tea. Based on the scent, I was anticipating a much richer taste, but I do enjoy the sweet vanilla aftertaste.

LOVE this! This is just the right combination of everything. I love the smoothness of it, and the roasty taste of the rice. I’m definitely going to have to get some of this!

I’m also really loving the fact that Den’s Tea really transports me back to the time I spent in Japan. It’s funny how tastes can do that!

Mmmm houjicha. ♥ This has a smooth, nutty flavor that I really really like. :D I’ve definitely had this in restaurants before (well, maybe not Den’s, but some kind of houjicha), and it gives me such a good, relaxed feeling, I can’t help but enjoy it! :)

This isn’t my favorite sencha ever, but it’s quite tasty! :) It’s smooth and earthy. I like it! But I’m still searching for my favorite sencha.

YAY! My Den’s sampler came yesterday! Unfortunately, the first tea I tried (this one) was expressly the type of green tea I DON’T like. :( It just tastes too vegetal for me, with some bitterness I’m not a fan of. I can tell, though, that this is high quality stuff. It’s just not the type I like.

Oh well. On to the next cup!

Second Mighty Leaf sample. This tea’s got a zing! The ginger and mint in it makes my tongue tingle. :P It’s a nice, citrusy herbal, reminding me vaguely of Good Earth’s Green Tea with Lemongrass (which I love). It feels like this would be a good comfort tea if I have a cold, because of the citrus. (I like citrus when I’m sick. What can I say?) I don’t think this would ever become a staple of mine, but I do enjoy it and am glad I tried it. :)

Got this as a free sample with my Mighty Leaf order. It’s okay. I really like the strength of the vanilla in it. It brings some smoothness and sweetness to the tea. But the black tea that’s used in this isn’t the best, and it doesn’t complement the vanilla taste very well, in my opinion. All in all, I’m glad I tried it, but I wouldn’t buy it. (It does taste better as it cools, though!)

This is exactly what I’ve been looking for in a straight black tea! It’s bold and flavorful. Kind of malty, a tiny bit smokey. Smooth. And perfect!

Yum!! This tea is really delicious and refreshing. I bet it would taste great iced, too!

I added a little bit of Teavana’s South African Rooibos to it, too, and it makes the fruitiness a little bit more subtle. I also like the flavor the red rooibos adds to this. (The summary of this tea says there’s red rooibos in it already, but the bag it came in says there’s only green. Hmm.)

Anyway, this is exactly what I didn’t even know I was in the mood for today!

This has a very strong coconut flavor that stands out the most out of everything, but it’s a really refreshing tea and I quite enjoy it! It reminds me of summer, and I’m looking forward to trying it iced, as well as blending it with some of my other teas. I would definitely recommend this. :)

Only brewed this once so far, and wasn’t all that impressed. It turned out a bit flat. It does have a nice nutty flavor, though.

Tried this a second time iced with some sugar. Still NOT a fan. I guess I’ll have to try blending this with other things. I just don’t care for it on its own. :(

I ordered this tea online, and I have to say I was really nervous to try it, since the ginger overpowered the scent. However, when brewed, this is very delicious! I find it to have a nice balance of flavors, and I like the kick the ginger gives it.

Also tried brewing this with Black Dragon Phoenix Pearls, which really brought out the chocolate.

I really enjoy this tea. It’s simple, but tasty. :)

Tried steeping the leaves a second time, though, and it was NOT tasty. :(

This is a very delicious tea, with a really nice balance between the mint and the chocolate, with a bit of a nutty flavor as well. So far, I haven’t added sugar when I’ve had it, as I don’t like adding things to my tea unless it’s iced! But I do think it would benefit from a little bit of sugar, so I will try this next time. Definitely a tea I would recommend. :)

Brewed this once so far, and I wasn’t impressed, as it turned out rather flat. It did improve as it cooled. Next time I will use more tea, I think, and maybe add a bit of sugar.

You really have to like jasmine to enjoy this tea, as the jasmine pretty much overpowers everything else, in my opinion. I’m not that big a fan of jasmine, so I was rather disappointed by this tea, unfortunately. Though the jasmine does give a nice sweet flavor to the tea, I would prefer for the other flavors to come forward a bit more, but I can’t say I hate this tea. I just find it rather so-so.

This is quite tasty mixed with Teavana’s Rooibos Sweet Amore, so that’s how I’ve been drinking it lately. The Sweet Amore adds some light, fruity flavors that bring the jasmine flavor to the background a bit more. I very much like this combination! Next, I will try it with the Rooibos Tropica, as Teavana suggests.

Brewed this one a bit strong the first time, but it was still tasty. Next time, I tried blending it with Haute Chocolate Rooibos, and that was a very delicious and chocolatey combination. Then I brewed it alone again, using less tea than the first time, and it was still a bit strong, but still delicious. Next time I’ll try even less tea. :P

This is a very flavorful black tea, malty and a little chocolatey. I really like it and would definitely recommend it!

This is not as spicy as I was hoping it would be, though I did feel a bit of a tingle in my throat. It’s tasty, but not something I would want to have all the time. I’m looking forward to mixing it with some of my other Teavana teas. :)