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I finished this one off last night. So delicious and chocolate with just that tiny tad of macademia nuttiness. Even though I try not to have additions in tea, a tiny splash of milk in this tea enhances the flavour like crazy! This has been my weekend treat!

On the weekends, I allow myself a good chocolate tea either with a splash of milk or as a latte. Some of my favs are this one, fireside s’mores (teaopia), or read my lips (David’s).

I have been trying different steeping parameters with my favourite earl greys and have found that steeping at 4 minutes or less really cuts the bitterness.
Then I remembered that I had some of this tea left and thought hey I should give this another try. Boy, now this tea is just a delight. Slightly sweet and not so much creamy as a smooth quality I found. I really like vanilla.
So watch out, this tea can be very bitter. But if you steep properly, you are in for a treat.
Significantly increasing this rating!

My first tea party day!! My friend who grew up in England and I had a picnic in the park and lots of tea throughout the afternoon. She brought some tea back to Canada from Turkey. We had 4 different teas today I think!

So on to the tea….I cold brewed this to have as an iced tea. This is not my favourite. It has a weird artificial taste. The aftertaste cold is slightly tropical, but only ok. Decreasing the rating a little.

Thankyou to Angel and Teavivre for this sample
I was a little scared to try this tea, it smells very smoky. And the brew is golden amber.

The taste is suprisingly good. But really, not much from Teavivre suprises me anymore….everything is so good! I was expecting more of a burnt taste, but it is much sweeter than I thought it would be, and more delicate. I am not sure I would drink this everyday, but I think I could get used to this. I think it would be great to use in cooking.

No resteeps today, I got too busy and then it was too late in the day to drink more black tea.

My in-laws brought this back from England for me because they know how much I love tea! It came in a package with 2 other teas in cute little English tins.

This doesn’t specifically say what kind of tea that it is, just Sri Lanka. I am assuming it is Assam because of the little pellets. And the smell. It has a strong, bold, malty flavour. It is strong, which is expected with English tea, so I figured it needed a dash of milk like the English drink it. Wow, what a difference, this tea is now transformed into a smooth, malty, and bold tea….right up my alley for a good start to the day!

For a bagged tea, this is really good. Not as fresh as loose leaf, but it still tastes great. I am getting an unsweetened dark chocolate note on first sip, and then a light hazelnut flavour starts popping through. I really like dark chocolate, so this is great for me.

This is great as a morning dessert tea. I don’t usually like to have to add things to my tea, but with a splash of milk, the flavours pop even more.

Thank you Angel and Teavivre for this sample

I am not the biggest fan of green tea, but I wanted to try some good quality straight greens to try to change my mind. So, I asked for some samples from Teavivre.

Dry leaf: smells very vegetal
Liquor: still smells vegetal, very light yellow colour

Taste: vegetal, smooth nutty quality, and that “savory” flavour that I am getting like salted butter. I find the taste to be comforting.

2nd steep: 80degrees, 1.5 minutes, much the same as the first

Unfortunately, I wasn’t really feeling well, so I tossed the leaves and didn’t do more infusions but I think this would go a couple of more infusions.

Overall, I like the Pi Lo Chun from Teavivre better, but this company is starting to change my opinion of green tea!

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this one before today! I figured this was a good tea for Canada day!
Cold brewed
I really like this. Very minty, which I really enjoy iced. Hints of juniper berries and apples pop through as well. Not sure what raspberry leaf is supposed to taste like so I am not really picking up that note. Too bad I’m almost out.

Many thanks to Angel and Teavivre for this exciting sample!

1tsp of dry leaf
dry smell is very overwhelmingly ginseng
wet leaf smells lightly of ginseng along with some sweetness

taste: ginseng in the forefront, and then a bit of floral oolong in the background. As some other reviewers have mentioned, there is a sweet flavour that coats the throat

2nd steep: 2 minutes, the leaves still haven’t fully openend. Less ginseng flavour. That sweetness that coats the back of your throat is still there though. The oolong flavour comes out a little more in this steep as well. I like this steep just as much or more than the first one.
3rd steep: 3 minutes, the leaves are almost fully opened, so as expected, more oolong flavour shines through the ginseng. The ginseng is starting to be in the background now, as well as the sweetness.

Each steep is so different, and this tea is so different than anything I have had before, it is growing on me for sure.

Many thanks to Angel and Teavivre for this generous sample!

I was really apprehensive about this sample because I am not the biggest fan of greens, especially straight greens, but this was really good! Colour me shocked.

The dry leaf is curly, soft, and downy. It smells really vegetal which has me worried.

Taste: delicious, slightly vegetal, slightly sweet and kind of nutty. I get the “savory” flavour almost like salted butter. It is a little drying on the mouth.

2nd steep: 80degrees, 1.5minutes, a little more vegetal, but still nutty

3rd steep: 85degrees, 2.5minutes, less vegetal with some sweetness remaining.

I think I liked this so much because it just tastes so fresh. I always get excellent quality from Teavivre’s teas and so many of them have surprised me. I didn’t think that I would ever enjoy straight tea so much!

Thank you Stacy for this sample!

Dry leaf smells very sweet, citrusy, and earthy.

Wet leaf smells like creamy citrus with a hint of earthiness.
This is similar to the apricot guayusa. I like this one much better though. The citrus flavours tone down the earthiness a little, which makes this tea sweet and delicious. The flavours meld really well together.

I am not getting as many creamy notes as some other Butiki teas, but it is still very smooth.

I might have to order this some time in the future.

I made this cold brewed.
This tea was good. Definitely mainly raspberry but a little tart, also getting a little of the lemon notes as well.
This tea makes a wonderful smoothie though!

So, I accidentally waaaaay oversteeped this. I made my tea at the tail end of a storm. I set the timer and ran outside because the clouds were looking super crazy cool. I had to get some good photos!

Anyway, this tea is fairly good as is. I am getting a slight mango note, but mostly just rooibos here. I will have to try this again some other night and steep it properly. I am not going to give a rating because it wouldn’t be fair to the tea.

So excited to try this one! I love pistachios.
Green tea is not usually my favourite, but flavoured is usually ok

This is a pretty good green tea. Slightly sweet pistachio with vanilla that tastes creamy. I don’t know if I would really call this flavour ice cream, but it is creamy. There is a slight vegetal aftertaste.

I decided to cold brew the resteep for about 8 hours. This turned out great! A little bit sweeter with a little less vegetal taste. Now I like it even more! I will certainly cold brew the resteep from now on!

Many thanks to Stacy for this wonderful sample! I am glad that I decided to go with this sample.

Dry leaf: smells similar to strawberry green tea ice cream

This is a wonderful tea, light strawberry flavour with lots of green buttery oolong goodness.
It is slightly sweet, very smooth, and slightly floral.
The strawberry taste lingers in the aftertaste.

2nd steep: 90degrees, 4.5minutes, the strawberry flavour is a lot lighter, but the buttery oolong now shines.
The strawberry is still there, especially in the aftertaste.

The 3rd steep will have to wait until later in the day because I have lots of errands to run.

Edit: 3rd steep at 90degrees, 5minutes, still wonderfully sweet, with lots of lovely buttery oolong flavour left. This tea just goes on and on!

Thankyou Angel and Teavivre for this generous sample!

I used 1.5 teaspoons

Colour: yellow/amber
Dry leaf smell: overwhelmingly like spinach…..I was pretty worried at this point because I don’t like really vegetal teas.

Steeped leaf: smelled less vegetal
Taste: roasty, slightly vegetal, nutty, with that buttery/milky mouthfeel. A couple of sips into my cup, some floral and sweetness started to develop in my mouth.

2nd steep: 3 minutes, my favourite steep, less vegetal, but still nutty and creamy

3rd steep: 4 minutes, starting to diminish in flavour but still delicious

I like this just as much as the regular TGY Teavivre offers.

I find TGYs to be very comforting. Whether the emotion is happy or sad, TGYs know how to celebrate or soothe the soul.

Very much looking forward to this sample! Thankyou Angel and Teavivre for this generous sample

I used 4 pearls
Dry smell: like smoky hot chocolate
Appearance: golden amber
Smell wet leaf: almost like a malty milkshake

Taste: Delicious, malty, slightly sweet, smooth. Cocoa notes.
It leaves a wonderfully warm and comforting feeling throughout my body.
Delicious to have that cocoa taste but tastes so natural

2nd steep 1.5min—slight astringency in the aftertaste

I would re-steep some more but it is getting late in the day, I will have to save the leaf for tomorrow morning.

Edit: 3rd steeping from last night’s leaves, 3 minutes. This tea is starting to lose it’s sweetness a little bit but it is still delicious.

I would do more steepings, but I have so many other teas left to review!

Cold brewed this of course!
I am actually not getting as much raspberry as I was hoping I would. However, I really like mint, and there is definitely the mojito flavour.
This was actually better than I was expecting. Especially since the hibiscus didn’t raise it’s mean dragon head and steel the fire in this tea.

Thank you so much Stacy for this sample!

This smells lovely. I am definitely getting nutmeg in the smell.

I love pumpkin teas! This was really good. It was a little light on the pumpkin flavour but it was good anyway. There was a little burnt sugar background. The nutmeg is present and tasty as well.

I might have to get more of this, it would be great in the fall.

Thankyou so much Angel and Teavivre for this sample. This is the sample that I have been most anxious to try. I think I am falling in love with jasmine teas.

Dry leaf appearance: Beautiful fuzzy long white needles

Aroma: smells like fresh jasmine in a sunny meadow

Taste: Light jasmine, with that wonderful delicate white tea in the background. Sweetness comes through in a silky smooth way. This has a wonderful mouth feel to it, creamy like! I am glad I got such a large sample pack of this because I am certainly enjoying this!

2nd steep: 85degrees, 2minutes, just as delicious as the first with a little stronger jasmine.

I have had a LOT of tea today, so I will have to do the other steepings tomorrow and update!

Not sure how it compares to my beloved pearls, I will have to taste this tea again, and then on another day…have a side-by-side taste comparison.

Edit: 3rd steep, 90degrees, 3minutes, starting to lose flavour and silkiness, I think I would cold brew this steep next time.

Yay! My samples arrived today. Thank you so much Angel and Teavivre!

Colour: amber
Smell: nutty

Taste: nutty and slightly sweet with a slight floral note. The aftertaste is a little sour some how. This is a very different oolong than others I have tried.

2nd steep: 2.5 minutes, much like the second one, maybe a little less nutty

3rd steep: 3 minutes, a little more sour aftertaste.

Overall, I like this oolong, but not my favourite

This smelled very apricot-y.
Taste: this is strongly apricot, but also very earthy from the guayusa. It is fairly sweet. The earthiness is fairly strong, but it is a nice flavour.
I am certainly feeling energized after drinking it!

So excited for this tea!! After so many raving reviews, I was concerned that it would let me down. I was curious about the creamy notes everyone was talking about. So here we go!

Colour: smooth light yellow

Aroma: amazingly creamy and pure cantaloupe

Taste: Wow! This is delicious. So creamy and sweet cantaloupe. A full mouth feel. This is so silky and smooth, I felt full after I drank it like I had just had a huge bowl of fresh cantaloupe. I am not sure if I have ever had such a creamy tea. This certainly does not let me down, it deserves raving reviews!

2nd steep: 90degrees, 4minutes, less creamy and more melon, still delicious!

I put the leaves in a mug to cold brew, I will see how that goes tomorrow!

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Cold brewed of course!

This was a nice light sweet mango tea. The flavour was good but I wish that it would have been a little bit stronger. I will certainly enjoy the rest of this!