California Tea House

I don’t drink a lot of ‘flavored’ tea because I usually find the flavors to taste fake, but my curiosity got the best of me after reading California Tea House’s description of this one. I don’t know if this has any unnatural flavors or not, but if it does, I can’t taste them. This tea is truly delicious.

Thank you JoeCool (Nichole) for this treat – a cherry-tasting wonder! I love anything cherry and this sweet green tea is delicious. I tried it plain but enjoyed it better with one Splenda; the sweetener brought out the sweetness a bit more. This cherry does taste a bit artificial, but that’s OK with me. Others who enjoy a more pure taste may find fault with it. Overall, though, this is a great way to kick start my morning. :)

I usually drink Oolong tea and an occassional flavored black. I tried this straight black not expecting to like it, but wow, I’m a believer! This is really good and has a full, complex flavor range for a black tea.

I’ve been in a real blueberry place lately, so I was happy to find this in my mailbox this morning. This tastes like the same tea as Special Teas Blueberry Cocktail which I ran out of a long time ago. It’s pretty good. It has a strong blueberry flavor and some grape flavor too. But… I just had the Rishi Blueberry Rooibos a couple of days ago and I’m buying the Rishi over this tea.

Thanks JoeCool (Nichole) for sending this to me!

2nd infusion: still going strong! Me thinks there are actual pieces of lime and/or coconut in the tea, which explains the strong personality and flavor. I’m upping my rating slightly because of the strength of the second infusion.

Started my day off with this. Drank it right down – this has the right amount of lime and coconut flavor so it doesn’t remind me of cleaning products. :) The green tea base was mellowed by lime & coconut flavors as well. Wonder about this one iced??

Wombatgirl sent me a surprise package! How lovely!

In spite of the fact that included a great big pouch of the previously much praised Heritage Aijiao from Red Blossom Tea Company, I’m starting with this one. I don’t, at the moment, really have any unflavoured green oolong in the collection. Not that I remember, anyway. There may be something lurking in the Bits’n’Bobs Basket somewhere. I haven’t looked.

I’m feeling a wee bit under the weather today, so I’ll attempt brevity here. It’s probably not going to work, but there you are.

The aroma of this one is a bit sour, but that’s not particularly off-putting as it seems to be the norm with these oolongs. It’s a bit like lemons but not as sharp.

The flavour has more of those citrus notes, and a buttery sort of undertone. It’s very smooth and seems to have been fermented just exactly enough to take it apart from green teas and into oolong territory. It feels very lightly done at first, and then it builds up more and more, making it more and more oolong-y as I drink.

It does, however, lack a certain crispness. It’s a little too smooth, feels a little too thick, and I’m missing some sort of sharpness to the flavour. An edge, if you will.

For want of a green type oolong, it’s perfectly adequate, though. I like it.

I found this in a box of teas from work. I thought I had either lost it or finished up the pouch, so I was glad to find it.

Over two years old, and still working on the same pouch – but it still tastes as yummy as it did the first cuppa I had. (Even more proof that you don’t necessarily need to use tins.)

The apricot taste is so delish! That’s a flavor you wouldn’t think would be all that strong/bold, yet this blend really packs a punch.

Tastes like happy! :)

Love this one. Reminds me of California (my hometown is San Diego, and once I become a famous writer, me and the hubby are buying two one-way tickets there). Fresh apricots and a bit of spice for the chai.

Sigh. I always miss home around the holidays. Decorating a palm trees, spraying fake snow on the windows…

Ahh. Bliss. Each time I drink this I imagine juicy apricots in summer. I am enjoying this with a bag of trail mix; as usual I’m hoarding the apricot pieces until the end. I just realized I’ve got a little theme going. :)
(Please see other tasting notes – this is a fave!)

Starting my day off with this. It’s not as spicy as my “other” chai (from Teavana) but it’s a nice way to wake up. Please see other tasting notes.

This has turned into a daily habit, love this one! See other tasting notes.

I feel like a chai guru lately since I’ve been on the hunt for a less expensive chai blend that still tastes as good (or better) than the Teavana one: http://keenteathyme.blogspot.com/

So I confidently brewed this tea thinking it wouldn’t come close to my “precious” blend.

Boy, was I wrong!

This tea is apricot goodness! Smells delicious – the second I opened the package, I smelled a rush of juicy apricot and summer joys.

Brews up lovely, with the same juicy apricot smell. Tastes just as nice too. There is a bit spice there as well – clove & cinnamon. It’s faint in the taste, but present – like spices in apricot cobbler.

California Tea House half-jokingly (?!) says this tea is an aphrodisiac. Hmm… let me ponder…

Honestly, though, this is a unique flavor that is Ideal Apricot. If you like apricot, this tea needs to be in your cupboard and mug asap. :)

This leaves me with only one question, really. Do you pronounce it Apricot (like apple) or A-pricot, emphasis on the “a”?

Got a sample of this in the mail a couple days ago and thought I’d try it after a (stressful) work meeting. This is blueberry awesomeness! My only issue is that it is herbal with no caffeine, so drinking it earlier in the day isn’t good for me. (I need caffeine with a capital C or else…)

The blueberry flavor is strong and fruity, sweet rather than tart. Some other blueberry teas have a tartness to them – which I like – but others may not. Perhaps that’s why this is called “blueberry syrup,” because it is sweet.

The color is awesome too – a deep reddish purple. Perhaps that comes from the real dried blueberries. To make sure they were safe for human consumption (hehe) I ate a blueberry from the tisane. So yummy! I knew the tea would rock from that taste alone. But hey, if you don’t like the tea, you’ve got a blueberry trail mix instead.

I gulped this down and reached for more. Love it! :)

I am not usually a fan of earl grey, so I approached this one with trepidation. I steeped no longer than four minutes and yanked out the bag. I am no fan of bergamot, although we are working on our relationship. ;)

This is decent as a vanilla tea. First sip I taste lots of vanilla (yay) and then a little of the bergamot. It’s faint, just a subtle twist. I don’t care for the smell as much; to me the bergamot makes it smell like cleaning supplies. To me this is a vanilla tea with an earl grey twist, not the other way around.

2nd sip, still more vanilla, just a twist.

I like this, but I don’t think I’d purchase again. However, I may be tempted to try a “real” earl grey… got any suggestions?

Backlogging this from yesterday…not as Vanilla Bean as before – it could have been that I didn’t infuse long enough or my water wasn’t hot enough as I tried another method….so I will keep the rating from my previous attempts. I think I am going to pass this one along as well!

Another gift from Ashley! Thanks so much! This is very sweet and very smooth and I like it just fine and dandy! The aroma and vanilla notes are quiet and soothing and do not shout. This is just a nice relaxing cuppa…plain and simple.

Very light and delicate- exactly how white tea should be.