Handmade Tea

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Recent Tasting Notes

96
drank Krampus Brew by Handmade Tea
70 tasting notes

This isn’t my first taste of Krampus, but I think it’s the first perfect brew I’ve managed. Gunpowder is really hard for me, partly because I have terrible thermometers/judgement and partly because I’m forgetful and isn’t that the worst when you have a really excellent green tea of limited quantity & steep it for, oh, I dunno, 15 minutes while you’re playing video games? Boo!

Anyway. I love the sweet, mellow aroma of this tea, both dry and steeped. Krampus has an understated, creamy scent of gingerbread nicely balanced with smoky green. I’m disappointed when I can’t find the actual tea flavor in flavored/blended teas, but that’s not an issue here at all. The leaf is complemented and enhanced by the spices rather than drowned out. Really a great cup of tea.

Have to say I am loving Caleb’s Handmade Tea subscription, even though I’ve only had two blends so far I’ve loved them both.

EDIT: I didn’t have many cherries in my tin, so I’m probably missing out on that flavor. It’s still really good without them, so I can only imagine what could have been!

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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96
drank Krampus Brew by Handmade Tea
70 tasting notes

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100
drank Krampus Brew by Handmade Tea
148 tasting notes

I am still in love with this. Not much more to say about it except I wish it was available FOREVER and I am almost out. But, I do have what I think is a funny story for my fellow steepsters about me, my tea thermos, and OMG GERMS.

We can’t have any food or drinks inside the department of the library where I work. The materials we have are too old/valuable and it’s one of those things where no one ever thinks they will spill but then they do, and holy crap that 400 year old copy of Dante’s Inferno is ruined. So right outside our double doors we have a little table where people can set their drinks or snacks. Last Friday I was working on foldering old newspaper clippings when I spotted a man lurking just outside the door. I looked up from my work and realized that he was touching my tea thermos. And not just touching it, but unscrewing the lid, looking inside, etc.
I should note at this point that I can be a real neat freak, and I am most definitely not okay with random strangers touching things that go near my mouth. So basically I was screaming on the inside at this point, but I managed to compose myself, got up and opened the door. I asked him, “Can I help you?”
He looked at me, then back to our various thermoses and drinks on the little table and said “Is all this trash?”
I said something like “No, it’s not trash, these belong to the people who work here. That is my thermos.”
Now I THOUGHT at that point he would buy a clue and put it down. But nooo. Instead he says “Oh”, and continues playing with the lid and looking inside. “Is this a tea thermos or something?”
I said “Yes. It’s MINE,” in my most notsubtle-ohmygosh-stoptouchingmystuff voice.
At that point he finally put the lid back on, set it back down and said “Oh okay. Have a good night.”
Steepsters. I had to soak that thermos in so much hot water you would not even believe it. DEFILED.

Sil

Lol I shouldn’t laugh but just thought of this interaction really makes me chuckle. Some people!

Claire

It’s okay to laugh, I thought it was funny after the fact! I told my aunt (raised me for most of my life) about it over the weekend, and she was laughing so hard she was crying. Probably because she knows me well enough to know how much I was FREAKING OUT.

Invader Zim

For some reason Jeff Dunham’s act with Achmed when Achmed yells “Stop touching me!” was going through my head! Only “stop touching my stuff” instead of me!

Miss Starfish

Oh dear! Perhaps for next time? “Dude, just step away from the thermos and no one gets hurt. I know all about papercuts, trust me, you don’t want that world of pain brought down on you.”

Claire

Oh man Miss Starfish, I get so many papercuts at work, he’d better watch out! ;)
Invader Zim – It was at all socially appropriate to yell that at him, I probably would have.

Kittenna

Uh….. that would probably bother me to the point of not having a thermos at work again. I’m always concerned with thoughts of people slipping things into my drinks….

Claire

Kittenna – For now we moved the table so it’s more easily visible while we’re inside. The problem is if I don’t bring a drink I’m stuck with using the water fountain.

Kittenna

Yeah. I’m usually in a similar situation; food/drink are not allowed in the lab, and I’m wary of leaving things outside the door! So I am bad sometimes and keep my thermoses tucked in my backpack (which I’m also technically not supposed to have with me). I still go out of the lab to drink, but feel waaaaay safer. I’m guessing that that isn’t an option for you :(

Claire

Kittenna – yeah, it wouldn’t be good if I told other people the rules and then they saw me break them. ;)

Earl Jeff

Lol wow. What a sheister, that man….. :P Boundaries, anyone?

That tea sounds delicious, by the way. I am currently lamenting its recent unavailability. :(

Michelle Butler Hallett

Oh my GAWD! I’d be freaking out, too!

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100
drank Krampus Brew by Handmade Tea
148 tasting notes

Oh my gosh. Is this a genius level tea blend? My taste buds are saying yes. They are also mourning the fact that this is not permanently buy-able somewhere. This tea feels like it could wipe out the coldest day and make you feel toasty and snug and safe inside, parked in front of a crackling fire. I am also now asking myself why did I not open this sooner? Why?! I could have been enjoying it for the past two weeks!

The ingredients are perfectly blended, each one standing out on its own but not overpowering anything else. There’s a beautiful undertone of smoky gunpowder, a touch of clove and cinnamon, and then on top a bit of sweet and tart cherry.

I have a sudden urge to be like Oprah and just give this tea to everyone while going TEA FOR EVERYBODY!!! And you get one and you get one!

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Sil

Please do lol. I tried asking the other day about whether they had gotten any further in looking in to shipping to Canada since back in August they said they were but I never heard back. Sounds like a win this go round :)

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91

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96

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79

195 degrees, steep 4 minutes ,Breville one touch basket cycle off

The tea when first brewed has a natural sweet smell. The oolong adds to the depth of flavor. There are light lemon notes in the taste. The coconut and coaco do not really come out in the flavor of the tea, but really add to the over all richness and mouth feel. Adding some sugar really makes more like its namesake. The lemon pops out more and all the flavors come together nicely like one happy family. If you are a person who doesn’t like coconut – don’t worry. My boyfriend hates it and he really likes this tea.

This is the first tea I received from Handmade Teas.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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89

I can’t believe I’m the first to rate this one. Thank you Rachel for sending me this one. I’m a huge fan of roasted mate. I like the roasted flavor on this one. The leaf is quite small almost like dust rather than full leaf. There’s not just mint in this one but full mint sprigs, which adds a nice touch to the roast flavor of the mate. However in steeping this one a few time I have yet to pick up any berry flavor to this one. I’ve even let it steep for ten minutes and still can’t pick up the Elderberry. Still this one is tasty. I would love to try more from handmade but unfortunately monthly subscriptions are not in the buget.

Babble

Glad you enjoy it. I wish there was a way to purchase previous blends :(

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92
drank November Bouquet by Handmade Tea
148 tasting notes

This is my first shipment from Handmade Tea, and it’s delicious!

I’ve tried this a couple of different ways now: first, given Caleb’s suggestion of a 4 min steep. The rose and jasmine are really strong with that method and it reminded me a lot of Lupicia’s Yume blend. What made it stand out compared to Yume was the hint of lemon in the background.
The second way I’ve tried this (and my favorite) is with short subsequent steeps, starting around 15 seconds. The smell is lightly chocolate-like and floral, and the lemon balm really pops with the short steeps!

I got the mini subscription to Handmade Tea, and this arrived in two small tins. I gave one to my brother-in-law and he wrote the other day to say he loves this too!

Can’t wait to see what comes in the mail in December. :)

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec
Dinosara

That really sounds like a tea I would love! Guess I will have to look up the Yume blend since this one isn’t available outside the subscription. Too bad!

Sil

Curse you for reminding me they exist! Someday they’ll ship to Canada….someday

Claire

Oh no, I’ve been cursed! D:
Hopefully Caleb will extend the company to Canada some day, I think it’s a great concept, and now I know it’s great tea too.

Sil

That would be awesome…

Becky

It really is a great tea. I feel like some kind of neanderthal when I drink it, because it’s just too nice for the likes of me.

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97
drank November Bouquet by Handmade Tea
70 tasting notes

I tasted this before and it’s great, as usual; just having a quick (for certain values of “quick”) cup of this before I go off to speech class. It’s making me less nervous already. :)

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97
drank November Bouquet by Handmade Tea
70 tasting notes

I got a tin of this in the mail this afternoon and I’ve already had to brew five cups—three for me, and two for my mom, who just had to have some as soon as she smelled it.

Dry, the floral scent is big and sweet, which is complemented very nicely by prominent lemon balm. I was afraid the brew might be TOO lemony, but the results were mellow and wonderful.

I love the balance of black tea to floral/citrus notes. The flavor is bright without being sour, floral without being perfumey, strong without being too bold or astringent. Overall, a perfectly billowy and sweet cup with a velvet mouthfeel.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Sil

lucky! they still don’t ship to canada :(

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100
drank Harvest Brew by Handmade Tea
230 tasting notes

SNOWSTORM NEMO SAMPLING DAY
While I drank this during blizzard Nemo I couldn’t log into Steepster. So it is a bit of a back log.

This is more of a SIPDOWN. Oh, Harvest Brew I loved your spicy flavor, mouth feel and just about everything about you. I drank this tea more then I logged and it was often a go-to for my travel mug on the way to work. Harvest Brew WILL BE MISSED!

Azzrian

I can not wait to get my first handmade tea in the mail! Should be in about a week or so I think Oh how I wish I had a sneak peek at what it is! :)

Ellyn

I LOVE handmade tea. I am not a subscriber at this moment due to the fact that I am OVERWHELMED with tea but when I can bring more tea into my life rejoining is ON THE LIST!

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100
drank Harvest Brew by Handmade Tea
230 tasting notes

This is one of my all time favorite teas. I looked in the package this morning and do not have a ton left – and it is a limited edition! boo. I have “collecting” tendencies and must always remember that tea does not AGE like wine! A collection only loses flavor or value as time goes on!

See my other tasting notes. This is a great tea, I love Handmade tea. IT is a great product.

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100
drank Harvest Brew by Handmade Tea
230 tasting notes

Sorry for the delay in posting my longer review of the October offering from handmade tea. Life has been crazy, been traveling, etc.

The joy of handmade tea begins the moment you receive the package. I have the full monthly subscription which means every month I receive both the tea and the palate building ingredient samples. (If you want to try handmade tea for less $$ you can get a smaller subscription without the ingredient samples.) Handmade tea is a great fall-blend. The ingredient samples that are included are African Black Tea, cinnamon and ginger root, and allspice. The spices that were included are whole (as opposed to gound powder) and are the exact ingredients that are in the tea. I’m not entirely sure that I knew what allspice smelled like exactly until I got this tea.

After smelling the ingredient samples I smelled the dry tea. I really like the ingredient samples because I’m not sure I would be able to pick out the different ingredients. Not only can I SMELL the ingredients in the blend after smelling them on their own I can also SEE them in the dry tea. As an aside, now that I have familiarized myself with these samples I can now much more easily pick out the flavors in other teas.

As the tea brews I can smell the cinnamon and the ginger. At the first sip I get a slight pepper essence from the black tea base. The cinnamon, ginger, and allspice flavors are all PERFECTlY balanced. I have had some cinnamon blends that were like drinking red-hot candies – the opposite of this. I LOVE THIS TEA. I really think this is a perfect fall tea. I am already more then ½ way thought my 3oz and I DO NOT want this sample to run out.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
LiberTEAS

Was this your first from Handmade Tea? Just wondering as I am making up your sampler!

Nik

This sounds amazing and I really like that approach. When I subscribe, it’ll definitely be to the full experience.

Ellyn

This was my first handmade teas. I love the thought that goes into each shipment!

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100
drank Harvest Brew by Handmade Tea
230 tasting notes

I LOVE THIS TEA! This was my first package from Handmade Tea. I will be drafting a more complete review as I drink a few more cups. However, I enjoyed this cup SO MUCh that I could not wait to post a short note.

I love the flavor profile and can clearly get the malty base with the harvest-fall flavors added. Probably one of my all time favorite teas because it is the combination of malty black tea + fall flavors + cinnamon + subtle flavoring. OH, YUM!

Babble

I almost ALMOST subscribed this month, but had to allocate money for other stuff. Am looking forward to your review :)

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95
drank Murmur by Handmade Tea
52 tasting notes

My first selection from my second sampler box from LiberTEAS – thank you so much for putting this box together for me!

I’ve been wanting to try Handmade Teas for a while, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to actually subscribe to their tea of the month program before trying some of their tea. I’m really anti-commitment and I can never make up my mind about things like tea clubs…it’s just too hard to choose which one to join so I end up just completely avoiding making the decision by not joining any haha! Silly I know…

I love the way the dry tea smells. Fruity and sweet. Once brewed though I’m not really smelling much aside from the white tea base. Upon tasting I do taste the strawberry, but it isn’t a very bold in-your-face type of flavor. I’m actually really enjoying the fact that the strawberry seems very light and natural. The chocolate adds a really interesting aspect. I feel like it makes the cup a little “fuller” if that makes any sense. The white tea base was a good choice for such a light flavor profile.

I think that Murmur is the perfect name for this tea. It really does fit the way the tea tastes. It really is a murmur… soft, quiet, natural, almost illusive but I actually found these things quite enjoyable. Such a relaxing lovely cup!

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 5 min, 0 sec
Claire

Nice to read a review of Handmade Tea, I’ve been thinking about getting their mini subscription.

Mrnixonpants

The mini subscription is a really good idea. I might just have to try that myself actually. As much as I’d like having the full experience with the tins of each ingredient, I think a mini subscription would be a good way to start to make sure it’s your kind of thing for lack of a better term.

Claire

Yeah, I figure it’s a good way to check them out, and also to keep needing to order other teas every month. ;)

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86
drank Balché by Handmade Tea
4843 tasting notes

I am revisiting this one today (and I sort of revisited it yesterday too, because I tried the small, sampler tin of the Yunnan by itself) so that I can complete Part 2 of the review for this tea which will publish on the evening of November 14 on SororiTea Sisters: http://sororiteasisters.com

This time, I added some extra of the pepper flakes, cinnamon chunks and cacao nibs to rev up the flavor of the blend, and it’s good like this, but, I think that it’s better the way that Caleb blended it. It is better balanced that way. This amplified version is warmer, spicier, and with a bit more chocolate-y flavor and I like it … but, I think that the blend on its own gave off just the right amount of flavor to really showcase the Yunnan in a very special way.

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86
drank Balché by Handmade Tea
4843 tasting notes

A while back Handmade Tea was featured on one of those flash sale sites, and I ordered this from that sale. This was apparently their tea of the month for March, but they remade a batch for the sale. It is a combination of Yunnan black tea, Guajillo Chile Peppers, Saigon Cinnamon and Cacao Nibs.

I was a little hesitant with the first sip. As much as I love spicy food and drink, I am always a little worried it will be too spicy and flames will shoot out my nose or something. However, this isn’t really too spicy at all. The heat develops, with the first couple of sips tasting relatively tame. As I continue to sip, I feel the heat develop a bit on the back of the palate, but it never becomes an overwhelmingly SPICY kind of tea. It’s gentle and warming, and even soothing. Comfortable.

A very pleasant cup of tea. I am really liking this.

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84
drank Murmur by Handmade Tea
4843 tasting notes

My third “experiment” with this blend … What I did is add the rest of the additional freeze dried strawberries and the cacao nibs to the blend and then brewed it to see how much difference the flavor would be with some extra strawberries and cacao.

There is more flavor from the strawberries and especially the cacao here, but, the flavors are still rather subtle overall. But I like it. Together with the white peony, they offer a very soft, soothing flavor that is contemplative when you want something like that … and if you are just looking for a refreshing, relaxing cup, this one can do that for you too. Nice.

Sil

i really like this concept a lot.

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84
drank Murmur by Handmade Tea
4843 tasting notes

Tonight, I am revisiting this tea … specifically, I am trying the white peony base. How? Well, Handmade Tea offers their blends in a totally new and very cool way. The large tin is the actual blend (in the case of this Murmur blend, it is a blend of white peony, strawberry and cacao nibs) and also tucked inside the box are three small, sampler size tins that hold some of each of the components (in this case, I have a tin of white peony, cacao nibs, and freeze dried strawberry pieces). I wanted to explore the white peony separately, so that I could get to know the quality of the base tea that Handmade tea used in this blend. I like that I am able to do this – I like that Handmade Tea makes this exploration possible!

This is a very good White Peony. I can’t say that it’s the very best I’ve tried, as I’ve had the opportunity to try some pretty amazing Bai Mu Dan offerings from some of the best tea companies in the world. That said, this isn’t the worst Bai Mu Dan I’ve come across either. It’s a fine quality White Peony, and I think that the flavor profile of this White Peony works well with the flavors Handmade Tea chose to feature in their Murmur blend. It is sweet with hints of vegetation. Interestingly enough, I noticed more melon-esque notes when I tasted the blend than I do now, I think that perhaps the strawberry and cacao highlighted those sweet, fruity notes. Pleasant and delicate, I’m enjoying this cup.

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84
drank Murmur by Handmade Tea
4843 tasting notes

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea.

First of all, the packaging is pretty cool! It is all stacked neatly into a box which is then tied with twine and sealed with a wax seal. Pretty snazzy! Inside the box, there are four tins: One large tin that holds the blended tea, and three small tins that hold the components of the tea – white peony, dried strawberries, and cacao nibs. I like this, not just because one can customize their cup of tea the way they want it, but also because you can easily judge the quality of each component (I like that I will be able to brew a separate cup of white peony so that I can judge it without the strawberry and cacao nib)

But it also causes me to wonder … is this blended with JUST the dried strawberry or with strawberry flavor also? If it’s jut the dried strawberry, I’m in for a pretty dismal strawberry experience, I fear. I guess I will have to wait until the tasting …

Yep, it is as I feared… the strawberry notes are very faint. VERY faint. If you were to order this “flavor” with thoughts of chocolate strawberries dancing in your head, you would be sorely disappointed. This is white tea. First and foremost. It’s a fine white tea though. It is sweet with honey-esque tones and a fresh vegetal tone. A very nice white peony: flavorful yet delicate.

The strawberry flavor is there. But it is very subdued, and noticeable primarily toward the finish and in the aftertaste where I note a taste much like I’d experience if I had just eaten a fresh berry. The aftertaste is very similar to that. During the sip though, the strawberry is not there.

The chocolate is even more pale in flavor than the strawberry. However, it IS noticeable in the sip, around mid-sip, I notice a delicious chocolate-y note that washes over the palate. It’s wonderfully delicious, even if it is a bit on the softer side. And when it comes to chocolate, more is better.

I think for my next pot of this tea, I shall add a few more of the cacao nibs and perhaps a little more strawberry to bring these flavors out. And before that, I intend to try some of the white peony on its own to see how that experience differs from this one. For now, though, I think I shall hold off on the rating, because, while it is enjoyable for what it is… it isn’t what I think I wanted it to be, so I find myself a little disappointed because of that.

LiberTEAS

As I continue to sip this, it is really very good … so it is kind of weird to say that I’m disappointed by it. It did not fulfill my expectations of that chocolate covered strawberry, but at the same time, it is wonderfully tasty with a high quality white tea base and hints of strawberry and chocolate.

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96
drank Gavati by Handmade Tea
6768 tasting notes

WOW! I’m in Heaven! This is AMAZING! It far exceeded my expectations!
The Black/Herbal/Oolong Trio plays very well with each other!

The Black is mellow to medium strength with that malty-ness I look for in a black tea. The Oolong is sweet and juicy and incredible clean and crisp. The Lemon Grass is VERY Lemony and pure!

This is FAB hot or cold and I could see myself drinking this A LOT but I’m going to send the rest to my Sororitea Sister Liberteas as I think she will appreciate this very much as well!

WOW! YUM! This is Tremendous!

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95
drank Murmur by Handmade Tea
6768 tasting notes

Sending the rest to Azzrian

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