Janet's Special Teas

I’ve had this twice now, and I really like it. I picked it up in the bin of samples Janet had in a container on the counter in her shop. The name didn’t give any info, though the back was simple…black tea, cocoa nib, caramel pieces. SOLD!

I find the base to be pretty smooth, and my first impression of this tea is like a fraternal twin to Butiki’s Caramel Vanilla Assam. Only the vanilla here is replaced with the cocoa…and the cocoa blends in nicely with the black base that the caramel stands out more, with the smooth cocoa-ish backdrop.

I’d definitely consider getting more of this on a later visit. It is a nice morning tea.

Backlog from last night…This is a really interesting contribution to the SSTTB that Bear With Me put in. Being sick, I’m sure I missed out on some of the notes in this tea, though the mint was probably the most prominent flavour, but not in a minty way. I’m to sure if that makes any sense, sorry. I definitely want to give this a better try when I have my full senses. I’m gonna have a few more steeps, and then toss it into the box again, as it is a rather generous amount in there, so more to share!

Had some of this last night or night before, because I’m sick, and this is a sick kind of tea. I got a sample of it despite it having licorice in it. Actually, Janet tossed this one in as a freebie since I had a sore throat when I was in…she is really a very sweet lady.

So, I did not find this repulsive, and I was able to drink the whole cup. But it is not my favourite tea…it something I might have on hand for being sick though. Since it is a medicinal tea, and it contains ingredients I know I dislike, I am not rating this one.

This tea has all sorts of weird things in it. And sadly it’s not as good as the other rooibos teas I’ve had.

So this one doesn’t pass for me. Sorry, tea.

(1.5 tsp/12 oz)

The dry leaves smell amazing, and there are bits of vanilla pod chopped up and strewn about in the bag.

Sadly once it steeps, I can’t really tell there’s vanilla. This might be because of the cold I’m still recovering from, but IDK. I made it into an eggnog latte, and it’s really good this way. :) Ahh, yes. Now I can tell there’s more vanilla than just in the eggnog!

(8oz tea, 4oz eggnog)

This tea doesn’t pack quite the punch of the Cardamom tea by Alokozay. The cardamom flavour is really mild and is almost clovey. And the tea itself isn’t anywhere near as strong and thick and rich.

So while I can appreciate this, I prefer the other companies version.

Had the last of this tonight with milk. It’s so tasty! I still have some almond rooibos I’m trying to finish, or I’d be getting more this weekend.

…who am I kidding. I’ll probably get more anyways.

This rooibos isn’t too twiggy, steeps nicely even when you ahem forget it on the counter while playing on the internet doing laundry, and has a delightful delicate frangipane flavour – almonds and raspberry jam. Yum! (The one I started with was this recipe, without the tart shell and without the cream… http://www.channel4.com/programmes/jamies-30-minute-meals/articles/all/jools-pasta-with-frangipane-tart-meal-recipe but I have adjusted it. Goodness knows where that scrap of paper went to, though!)

Thanks for sharing, Bear With Me!

I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m afraid of the dark, and that fear of the dark has led me to be a total insomniac – sleeping the day away and being stuck awake all night. So if I’m going to be up anyways, and since I’m feeling ballstastic, I might as well have some tea.

I absolutely despised DAVIDs Tea’s Mint To Be which was a coconut and mint black blend, so I’m surprised by how much I love Janet’s anniversary blend!

When she showed me this one, Janet joked that her supplier probably took all their leftovers and tossed them in a bag and shook it up then sent it to her, and she may be right! This is such a random blend, all that’s missing is the bloody kitchen sink!

That said, I love how smooth, creamy, and toasty this tea is! The mint is just enough to add a bit of zing, and the almonds and brazil nuts overpower the coconut (I’m not a huge coconut fan) and make for a creamy but toasty cuppa.

It’s random, it’s sweet, it’s nutty, and it packs a punch – it’s Janet in a cup!

Have you ever felt SO happy but because you had no specific reason to BE happy, your brain pulled a 180 and left you feeling miserable instead? I’m having one of those nights…

I made another trip to Janet’s today. I had to pick up a couple things I promised to send a few people, this included, but I grabbed enough for myself to enjoy too and tonight I’m sure glad I did.

This is a slightly malty black with lovely maple flavour. Not sweet maple like syrup, but unmistakably maple nonetheless. It feels like waffles in a mug and is getting me through this bit of a slump.

I predict another sleepless night. Bah.

Nice medium bodied oolong. The leaves are dark green and crumpled and open up nicely with the first steep and allow for a second steep. The roast level is warm and nutty, though not as roasted as David’s Oolong Supreme, Butiki’s Gui Fei, or an oreiental beauty or big red robe. This is a little lower than those, but still more roast than some of the greener oolongs I’ve had. I don’t find this one to be terribly floral. It’s a nice simple oolong, and I think a good starter one for someone. I found that it did not go bitter or astringent with the 3 or so minute steep and less than boiling water.

Backlog…I really like this tea…and it’s a rooibos! I did not try it with milk, but I will next time. I’m so happy I have a few rooibos that I like well enough to repurchase.

Not sure what to think of this tea. There is no actual rhubarb or rhubarb flavour in this tea, though there is the tartness of the blackberry and lime leaves, combined with the jasmine petals, that does give it a bit of a rhubarb feel. I’m not sure how I feel about it all. I am drinking it with a little organic cane sugar, but may go add milk to see how or if it changes the flavour. I think that this is probably a tea that would be good cold steeped, or iced over the summer. I think that I will be ok to drink the rest of the sample, but I’ll reserve judgement on whether I want more after I’ve had more.

Sample sip down. This cup was much better than the last since I made sure not to steep it for that long. It can get super bold ultra fast. The malty cereal notes are popping through re now, and combined with light cream, it’s breakfast in a cup. Assams are truly a wonderful thing.

Ladies and gents, I’ve just done one of the craziest things I’ve personally ever done to tea. But before I talk about that, I accidentally oversteeped this tea, so it was extra bold. That said, I’ll give it a more proper review with the last of my sample next time. But for now, it’s a decent Assam, just not as malty as I had hoped.

My cotton candy pink hair inspired me to go out and buy the actual stuff because I haven’t had it since I was a kid, and you know what? I was in the mood for some of that fluffy pink and blue candy floss. Looking at it (and tasting it too!) got me thinking about all the cotton candy blends that have been popping up (David’s, Della Terra, 52teas) and how they don’t taste like the actual thing. To be fair, I haven’t tried Della Terra’s, David’s is the best I’ve had to date but it’s even sweeter than actual cotton candy, and as for 52teas, it just tasted like generically sweetened black tea. It lacked that special something that cotton candy has.

So blah blah blah, I MELTED ACTUAL COTTON CANDY INTO MY TEA. Equal parts blue and pink to be fair. And while it has indeed substantially sweetened up this bold tea, the flavouring from the cotton candy (blue raspberry and bubblegum, respectively) gets lost. If there’s one thing that this experiment has taught me, it’s that the flavours that make cotton candy, well, cotton candy are muchly too delicate and subtle to be accurately captured in a tea. I could see it potentially work better with green rooibos (hence why David’s probably is the most successful, in my humble opinion) but the black bases smack those cutesy flavours down to the pavement and steal their lunch money.

The funny part is my lips are sticky from the liquid cotton candy though. Sticky lips but no cotton candy flavour satisfaction. Ripoff!

I have enough left to try with another cup or two with another base. Maybe I could try it with one of Butiki’s Assams? Or just screw it and eat the rest? Errrrrrrr?

Sip down! This last jug turned out quite well, and I steeped it for two days! My mom liked it too. Huh. It’s better than I thought?

This round of cold brew is better than the last. I must have added less leaf than before, because the liquor is a lighter reddish pink and is not nearly as sweet as it was before. I bought these cute 14 oz. glasses at Marshalls yesterday, 6/$8. Great deal!

http://www.victoriasbasement.com.au/Product/Details/80519

So now I actually have glasses in the house and not just mugs. I don’t even have the room, really, but I’m tempted to go back and get the other ones I was eyeing, these beautiful Italian glasses at 4/$15:

http://www.luigibormioli.com/products/canaletto-dof

But I don’t need both!

More fruity cold brews FTW. Tons of berries packed in this one, but the first couple sips made me question what I was getting myself into. Very sweet. The kind of sweet that hits you at the back of the mouth and lingers for what seems an eternity. But the more I drink it, the (slightly) better it gets. I taste mostly strawberry, apple, and raspberry in that order. No cranberry, which would have ruled. The hibiscus is behaving itself.

Maybe I’ll steep it for a shorter amount of time to cut the sweetness? Or not add as much leaf. It’s definitely drinkable but I wouldn’t restock after finishing what I have.

Sip down along with my 4pm breakfast. Wouldn’t mind having this again someday. It’s a happy blend. Happy!

Another rooibos I dared myself to try. This is packed with cherries, goji berries, and hibiscus. The dry leaf smells like fruit leather, so we’re off to a great start.

With some light cream, Bon Rouge is mostly cherry with a touch of goji, but very faint. I can’t even detect the hibiscus. The base is also ultra light. That Nordic mug of mine which was nearly filled to the brim merely twenty minutes ago is now empty and I’m tempted to make one more cup today, polishing off the sample. It’s like I just didn’t get my fill of it yet.

I would have liked a little more cherry but I’ll steep it a little longer next time to see if I can amp up the flavours.

Sipdown sort of. I actually threw the rest into the compost. There were maybe about four cups left. It just lost a lot of its flavour and I wasn’t enjoying it. No more Janet’s teas in my cupboard but I’m ok with that.

I kind of failed myself, though. I wanted to get down to 60 teas before moving and I’m at 63. I already packed most of them up, plus my kettle, and will only be enjoying cold brews over the next few days. Oh well, that’s close enough!

Made an eggnog latte with this and it’s sure hitting the spot. The eggnog is somehow bringing out the amaretto even more than regular milk does. Those warm eggnog spices pair beautifully with the amaretto.

Speaking of amaretto, I’ve decided that next time I’m around a liquor store, I’m picking up a bottle of it. It’s one of my favourite flavours in the world and I still have never bought a bottle. Oh, the things I’ll be able to do with it.

Wow, this is pretty good for a rooibos! The amaretto flavouring in this is very prominent. Granted, I haven’t tried other Rainbow rooibos blends so it makes me wonder how other suppliers do it and/or if certain companies who carry it share suppliers. I don’t get any fruity berry notes in this since the amaretto is so strong. Just a strong almond/cherry groove going on in my mug.

I’ve tried this twice with half and half and then with 1% milk and it’s great either way. This is one of the few rooibos blends that I could see actually stocking in my cupboard.

Another coconut tea to test out. I wasn’t amazed by the smell in the store but she did point out that whilst most companies toast their coconut, her supplier roasts it. Fancy? In the end, I’m left with a flavoured tea very similar to David’s Brazillionaire. Perhaps the roasting technique preserves the nutty notes in the coconut, hence why this tea is similar to David’s.

First time I had this yesterday, I had it with half and half. Second time today, with some brown sugar and 1% milk. Either way, neither of these combinations enhanced the coconut in any way.

Oh wells. Curious about what her chocolate coconut chai is going to taste like, but unfortunately, this is slightly lacklustre. Oh! But at least the coconut tasted fresh and was not rancid, which I’ve found with some other teas.

Sip down. Wouldn’t buy more but there was enough flavouring in this to cover up the earthy base, so that’s always awesome.