Jolie Tea Company

This tea is lovely- bits of cedar tips and rose petals decorate the twisty Ceylon leaves. I’m smelling clove and a bit of cinnamon. The flavor is mainly clove and cinnamon as well. There is a bit of rose that lingers. I’m getting some tangerine in some sips as well. No cedar or vanilla, which is a shame because I was looking forward to those flavors shining.

Added honey and a splash of oat milk to this cup, and as a result I’m not getting any of the subtle smokiness. Still an absolutely delightful vanilla black tea.

I really love this tea. It reminds me of being in Salem, sipping on tea on Halloween. Such a wonderful trip. Hopefully I can visit again soon!
As for the tea itself- it’s a lovely smoky vanilla. A nice balance of the subtle smoke, and richness of the vanilla.

Advent Calendar Day 9

Yet another tea company I’ve never even heard of! I love that I’m getting to try so many new blends and companies this month, thanks to Amanda. The dry leaf of this blend is super heavy on the spices, with the tea leaves definitely in the minority. The aroma is also mostly spices…it actually reminds me of walking into Penzey’s, my local spice shop! So despite the name, I wasn’t really expecting a lot of maple here; I thought I might get more of a chai taste. But actually the strongest flavor is fennel seed, which is taking the tea in a totally unexpected savory direction. It’s weirdly almost reminding me of Italian sausage, which is not a flavor I’ve EVER picked up on in tea before. Don’t think I’d drink this again, but it was definitely an interesting experience!

From the Samurai TTB
The strongest note here is certainly anise, but I’m getting clove and cinnamon and a bit of sweetness from the apple. If you like anise this might be for you, or you could pick the star anise pieces out and give it a try.
I added a scoop of CTC Assam to the second steep, and it toned down the licorice flavor a bit. Still overwhelmingly anise.

I gave this another go with a longer steep time, and it’s a completely different cup of tea. The mint is still dominant, but there is a touch of jasmine that follows the mint and lasts into the aftertaste. The balance of the mint and jasmine really does remind me of a snowy winter day, and is balanced so nicely.

I definitely need to use different steeping parameters next time I try this, because I used water that was much too cool and it just didn’t coax out enough flavor. I was intrigued by the idea of jasmine and mint together in a blend, but because of the low temperature, I could really just taste a bit of mint. Need to re-try.

Still not doing it for me. I’m not getting any of the juniper or cedar flavor, and the Ceylon base is unremarkable.

I’d been holding onto this tea for awhile, waiting for colder weather before sampling. This morning seemed like the perfect opportunity, so I brewed up a cup and put on The 39 Steps to watch before work.
The tea looks beautiful, with the juniper berries and cedar tips decorating the black base. Unfortunately, I can’t taste much of either. The cedar is completely undetectable, and the juniper is almost imperceptible. I did add some honey, so I will try it unsweetened next time, with some different steep parameters to try to coax more of the flavors out.

I was hoping for a more balanced blend, but I’m mainly getting the star anise. The smell actually reminds me of a soup tea I’ve tasted in the past (I can’t seem to put my finger on which one). But, there is a savory quality to this that I’m not enjoying.

I’m on the hunt for a really mapley tea. I’ve tried quite a few and none of them have the ‘I am a liquified cup of syrup’ experience I’m looking for. This one falls into the disappointing category. It smells promising- maple and ginger. But, tastes pretty much like fennel and anise water. My maple hunt continues.

I bought this tea because Rivendell from Whispering Pines Tea Co. has not been in stock for forever. It is not the same as Rivendell, but I do like it. The juniper berry adds some sweetness which I did not expect.

Day 22 of our Advent Tea Swap. From amandastory516.

I was so excited to open my Advent tea for today and see that it is a smoky vanilla black tea! I love smoke, vanilla, and black teas and I’ve never had them all together in one tea so this is kind of an ideal choice for me. This is pure vanilla bean flavor, nothing artificial about it. I’m not getting any smoke unfortunately, but it’s still a really nice vanilla black.

The lemony, earthy, funky aroma carries over to taste. There is an almost preserved lemon thing going on that is strangely really good! It tastes citrusy and zingy on the toungue, but the bergamot is lost. So it is mostly a black lemon tea. A touch too lemony. I want some Earl Grey in there too. Takes milk well.
Later as it cools- I like it less. It starts to taste like lemon cleaner. I down graded it to a 60. It’s on the verge of not recommending. When this oz I bought is gone, I won’t get more.

A smooth tasting tea with smokey and peppery notes.

This is a smokey chai with a bit of a bite. It is always nice to find a new twist on Chai. I like this one a lot.

This tea is a delightful surprise. I generally do not like French tea because it is usually floral. But this is a nice blend of chinese and indian black teas that is slightly sweet and slightly smoky. I’ll be drinking a lot of this.

An interesting combination of spicy, citrus and floral notes with a smooth oolong base.