Tea of Life

Another work teabag.

This was nice! It had a good fresh raspberry flavor on a smooth base. I didn’t really notice the other berries, but I wasn’t complaining ha ha. Very mellow and ended up being a nice choice for the afternoon. Would sip again!

Swing and I miss. The EG from yesterday was a disappointment, so assuming that Tea of Life could make a solid lemon tea was incorrect. It was malty like the EG, but there was ZERO lemon to the tasting notes.

Backlog

This is the least Bergamot EG I’ve tried. While it was heavy in the malt category, it was missing the citrus which makes an EG enjoyable.

I honestly don’t mind this tea without any sweeteners or creamers, just completely black. This isn’t a tea I would keep my the bag in even though this is something I am usually guilty of. Taking it out earlier I feel helps to minimize the soapy flavor that people sometimes can have with this blend and just a plain lemon, black tea blend.

E is for … English Breakfast! (Ode to Tea)
I love a nice cup of black tea, sweetened with some sugar and topped off with coffee cake creamer, such a treat for my morning. Tea of Life, makes amazing tea bags in all tastes and blends, their black tea blends are so warming and a perfect way to jump start the morning. These are some of my favorite tea bags to have on hand!

Samurai TTB #56

I’ve had lots of orange spice black tea blends before, but I don’t recall another one with a green tea base. I actually found this a lot more enjoyable than the classic Constant Comment. The green tea base is nice and smooth and the orange flavor was distinctive without being overwhelmed by sweet cinnamon (as is so often the case in such blends). Here, the cinnamon just added a gently warming note. I honestly enjoyed this so much more than I was expecting!

Samurai TTB #55

Of the four fruity green teas from Tea of Life I tried in the TTB, this one was my favorite! The green tea base was buttery-smooth with a subtle vegetal flavor and the passion fruit flavor was quite distinctive and natural. Hot, I wasn’t getting much flavor, but the passion fruit really started to pop as my cup cooled down. I think this would be a delicious iced tea!

I am pretty much impressed finding this tea here. But well, it’s there so I don’t have to add another entry to the database.

It is from huge bags section, so unknown age (but a lot), only a paper bag, no box or anything else. Mixed with other tea bags.

Steeeping should be 2-3 minutes longs so again I did steep on shorter time. I took a sniff before dunking the tea bag and I thought that cranberries are in. False. Apparently it is orange with cloves.

The tea as brewed isn’t bad. But as well nothing fancy. The base was very strong and the orange was there but muted a lot (maybe because the age) and flavour was quite astringent and bitter. I can imagine that orange with cloves being bitter, but this was quite unpleasant. Sad. But it was orange in taste, more-less.

It seems they have a webshop: https://www.teaoflife.nl/index.php/en which is quite funky, but I won’t order anything from them I guess. Paying 20 € for postage of samples is way too steep. And they have only tea bags.

Samurai TTB #39

I do like the orange flavoring in this, which is coming across smooth and natural like freshly-squeezed orange juice. However, the bite of overly flowery jasmine in the aftertaste is throwing off the experience for me.

Samurai TTB #38

I’ve never had a soursop, so I have no idea what it’s supposed to taste like. The green tea base is brisk and slightly bitter and the fruity flavor reminds me a bit of lime, but with an edge…kinda like eating a lime with the rind and peel included. I didn’t really enjoy it, but it was an interesting experience!

I thought maybe a completely rinsed-out work mug and a few months of introspection might change my opinion of this one. Nope. Tastes like Mr. Clean. Dumped it and pitched the remaining handful of bags. I wouldn’t wish this one on anybody. :)

I’ve bragged quite a bit on the surprises we’ve found in this little assortment, but we may have reached the end of the line. It tasted like a cup of cheap Earl Grey with a little cinnamon dumped into it. No chai, not much cinnamon. I dumped it. I’ll give it another go with a little more attention, but I won’t invest a lot of effort trying to like it.

My little cheapie box of gift basket tea continues to perform beyond expectations. Last time, I couldn’t detect any lavender; this time (and I have no idea what I did differently), it’s there and tastes almost like grape Kool-Aid. In a good way.

Of the varieties in this little Tea of Life bundle I’ve been playing with, this is one that didn’t exactly tickle my curiosity, but new things keep your synapses snapping, so here goes…

…and those synapses are straining, attempting to locate the advertised flavors. Jasmine? Maybe. Lavender? Not feeling it. Result? Mildly fruity with a floral lilt. Overall? Not bad, particularly since I do like my flowers on the side table, not as a centerpiece.

Another little gem from the cheapie gift box. Remember Fruit Stripe gum? How it had flavor for exactly three chews before it turned into tasteless rubber? This is Orange Fruit Stripe gum that lasts for a whole cup! No strongly discernible chai notes here, I’m maybe getting a little pepper. Cheerful and office friendly.

The building has been so cold this week, I’ve been bundling up in jeans, stocking caps, gloves, and a huge fringe Pendleton wool cape, formerly my mom’s, that covers a short girl from head to toe and has been nicknamed The Rabbi Cape. I’ve been making tea simply for the purpose of defrosting my hands and nose on my favorite office mug (heavy stoneware with debossed/stamped cat faces). It feels good to rub your thumbs over the texture. So if I’m going to drink three sips, then adulterate it with more boiling water, what better opportunity to drink up the second string stash that’s been in my office for ages?

Enter Pomegranate Lemongrass. Supposedly it’s a white chai, and perhaps you can pick up a little spice when you sniff and sip. Mostly, it’s a pleasant but largely unrecognizable fruit flavor. Virtually no caffeine effect at all, which is also a plus, considering how many gallons I’ve been guzzling to stay warm. Not one I’ll hunt out again, nor one you can likely find again—it was part of a Christmas novelty assortment some time ago, but one that performs as needed when you just need to get warm.

Another from the cheapie gift box. I like chai, especially this time of year, but I don’t like chai that tastes like somebody dumped my mom’s 30-year-old McCormick Spice bottles (many with original contents) into a bowl and threw it in. So the fact that only hints of the spices appear in these little bags is OK by me. Lemongrass first, then the pomegranate, then the white tea, which because I was impatient and didn’t cool the water, came out just a little bitter. User fail, not the tea’s fault. A nice afternooner.

I’ve been looking for a decent linkable picture to add to this tea description, and after clicking myself down the rabbit hole, it appears that this is produced by the same folks in Sri Lanka that purvey the English Tea Shop brand (also in the Christmas-giftable-for-non-teaists category).

All the same, I like this immensely for its lightness in flavor. Evidently I can’t taste white tea unless there is something else in it. In this case, the something else leads with orange, peppermint following, with those very mild chai spices to warm it up. Not fancy, but then again, neither am I.

After many delays, we allowed ourselves a Grand Weekend Out, marked by a trip to the Ozarks and some self-gratification in the form of impulse shopping and overeating. This was one of the impulses—part of a seasonal (cheap) gift assortment like you’d find at TJ Maxx or Tuesday Morning, but it had some interesting combinations I had not seen elsewhere.

In this case, the tea base is nearly imperceptible, but it has a very light balance of orange (first), peppermint (next), and chai spices (background notes) that is extremely pleasant when you just want something warm and fragrant to sip. Small bags—don’t get out your big mug for these.

Best part of the weekend wasn’t the tea. We found the remnants of a little park on Lake Taneycomo where we did our courting, still intact, having survived The Landing (huge obscenely commercial shopping zone on the water). You can still find two or three floating fishing docks. We sat on one and watched the boats and held hands.

Okay, I had tea bag of this.

The base was very nice, bold and malty. Even bit smoky! And that is what I like on EGs. But as this is supposed to be citrusy from bergamot – well this part is missing completely. It was rather lemon dish soap taste-aroma, weirdly sweet and overall unenjoyable.

Too bad, the base is great, but flavour is wicked.

Brewed and overbrewed a little. I don’t know again exact steeping time.

Anyway, tea itself is quite bold and strong with mild chai notes; while mostly cinnamon and cardamom I think.

It wasn’t much complex tea, but it was simple – quite aromatic, tea. Not much of spicy here, but as I don’t really spicy, mouth-dulling teas, I really enjoyed it.

Simple, enjoyable, with bit of spices. NIce!

amazing!!! perfect for those wanting more sweetness/flavor in their green

Somebody shared at work. Drinkable, even when I left the bag in the mug the whole time, but neither especially strong nor especially notable. Just tea. Best simply because it is hot.