Tea of Life

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Recent Tasting Notes

50

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.

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60

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.

Martin Bednář

EG without a citrus notes isn’t an EG!

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75

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.

Flavors: Lemon, Tea

Preparation
3 min, 0 sec

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90

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!

Flavors: Tea

Preparation
5 min, 0 sec

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75
drank Orange Spice by Tea of Life
961 tasting notes

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!

Flavors: Cinnamon, Citrus, Orange, Smooth

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
ashmanra

I prefer Harney’s Green Hot Cinnamon to the ever so popular black one!

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85

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!

Flavors: Butter, Passion Fruit, Smooth, Vegetal

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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68
drank Winter Tea by Tea of Life
1831 tasting notes

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.

Flavors: Bitter, Cloves, Cranberry

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 300 ML
ashmanra

Wow, that does seem steep, especially for bags!

Martin Bednář

I don’t think it is accurate to be honest. The tea bags are quite small and doesn’t need to be sent in a parcel. And still, 20 € for 100 grams? I don’t think that Dutch post is that pricey!

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55

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.

Flavors: Citrus, Floral, Jasmine, Orange

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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45
drank Green Tea Soursop by Tea of Life
961 tasting notes

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!

Flavors: Bitter, Fruity, Sour

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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drank Cinnamon Chai by Tea of Life
2888 tasting notes

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. :)

derk

Never seen you throw a red x on a tea.

gmathis

Not very many. Does that give you an idea how vile it tasted? ;) The others in the same little Tea of Life assortment aren’t top shelf, but they are very tasty and good for office afternoons.

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drank Cinnamon Chai by Tea of Life
2888 tasting notes

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.

Cameron B.

Earl Grey, huh? That’s interesting. I wonder if it was the cardamom that tasted like bergamot.

gmathis

Could be; also could be remnants of Dawn from sloppy office dishwashing on my part :)

Cameron B.

Blech! ROFL!

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drank Jasmine Lavender by Tea of Life
2888 tasting notes

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.

Martin Bednář

I think that Tea of Life quality vary. I had some “meh” and then same box and they were good.

gmathis

Me, too. That’s why I have been so surprised with these!

Nichole/CuppaGeek

They have a blend that has pepper in it and it just sounds like such an odd tea but was always a delight.

Mastress Alita

I’ve had a jasmine tea before where I got that “grape Kool-Aid” note. It was just a straight black tea infused with jasmine, but had such a strong purple grape candy/punch flavor to me!

gmathis

The pepper one in this little bundle is “Pink Pepper Cinnamon” and it may be my favorite in the bunch.

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drank Jasmine Lavender by Tea of Life
2888 tasting notes

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.

Martin Bednář

Honestly, can’t imagine much those two together.

gmathis

The jasmine showed up more strongly after it cooled. Still no detectible lavender, so I don’t really know what they taste like together!

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drank Temple Fruit by Tea of Life
2888 tasting notes

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.

ashmanra

Oooooooo! Fruit Stripe that lasts!

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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.

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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.

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drank Peppermint Orange by Tea of Life
2888 tasting notes

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.

Martin Bednář

I recall that package available here as well, I think I have bags from it in my collection; but I think I haven’t got the tea.

gmathis

They have several boxed bundles like the one in the picture; I think there’s a “Holly Collection” and a “Santa-Something Collection” as well. I thought this one had more flavors that were out of the ordinary.

Martin Bednář

I pretty much agree with that “Christmas-giftable-for-non-teaists category” :) I liked it as the packaging, but never dared to buy it for drinking.

ashmanra

Sounds nice!

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drank Peppermint Orange by Tea of Life
2888 tasting notes

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.

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45
drank Earl Grey by Tea of Life
1831 tasting notes

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.

Flavors: Lemon, Malt, Smoked, Soap, Tannic

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 300 ML

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77

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!

Flavors: Cardamom, Cinnamon

Preparation
14 OZ / 400 ML

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100

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

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drank English Breakfast by Tea of Life
2888 tasting notes

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.

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18

I wanted to like it I really did. Green tea and blueberries what’s not to like.

But I regret and now am trying to drink up, serve and just get rid of this tea. To be fair the blueberry flavor is fine, a little finishing tart. But the green tea has this musty stale flavor it it. I’m more used to all sorts of traditional Japanese and Chinese variety greens so it could be a freshness bias. But

this one just taste like like an old gunpowder green that’s been aired out. It’s dusty and flat and I tried a variety of temperatures to compensate. Just not my cup of green tea. Bags are convenient for mass cold brewing to serve to guests.

Flavors: Blueberry, Dry Grass

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