TeaSource

I received a sample of this with a recent order and certainly was not expecting it, so thanks TeaSource! This was even one of the teas I had in my cart but weeded out at the end to only hit the free shipping threshold but not spend over that, so I was curious to try it.

I usually get the chocolate/mint combo on a rooibos base, but I’m really liking it on this black base. I gave it a pretty harty steep and it isn’t astringent at all! There is a bit of a coppery quality coming through, but mostly the flavor is very richly chocolate mint. The cocoa note is dark and smooth, with perhaps a tinge of that alcohol-quality, but not much. The mint has almost a creamy taste rather than being abrasively menthol, but it does leave a very refreshing cool aftertaste on the tongue. It’s well-balanced and tasty and I regret my decision to drop it from my cart last minute, but won’t sleep on it next time. I think this tea would make a wonderful latte, but with just a sample’s worth of leaf, that will have to remain speculation.

I was out of Rooibos Market Spice but found this tea sourced from TeaSource listed on Tea Runners when I was making an order some time ago and figured it would be a close enough substitute. And, it is. This has that same “sweet cinnamon candy” taste you’d find in Market Spice, Harney’s Hot Cinnamon Spice, or David Tea’s Cinnamon Rooibos Chai. Despite “orange” being in the name, it doesn’t really come out in the flavor… sometimes after the tea is cooled a bit I taste it in the aftertaste. Mainly it’s just the sweet cinnamon, and if you’ve had any tea with that flavor profile, you know what to expect here. It’s very warming and great on a rainy day like today.

I bought this at Snake River Tea in Boise, Idaho, several years ago. So I think it’s TeaSource’s old recipe. I cold brewed it, and I love it! It mainly tastes of root beer to me, and sometimes it almost tastes like Dr Pepper. I also get vanilla and spearmint notes. This is really tasty!

Went to a lady’s high tea with my mom and daughter. The food served was decent. Pretty typical for American fare. The chicken salad looked amazing but I couldn’t eat it due to my almond allergy. They only served one tea. This one. Most of the table consisted of coffee drinkers. They seemed to enjoy it. It was good to try one but not one I would seek out. The liquor aroma reminds me of brandy. And the after taste is brandy mixed with different artificial stuffs. The flavor has a bit of cream that is nice along with some odd citrus notes. Just not my thing.

I think I perfected the brewing conditions of this tea (on the last bit of looseleaf I had, so I now don’t have any)

To cut the licorice-ness, steep for a short length of time (2-3 minutes). The peppermint steeps faster than the other ingredients so you get a peppermint blend with some other after-notes. I really wish I could taste the clove, but so far I’ve never tasted it.The larger clove pieces probably got used up first because big pieces will gather at the top of the bag while the tiny mint dust bits end up at the bottom.

Anyway, I’m happy to use it up but I did end up liking this more without the licorice metallic notes. I’ve upped the rating because normal people don’t forget about a tea for as long as I did last time and today’s steep most accurately reflects a typical steep.

I feel like I might have a cold someing on. Either that or asthma. Either way, a mint herbal seems like a good choice. I believe t6his is from the last TTB about two years ago.

I couldn’t be bothered to boil water, so this is probably steeping at 80-85 degrees C (ish), which is the hottest temperature that cmes out of my tap (too hot to hold your hands under, but not boiling). I’m using half of the pouch I’ve got, so about 2 tbs or 3g of leaf.

This tea has an herby mint flavour but is overwhelmed by sickly sweet licorice root. There are notes of minerals/metallic and soil from the licorice, but it isn’t as fresh as some other herbals I’ve had so it wasn’t as bad. It would still be better with something like spearmint, lemon mint, or lemon grass.

From Tiffany a while ago, thanks very much!  I think a few shops carry this cute heart shaped tea, but I don’t think I have had it from TeaSource yet.  It’s fairly small, so I’m hoping there is enough here for me to get a full flavor for my tastebuds.  The rose is definitely there — it’s sweet, yet a BIT perfumey.  Reminds me a little of cherry flavoring. I can’t taste much of the base at all.  I went into this thinking it was puerh, then realized it’s a DARK tea.  The second steep lets more of the base seep through, while the rose also changes from sweet/cherry to more of a perfume.  The base definitely has a flavor that isn’t quite puerh and isn’t quite black tea.  I think I have only had ONE dark tea in the past, so this is interesting!  The third steep, the rose has faded a bit. I’d say the flavor of the dark tea and rose does pair nicely with the dark tea. But then the rose makes it tough to distinguish flavor notes from the dark tea. Once the leaves are unraveled, there is a good amount of leaf in the infuser —  more than I expected from this tiny heart!  
Steep #1 // 15 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 3 minutes after boiling // 3 min
Steep #3 // just boiled // 5-6 min

Sip Down

This is my second bag of this tea…At this point, I may go ahead and buy a pound. It’s incredibly affordable and holds up to the OG vendors such as Yunnan Sourcing. I love a great daily drinker sheng puerh. This tea has the right amount of bitterness when pushed, which oftentimes, I will, and a pop of fruity notes. Now that there’s a sale, I’m going to go ahead and make the purchase!

Kind of a creamy feel on the tongue. Very subtle flavors, wonderful aroma.

TTB tea! This is quite malty and nice! It has a tasty, rich body. Really, I’m happy with this! I actually regret sharing the cup of it. I wish I had more!

TTB tea! Actually, this is quite hearty and tasty. With sugar and milk, it’s not bad at all. A nice plain black tea!

From Tiffany a while ago, thanks very much!  I had this tea yesterday, so this note won’t be great.  It’s a middle of the road earl.  Sadly so, as it looks like a great quality black tea leaf.  I’m not sure if it’s worth saying it has silver tips though… I only see one or two of those sickles in my sample pouch.  The bergamot used here is just okay.  Not my favorite, not terrible.  Maybe hints of grapefruit.  Always happy to try all the Earls!

Album: Buck Meek – Haunted Mountain
Song: Paradise – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RdRqZTLce4
Bonus Song: Haunted Mountain – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv8uI2VXppA

TeaTiff TTB. Whoa. I went into this tasting note knowing nothing. The aroma is intense with apple. We love apples up here in Minnesota. Our UofM has done a lot of research etc on apples. This one reminds me though of a Fuji apple with a slight hint of red delicious and a bit of golden delicious. Muted olive greens mixed with muted browns. Maybe not the prettiest leaf but the aroma makes up for that. I’m not sure of how old this sample is so I know that will take into account some of the old notes I am getting but they aren’t terrible. But overall, I’d say the flavor isn’t anything too exciting. It is mellow. Earthy with different apple notes and a small hint of barnyard. The wet aroma is somewhat vexing. Reminds me of some Indian black teas with bready and raisin notes. The mouthfeel is smooth.

TeaTiff TTB
A nice mix of dark chocolate colored leaf and golden fuzzy buds and is mostly tightly twisted. Woody aroma. The wet leaf becomes a muted milk chocolate with green olives mixed in. The smell is a pile of fall leaves long since forgotten. Very dark liquor color. Opaque, deep golden brown. That is a punch in the face. If you like a tea that will talk sweetly to you while it’s warming up and then utterly wreck you to make sure you are walking out the door in top form, you’ve found a good one. Brisk yet smooth. Astringent with its pinky pointed. There is a bit of cream and a side of cedar wood balanced smoothly with an old decaying tree.