The NecessiTeas

Latte Sipdown (638)!

Making this one as a latte was VariaTEA’s recommendation, so that’s exactly what I did. I’m a fan of the chocolate peanut butter cup tea that DT sells, which is quite similar to this one, so I was excited to see how this would compare. As far as I can tell, the BIG different between these two is that this one has caramel pieces in it? For me, that’s actually a really good selling point – but who knows if they would drastically impact the flavour.

I think the ultimate answer is that this does make for a REALLY tasty latte, but not one that’s massively different from the DT version. It’s perhaps a little bit sweeter from the caramel, and it has a super creamy/nutty peanut butter taste that does loosely emulate the filling of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup/comparable candy. I don’t think it’s nearly as much chocolate as the DT version!? However it’s hard to say without a direct comparison. Even if that’s true, I’m ok with the trade off for the sweeter/richer nutty components. Yeah; this one was REALLY good and I’m super happy I decided to do it up as a latte because it was the perfect cap to a long shift at work and gave me this really indulgent moment!

Not overly a fan of green, strawberry teas…this one was pretty average. nothing extra special about this version of a strawberry grean…though i’d argue if they were going for shortcake, they feel short. heh. It’s much more generically strawberry green.

Final count: 44

This is a sipdown for me, but apparently I didn’t have this tea listed in my Steepster cupboard so I don’t get to count the number decrease… Boo!

I enjoyed this last mug though; I finished it off last night while watching the Season 6 premiere episode of The 100 – and honestly I am shook. I wish someone at work liked The 100 because there was so much to unpack, and I just really want to have someone to talk to about it. What an emotional rollercoaster…

Tea tasted lovely; but what significantly more chocolate than banana.

I found myself in a weird state of flux with this tea – I had steeped it up hot and added in a bit of vanilla agave. If you’ve noticed I’m using a lot of vanilla agave lately it’s because I have a bottle of it with a broken cap that’s nearly empty and I’ve been trying to finish it off quickly. The tea was simultaneously too sweet/rich in terms of vanilla/chocolate/banana flavour but also was very thin and watery too? It was as if it was in two seperate states that just should not have been able to coexist. A bit of a mind fuck.

Sipdown (631)!

We’re now carrying almond milk at work, which is exciting for me because I try not to drink milk so much but I hate the taste of soy milk. So, work is one of the only places I ever drink actual milk in anything. Now I have another option, though!

So, this was an almond milk latte – and because we recently celebrated our 10 year birthday as a company we have a TON of sprinkles left over from the specialty drink we were serving, so I added lots and lots of sprinkles to the top of this one too. It was a little excessive but also really fun. Who doesn’t love a latte with sprinkles!?

Flavour wise this was great; sweet banana and just slightly bitter chocolate notes. I liked the tiny bit of bitterness contrasted with the really sweet banana/sprinkles. The hint of nutty almond milk was a nice, complimentary addition also. A good, sweet treat that didn’t feel over-complicated.

Something sweet to sip away at midday instead of munching on snacks…

Chocolate? Check! Banana? Big check! It’s a nice flavour; and I do really enjoy sweet banana and chocolate teas – it’s a big soft spot for me, especially since chocolate teas can be quite hit or miss for me. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a chocolate banana tea I didn’t like though? No exception here.

Biggest qualm is that it’s MIGHTY oily. Like, the film of oil and melted chocolate goo on the surface of the tea liquor is the worst I’ve seen on any tea in quite some time. The mouthfeel is also a little oily. At least the flavour is really solid though. Solid enough to make up for the oil slick I’m experiencing.

Thanks for the share VariaTEA!

Sipdown (579)!

I’ve been drinking a lot of DAVIDsTEA’s Candy Cane Crush blend this winter, and unfortunately that blend is just so strong and flavourful that it’s made this blend look a little weak and watery in comparison.

Hot cuppa, on my last day off.

There’s definitely nothing wrong/bad about this tea at all save for a somewhat oily feeling mouthfeel. The flavour is sweet, smooth peppermint bark though with creaminess and a little hint of chocolate. It’s also finally snowy outside and winter-like, so it felt really awesome actually brewing up a cup of this at a more appropriate time of the year.

It’s kind of weird how much the seasons (and your surroundings in general) can affect your experience when drinking tea, but there’s really something to be said about the atmosphere you drink a tea in sort of “making the experience”.

I’ve been on a bit of a mint tea binge this week; I think it’s helping a bit with the headaches I’ve been having – and I mean maybe it’s placebo, but if it works I’ll take it. This one was nice; definitely very creamy and rich on top of the overall strong mint notes. Reminds me of white chocolate bark with candy canes, like what you get at Christmas. Also very similar to DAVIDsTEA’s Candy Cane Crush but somewhat more balanced in terms of general sweetness. Thanks for the share VariaTEA!

Another one from VariaTEA and i’m with her on this one. Do not like. I’ve come to realise that i always want more banana, but i also really don’t like “maple” flavours in teas. It never really tastes like maple and always has this artificial maple flavour. Will be passing this on to someone else to see if they can enjoy it more.

Final Count: 52

Sipdown (641)!

Another VariaTEA share! This is one that sounds really good in theory, but steeped out I found it disappointing. Not necessarily bad tasting, but just not overly flavourful. I got strawberry from the taste, but there was a bit of a dullness/flatness to it, and there wasn’t really anything in the blend that reminded me of shortcake at all. Some strong timothy hay notes from the white tea. I actually thought the tea itself was the strongest flavour and far outweighed the taste of the strawberry or anything that may have been intended to be cake-like.

Again, not bad – I definitely finished the cup and would drink it again if served. I just don’t think it comes close to conveying its namesake.

Hot sipdown (652)!

Definitely not as into this one as a hot tea rather than cold brewed, but I knew that would be the case – I just didn’t have enough leaf left for a second cold brew so figured I should look at a different perspective on the flavour. It’s just very sweet/rich and obviously uses candied fruits. A little bit more noticable orange, also. Still can’t really taste the strawberry though – where is it hiding!?

Another from VariaTEA!

This is a really nice summer cold brew or iced tea; I’m drinking cold brewed though. It reminds me quite a bit of DAVIDsTEA’s Mango Fruit Punch. Definitely sweeter, with that candied fruit element that MFP also has. I think this is a bit more noticeably citrus-y though; maybe a larger percentage of citrus to mango than MFP has? This one also appears to have the strawberry in it just like DT’s blend but similarly I don’t taste the strawberry in this one either.

Anyway – MFP has never really been my jam, but it appeals to a lot of people and it’s one that I definitely don’t mind enjoying sporadically, so I’m enjoying this one! I wonder if it’s something The Necessiteas carries year round or if it’s something that they do just for the summer, like DT? Anyone know? This would be a really excellent alternative for fans of the DT blend if it is carried year round.

Sweet, smooth, refreshing and tropical.

Cold Brew Sipdown (805)!

Currently drinking this and finding it blissfully refreshing. As I mentioned in another tasting note, I’ve had a headache for much of the day so I got this brew started earlier in the morning and now I’m loving the sweet, sweet pay off of a rich rooibos with honey, red fruit and almond notes mixed with cherry, vanilla, and a little hint of citrus.

A thousand blessings to VariaTEA who perpetually keeps me in supply of this blend…

From yesterday…

Really pleasant tasting rooibos base and the little hint of vanilla was nice but that cherry was leaning into an awfully medicinal place – maybe too long of a steep? Usually this tea is a delight, but something was just… off.

Sipdown (618)…

Well, I’m pretty sad to see this blend finished off – but at the same time, any tea that I don’t have to move across the country is a win right now.

I do think this was my least favourite experience with this tea; though that’s not to say it was a bad cup. I just thought that this was the least cola tasting cup, and the cherry read as a little bit borderline medicinal to me. However, I still got a beautiful, creamy vanilla note and hints of sarsaparilla that I found delicious. A minute shorter of a steep time, and I think this would have been perfect. I just drew out the notes of the cherry too much and it’s distracting from the other flavours…

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xENutxPNSO8&list=WL&index=3

Iced, with vanilla agave.

I LOVE the taste of this – basically, it just tasted exactly like flat Cherry Vanilla Coke with a more reasonable sugar level. The vanilla is only partly from the vanilla agave, as well – there’s already a nice creaminess to the tea itself.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPpInGffxgM&t=0s&index=2&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ

Probably my last tea of the day…

The dry leaf for this one smells amazing – really screams Cherry Cola, with hints of sweet and creamy vanilla. Makes me think of drinking an amazing float in some old school malt shop/diner. I was all kind of excited to steep this one up in the hope that it would be even half as tasty as it smells.

The taste is awesome; the cherry and vanilla notes both come through quite strongly and clearly and really balance each other out. I don’t think the cola is quite as strong in taste as it was in smell, but it is there and I have so say that it’s better than a lot of cola teas I’ve tried – and I have had my fair share. It’s a little bit citrus-y too, and that makes me wonder if this is one of those blends that uses a combo of citrus and spice to recreate the cola flavour. I don’t taste any spices though, so maybe not. Rooibos base comes through fairly strongly also; pulls you out of the cherry cola illusion a little bit but doesn’t completely shatter it. Thanks for sharing VariaTEA!

Ultimately I really like the taste of this one, the only problem is that as I finish off the mug that nausea/queasiness is coming back in full force and I’m starting to feel really sick. That strong feeling of being right on the verge of gagging or full on throwing up. I’ve felt this sensation so much over the last four days that I know it has ZERO to do with the tea itself, but it’s hard to not wonder what’s triggering it and if that trigger has any connection to the tea…

It’s making the last bit of the mug hard to finish off though, and that’s why this is likely the last tea of the night. Don’t need anything else adding to the nausea. Bleck. Ick. Ugh.

“Sipdown” (643)!

This is another one that I’m adding into the Discovery Tea Box, since it was requested by someone later on in the line up. VariaTEA was really generous with her sample of it, so I’m happy to share! Just gonna sneak in one last cup before I pack it into the box.

Delightful banana notes make up the bulk of the sip, but there’s also marshmallow and peanut butter notes as well. The peanut butter notes are what I find the most interesting; I don’t remember it tasting at all like peanut butter the last time I drank it. It’s good though; I’m loving that sweet, nutty end to the sip! Makes me think that there should be more peanut butter and banana teas out there. The honeybush feels stronger as the tea cools, as does the peanut butter element. So, it’s progressing into more of a banana, peanut butter, and honey sort of taste. Really good!

I hope the rest of the people in the tea box line up enjoy this one!

One of the many teas that I received from the amazing VariaTEA today. Seriously, she passed along more than eighty tea samples to me – single handedly pushing my cupboard into the 600+ tea mark! Tea friends are amazing, and also sometimes kind of crazy.

I picked teas today by just randomly picking from the box, which is how I wound up drinking this one. Here’s the thing, I don’t know that I’m familiar with what a fluffernutter actually is? I mean I’m like 95% sure it has marshmallow in it but other than that I’ve got no clue. It was good though! The taste was very rich and sweet and it put one very solid image in my head that I just couldn’t break away from; this basically tasted exactly like those banana marshmallow five cent candies that you used to be able to get at the convenience store. Very sweet and more of an artificial banana flavour but still so good; definitely has this nostalgic quality for me. I could also taste the honeybush; sweet and woody with a very slight peppery undertone to it as well. I actually liked the pairing a lot; that woody/peppery combo kept this one from being too sweet/sugary.

Thanks VariaTEA!

I made this as a teapop and I just can’t get it to work for me. The rooibos is too overpowering and mixed with the cherry it tastes like medicine. I don’t have much left so I may try this as a latte…or Roswell Strange may have more of this in her future…

Yesterday I had a sore throat. That went away but all last night I had a dry throat. Then now I’m a bit wheezy and stuffed. Nbd but my tastebuds may or may not be a bit off. I say that because in smell this is 100% cherry cola but flavorwise it is a lot more cherry and a touch medicinal.

Creamy and floral, this nicely captured the flavors of both coconut and lychee. However, its potent and has a surprisingly thick mouthfeel. I enjoyed it but don’t think it will be a cupboard staple.

Check out my full review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2017/11/16/coconut-lychee-from-the-necessiteas/

mmmmmmm pulled this one out to have as a latte tonight since VariaTEA gave me enough of a sample for that as well. Latte really brings out the peanut butter aspect of this one imo. It’s still not as intense as a reese, but it’s delicious! Even though i wouldn’t want this all the time, it’s an interesting tea and pretty good! thanks VariaTEA!

Final Count: 17