Various Artists

I am at my sisters place for the weekend and we went out to breakfast at a place called the Copper Kettle. When we walked in, they had their drink features displayed on a chalkboard. These features included a Winter Fog and a Caramel/Hazelnut Fog, which is what I went with.

The fog came to the table with the orange pekoe tea bag still in the mug, sticking out of the frothed milk. That didnt bode well for the drink. I pulled it out.

The fog was actually not bad. Creamy and warming with nutty notes and a distinct caramel sweetness. Would I order it again? Probably not but it was good enough as a breakfast accompaniment.

When I come back to Toronto, a friend and I always like to get bubble tea. It helps that I live in Markham and there is a plaza 5 minutes from my house with 4 different bubble tea shops (Chatime, The Alley, Coco, Tea Shop 168, probably more).

Across the street from there is another plaza with all Asian tea and foods including the recently opened Song Tea which has a cute ball pit and in theory had fun named teas like I’m not single cause I’m ugly…okay I am brulee milk tea and my ex boyfriend has a new rich girlfriend black tea. Except we fought the terrible traffic in the parking lot only to get inside and find a limited menu of like 5 milk teas, some cheese teas, and some fruit “teas”.

My friend got a lemon lime tea which literally was just water poured over lemon and limes. I got HK Milk Tea with brown sugar pearls. It wasnt bad but nothing special either. I think in the future it is best to stick to Chatime…or the alley.

There is a place in downtown Toronto, on King Street by Power St (super close to the DVP ramp on Adelaide that I take home from work every weekday) that sells Banana Cream Pie Eclairs. I think I mentioned them before but if I haven’t the place is called Roselle and they are an amazing bakery. The banana cream pie eclair is my new favorite thing and for those that like the blerg they make an earl grey soft serve that I hear is delicious, especially when you “level up” which means they enject the soft soft with lemon cream and put white chocolate pearls on top. Honestly my relationship with bergamot is iffy at best and I even want to try it (they also have an earl grey cake and earl grey shortbread cookie sandwich).

Anyways, today Waze directed me to Power Street, as opposed to Adelaide and since that never happens I took it as a sign that I should stop at Roselle. I bought up the Banana Cream Pie Eclairs and while the guy boxed them up my attention was drawn to the iced peach black tea on display at the counter, looking so cool and refreshing with the condensation and the full peaches inside. So I got one of those too. At $3.25 for a what’s essentially a cup the size of a red solo cup it was a bit steep but it just looked so good. Tastewise it was nice because despite my tastebuds still being kind of wonky, I got a lot of that fresh peach juiciness. The base was mellow and smooth with a bit of complimentary stone fruit flavors. It was definitely high quality ingredients used but as much as it was nice, I don’t think I would get it again. Just isn’t worth the price.

Got through security and customs in no time (despite getting confused by the new automated customs machines which is sad because I literally work in US immigration and deal with this stuff daily for others) which meant I had two hours to kill before boarding. Thankfully the airport has these cafe areas with plugs for laptops (so I can do some last minute work stuff) and iPads where I can order an iced chai latte with whole milk and a shot of vanilla, pay at a terminal next to me and have my drink delivered with minimal human interaction.

So I’m sipping on my deliciously decadent iced chai latte and working. Well…pretending to work really and mostly texting friends and reviewing my latte here. My spicy. Sweet. Exceptionally creamy latte.

On the weekend I was walking downtown for a friends birthday and made the wrong shoe choice and now I have a giant blister on the bottom of each foot to show for it. So at work today, I decided to not take lunch because tbh I just didn’t want to walk downstairs to the PATH to find something. So, when I got off work, I was craving something sweet and a S’mores Frappuccino came to mind. I figured that would be filling enough to tide me over until dinner but not so filling that I wouldn’t eat dinner. Plus, Starbucks was a drive thru so I could be lazy.

When I got to Starbucks though, they had no marshmallow whatever so no S’mores Frappuccino. Instead I got the Horchata Almond Frappuccino since that was what was being highlighted and I dont know the Starbucks menu well enough to think of something else quickly. They were also highlighting their Shaken Iced Teas and my coworker (the one who bitches at me when I buy Agua Fresca) made a huge stink about how amazing the Shaken Teavana Pineapple Black Tea Infusion was so I thought I would try it. I got it with lemonade because it was offered and I was curious.

I should have known better than to trust that co-worker because this is pretty meh. It is not a bad iced tea per se and its definitely got a distinctive pineapple flavor but either the lemonade, or perhaps Starbucks’ affinity for sweetening everything, makes this just too sweet. I thought a tart lemonade could highlight pineapple which tends to be sweet and tart but instead it is a slightly distracting side note that makes the whole thing seem a bit flat. This is okay in a pinch and tbh probably better without the lemonade but at the end of the day it wasn’t worth the hype my coworker made. The horchata frappuccino is pretty good though for those who want something sweet.

Toronto is a great foodie city if you know where to look and sometimes you luck out and some of the awesome local vendors decide to work together to make something even more awesome. Such was the case when Chocolates x Brandon Olsen decided to work with Kitten and the Bear Jams and Sloane Fine Tea to make jam and tea-infused ganache truffles. Nine truffles comprised of the perfect jam and tea pairings that cost a pretty penny but was certainly fun to try. Check out my review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2017/07/02/the-jam-tea-collection-from-cxbo-kitten-and-the-bear-sloane-fine-tea-merchants/

While in Toronto, I am surrounded by Bubble Tea places and none are more prevalent than Chatime. Luckily I enjoy their teas…well most of them. And now they are on UberEats so I can enjoy my bubble tea without ever leaving the comfort of my own home. So that is awesome.

During my first order, I decided to try a non-milk bubble tea, the Honey Green Tea. That is when I discovered I didn’t actually like all the teas Chatime had to offer. It was bitter and just not good. Check out my full review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2017/05/10/honey-green-tea-from-chatime/

On the other hand, there are some teas that I truly love when I go for my bubble tea fix. My personal favorite is the QQ Honeydew Milk Tea but when I am feeling a little nostalgic, the banana-medicine flavor of the Banana Milk Tea hits the spot. Check out my full review of that tea here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2017/03/25/banana-milk-tea-from-chatime/

GCTTB

There was some sort of Blood Orange fruit tea in the TTB but the company name had been rubbed away. I think it was something like Zen Tea or Zen Life Tea but it seems unclear. It is an appley tasting fruit tea with a slight tartness. If you use your imagination it could be loosely representative of blood orange but mostly its a generic fruit tea. Nothing bad but nothing special either.

My sister took me to afternoon tea as my channukah present and I honestly have never seen quite so much food as we got at this place. Alas, it was all served by snooty waiters who treated me and my sister like idiots. http://sororiteasisters.com/2017/03/06/victorian-afternoon-tea-at-annvita-tea-room/

Yesterday my tea of the day ended up being a Blueberry Tea from the Keg. Essentially they bring a Brandy Snifter with a shot of Grand Marnier and Amaretto and a small pot of tea with one Lipton teabag. It was really nice and warm and comforting…like a hug in a glass…but it wasn’t blueberry. The other elements took over and more than anything I got a nice citrus/ orange flavor. I don’t know if I would get it again but it made for a nice finish to a tasty meal. Plus, it paired nicely with my tiny Mango Creme Brulee dessert.

A few days back, friends were sniffing teas to see which they wanted to drink and they came across a “Mystery Tea” by DAVIDs. Honestly, I forgot I even had it but everyone was intrigued by how it smelled like bubblegum/candy. So I brewed them each up a cup and left a bit of leaf for me to try it later. Well, now is later and as I sip, I am definitely getting the melon in this tea. Melon and the hint of soap that DAVIDs white teas tend to have. I can certainly see where “bubblegum” comes to mind as the melon has an artificial sweetness usually found in melon flavoring. Its not bad but I just can’t get passed the soapy base. Blech.

So in my latest Butiki order with Sil and Cavocorax, we received a sample labelled “New Taiwanese Black”. Unfortunately, I don’t know what it is actually called and that is really sad because it is quite delicious. It reminds me of Yezi’s Jin Pin – malty and rich. Notes of caramel, vanilla, chocolate, raisin, bread, everything floating around in the cup. Yum! Now to find out its name so I can get MOAR. Much. Much. More!!

Sipping on cold brewed Barley tea and I am all kinds of happy :).

So my day started off kind of shitty. I woke up and had to tidy the apartment since someone said they wanted to come see it. They were supposed to arrive at 3 and at 4:30, when they still hadn’t showed, I messaged them to find out they forgot. So now they are coming tomorrow…provided they remember. It just sucks because I stayed in all day waiting for them.

Anyways, after realizing they were not coming, my roommate and I decided to go out. Our plan was to go eat dinner and then see Captain America. After grabbing our tickets, we headed over to a bubble tea place for dinner. It was nice because it was the first time in a long time where the two of us just hung out, as opposed to us staying shut in our rooms 24/7. Plus, I got to have some delicious tea:

First, I had a Fresh Taro Milk Tea with bubbles, which was delicious. Yummy latte, fresh taro, and bubbles…can’t ask for anything more :). Then, since we had time to kill before the movie, we went to a Korean supermarket and bought both Barley tea and Buckwheat tea to see how they compare to my beloved Soba Cha. And then, we hit up DAVIDs to redeem my free cup of tea for signing up with their frequent steeper club. I got Gold Rush because I figured that is expensive so it was a good tea to get for free :P. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as good as it normally is since it seemed weak but it was free so I wasn’t too upset. Also, once I was at DAVIDs, I ended up buying a couple of samples and 100g of Birthday Cake because I have a problem.

Anyways, right now I am sipping away at the Barley tea we bought and though I think I prefer Soba Cha, this is a close comparison for those who can’t easily get a hold of Harney and Son teas. I would say the only difference is this is more like wheat/grains while Soba is reminiscent of a hot cereal. Both are good though :)

Oh and Captain America was quite great in case anyone was wondering.

Sorry Roswell Strange but I did not get to Camellia Sinensis today as I ended up going to the hospital instead to wait with my friend for test results :(. All is well though and my friend and I will be going some point soon enough.

As a thank you for coming to the hospital and supplying her with food she shared some tea from this really cute “tea book” (which basically looks like a tiny, elaborately decorated novel but is instead a small tea tin). I didn’t know what to expect since it had jasmine petals and cornflower and all sorts of random goodies but in the end, it almost tastes like Lupicia’s Sweet Potato Pie tea. I kid you not, and I have no clue why it would but that is what I am getting from this cup and I am loving it.

Went for a tasty dinner and had a delicious hazelnut milk tea with bubbles. It was like drinking creamy and delicious liquid pralines. Mmmm mmmm good :)

I started my day resteeping the leaves of the Cactus Flower tea I had last night. The flavor held up perfectly so I was very happy sipping away at it as I looked through different online stores and debating if I wanted to buy more things or not.

At the same time, I steeped some Georgia Tea Company’s Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai tea in my timolino. This came to me from JennyFur and I was excited to try it out. Unfortunately, I never got around to it because I ended up going with my roommate to actual stores to shop. Usually I would avoid stores on days with big sales, especially when I can get the same deals online,but she needed to get sized for bras and I needed a white collared shirt for my grad photo on Thursday (both of which we got so YAY!). However, this got left behind.

Luckily, we went into CaesarsTea and got some teas to go. My roommate had a coupon for a free cup of tea (the employee who sold me the 25 different teas a couple weeks back gave us each one but I forgot mine at home). She was only supposed to be able to choose between their two teas of the day but the saleswoman helping us let her chose any tea she wanted. She got a tea called The Energizer which was minty and very nice. I got a fruity Pu’erh and white tea while I was there called Pu Show. It was rather enjoyable because despite not adding sweetner, the Pu’erh was so caramel-y.

Then our shopping trip turned into a bit of a day out since we planned on meeting a friend near by later in the evening to go see Catching Fire. We decided to kill time by going to get some bubble tea. I got a Passion Lemon tea which was amazing. They basically take passion fruit black tea and throw in some lemon sorbet. It was fruity and tart and super delicious.

After the movie, which was AMAZING!!, we went back to our friends house and she made some Osmanthus tea. That tea was so buttery – it was almost like drinking liquid butter. Not really for me but an interesting taste experience for sure.

Now I have finally returned home to find some awesome tea packages from MissB and Roswell Strange. And after 12 hours of sitting in my freezing apartment, my timolino managed to keep my Sleepy Hollow Tea warm. Although it tastes a bit soapy. I will have to try brewing it again and having it fresh to really review it.

All in all, I had a pretty great tea filled day. Plus, now I have a bunch of new teas to try to keep me busy until all my awesome Black Friday orders arrive!!

Today was a fun day with regards to tea for my roommate and I. It all started when I got home and my roommate told me she wanted to go to Camellia Sinensis. This is unusual for her because typically I am the one dragging her to tea shops because I like to try all the fun and different flavored teas whereas she has a lot more plain teas that she buys in Asia. However, she told me that she is almost out of Genmaicha and she checked out Camellia’s website after I told her about it a couple days ago. She wanted to check out the store and pick up some of their Genmaicha with Matcha and Sencha and since I am always willing to visit a tea shop we decided to head out.

Unfortunately despite its close proximity to our apartment we got lost and ended up wandering until we were near a shop, NosThes, that according to my roommate makes “the best bubble tea in Montreal”. So we decided that once we were nearby we might as well pop in there and get some tea. Based on the recommendation of the waitress we both ended up getting a Vanilla and Nuts black tea. Mine was a hot latte with no sugar and no bubbles and my roommate got hers done as a hot latte with some sugar and bubbles. This tea done both ways was AMAZING! My roommate was still talking about her bubble tea hours later and as I said before, she does not usually like flavored teas.

Anyways, while we enjoyed our NosThes, we looked up the location for Camellia Sinensis and so we back tracked towards our apartment and finally found the shop. First of all, when you turn onto the street where the shop is, it looks like you teleported back in time. The shops have an old-timey look to them that is just super adorable. Inside, Camellia Sinensis, is quite lovely. Its walls are lined with silver tins filled with tea (although there are no labels – you have to look through a book to see the different types of tea they have) and different mugs and teapots they have for sale. I was tempted to buy some of their tins because they are really pretty however they were also quite expensive and I could not justify spending surplus amount of money on tins. However, while looking at tins, I noticed a small tin filled with Lichee (their spelling, not mine) and peony tea that my roommate and I both thought smelled amazing. Then I realized the small tin was actually one of many small tea-filled tins that were for sale so I picked on up and we headed over to the counter. My roommate had come prepared and knew what she wanted to buy so she ended up getting 50 g of the Genmaicha with Matcha and Sencha and a small tin of Matcha Uji that the salesman recommended for casual matcha drinking. I, on the other hand, had made the mistake of not checking out their teas beforehand and because their tea book was in French I got overwhelmed and intimidated and decided just to stick with my small tin of Lichee and Peony tea which my roommate ended up buying for me.

We left the shop with our new purchases and made the short walk home. When we got home, my roommate quickly started the kettle so that we could try her new teas. This was funny because usually I am the one who comes home with a million new teas and I make her drink them with me but today was her turn to brew cup after cup for us to try.

We started with the Genmaicha with Matcha and Sencha. I had never tried Genmaicha and I have only ever had flavored green teas so this was a brand new experience for me. Anyways, the first steep, though delicate, was definitely far more vegetal than any tea I would ever by however to my surprise, I quite enjoyed it. The second steep brought out more of the toasted rice flavors which I thought was quite delicious. However, my roommate, though she quite liked her new tea said that the Genmaicha she already had was better. She started to brew that so that I too could try both and compare. Her Genmaicha had more of a robust and roasted flavor to it upon the first steep. Similarly to the other Genmaicha, the second steep once again brought out the flavors of the rice. So basically from this tasting, I learned a couple of things – I no longer mind a vegetal tasting tea and apparently I prefer the second steep of a Genmaicha because I like the roasty-toasty rice flavoring.

Once we got the ball rolling on tea tasting, my roommate seemed to realize why I like sharing teas with her so often and so she decided we should switch things up and try the Lichee and Peony tea. This tea was delicate and floral but the lychee helps balance the floral taste so that it did not come off perfume-y. The second steep of this tea was quite similar to the first with the exception of the lychee flavor being a bit more pronounced. Our third steep lacked flavor so we both concluded this tea should only be steeped twice.

After all that, my roommate thought I needed to try a good Pu’erh tea she had from China. She got very excited and had me smell the dry leaf. She then poured boiling water over the leaves and dumped it out since apparently you should always rinse a good pu’erh to bring out the scent. So once she rinsed the leaves she made me smell them again and she was right as the scent was definitely more robust. She then informed me that a good pu’erh is always better after the second steep so we had our first steep and then a second. Since the tea was fermented I worried about the flavor but I was pleasantly surprised. The second steep was definitely more delicate than the first but both were delicious. Unfortunately, we then had to rush our last cup because we decided to go to a Body Pump class at the gym.

All in all it was nice exploring new flavors that I would not usually pick myself. I tend to go for bold flavors but more and more I realize the value of a simple yet delicious tea. That is not to say I plan on giving up my love of flavored teas anytime soon. In fact, arriving home from the gym I found a swap package from Courtney in my mail box filled with many new flavored teas that I can’t wait to try.

I crawled out of my anti-social hidey-hole today and got together with a friend, which ended up with us sitting in Starbucks and chatting for the better part of five hours.

Of course, now I’ve had more caffeine today than anyone rightfully should.

But at least the trend started with a pretty lovely pot of Da Hong Pao from a local Asian restaurant. It had the right mix of woody, loamy and a bit of apricot-like sweetness to make polishing it off a pleasure.

This tea is apparently ‘Of Flowers’ from Postcard Teas in London and came my way from justnord (thank you!), but I can’t find anything on here or online, so I’m cataloging it here.

It’s really a gorgeous blend, with huge flowers in it. Rosebuds, marigold, chrysanthemum yellow cornflowers and a whole lot of stuff I don’t recognize. But chunky and gorgeous, basically.

I used a full tablespoon per 8 oz because of the size, and steeped for 10 minutes. It smells rosey and almost chamomile-like. And pretty much tastes exactly how it smells. Chryanthemum is the dominant flavors, with a bit of rose in there.

This one isn’t really for me I think, as chrysanthemum isn’t really my favorite.

With my last order from Blue Raven, I received a bunch of small (1 cup or so) samples, but I couldn’t find this one on here or in their store so I thought I’d throw it up here!

Anyway, it was labelled Sunshine Oolong and is supposed to be a yuzu berry flavored oolong.

It’s a rolled green oolong base with big pale yellow flowers that don’t look (or taste) like marigold, but it’s hard to tell with there only being a cup or so of tea here. It smells fresh, citrusy and a little green. As it steeps it becomes very citrus fragrant, and not unlike cutting into a fresh grapefruit.

As far as taste goes, there is a surprising strong floral component. I actually think the flowers are chrysanthemum because that’s the closest taste equivalent I can come up with. It’s a tart grape fruity citrus flavor with a sweet orange element that hits at the back of my mouth. This might be the closest you could come to eating yuzu without actually eating it!

The oolong base was buttery and green with just a little floral component of its own (delicately orchid, but not in conflict with the dominant floral flavor). I got 4 pretty solid steeps out of this, but by the last one it was very much floral and oolong and not yuzu. Still! I would probably by more of thiis for the summer months if I could. I would imagine this would be amazing iced, or with a splash of orange juice! Yum!

88/100

I’m not entirely sure what company this Cinnamon Apple Caramel Rooibos came from but it was found in my sample drawer. It’s actually pretty good. It has a nice crisp apple flavor with subtle cinnamon and a sweet note from the caramel. Mmm :)