169 Tasting Notes
A friend of mine gave me this tea along with the Autumn Cranberry tea as a thank you for a favor I did for her.
Apparently, my Christmas gift is from H&S too.
She said I could open it as soon as it arrived, I don’t have to wait till Christmas.
Now that is a true friend.
Okay! Now the tea…
This tea smells very holiday-like.
Obviously, Cinnamon is the focus point in both taste and smell in this tea, but I love the fact that the clove and orange are present as well.
Taste is like red-hot candies.
I like this tea…but honestly its mainly for the smell.
One thing that does not thrill me about this tea is that whatever vessel you choose to drink this from will smell like cinnamon red-hots for days to come.
I thought Lapsang Souchong left a taste/smell behind in my go-mug.
But, nothing like this tea!
I have soaked and scrubbed my go mug, but when I first open the lid to add my tea, I still smell a hint of cinnamon.
The other thing about this tea is that it is black tea based, however you are not going to find the black tea anywhere in here.
I was not expecting too, but just wanted to make sure it was known how very pronounced the cinnamon is.
That being said, this tea is perfect for the holidays and to have on hand for company.
I think even a non-tea drinker would like this sweet, cinnamon-y tea.
Overall, a very nice tea to have on a blustery Monday morning.
Preparation
I just have a smidgen of this tea left.
Seriously, I keep making smaller and smaller amounts of tea.
I feel like I am making tea for some elves that might drop by (if they did I don’t know if I would want to share though)
There is just something about this tea.
Its so dreamy, like something fairies would drink on a summer morning out of tiny teacups made of flower petals.
Yet, the fine quality Oolong is still present and not overpowered by the floral.
Very lovely tea and I will be so sad when its gone.
I think this tea would be lovely in the middle of winter when we are longing for a breath of spring.
See my previous notes for more info.
Oh, this is such a cute post!
P.S. For sure, elves don’t stand a chance, but let’s say a fairy would present herself, would you consider sharing a tiny cup with her then? LOL, I have some of this on its way, betcha it won’t last too long…
Oh, yes! I would certainly share with the wee folk if they dropped in:)
I did not order a large enough amount of this from Butiki, next time I will have to see if Stacy sells it in trough sized amounts.
Drinking this most of the morning…now edging into afternoon.
For some reason, I am getting much more LS from this today then I normally do.
As usual, I nearly doubled the amount of dry leaf per cup.
Very good companion to the house work and cheese making I am doing today.
See previous notes for more on this tea.
Oooooo! I haven’t tried this yet! Sounds great!
I will drop a bit in the mail to you.
I still have your addy from the last time (unless it changed)
No trade required…I am still drinking off the tea you sent me last time;)
Forget the tea…homemade cheese! I am in awe of your domestic skills!
Aw, thank you! Cheese making is a lot easier than people think though:)
Hard to find them without going to a touristy cheese shop in the Ozarks, but I am hooked on cheese curds—-big misshapen lumps of cheddar to chomp on like popcorn. Does your recipe lend itself to those? (Just curious.)
Well, each time you make a hard cheese, curds are formed.
So, I suppose, I have made them, but usually I take the curds and then pack them into a press to form a firm block.
Our large local creamery makes these too, and sell them fresh daily by the bag full, they are very tasty.
They even make a smoked cheddar variety as well as a Jalapeño flavor.
Backlogging from yesterday morning.
Its getting to be a tradition for me to make a large pot of this for Hubby and I share on Sunday Mornings.
He actually requests it.
In fact yesterday morning he rolled over and said “Babe, you gonna make tea or what”
Ha! only a tea drinking addict wife would think those were the sweetest words in the world from her Hubby:)
See my previous notes for more on this tea.
Twinings sample bag.
First LS I have ever had in a bag.
I was surprised. It is not terrible.
Not a very strong LS though.
But,I would actually purchase some of this to have on hand for a quick tea time or for stashing in my purse for traveling or visiting.
Also, might be good for those timid about trying a LS for the first time.
Preparation
I keep teas in my purse too and seem like a psycho when I order hot water in restaurants and pull out my own bags! Haha I would say putting this one in your purse may be dangerous unless you want everything in said purse to smell like this tea.
I don’t know, I kinda like the smell of LS.
I could think of my purse smelling of worse things;)
Haha Touché!
Which reminds me…I’m down to one emergency stash in my purse… :)
This was my official T-Day tea yesterday.
I am drinking it again this morning, since I really did not get to sit down and enjoy a tea time yesterday.
I even shared a little with the Hubby yesterday morning. (He asked me for some after sniffing my cup)
He proclaimed that it smelled like dirt and berries…not the most attractive description unless you are my farmer husband, he loves the smell of dirt.
I was not getting any notes of dirt though.
I do get oranges and cranberries though!
I think it is a very fun and festive tea.
I am enjoying it this morning with a my homemade Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls. Yum-O!
I hope all you wonderful Steepster folks had a beautiful Thanksgiving!
Preparation
Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls! Yum!
Its the Cream Cheese Maple Frosting that seals the deal;)
Here is the link if any one is feeling up to making them:
http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/pumpkin-cinnamon-rolls-recipe/
Oo, I like the smell of dirt, too! Wen I was a child, my father would take me to visit his parents on the farm where he grew up. “Freshly plowed field” is a rich and comforting smell.
This is one the first loose leaf teas I bought about a year ago when I started to get into loose leaf tea. (This and Earl Grey also from Twinings)
I spent last night mostly sleepless, tossing and turning to try to relieve pain from a pinched nerve in my neck.
This morning, it is not so bad, but my neck is stiff and sore.
Mainly, I am irritated, How dare my body slow me down! I have stuff to do!
But, my husband ordered me to take it easy today.
When I was thinking of what tea sounded good to me today this uncomplicated Twinings brew came to mind.
Its a pretty straight forward tea, yet it is not bitter, even if you are trying to pry your knitting away from your kitten and over brew it a bit.
So, today will be spent mainly on a heating pad, trying to relax muscles and nerves, but some knitting will get done, some pots of tea drank and some clothes folded and maybe later, even some cookies baked.
Its supposed to be chilly and snowy today, so all of those things sound perfectly acceptable to me.
Preparation
Youch! Take care of yourself!
I am trying:) Sometimes the most difficult person to care for is yourself!
Oh jeez all of those activities sound lovely on a cold snowy day! I am jealous of the snow (trade you for some rain!).. I do hope your neck gets better soon! Perhaps a hot bath?!
Wishing you a comfy-cozy day of recovery
I have been curious about this tea for awhile.
It sounds tasty, especially since I have a discovered a new found love of Lapsang Souchong.
So, when Ashmanra offered that we do a swap, this tea jumped out at me.
I will not pretend that the tea’s name has not been a part of my motivation to try this tea.
Today is overcast and rather damp and chilly.
Perfect afternoon to open up my package of McVities Digestive Biscuits and brew up a cup of this.
The scent is lovely, slightly smoky and a tinge of leather and maybe just a whiff of chocolate.
Taste surprised me with almost a tobacco bite, Hmmmm, I think since Sherlock was trying to quit the smoking, I bet he would be swigging this tea down often.
The tea smells delish, and tastes delish.
Its a hit in my book and after the holidays are over and paid off, I plan on making some tea orders and I am quite sure this will be on the list.
Thank you, Ashmanra for giving me a chance to try this lovely tea!
Preparation
I have a hard time believing it’s tea that I am drinking, it tastes so much like a cantaloupe cream flavored candy or something.
I have been drinking pretty much solid black teas all week.
Its been one of those kinda weeks…but I had some time this afternoon and wanted something fun and delightful and light…and this tea fit the bill perfectly!
Preparation
Yesterday, I cleaned and re-arranged my tea cupboard.
I came across and bit of Florence by Harney and Sons.
I remembered it wasn’t my favorite, but then I started thinking “What if…I mixed a bit of it with Almond Cookie by Simpson and Vail”
So, this morning that is what I am doing.
It smells lovely, like some sort of almond delight with a chocolate drizzle on it.
I used about a 2/3 Almond Cookie and a 1/3 Florence.
Taste wise, it is about perfect (for what I had in mind, anyhow)
Almond-y baked goods taste with a rich chocolate drizzle.
Tasty!
I have several friends who love this but it is too strong for me. I also don’t like Red Hots, and that is what this tastes like. I liked the green HCS better than the black but it was super sweet and syrupy tasting. It smells exactly like the Penzey’s cinnamon blend.
too strong for me as well. :)
It is pretty potent.
And weirdly enough, when I drink it, I don’t feel like I am drinking tea.
I had two non-tea drinkers drink it and they really liked it.
I enjoy the smell and I keep picturing it as some holiday beverage simmering on the back of the stove at a party.
I have drank it straight twice now (the first time I tried it and again to do this review)I have found that if I mix it with French Vanilla Black by Simpson and Vail I enjoy it much better. It tones it down a lot and makes it taste more like a tea to me.
Oh so true and frustrating that it sticks in whatever you put it in..even worse than Lapsangs.
I’m obsessed with cinnamon so naturally I’m in love with this tea, and I like the idea of mixing it too. I don’t think I’ve ever mixed it with anything.
I enjoy mixing it with a vanilla or apple tea (or all three…and then you have a apple pie tea!)
Once you mix this tea with another tea its flavor does not seem to stick so badly as well.