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I have not been drinking this, but I’ve been adding it to my yogurt – thanks to Variatea’s brilliant idea. So far, I’ve added just a bit to a variety of flavors and it comes out great each time (though I do need to premix and then add back in so it isn’t lumpy and bitter. I’ve tried it in Yoplait Light Boston Cream Pie, Light Banana Cream Pie (which is surprisingly delicious), Light Strawberry, Light Greek Strawberry… anyway, it works in all of them, just adds a bit of an extra oomph in the creamy taste department, which is something these low fat yogurts tend to lack. I’m not sure I’d purchase for the sole use of yogurt adjuster, but it’s been a nice addition!

PS Work has been sucking my soul. If I work one more 50+ hour week, I may very well keel over and no amount of tea will resuscitate me.

Great Canadian Traveling Tea Box – Round 3

Trying to get my few tasting notes in for this box before sending it off to the next recipient (and somehow manage to stuff everything back in plus what I’m adding). I drank this about a week ago so ignore the lack of detail, but I did not enjoy this one, though it was drinkable. I was expecting something similar to the Teavana Spiced Apple Cider (which I adore), but there was a spice in this that didn’t sit well with me. Happy to have tried but would not purchase.

Life stuff first.

My parents bought a condo in NYC and so this past weekend (really an extended weekend – short vacation), my husband and I went up (actually we just got back today). First of all, I am so behind on steepster it’s ridiculous. Second, NYC is crazy in the summer, third, in 2 days I walked over 8 miles so I’m a wee bit exhausted. I only bought a little bit of tea (Davidstea Hot Tropic and Sangria) since I had a family friend walking with me and I didn’t want to seem like a complete nut-case; next time I will definitely spend over $5 on tea while I’m there. Also, I passed a Kusmi and I know there are several other brands available. And I bought Ladurée macaroons. Yum.
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Anyway, I knew I was going to be dehydrated when I got home so I had a container of this (actually, there’s another blend too) cold brewing in the fridge. It is delightful! I’m mostly getting strawberry. No added sweetener needed.

I really do not want to go to work tomorrow… and I want Steepster to work today since I have a lot to catch up on. But I keep on getting that black screen which makes it seem like they are doing updates or something. All I’m saying is that this note better not get eaten.

Teeny Tiny TTB

I have 3 remaining teas to try from this tea box and they are on the docket for today. This was one of them. I was a little worried about the pu-erh and I am getting some kind of weird taste from it that I can’t quite place. It’s not horrible, but it’s not something I would want to drink again. It is surprisingly smooth and creamy, but not quite delicious though not bad enough to dump.

Teeny Tiny TTB

Well I goofed with this one. By the time I realized that the recommended steep time is mere seconds, I had gone over. However, it’s still not too grassy. It’s buttery with a faint grape aroma and taste. Now, if you read my tasting note about Teavana Chateau Blanc, then you’ll know grape isn’t really a favorite of mine. This is nice enough, but it’s a similar type of grape flavor and so I’m not enthused enough to keep it around or buy.

This came from the Here’s Hoping traveling teabox – Round 3 – completely forgot to log it though.

I did my own version of cold brewing with this. For pretty much all of my iced teas, I brew them regularly (per the hot instructions – including amount of “leaf” temp and so on) and then I stick them in the fridge. This allows me to use the least amount of leaf and still get some of the flavors that don’t usually make an appearance unless cold brewed. Anyway, this was yummy. It was just sweet enough on its own iced to not add sweetener, but once again, I actually like hibiscus.

Today I had a bit of a clean out of my tea cupboard since I realized that my tea obsession started in July of 2013 and I like to make sure that everything in my cupboard is a year old or less. Well, this led to me labeling all of my teas with the dates of purchase. In my less tea-educated days, I bought so much of individual teas and there are way too many of them that are still kicking around. Let’s just say I have a lot of drinking to do! And I am now on a self-imposed hiatus from teas that I’ve bought recently (like the mammoth purchase I just made from River Teas) except for samples and traveling tea boxes.

Anyway, back to Blueberry Merlot. I like this, just not quite as much as Teavana Blueberry Kona Pop.

Teeny Tiny TTB

I couldn’t not taste this one due to the name and I was hoping that since the ginger was pretty low on the ingredients list, it wouldn’t be too offensive, but that’s really all I could taste, even after sweetening it. A pity, since the other ingredients seemed lovely. Back in the box it goes.

Teeny Tiny TTB

Holy cow. This smells and tastes almost exactly like Quakers instant maple & brown sugar oatmeal. It’s almost unreal. I added a bit of sweetener to mine since my sugar leaves didn’t fully dissolve. Think I’ll be keeping the rest of this sample. Why haven’t I tried this sooner?!

If you hadn’t already guessed, that is my favorite flavor of oatmeal, though I try not to eat the instant stuff anymore since it’s loaded with extra sugar. Now I can have this with my fake-sugar instead!

Teeny Tiny TTB

This is a tasty green tea, not too vegetal, slightly buttery, even. I’m getting a faint bit of apple (which became more pronounced when I added a little bit of sweetener). This is good, but I definitely enjoyed the green tea I had yesterday more. I certainly wouldn’t turn down another cup, but I’m not sure it’s special enough to stock.

Teeny Tiny TTB

Wow! This one is really nice. It’s more of a toasted coconut. It actually reminds me of those toasted coconut marshmallows they used to give us at camp. I wasn’t a huge fan of those, but this is delightful! I added a touch of sweetener so it wouldn’t get too vegetal. Not sure how much water I used, but I filled my 12oz mug about 3/4 of the way so close to the 8oz mark I think? Anyway, really enjoying this one. Hope it lasts a resteep!