New Tasting Notes

Another new offering from my grocery store’s tea section. It’s bagged but this was a new brand that I haven’t heard of, so I thought I’d give it a try. I picked out this tea because I like almond flavoring… not so huge on almond nuts but the flavoring? Awesome.

When I opened the little foil bag, I was hit by the strong (and delicious) smell of pure amaretto. Just what I had been hoping for! When I took out some tea bags, though, I couldn’t help but think that they looked a bit like they were made of dryer sheets. That’s kind of uncool. Mental note: smell the bags, don’t look at them.

After steeping, the tea is a much more tea-like smelling creation. It smells thick, woodsy, malty and occasionally I get flashes of something that smells similar to dark chocolate or cocoa, but just a flash. And waiting patiently behind this very strong and bold tea smell is my adorable little amaretto. I hope the same is true for the taste.

I don’t have huge experiences with Ceylon, not straight at least, but this taste doesn’t remind me of Adagio’s Ceylon blends (or any other Ceylon-based flavored tea I can think of). It actually reminds me of a CTC that I had from Lupicia a while back – thickly textured, malty, a little bit of sticky sweet. (I just looked it up and I’m thinking about Silonibari BPS, which I believe is an Assam.) The amaretto flavor kind of flits around playfully; sometimes it’s at the beginning of the sip, sometimes the end, sometimes I get it all throughout the sip. It’s definitely taking a back seat to the tea but not so much that it fades away.

I do think the tea might be a wee bit strong for the lighter almond taste, though, because the end taste of the tea is so thick and coating that it seems more working counter to the almond than in conjunction. The almond shows up more when I take multiple sips instead of resting in between. I think resting gives the tea a chance to build up its thick, slightly bitter (in a wet, nutty way) end notes which totally drown out the amaretto. Sip-sip-sipping results in more sweet, light almond.

Overall, not bad but it could use a little something. Since this reminds me so much of Silonibari BPS, which turned to flat, boring cardboard when milk was added, I don’t think I’m brave enough to try it with milk. Mentally, I’ve already decided that would ruin it. But trying it with sugar seems like a good idea…

Ah yes, a good idea. It kills off just enough of the nutty bitter that I’m able to enjoy the almond more. It’s still not overwhelmingly almond, but it’s not distractingly wet-bitter at the end, either. Much better. I also seem to drink it faster which helps with the lack of nutty-bitter aftertaste. Overall, the addition of sugar seems to make the tea/flavoring ratio seem a bit better balanced instead of the big bully of the tea running roughshod all over the sweet, innocent little almond.

As always, it is nice to come across a flavored tea that still lets the tea be the star. I’m not sure that they picked the best leading actor in the tea world, though, but since sugar tempers that a bit, I won’t complain too loudly. Overall, a nice tea… and one with a pretty serious caffeine punch. (Seriously, my hands just started trembling a bit and I only had 6oz. Usually only lots of sencha or a stout Assam give me the shakes. Wowza.)

This was a tea party tea yesterday. My guest liked it very much, and I think it is a good tea, very much like Tower of London, a little less similar to Paris. As it cools, I don’t enjoy it as much because it begins to taste a little soapy to me, but while hot it is very fruity and good.

This tea is fantastic! It totally tastes like a hot cup of amaretto. It’s one of my favourite dessert teas, as the tea is quite sweet. The almond and coconut comes through in the taste quite magnificently, though the almond flavour is a lot stronger. Smells delicious too!

I knew this would be good the minute I measured the tea into my teapot. The dried leaves smelled sweetly of cranberry. The smell intensified after I added the water.

I enjoyed this tea on my (hour) commute. It is nothing super complex but a great fruit flavored black blend.

I got this tea from my local tea shop. I do not know where the owner sources it from.

A slightly grassy tea given the blend of green tea leaves and lemongrass. It’s very smooth and refreshing – just the kind of tea that you would love to have after an invigorating spa treatment. I like the use of ginger oil instead of ginger pieces in this tea, as it adds a subtle note of spiciness and a touch of exoticness to the tea, without overshadowing the mellow flavour of the tea leaves. I spent my tea time today happily with a pot of this and a good book. Life is good :)

The first time I tried this tea I was blown away at the complex flavours. Now that I’ve had a few more teas similar to this, it doesn’t feel very unique but I’m still quite impressed.

With each sip I treat my taste buds to some of my favourite flavours/notes; deep roasted character (reminds me of roasted oolong), honey-barley (reminds me of Oriental Beauty), and a rich black tea body are the highlights. There is also a fleshy/pulpy/grainy texture to the liquour which gives it a nice weight in my mouth. And as noted in the description there is also a nice floral fragrance and fruit flavour going on. If that wasn’t enough please my palate, the roasted tea flavour lingers on in my mouth and my mind for a long time.

I’ve tried this with short steeps before, but I enjoy the rich tea body so steeping at 4 to 5 mins works best for me. Anyway it’s one of my favourite teas, and I love to drink it on rare occasions to treat myself. (I don’t like drinking my favourite teas too often, otherwise the taste becomes ordinary to me. Therefor not as special!)

200ml glass teapot, 2 tsp, 1 steep

I received this as a sample along with my order
nice, floral..roses, jasmine..is that calendula I’m tasting as well? I’ve only smelled it as a candle scent. Nice light Oolong. Tasty.
it blends so well,,,I taste it all-no competing flavors, slightly sweet
my sample is gone….

Captain Assam! I seem to be drowning in A&D’s Damn Fine Tea these days (not that that could possibly be a bad thing). A very lovely gift from a secret santa, and I brewed it straight away.

I went ahead and tried the full 4-minute recommended steep, and boy, it was lovely. Brisk as can be, with a very even flavor, reminiscent of raisin and wet branches. (Sorry, that sounds strange, but it’s pleasant, I swear!) I gave the leaves a second steep, but I’m afraid the resteep was rather weak. Maybe I’ll try a 3 minute first steep and the second cup will come out alright?

Anyway, A solid cup. It’s certainly worth your time.

Tea of the morning….

EDIT TO ADD: Their delivery service is appalling. I cannot in good conscience give this tea a good rating. Service = 0, the tea was about an 80.

And likely my last pot for a while as it is gone and my refill is stuck in a warehouse somewhere. I was so fortunate to be able to make an order at their online store for some tea for myself as well as a gift for a friend. I thought I ordered in plenty of time Nov. 23. My invoice showed a delivery day of Dec. 8. I was pretty confident that would give me time to get the gift in the mail and off to where it was going in plenty of time for Christmas. The 8th came and went….and after a few emails with Customer Service at F&M, I found out that my order has not shipped out (on Dec.22) because they are having warehouse issues. Wow. It is a good thing I emailed, because there was no offer of this information. I know it is bad to review a place based upon one experience, but I am very disappointed. It will probably be my only order from them ever, and I will just have to enjoy other teas. For those considering an order, my suggestion is to plan way ahead. And maybe avoid the holidays all together. I would cancel my order, but the allure of orange marmalade with gold leaf in it celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee for my friend is just too cool…along with a commemorative tin of Jubilee Tea. Maybe by Valentine’s?

Backlogging two cups from last night, in hot chocolate form.

This really is amazing as hot chocolate; it kind of reminds me of nutella if I’m honest – nutty dark chocolate. I shouldn’t have had it mostly because it had a lot of dairy and I’m fighting a cold (dairy and colds don’t mix!), but oh, at the time it was SO. WORTH. IT.

I am not sure how much I liked this. Perhaps I would rename it burned marshmallow… The smokey flavor really was prevelant for me. It reminded me of drinking tea while sitting at a campfire (in the smoke) I would perhaps drink this again, but not regularly

I had this last night and I want to try it iced. It really reminded me of peach snapple

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

This was absolutely delicious. It was such a sweet cinnamon flavor. I can’t get enough. I can see myself Christmas morning sitting by the tree drinking this lovely tea

Mmm, nice for this time of year. true flavor, sweet. seasonal. decaf

Love this. LOOOOVE. Way to go, steepster and co, for getting me hooked on this gem. Something nostalgic stirred in me after reading so many tasting notes on this stuff. I knew I had to try it. And thankfully Safeway had 1 box left!

For a bagged green, I love how I can’t taste the green tea. It’s peppermint and vanilla for me mostly, with that hint of cinnamon lingering at the end of some sips. I’ve been managing two long steeps from a bag.

I’ve plowed through a fair bit in just a couple days, all the while totally neglecting other teas to be de-cupboarded before a massive boxing day tea shopping spree. Needless to say I need to hunt down more boxes of this!

This is SO GOOD. I am currently on my fourth cup (the combination of my seventh and eighth infusions), and the flavor just keeps getting better and better. I probably will stop now at my fourth cup, only because my husband will be coming home soon and I find myself unable to focus on tea so much when he is home. Tea is more of something for MY time, and I find myself leaving cups unattended when he is home. This is not a tea that should be left unattended!

The first two infusions were lightly sweet. The liquor was thick and there was a caramel-y flavor to it, but, mostly what I noticed was a roasted/charred and camphor kind of flavor. Very little astringency to this cup.

The second cup with infusions #3 and #4 was lighter in body, with a bit of astringency that I noted to be dry. The roasted/charred/woody flavor is still present, but it is lighter, and hints of thinned honey and spice start to come through.

The third cup (infusions 5 and 6) are incredibly sweet. The sweetness is more like a burnt sugar sweetness… almost like molasses. Earthy tones have replaced the woody tones, and the spice flavors have more definition. Notes of freshly baked bread here.

My fourth and final cup is also amazing (but I think cup 3 was the best). This time, I taste cinnamon raisin toast, maybe with a little touch of butter, and the edges are slightly crisped but not burned. Just dark … almost burned.

An absolutely delightful Oolong. A must try for Oolong fans!

Thank you Marie @ Teavivre for ending me this generous sample

How can you not appreciate the art & labor when a tea is rolled up into little balls? It’s beautiful to look at.
This brews really nice with a nice, light floral taste that compliments the green nicely. Great aroma, smooth. I’m going to drink this next time I cook Chinese and whenever I’m in the mood for something floral.

Backlogging: I had some of this last night while watching a movie with the hubby. I find that this tastes MUCH better when brewed stronger, I used 3 tea bags in my 12 ounce (approx) mug, and it turned out wonderfully.

Guess I’m in the minority here but this was my favorite from the little wooden gift set from the company. My son and I devoured these bags first. They were a present a few years back from my mother and I still have the box (and the teas I didn’t finish, other flavors not as appealing.) Found the taste delightful and strong. Would love to find a loose leaf orange spice tea that I enjoy even more from an online vedor.

I am drinking tonight what I guess is this same tea, only a bagged version of it. I prefer the loose leaf, but this is still pretty good as a bagged tea. A strong savory tone to this … more so than I noticed with the loose leaf. It is almost broth-y, but then I brewed it strong.

Nice, but as I said, the loose leaf is better.