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I didn’t realize until I was steeping this one that it is a lot like my favorite no-caff blend (carrot, pineapple, coconut… plus and minus a few things) and this one is just as tasty especially when I oversteeped the second cup the next night. But there is no oversteeping here, only lovely fuller flavor, with the coconut, carrot and pineapple blending together even better. MMM. And the pieces of everything are huge! There is a really nice balance between the three. I only taste a tiny bit of cinnamon aftertaste and the honeybush and rooibos base is perfect for this one. It really helps give the cup that orange color to go with that carrot. This blend is my thing!
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// few minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // many minute steep

Edited to add: Just got a call at 2 in the morning that Dad was taken to the hospital with brain bleeding from the stroke he had two weeks ago. He is still ten hours away because he was taking antibiotics for the infection and was seemingly doing well. I am scared to death now and have to wait for his surgery to be done.

I had always wanted to try this one from Tealyra so when this one was part of the discontinuing sale, I had to buy some. The name won me over as Butiki’s Golden Lion Assam was probably my favorite tea of all time. Sadly, I don’t love this one at all… or even mildly like it. It’s too meek, mild, plain and boring. Ouch. I’m not even trying to compare it to Butiki’s at all. I even tried three teaspoons this time and the result was the same. I could swear it almost tastes like plain water, even though I usually can really appreciate some golden leaf teas. The picture of the tea looks much darker, the leaves I have are much more golden. I just don’t taste much here but the meekest of plain black tea…
Steep #1 // 3 teaspoons for a full mug// 13 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 5 minute steep

Thanks for having that wonderful giveaway a few months ago, Teavivre! I won a few samples and a $5 gift card. Teavivre is awesome like that. The leaves here are the longest I’ve seen, long flattened lovely green leaves, that peak out of my basket infuser while touching the bottom. The scent of the dry leaves is sweet and heavenly. The flavor is too. There is such complexity here: sugar, butter, creamed corn, even strawberries. Strawberries! And even more little flavor notes that I’m sure I missed. It’s like every sip was different. The second steep was a little more muted than the first cup. I can definitely taste the quality in this one, like I usually can with Teavivre’s teas.
Steep #1 // half sample for a full mug// 33 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 27 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Harvest: 2017

A couple months ago, AngryTeaRoom.com sent three generous samples with my SMALL order (thank you!) They must not have been feeling as angry that day. :D Also, the front page of their site right now has a few alcohol teas. This lavender bergamot blend is DELICIOUS and just such a perfect combination and the right balance. The bergamot and citrus and lavender that Angry has here just perfectly compliments each other. And it is amazingly balanced. So tasty I’m drinking it much too fast. The black tea is the perfect briskness. The lavender and bergamot are strong, just the way I like it. Floral and herby, yet sweet and citrusy. I would stock up on this one in a heartbeat! I’m missing some great Earls anyway. Did I mention this is just perfect today? Gorgeous.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// 13 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3-4 minute steep

I’m very thankful you sent this over, JusTea! A lovely mint tea on a hot day. The tea looks like mostly mint with a piece of rose petal or purple leaf occasionally in the blend, maybe that is just my sample. The mint is mmmmm delicious. Sweet and strong, just the way I like it. The second steep is even more magic, sweet and full minty flavor. I figured I could steep close to boiling on the second cup because it is mostly mint. I didn’t try to add lemon to make it purple this time. I wanted to enjoy the lovely mint as is! If you want a great mint option, this one is perfect.
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug// 27 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3-4 minute steep

My mind is still mostly on my dad in the hospital (he is doing better) but I thought I’d do a quick note for this tea as I only have one teabag. This is a free teabag that Bluebird sent with Jelly + Ice Cream. I never tried it before so I was excited! I never felt the need to try this though, because Hot Mama Jama sounds similar but better with fruit and spice. But this is no Hot Mama Jama. They are both delicious and unique enough. This one is major mint and lemon all on a lovely green tea base. So FULL of flavor. Yum. It’s very well balanced and definitely thirst quenching on a hot day. I like this tea and I LOVE Bluebird!

Update on my dad, he has aphasia from the stroke but it has been improving since Saturday. They still need to do more tests. I’m just terrified for him. Aphasia is when you can’t make connections with languages between speaking and listening. All of his intelligence is still there but my heart is breaking thinking of how tough it will be for him and uninformed people might treat him like an idiot. To still have all of your intelligence but not be able to communicate! It is a nightmare for anyone. It just reminds me of when you’re supposed to be under anesthesia but you aren’t and are still conscious… just kind of the opposite. It just hasn’t been easy for him or me in general and this is just one more thing. I’m not sure he will be able to drive or work and that will be even harder for him. I will have all the patience with him but I don’t think others will. All because he tries to do everything for everyone. He just doesn’t deserve this. No one does.

Sipdown of this. I needed a calming tea. My dad went to the hospital today with a stroke. He took a trip for a week 10 hours away to visit his mom which really meant helping her with a ton of things (not really “vacation”), because that is what he does for everyone. He was roofing a shed, so that didn’t help. One of the last things he said to me before he left was about my brother having trouble roofing the shed at his house recently and then mentioned being out of it years ago after roofing the house. Oh the irony… and something he should have been thinking of before he tried to roof that shed. So he doesn’t really have speech and can’t really tell what people are saying. Physically he is fine for now. But I can’t really tell how bad it is because of distance. I don’t know much about strokes, don’t know how much damage to his brain he has or if he can recover his speech. (He still has a job… 40+ years there.) His sisters are with him now too, so that helps. But he is one of those people that might get worse just being in the hospital (I know I would.) He doesn’t want to be taken care of, he wants to do things for others. I’m terrified because he helps me with so much even if I try not to ask about much. I don’t usually talk personal with tasting notes but all I can do is worry.

Just a quick note to say I’ve been enjoying this from the teabox and now it’s a….. SIPDOWWWWNNN. I had to remove it when the teabox was last here because I saw it in the teabox the last round. But it’s actually still very creamsicley and tasty. Thanks for whomever included it. I liked it anyway. :D
Also sipdowned a lovely baozhong oolong today which was still delicious.

JusTea sent me a message saying they’d like me to try this unique tea (and they also sent over some extra extra goodies.) Thank you so much for reaching out, JusTea! I appreciate that. I love JusTea’s offerings. Now, all tea that isn’t a tisane comes from the green tea tree. But not THIS. It’s purple leaves. I wouldn’t say the end result looks extremely purple… the leaf actually looks like a dusty, twisty black tea with a hint of emerald color. But upon brewing, the leaf looks like a delicious green. I tried following the steep instructions, but the resulting brew had the lightest of flavors like green tea. The color definitely seemed different though. A muted mauve. I didn’t have any lemons to squeeze into the tea, so I used quite a bit of lemon juice. The color was pink! But the flavor then was mostly lemon. Whoops. Pink lemonade! I tried steeping the second cup a half mug right after boiling for two minutes. Unlike a green tea would have, it didn’t taste too bitter, but again the flavor is light. It’s a fun and different experience though! A pink cup without including hibiscus.
Steep #1 // 1 heaping teaspoon for a full mug// 35 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 2 minute steep

Another day steeping with fresh leaves, I wanted to try two teaspoons as the flavor was a little light with one teaspoon. The cup was much more flavorful this time, even more like a green tea. The color of the cup was darker but I didn’t want to add lemon to affect the flavor this time. I just wanted to enjoy the flavor of the purple! Still like a light green tea but with a dry quality, vegetal yet sweet. I think the best steep time for this on the second cup might be 15 minutes after boiling (around 195 degrees) or even hotter as a half mug at boiling didn’t overkill it last time. Next time I’ll try two teaspoons and add lemon and see how purple it gets. If you want a unique tea experience, give this one a try!
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug// 30 minutes after boiling // 2 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 25 min after boiling // 3 minute steep