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I received a sample of this tea with my regular order (policy of the company, which is very nice).

The company website and description has me a bit baffled. It says the taste is/should be sweet and floral. Perhaps I brewed it wrong, though I don’t really think so as the tea turned out to taste pretty good, just not sweet and floral, but rather very much like raw chestnuts. It also smells of chestnuts, olive oil and/or some kind of vegetable I can’t put my finger on. Furthermore it has a distinctly woody quality.

Perhaps the website refers to the aged Tieguanyin, while I received the non-aged or less-aged version? (The website links through to a page about the farm, where a number of varieties are mentioned, while the website itself shows pictures of a yellow/amber coloured brew and a burnt orange coloured brew).

Anyway, it has a comforting warm but at the same time strangly crisp energizing character.

I’m sorry I can’t describe it more accurately, but it just isn’t like any tea I’ve tasted before. Maybe the taste is typical for oolongs, but this is just my second – the first being a Chinese “milky oolong” of undisclosed origin.

A very interesting tea in a positive way. Probably something I’ll be ordering in the near furtur (maybe even today… :-)).

I received a sample of this tea from Cteresa – thanks again ;-) – and liked it so much that I recently bought Histoire Tibetaine from THE O DOR as it resembles this tea ingredient wise.

These teas are similar in some respects but certainly not the same.

Starting with the basis: both teas contain vanilla, bergamot and jasmine. The HT adds marigold and uses a base of black and green tea. The TT adds mandarin orange and rose and uses a base of black tea.

Although the vanilla and jasmine are very recognizable in both teas, they vere into entirely different directions taste wise.

In the HT the vanilla is really in the forefront, both scent and tastewise. De jasmine prevents the brew becoming too sweet. The bergamot and marigold aren’t really recognizable, at least not to me (actually I don’t even know what marigold smells and tastes like). The tea is warm, sweet and comforting in character. The floral notes remain in the background.

In the TT on the other hand the floral notes – and especially the rose – are at the forefront. Together with the black tea base this makes for an edgier tea with a slight smokey feeling. The vanilla is cetainly present but seems to be in a supporting role rather than a leading one. As the tea cools the vanilla becomes more noticeable btw.

It’s really great to see how two teas with for a great part the same ingredients can be so different in character. They actually aren’t comparable at all :-)

I like both teas. For the TT that’s something, as I actually don’t like rose in my tea and usually try to avoid rose scented teas. The HT is more of a ‘happy feeling’ tea as the TT is more elegant and sophisticated. Being a sweet tooth I’d probably choose the HT over the TT most times, but I can imagine that being different for others.

Prep details: HT 80 C/ 4:30 min & TT 95 C/ 4:30 min

Rating is for TT only. This review has been posted under HT too and give it’s rating there

I bought this tea because the ingredients and the smell reminded me of The au Tibet, of which Cteresa so kindly sent me a sample and which I really liked.

These teas are similar in some respects but certainly not the same.

Starting with the basis: both teas contain vanilla, bergamot and jasmine. The HT adds marigold and uses a base of black and green tea. The TT adds mandarin orange and rose and uses a base of black tea.

Although the vanilla and jasmine are very recognizable in both teas, they vere into entirely different directions taste wise.

In the HT the vanilla is really in the forefront, both scent and tastewise. De jasmine prevents the brew becoming too sweet. The bergamot and marigold aren’t really recognizable, at least not to me (actually I don’t even know what marigold smells and tastes like). The tea is warm, sweet and comforting in character. The floral notes remain in the background.

In the TT on the other hand the floral notes – and especially the rose – are at the forefront. Together with the black tea base this makes for an edgier tea with a slight smokey feeling. The vanilla is cetainly present but seems to be in a supporting role rather than a leading one. As the tea cools the vanilla becomes more noticeable btw.

It’s really great to see how two teas with for a great part the same ingredients can be so different in character. They actually aren’t comparable at all :-)

I like both teas. For the TT that’s something, as I actually don’t like rose in my tea and usually try to avoid rose scented teas. The HT is more of a ‘happy feeling’ tea as the TT is more elegant and sophisticated. Being a sweet tooth I’d probably choose the HT over the TT most times, but I can imagine that being different for others.

Prep details: HT 80 C/ 4:30 min & TT 95 C/ 4:30 min

Rating is for HT only. I’ll post this review under TT too and give it’s rating there.

I received a free sample of this with my order from Tea-adventure. This one was included as “extra” sample in addition to the two free samples of your choice you get with every order anyway. Thanks so much!

If I’d had a choice, I wouldn’t have chosen a Jasmine tea sample and I would have missed out on something worthwhile. I’m not really a big fan of Jasmine or other flowers as sole means of perfuming/flavouring tea. That doesn’t mean I can’t stomach jasmine, but in my experience flower scented teas are prone to boardering on ‘soapy’. In general I prefer fruits and spices with or even to flowers.

Anyway, as I received a sample, I felt compelled to try it. Afterall, one never knows… and as they say good deeds reap rewards. I actually really liked this jasmine tea. The white needle base has an inherent sweetness that balances the jasmine very nicely. I find this tea much more tasty than the classic green tea based jasmine.

All in all a pleasant surprise. I may just order this tea sometime in the future, maybe for the summer.

I received a free sample of this with my order. As I couldn’t find any instructions on brewing temp & time, I just stuck to my average green tea temp & time (80 C/ 3 min).

De dry leaf smells very ‘green’ with a note of seaweed. The smell is very similar, though mellower when brewed.

At first it has a very fresh, somewhat ‘peppery’, brisk taste with some astringency. The sides of my tongue tintle a little. After a few mouthfulls the taste mellows and a sweeter note presents itself. It’s as if some component of the tea coats the inside of your mouth and thus changes your perception of the taste. In the aftertaste I think I detect something mineral like, although I’m not entirely sure. It’s something I haven’t tasted in other teas before.

This is an interesting tea, though not really to my taste. Perhaps I’d review it differently during a hot summer day, when I prefer more ‘fresh’ tastes. If you like straight green teas, this tea definitely is worth trying, despite my not being overly enthousiastic. After all tastes differ and my palette may just not be mature enough to adequately appreciate this tea.

EDIT: I decided to remove my rating because I just can’t honestly rate a tea that is evidently of good quality but just isn’t to my taste.

I recieved a very generous sample of The du Loup today when buying yet another tin of Theodor. I’m starting to feel like some kind of repeat record, but what a great tea! Considering that I have never liked a chocolate tea before, that’s saying something. Somehow this blend just works.

With other chocolate teas my overall feeling always used to be that it tries to substitute hot chocolate (the: this-is-good-for-your-diet-and-if-you-could-only-believe-it-preferable-to-the-real-thing). With this tea I don’t have that feeling. Of course it’s has a strong chocolate flavour and – especially – smell and isn’t ‘the real thing’, but it has such an own identity that I don’t feel cheated by the fact.

I’ll definately be buying this one!

I must say that Theodor at present is my favourite brand for flavoured teas.

So here I am, waiting for my first cup of White Needle tea to brew. I bought this tea in the hope that it would make a suitable alternative to the Theodor J.E. Yin Zhen b/c of it’s price. With a view to comparison I brewed both teas simultaniously.

Here’s a picture with Theodor on the left and Tea-adventure on the right before brewing: [IMG]http://i46.tinypic.com/2qxz0og.jpg[/IMG]
The buds of Theodor are slimmer than those of Tea-adventure. I don’t know which size is better. The ‘fatter’ buds look nicer/neater though.

Here’s a picture of both teas after brewing and before lifting the strainers out: [IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/4lhkqu.jpg[/IMG]
Theodor’s tea looks a little ‘messier’ with more small(er) particles and a few brownish buds. The left tea is Theodor and the right tea is Tea-adventure.

Let me start by stating that both teas taste great. The colour of the liquid of Theodor is a tad more saturated than that of Tea-adventure. The same goes for the smell and taste. Theodore’s buds smell more ‘hay-ish’ and have a tast that’s a bit bolder.

So which one is better? I honestly don’t know. I do know that I prefer the lighter and slightly more fresh or less ‘hay-ish’ smell of Tea-adventure’s white, but as regarding the taste, it will probably be dependant upon my mood. My boyfriend prefers the more bold taste of Theodor’s tea and is of the opinion that he doesn’t really smell either tea (which may be due to the chocolate he ate right before tasting).

Is this a good alternative to Theodor’s? YES, definately. There isn’t a great difference in smell and taste, while the price is a lot friendlier.

I’ll be resteeping to see if that ferrets out any further differences… :-)

I’m so happy!! A few minutes ago the postman deliverd my first order from tea-adventure :-).

The first impression is favourable. The teas are packaged in aluminium foil coated bags with ziplocks, the kind where you have to cut off the top part before being able to open the ziplock and these bags were placed in a cardboard box. What I especially like about this is that (a) de bags can be used for storage due to the ziplock and (b) the tea leaves can’t get crushed in transit b/c of the box.

I’m having my first cup of yellow tea ever. It is very reminiscent of Dragon Well, although – perhaps – with a somewhat different aftertaste. I’m not really sure what it is. A bit ‘peppery’? A very very slight smokey-ness? Is it the chessnut note? I’ll first have to taste both this tea and the Dragon Well to try and pinpoint the difference so I won’t be rating this tea at this point.

Anyways a very good start of the weekend :-)