Blue Q

This tea is a little bitter, but tastes better with milk.

Review from an earlier tasting session this spring:

http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/2263/tea-review-blue-q-todays-special-oolong-plum/

Wrote a more detailed review for future posting at www.itsallabouttheleaf.com, but my general observation is that this is more of a gift/novelty item than a tea for a serious oolong-o-phile. Getting more of plum blossom than plum fruity.

My coworker asked for some boiling water from my kettle for noodles, so I thought, “Ah! Good excuse for more tea!” Jaime kindly sent me this one!

The rose and berry mix in a very delightful way. This is sort of like a low rent Marco Polo, I think! It’s a little bitter, even though I steeped it for barely two minutes. I suspect it’s the fact that it’s Indian tea, and of the “dust” persuasion ;) I put a half teaspoon of sugar in after tasting it, and it helped round it out a bit. In spite of that, it’s one of the better tea bags I’ve had! The rose is present but not cloying or “rose lotion.”

I’m really enjoying this, and I’m glad I have one more bag to have the next time someone asks me for some boiling water out of my kettle in the afternoon :)

Okay, so the packaging totally sold me on this one. The little happy wiener dog has “Ooo-long tea” printed across his long body. EEEEE! And then Jaime had a nice review of this, and I was looking for some handy-dandy tea for work, and so I bought this (plus the Jasmine Earl Grey — with an adorable owl in a tea cup on the box!, and their “Live Forever tea” which had just enough cheesiness for me to buy it).

It’s really amazing that I held off so long on A&D’s teas because their packaging is lightyears beyond this. Oy, I’m a sucker.

I was even hesitant to try another plum-type tea since my only “plum tea” experience was from the insta-tea packet that AmazonV so generously shared with me. And that was a bit bizarre. :)

Anywho, my first cup of this is surprisingly nice! It has a gentle gentle plum scent that almost comes off as floral. I think that I’m also getting a taste of paper from the bags, but I’m not 100% sure. This being at work — I had no control over parameters and of course we got busy. So I think that I may have understeeped this and it’s also now a very cold cup. Therefore I’ll be holding off on giving this a rating. I’d guess that it’s at least a 70. NE

Not a fan of floral teas but I could not resist the adorable packaging. I am such an easy target for marketing. As usual, I am pleasantly surprised. The rose flavor is just a subtle note, as is the berry, and the black is decent. A nice little variation. I will probably get some more just because I am afraid they are going to discontinue these teas soon, and it makes me feel kind of desperate.

Bleh…drink down faster

This was a pretty impressive flavored bagged tea! Thanks LiberTEAs! The first steep was a tad tart-berry with floral-rose highlights but nothing I couldn’t handle. I must say I enjoyed the 2nd steep a better tho…the tartiness was minimal and the berry shined thru with the rose underneath…it was juicier without being as tart as the first steep! Nice!

I received this in my secret santa box from Jaime – thanks Jaime!

This is a very flavorful cuppa. I didn’t expect much since it’s a bagged tea but it really tastes nice. The rose is prominent, and the berry flavor whispers through. I found that a little bit of agave nectar helped bring out the strawberry a bit, so I recommend the addition.

A nice tea! Thanks Jaime!

OLD LADY TEA!!!!!! Seriously, smells like a room in an old church where a bunch of older ladies were meeting and their musty perfume hangs in the air. Wowsa. I’m both repulsed by and compelled to drink this tea. So utterly perfumey and rather blech, but I keep sipping! I think that I have a problem. I will never purchase this again (if I try, then I need a major tea intervention), but I think that I’ll finish the box. Bizarre but true. The graphics on the box (owl in a teacup!) is the best part of this tea. M

I think I may like this better at 3 minutes than at 4! This is one of the best oolongs I’ve had, bagged or otherwise. The plum flavor is such a great compliment to the oolong, and a very nice change from the usual peach flavored ones.

Oh, that’s simply lovely. Very nice oolong base, light and delicate. The plum isn’t too strong, but is an accurate plum and compliments the oolong perfectly. I find it very delicious and refreshing. So glad that I picked this up the other day. If you’re looking for a flavored oolong, I’d highly recommend this one!

Oh, my. This smells just like an English rose garden. The kind where you’re supposed to wear fancy dresses and gloves and walk around carrying an umbrella to protect your delicate skin from the sun.

It tastes like rose water, mashed up ripe strawberries, and strong black tea. I brewed for 5 minutes, but I think I’ll try 3 next time, cause there’s just a hint of bitterness from the tea that I’m tasting, and I think I’d notice more of the berry & rose without that there. It’s still delicious, and I’m very happy to have found this in my town!

Oh Berry & Rose, please work your magic for me this morning. How I loathe being on call on the weekend… First call started at 8am, Berry & Rose will hopefully be my salvation. ;)

mmm…Berry & Rose latte with my breakfast this morning…damn that’s good stuff. I cooked it on the stove as one would chai. The milk and sugar really helped to bring out the strawberry. :)

Not quite sure how, but this tea made a bad day one heck of a lot better! I was at work yesterday and irritable as all get out. I had tucked a bag of this in my purse earlier in the day. I brewed a cup. A few minutes later I was changing my tune. It truly smells like fresh cut roses. The taste is also incredible: its like drinking a bouquet with a fine black tea and there’s a little sweet berry tossed in. It’s very smooth and just different enough to make it special. Aromatherapy? Taste therapy? All I know is that it did the trick! :)