CaesarsTea

After the success I had cold brewing Strawberry Field, I decided to try cold brewing yet another CaesarsTea green. This one smells so deliciously of lemon but was pretty vegetal in the hot cup. Not unbearable but I knew I would be happier with more lemon and less base. Since the vegetal quality was toned down in Strawberry Field, I figured I should try this one and see what happens.

Unfortunately, even as a cold brew, this is very much a grassy, vegetal tea. The lemon comes second to the base. However, one cold brewed bottle brought me that much closer to a sipdown as I only have 1 tsp of leaf left.

I picked this tea up because I really enjoyed the smell. It was lemon-y and delicious smelling but not particularly tart. Nonetheless, I thought I would give it a try. Steeped, the smell of the green tea comes through a bit more than the flavoring. This is reflected in the taste which is slightly vegetal with a hint of lemon flavor. It is not tart like its name would suggest but it is not a bad cup of tea either. However, I don’t think I will be buying this one again as there are other teas I would reach for long before grabbing this. That doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy the bit of this I still have left.

I made this in the morning before I ran out to class and it sat in my thermos all day before I actually got around to drinking it. When I did get to try it, I thought it was a nice cup of earl grey – not the best that I have tried but definitely pleasant. It was creamy and sweet and almost floral but not quite perfume-y. The citrus flavor from the Bergamot came through but its taste was slightly reminiscent of the smell of Satsuma shower gel from the Body Shop if that makes any sense. All in all, not bad but I think I will continue to search for the perfect Earl Grey.

This is a bit of a miss for me. It is not a bad cup of tea but rather that is all it is – a cup of tea. I am not getting any chocolate flavor and the mint is so subtle that if you are not looking for it, you would not know that it is there. This is a pleasant enough cup of black tea but Mint Chocolate Mousse Cake it is not. I won’t have a problem getting through the free samples of this that I have but I definitely am glad I did not pay for this one.

ETA: Cold the mint is more prominent but still no chocolate.

Sipdown!! (201…yet another that is being sent off to live happily with bluebelle)

Since this has a rating I figure I wrote about it once before but since it is not mentioned in my spreadsheet I opted to have one last cup before I sent it away. So my thoughts? Well I am happy it is being sent off because I won’t reach for it often but this is a nice cup of tea.

Tastewise, it is buttery from the white tea base (so basically today I am realizing it is actually whites that are buttery and not greens as I had thought prior to drinking the Ontario Ice Wine earlier). Among the butteriness, there is a pleasant peach flavor with a hint of lemongrass zing. Definitely tasty but I obviously I realized this would get lost and forgotten about in my large stash and made the right choice by giving it away. Au revoir Peach Lemon Tutti Fruitti, I hope you find a home where you will be more appreciated!

This is a very interesting tea. I can’t quite figure out what is going on. It is delicate and fruity. Some sips are lemony while others are more peachy. Some just taste like tea. Not bad, just confusing.

This is the first real miss for me when it comes to my CaesarsTea haul. It was bound to happen sooner or later. This tea smelled amazing and since the others have all been good I was quite disappointed in this one. There is something almost bitter in this steep that I am just not enjoying. Perhaps changing the way it was steeped might help. If not, this will become the first CaesarsTea into my swap box.

This one is not really for me. Like a lot of the other CaesarsTeas rooibos teas, the rooibos flavoring comes through. The chocolate also shines as well but the two, in my humble opinion, don’t marry as nicely as I would have hoped. I might play around with some of the steeping parameters because I think the tea has potential but as it is now I am not overjoyed. With that said, it is not horrible so I will probably make it through my 25 g but I doubt I will rebuy. Perhaps I can share if someone wants to try despite my glowing recommendation.

Hot, this tea was not bad. Cold? Well apparently all the flavors meld together and create a tea that both smells and tastes like liquefied weed. No one wants to drink that so this definitely got dumped.

I am not sure quite what to make of this tea. It is good but I am on the fence as to how good. I bought it because it came recommended by the saleswoman and when I smelled the dry leaf it was amazingly fruity for an oolong (which I never would have guessed with a named like Ye Pan Tsa). It is definitely interesting. I am getting a whole mixture of flavors. The scent of the steeped tea is subtly fruity but the first taste in the sip is a nice floral from the orchid. A bit of the fruitiness (perhaps mango?) comes in in the middle of the sip and the oolong shines through at the end. The aftertaste is a little bit nutty. All of this works together well enough. It is a bit of a flavor rollercoaster though. Luckily, I have a whole timolino full of this to wrap my head around while I write a paper for class.

Oh pomegranate tea, you are tasty. Cup after cup, your pomegranate flavor never fails to please. Yum!!

I quite like this tea which leaves me conflicted. I keep thinking that I will put it in the teabox that is enroute to me as it is from a local store and I would like to spread the love but then I have a cup and I am reminded just how juicy and delicious it is and I have the urge to hoard it. Luckily, I am still on vacation for the next couple of days which means I have time to think about it and maybe sip on a few more cups :)

The white tea is far more prominent in this cup than it was in the last but it still maintains a nice pomegranate flavor. Definitely a nice, tasty cup.

This brewed up pretty nicely tonight. The white base provides the perfect stage for the pomegranate flavor to really shine. It is fruity with the slightest bit of tart to really amp up the flavor. Delicious.

So I think I either overleafed or brewed this at too high a temperature because the juicy pomegranate flavor I love so much has fallen to the background and I am mostly tasting the white base. Not a bad flavor but not what I was hoping for when I made the cup :(

This white tea is amazing! The sweet, juicy pomegranate flavor compliments the delicate white tea so beautifully. It is just like eating a ripe pomegranate! Yum!!

Sipdown!! (178)

I had this a couple of times and when I initially made it, it was deliciously vanilla tasting. The next time, it was way too rooibosy. This time I cold brewed it and the result is a creamy vanilla drink. Delicious and sadly, gone.

Well Mardi Gras Vanilla, I don’t know if it is me or you but tonight you are just not hitting the spot. I am tasting the fruity rooibos but missing the creamy vanilla I know is hidden somewhere in the cup. Come back to me vanilla, you are greatly missed!

I think this tea was really quite great. The smell is of vanilla beans, not artificial vanilla flavoring. Personally, I picked up on the vanilla notes both in the scent and taste. My roommate said she noticed the vanilla more in the smell than anything and suggested I steep it for longer next time to bring the flavors out. In the end though we both agreed that this was quite delicious. Something tells me I will be getting more of this in the future.

So in theory, I am always really excited about herbals. Realistically, I am never happy with them. They always smell fruity and delicious and they just don’t deliver in a hot tea. However, last night I was inspired by Roswell Strange to try cold brewing Kanpe tea. In an effort to procrastinate on my paper, I decided that not only would I cold brew Kanpe but I would also cold brew this and Banana Cherry Blend to see how that goes.

Apparently cold brewing is the key for me and my herbals. Though I am not in love, at least I found a way to enjoy my herbals every now and then. I might even end up taking some with me to Florida because I imagine cold brewing would be a smidge more refreshing when you are not surrounded by snow.

As for the taste, strawberry is the dominant flavor but the kiwi comes in near the end and makes for a delicious flavor combination. The two components really shine on their own but in a way that they are not competing with one another. Rather, they are harmoniously balanced making for a nice nighttime drink.

As far as fruit tisanes go, this is quite a nice one. Strawberry and kiwi is a classic combination and their complimentary flavors really shine in this tea. However, I am realizing more and more I miss the tea base when it is not present. Nevertheless, this was still quite enjoyable.

This cup always smells so rooibosy so it is always pretty shocking when it tastes mostly like earl grey. There is a hint of rooibos but this is mostly just great bergamot flavor.