Cornelia Bean

GCCTB4

This tea is not for me. The peach came across as too artificial tasting. I’m just really sensitive to artificial flavours so I think others who drink them might like this tea. It definitely was peachy.

GCTTB

Had this one as a cold brew. It was pretty true to flavour – juicy peaches. Delicious :)

Sample sipdown – thanks to Anlina for the sample!
This is pretty good. The dry tea has a really intense toffee aroma, which is there but much lighter in the brewed tea. The base tea has a light, vegetal, sightly sweet flavour. I’m getting mostly cucumber notes from it, actually. I like both the base tea and the flavouring, but I’m not totally sold on the combination. I think the toffee flavour might go better with a sweet Chinese black tea, maybe. Having said that, I’ve slurped back the whole cup while typing this review, so I can’t complain. :)

HGTTB

This is a weird tea because it smells amazingly like ooey-gooey caramel and that’s the first taste that hits your lips. However, that caramel slowly morphs into a rich root beer flavor. Up until that point it is delicious but then the mate takes over and that luscious caramel/root beer becomes wet earth. It’s not mad but I just wish the mate was left out of the mix as that would make this one amazing cup of tea.

I decided to use the rest of my sample from Roswell Strange to make a small latte with this tea because I had extra milk from the Brasiliano latte I was making simultaneously. Unfortunately, as soon as I poured the milk, I remembered the curdling issue of Hot Tropic so I had a moment of panic and then decided to drink it quickly before the milk got a chance to curdle. However, as I sip, I can’t help but feel like I am drinking a glass of lotion. It’s weird and creamy but the coconut/pineapple combination is leading to a somewhat sunscreeny type taste. Blech. This isn’t horrible tbh but there are so many companies that do this flavor combination better that I am not sad to see this go. Still, I appreciate the share so thank you Roswell Strange for the chance to try something new. 203.

Three tsp generic green oolong, three tsp of this in my DavidsTea mason jar – cold steeps about 9 hours.
It’s really good – I’m not sure I can taste the oolong at all, but that’s probably a good thing – added more for the caffeine than for flavor. It’s a tart mixed berry iced tea that’s more like juice than tea. Ok I did add some sweetener, but I don’t think the hibiscus is over powering, just adds that bit of tart that keeps fruit flavors from being too candy like.
I really like this and will for sure buy more.

HGTTB

While hot, the base is clearly present in the scent, mingled with lavender, but the bergamot is playing hard to get!
The Lavender definitely comes through strongest in the taste as well, it’s pretty intense. There’s just a hint of the Bergamot I’m looking for. The base is tasty, but just bordering on more astringent than I’d like in an everyday tea. This is one I would make when I’m looking for a flavorful, more bold cup of Lavender EG. I’m really considering making an order from Cornelia Bean, there’s so many good teas in this box, and I’m so glad I participated. Huge thanks to Anlina for setting it up!

Edit: A couple minutes after I finished my cup, I sneezed, and all I could smell and taste was Lavender. ’Nuff said! XD

HGTTB

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one, since the scent in the bag isn’t very strong. I’m getting just a hint of sour in both the smell and taste. I don’t know why, since nothing on the ingredient list would suggest it.

It’s definitely a lighter tasting tea than the last couple I’ve tried, maybe because of that, I’m underwhelmed slightly. Maybe I didn’t steep it long enough. Why do I taste fruitcake? Are you okay tastebuds? Anyways, it’s pleasant, and I’ll be happy to finish my cup.

Edit: When cooled, the flavour actually gets stronger, more toasty almond flavour. My like.

Nigiri Woodlands :
Welp, I honestly don’t usually have just straight black tea, so I can’t really compare one from another. I’m hoping that I can get a baseline soon though.

I know enough to able to smell that it’s a black tea, at least. Hrmm…. Malty and dark, but with this brewing time, very little astringency, I can certainly see how it would threaten to get bitter with a longer steep though. I get the barest hint of smoke that’s mentioned if I really try, but I was hoping for a bit more. So, lots of malt and wood, not a lot of smoke, with a sweetness carrying it. The further I get into the cup, the more dry it leaves my tongue.

HGTTB

Woo! So many good smells from this one. What hits me first is the sweetness of caramel, then bergamot and cream, followed by a little hint of citrus. This seriously smells so good, both dry and steeped.
The taste presents all of the same flavors, but the order changes up a bit, and I think the Bergamot shows itself a bit more. There’s also a toasty-ness that I really like, probably from the rooibos. There’s so many layers to this tea, and it’s like, you can taste each of the flavors distinctly, without one really overpowering the others, and yet they blend together and meld into smooth awesomeness. It’s been a while since I’ve found a tea I like as much as this one. There’s only a serving or two left of this one, and I think I’m keeping it. It’s a new fave.

I’m not sure if this is a case of – you know you have too much tea when….. or if I’m just loosing it (going senile in my old age….)
If you had asked me about coffee flavored pu’erh yesterday – would have said – love Davids haven’t tried any others – don’t have any in my house right now.
Then tonight I’m rummaging around in flavor town looking for something fun to drink and find this – where did this come from, obviously I bought it at some point. It’s in my Steepster cupboard, it’s on my spreadsheet, not registered in the brain….

Anyway…………….

I like David’s better – there is too much rooibos (?) or maybe mate (?) in here – that’s covering up the pu’erh. It’s good, it’s too cluttered, too much going on. I think this would be better as just coffee pu’erh without all the other stuff in it. Having said that – I think this would benefit from some chocolate – that would balance out the bitter from the mate. Next time I’m going to toss in a little cacao….

HGTTB

I really like orange teas. I also really like rosemary…in cooking. :) While i would call this tea an accurate one, it doesn’t work for me because it turns the tea into very much a savory tea. And orange for me isn’t a savory sort of thing…it’s sweet…and tangy but not savory. So this is a good tea, but it doesn’t work for me. The orange and the rosemary blend quite nicely, and the rooibos isn’t a very overpowering taste. It’s also not that sort of woody rooibos. So if that sounds like your sort of thing, id recommend this. :)

HGTTB

oh this is nice. I am a fan of the blending here in this cup. Just the right balance of malty and deep, dark delicious. Yep…going to have to see about picking up more of this sometime!

HGTTB not too shabby. I have had other instances of this tea from other companies before, so going in to it i knew it wasn’t going to be my favourite sort of black tea. However, this one isn’t bad…it’s just not what i prefer. It’s bold, and strong but there’s also an astringency here that i’m not a fan of.

HGTTB

I had this one as my morning tea a long time ago lol Another black from cornelia bean that i can get behind. It’s slightly malty, with a hint of sweet and an almost sweet/citrusy sort of feel to it as well. Over all a nice cup to start my morning with!

Hidden Gems Travelling Tea Box (HGTTB)

This was another from this morning and one i was looking forward to trying, if only to get a better idea of some of the other straight teas from Cornelia Bean. I’m familiar with their teas through swaps but i’ve only ever really had their flavoured. This one was a really nice, smooth cup of malty goodness. from this morning. I’d be willing to pick up more of this in the future i think

Odd, I was sure I rated this one before but it’s not showing up. Steepster’s eating my notes again!

I made this at the end of the day yesterday, my second time having it.

I reached the conclusion that it’s not a favourite of mine, though I do appreciate the chance to try it!

1) I guess I’m not much of a chai fan, but when I drink chai (albeit rarely), I want the strong black tea base so I can add milk and really make it a dessert. This is an herbal.

2) I am starting to realize that the only herbal teas I truly care for (aside from cacao obviously) are the fruity ones that I make iced tea with in the summer. Not so much to drink on a regular basis.

3) Something about this seemed kind of metallic, it left a weird taste in my mouth and slightly numbed my tongue. Maybe the ginger, but I really enjoy ginger and I’ve never noticed that happen before.

4) something about the smell of the tea was offputting to me… every time I took a sip I caught a whiff of this sort of sour note.

5) I didn’t really get any coconut from this!

It’s not a bad tea, I just think it’s not for me. But drinking it twice helped me redefine my tea tastes, so I can’t complain about that!!

But surely you can see why I wouldn’t want this tea to be my 600th tasting note, even though I drank it yesterday, prior to the one I actually used for my 600th tasting note.

I have some left if anyone would like to try it :)

Thanks to Anlina for sending me this in the Secret Santa swap!

Sipdown (156)

I feel like my reviews have all had a more negative edge to them lately. I seriously don’t mean to complain about the teas I have had but nothing has seemed to work out too well as of late. I’m hoping it’s the water but it may be me. I have been off tea for so long and now it seems I need to train myself to fall in love with it again. Florida water isn’t helping but even this tea is just okay and it was cold brewed in bottle water.

I find in this cup, the apple is taking over yet there is an underlying tartness from the cranberry. It’s juicy but weak all at once and just not as balanced as I recall. I just want something more…more cranberry…more flavor. Still, it’s always nice to try something new so I am grateful to Roswell Strange for the opportunity.

I cold brewed three teaspoons of this in a bottle of water and the result is a very sweet, juice-like drink. Granted, it is thinner than juice, as to be expected but it still has a juice-type flavor. The apple is it’s typical sweet self but it doesn’t take over as the cranberry certainly holds it’s own. It’s actually quite the tasty evening treat so thank you Roswell Strange for sending some my way.

I’ll have another Earl Grey for today. The lavender in this brew balances out the bergamont. It causes for an interesting smoothness. I enjoy this brew and I can see it making its way to my Earl Grey list. I always discover new and different Earl Grey mixtures. Its fascinating how many ways you can mix a classic blend. It has a smooth body and soft black tea flavor. The bergamont isn’t that potent. I can mostly hint at the lavender. This is a soothing mixture.