Silk Road

I drank this one straight today, steeped up in my travel mug, to enjoy while I was out running errands. I don’t really have a lot to say about it, but I enjoyed it! It’s one of the teas from our first round with the BBBBox, thanks Sil.

Dammit! Apparently Steepster ate my note on this…aughghghgh!
I’ll try again…
This is one of Sil’s offering to the BBB box. I sampled it while creating a decadent breakfast of gluten free crepes stuffed with mixed berries, coconut whipped cream, & a drizzle of maple syrup. I also made breakfast sausage patties from locally raised ground pork. Now we’re sitting here, fat & happy, watching the baseball game in our PJs.

I love history, & I love that the Antarctica expedition had their own tea blend with them. I don’t know if this is a true re-creation of that blend, but I love the name, & the resulting tea is bold, smooth, & well balanced. I have a big enough sample to try it several times, so perhaps I’ll give a more detailed description next time.

I should have fixed this last night when I was having my bad tea night, I wanted chocolate tea and the three I tried kept turning out watery and flavorless. Rather than enjoying a relaxing cup of tea I spent hours trying to diagnose my problem, testing water temp, finding multiple thermometers to verify my results, and making lists of what my problem could be since it obviously wasn’t my water. I just hate giving up on a tea and managed to find three in a row that I just gave up on. It left me in a bit of a sour mood which I solved by binge eating kettle corn (that is absolutely not going to help me fit into my dress for the wedding I’m attending next month.)

Thank you JustJames for sending me this in our swap, it helped me start off my day on the right foot. You’ve also helped me find a viable option for my chocolate tea tin that has sat empty for the last three months.

I can’t even begin to explain the flavor of this tea, but I can tell you what it is lacking, and that is artificial chocolate flavoring. That immediately makes this tea a viable option for when I need a chocolate fix. Most of the chocolate teas I’ve tried use the same flavoring agent to obtain a chocolate flavor, but it ends up tasting like low quality chocolate, for a chocoholic like me that just isn’t going to work.

The raw cacao & nibs give this a slight chocolate taste, but if you’re wanting milk chocolate out of your chocolate tea you will be disappointed, because this isn’t it. The vanilla beans lend a slightly sweet flavor and the “exotic spices & essences” make things interesting. I do wish Silk Road went into more detail about what the exotic spices are since I do have food allergies it makes it hard to avoid what I can’t have if it isn’t clearly on the label.

The last thing I want to note is that my tin said to pour 2 cups of water over 1tsp tea. I didn’t do that, it just didn’t seem like enough tea so I used 1t per 8oz. I’m glad I did because I don’t think I would have enjoyed this at a weaker strength. I also think this would make an excellent tea latte.

Started the day off with this one. Finished off my sample from Sil. I had a little extra so I dumped it all in. I think I prefer it overleafed. With cream and honey. Good strong cup to start the day. Thanks Sil!

Another tea from the BBBB, this one courtesy of Sil. I was super excited to see this sample in the box as it was one I had read about on Silk Road’s website and wanted to try it. It is a nice black blend. There’s the faintest hint of orange or bergamot in it that I didn’t expect nor really want, but it didn’t put me off too much like most earl grays do. I got a couple good steeps out of it too. I don’t think I’ll order any, but I still have some more to play with that I will enjoy. Thanks Sil!

I think they renamed this one as “Tea of Radiant Beauty” but I’m not going to rename it.

This is another tea that I got in Victoria over the summer. Mostly what I taste is lavender, mint and rooibos but I am not overly fond of this flavor, it seems a little bit bitter and like dirt? Oh well. I hope it’s healthy anyway…

snagged this one the other day at the grocery store (one of the perks of living 10 minutes away from the main store downtown… you can find it at the grocery store!!!).

anyway, this blend started me on a vanilla kick; comparing and contrasting…. except i only had the one (therein a problem lies, lol). for all of my grouchiness towards david’s teas and their ingredients listing policies i do like to give vendors a chance to get better and evolve— my opinions aren’t set in stone. so i grabbed two vanilla teas from there to compare to this one in the next little while.

vanilla plantation is absolutely vanilla, a warm vanilla wafts out when the tin is opened. however, while it is smooth and cleanly executed (seriously, i don’t think silk road is capable of anything harsh) vanilla is not the only thing i get from this blend. to me the warmth of the smell plus some interaction between the tea and the vanilla pieces i actually get more of a buttercream essence! not unpleasant, but not strictly vanilla either.

So I woke up with a headache today, and it was foggy out, and the construction across the street was loud (it always is, but on my days off, I have to deal with it more). As a result, I figured now was the time to try it. It smelled warm and heavy and just the thing I needed.

Brewed, I was reminded why I love pu erh. So dark and rich and full…that’s what pu erh is a common winter tea for me. It’s got body.

The taste isn’t my favourite..probably because of the orange peel (it’s one of those I like it in some combinations but not all combinations). The cinnamon was mild enough and not super hot. I’ll tell you what this tea made me think of…a pu erh based chai. Like Saigon Chai with pu erh base. That’s something I can get behind. I should get more Saigon Chai. Been too long without it.

Anyway, I do like this blend, but it isn’t a favourite. I’d pick Chocolate Orange (Oh Christmas Treat) over this any day. Many thanks to Shayne Bear for the sample. I’m sure I will drink the rest of this.

Tea of the mid-morning. This is a sipdown for me, even though it was only a mini-tin I got at Silk Road last year when I went to Victoria for vacation. For some reason it’s taken me that long to finish it. This is a decent black tea that has a mango/lychee flavor with a hint of jasmine. I wouldn’t say it’s been a huge favorite of mine, but I have enjoyed drinking it.

I believe this is the last of the mini tins I got from Silk Road in Victoria. Boo Hoo – well it has been fun trying them anyway!

Now this tea is very interesting, I am getting lots of lychee and only a faint mango element. Also there is something a bit bitter about this tea, I wonder if it could be the jasmine. Or perhaps I need to try steeping it at a slightly lower temp next time. I’m not the biggest fan of jasmine anyway but this is an elegant summer choice. I bet this would be really good iced as well though I’m drinking it hot. Tropical fruit and flowers – someone should totally bottle this and make it into a shower gel. :)

By the way the Silk Road in Victoria has the most beautiful store and there is also a SPA there which I did not go to. I’d recommend checking it out if you’re ever in the area.

It’s hard to feel too summery here when it’s been so foggy out!

Tea of the morning here, I still have some of this mini tin left so I was trying to decide if I should force myself to drink the rest or just chuck the bit that’s remaining. I can’t really get into lavender as an ingredient in tea although I love it in bath products. What I get here is vanilla, lavender and fruit and it’s definitely girly and more appropriate as an afternoon tea for sure. I’m trying to see if I can forgo caffeine after 12 pm because I’m just having too many problems sleeping these days.

Tea of the afternoon here, I got a mini tin of this when I was in Victoria earlier in July. It’s funny when I went to go search on the tea name in the database I couldn’t find it at first. hmm. I’m glad I didn’t add it!

This is a nice afternoon tea, perhaps a bit perfumey. It is quite strong in the vanilla and I’m getting a bit of peach and citrus, I just wish this element was a it stronger. Also Silk Road seems to like lavender in a lot of their blends, which I don’t mind but it can be a bit soapy. This was okay but not something I’d go out of my way to find again. I seem to remember they had samples of this in their store as an iced tea, I’d like to try it that way sometime.

This was another mini tea tin I picked up at the Silk Road in Victoria. The name has such promise and a chocolate and vanilla tea sounds great, doesn’t it?

I had some problems getting the lid off the tin and had to enlist the help of a guy in my office who pried it off with a screwdriver.

Sadly all of the hype and the effort did not make this tea palatable. I barely taste any chocolate and there’s a slightly medicinal taste to this I can’t quite explain, it reminds me a bit of bitter orange. Overall this is pretty yucky but I’ll manage to finish off the cup, not sure I can make myself drink any more of this. Into the compost it goes :-/

2nd lemongrass tea of the afternoon and finishing off the little sample tin I got at Silk Road in Victoria over the summer. I have to say I was not overly impressed with anything I tried in their herbal collection but this is the best one of the bunch. Definitely lemony and slightly on the tart side, but not exceedingly so. Lavender in tea is a weird concept for me still. This is pretty good for a chill afternoon.

This was part of a tisane sampler I purchased at Silk Road Teas when I was in Victoria. The predominate note is lemongrass, the rosehips and citrus provide a slightly tart note and the lavender is very relaxing. I might have liked this more without the lavender, it seems like something of a strange combination but I’m sure I will finish off the mini tin that I have. I like the way it smells more than the way it tastes.

…aaaand yet another backlog! last one i swear…well from vacation haha. I don’t remember much about this one except that i didn’t hate it. The lavender was the one thing i wasn’t overly fond of, but on the whole i liked this way more than i thought i would given the ingredients. Not anything i need to stock BUT it is another tea to cross off the list.

backlog from last week. I had this when i popped in to silkroad and it’s the reason i totally want to go pick up one of those silly zokurkwekrhwekrj things. not the popsicle one but the slushie one! This tea + milk in the slushie maker thingy was soooo good. i wish i’d been able to try this straight as well but overall i think what i like about this one is the addition of the vanilla. It also makes me want to try out stacy’s peppermint patty in the slushie with milk :) I’d be hard pressed to say which i like better ONLY because i didn’t get to try this one straight. I’m pretty sure stacy’s would win though….pretty sure :)

I purchased a few sample tins when I was at Silk Road in Victoria recently… still haven’t tried them all!

I’ve been having a relaxing evening, I took a shower with some lovely jasmine scented soap and then decided I would try this tea. I’m not a huge fan of jasmine teas, when I drink them I normally go for a jasmine pearl.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the tin was the presence of some dried jasmine flowers. I steeped this for around 2-3 minutes.

For a jasmine tea it’s pretty nice, the flavoring seems very natural and not as soapy or bitter as some jasmines I’ve tried. I’m not sure about this fujian green tea, it doesn’t have a lot of flavor in and of itself but it makes a nice backdrop for the jasmine. I like the name of this tea, it’s very poetic and the effect is light and dreamy. I’d consider getting some more of this if Silk Road wasn’t so far away!

…hopefully this is the start to a lovely relaxing weekend

Thank you JustJames for a sample tin of this lovely tea! I am liking it. But I am a fan of vanilla.

This is smooth, silky, and creamy. The vanilla adds a touch of sweetness, but not too much. The vanilla is not over-powering, but definitely coming through in flavour.

There’s another tea I have stashed away somewhere in the house that is also a vanilla black tea…I think I prefer this one…the other was a little too subtle for my liking. This one from Silk Road has stronger vanilla flavour which works for me.

i was out snagging some of silk road’s teas for swaps (they’re local and awesome) and grabbed this one for myself.

i didn’t know how it was going to work— puerh carries a warmth for me, while mint really does not. i couldn’t see that it would work halfway: it would either succeed or fail. success!

very nicely balanced between the warmth of the puerh and the cool crispness of the mint. Very simple. Lovely before bed. Yields a very deep green just a few seconds after the steep begins. It can be resteeped over and over using very little (3/4 tsp for a 16 oz cup with punch). Very smooth, very crisp, no caffeine stick. The soothing effect of a herbal with the longevity of a puerh!

on a completely separate note…. man did i miss steepster! i don’t do facebook or any other social media sites… just this one. it felt awful being cut off!!!

Yum!

Puerh, citrus peels, cinnamon. Steep it grandpa style, never ending in a cup. Even though the peels tend to float a little. Just blow them aside and take a sip. :)

I made this in my not-a-Timolino and brought it to work today. Ahh, the memories. I used to drink this “Grandfather Style” at an old job. Just kept refilling my mug all day.

It’s essentially a cinnamon puerh, with some citrus. In this case, it’s grapefruit although I think the peels might be orange? IDK.

It’s good. I like it.

Nom nom freaking nom. I did two steeps of this today, the first one I made in a thermos before I left home, and I added a tonne of honey (I’m sick… boo!). It steeped for about 3 hours so it was extremely flavourful and delicious, and the honey helped with the throat scratchies puerh seems to intensify. I steeped it again for a couple hours, and it was just weak. If I’m going to steep this one over throughout the day, I think I need to steep it for 5-10 minutes, pour it into another mug to drink, then steep the leaves again in the thermos. Otherwise all the goodness gets pulled out with the first steep!

Sadly, I’m going to have to put this one away till I’m feeling better, as the throat scratchies were very sad-making.

This is better. Moved onto this from Teavana’s Spiced Mandarin Oolong.

This one is not sour, yet still has citrus and spice. Not quite what I’m aiming for in a mandarin spice tea, but amazing and well-loved nonetheless.

Also, since I’m a classy lady, I didn’t bother with a basket so the orange peels are floating in my cup. I keep accidentally drinking one, and then spitting it back. Oh yeah. You know you live alone when… :)